{"id":2438,"date":"2015-02-10T10:09:35","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T18:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com.php5-21.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com\/wordpress\/?p=2438"},"modified":"2015-06-14T00:11:17","modified_gmt":"2015-06-14T07:11:17","slug":"rays-2014-movie-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/rays-2014-movie-awards\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

Best Films of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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  1. Birdman. I don\u2019t even like this director.\u00a0 And the drum solos were too loud and obnoxious.\u00a0 And I\u2019m no fan of Michael Keaton.\u00a0 However, Birdman is filmmaking of the highest order.\u00a0 An extremely smart and funny script, high-octane acting from a magnificent cast, and utterly epic cinematography make this the film of the year.<\/li>\n
  2. Boyhood. Yeah, it\u2019s a gimmick.\u00a0 But maybe the greatest gimmick in the history of fiction film.\u00a0 Writer\/director Richard Linklater actually filmed for a week every year for twelve years<\/em> to create this tapestry of a very normal Texas boy growing up.\u00a0 There\u2019s really no other movie like it.<\/li>\n
  3. The Grand Budapest Hotel. Director Wes Anderson\u2019s latest puppet-show-with-real-actors-movie is probably his best.\u00a0 It\u2019s a deliriously entertaining contraption, full of humor, humanity and sadness.\u00a0 The craftsmanship is of the highest order, particularly in the acting, design, and score.\u00a0 The fact that the production designers got to show us the hotel in three<\/em> different time periods really pushes this one over the top.<\/li>\n
  4. The Congress. It\u2019s not just weird, it\u2019s out of its mind.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I loved it.\u00a0 Robin Wright playing herself and selling her image to be used to make movies is the least<\/em> weird thing that happens in this deliriously inventive fantasy.<\/li>\n
  5. Selma. A smart and disturbing look at the Civil Rights Movement.<\/li>\n
  6. Whiplash. An off-the-chain meditation on the artistic impulse.<\/li>\n
  7. Nightcrawler. One of the better LA movies in a great while, anchored by a stunning lead performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.<\/li>\n
  8. The Drop. Down and dirty crime drama, Brooklyn-style.<\/li>\n
  9. Wild Tales. \u00a0A spectacular collection of hilarious and horrifying revenge stories from Argentina.<\/li>\n
  10. Pride. The most fun you have at a movie about a wrenching coal miners\u2019 strike.<\/li>\n
  11. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The only blockbuster on the list. It gets extra credit for not being a comic book superhero movie.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Honorable Mention: \u00a0Snowpiercer, Calvary<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Lead Actor<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Michael Keaton, Birdman<\/p>\n

    *Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/p>\n

    Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler<\/p>\n

    Tom Hardy, Locke<\/p>\n

    Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything<\/p>\n

    Honorable Mention:\u00a0 David Oyelowo in Selma; Timothy Spall in Mr. Turner; Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game; Irrfan Khan in The Lunchbox, Andy Serkis in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Brendan Gleeson in Calvary;\u00a0 Miles Teller in Whiplash, Tom Hardy in The Drop<\/p>\n

    Lead Actress<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl<\/p>\n

    Jennifer Aniston, Cake<\/p>\n

    *Julianne Moore, Still Alice<\/p>\n

    Honorable Mention:\u00a0 Robin Wright in The Congress<\/p>\n

    Supporting Actress<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Emma Stone, Birdman<\/p>\n

    Amy Ryan, Birdman<\/p>\n

    *Patricia Arquette, Boyhood<\/p>\n

    Lara Dern, Wild<\/p>\n

    Renee Russo, Nightcrawler<\/p>\n

    Honorable Mention:\u00a0 Jillian Bell in 22 Jump Street<\/p>\n

    Supporting Actor<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *J. K. Simmons, Whiplash<\/p>\n

    Matthais Schoenarts, The Drop<\/p>\n

    Ed Norton, Birdman<\/p>\n

    Director<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *Richard Linklater, Boyhood<\/p>\n

    Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, Birdman<\/p>\n

    Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/p>\n

    Damian Chazelle, Whiplash<\/p>\n

    Ava DuVernier, Selma<\/p>\n

    Honorable Mention:\u00a0 Michael R. Roskam for The Drop, \u00a0Dami\u00e1n Szifron for Wild Tales<\/p>\n

    Original Screenplay<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *Birdman (Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, Nicol\u00e1s Giocobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo)<\/p>\n

    Boyhood (Richard Linklater)<\/p>\n

    Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)<\/p>\n

    The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)<\/p>\n

    Dami\u00e1n Szifron, Wild Tales<\/p>\n

    Adapted Screenplay<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)<\/p>\n

    Original Score<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/p>\n

    Production Design<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *Adam Stockhausen, The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/p>\n

    Kevin Thompson, Birdman<\/p>\n

    Kim Jennings and Elizabeth Keenan, Selma<\/p>\n

    Cinematography<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Robert Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/p>\n

    *Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman<\/p>\n

    Robert Elswit, Nightcrawler<\/p>\n

    Animated Feature<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    *Song of the Sea<\/p>\n

    Documentary Feature<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Particle Fever<\/p>\n

    Elaine Stritch:\u00a0 Shoot Me<\/p>\n

    *Finding Vivian Maier<\/p>\n

    Jodorovsky\u2019s Dune<\/p>\n

    Citizen Four<\/p>\n

    The Galapogos Affair<\/p>\n

    Special Mention for Ensemble Acting Excellence<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Pride<\/p>\n

    Best Guilty Pleasure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The Guest<\/p>\n

    Can We Please See More of\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    India.\u00a0 I love movies set, or even partially set, in India.\u00a0 I may never visit there, but I really really enjoy the country from a distance.\u00a0 Thank you, The Lunchbox and Million Dollar Arm.<\/p>\n

    Kim Dickens.\u00a0 Gone Girl reminded me how much I always enjoy her fierce on-screen presence.\u00a0 She needs to be in more movies.<\/p>\n

    Lake Bell.\u00a0 I just really love her.\u00a0 She needs more good parts.\u00a0 She made Million Dollar Arm better.<\/p>\n

    Corey Stoll.\u00a0 Just cast him in everything already.<\/p>\n

    Jillian Bell.\u00a0 She KILLED in 22 Jump Street, and I\u2019m trying to not hold Inherent Vice against her.<\/p>\n

    The charismatic Matthias Schoenarts!<\/p>\n

    The dependable John Ortiz, one of those inspired character actors who make everything they are in better.<\/p>\n

    Great Lines<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \u201cThey never see you coming, do you Bob?\u201d\u00a0 A chilling moment of revelation delivered by John Ortiz\u2019s Detective Torres near the end of The Drop<\/p>\n

    Things get real in Birdman:\u00a0 Lesley: \u201cI wish I had more self-respect.\u201d Laura: \u201cYou\u2019re an actress.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Pretty much everything Jillian Bell said in 22 Jump Street.<\/p>\n

    Funniest Movie of 2014<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    22 Jump Street<\/p>\n

    Reasonably Entertaining\u2026 Won\u2019t Kill You To See<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Dear White People<\/p>\n

    Guardians of the Galaxy<\/p>\n

    The Lego Movie<\/p>\n

    Edge of Tomorrow<\/p>\n

    Muppets Most Wanted<\/p>\n

    Million Dollar Arm<\/p>\n

    Fury<\/p>\n

    Non-Stop<\/p>\n

    A Most Wanted Man<\/p>\n

    Neighbors<\/p>\n

    The Imitation Game<\/p>\n

    The Theory of Everything<\/p>\n

    Cake<\/p>\n

    Tracks<\/p>\n

    Night Moves<\/p>\n

    Life Itself<\/p>\n

    The Trip to Italy<\/p>\n

    The Skeleton Twins<\/p>\n

    The Two Faces of January<\/p>\n

    Into the Woods<\/p>\n

    The Homesman<\/p>\n

    Exemplary\u00a0Practitioners of the \u201cRay and Tayler Rule\u201d (getting in shape when you get cast)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy<\/p>\n

    Zac Efron in Neighbors<\/p>\n

    Most Interesting Presence in Movies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Tilda Swinton, for the umpteenth year in a row.<\/p>\n

    All Movies Are Fiction.\u00a0 Right?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    I normally don\u2019t get that upset when \u201cbased on a true story\u201d movies blur the facts for dramatic purposes.\u00a0 But in the case of American Sniper, Clint Eastwood showed us a puzzlingly whitewashed portrait of a very complicated real life dude.\u00a0 There\u2019s an interesting film to be made about Chris Kyle, to be sure, but American Sniper ain\u2019t it.<\/p>\n

    Further Proof that Tom Cruise Should Make a Science Fiction Movie Every Couple of Years<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Edge of Tomorrow<\/p>\n

    Most Fun Bad Movie of the Year<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Into the Storm.\u00a0 Yeah tornado porn!!<\/p>\n

    Excellent Super-Weird Movies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The One I Love<\/p>\n

    The Congress<\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    Dumbest Casting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Tim Roth as George Wallace in Selma<\/p>\n

    Overrated Oscar Bait<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The Imitation Game<\/p>\n

    American Sniper<\/p>\n

    The Theory of Everything<\/p>\n

    Worst Title of the Year<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The Imitation Game.\u00a0 Alan Turing is famous for three accomplishments:\u00a0 1) Helping to crack the Enigma Code, 2) helping to invent the computer, and 3) developing the Turing Test for artificial intelligence.\u00a0 The film is about the first thing, but is named for the third thing.\u00a0 That\u2019s just dumb and obtuse.<\/p>\n

    Pretty Boring<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    In Secret<\/p>\n

    Ernest and Celestine<\/p>\n

    Malificent<\/p>\n

    Jodie Foster Award for Worst Lead Performance<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher.\u00a0 A prosthetic nose and a flat, inflectionless voice is not how the acting thing is done.\u00a0 Extra credit for Carrell because of all the bewildering praise his performance has garnered.\u00a0 So he was not only Jodie-Foster-Bad, but he fooled millions into thinking he was actually good.<\/p>\n

    The Worst Films of 2014<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Love is Strange.\u00a0 No, love is boring.\u00a0 Really, really boring.\u00a0 And badly edited and written.\u00a0 This is the second film I\u2019ve seen from director Ira Sachs.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s time to really consider a Federal Constitutional Amendment to keep him from making any further films.<\/p>\n

    Stranger By The Lake:\u00a0 If being gay was a choice, this movie would inspire me make a different choice.<\/p>\n

    Godzilla:\u00a0 Giant monster porn is so, so, so uninvolving.\u00a0 It it weren\u2019t for man-candy Aaron Taylor-Johnson and his shoulders, I would have very likely swallowed my tongue long before the end credits.<\/p>\n

    Cold in July:\u00a0 A really flimsy thriller.<\/p>\n

    Inherent Vice:\u00a0 Further proof, as if any was needed, that director Paul Thomas Anderson loathes the audience.<\/p>\n

    Zero Thereom:\u00a0 Further proof, as if any were needed, that it\u2019s time for Terry Gilliam to find a new line of work.<\/p>\n

    *Foxcatcher:\u00a0 A stunningly boring, pointless movie full of long, tedious scenes that go nowhere.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The Farewells of 2014<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Robin Williams<\/p>\n

    Philip Seymour Hoffman<\/p>\n

    Mike Nichols<\/p>\n

    Lauren Bacall<\/p>\n

    Richard Attenborough<\/p>\n

    Jan Hooks<\/p>\n

    Harold Ramis<\/p>\n

    Sid Caesar<\/p>\n

    Shirley Temple<\/p>\n

    Mickey Rooney<\/p>\n

    Bob Hoskins<\/p>\n

    Joan Rivers<\/p>\n

    Ann B. Davis<\/p>\n

    Ruby Dee<\/p>\n

    Eli Wallach<\/p>\n

    Elaine Stritch<\/p>\n

    James Garner<\/p>\n

    Richard Kiel<\/p>\n

    Polly Bergen<\/p>\n

    Marian Seldes<\/p>\n

    Edward Hermann<\/p>\n

    Elizabeth Pena<\/p>\n

    Luise Rainer<\/p>\n

    James Rebhorn<\/p>\n

    Phyllis Frelich<\/p>\n

    Juanita Moore<\/p>\n

    Carmen Zapata<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Please let me know what you think!<\/h3>\n

    Average Rating: 4.7<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 264<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

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