Anne Hathway Archives - Cinema Forensic

Best of Hollywood 2014 (no foreign language films included in this list).

2014 was one awesome year for film-lovers and thanks to Hollywood for such a balanced dose of entertainment; Thrillers, SciFis, Comedies, Love stories War Dramas, Horror flicks and lots of Biographies.

It’s the time to remember the best performances of this year, the awesome directorial ventures, those brilliant visuals and mesmerizing background scores – the films that touched your heart, amazed you and made you fall in love with Cinema (all over again).

But first a few honorable mentions (films that almost made the list) – Wild, Inherent Vice, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Pride, American Sniper, Calvary, Still Alice, Camp X-Ray, Predestination, Kill the Messenger, Cake and Mr. Turner.

And now the countdown begins.

10. Selma

It was 1965 and Martin Luther King leaded the epic march from Selma to Montgomery (Alabama), a nonviolent protest demanding for the right-to-vote for all black men and women in the country.

(Click for the film review)

Such a powerful film evidently backed by some outstanding performances. A must watch.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6t7vVTxaic

9. Gone Girl

Gone Girl is fast paced film that demands your full attention, a superbly crafted thriller that plunges into the depths of a psychologically twisted marital relationship.

(Click for the film review)

Brilliant performance by Ben Affleck but the real stunner is Rosamund Pike; she proves to be the perfect cast possible for the ‘gone girl’ character.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esGn-xKFZdU

8. Nightcrawler

A dangerously realistic, gritty tale based on the concept of our unconscious satisfaction in watching other people’s loss and tragedy. Thanks to the news channels.

(Click for the film review)

Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) – is he a scavenger or a survivor, a psychopath or a potential businessman, a cold-hearted predator or an insane professional?

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1uP_8VJkDQ

7. The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel is the most stylish comedy I have seen in years.

(Click for the film review)

Wes Anderson’s obsession for perfect production design, bold color schemes, faultless framing and as always the cheeky humor brings out an unique creation. Simply wonderful to watch, probably his best work till date.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fg5iWmQjwk

6. Interstellar

A Sci-Fi starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathway and Jessica Chastain, Interstellar is a film about space and black holes, about dimensions and relativity; and then again it’s also about love and betrayal.

(Click for the film review)

By the acclaimed director Christopher Nolan and undoubtedly one of his best films ever.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSWdZVtXT7E

5. The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything tells the emotional story of Stephen Hawking and his then wife Jane Wilde.

(Click for the film review)

Eddie Redmayne this year won the Oscar (in the Best Actor category) playing Stephen Hawking’s character with extraordinary authenticity and brilliance. A must watch.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Salz7uGp72c

4. Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher is a film that tells the tale of two troubled souls, a multimillionaire and a wrestler, both disturbed and consumed by their own ambition and distorted personal lives.

(Click for the film review)

The film doesn’t fit the mainstream, melodramatic sport-movie pattern but after watching i am sure you will be thankful it didn’t.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8361stZ8n0w

3. Whiplash

The intense story of Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), a 19-year-old aspiring jazz drummer and Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), his brutal school music instructor.

(Click for the film review)

Whiplash is a gritty and uncompromising take on ambition and success – it stretches the boundaries of all previous student-mentor relationship based dramas.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d_jQycdQGo

2. Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and this year’s Oscar winner.

(Click for the film review)

Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone and all others are magical in front of the camera.

The whole film is edited to look like one continuous shot, a tremendous effort and brilliantly executed.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJfLoE6hanc

1. Boyhood

A film so real and shot through such an unreal time-span that it gives you the feel of being a part of the journey with this boy Mason (Ellar Coltrane), who was 7 years old when Richard Linklater started filming and 18 when he finally felt it’s time to wrap up.

(Click for the film review)

Boyhood is something very special, a daring experiment and totally worth it.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys-mbHXyWX4

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch).

+1. The Imitation Game

Based on the life of an unsung war-hero, a genius mathematician and a troubled soul who never got the recognition he deserved – Alan Turing.

(Click for the film review)

Brilliant performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley The imitation game is one of the best biographies made last year – a perfect combination of history and good cinema.

film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5CjKEFb-sM

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My Ratings: 4/5.

Interstellar is the latest by the acclaimed director Christopher Nolan.

Nolan is a genius, the guy who has been entertaining us with a string of amazing films like Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Night, Inception; he is undoubtedly one of the best directors of our times.

And over the years we, the audience have put such immense faith in him that we believe Nolan can never go wrong, he can never make anything less than a masterpiece. Though he tried to prove us wrong a couple of years back by making The Dark Night Rises but we still insist on claiming it as yet another Nolan-classic!

Well, now it’s Interstellar’s turn to take a dip in the Holy waters.

Don’t get me wrong here – honestly I liked Interstellar very much. It’s a great concept (writers Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan) – such level of imagination and so well executed.

A town covered with dirt straight from the pages of John Steinbeck’s famous novel The Grapes Of Wrath, the film starts off growing on the general idea that our beloved planet may not be the permanent residence for us. The earth-resources all used up we need to find a new place, a new planet to survive.

And soon the expedition begins.

The first half of Interstellar is intense and full of adventure and then Matt Damon joins the party and make things even more interesting.

But the final Bollywood-touch of a father-daughter connection that miraculously solves all the mysteries of the universe is well a bit something to chew on.

But after all it’s Nolan and no one dares to complain.

Excellent acting by Mathew McConaughey (Cooper) and especial mention for Mackenzie Foy, a truly talented young actor playing Murph (Cooper’s daughter).

Great musical score by none other than Hans Zimmer and awesome visuals by Hoyte Van Hoytema.

Interstellar is a good film, actually a great film but the tremendous effort to make it the ultimate classic – the best-space film ever existed – even better than Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey or Tarkovsky’s Solaris does make you fully aware of such dimensions like time and gravity and it’s a good thing they exist.

A must see especially for the Sci-Fi lovers. A lot of interesting and weird takes on relativity that will make you think and discuss about the film long after you are out of the cinema hall.

Even I am a Nolan-fan myself but a request to all you fellow film-lovers – please don’t judge a particular film by keeping in mind the past films of the filmmaker. That may bias your judgments a little.

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Best of Hollywood 2014

Interstellar (2014)

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