TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2014

Another year, another top 10. And as always, so many movies, so little time. Managed to catch 46 movies this year (about 0.8 movie a week)

One thing I'm glad I did this year was to create this blog just to host my movie reviews. It keeps me focused on building my passion for reviewing and making films. Let's see how Kausern Reviews - The Movie Blog will evolve in 2015 and over the years.

Enough of reflection and on to the Top 10! (Click on the titles to read the full review)

Noteworthy mentions:  
THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY; an old-fashioned charming motion picture which explores the warmth of budding young love, the pursuit of a dream and the power of food and family. Veterans Helen Mirren and Om Puri's performance are enigmatic but the main star of the film is the charismatic leading man Manish Dayal.

LOCKE; a pure example of cinematic storytelling stripped down to its minimalist form. It's a one man show all the way and Tom Hardy's performance here is intensely engaging. The man who departs at the opening scene in his car is not the same man who reaches the destination at the end of the movie due to the events which will unfold along the way.

10.  CHEF; a small, intimate and light hearted movie that will guarantee to get you craving for Cuban sandwiches the second the credits start rolling. At the heart of this Jon Favreau's movie is a father and son story. A special shout out to John Leguizamo who plays the role of a loyal friend to the main character - he injects so much joy and energy into the film. And did I mention about the food scenes (the FOOD, OMG!)

9.  THE LEGO MOVIE; the script is smart and satisfying. The humour is delightfully random and the pace is infectiously energetic - "Everything is awesome!" And it caters for ages 5 and above. How the story unfolds is bordering mayhem, with many different random characters from the Lego universe coupled with explosions, horses and spaceships -  it looked like something out of the mind of a creative child placed in a room filled with Lego blocks. This is done intentionally to build up to the big emotional reveal in the last act.

8. HER; Spike Jonze's latest is an ambitious cinematic endeavour which explores the unconventional relationship between human and sentient machines. The story presented will cause viewers to reflect on their relationships, "What is love?" Joaquin Phoenix gives one of his best performance - his character is vulnerable, sympathetic and lost. But Scarlett Johansson (or her voice) steals the show as even a simple ‘sigh' is done with so much sincerity and ache. Special shout out to Arcade Fire's beautiful score.

7. NIGHTCRAWLER; a character study of a sociopath who is involved in the business of sensationalizing news to garner higher ratings. This isn't a feel good movie. It's dark, cynical, tense and at times downright uncomfortable.  The highlight of the film is Jake Gyllenhaal; his almost skeletal appearance, fake smile and dead eyes and his creepy "knowledge is power" personality really gets the audience under their skin. Equally impressive is Renee Russo's supporting character.

6. INTERSTELLAR; Christopher Nolan's most ambitious movie to date checks all the boxes of grandeur modern cinema story telling. But at the heart of it is a simple tale of sacrificial love that binds a father and his daughter. And without a doubt Matthew McConaughey is the human factor of this movie. His believable love for his family (and the despair he has to go through) makes this one of Nolan's most emotional film. 

5. THE JOURNEY; the Malaysia Boleh film which was worth every bit of the hype it generated. The movie is marketed as an east-west/father-daughter-Ang Moh son-in-law tension themed story but if you peel away the layers of the expected cultural and traditions nuances, the core of it is a beautiful and quiet story of forgiveness, reconciliation and closure.

4. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST; is a film of grand ambitions and epic achievements but yet managed to retain an intimate scale. It doesn't feel like your typical superhero movie. In fact, it plays out more like a sci-fi film aka Terminator where our distant future is horrific and grim; mutants are massacred by the Sentinels - machines without soul or conscience. The only way to reverse the apocalypse is to travel back to 1973 and undo it all. Michael Fassbender, who dominated X-Men: First Class, is once again magnetic here but this sequel is truly James McAvoy's show.

3. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL; Wes Anderson's latest is an engaging unconventional adventure peppered with idiosyncratic humour, all framed up in obsessively composed and symmetrical shots (often with beautiful bright striking colours). His characters are often exaggerated and are caught in quirky situations. Ralph Fiennes' character is the concierge of the The Grand Budapest Hotel and the actor plays a caricature of himself - and nailed the performance. A big shout out also to Tony Revolori for his debut as the lobby boy, Fiennes' protege.

2. DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES; in the latest Planet Of The Apes installment, the lesson of every decision made will have consequences is explored in a tough and uncompromising way. The narrative is structured like a Shakespearean tragedy; it's about love and hate, peace and war, freedom and fear - where the characters are conflicted to choose the values they are against in order to achieve the results they desire eg. in order to keep the peace, one has no choice but to fight. DAWN is far more superior in every aspect compared to its immediate predecessor Rise of The Planet of the Apes. Besides having more depth and breadth in the narrative, the human characters here are more developed. Also, the personalities of the apes are fleshed out very well. There are some tender moments shared between apes and humans which would move even the hardest of hearts. A few words must be written about the amazing contribution of Andy Serkis for making Caesar the most compelling character in the movie despite very little dialogue - his eyes and mannerism are stunningly life-like. Caesar is a remarkable creation of human acting and CGI. While DAWN boast some big-name human stars, make no mistake – Serkis is the star.

1. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON; I caught this Japanese film on a very long flight to the US. My sense of timing was blurred, I was extremely jet lag and have perhaps feasted on too many movies before watching this film. Yet, it managed to reach deep into my reserves and tore me apart into many pieces from the inside out. It just shows how forceful and powerful this motion picture is. It's a simple plot about two 6 year old boys who were accidentally swapped at birth. And their parents faced with the heartbreaking prospect of having to exchange them after they found out about the incident. The highlight of the movie is not the resolution but where it really shines is the character study on each of the parties involved and their relationships. There are several scenes in the movie which were too heart wrenching to watch because it reflected the sinful nature of man.


And here's a nice 2014 movie mashup video. Enjoy and Happy New Year!