What are the best films you have seen this year? Why did you like them so much?

The young man is taking his place among the great actors today.

EXODUS, GODS AND KINGS

The usual great error. The biblical narration mentions a land named "Ramses", but this land was named with this name because Ramses I the pharaoh.

However, this name Ramses is not related at all with Ramses II the great pharaoh of Egypt, who was born 500 years after the event of the biblical exodus.

Recent discoveries have pointed that between the year when Moses was born up to 80 years later when Moses leaded the Israelite migration from Egypt, there were about 14 pharaohs.

The movies (cartoon movies included) assume that Ramses II was the pharaoh of the Exodus, when in reality Ramses II is the pharaoh who lost fights against Nebuchadnezzar in the last period of Israel as a kingdom.

Unfortunately, there is no way to rectify this "in purpose ignorance" that Hollywood movies and obstinate historians spread around.

It is understood that Manetho (the Egyptian historian) messed up his chronology, and he was also confused with the timing of the Exodus, even when he recognized the existence of Moses and insulted him as "a defrocked priest of the devil Seth..."

I guess that, as with any other Hollywood movie, the special effects are great and worthy to be enjoyed, but the story itself is anything but biblical or historical.

Just saw it 2 nights ago. Outstanding in every respect, imo. I think it's the best I saw this year.

I mentioned Birdman a while back, a few days ago the paper reported the film had received several Golden Globe nominations and I think also nominations from the actors guild. I feel so much better, I didn't anyone but mr. glitterbag & I had seen the film.

Ah-ha. Will give that one a gander tonight, then. Gracias!

THE HUNGER GAMES

Katniss Everdeen is not the "cute girl" anymore. She grew up and her face still pretty but lost innocence.

With this new tendency of making "movie series" the opinion of a movie is regarded to the following chapters, because this film alone is just "act I" (or III?) and the whole work can't be fully criticized until its final chapter ends.

So far, it can be perceived in the story, that Alma, the leader of the revolutionary movement, appears to be manipulated by Plutarch.

While the revolutionaries think they are gaining ground, Katniss thinks that Coriolanus is just playing the game of the cat messing with the mouse.

When the movie was over, my thinking was that I wasted my money in this piece of crap film.

THE GAMBLER

A movie teaching that if you are a member of a rich family and you gamble and are in debt, even the Russian mafia will "respect you" and will try to deal with you with the arrangements of the payments.

But, on the other side, in real life, if you are just John Smith, a common dude who gets in debt because gambling, and you decide not to pay, then your body will be found inside a dumpster, under water inside a bag with bricks attached, a few years later as a mommy dropped in an abandoned basement...

What is amazing about this movie, is that this fiction film proliferates more and better philosophical thoughts than the topics and discussions about philosophy in this able2know site. Lol.

Just watched "Chef"

Pitch perfect.

Recently i saw The hobbit the battle of five armies, the awesome part of the hobbit movie series, great effort by director peter jackson, he done fantastic job

Jon Favreau directed and starred in a very mouth watering and very charming character piece. Quite funny and down to earth.

Even Oliver Platt's restaurant critic was a fully three dimensional human rather then a one dimensional villain.

I liked that it painted a picture of kitchen warriors that I recognize, and that it was overall not sappy. Especially good was that the whole thing revolved around egos and passion , which is every real to life in kitchens. The conflict between chefs and owners.....that happens all the time. The break often happens as it did here, in a flash, the chef walks out. Also all too real is that chefs throw everything they have into their work, to the point where having friends outside the kitchen or a family gets to be almost impossible.

Really good writing, and great actors come together here.

Love, love, LOVED The Italian Trip. It was funny, intelligent and engaging. The ending just sort of... happened, but that's the kind I like. Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan were at their best. It was even better than The Trip. The Mt. Vesuvius scene was BRILLIANT!

Thanks all!

Looks as though I need to see Nightcrawler.

Strap On sluts Volume 17, but I enjoyed it only because I'm always happy to see my sister working.

I saw Birdman as well. I liked the beginning with the inner workings of live theatre shown up close and personal but I was somewhat disappointed in the movie.

I did not see as many movies as I wanted to see. Working two jobs leaves me too tired to do much.

I saw the following in a theatre: Snowpiercer, Belle, The Immigrant, The 100 Foot Journey, The Lunchbox, Boyhood and Birdman.

I saw these two on netflix: Gore Vidal and Burt's Buzz.

I also saw three releases of the National Theatre: Warhorse,
Frankenstein and King Lear.

Basically, the National Theatre films were the best. I would call it a three way tie in terms of acting and staging and direction. Warhorse was the most emotionally affecting; Frankenstein reclaimed the novel and King Lear made up for the mediocre Lears I have seen.

Of the netflix movies, Gore Vidal was very good. I fell asleep during Burt's Buzz but that is par for my course with netflix.

Of the movies I saw in the theatre, The Lunchbox was my favorite, largely because it was a sweet, little movie that told enormous truths and was the anti-rom-com. The Hundred Foot Journey was second because it starred Helen Mirren and was shot in France. The two principles in the love story were pretty to look act and their story was a sort of awwww.

Snowpiercer was at the bottom of the pile. The Immigrant, Belle and Birdman were all okay.

Richard Linklater's Boyhood was in a class by itself. I am a Linklater fan and his unique movie -- seamlessly constructed over 12 years of filming -- has something in common with The Lunchbox in that tells small truths. A wonderful film.

Oh, I forgot! I also saw The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's a Wes Andersen film starring Ralph Fiennes at his best. Quirky, ridiculous, utterly charming. I guess that knocks The Hundred Foot Journey out of second place.

I just didn't "get it". When the film first came out, there was so much excitement, that I was dying to see it. I ended up walking out in the middle.

TOP FIVE

I have not seen "The Interview", because I know by principle that Chis Rock's movie is a million times more funnier and that is having a better director and actors.

This movie is not "better than" but is one of the best comedy movies of 2014, if not the best of the best.

The film offers everything, time to laugh, time to think, time to laugh again.

There is no a perfect movie, but this one in particular is a "complete movie". There are no missed details where suddenly someone or something appears or disappears thanks to the editing work, nor there is a vacuum where someone is needed to explain why this and that in the movie reviews. The traveling view is smooth, funny, with stops that allow you to finish your popcorn without missing a single sound coming from the film.

I'm glad to have watched this movie, because besides the F word here and F word there, this film is even "inspirational". Lol