Here are the movies that came in at #50 – #41 on my complete movie list for 2014. Now we’re starting get to some of the movies that I wouldn’t mind adding to my Blu-Ray collection. 2014 must of been a deep year for movies.
50. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
This entry in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise (even though it’s a “spin-off”) brings life back to a series that should of ended after just one movie. The chemistry and humor from the main characters, Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and Hector (Jorge Diaz), brought a lot of entertainment that I honestly wasn’t expecting. The ending was one of the best of the franchise with its sort-of time travel element but once again it added more questions than it answered.
49. 300: Rise of an Empire
This movie tried so hard to recreate the same vibe its predecessor, ‘300’, contained but it didn’t work. The story wasn’t strong either so that didn’t help. The action, violence and the overall look of the film left me still entertained though. Eva Green was the clear star of the movie. This won’t be the only 2014 film where she steals the show either.
48. Top Five
I can’t even lie, I couldn’t fully enjoy this movie because I was in a theater with some lovely movie goers who were
just in the mood to be loud and talk to other people clear down the row from them. So my judgement is a little cloudy. I did find the movie funny but not as much as it should of been based off all the talented and funny actors that were in it. I will say it is one of the better Chris Rock movies that I have seen but still I was just expecting more.
47. Let’s Be Cops
When the duo of Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson first started pretending to be cops, the movie was filled with nothing but laughter (especially when they became strippers for a bachelorette party) but when the third act hit, the movie started to forget that it was a comedy. The jokes and the movie as a whole hit a rough spot. A funny movie that could have been even better if the rest of the movie was as entertaining as the first half was.
46. Non-Stop
This is one of the better Liam Neeson movies from this resurrection part of his career. I’m usually down for a nice who done it (or who is doing it/who is going to do it) and this movie has it. Neeson was his usual self so there’s really nothing to say about him. I will say that I enjoyed trying to look at every little thing that was happening to see if I could find the clue that would give away who our bomber was going to be. The movie had its flaws but it was still a fun ride…clever right.
45. Lone Survivor
Let me start out by saying yeah I know this movie “technically” came out in 2013 but since it really got out to theaters and to the people in 2014, I’m just going to put it on this list. Now moving on. The shootouts in this movie were lovely to watch (yeah I said it). It also gave a nice insight into the true story that it’s based on (whether the story is 100% true or not). I will say that I was a little upset because I PERSONALLY wanted to see our lone survivor in Mark Wahlberg‘s Marcus Luttrell survive by taking on the Taliban by himself with guns drawn and not by hiding. But I’m clearly looking for a fictional story-line.
44. Bad Words
This was another funny movie that just didn’t meet its funny potential. It was funny throughout but I wanted to see some scenes that were so funny that my stomach started hurting and my glasses were filled with tears but that didn’t happen. I’m a fan of Jason Bateman and he did his usual Jason Bateman here with just more of an “I don’t care, filthy mouth attitude” so I enjoyed his performance. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This was also his directorial debut and I can say that I didn’t see anything that said he should never direct a movie again so that’s good. The comedic chemistry between Bateman and his young costar, Rohan Chand, thankfully was good and helped with the movies humor. If that was bad then this movie would of been a lot lower on this list.
43. A Million Ways to Die in the West
Seth MacFarlane’s second directorial offering didn’t live up to the bar set by his first (‘Ted’) but his brand of humor is
still up my childish alley so I was able to find points of the movie funny and entertaining where others would probably find themselves rolling their eyes and not even making a smirk.
42. The Drop
The build up and the performances by Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini was exceptional. I mean Hardy playing someone who, in my opinion, had aspergers made me forget about him being big bad Bane. The twist at the end wasn’t all that predictable but I expected more to come after it. I was a little let down by the soft ending. And I feel some little details that were placed in the movie seemed like they were going to have a bigger part in the end plot but weren’t fully developed or maybe I just didn’t completely understand parts of the movie. I honestly really feel like the latter could be the case.
41. John Wick
Keanu Reeves finally has a good movie again! I mean his delivery on some of his lines were pretty bad and annoyed the mess out of me but the numerous head shots he made lessened those blows. I found myself laughing a few times because some of the kills were so entertaining to watch (I know how bad that sounds). I wanted a more over-the-top violent ending but what we got was still entertaining. If you want to just have a fun time watching action and violence (with little regard to anything else) then ‘John Wick’ is for you.
My 2014 Complete Movie List: #60 – #51 | My 2014 Complete Movie List: #40 – #31
(Photo Credit: Mihir Fadnavis – http://www.mid-day.com/articles/movie-review-non-stop/15130062; Ali Paige Goldstein/Paramount Pictures; Joe Ruggirello – http://schmoesknow.com/spoiler-alert-a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-major-cameo-revealed/20228/)
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