Well, it is about to call time on 2014 here in the greater New York area, and I have decided to record some of my thoughts on 2014 in cinema.
As I mentioned to a friend earlier in the week, if I were asked if it was a spectacular year, I would probably say not; but let’s be honest – “golden” years are golden for a reason. That said, I do think that there were some interesting films that only time will tell. Here are some highlights (for me):
My luv for documentaries continues to hold strong.
Some top picks for me include: Keep on Keepin’ On, When the Garden Was Eden, Life Itself, Fed Up. It has been said before, but there is some really interesting stuff being done in the world of documentary currently and I know I have only touched the surface.
Probably over this genre, I guess …
Hopefully, I have some news to report on the comic book movie reviewing front in 2015, but as far as 2014 is concerned, despite some overall good viewing experiences (see Guardians of the Galaxy), I do think I am a bit fatigued.
Oops! I did not review this one, but I meant to …
The One I Love 
Maybe a breakout year for Gugu Mbatha-Raw? I sure hope so.
From the Regency era (Belle) to modern times (Beyond the Lights), Ms. Raw has put her versatility as a performer on full display. I hope this leads to bigger and better things.
Real life stories with awards-worthy performances
These are recent outings for me but I would like to point out a couple of noteworthy performances I saw in the past couple of months. Major props to Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game and David Oyelowo for his performance as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma (review coming soon I PROMISE).
Boyhood: Really Good Film? Of course! Masterpiece? I will reserve comment on that front.
The novelty, or rather the director’s commitment to completing the project are definitely to be commended (recall my very positive review). Time will tell of Boyhood’s long-term staying power, especially in the mind of the general movie-going audience.
Favorite Film of the Year?
All said and done, I do not think I can pin point it to a specific film. There is not one film that, if asked, I would say was bar-none the absolute best the year has to offer. In retrospect that could be a good thing or a bad thing, I suppose. That said, in addition to the aforementioned, here are some other films of note that I did enjoy:
Before I go …
Lastly, shout out to the vocal (and non-vocal) readers that have taken time to land in this space and hang out with me and my sporadic cinematic flights of fancy.
That’s all folks! Here’s looking ahead to 2015!
Happy New Year, Iba 🙂
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