“Dawn” is an absolutely devastating film which is belied by its unbelievably vivid visual style of its innocent decade. Director Rose McGowan has a keen directorial sense, delivering one truly dark and vicious short film that is made even more gut wrenching thanks to the eerie performances by the entire cast.
Scottie is experiencing a change of life that has him rethinking where he’s going and even worse is the fact that his massive success has nothing to do with drive or ambition. It’s merely dumb luck. Director Chris Esper’s “Please Punish Me” is a funny and charming dramedy about a man looking for a direction in life who finds it in the unlikeliest of places.
Director Richard Linklater is the kind of filmmaker I admire. He takes risks, and is still willing to experiment in a movie world where very few of his contemporaries are anymore. You can make the argument that “Boyhood” is gimmicky, but I prefer to think of it as ambititious and an absolutely excellent endeavor. Director Linklater followed his cast of four for twelve years, filming them through various stages of adolescnnce in order to completely fulfill his tale of growth and coming of age with a boy who blossoms in to adulthood.
It’s great that such a polished film like “Gone Girl” doesn’t opt for a more safe and Hollywood bound climax where we’ve seen a labyrinth of lies unfold in to a new bow. By the time “Gone Girl” has ended, director David Fincher has written his characters in to a corner, and they’re not at any point going to squirm out of it. I loved “Gone Girl” mainly because it’s a murder mystery without the kind of surprises you’d expect. Our characters are amoral and unlikable, and director Fincher has a keen sense of cynicism toward marriage and how it can be a fiasco that devolves in to a play.
Director Samuel B. Ruseell’s short dramedy about trying to fight the rising tide of nature is fantastic. Not just because it plays up its low budget with a purposely low tech aesthetic involving miniature props, and blatant green screen but because of its message.
Director David O. Selznick’s civil war drama epic about an upscale socialite is one of the many cinematic masterpieces I’m not very fond of. Visually, it’s a stunning work of art, with sweeping splashes of bold colors that help to establish the power of the love for the South, and character Scarlet O’Hara’s ability to take from her beloved land to rebuild her empire. But underneath the gloss and brilliance of the cinematography, “Gone with the Wind” really doesn’t garner much of a complex narrative beneath its seams, relying on very unlikable and vapid characters that serves their purpose all too well. While they could really complete a story about the inner turmoil of the wealthy in the war torn South, the characters of Scarlett and Rhett really offer nothing interesting to the narrative, and most of the interesting tidbits are handed over to character Mammy.
I have to admit, when Felix asked me to write up a list of my favorite films of the year, I wasn’t sure I could swing it. I didn’t get to the theater nearly enough and I feel like I missed out on a lot. But I was able to construct a list and I ask everyone to bear in mind, these are only picks based on what I actually was able to see. With that having been said, here we go.