Guest blogger Spencer Blohm takes a look back on 2014 ...
With awards season now in full bloom, the top movies of 2014 are being recognized for their excellence. Obviously, not every movie reaches or is worthy of such lofty levels of praise. However, some quality films flew under the radar, either from critics or audiences, due to a variety of reasons. Here are five movies that make our list:
Subtitled, “Them,” there’s a Beatles hook to the title, but the subject matter is anything but uplifting. The marriage of Eleanor Rigby (so named because the character’s parents were Fab Four fans) falls apart following the death of her child, with her estranged husband trying to salvage the pair’s union. Starring Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain (with Oscar winner William Hurt playing her father), the film’s history is cause for confusion: an edited version of two films, it was originally told each from the perspective of husband and wife. The original did well at Cannes, but its length required an edit into a few different versions of the film. That decision resulted in some questionable (as far as critics were concerned) choices, while the downbeat subject matter likely helped it get lost in the shuffle when it came to audiences.
A Woody Allen-directed film is usually worthy of attention, but this romantic comedy tell the tale of a 1920’s magician who attempts to expose an alleged medium, but instead falls in love with her, came up short. Starring Oscar winner Colin Firth and Emma Stone, the film has the usually solid Allen script, but its release in summer may have caused it to be overlooked by the average moviegoer. Plus, being a period piece, there’s only a limited market for fans of that genre.
This film is another romantic comedy that involves a woman whose one-night stand results in a pregnancy. Having recently lost her job, she chooses to have an abortion, with the only available date on Valentine’s Day. The film tackles the topic in a straight faced, “this is just something I have to do” kind of way. There’s no soul searching, no religious or spiritual epiphanies, it just acknowledges the reality and goes with it. In the end she has the procedure and the movie has a happy ending, well as happy of an ending as a film that’s about abortion can have. The film stars one-time Saturday Night Live performer (and creator of the beloved Marcel the Shell) Jenny Slate, whose familiarity with the general public largely stems from a gaffe on her first appearance on the show. That limited recognition and more likely, the casual approach of the always hot-button issue of abortion likely limited the possibility of wider release in theaters, with most of it’s viewers coming from it’s exclusive VOD release on DirecTV.
Derived from a short story written by the movie’s star James Franco, this film is directed by Gia Coppola, the buzz worthy granddaughter of Oscar winning director Francis Ford Coppola and niece of indie Queen Sofia Coppola. It tells the story of bored California youths that indulge in sex and drugs out of either boredom or more reckless urges. One of those youths, Emma Roberts (niece of Julia) spends much of the film flirting with her school’s soccer coach (played by Franco.) The low budget nature of the film limited the opportunity for wider release, especially for the intended market. Despite some of the current ick factor surrounding Franco, the film shows promise for Coppola as another talented filmmaker in the Coppola line.
A science fiction film that stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien who assumes the appearance of a dead woman and lures Scottish hitchhikers into dangerous situations. The film is an adaptation of the 2000 book of the same name written by Michael Faber. Some key changes were made along the way, but the largely unknown cast (outside of Johansson) as well as the derivative science fiction nature of the film were most likely the two main reasons this film failed to garner a lot of attention.
While only five are listed above, there were a number of other films worthy of inclusion—a situation that takes place every year.
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