Heavy Future: 2014

Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

My Top Favourite Movies of 2014

I saw 44 movies of 2014 and 16 of them were in the theater. I have yet to see Whiplash, Birdman, Inherent Vice, Selma, American Sniper and few others which I missed.

There were some great big budget movies this year, along with many great independent movies too.

My top favourite movies of this year are as follows.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Snowpiercer
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Edge of Tomorrow
5. The Raid 2
6. Boyhood
7. The Lego Movie
8. Interstellar
9. Blue Ruin
10. Locke

Honorable Mention (release date order): The Grand Budapest Hotel, Enemy, Cheap Thrills, Ida, We Are the Best!, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Coherence, The Guest, Gone Girl, Nightcrawler, Big Hero 6.

Two cool mashup videos showcasing scenes from movies of 2014. The second one is little longer but is great and well done.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Big Hero 6

I laughed, I cried and I was wowed by Big Hero 6. Such a fun movie and I liked the cool & colorful designs.

Big Hero 6 is one of the best pro-science movies of 2014. And gazing through San Fransokyo is a delight.

Also digged the music by Henry Jackman and the song Immortals.

I now want figures of all the characters and I have to buy the art book.

Friday, November 07, 2014

Interstellar

Interstellar exceeded my expectations on many levels despite my minor issues with certain plot points. The movie is obviously awe-inspiring with its visuals and I was very happy with the direction of the story and the surprises it offered, along with some emotional moments that had me choked up (no surprise there either). I might watch it again in the theatre next week.

I don't know if Interstellar will become the movie I want it to be, which will inspire the masses about space exploration; maybe no movie can do that for the majority of the population.

But if Interstellar even manages to breathe new life into the conversation about space exploration, if it makes some people ponder about space like they never imagined before, if it makes a new generation of people including the youth look up in the sky and wonder what if...?

Then I am thankful to Christopher Nolan for making Interstellar, as it would have served its purpose beyond just great entertainment.

Sunday, August 03, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy

Loved every aspect of Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie is visually beautiful and colorful, also it's a welcoming change in aesthetics that I hope continues the trend of movies going with bold colors.

Every character of the team is a badass and you end up wanting to see more of them as the movie draws to a close. There was no doubt that Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be hilarious and a fun action packed space adventure movie, but it had so much heart which surprised me the most. Rocket is awesome and he is a big highlight of the movie, but Peter Quill is my absolute favourite.

The movie features a fantastic soundtrack with songs you want to listen to again and again, accompanied by a good exciting score by Tyler Bates.

Though the movie ties into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's a great standalone film even for those who aren't familiar with any of the prior Marvel movies.

Thanks to my friend Shaneez, who ensured that we got to see it in a true IMAX 3D theatre (70 mm) at AMC Universal City Walk during my stay in LA. It was one of my best theatrical movie experiences ever.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a powerful and worthy sequel

One of the biggest strengths of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is its invoking sense of realism which results in an immersive experience.

The visuals effects by Weta Digital in the movie are so great and seamless that one would forget they are CGI apes and early on it pretty much gets taken for granted that they are inhabiting the world.

Leading the charge is Andy Serkis as Caesar. He has many moments of verbal dialogue and sign language (shown with subtitles), but even during scenes where he doesn't even speak a word he is able to display such range of emotions, it's a fine example of his staggering performance. His collaboration with the visual effects team along with the rest of the performance capture team is leaps ahead of the first film.

Michael Giacchino has given the movie an audacious musical score and I look foward to listening to the whole score when it gets released.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a much darker film than Rise of the Planet of the Apes. And it doesn't really have any lighthearted moments. The movie demands your attention and it's gripping till the end as the events unfold.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer is gruesome and unpredictable where the stakes keep rising. Chris Evans gives a solid performance along with a great supporting cast.

The movie isn't necessarily cerebral, yet some of the moments and ideas in it are thought provoking. It's a refreshing science fiction film, jam packed with intense action.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Guest

The Guest premiered at Sundance early in 2014 and I've been really looking forward to it after reading all the positive buzz. The tone of the film being compared to John Carpenter's films and The Terminator got me quite excited. I haven't read anything more about the movie's plot beyond the basic premise.

It's directed by Adam Wingard who directed You're Next, he also directed segments of V/H/S and V/H/S/2.

I am hoping this movie turns out to be this year's Drive, while gaining wide attention and appeal.

Here is part of the review by Matt Goldberg from Collider.com, posted in January 2014.

From 1974 to 1988, director John Carpenter was pretty much unstoppable. His films were scary, funny, strange, and thrilling. Adam Wingard’s The Guest feels like a lost Carpenter film from the director’s golden age. The picture effortlessly moves between a nerve-wracking mystery to a gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it even mixes the two together. While Wingard carries the Carpenter-esque tone by making excellent use of Robby Baumgartner’s cinematography and Stephen Moore’s score, his greatest asset is Dan Stevens’ tremendous lead performance. And even when the picture starts to get away from Wingard, it never ceases to be an entertaining ride.

THE GUEST Acquired by Picturehouse for Fall Release. THE GUEST Stars Dan Stevens
This was posted by Adam Chitwood when the movie got picked up for distribution in March 2014.

The new film from You’re Next director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett will be coming to a theater near you this fall. After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews, Picturehouse has picked up U.S. rights to The Guest for a fall release, marking the studio’s second feature film release after making their debut with last year’s Metallica Through the Never. The Guest stars Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as a soldier who befriends the family of a fallen comrade and becomes a threat to everyone around him when it turns out he may not be who he says he is. I caught the pic at Sundance and it’s a great 80’s throwback that’s kind of like a cross between Halloween and The Terminator. Stevens is excellent in a dark role that is the polar opposite of his Downton Abbey character, and Wingard and Barrett have a ton of fun with the gleefully dark premise.

Steve Weintraub posted the following before posting his interview with the director.

One of my favorite films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was The Guest. Directed and written by the team behind You’re Next (Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, respectively), The Guest is fantastic and as Matt said in his review, it “feels like a lost John Carpenter film from the director’s golden age. The picture effortlessly moves between a nerve-wracking mystery to a gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it even mixes the two together.” Trust me, it’s a film you should be excited to see and I’m sure it’ll be released sometime this year. The Guest stars Dan Stevens (in an amazingly dark turn), Maika Monroe, Leland Orser, Lance Reddick, Chase Williamson, and Brendan Meyer.

Friday, June 06, 2014

Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow is great, so funny and for a movie that repeats itself it's still full of surprises & extremely entertaining.

I am heading out of town for few days and I can't wait to see it again when I return next week :).

Friday, May 23, 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Bryan Singer could probably retire from making X-Men films, cause I don't know if he will be able to top his latest film. Not only is X-Men: Days of Future Past his best film, but it's at par with First Class as the best X-Men film to date.

It doesn't really try to fix the continuity so as to synch with the timelines of all the other films, but at this point it didn't really matter anymore. The movie is entertaining and doesn't have any dull moments, but at the same time it isn't an all out CGI action fest either.

Wolverine is obviously a central character to the story, yet his role didn't take precedence over other characters; in fact he comparatively has lesser big action scenes than the rest, while still binding the narrative with some great emotional resonance along with the rest of the cast..

I was glad to hear John Ottman's X2 theme playing during the opening credits. Lot of great mutant action sequences especially in the future, which are not only very cool but quite brutal as well. Yet, just like First Class what was lacking for me was the rest of the core X-Men team.

After X-Men: Apocalypse, they should definitely consider rebooting the franchise after about 5 years or so.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Godzilla

I enjoyed Godzilla. The movie isn't over the top monster action all the way through, as it has a more grounded and serious approach. There is mayhem and destruction early on but there is lot of tease and anticipation on the monster end, which makes it more effective when Godzilla comes into play.

The more human story elements of the movie might disappoint some viewers, but I think it works and is in line with the original Japanese film. Also really liked Alexandre Desplat's bombastic musical score.

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was fantastic. In midst of all the exhilarating action, mystery and humor, the movie is also infused with emotional moments.

It was such a well crafted story, along with some terrific fight sequences and great visuals. Many of the supporting characters including the villains get their moments to shine.

It's the best Marvel Phase Two film so far and probably my favourite Marvel film right above Avengers. I plan to see it again soon.

Update:

Saw the movie again yesterday (Apr 05) and it was even better during the second time.

And I just can't get enough of the score by Henry Jackman, which is so energetic and at times eerie.

I love the main Captain America theme which runs through the score right from the opening track 'Lemurian Star' and especially in the ending credits 9 mins track titled Captain America.

The Captain America theme almost makes me want to start exercising and working out. Almost.

Friday, January 03, 2014

My 30 Most Anticipated Movies of 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my most anticipated film of 2014, followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Guardians of the Galaxy.

My 30 most anticipated movies of 2014 are listed below in release date order. You can find a bigger list of movies releasing in 2014 on the RPF here.

Click on the release dates to view the trailers/info clips. Some of the images will be updated once the official posters get released.

1. The LEGO Movie