Plan B's Year in Review (2014)

Yep. The fourth entry. While I'll admit that the Paranormal Activity series does have an interesting premise that goes beyond a simple haunted house story, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is rather dull. There's some scares here and there, and the tension does tend to go high, but in total for about a minute in length - for a film that lasts nearly an hour-and-a-half. The trailer has the most "terrifying" parts of the movie in it. And apart from the ending - which, for better or worse, has peaked my interest just enough for me to get excited about the fifth film - there's really no reason to see this unless you're a devoted horror buff.

Never have I had a more personal connection, on any level, to a film than with Boyhood. It's such an ambitious achievement. Flawed, sure, but it's one hell of a movie. I am curious to see what Richard Linklater has up his sleeves next. Dazed and Confused and the Before trilogy are some of my favorite films, and Boyhood ranks up there. If Boyhood takes home the Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year - even if it's not the best film to come out of 2014 in my opinion - then that would be fine by me. There are some acting issues though with the minor characters, most notably in one scene involving some teenagers hanging out in an empty house - so much so that it gets laughably bad - but it's overshadowed with the stellar performances from Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, and especially Ethan Hawke. Oh, and did I mention that this was filmed over the course of 12 years using the same actors? Well, there's that.

I had high hopes for Non-Stop. Taken was fantastic, mainly due to Liam Neeson. Don't even get me started on its tragic sequel. Anyways, when Liam Neeson kicks ass and takes names, it's usually going to be good for that reason and for that reason alone. Non-Stop starts out relatively interesting. About 20 minutes into the movie and you're hooked. There's a twist of sorts in one area of the movie involving a bathroom. Then, from that point on, Non-Stop just goes downhill, but it makes it to the bottom safely. It's not great, but it's not bad; it's simply good.

Featuring a ridiculously large and talented voice cast, The Lego Movie was an anticipation of mine from the moment I saw the trailer. With catchy songs and brilliant animation, I probably laughed at least a dozen times in every minute of this movie. Plus the ending is just so thought-provoking and ultimately very powerful. And of course, the best part of this movie is probably Batman.

An overlooked film, more or less, from 2014, Mr. Peabody and Sherman is pure fun. From the beginning to the end, it's exciting, hilarious, and simply enjoyable. The film reminds me of the adventures of Brian and Stewie in Family Guy, with some Despicable Me and Megamind added in. Make no mistake, the film has its flaws, but they are usually overshadowed with its clever writing.

I'm a fan of Zack Snyder. But he didn't direct 300: Rise of an Empire, and it shows. The film plays more like a video game, and there's really nothing too grand about this except Eva Green's performance. At times a showcase for style over substance, but usually nothing more than an unworthy sequel that rehashes other films. If there is one thing I liked about this besides Green, it would have to be the musical score.

Wes Anderson is brilliant. Just brilliant. I haven't seen many of his films, but after watching Moonrise Kingdom and this gem, I dig his style. And Robert D. Yeoman is something of a visionary. The Grand Budapest Hotel stars many well-known actors including Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Lea Seydoux, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, and Tony Revolori in his first major role. Fiennes is amazing, and deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance. This movie is ridiculously funny and features stellar dialogue. For instance, when Fiennes visits the funeral service of a dead lover - not a spoiler - he says, "You're looking so well, darling, you really are... they've done a marvelous job. I don't know what sort of cream they've put on you down at the morgue, but... I want some." And then there is, "She was dynamite in the sack, by the way," to which Zero replies, "... She was 84, Monsieur Gustave," and Gustave responds, "Mmm, I've had older." Love it.

Neighbors. I was looking forward to this, mostly because it stars the always funny Seth Rogen, and I have a thing for Zac Efron. So yeah. While they both shined, Neighbors still wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. Zac Efron's performance is somewhat off-putting throughout - but like I said, he still manages to shine - and Seth Rogen does wonders. When all is said and done, Neighbors is a pretty good movie. The humor is usually hit-or-miss most of the time. Most of the time, that is - it certainly has its moments, which makes it worth watching, maybe even more than once.

Wasn't totally sure what to expect going into Noah. I like Darren Aronofsky's movies, especially The Wrestler. But Noah isn't a movie you would really expect to see Aronofsky making. Regardless, I thought it worked. It may have been a little bit too ambitious for its own good. Russell Crowe, of course, steals the show. I thought his actions while on the ark were sort of questionable - not in a character sense, but more on the part of the writers of the film. I'm not a very religious person so Noah didn't "offend" me or anything. Good movie with strong visuals that takes the Biblical epic and adds a few touches of its own.

Aaron Paul and the stunts were the only good things about this movie. Michael Keaton's dialogue was a slight reminder that what I was watching should be taken with a grain of salt. It's not really that entertaining of a movie, for something full of car chases, explosions, and races. While it's certainly not the worst movie ever made, or the worst film of 2014, Need for Speed just didn't do it for me.

While I did enjoy Captain America: The First Avenger, it certainly wasn't the best Marvel film, or even a great one. It was just a good, okay, decent movie. But its sequel is a different story. Captain America: The Winter Soldier adds in a thought-provoking mixture of political commentary and an Enemy of the State-style message. Plus it's just far more entertaining and surprising than its predecessor.

Terribly written, poorly acted, and incredibly biased - at times even offensive at how it portrays anyone who isn't a Caucasian American Christian male - God's Not Dead may be the worst film to come out of the recent crop of religious movies. Rather than prove a point, it actually damages Christianity with its argument. Characters not from America are shown to be uninformed, ignorant, and downright clueless, females are constantly portrayed as losing the battle they are fighting for and playing the underdog at a ridiculously low level, and atheists are realized as lost, selfish, and evil beings. God's Not Dead's "message" is Duck Dynasty, marketing for cell phones, and a two-hour advertisement for lawyers.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 represents a small step back for the series. The first film, starring Andrew Garfield, was great. It felt like you were literally watching a comic book, the way it all unfolded onscreen. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 reminds me of X-Men: The Last Stand. Too many new characters and a lack of development as a result - especially with Osborne - and more style over substance - minus the ending - really puts a dent in Marvel's line of superior adaptations. But is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 bad? No, not at all. It's a good movie that still manages to surprise more often than not. You should definitely see it if you haven't already. Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx are two actors I'd like to see working together in the future.

This is the movie Godzilla deserves. Not some Roland Emmerich movie starring Matthew Broderick - though preferably not one with Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Elizabeth Olsen in it either, but Bryan Cranston is good enough - but one with emotion, interesting characters, an intriguing story, mind-blowing visuals, a haunting musical score, and a finale that'll rock the socks off of any fanboy.

Forget The Notebook and Dear John. If you want a real love story, one with depth, courage to face a difficult subject matter head on, relatable characters, some fine acting - especially on the part of Shailene Woodley - and a film that will make your heart ache for the better, then ditch the Sparks adaptations or the next fantasy-romance movie, and watch The Fault in Our Stars.

Wow. Foxcatcher is something else. It's so hard to describe. Steve Carell's incredible performance as John du Pont, Channing Tatum's transformation from overlooked athlete to self-loather, and Mark Ruffalo's status as both a father figure and loving brother. For starters. Bennett Miller is a genius. He knows what he's doing, and there isn't a moment wasted in Foxcatcher. The only problem I had with the movie was it felt emotionally distant at times but Foxcatcher, to me, is more of a timeless story showcasing human ambition, strength, and weakness, rather than a dramatic masterpiece.

The only one of those I've seen so far is The Lego Movie for the animation list. It wasn't a match for my taste, but it's a very likable movie.

The ones there I'm really looking forward to seeing are Foxcatcher and Winter Soldier, although I want to see The First Avenger first.

I'll also watch Noah, Godzilla, Grand Budapest Hotel, The Amazing Spiderman 2, Neighbors, and Non-Stop, but my expectations are limited for those.

Definitely see the first Captain America before the second.

22 Jump Street is a seamless continuation of the misadventures of Schmidt and Jenko. Violent, hilarious, and bold, this sequel not only solidifies the potential for television-to-film adaptations, but it also proves that one can take things up a notch when it comes to its source material, spawning a film series that is totally unrecognizable from the original work, yet somehow improving it at the same time.

Marvel's best film to date. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper, Guardians of the Galaxy is purely a popcorn flick - but it's a good one and not another Transformers sequel. You know in the first 10 minutes that this is going to be a good one, which it is. I hope Marvel - or rather Disney - continue to release quality films such as these and doesn't fall back to all-time lows like Fantastic Four.