As the Oscars approach (and PTP's own Spilled Latte Awards as well), it's important to try to give some shine to some films you enjoyed but either didn't get the publicity or distribution necessary to get the attention from the masses.

This way, those of us who wish to make Best Of lists will have a wider selection of films from which to choose.

THIS IS NOT A POST TO SCOFF AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHERS. THIS IS A POST OF POSITIVE VIBES AND SHIT.

I'm only including ones which I know all of you can see right now.

- The Babadook. Even if you don't find it terribly scary (I did), this story of a single mom, her troubled child, and the eerie book she finds on her shelf one day is directed with exceptionally confident style and is anchored by one hell of a leading lady perfomance in Essie Davis. William Friedkin, the director of The Exorcist, called it "the scariest film I've ever seen." Even if you disagree, you're likely to agree that it's incredibly well-made. And it's available on VOD for you.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director- Jennifer Kent
Best Actress- Essie Davis

- The Double. Richard Ayoade does his best Terry Gilliam impression here, with the story of a man in a futuristic society whose dull life is thrown for a loop when his exact replica is hired by his office... and no one seems to notice that they're identical, because his replica is so much cooler than he is. Eisenberg is perfect for both roles, and the visuals here are superb. Fans of Gilliam should take note: it's better Gilliam than the Terry Gilliam film that came out this year. And it's available on VOD for you.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director- Richard Ayoade
Best Cinematography

- Locke. Tom Hardy in a car for 80 minutes, talking about concrete. That sounds incredibly boring. It's not. At all. Do yourself a favor and check this out on VOD.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Actor- Tom Hardy
Best Screenplay- Steven Knight

- Obvious Child. Jenny Slate stars in what is reductively being called an "abortion romcom." Really, it's just a smart and warm comedy, showcasing Slate as a lot more than "that girl who said fuck on SNL." Fellas: this is a great date movie if you are fortunate enough to have a girlfriend/wife with taste. And it's available on VOD for you.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Actress- Jenny Slate
Best Screenplay- Gillian Robespierre

- Why Don't You Play In Hell? Here's the description: "In Japan, young gonzo filmmakers called the Fuck Bombers hatch a three-pronged plan to save an actress's career, end a yakuza war and make a hit movie." It's insanely violent, absolutely bananas, gorgeously shot, and a hell of a lot of fun. And-- yep-- available on VOD for you.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director- Sion Sono

Finally, if Two Days, One Night is playing near you... the Dardennes. Marion Cotillard. So money. Go check it out.

Totally agree with The Double. Seeing him do the Q&A after the TIFF screening was the greatest thing ever.

Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Starring Scarlett Jo's ass (naa she's actually good in this role, but you do get to see her ass)

I've been pushing this film in other posts, but yeah, see it. Probably the most focused, eeriest, most haunting film of the year. Great visuals, great score. Hardly any dialogue, but doesn't need it. I've seen it twice...first time I loved it, second time I loved it even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKAtcHuIRvQ.

i can't say enough about this film.
saw it about 6 or 7 times within the last few months of 2014.
the PTP post on the it got a massive TWO replies (mine and bwood's original post lol).
it's unbelievably entertaining.
has classic cameos galore.
was made for $5million.
the hilarity.
the surreality.
The Hoff.
The Jovi.
BORIS.
Roger fucking Karos.
Karl (with a 'K').
Alba playing a cute support role.
Kevin Bigley as FAUX HAWK.
crazy rich Los Angelinos with too much time, money and cocaine.
a nice mix of hilarious critique on LA/Hollywood and a quaint story about one guy relenting to his 'destiny'.
Chris Pine? absolutely OWNS this movie. became a lifelong fan after his performance (for which he apparently had to go uncredited as he wasn't paid much for it).
and Patrick Wilson carrying the whole thing in one of the coolest 'laid back everyday-kinda-guy swimming in a sea of heightened fakery' roles ive seen in a while.

the START of this movie is enough to reel you in. probly the funniest car accident i've ever seen outside of the intro to Punch-Drunk Love lol.

for some reason, most ppl i know of still havn't heard of this movie. not sure it ever saw a theatrical release. it certainly didn't get any play in Australia. sofar ive held about 3 or 4 'screenings' at my place for different groups of friends and they all walk away loving it and wondering why the fuck they never heard of it.

GO SEE IT.

V.

tied with Whiplash which I just rewatched today. (Still awesome)

Great premise & somewhat unnerving to watch unfold but worth checking out

>

Rumor has it the CIA had a hand in flooding ghettos w/ drugs to finance Nicaraguan rebels back in the day but apparently naybody cared to see it discussed here or on the big screen

Stars JereMC Renner & a very memorable but too brief performance by Paz Vega as well

Calvary
Only Lovers Left Alive
Blue Ruin
Force Majeure
Felony
Cold in July
The Guest
Leviathan
A Girl Who Walks Home Alone At Night
Ida
Stranger By The Lake
Jodorowsky's Dune
Love Is Strange
Starred Up
Winter Sleep
Locke

Dune, Locke and Cavalry

On Prime Instant Video now

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-best-reviewed-films-of-2014-according-to-criticwire

not a great film, but definitely worth seeing for jude law's performance, which is splendidly fun and one of my favorites of the year.

i thought he was just as good as, if not better than fiennes was in
GBH, and that perf got way more year-end recognition, despite also
being a comedic turn in an early-spring release.

>i thought he was just as good as, if not better than fiennes
>was in
>GBH, and that perf got way more year-end recognition, despite
>also
>being a comedic turn in an early-spring release.

I caught that on cable over the holidays & thought he topped fiennes fairly easily. The range he showed in the latter half of that flick was fantastic.

Richard E. Grant too.

Oh man, I forgot Khaleesi was also in this shit.

This film is great.

Starred Up (Jack O'Connell was great in this)
Under The Skin
Unforgiven (the Japanese remake with Ken Watanabe, pretty much the same film but solid enough in its own right)
Locke
The Double
Calvary
Tracks
Frank
Blue Ruin
Cheap Thrills
Joe
Cold In July
The Guest
Filth (a 2013 release here in the UK but a 2014 US release I believe. I loved this & James McAvoy deserved more recognition for his performance)

just kidding



I want to put Pelo Malo but i'm not sure if it can
i think it was released in 2013 technically

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

definitely check it out.

i really liked Frank i thought maggie gyllenhaal didnt bring anything to it and would have been better with a different actress but check it out.

I didn't dig it as much as I thought I might but some of yall might like the genre mash-up in this one. The b&w cinematography stood out to me more than any of the spag western, horror, or noir aspects.

Hurley and Depardieu were both awesome in this, right amount of action and drama. Plus I've been addicted as fuck to foreign crime films.

Los Angeles Plays Itself
A great doc for any LA native, Film lover, or History buff. The hours of footage of Los Angeles' local areas and their stages of life, death and sometimes rebirth in through film made this amazing film. It's long as hell though.

Beyond Outrage
Beat Takeshi is just the master of bloody Yazuka films. They are always directed, beautifully shot and sometimes even poetic, this one is a bloody Masterpiece.

Frank
My girl loved it, she's into strange rock bands and what not. It was engaging, strange, and funny all at the same time.

The fact that this film isn't something that everyone is talking about is beyond me. It's fucking amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJNiE19iAMc

There is no doubt in my mind that Gary Webb (1955-2004) was the last great American whistleblower. I gotta be honest, Webb really did not reveal any secret because there are no secrets. The CIA has been in the drug game since the sixties. They got Frank Lucas to be the nego front man when they brought all that herioin to Harlem back in the day. They ran the same ole game decades later with crack and a negro front man named Rick Ross.

Now don'tget me wrong i got much respect for Webb. He connected all the dots and proved the white house had been complicit in the drug game. Kill the messenger is a great tribute to him. Renner does a great job portaying Webb and the movie sticks close to the facts regarding his investigation.

Gary was discredited and his career was ruined and i really do not understand why he was murdered. As far as i am concerned there really was nothing left to report regarding the phony drug war. Kill the messenger is a great flick that everyone should check out.

Grade A

Webb in his own words,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKE2XL24FG4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As6OXkeNJbs

I'd highly recommend trying to see Breakup Buddies. It's a Chinese film, but I know it had some domestic distro because it was playing in theatres in Toronto. In one sense, its just a well done buddy rom-com type film, guy gets divorced and his crazy film-making friend takes him on a road trip to get him over it and find new love - its based on the director's actual experience with his writer friend. Within it though is some nice filming - I really liked what he did in the opening shot while credits rolled - and a simple twist to the storytelling that in a film of such a predictable genre feels brilliant and I think deserves to be seen.

One of my personal favourite films last year was Tu Dors Nicole. Its French-Canadian, was described as absurdist and brilliantly observes when it was received well at Cannes, and I'd say that's a fair description. A girl's just finished school, can't sleep at night, and nothing's happening in her life, and the movie just pulls you into that. It has a unique sense of humour that could either have you laughing out loud or giggling uncontrollably long after everyone else is over the joke (that actually happened in the theatre and lead to a second round of people laughing for no reason).

America needs to look out for What We Do In The Shadows, Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement's new film, which I believe is just getting a theatrical release in some cities next weekend. It is a Hilarious 'documentary' about vampires that have been living in New Zealand all this time. If you're interested in checking out a unique action flick, try to find out about The Dead Lands. It's also from NZ, and is a sort of ancient martial arts type flick based entirely on a maori style of craved weapons and fighting. It might not do anything on the level of say The Raid, but it is unlike anything you will see anywhere else, and even the things that seem ridiculous and comical are based on legitimately real aspects of their tribal culture while still making for a simple, straightforward over-the-top and possibly corny action flick with high production value.

okpers might be interested in May Allah Bless France, debut feature by a french rapper/poet/writer who made a movie based on his memoir. Possibly flawed, but worth seeing. Catching these films in a festival environment sometimes leaves me overhyped possibly, but it also makes it pretty obvious when something's bad and I definitely didn't feel that way.

Probably the best living US filmmaker.

If you've seen any of his work, you know what to expect. A doc with no real story, no voice-over, no score. Just an incredibly insightful observer examining a complex institution.