36. The Cobbler
I love Thomas McCarthy. I love The Station Agent, I love The Visitor, I love Win Win. I even greatly enjoyed his acting role on the final season of The Wire. So why is this at 35 on the list? Because this film has inexplicably been panned by critics. The Station Agent has a 95% rating, The Visitor has an 89% rating, Win Win has a 94% rating, The Cobbler has a 0% rating. I don't know what went so wrong, but this film is getting panned. The Cobbler stars Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi and tells the story of a shoe store worker who stumbles upon a magical heirloom that allows him to step into the lives of his customers and see the world in a new way. I'm still curious regardless due to McCarthy's involvement. It has a 0% rating on Rotten tomatoes based on 7 reviews with an average rating of 3.2/10.
35. Suite Francaise
Based on the novel, Suite Francaise stars Michelle Williams as a French woman living in Nazi-occupied France during WWII as she falls in love with a German soldier. I am not familiar with the book but Michelle Williams is one of my favorite actresses and easily one of the best under 40.
34. Men, Women, and Children
The newest film from Jason Reitman, who has arguably been in a slump (Young Adult and Labor Day lacked the acclaim of his earlier films). His newest film has the vague plot outline of being about sexual frustrations teenagers and adults face in modern society. The cast includes Rosemarie Dewitt, Jennifer Garner, Dean Norris, Judy Greer, and Adam Sandler. It currently has a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.9/10.
35. Suite Francaise
34. Men, Women, and Children
33. American Sniper
Like Reitman, it's been argued that Clint Eastwood has been in a slump. It's typically said that either Letters from Iwo Jima or Gran Torino was his last masterpiece and Invictus was his last good movie. His last three films, Hereafter, J. Edgar, and Jersey Boys all received mixed reviews. It's hard to know if American Sniper will break that slump, but I hope so. It's the true story of Navy Seal Chris Kyle who had 160 confirmed kills and was murdered last year in Texas, allegedly by a marine he knew. Bradley Cooper will be playing Kyle and has bulked up quite a bit for the role, but major details about the film are still unclear.
32. While We're Young
While We're Young is the new film from Noah Baumbach (The Squid and The whale, Frances Ha, Greenberg). It stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle aged couple who befriend a younger couple (Amanda Seyfried and Adam Driver). Baumbach has done an amazing job in the past at bringing three-dimensional characters to life and all accounts say this is no different. It currently has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 8/10.
31. Exodus: Gods and Kings
Like Reitman, it's been argued that Clint Eastwood has been in a slump. It's typically said that either Letters from Iwo Jima or Gran Torino was his last masterpiece and Invictus was his last good movie. His last three films, Hereafter, J. Edgar, and Jersey Boys all received mixed reviews. It's hard to know if American Sniper will break that slump, but I hope so. It's the true story of Navy Seal Chris Kyle who had 160 confirmed kills and was murdered last year in Texas, allegedly by a marine he knew. Bradley Cooper will be playing Kyle and has bulked up quite a bit for the role, but major details about the film are still unclear.
32. While We're Young
31. Exodus: Gods and Kings
Many argue that Ridley Scott has been in a slump lately. Indeed, The Counselor was critically panned and while Prometheus received fairly positive reviews, there was still a strong sense of divisiveness and not the acclaim the man once had. Body of Lies and Robin Hood also received mixed reviews. Exodus is the second biblical film released in 2014, the first being Noah, which was positively received by critics but received a much more mixed reception by audiences. Christian Bale stars as Moses. The rest of the cast includes the underrated Joel Edgerton, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, John Tuturro, Ben Kingsley, and the underrated Ben Mendelsohn. It's hard to know if this'll be a return to form for Scott or not but I sure do hope so.
30. Selma
Selma is about the Selma to Montgomery marches during the civil rights movement and features several key historical figures with a great cast including David Oyelowo (Martin Luther King Jr.), Tom Wilkinson (Lyndon B. Johnson), Tim Roth (George Wallace), Oprah Winfrey (Annie Lee Cooper), and Cuba Gooding Jr. (Fred Gray) among others.
Update: While I don't care for the rap music in the trailer, the film has been immensely acclaimed and I'd probably move it higher up on the list if I wasn't so lazy.
Update: While I don't care for the rap music in the trailer, the film has been immensely acclaimed and I'd probably move it higher up on the list if I wasn't so lazy.
29. The Gambler
A remake of the 1974 James Caan film, Mark Wahlberg stars as a gambling professor who runs afoul of gangsters. He reportedly lost 60 pounds for the role. William Monahan (The Departed) wrote the screenplay while Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of The Apes) directs.
Rob Marshall (Chicago) directs Into The Woods, a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales in a musical format that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel-all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them. The cast includes Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt.
27. This is where I leave you
Shawn Levy isn't exactly a great director but wow, what a cast. This is Where I Leave You tells the story of a Jewish-American family sitting shiva following the death of the family patriarch. It stars Jason Bateman, Tiny Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, Dax Shepard, Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Spencer, Connie Britton, Kathryn Hahn, and Ben Schwarz. Like I said, quite a cast. It's also Shawn Levy's first r-rated film, so I'm cautiously optimistic to see how he handles it. The film currently has a 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.5/10 based on 12 reviews.
26. The Judge
The Judge stars Robert Downey Jr. as a lawyer who must defend his father, a judge, on a murder charge. Vera Farmiga and Billy Bob Thorton co-star. Reviews have been mixed but I'm very impressed by the cast. It currently has a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 reviews and an average rating of 4.8/10.
25. Trash
Stephen Daldry's Trash tells the story of three boys who find themselves on the run from a brutal police force after finding a leather bag while looking through the trash. It co-stars Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen.
24. Fury
David Ayer is best known for his police and crime dramas, so I'm very curious to see how he handles a World War II drama. Fury stars Brad Pitt, Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena, Logan Lehrman and Shia Labeouf as a five-man tank crew in the final days of World War II. WWII dramas aren't new, but tank-focused ones are so I'm curious and optimistic about how this'll turn out.
23. Map to the Stars
22. Pawn Sacrifice
21. Tusk
Tusk is the new film by Kevin Smith and continues his path towards darker material after becoming best known for his raunchy comedies. Tusk stars Justin Long as a podcaster who goes to Canada to interview this...Canadian guy (Michael Parks). Basically put, the guy wants to turn him into a human walrus. Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) co-stars and there's even a big A-lister who's name I won't reveal because...surprises. Reviews have been mixed. It currently has a 42% rating based on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.5/10 based on 89 reviews.
20. The Theory of Everything
19. Wild
18. Mr. Turner
17. Unbroken
16. Suffragette
It's kinda surprising that there aren't more movies about this. I mean there's Iron Jawed Angels and that's basically it. Suffragette is about the women's suffrage movement in Great Britain. It stars Meryl Streep, Helena Bonham Carter, Carey Mulligan, and Brendan Gleeson. The historical topic is the type that the Academy Awards are usually attracted to, so if the film ends up successful, it's likely that Oscar buzz could be headed this way.
15. Rosewater
The much hyped directorial debut of Jon Stewart, Rosewater stars Gael Garcia Bernal as real life Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was detained in Iran for five months after trying to cover the country's elections in 2009. It currently has a 90% rating on Rotten tomatoes with an average rating of 7.1/10. So far lots of critics seem to be saying that it's good, not great. Indeed, the trailer felt a bit overly sentimental for my tastes, but I'm still intrigued.
14. Whiplash
Whiplash won the top audience and grand jury awards in the U.S. dramatic competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It stars Miles Teller as a struggling jazz drummer and J.K. Simmons as the ruthless conductor training him. It currently holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 reviews with an average rating of 8/10. The two lead actors have been getting a fair amount of Oscar buzz. I haven't actually watched the trailer for this because I've heard that it's spoilerly and misleading, but it's here if you wanna see it.
Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy star in this drama about a couple trying to reclaim their failing love life. No relation to the Beatles song. The film is actually three films: Him, Her, and Them. It sounds incredibly ambitious and complicated and I can't wait to see it. It currently has a 71% rating on Rotten tomatoes based on 14 reviews with an average rating of 6.4/10.
12. Mojave
Mojave is written and directed by William Monahan who wrote the Academy Award winning screenplay for The Departed, one of my favorite movies of all time. The plot details remain vague but what's known is that it follows a near-suicidal artist (Garrett Hedlund) who escapes to the desert only to encounter his doppelganger-like antagonist, a homicidal drifter (Oscar Isaac). Mark Wahlberg and Walton Goggins co-star.
11. Big Eyes
I really love Amy Adams, so it's quite disappointing that she hasn't won an Oscar yet after five nominations. It's also disappointing that she has had very few lead roles. In Big Eyes, she plays real-life painter Margaret Keane who's beloved paintings were credited to her husband (Christoph Waltz). And yes, this is a Tim Burton movie without any Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter. It'll be interesting to see how Tim Burton tackles what appears to be a straight drama. Jason Schwartzman co-stars.
10. A Most Violent Year
Directed by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), A Most Violent Year stars Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), and Albert Brooks (Drive). Set in New York City in 1981 (statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history), the film tells the story of an immigrant and his family as they try to make a living among the rampant violence, decay, and corruption that surrounds them. The director has proven himself twice already and the cast is terrific. Very excited for this one.
9. Interstellar
Perhaps it's just the music subtly manipulating me, but wow that trailer gives me feels. Interstellar is the newest Christopher Nolan film and seems to be continuing the McConaissance. It's about scientists traveling through a wormhole.
8. Kill the Messenger
I love Jeremy Renner. I think he's a phenomenal dramatic actor and I think his performance in The Hurt Locker is one of the best dramatic performances ever. I think he perfectly showed his potential as a dramatic leading man which makes it all the more disappointing that he hasn't had a leading role in a drama since (Of his next seven movies, 4 are action films, 3 are dramas where he has supporting roles). So I'm really excited to see him play the lead role in a drama again. I don't get why it took five years, but I'm glad it's happening. Renner plays Gary Webb, a journalist who attempts to expose the CIA's role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. The rest of the phenomenal cast includes Ray Liotta, Michael Sheen, Michael K. Williams (The Wire), Barry Pepper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Andy Garcia, Oliver Platt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Robert Patrick, Yul Vazquez...yeah, it's got a lot of people.
7. The Drop
It's still hard to accept that James Gandolfini is gone but at least it looks like he'll be going out on a high note. The Drop is a crime drama written by Dennis Lehane starring Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, and Noomi Rapace. Hardy and Gandolfini play Brooklyn bartenders who hide dirty money for criminals. Tom Hardy is another favorite of mine so I'm very eager to watch this one. It currently has a 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.4/10 based off of 13 reviews.
Update: The film is excellent. Amazing performances all around.
Update: The film is excellent. Amazing performances all around.
6. Nightcrawler
I think Jake Gyllenhaal has been on a real roll lately, although 2010 was arguably the only time when he arguably was in a slump. But with Source Code, Prisoners, End of Watch, and Enemy, he's certainly been reminding a lot of people just how talented he really is. His newest film has him playing an apparently sociopathic LA crime journalist. It currently has a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews with an average rating of 8.6/10. Much praise has gone towards Gyllenhaal's dedicated performance. He's long overdue for another Oscar nomination, especially after his work in Zodiac and Prisoners. We'll see.
5. Inherent Vice
Paul Thomas Anderson remains one of my favorite directors and after his work with Joaquin Phoenix in The Master, I'm very excited to see them work together again. Set in the 1970s, the film tells the story of a private Detective searching for his missing ex-girlfriend as he encounters "a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang," It's that trippy, complicated style that I love from PTA. Should be terrific.
4. The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the famous mathematician and cryptologist who helped the British government crack the German Enigma Code during World War II. His life was ruined after he was prosecuted for his homosexuality. Much praise has been given to Benedict Cumberbatch's lead performance and the film currently has an 82%
3. Birdman
Birdman sounds like a film designed for Michael Keaton. Keaton (his first lead role in five years) plays a washed up actor once famous for playing a superhero as he tries to mount a broadway play. The trailer makes it quite clear that the film will be heavily surrealistic in nature which makes me even more intrigued. Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Biutiful) directs the film which is said to be edited to look like it's all done in one take. It co-stars Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zack Galifinakis, and Amy Ryan. It currently has a 94% on Rotten tomatoes based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10. Michael Keaton looks to be an early Oscar contender.
2. Gone Girl
I've repeatedly called David Fincher my favorite contemporary director. Fight Club is my favorite movie of all time. I'm just as excited for his 10th movie, Gone Girl, as any of his other films. The film stars Ben Affleck as a man searching for his disappeared wife. As it becomes a media sensation, people soon begin to suspect that he's not completely innocent. It co-stars Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. The decision to case Harris and Perry is a very risky move so I'm curious to see how it will pay off. I trust Harris but I'm more hesitant about Perry. Regardless, I'm hoping for another classic from David Fincher, who's always managed to wow me. It is set to be released on October 3rd and has no reviews yet.
1. Foxcatcher
I posted about this last year but then the date got pushed back to 2014. Well, it looks like it's finally happening this year and I couldn't be more excited. Foxcatcher stars Steve Carrell in what looks like an Oscar worthy turn as John du Pont, a mentally ill multimillionaire ornithologist, conchologist, coach and sports enthusiast. Mark Ruffalo plays Du Pont's friend Dave Schultz, who would be murdered by him while Channing Tatum plays Dave's brother and a protege of Du Pont. Directed by Academy Award Nominee Bennett Miller (Moneyball, Capote), Foxcatcher has all the makings of a classic. The film currently has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes based off of 23 reviews and an average rating of 8.6/10. Miller and the three stars are getting a lot of Oscar buzz. It is set to be released on November 14th.
