Ranking the Movies of 2014: #s 55-48
The Manifesto is ranking every movie we saw in 2014. If you missed it, here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Nos. 92-79 (Tiers 12 and 11)
Nos. 78-71 (Tier 10)
Nos. 70-64 (Tier 9)
Nos. 63-56 (Tier 8)
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Ranking the Movies of 2014: #s 63-56
The Manifesto is ranking every movie we saw in 2014. If you missed it, here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Nos. 92-79 (Tiers 12 and 11)
Nos. 78-71 (Tier 10)
Nos. 70-64 (Tier 9)
Ranking the Movies of 2014: #s 70-64
The Manifesto is ranking every movie we saw in 2014. If you missed it, here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Nos. 92-79 (Tiers 12 and 11)
Nos. 78-71 (Tier 10)
Tier 9: Showing Promise, Lacking Execution
70. Obvious Child (directed by Gillian Robespierre, 88% Rotten Tomatoes, 76 Metacritic). Jenny Slate is a charming actress, and it’s good to see her finally get a showcase. And I admire a movie in which a woman chooses to obtain an abortion without depicting that choice as a traumatizing, life-altering event. The problem with Obvious Child, aside from its boilerplate romantic-comedy beats (The Office‘s Jake Lacy is a dud as Slate’s love interest), is that it isn’t particularly funny. Slate’s standup bits feel overworked, and with the exception of her close friendship with a fellow starving artist (the wonderful Gabby Hoffmann), most of the movie’s interpersonal dynamics ring false. Hell, the funniest moment in the movie is a fart joke. Nothing against fart jokes, but Slate deserves better.
Ranking the Movies of 2014: #s 78-71
The Manifesto is ranking every movie we saw in 2014. If you missed it, here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Tier 10: Second-Rate Sequels, and Other Disappointments
78. Muppets Most Wanted (directed by James Bobin, 79% Rotten Tomatoes, 61 Metacritic). I loved the first Muppets movie, and the general formula—sly meta gags, ironic cameos, enjoyable songs—remains in place the second time around. But this one just doesn’t click. The story is pitiful, which wouldn’t matter if the movie were funny, but too many of the jokes land with thuds, and the songs, while functional, never spark. Ty Burrell steals the show as an epically lazy French detective, but he’s the only memorable character. The Muppets gleefully recalled the wide-eyed wonder of childhood. Muppets Most Wanted just made me feel old.
Ranking 2014’s Movies: #s 92-79
According to the calendar, 2014 is over, but the Manifesto tends to operate on its own time. Ideally, this would be the point where we’d unveil our top 10 list, highlighting the very best that the prior year in cinema had to offer. The problem, however, is that 2014 hasn’t really ended yet, at least not in moviegoing terms. There are still a number of high-profile releases that technically came out last month (making them eligible for the upcoming Oscars) but that have yet to screen near me, including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, Ava DuVernay’s Selma, Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, and J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year. Given that these movies are all receiving considerable acclaim, it would be premature for me to present a finalized top 10 list without giving them a chance. So instead, I’m going to present a list of… everything else.
What follows is a ranked list, in ascending order of quality, of every 2014 theatrical release I’ve seen. I need not remind you that this exercise is profoundly ludicrous. Certainly, some movies are better than others, but just as certainly, attempting to slot different works of art into an inflexible hierarchy is absurd. But it does provide me an opportunity to go on record with my thoughts on all of the movies I saw last year, and unlike the Manifesto’s foolhardy Review of 2013, it allows me to do so in a matter of days rather than months. Just remember that these rankings are highly amorphous, and that if I re-made this list a week from now, the specific order would be highly jumbled, even if the general shape remained the same.