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2014 Wrap Up

Posted by Leah on 12/31/2014 12:24:32 PM

I’m going to attempt to sum up all that 2014 was to the world of cinema. I’m almost certain that at this point you’re thinking “Oh no! Not another year-end list!” This won’t be just a list though, so please…keep reading! (Although there will be a few small lists as well).

                I’m going to get this portion out of the way now so that we can move on to lighter matters. We lost some true masters of film this year; people who’s shoes no one could ever fill, and it’s my hope that no one ever tries. The list includes,but is not limited to: 

  • Phillip Seymore Hoffman, 

  • Lauren Bacall, 

  • Joan Rivers, 

  • Harold Ramis, 

  • Jan Hooks, 

  • Ann B. Davis, 

  • Casey Kasem, 

  • James Garner, 

  • Shirley Temple,

  • Richard Attenborough, 

  • Sid Caesar, 

  • Ralph Waite, 

  • Mickey Rooney, 

  • L’Wren Scott, 

  • Ruby Dee, 

  • Eli Wallach, 

  • Bob Hasting, 

  • Bob Hoskins, 

  • James Rebhorn, 

  • Polly Bergen, 

  • Geoffrey Holder, 

  • Marcia Strassman 

and of course, the biggest loss of the year in my mind, Robin Williams.

 2014 had its fair share of both cinematic wonders and masterpieces, and straight out flops. It was a year that saw not one, but 2 new takes on the legend of Hercules, as well as proving that biblical stories equal big bucks with the releases of Noah and The Exodus. It could arguably be called the year of the sequel (although some of the films weren’t really sequels, but the third and fourth installments of their franchises) with: Night at The Museum 3:Curse of the Tomb, The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1, Dumb and Dummer 2, Muppets Most Wanted, 300: Rise of an Empire, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and more all being released. It was a year that once again proved that “dead men sell tickets” with movies about Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and Cesar Chavez all making their ways into theaters. It also seemed to be (yet another) year of the remake with titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Robocop, Godzilla and Annie; which may be the end of the list for 2014, but certainly not the end of remakes as Hollywood loves to fix what ain’t broke!

While it’s almost impossible to see all of the 100+ films released in any given year, I have seen more than my fair share in 2014. I haven’t reviewed all of these, but here are my least favorite of the year: Men, Women and Children, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 300: Rise of an Empire, Earth to Echo, Boyhood, Maleficent, Monument’s Men and Locke. I’m sure I’ll be adding to that list as time goes on and I see more of the movies released last year. I know I can’t tell you what to do and that you’ll make up your own minds; but my recommendation is to avoid these movies. In my opinion they’re all a waste of your valuable time.

Valuable time you could spend watching these instead; my list of the great movies (that I saw) in 2014: The Lego Movie, The Imitation Game, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Guardians of the Galaxy.

In conclusion,2014 was not extraordinary in any way, cinematically speaking. It is with the utmost certainty that I can tell you that 2015 will bring more sequels, remakes, celebrity deaths, flops, epics and everything in between. So don’t despair if you feel that there’s nothing worth watching because as Vivien Lee put it so well in Gone With the Wind, “Tomorrow…is another day!”