Thinking back over the year, I went to the cinema very rarely in 2014. I think I was much more choosy based on reviews or recommendations and hence most of the films I saw I really liked. Aside from the cinema, most films I watched were older releases on Amazon Prime or Netflix — I don’t think I used the iTunes store for movies at all. Recently I found myself buying DVDs of classics that weren’t available on streaming services for a few quid on Amazon and watching them when they came in the post the day after. But my favourite new releases were:
- Boyhood — partly just for the challenge of filming something with the same cast over 12 years. I love projects like that. But it’s a great movie too.
- The Wind Rises — Miyazaki’s final movie is dark and has no easy answers but is beautiful nonetheless.
- Her — Some of the science fiction is a bit predictable but the aesthetic of near future technology was really interesting.
- 20,000 Days on Earth — a great meditation on ageing and the creative process with Nick Cave playing himself.
- The Lego Movie — actually watched this on a plane, but it’s still great on a tiny screen. Awesome you might say.
