Guardians of the Galaxy -
9/10
I've elaborated on
my opinion of this movie a number of times in the past, including
a particularly pointed blog post earlier today. It's not only
one of my favorite movies of the year, but one of my favorites overall. In any less of a year, it would have easily been my favorite film from 2014, but has to settle as my #5 with as many fantastic movies that came out over the last 12 months.
The Book of Life -
8.5/10
This is another one that
I've spoken a lot about over the past few months, including
a particularly pointed blog post earlier today. It was my #12 movie for the recent 100 Best Animated films list. It's my second favorite animated film from 2014, and was on my
preliminary list of favorite movies from the year (although it has since fallen off). If not for
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, this would be hands down the most visually arresting animated film of the year.
Fury -
7/10
This is one that I plan on doing a full review on later tonight. Although not quite as good as I had hoped it to be, it is still a singularly unique and incredibly well made war film: unique not only for its subject matter (a tank crew), but for how absolutely non-romanticized the film is: having more aesthetically in common with dark Vietnam-era war movies than with the likes of
Saving Private Ryan. It was dark, muddy and largely uncomfortable to watch (especially the so-called "love" scene about halfway through its run time), but is definitely one that should be checked out, if only for the utterly contrary portrayal of events that this war typically receives.
Boyhood -
8.5/10
This is another one that a full review is in the woodworks for. The fact that this intimate epic is only my seventh favorite of the year is a testament to just how strong of a year that this was for film. Having seen all of the Best Picture nominees now, I can safely call this my favorite of the nominees, with a gimmick that more than makes it unique: one that absolutely works on every level of conception and execution. It's actually a real shame that
Ellar Coltraine didn't receive a Best Actor nomination for his multitude of performances in this film, because he are easily some of the best I have seen from last year.