Favorite Films 2014

I have finally put together my Favorite Films of 2014 list. This was a good year for film, and I enjoyed the small, thoughtful films that were in abundance. There were a lot of wonderful performances and creative ways to tell these stories. These are the films that tickled my fancy this year. It's an even dozen. Click on the title to see what I thought.

Boyhood
Birdman
Whiplash
Snowpiercer
Begin Again
Guardians of the Galaxy
Locke
Gone Girl
St. Vincent
The Bobadook
Cheap Thrills
The Lego Movie

P.S. End credits were very creative this year: 22 Jump Street, The Boxtrolls, American Sniper and The Hobbit to name a few. Sometimes it's worth sitting through "the words" as my grandson calls them.

Favorite Forty Films of 2013

I'm throwing the Top 10 format out the window and listing my Favorite Forty Films of 2013. These were my favorites of the year, not necessarily the best. They all gave me pleasure and I smile every time I read through this list. Click on the titles to see what I thought when I saw them.

Sound City
Before Midnight
The Stories We Tell
Nebraska
The Way Way Back
Gravity
12 Years a Slave
Inside Llewyn Davis
Trash Dance
Rush

Her
The World's End
Fruitvale Station
Mud
A Band Called Death
Blue Jasmine
You're Next
Dallas Buyers Club
Enough Said
Philomena

August: Osage County
Saving Mr. Banks
Frances Ha
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
What Maisie Knew
Monsters University
This is the End
Much Ado About Nothing
Spring Breakers
Frozen

The Conjuring
Muscle Shoals
The Wolf of Wall Street
All is Lost
The Place Beyond the Pines
A Single Shot
Don Jon
Captain Phillips
Drinking Buddies
Pacific Rim

Favorite Films of 2012

Having seen Zero Dark Thirty this weekend, I'm ready to post my favorite films of 2012. I don't feel qualified to say which films are "best", it's a very subjective term. No one can argue with me on my favorites, because they are mine. Going through all of the films I saw released in 2012 I came up with 30 I really enjoyed. From there, I found my way to the conventional number of 10. I'm going to list them in alphabetical order because I liked them all equally. Click on the titles to see what I thought.

Argo ~ A thriller based in a true story. The editing in this film is outstanding.

Cabin in the Woods ~ A crazy horror story that was a ride I was happy to take.

Django Unchained ~ A love story based in pre-civil war south wrapped in a bloody ride.

The Intouchables ~ A story of friendship and comment on how you live your life.

Magic Mike ~ A stripper wants more. This story is elevated by it's acting and sincerity of its characters.

Moonrise Kingdom ~ A sweet story of young love. Filmed in RI, this one has a special place in my heart. Someone called it a lovely jewel box. So true.

Ruby Sparks ~ A creative spin on the crazy girlfriend story.

Seven Psychopaths ~ A roadtrip extraordinaire

Skyfall ~ A wonderful addition to the Bond franchise

Sleepwalk With Me ~ A true story that made me smile.

The other 20? The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Frankenweenie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Cloud Atlas, Robot & Frank, The Sessions, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Flight, Killer Joe, Chronicle, Hunger Games, Sound of My Voice , The Avengers, Ted, The Dark Knight Rises, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lawless and Looper. All solid films and worth a look. On to 2013!