Movies I Saw In 2014

Movies I Saw In 2014

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The Adventures Of Tin Tin (2011)

Halfway through this film -- somewhere in the midst of the wild action, goofy mystery, and John Williams score -- a thought struck me: This kind of reminds me of an Indiana Jones movie. And then another thought came: Yeah... but so did Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skulls. Then I realized... why, maybe Tin Tin is the movie Spielberg wanted to make all along! Like, he was dying to make an action/adventure/mystery where the characters could move through the world like cartoons, where pesky things like physics and logic didn't always apply. Problem is, he did that with Crystal Skulls. Bad move. Bad movie. Here, because Tin Tin is all motion-capture animationy, it's acceptable. It's kind of fun. And also kind of odd.

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Hugo (2011)

Visually, Steampunk Mordred Hugo was very pleasing. Plot-ually, I'm undecided. There are a lot of really cool, fun moments, but as a whole I was left feeling kind of disturbed and dissatisfied. Maybe that'll change upon a second viewing of the film? +Points for Ben Kingsley, -Points for Borat.

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Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Having been a big fan of Mary Poppins and all things vintage Disney, you'd think I would be all over this film -- and yet, because of my love for both things, I was actually not eager to see this. I had already heard/read/seen lots of information about the Disney-Travers acquisition. But it turns out the movie isn't just about that -- it's got this whole time-shifting parallel storyline o'fun about PL Travers as a little girl and her relationship with her father. Which I might have been more keen on, had the father not been played by one of my actor nemeses (Colin Farrell, why?). That said, the Farrelldom is canceled out by the inclusion of one Mr. Paul Giamatti, who plays a driver to Mrs. Travers. In the end, the Disney parts were watchable, and the Mary Poppins-references were fun, but this isn't one I'd watch again.

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Frozen (2013)

I wanted to like Frozen. I wanted that very much. And I didn't hate the movie or anything. I actually loved the animation and all the icy effects. Olaf was great. But I sometimes wonder if I'll ever love another animated Disney movie the way I love(d) Beauty and the Beast. The silly thing is, many of the problems I had with Frozen (such as characters using modern catchprases rather than acting all old-timey as they friggin ought) are things that also happen in BATB. Then there are the plotholes. One viewing of Frozen, and I found the plotholes terribly obvious. BATB has those, too, but I didn't notice them till my 40th viewing. So that's the difference, I guess. Also there's nostalgia, too, of course. Or maybe I'm just too dang old & jaded.

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The Lego Movie (2014)

The only non-Rifftrax movie I saw in a theater this year was The Lego Movie. I knew nothing about the film going in (well, except, you know... Lego.) I went with my four little cousins and we laughed throughout the film. It was very funny and clever. I've tried to rewatch it since, though, and it doesn't have quite the same effect.

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Dirty Dancing (1987)

I may be the one child of the 80's who had never ever seen this movie until this year. I didn't even know what it was about, save for the fact that it had Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze and they danced, supposedly dirtily, and maybe fell in love or something. So I finally rented it. I thought the first half of the film dragged. When the two leads started dancing together, things got a bit more interesting. I can definitely see the appeal when it comes to Patrick Swayze being all hot and yummy. But as a film, I dunno. Not overly impressed.

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The Giver (2014)

I first read the novel about a decade ago, then again last year -- along with the three other books in the series. I was excited to see the film, even though I knew they'd cast two entertainers/actors I really don't care for (in minor roles, but still.) I was a little nervous to see what changes they would make in the film. That said, I thought it was a good adaptation, although... well... seeing certain things as opposed to reading them can be a bit overwhelming... and certain portions of the movie, though they mirror events in the book, are disturbing. I ended up watching it twice and found myself enjoying it more the second time.

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Amelie (2001)

I avoided this film for ages because I'd heard how quirky it was, and generally I try to avoid excessive amounts of quirky. But I'm glad I finally watched it because, while it does have quirkiness, it's also kind of dark, and it's also really fun to watch. The character of Amelie is a lot more likable than I was expecting her to be. She's no saint, but she's no demon either. The whole movie is in French, which somehow I didn't know. And would you know that's not the first time I've inadvertently rented a movie in French? Roll on, subtitles, roll on.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

I never would've watched this, except my mother insisted I rent it for her. Attack of the British Honored Citizens: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and then some! It was a moderately enjoyable film with multiple storylines that seemed a bit confusing at times. I'm sure a second viewing would clear most of that up.

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Flipped (2010)

This is a cute film directed by Rob Reiner that's kind of Stand By Me meets The Wonder Years. 1950s & 60s period pieces about kids aren't my favorite thing to watch... I'm trying to put my finger on why. I've seen a bunch of them. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm watching a movie about my parents or something. Well, whatever. This is the story about a boy named Bryce who is arguably more stupid than Kevin Arnold; Juli, who is a bit smarter than Winnie Cooper; and their bumpy, silly, teenage relationship. If you're into nostalgic, awkward coming-of-age movies, you'll probably enjoy it.

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Pride & Prejudice (1980)

My unofficial quest to watch every Jane Austen-related movie ever made continues. As far as P&Ps go, while this is nowhere near as good as the Colin Firth version (nothing will ever compare, mind you), it's at least more faithful to the book than the Keira Knightley or the Laurence Olivier versions. However, it also seems low-budget... not surprising as it was a TV movie made in the 70s.  Still, it was fun to see a different adaptation, and I especially enjoyed seeing Judy Parfitt in her portrayal of Lady Catherine.

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Welcome To The Dollhouse (1995)

This was another one I'd heard about for years, and kind of avoided for whatever reason. I really don't know what to think of it, now. It was a good film, and Heather Matarazzo was great. But maybe because of the time period it was set in (early-to-mid 90's) and the behavior of her classmates, it struck a nerve... it felt disturbingly familiar. At the same time, I was shocked by the way the main character acted sometimes. Like, one minute I'd feel sorry for her because her family was terrible and she was bullied by pretty much everyone. And other times, I was like... girl, you're horrible, no wonder no one likes you. Then I felt bad for thinking that.

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Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

I'd been wanting to re-watch this for a while, since I follow Lisa Jakub (Lydia Hillard) on Twitter and she is super cool. (And, you know, Robin Williams, R.I.P.) When I finally sat down to watch it, though, it occurred to me that I don't think I'd actually ever seen the whole movie. Maybe I'd just caught parts of it on TV over the years. Anyway, I finally watched the entire thing, and I found it kind of hard to watch. Daniel Hillard's character tries to be funny, but he is just so unlikable. If I were Sally Field, I'd dump him, too! And the things he does in the film are really weird. Dressing as an old woman would be one thing. But lying, manipulating, having woman-to-woman talks with his ex-wife about really intimate things... and trash talking the Pierce Brosnan character constantly. I can understand why he does it, but it's pretty awful. And it's supposedly funny to throw fruit at his head or put pepper (which he's allergic to) on Pierce's food? Daniel is really sadistic. But he loves his kids sooo much, so it's okay? Hmm. I won't be in a hurry to watch it again.

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Life Of Pi (2012)

I had a hard time with this film, because I love animals, and Life Of Pi isn't always very nice to them. It respects them, sure, okay, but it also shows several of them dying (and implies the deaths of many others.) Animal tragedies, nooo! But IF you can get past the first, oh, thirty minutes of the film without having a massive panic attack due to animal perishment, you can settle in, relax, and rest assured that things will just be less dreary from there on out. Pi is a survival/adventure story with some spirituality stuff overarching. And there's a tiger. And while he never (spoiler alert!) actually eats Pi, you're always kind of wondering if he might.