Caro the Movie Critic

It's been a very strange year, but a very good year, not as highly prestige as the past two years. However, the best movies are scattered throughout all over the year in 2014 and most of the films are in great range in terms in how we feel in the ends. Nevertheless, at the same time, it was mostly a weak end towards the end of the year since the award-caliber films come out, but there were very few great films at that time. There were 29 movies vying for the top 10 spots (Record: 36) and that is proof that it was a very good, but not great year. Here are 10 honorable mentions in the runners-up list: Honorable Mentions: (11-20, alphabetical) The Babadook Citizenfour Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Edge of Tomorrow Life Itself Locke Snowpiercer The Theory of Everything Under the Skin (3-way tie) X-Men: Days of Future Past, Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Guardians of the Galaxy (TIE) 10. American Sniper It was tough to sacrifice this film for a runners...

There's something strange going on inside the house. In a long time of reviewing and critiquing movies, this is the first movie that had me at a loss of words and clearly not thinking straight while writing this review. The premise is very peculiar and strange as to what kind of story the filmmakers want to tell us and honestly, while hearing about its effulgent premise, I said to myself that this may be an interesting horror flick. And, damn it, it was pretty interesting despite how silly it was. Amelia (Essie Davis) is a widowed mother who lives with her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) and their dog Percy. Sam eagerly does magic tricks and makes imaginative weapons for his extracurricular activities in his house. He does get in trouble at school, however, and Amelia picks him up. She works as an orderly at a hospital and Amelia takes Sam to the park with her sister, Claire (Hayley McElhinney) and her daughter, Ruby (Chloe Hurn). Their relationship is showed to be strained and som...

MLK and his wife. Recount the history of how on Bloody Sunday that many protesters were beaten and struck down by many police officers. It is horrible to witness that tale of history. Reading about the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his followers and his fellow activists went through is one aspect and impacts me more intelligently and provoked me a lot more thought, but watching the event as it unfolds is truly one of the most intense scenes of any other film I have seen in a long time. This film is not afraid to show us how MLK defined and changed history and the psychological and physical violence that impacted the African-Americans in their civil rights. It is a great film. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) is giving a speech in Oslo in 1964 accepting the Nobel Peace Prize and is grateful to accept after his "I have a dream" speech in Washington. But, he is still upset on the lack of civil rights that is given to the African-American community. In ano...

Waltz and Adams having a little argument.  A portrait or picture of something or someone magical or inventive has to have a great trademark of a true artist. But, is the artist's trademark actually in the painting or hidden and we have to feel the same emotion in compared to their other paintings? The artistic value in its paintings are overlooked by people and focus on how it will be sold and almost every painting is worth a lot of money, especially to high-caliber people. How far will it go for a husband and wife to go against each other's throats to get what each will deserve? It is a straight-forward and intimate movie about the struggle of a woman's reputation behind the man's success of her paintings. Margaret (Amy Adams) is a talented painter having no work experience but has the studied craft at an art institute. However, her talent for painting people's portraits outside an outdoor art show is widely ignored. However, Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) is...

Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle.  Chris Kyle is recognized as the "most lethal sniper in U.S. history" with conviction and bravery and has more than 160 kills, the most in sniper history. I cannot say anything about how conflicted a soldier would get when returning home from a tour and facing civilian life again because I have never been deployed. Having witnessed this movie and another movie called Born on the Fourth of July (and I'll compare those two later on in the review), both soldiers are haunted by loud noises and suffer PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Everybody in their personal lives will understand and be struggling having a natural conversation with the soldier in how it had been during the tour and other personal things. This movie was resonant, emotional and intense supplied with the best performance by Bradley Cooper in his career. NAVY Seal sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is dedicated and disciplined to his job, holding a gun and scoping out o...

Jack O'Connell at attention.  How can a movie endure a man who has lived the highest value of success and the lowest value of scum and pain? It is fascinating to witness a man who never complains or never gives up despite being beat up in combat or losing in a race. The movie is inspirational in that degree on how far we go to achieve the highest goal in our lives. But, it is also risk-taking as to how far we will go to achieve it if surrounded by high mortality rates. The movie follows one man on a journey that sets him on a raft for 47 days before being captured by the Japanese and that is when his spiritual mission truly begins. Louie Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) is a man who overcomes odds but desperately wants to achieve it no matter the consequences or the loss of his physical strength. Earlier in the film, we witness a young Louie being trained for the high school track team and sets a record. He goes to the Olympics in 1936 and ends up in last place but it does not ...

It was a very interesting year for documentaries as all of the 5 documentaries I saw this year were vastly different but they were all unique in a different perspective. I already saw Life Itself , about the late film critic Roger Ebert, and I think it was a great movie. And, all of the others were refreshing in entirely different ways and none of them disappointed me and did not get me to go to sleep. So, here are the five that I did see... Citizenfour (2014), R, 4 stars This is the most riveting documentary of the year showing us a portrait of how personal privacy has destroyed people's reputations in America. Since we are in the digital era, everybody has to be extra careful on what we put on the Internet or other sources. This movie also deals with Edward Snowden being in trouble as to how he sort of leaked secret information from the NSA and other government agencies. It is an important film to witness and to learn so we cannot become one of the targets on the Int...

Benedict Cumberbatch and his machine.  Mathematicians are probably the unsung heroes of industrializing the now-invented computer and how did they do it back then? They solved and deciphered codes. Sure, there were some risks for some Allies who deciphered codes because secrets could be hidden in messages that their rivals cannot understand because they are all geniuses. Again, they are code breakers. The problem is how long to decipher the code before the code changes and it comes to show, now, that the mathematicians need to prove themselves as useful tools. It was like back then that the people were "influential computers". Now, we have accountants. But, this movie has shown how far we have come to where we are now especially from a great contribution from one man. In London, 1939, almost a million people are evacuated from their homes and 27-year old Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) arrives at heavily Naval-guarded Bletchley Park. He is being interviewed by the Co...

A bunch of meddling kids wanting to become punk rockers. I saw a small little gem called We Are The Best!  because I heard of a friend that it was a great film about children becoming punk rockers, actually, girls becoming punk rockers. And I said to myself, "This is ridiculous! It sounds like another film of The Runaways  and I do not want to see another movie like that again." After watching this movie, it is not. Actually, it is a lot better but even though it has a conventional arc and storyline, the way the director and writers approached the film is not as predictable because of the timeline and how they handled it and how charming the young little actors are and I think the three young Swedish actresses carried the film real well. In Stockholm, 1982, Bobo and Klara (Mira Barkhammar and Mira Grosin) are teenage girls that are made fun of because of their affinity of punk rock. They are androgynous and wear baggy clothes but they have to deal with boys who play in ...

The witch has returned. Imagine your favorite Disney character or favorite fairy tale character living happily ever after. Would you think about them living in a palace with children and riches and fame? Would you think they are in some sort of paradise? Why do you think they would live happily? How would you know if they are living happily? The play has shown how these fairy characters lived but in a more connected way because well, all in all, it is fantasy and usually, dreams come true. Well, not in this case, even those Disney made some corporate decisions to dial down the dark themes a little and the sexual overtones a lot, it is still a splendid and well-acted musical especially in its first two-thirds of the movie. The movie starts with all the characters singing what they want to do: Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) wants to go to king's festival, the Baker and his wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt) want to have children but she is infertile, the young Jack (Daniel Huddles...

Rogen and Franco trying to work with the gadgets. I am not going to say, "Maybe I should review this movie, because I think after all of this silly publicity about North Korea threatening theaters to showcase this film, we all have a right to see any movie we'd like to see." And, we all do have a right to see it but we will get to that later. I have seen so many spoofs of political satire and celebrity journalism that is downright hilarious. Nothing can beat Dr. Strangelove in terms of political satire. And, entertainment journalism is not a topic that is covered often, but, Hollywood has been spoofed and it has been done well and not so well. However, this film has both have them and even though the film is inconsistent of laughs, jokes, political satire, and journalistic humor, it made me laugh just enough to like the movie. Dave Skylark (James Franco), a host of an entertainment talk show called Skylark Tonight , interviews celebrities regarding controversial mat...

Hey, everybody! I want to wish y'all and your families a very Merry Christmas! Relive all the joyous memories that is inserted during this festive occasion and also create new memories. You can sit back, relax, talk, eat and maybe even sleep. But, again, it is a great time to spend with the people you love on this Christmas Day. Happy Holidays!

Anna as a nun. The Holocaust is unquestionably one of the most horrifying events in history and many Jews have died for no unexplainable and unacceptable reason. However, when a descendant of a family is placed in some sort of hole and may know why is she placed in some sort of random gathering place or another family. This movie follows a character trying to find who she is and how and what happened to her parents and it is a fantastic and interesting journey to follow. Anna (Agata Trezubuchowska) is a nun in 1963 who is called by the Mother Superior to tell her before she takes her vows, she has to visit her family. Anna travels by public transportation to visit her aunt Wanda (Agata Kuleska), who is a heavy-drinking judge and former prosecutor of the Stalinist regime for Polish anti-communist resistance soldiers. She shows Anna a picture of her family and as Wandas shows her brother in a picture. Anna objects but Wanda says that her real name is Ida and she is Jewish and h...

Reese Witherspoon hiking on a trail.  Any person would consider any type of hobby a source of therapy, treatment or aid to guide you from the difficult obstacles of uncertainty. As an aid, I listen to music that I dislike to focus on any activity that I have to face to move on to a certain level. It is a weird source of therapy but it works. However, any type of noise or just silence would be another two options, but, I would stick with the easiest option in my opinion. But, in this movie, a woman uses hiking as therapy to get away from all the reckless behavior and unfortunate events that was in her life. And, solely, a performance carries the film with finesse and silent resonance. Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) checks into a motel room on the first day of her journey when she is told constantly by a hotel clerk that there will be an extra charge if she has a man with her. She clearly states that she is by herself and does not have an address and wants to just hike the ...

The sun will come out tomorrow...you know the rest. The sun'll come out tomorrow Bet your bottom dollar that'll come out tomorrow there'll be sun Just thinkin' about tomorrow... If you're familiar with these lyrics, well, then, good for you, I'm glad you remember them because someone had to. If not wondering where it comes from, I will just tell you. Annie is a broadway play adapted from the comic books of Little Orphan Annie  that opened in 1977. It had a cute premise with girls living in an orphanage singing how they feel in that state with a terrible caretaker. But, then, Annie is luckily adopted by a person who wants the owner to raise her during the Christmas holiday. It then unravels to a heartfelt conclusion. I enjoy the whole story. But, however, film adaptations take the story and develop into something weird and unsatisfying. Out of all the film adaptations about the sweet girl, this version is the absolute worst. I already explained the sto...

Bilbo (Martin Freeman) making a decision. You know what, I'm not going to delay you with my thoughts regarding why this Hobbit book was divided into three movies. I do not think it is a great franchise, but, it has a solid conclusion to the end of the series before another journey will begin in The Fellowship of the Ring . Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and the Dwarves get out and watch from the Lonely Mountain to see Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) destroy Laketown, while their leader, Thorin (Richard Armitage) cannot watch. However, Bard (Luke Evans) tries to break out of imprisonment as his children go with Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) and others and then, afterwards, he slays the dragon which smothers most of the city. The survivors of Laketown declare Bard to become their new leader. Kili (Aidan Turner) and the other Dwarves head back to the Company and asks Tauriel to join in. Legolas (Orlando Bloom) interferes and tells her to leave Kili as he hands over the medallion to her as a...

Yep! That's how I felt after most of them. To be honest, this was a harder year picking the 10 worst films of 2014 than picking the top 10 films of 2014 (coming in two weeks). It was just hard picking 10 films from the 25 films I gave mediocre reviews, actually that is a record for me. Most of the time I was bored watching the worst films than being repulsed by the material on-screen. It seems to me some of the stuff on the list are half of the movies that are remakes or sequels. Are there any ambitious projects in the making? Anyway, here are the 10 movies and dishonorable mentions that I suffered through this year. Ugh, here we go... 10. Dumb and Dumber To I usually use #10 as the most disappointing movie of the year. There were a lot that were disappointing, but since the first film was funny. The 20-year reunion of Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey was hardly funny. The first 15 minutes was a funny skit, however, the remainder of the movie was dull and duller too. How sad...