Feb. 22 is Hollywood’s big night. The Oscars will be handed out to the best and brightest in all categories. Pundits everywhere are speculating and commiserating on who will or who should win in the various categories.
Here at the Sun Day News we will be taking a slightly different approach in our assessment of the world of film for 2014. The primary reason for that is your correspondent only sees about thirty five films a year, the critics in the main-stream media well over 100. As a result, we may miss some of the good movies but do spend more time in the sunshine, which has to be worth something! So, my comments will be limited to the movies I have seen most but not all have been reviewed in my column.
Category one: My five favorite films, Oscar worthy or not, in no particular order. 1. Chef, great script, great acting, should garner some nominations. An incredible look at life inside and out of the kitchen. 2. Jersey Boys, adapted from the award winning Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The music is sensational, the story outstanding. 3. The One Hundred Foot Journey, an exceptional look at a misplaced family from India who proves if you put your mind to something and work hard, you will succeed. Not only is it a great film, but one of the few that is profanity free. 4. Godzilla, the special effects “ride of the year” and how amazing when the hero who saves the world is revealed. Also profanity free. 5. The Grand Budapest Hotel, a quirky but highly entertaining and colorful look at a fictitious luxury hotel, in a fictitious country in the 1930s. Everyone behind and in this movie had a “screw loose” somewhere, resulting in a delightful spoof.
Category two: Biggest disappointments, well earned. 1. Noah, a mostly non-scriptural look at the Biblical story, featuring a crazed Noah, distortions, and uncalled for violence. 2. Lucy, a story line that is too improbable, the worst car chase in history, and a bunch of lousy performances. 3. Interstellar, there were some good moments, but it did not live up to the hype and was far too long.
Category three: Worst movies of the year, hands down. 1. Snowpiercer, never heard of it? Now you know why. 2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Apes who talk and fire machine guns while riding horses, give me a break! Throw in some of the worst acting of the year, and you get the picture.
Category Four: My favorite performances of the year. Once again in no particular order. 1. RalphFiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2. Jon Favreau, Chef, 3. Robert Duvall, The Judge, 4. JohnLloyd Young, Jersey Boys, 5. Emma Stone, Birdman, 6.Jeremy Irvine, The Railway Man, 7. EthanHawke, Boyhood, 8. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood, 8. Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl, 9. Ed Norton, Birdman, 10. Bill Murray, St. Vincent.
Now, I’d like to hear from you. What are some of your favorite movies or performances, agree or disagree? E-mail me at the address below, and we’ll talk about the results of your input in a future column.
Questions or comments: tsansom2002@gmail.com.
