The Guest (2014) - 4/5 Take an exploitation genre film, add budget to it, add awesome visuals and disguise it as an action thriller. What you get is The Guest. It was an interesting blending of genres, done in a way I haven't seen before. Quite a fun experience. Also, points for an amazing soundtrack.
spoilers. okay, so i've just seen interstellar ... and ... ... i have no fucking idea ... i'd say 7/10, first go. i really feel like the movie went soft on me, and in doing so really pulled a lot of shit out of its own ass in order to do so. i really liked matthew mcconaughey's character, and as much as i wanted him to survive in the end, he shouldn't have. like, when he ejected off with tars, that shit was heavy, and that was his big final exit. i was ready to accept that. but instead they find themselves in a tesseract, and so on and so forth ... it just felt ... i don't know. the soundtrack, the visuals, it was all amazing but i feel like the plot was too far reaching. it's cool but it just felt like it came up short. edit: alright, i'm going to 8/10 ... edit 2: maybe the fact that i am still thinking about this film 7 hours later, am listening to the soundtrack and currently browsing the subreddit is telling me that i could be pushing for a 9/10 here.
Starry Eyes (2014) - 2/5 Kinda disappointed by this. There were some creepy moments but they didn't go all the way with it. The complete gorefest in the third act, albeit gut-wrenchingly well done, felt like a bit too much. I wasn't really scared at any point. It was very reminiscent of Mulholland Dr., Kill List and even a bit of Rosemary's Baby. But Starry Eyes is nowhere near as cerebral as those films. The lead actress did a tremendous job but the rest of the cast kind of blurred into the background.
Underworld and Underworld: Evolution 6 (7?)/10 There is definitely an interesting story here and I love Kate Beckinsale's character, just wish they weren't so campy.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - 2.5 out of 5 The first hour was so unnecessary, slow, and dragged out for the sake of having two parts, as is the "thing" to do now. The second hour, however, got pretty intense and was suspenseful as hell with the most eerie SWAT-ish scenes I've seen since [REC] 2, coupled with chilling ambience in score. Definitely a set-up for the second movie and not a good standalone.
Dumb & Dumber To I really don't feel like stating the reasons why it is shit, so I'm just going to call it shit and leave.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - 6/10 Some very well done (at times very tense) scenes are not enough to carry this obvious build-up to the finale. It's a shame this movie is just that: build-up. I also found Jennifer Lawrence's acting to be a bit... fake at times. Dunno, this movie didn't really click that well. I do like that they take their audience serious and are not shy to show people get shot in the head (just to give one example). That's a plus. Anyways, not a great standalone movie but a nice build-up for what hopefully will be a great finale movie.
The Theory of Everything (2014) - 3.5/5 I'm usually not too big on bio-pics because they tend to oversimplify things and go for broader emotional strokes. This film however did its best to restrain itself in those regards. It balances the story on the human relationships instead of simply hitting career points of Hawking and that works in its favor. Eddie Redmayne was incredible as Hawking and he definitely has a shot at getting an Oscar next year.
Oh I forgot to post in this thread. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1: 3,5/5 While I certainly enjoyed it, it's significantly weaker than the first two movies. It felt like the whole movie was building up to some big finale, but, in the end... it's just a minor moment. Nice set up for Part 2 though. Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
The Guest - 5/10 The third act was just the worst. Totally destroyed the film. It was really good until then. Not a complete waste of time, but I wouldn't recommend. It almost seemed like a parody of all bad action/horror films, but it took itself too seriously for me to think that was really the intent of the writers. Soundtrack was amazing, however.
Except it wasn't until the last 20 minutes. Cabin In The Woods was obviously a parody/homage from the start. So it was easy to accept. This thing wasn't.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014): Once you get over the fact that Mockingjay is split into two (indicating a meandering plot with no real goal for Part 1), this film could hardly have gotten any better. The splitting gives it room to breathe and to peacefully build up to the final chapter. Obviously it's not as good as the first two, but combined with Part 2 (without which it's pointless), I'm sure it will more than live up – having read the book. 7/10
It was. It had elements of 80s gun-laden action, the slick/cool hero etc. I can understand the sudden tonal shift coming off as stark but that's what kinda made it fun for me. - Sunshine (2007) - 4/5 There's a lot to love about this movie. It has great characters who think logically, has some amazing set pieces and set designs, edge of the seat suspense, great costume designs and special effects. Plus its shot brilliantly too. But where the film loses point is in the final act when it switches tone and turns into a sort of haunted house thriller. Tonally that shift felt out of place in an otherwise grounded film.
Nightcrawler (2014) - 5/5 Goddamn! I had huge expectations going in and it delivered on all fronts. Jake knocked it out of the park with his performance. Top 5 of the year material.
Moonrise Kingdom 10/10; Pretty much perfect in every. There's humor in the emotional and emotion in the humor. It was all done extremely tastefully and the timing of was always perfect. Beautifully shot, casted, and written. Can't say enough about it.