Sunday, January 4, 2015

BEST FILMS OF 2014: #6-4

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s end of the year Top 12 list of my favorite films of 2014. This is Part 3 of 4 and today we’re moving into the second half of the list, kicking it off with films 6-4. So let’s not waste any more time and get back to the list…

The life of one of the most famous men in the world is told in my Number 6 pick, while also highlighting the woman who was there for him at the worst of times.

6. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING


I’ll admit that before seeing this movie, I knew very little about Stephen Hawking and even less about the science that he was known for. Thankfully, the science isn’t the main focus of ‘The Theory of Everything’. Instead, it’s about Hawking’s life as he struggles to deal with the motor neuron disease (similar to ALS) that ends up with him having to be confined to a wheelchair and eventually resulting in him losing the ability to speak after a near-death experience with pneumonia. At the same time, it also focuses on his relationship with his first wife Jane Wilde who, despite the obvious adversities that they would no doubt end up facing together, stuck by him through them all. And while in real life they’re no longer married as they both fell in love with other people, that doesn’t mean that they’re bad people. They’re good people that are just stuck in a s***ty situation on pretty much all accounts and while both of them did put up quite a fight, it’s shown that even they have the limits, like many people would no doubt have in a situation like this. It really is fascinating to see both of their personal journeys in this film as they struggle to deal with the complications of Stephen’s disease resulting in a very uplifting story of keeping hope alive even when life is at its worst.

This film benefits from many things; great direction from James Marsh, great cinematography by Benoit Delhomme, a great score from Johann Johannsson, and of course, the two Oscar-worthy performances by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde. As Hawking, Redmayne completely disappears into the role and the transformation that he undergoes in this movie to play Hawking as his body slowly but surely deteriorates away is phenomenal. And Jones is equally terrific as well, conveying the emotional support but also the strength that Jane had in all of this incredibly well. I do feel that this movie does a good job of balancing out these two roles, even if the film’s primarily about Hawking. Redmayne and Jones complement one another perfectly so that neither of them tries to outdo the other. They are both without a doubt front-runners for Best Actor and Best Actress at this year’s Oscars. There may not be an absolute clear front-runner for either of these awards given all of the great performances from this year but one thing’s for certain. Redmayne and Jones gave two of the best performances of this year here and ultimately that is why ‘The Theory of Everything’ lands the Number 6 spot on my list.

Marvel Studios has yet to make a bad film and this year they pumped out two of their best films to date. The first of those two takes the Number 5 spot on the list…

5. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER


I’ve noted before that ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ was my personal favorite film from Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Previously, Captain America was commonly referred to as being one of the least interesting characters of Marvel’s lineup but the film itself was an incredibly entertaining nod to old-school summer blockbusters with great direction from Joe Johnston, who has proven that his best work comes when he does period pieces, and a great cast highlighted by Chris Evans’ phenomenal turn in the role of Captain America, managing to actually make this allegedly dull character fairly interesting and relatable. So now that Cap has been transplanted from WWII-era America to the present, we come to the sequel, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’. I was admittedly a little hesitant at first, despite the fact that I was a big fan of the previous ‘Captain America’ film, due to the fact that it was to be directed by a brother duo, Anthony and Joe Russo, who at the time were only known for their work in comedy, including numerous episodes of the cult show ‘Community’. But, as it will also be proven later in this list, Marvel Studios has quite the knack for exceeding expectations because the Russo brothers’ work on this film was fantastic and if they can do it, I’m certain the same can happen for Peyton Reed with ‘Ant-Man’ (but that’s another story) and not only that, but I’m now fully confident in the Russo brothers being picked to helm ‘Avengers: Infinity War’.

‘Winter Soldier’ trades in the war atmosphere of ‘First Avenger’ for a modern-day political thriller and this film really benefits from some top-notch writing, with this film in particular making a huge impact on the future of the MCU. Unlike most people, I’m okay with the fact that ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Thor: The Dark World’ didn’t do much to reference other elements of the MCU in the wake of the first ‘Avengers’ but the events of this film really left a mark on the MCU as a whole. How? By revealing that SHIELD had been infiltrated by the long-thought-to-be-eliminated HYDRA and that many members of the organization were HYDRA moles. This really translates well into the political thriller storyline as it emphasizes how Cap is struggling to trust people giving how much has changed since WWII and seeing how many members of SHIELD are secretly a part of the very same organization he fought against in the war, can you blame him? Chris Evans is once again superb in the role, giving us a character that may not necessarily the most scene-stealing character in the MCU but is still very likable and his goodwill attitude can be a nice change of pace from other characters. This film also features the best turns yet for Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson in the roles of Black Widow and Nick Fury, respectively, with Johansson really getting the chance to shine here as she works off of Evans and Jackson getting his most substantial amount of material in an MCU to date in the role of Fury. Back that up with Anthony Mackie, a welcome addition to the MCU in the role of Cap’s ally Falcon, Sebastian Stan in an effective turn as the titular Winter Solider, and an acting legend in Robert Redford as SHIELD senior leader Alexander Pierce, who’s revealed to be the leader of the HYDRA moles, and you got yet another outstanding MCU cast. Simply put, ‘Winter Soldier’ is one of the best MCU films to date and I simply can’t wait for ‘Captain America: Civil War’.

You got one of the best directors in Hollywood working on a film adaptation of one of the most popular thriller novels at the moment. That can only mean great things and sure enough, that’s my Number 4 pick in a nutshell.

4. GONE GIRL


Ignoring ‘Alien 3’, which as we noted before really isn’t his fault as it was a hellish production from start to finish, David Fincher has one of the best track records of any director currently working today, having made such great films as ‘Se7en’, ‘Fight Club’, and ‘The Social Network’. And that great track record continues with his latest film, ‘Gone Girl’, based off of the best-selling book of the same name by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the film’s screenplay. Fincher as a director has been known for giving his film a cynical edge to them and that can very much be said with this film as well. But the screenplay also adds in a lot of biting satire too, parodying the media, through Missi Pyle’s one-sided cable TV host Ellen Abbott, and the public’s general perception of marriage. Because while in this story the couple of Nick and Amy may seem like a ‘perfect married couple’, in reality that’s far from the truth. Plus, this film has one of the best twists of this year for anyone who goes into it having not read the book and thankfully the marketing kept this hidden too. So like I said in my intro to this whole list, if you haven’t seen this movie (and haven’t read the book for that matter), tread lightly because I’m about to talk about that very same big reveal.

The story revolves around Nick Dunne who, on the day of his fifth anniversary, comes home to find that his wife Amy is missing and there are signs of a struggle. The police are called in to investigate and the case makes headlines nationwide due to Amy being the inspiration for her parents’ best-selling book series ‘Amazing Amy’. But as the search continues for more and more day, all eyes turn towards Nick as potentially being the perpetrator of the crime as his idyllic marriage is revealed to have quite a few cracks in it (e.g. he’s having an affair, he was ‘hiding’ the fact (though in reality he didn’t know about it) that Amy was ‘pregnant’, etc…). But it’s then revealed that Amy faked her own kidnapping so that she could frame Nick for it and have him put away. Now I’ll admit that going into this film, I did know that she was the one behind the whole thing (I did skim through the plot synopsis online) and I thought that this would be a case of her being an innocent victim trying to expose her husband as being a ‘monster’… but that’s so not the case here. I did not expect to see how… committed Amy was to all of this. It truly is fascinating to watch the transformation that Amy goes through in this movie and to see her have full control over the entire situation, which she never had before any of this ever happened.

Rosamund Pike is just phenomenal in this movie, perfectly capturing Amy’s drive and commitment to her goal while also initially putting up the act that her marriage to Nick was perfect up until she reveals her true colors. And once the truth is finally revealed, she commands the screen in what is easily one of the best performances of the year. But with that said, equally terrific here is Ben Affleck as Nick. He’s perfectly cast in the role of a man who faces constant scrutiny from the media, something that Affleck has obviously experienced before in the past, and as a result finds himself having to put on an ‘act’ in order to keep the public on his side. The scene where he’s interviewed on TV trying to prove to people that he’s not a murderer is quite frankly the best work acting-wise of Affleck’s career. And the two of them are backed up by a terrific supporting cast, including Neil Patrick Harris as Amy’s ex-flame Desi Collings, Tyler Perry (yes Tyler Perry) as Nick’s lawyer Tanner Bolt, Carrie Coon as Nick’s twin sister Margo, and Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit as the two cops leading the whole investigation.

There’s been a lot of talk about the ending of this film, which in book form was fairly controversial amongst its fans. There were reports that Flynn changed the ending so that newcomers wouldn’t be spoiled but in the end it seems like the ending is exactly the same. And I have to admit… I actually admire the ending… because of how messed up it is. After Amy ends up losing most of her money when she gets robbed by her neighbors at a motel she’s hiding out at, she calls up Desi who hides her in his lake house. When Nick makes his big appearance on TV to prove he’s not a murderer, Amy kills Desi and makes it look so that he was the one who kidnapped her, abused her, and raped her and returns home, therefore proving Nick innocent. But now Nick knows what she did and threatens to leave her and prove to everyone what really happened. But in the end, he finds himself unable to leave when he learns that Amy really is pregnant as he feels responsible for their new child. Again, it’s a totally messed up ending (to quote Tanner, they’re ‘the most fucked up people he’s ever met’) but it also showcases how Amy is now in control of her marriage and Nick is unable to do anything about it. With great direction from David Fincher, a great screenplay full of biting satire, and a great ensemble cast highlighted by Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck, ‘Gone Girl’ is another great film from Fincher and one of the best films of 2014.

Check back tomorrow for the finale where I list my Top 3 Favorite Films of 2014…

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