The Best Pictures of 2014 and Who Needs to See Them

Having finally watched Whiplash, I have seen all the Best Picture nominees from 2014 except Theory of Everything. I promise that I still intend to see this movie, but for today's purposes I will leave it out of the discussion. As an extension of that I will also avoid talking much about acting performances because that was the greatest success in critic minds of Theory of Everything. However, this still leaves us 7 movies to talk about: Birdman, Boyhood, American Sniper, Selma, Whiplash, Imitation Game and Grand Budapest Hotel (did I just rank them for you...? Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn't...). This post is part ranking/ part rant and part review. For each movie I will talk about why it was great and deserving of Best Picture Nominee status, and why it fell short of Birdman for the actual award. I'll also slip in comments about how it was snubbed or other things I find noteworthy. Finally for each movie I will state who HAS to see this movie and who SHOULD see this movie. I think I'll talk about them in the order I saw them, just to shake things up*. Also this is part one of a two-part post. I'll cover Boyhood, GBH and Selma today and American Sniper, Whiplash, Imitation Game and Birdman next time.

*Just kidding. I saved Birdman till the end, but other than that, it's in order.

Boyhood

Who Has to See This Movie: People currently between the ages of 18-23.

Who Should See This Movie: Everyone who participated in the 2000s decade and all people who admire accomplishments in filmmaking. 

Boyhood tells the story of a young boy as he grows up from age 5 to age 18. What makes the film remarkable is that it was filmed over that same period of time over something crazy like only 33 days (don't ask me how that's even possible). In this single movie we get to watch this kid and his family and the actors grow up and mature before our very eyes, and that's a rare sight. Despite its amazing achievement, there are times when the acting falls flat and the story isn't much of a story. The movie is about boyhood and the act of growing up. That's a story that needs to be told, but that doesn't mean it's the best story. Either way, I loved this movie. I cried; it inspired me; it captured my childhood (almost like I was watching Pixar or something...). 9/10

Grand Budapest Hotel

Who Has to See This Movie: BIG Wes Anderson fans.

Who Should See This Movie: All Wes Anderson fans.

I'm not a big Wes Anderson fan. I really liked Moonrise Kingdom and really like his movies as a whole, but he's not "one of the best directors" out there today like so many friends and critics say. He's just not. Maybe that's a rank for another day. Here's the rant for today: GBH wasn't that great of a movie but the Academy realized that they stilted Moonrise Kingdom out of accolades and nominations it should have gotten so they compensated and went OVERBOARD with GBH. Yes, the set design should have won. Yes, the costumes should have won, but it had NO business getting a Best Pic nom and Anderson had no business beating out Nolan for a Best Director nom. Thankfully, it lost both (to the deserving Birdman); I would have rioted if GBH had won Best Pic. It's a good movie, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing all that special and definitely not better than Moonrise Kingdom. 7/10

Selma

Who Has to See This Movie: Every American who wasn't alive in the 1960s.

Who Should See This Movie: Every American citizen.

I'm not usually a big fan of biopics because they tend to over-emphasize one person and leave the others as supporting cast at best (I'm looking at you, Lincoln). Selma didn't have that problem. While it is the Martin Luther King Junior movie, it's called SELMA and not MLKJ or something like that. Because this movie is about Selma. It's about the whole of America that rose up to protest injustice in Selma and it couldn't have come at a better time in our country. This is a movie about the dream of MLKJ as acted out by those around around him and parts of America as a whole. It shows us at our best and our worst, but either way it is timely, timeless and inspiring. I will not beat a dead horse, but OBVIOUSLY David Oyelowo deserved a nomination for portraying Martin and Ave Duvernay should have gotten a Director nom (this one I'm less upset about for a lot of reasons, but she was more deserving than Anderson*). 9/10

*It's important to remember that the Best Pic winner almost always has a Best Director nod (this is why everyone was outraged over Affleck's snub for Argo). By not giving Duverney a directorial nod it put Selma lower in the Academy's mind than it should have been. Everyone was actually talking like GBH might WIN and that was because of the director nom. It matters a lot.

I think that's enough to digest for one post but be on the look out for thoughts on the other 4 coming up really soon.