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 MoreThe finale has arrived! Who will emerge victorious as CineDrunk's favorite actress?
If you missed our previous podcasts in this series, check out Part 1 and Part 2. You can find the all-important Gin Gin Mule recipe in Part 1, which is sure to enhance the listening experience.
In this episode, we pit the actresses we like to call Blockbuster Beauties (i.e., those who can or could open a movie/command a good paycheck, and/or have been part of a franchise at some point) against the Indie Queens (reliable actresses known for choosing interesting work).
To recap our criteria: each actress must be alive, still (more-or-less) working in cinema, and have at least one Oscar nomination to her credit. Keep in mind this showdown was recorded in one sitting, so we're super tipsy by this point. Cheers, and thanks for listening!
BLOCKBUSTER BEAUTIES
Sandra Bullock
Angelina Jolie
Michelle Pfeiffer
Natalie Portman
Julia Roberts
Sigourney Weaver
Reese Witherspoon
Renee Zellweger
INDIE QUEENS
Juliette Binoche
Patricia Clarkson
Toni Collette
Viola Davis
Laura Dern
Laura Linney
Frances McDormand
Marisa Tomei
We here at CineMunch love actresses. Probably more than we love movies themselves. Possibly more than we love the Oscars, cheese, or our cats, Tilda & Scout, but let's not get too carried away here. In CineDrunk's latest podcast, we come out as proud actressexuals (a term popularized by the incredible Nathaniel R. from The Film Experience).
We could've spent an eternity rhapsodizing on and obsessing over our favorite cinematic ladies, so we needed to set some boundaries and narrow the field. The criteria for our epic (three-part!) showdown was as follows:
1. The actress must still be alive (sorry, Bette Davis - we love you!).
2. They must still be working in cinema (apologies to you, Angela Lansbury!).
3. They must be Oscar nominated (one day soon, Scarlett Johansson!).
What?! It's CineDrunk's first birthday? Oh my god--lights, camera, and us without a stitch of makeup on!
But the rumors are true: it's been (more than!) a year since our show first landed on an MP3 player near you. Thank you for all your support! We couldn't crawl out of bed, pour ourselves a drink, and talk endlessly about movies without you.
If you haven't listened to CineDrunk before, there's never been a better time to start. We're celebrating our one-year with a showdown of our favorite guilty pleasures. No recipes this time; we went the guilty route on those, too. So pour yourself a vodka Red Bull and give us a chance. We really do mean no harm.
And now, in random order, our 32 guilty pleasures (with apologies to the many titles we overlooked):
Showgirls, Deep Impact, Spice World, Con Air, Sister Act 2, Powder, Sphere, Outrageous Fortune, Mallrats, Never Been Kissed, Snake Eyes, Heart & Souls, Volcano, Practical Magic, The Three Musketeers, Selena, The Net, Face/Off, The Cutting Edge, Clue, Waterworld, Dante's Peak, The Craft, Troop Beverly Hills, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Air Force One, Straight Talk, Cruel Intentions, Grease 2, Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, Heartbreakers, Six Days Seven Nights
Let us know what movies you hate to love in the comments below! And subscribe to CineDrunk on iTunes so you never miss an episode.
And 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 MoreFor 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?
You heard us chat away on our CineDrunk end-of-the-year podcast, but here, collected in one place, is another look at the winners of the first annual CineMunchies. Do you agree with our picks? Anything we left out? Let us know what you think!
Read MoreWe 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!
Fill your ice cube trays and get out your cheese boards; the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards are here! Airing Sunday on NBC at 8pm ET and handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the Globes mix movie stars, TV actors, and a healthy dose of drunkenness in what usually amounts to the year's most enjoyable night of live television. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (hooray!) return as hosts for the third (and likely final) time, and George Clooney will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award from Julianna Margulies (ER reunion!) and Don Cheadle.
For the more studious ones in our readership (you're show-offs, but we love you), there's still time to listen to our latest podcast, featuring a detailed analysis of the film categories. Then shake up a cocktail and enjoy the main event, and follow along with us all evening on Twitter @CineMunch. Matt's final predictions in all fields are after the jump.
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“Champagne makes you feel like it’s Sunday and better days are just around the corner.”
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