The 2014 Movie Post

Hello? Is anybody there? I know I haven't blogged in a year, but fear not, I still remember my password. This tradition actually does a few things for me: 1 - It helps me keep up my ratings on Netflix, 2 - It helps keep my queue updated with what movies I actually have a desire to watch, 3 - It reminds me of how much garbage is out there that I'm missing (thank goodness), and 4 - It actually helps me to pick movies that I might enjoy watching in the future. Also, I enjoy your comments and suggestions.

Here are my previous years' posts: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005. Oh my goodness! This is my tenth one! We should do something to celebrate!

YAY!

That's all.

It was hard for me to pick the order this year because most of the movies I watched this year were just okay. I didn't give any movies five stars on Netflix this year, and I only gave 3 of them 4 stars. The rest that I considered in the "like" category were all just okay. And some of them were teetering on the edge of dislike. But none of the dislikes were absolutely terrible. Ah well. I now give you my top ten list.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - I think I actually liked this movie more than the first Captain America movie. I felt like the plot was good, and the pace, characters, and lines produced a really entertaining and exciting movie. I can probably watch this movie over and over.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy - When the trailers aired for this movie I thought to myself, "Self, the comic book movies are now taking a cliff-dive down a terrible toilet of corn and mediocrity, starting with this movie." And then people whose opinions I value saw it and liked it, so I gave it a chance and what do you know? They set up the characters and humor in a good way, and it worked. I really thought it was going to be terribly horrible, but then it ended up being fun. I even enjoyed it the second and half of a third time that I saw it.

3. X-Men: Days of Future Past - Okay, okay. This was not my favorite X-Men movie, but it was still quite enjoyable. Somehow, even though I am getting a little tired of these comic book movies, they keep making them and not making them horribly. I enjoyed this one. I shouldn't have, what with the whole timeline thing and Wolverine adulation, but I did.

3.5 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - This is 3.5 because I finished my reviews and forgot to include this one. It has been about a year since I've seen it, so I guess that's why I forgot about it. Maybe? Good thing I saw that it's on Netflix and it reminded me to add this. Anyway, I liked it, and I saw it twice, so it stood up to multiple viewings. It feels like they rebooted the franchise, which leaves me a bit skeptical, but I did enjoy the movie as a whole. It's not going to be even in my top 3 of Jack Ryan movies, but I like them all, so this one is up there, as well.

4. How to Train Your Dragon 2 - This movie was not nearly as good as the first one, but it was still a decent and quality fun time. I actually think I enjoyed the Christmas Special (or whatever it is) better than this second movie, but it was still good.

5. Edge of Tomorrow - I am a little embarrassed that this is so high up on my list, but I ended up seeing this one twice and enjoyed it both times. So I guess it deserves a spot on this list. It's basically an action/sci-fi version of Groundhog Day, but it still worked. Oh, but it is so Tom Cruisey, so be careful that you can handle the Tom Cruiseiness of the movie.

6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - I watched the extended versions of the other two movies of The Hobbit before I saw this one, and it may have resulted in an overdose of Peter Jackson. The white orc and the ice... blah. And Tauriel... blah. And that one guy from Lake Town who just ran around looking for gold... I just don't even want to see him again. Ultimately, I think there should have just been two movies. I'm really glad they made these movies, though. They're not terrible, but the ways in which they diverged from the books weakened the movies, actually. But it did make me want to go and watch The Lord of the Rings series again, so there's that.

7. The Monuments Men - For me this movie isn't terribly rewatchable, just because it's not really exciting, but it was interesting and enjoyable for the first time. I enjoy that it is loosely based on a true story, and anything that makes history entertaining to watch is a good thing.

8. Interstellar - This movie was good to watch, but I checked my watch twice in it (solely as a hyperbole... I totally don't wear a watch), and there were parts that I couldn't understand because I think the sound editing wasn't done correctly. I also feel like there were some plot problems, like "nobody in their right mind would make these decisions" types of plot problems, but it was entertaining enough. And what was in the black hole... I just ... well, it's fiction, so fine. I'll look past it.

9. Divergent - I didn't read the books, and I can feel some extreme cheese coming on in future segments of this series, but the movie was actually pretty entertaining, and I could watch the next one.

10. The Lego Movie - It was humorous and fun, but I didn't like it as well as everyone else did, apparently. I got a little bored in it. I think it's brilliant that they made a successful movie off of a toy. Sure, there are the brilliant and awesome video games, too, but that makes it even more amazing that they made a successful movie off of a toy turned video game turned movie. Congrats, Lego people.

I also saw the following films:

I, Frankenstein - This movie was like walking into the middle of a conversation and having to figure out and catch up on what was going on. There was almost too much of an other-worldly set up to smoothly enter the movie. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really that great, either. Entertaining enough, though. It reminded me of Van Helsing, which I didn't love.

Veronica Mars Movie - I didn't feel like the movie kept the charm from the TV series. Of course, I didn't fundstart this movie, anyway, so I didn't really need the movie. That being said, I still enjoyed it. It's forgettable, though. I can't really remember what happened. I think there was a wedding?

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I - At this point, I am just along for the ride. I read the books before any of the movies came out, and I felt like the books got decreasingly good over time. However, I think the movies are all okayish.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - I feel like I already saw this movie, and I don't think these are as good as the ones with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. I know the comic book crowd seems to like them better, but I just don't.

The Maze Runner - I haven't read these books, so I don't really know how they're going to end, but I'm not really that intrigued, either. It wasn't terrible, though, so when my friends want to see the next one, I won't refuse to go or anything, especially if it's cheap Tuesday with the dollar popcorn. Yum.

Maleficent - I just didn't really like this movie. I like Disney's Sleeping Beauty a lot, and I didn't feel like this movie was ... well, it wasn't even really that good. I thought the plot was too far off of Disney's Sleeping Beauty movie. Maybe I need to read the actual fairy tale, but if it is anything like Maleficent, I'll just pretend the original is the Disney's Sleeping Beauty version because blah.

Godzilla - I had never actually seen a version of Godzilla before. My brother tells me that I must see a Japanese version, but... I didn't love this one. I didn't care about the protagonists at all. It seemed so corny. It was kind of like Pacific Rim with big monsters dueling each other in the ocean. I guess I'm not really into that.

Non-Stop - Oh, Liam Neeson, you are just not an action star to me. I felt like this movie had so many problems.

Transcendence - This is another one of those where I didn't actually see the whole thing, but I did see the end, and I can't imagine any beginning that would have made that ending interesting or plausible to me.

I also saw some movies from 2013 that I had wanted to see:

Oblivion - It was alright. I think it would be boring to watch a second time, though.

The Wolverine - This was possibly better than the other Wolverine movie that they made, but it's a toss up. It felt like a lot of drama.

The Lone Ranger - This movie was just too full of itself to see its problems. It was way, way too long and had a bout of Peter Jacksonitis. It felt like it should have or at least could have been good, but it just wasn't.

42 - I enjoyed it, but I feel like it kind of abruptly ended. It didn't feel like a conclusion.

G.I. Joe Retaliation - Very forgettable.

Gravity - Long. Kind of boring, but okay. It was Castaway in space, so you know, not really rewatchable at all.

Captain Phillips - Again, if history can be presented in an entertaining way and still maintain some kind of historical accuracy, good for that movie.

The Book Thief - This wasn't as good as the book, but it was still good. I think it's depressingly cute.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Just along for the ride.

I also saw from 2013:

Austenland - It was exceedingly cheesy. Almost cheesier than the book, which was really cheesy. I can't say that I liked it, but I can't say that I disliked it, either.

Saving Mr. Banks - Interesting. Enjoyable, especially the music.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - I really enjoyed this one. I think I just enjoyed seeing the various places around the world. It was a visually-captivating movie. I watched the scenery.

Justin Bieber's Believe - Just kidding.

I still need to see from 2013:

Planes

I kicked off:
Riddick

And I added:

Philomena
All Is Lost
Frequencies

Movies from 2014 that I still want to see:

Million Dollar Arm
The Fault in Our Stars
Planes: Fire & Rescue
The Book of Life
Big Hero 6
Meet the Mormons
Into the Woods
Unbroken
The Imitation Game

I'll probably add more to this list when I get other recommendations, so please feel free to recommend.

The End