Byron recommends some movies from last year — films that may or may not be his favorites.
I was asked to make a list of my top ten movies of 2014 since Krause got so many of his picks wrong. But as I thought about it, I realized I haven’t had a chance to see many of the smaller or foreign films I wanted to see (due to Fresno being some sort of Bermuda triangle of cinema) in order to make a list I felt would be complete.
Instead, in the spirit of list making and being a good sport, I have decided to list a few films that you can catch on various subscription streaming services that were smaller and maybe flew under your radar, but are totally worth a watch.
So, tonight watch one of these instead of three episodes of House Hunters. Maybe you won’t love them all, but I can at least guarantee they are better than watching an annoying couple pretend to pick a house they’ve already bought.
COHERENCE (streaming on Amazon Prime)
This was a really, really, really excellent little indie sci-fi film. The story of how they filmed it is equally cool. All the dialogue in the film was improvised by the actors. The director and writer outlined everything over the course of a year, then had the actors just show up at the house, gave them notes about their characters, and then filmed the whole thing in five nights. It sounds like a recipe for failure, but they pull it off. It is a fun head-spinner and demands a second watch to look for clues you miss on the first viewing. Go watch. Thanks.
LOCKE (streaming on Amazon Prime)
This movie stars Tom Hardy (Bane in “Dark Knight Rises”) just driving. Yep, the whole movie takes place in a car. Not only that, but Tom is also the only character (except for people he speaks to on the phone while he drives, but you never see their faces). That all probably sounds really boring to you, but you would be wrong. It is cool to see a filmmaker work within such a tight box and make something that, for the most part, works. The shots can be a little repetitive at times due to the restrictions of filming everything in a car, but that doesn’t affect the overall experience. Excellent acting from Tom and a pretty engaging story makes for a movie that isn’t… stuck in concrete! *wink* (that joke will make sense after you watch the movie.)
BLUE RUIN (streaming on Netflix)
This is a straight-up revenge movie and it is pretty 70’s in style. The director also wrote and filmed it himself so you are getting a pretty singular vision. The cool thing is, if you watched the trailer, every image is from only like the first 20 minutes of the film so it breaks the current trend of literally giving away everything. Not that you should go watch the trailer, you should just go watch the movie cause it’s awesome. Give it up for the final scene! *stands up and claps*
THE DOUBLE (streaming on Netflix)
Now, this movie isn’t perfect. I left it feeling like it was missing something. But it was made by Richard Ayoade, a British actor/writer/comedian/director/do-everything-dude, who is doing some interesting stuff (he has another film also streaming on Netflix called Submarine which is also worth your time). It is also based on a Dostoyevsky novella. Dostoyevsky’s pretty famous. While “The Double” owes a lot to the movie “Brazil”, it is a visually fantastic piece and a blast to watch Jesse Eisenberg act both sides of his character’s personality: one annoyingly timid, the other bursting with confidence. Also, “plus one” for using Wallace Shawn as the company middle manager. INCONCEIVABLE!
THE ONE I LOVE (streaming on Netflix)
I really dug this movie. Totally worth a watch. This is another indie sci-fi movie. I wanted a little more out of the ending, but it certainly doesn’t ruin it. Peggy from Mad Men is in it. So if you love Mad Men, you will love this! I’m kidding. It is nothing like Mad Men. I say, the less you know about it the better. But don’t take my word for it… ♫ READING RAINBOW ♫.
So there you have it: Byron’s not really, but maybe kind of, who knows, favorite films of 2014.
