For food lover cinephiles, 2014 was an undeniably good year. We got our hands floury with Agatha in The Grand Budapest Hotel and watched the activists in Selma find nourishment with an old-fashioned, stick-to-your-ribs Southern meal. We also saw mealtime interrupted by an avalanche (literally and figuratively) and become a catalyst for a marital reckoning in Force Majeure.
Read MoreAnd that's a wrap!
A truly unpredictable awards season boiled down to two seemingly atypical choices for the Academy in Birdman and Boyhood, and, in the end, it was the film that most spoke to artists and those in the industry that prevailed, as Birdman was selected best of the year. Much like last year, most of the front-runners walked away victorious, but that didn't seem to help us with our predictions. Matt went 17/24 while Nathan ended with 13/24.
It was an inflated telecast that certainly dragged in spots (who on Earth only scheduled the show to take three hours? They had to know that was never going to happen), but many of the winners (and even some of the presenters - not sure what was up with Terrence Howard) gave emotional, candid speeches that enlivened the proceedings. And our Oscar menu never let us down. Never have we been happier to have three drink options.
Before we put the 2014 film year to bed for good, let's count down our top ten favorite moments from the 87th Annual Academy Awards.
Read MoreWhat follows is a hypothetical scenario in which we are Academy voters who commit the ultimate sin of showing you our completed ballots.
Note: Like many Oscar voters, we could go through the motions of voting in all 24 races, but, for the sake of honesty (and what we hope the real voters practice), we'll abstain from the categories where we have yet to see all the nominees. So no Animated Feature, Foreign Film, or Documentary Short.
Check out who or what we're rooting for after the jump!
Read More
Credit: Laura Sant for Saveur
Before Saint Valentine returns from beyond the grave to make us fall in love and buy greeting cards and feel all warm and fuzzy (two days left until no one's favorite holiday!), it's time to engage in some cinematic bloodsport.
That's right, it's time for another showdown (to the death, naturally), this one for the title of Best Romantic Comedy.
Join us for an episode full of romantic highs and lows and more than a few marital spats. And if you listen in on iTunes and like what you hear, spread the love (get it?) by rating the podcast. This will help our visibility immensely. Thank you, and enjoy!
Elderflower Old Fashioned
adapted from Saveur
2½ oz. bourbon
½ oz. St. Germain
2–3 dashes Angostura bitters or 1-2 dashes
blood orange bitters
Strip of lemon zest, for garnish
Fill a martini shaker or large glass with ice. Add bourbon, St. Germain, and bitters and stir until very chilled. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube of ice. Garnish with lemon zest.
#1: City Lights (1931) vs. #32: Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
#16: Clueless (1995) vs. #17: Chasing Amy (1997)
#9: Moonstruck (1987) vs. #24: Notting Hill (1999)
#8: The Princess Bride (1987) vs. #25: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
#4: The Philadelphia Story (1940) vs. #29: Knocked Up (2007)
#13: Sleepless in Seattle (1993) vs. #20: The Wedding Singer (1998)
#12: Groundhog Day (1993) vs. #21: There's Something About Mary (1998)
#5: The African Queen (1951) vs. #28: The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
#2: It Happened One Night (1934) vs. #31: (500) Days of Summer (2009)
#15: While You Were Sleeping (1995) vs. #18: My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
#10: When Harry Met Sally (1989) vs. #23: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
#7: Annie Hall (1977) vs. #26: Love Actually (2005)
#3: His Girl Friday (1940) vs. #30: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
#14: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) vs. #19: As Good As It Gets (1997)
#11: Pretty Woman (1990) vs. #22: You've Got Mail (1998)
#6: The Apartment (1960) vs. #27: 13 Going on 30 (2004)
For a while it looked like 2014 would go down as a very weak year in cinema. It took time for me to come down from the high of Gravity the year before, and the first half of the year didn't impress (save for a few sprinkles of quality here and there). Thankfully, the second half of 2014 offered up a feast of treats that were varied in flavor--some as nuanced as a bite of small-batch cheese, others as satisfying as chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven (this is CineMunch, we're allowed to use food imagery as often as we'd like).
As is always the case, this list is incomplete and in flux (I just finished my 2013 list after all). I average 100 or so films any given calendar year, and, as you can see from our current list of films screened, I'm sitting at a (relatively paltry) 65. Simple statistics say that I have yet to see one or two films that will weasel their way into this top tier, but for now (or as of January 26th when we recorded our end-of-the-year podcast) these were the final ten.
But first, some necessary Honorable Mentions!
Read MoreIt's that time. What were my top ten movies of 2014? Truthfully, I could use another few weeks to see some key titles and second-guess my opinions, but that's not going to happen. Plus, in two weeks we'll be out of the country celebrating Matt's 30th birthday. (Don't tell him I told you his age.)
So, now? Yes, now's a good time.
Overall, 2014 was full of solid movies, some that pushed the boundaries of the craft and many that stuck with me for other reasons. We saw Lupita Nyong'o and Julianne Moore fly non-stop, CGI apes give new meaning to the term emotional resonance, and a reclusive nanny gain posthumous fame.
Not surprising, then, that my second tier films for 2014 included scores of titles deserving of a shout out. For my own sanity I've whittled them down to just seven honorable mentions in addition to my top ten, but I'll never forget you, The Babadook, Edge of Tomorrow, and Obvious Child (among others).
Shall we begin?
We know you love lists. We know we love lists. You know you love lists. It's time to roll out the lists.
Drink(s) in hand(s), we celebrate 2014 in our latest podcast, and a stellar year at the cinema it was. Each of your hosts has a Top 10, which we count down in Part 1 of our show. In Part 2, we award the first annual CineMunchies, our end-of-the-year superlatives featuring such categories as Best Performance by an Elderly British Person and The "I Wasn't Sure You Had That in You" Award.
Leading up to this recording, the anticipation had us on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
But we managed to keep the conversation civil and the drinks simple. After all, it's a celebration of our individual favorites, not a debate.
A special shout out to our Best Wine of 2014 (which is another way of saying Best Wine Under $20 That Tastes Good With Cheese): the 2013 Celler Bàrbara Forés Blanc. And our drink of choice for the evening? Boozy hot cocoa.
Peppermint-Spiked Hot Chocolate
Here's a drink even your teenager can make! Er... Step 1: Make the best hot chocolate you know how to make. Step 2: Add several generous shots of the cheapest peppermint schnapps you can buy. Step 3: Enjoy!
Thanks for joining us to look back on Film Year 2014! Cheers!
In honor of the World Cup and summer movie season, we staged a bracket battle to choose the greatest summer blockbuster of all time.
Ever since Jaws swept audiences (and their wallets) away in the summer of 1975, Hollywood has zeroed in on the hottest months of the year to release their biggest, baddest, most epic films. The best blockbuster is a summer event, reeling in casual moviegoers and serious film critics alike -- much like the World Cup, every four years, suddenly makes everyone a soccer fan.
To establish our bracket, we selected an initial list of 32 films (beginning with 1975's Jaws and ending with 2012's Marvel's The Avengers). To qualify, a film must have been one of the top grossing films of its year, have lasting staying power (aka the "Rewatchability Factor"), and must have made a cultural impact. We tried to limit ourselves to one movie per year, though some years warranted no entries while others warranted two. Seeding was based on the total domestic box office gross of the film when adjusted for inflation (though these figures also included any re-releases these films may have had). By those numbers, Star Wars is our #1 seed (with $1,417,832,000 adjusted earnings).
Every tournament should be infused with libations, and for ours we chose the Brazilian national drink (hey, World Cup), the Caipirinha (hey, summer). Breezy and sleazy--it goes down easy. Nothing says summer like sugar cane. Here's how to make our version:
Mojito-fied Caipirinha
KNG Sommers Photography
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 lime, quartered
10 mint leaves, whole
2 oz. cachaça
Muddle the mint leaves with two lime quarters in a tall, sturdy glass. Add the remaining lime quarters and the sugar, and muddle some more. Add the cachaça. Stir and enjoy.
Our first round matchups and winners are listed below. Have a listen to the podcast to see which of these movies made it past the Sweet 16 to be crowned our Greatest Summer Blockbuster of All Time Ever in History!
#1: Star Wars (1977) vs. #32: Die Hard (1988)
#16: Spider-man 2 (2004) vs. #17: Back to the Future (1985)
#9: Marvel's The Avengers (2012) vs. #24: Transformers (2007)
#8: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) vs. #25: Armageddon (1998)
#4: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) vs. #29: Inception (2010)
#13: Independence Day (1996) vs. #20: The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
#12: Spider-man (2002) vs. #21: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
#5: Return of the Jedi (1983) vs. #28: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1986)
#2: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982) vs. #31: True Lies (1994)
#15: Batman (1989) vs. #18: Twister (1996)
#10: The Dark Knight (2008) vs. #23: Top Gun (1986)
#7: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) vs. #26: Batman Forever (1995)
#3: Jaws (1975) vs. #30: War of the Worlds (2005)
#14: The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) vs. #19: Men in Black (1997)
#11: Ghostbusters (1984) vs. #22: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
#6: Jurassic Park (1993) vs. #27: Batman Returns (1992)
As we near the end of Eternal Sunshine Week here at CineMunch, I thought I'd take a moment to highlight who I think gives the best performance in the film (and this is a film featuring several 'best' performances): Jim Carrey as Joel Barish. Kate Winslet may get all the praise (and Oscar nominations), and, indeed, she turns in a stellar, uninhibited gem of a performance that even she agrees was a turning point in her career, but it's Carrey who grounds the film with his expressive face and beating heart. I fall for him every time.
Though I've always loved Jim Carrey. His ascendance in 1994 with Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Mask was catnip to my 10-year-old self. I watched The Mask on repeat, and I even dressed as Ace Ventura for Halloween that year (though at the last minute I decided I didn't like the mask that came with the costume and instead opted to be a butterfly -- the gay in me won out on that one, I guess). His exaggerated comedic style really clicked with me (as I'm sure it did with many young men), but as I aged, so did Carrey as an actor.
His days as a titan of the box office are likely behind him, but over the years he's proved his worth as more than just a celebrity. He continues to pick interesting projects (though more I Love You Phillip Morrises than Yes Mans, please), and I have hope that one day he'll get the respect as an accomplished actor that I think he deserves (or at least an overdue tip of the hat from Oscar).
Not to bury the lede, but we all know what #1 is. Join me anyway as we count backwards through Jim's ten best screen performances.
Read MoreThis Wednesday, March 19, marks the 10-year anniversary of the release of one of the greatest films in the history of humans, and, for me, the film that most defines the first decade of this century. It's almost unfair how perfectly every element of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes together to create one of the most profound, stimulating, and moving pieces of art I'm likely ever to experience. From the mind of known genius Charlie Kaufman, the script alone would rank as one of mankind's greatest achievements, but when visionary director Michel Gondry put those words to the screen (with an incomparable cast led by two of my favorite actors of all-time, Jim Carrey & Kate Winslet), it was transcendent. I could never erase this film, these images, those characters, that music from my mind - Eternal Sunshine is a part of me.
So: Happy Eternal Sunshine Week! We'll keep the celebration going all week long with various features and commemorations, so stick around and cancel that appointment at Lacuna, Inc.
“Champagne makes you feel like it’s Sunday and better days are just around the corner.”
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