People, they love blood. They love action. Not this talky, depressing, philosophical ILX 2014 Film Poll Thread - Voting closes Friday, Feb. 21st at Midnight EST.

24. The Babadook (110 pts. 6 votes)

http://s7.postimg.org/jx370wffv/24_The_Babadook.jpg

a genuinely terrifying & repulsive monster, who also happened to be the narrator

That's what I liked as well! In the end, it doesn't even matter about motives; the music's what's important. Frank just missed my list.

Final music scene in Frank was all time.

The last five seconds almost killed me with joy

good performances in Babadook, entirely rote last 30 mins when it turns into just a horror film

what I liked best about The Babadook: kids are the scariest monsters

Yeah, didn't shrink at all from how annoying that child was. Felt the frustration.

i get people not liking gone girl for various filmmaking-related reasons, or questions over the plausibility of the plot but do people really think that gillian flynn created a woman psychopath bc she has politics that'd make her like, the fuckin camille lapaglia of crime writers?

...that said, if the main argument is that the dangers of the potential interpretation by the audience - especially the dumber and unenlightened-male portions of the audience, which are certainly sizable - trumps the intent of the writer, i get that.

― slothroprhymes, Monday, February 23, 2015 12:23 PM (4 hours ago)

well we all know that

can't approach Village of the Damned

xxp

Best horror film about bereavement? Didn't quite make my list but enjoyed it a lot and felt like the last thirty minutes was the most relatable part...

It's probably challops to say that the film's depiction of annoying kid driving parent crazy is better than in The Shining, to which it's indebted obv.

23. National Gallery (126 pts. 5 votes)

http://s11.postimg.org/wta51jhar/23_National_Gallery.jpg

yay, dug frank and the babadook, though i only voted for the former. it overdoes the quirk at times (field exercises), but the music & fassbender are excellent. i probably should have voted for the babadook, but i tend to like my horror a bit wilder, and i'm glad the rest of you took up the slack.

I could've watched an eight-hour cut of NG.

I adored it. Maybe could have done with more meetings.

if I have the chance I'd ask students to watch it and F is for Fake for essay assignment.

one of many i missed :(

had NG 17th; a hair less compelling than At Berkeley for me

I listed it pretty high, but three was fine. I liked At Berkeley better.

i think i've seen 82 about new films from '14, and Snowpiercer is among the ten worst.

― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Monday, February 23, 2015 5:53 PM (17 minutes ago)

count yourself lucky. i've seen just north of 70, and it's among the better half. just barely though.

Alright, realised that there is no 21 because 20 is a two way tie, so I'll hold off on those until tomorrow. Here's the final one for the evening.

22. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (130 pts. 6 votes)

http://s21.postimg.org/k2bhopr13/22_Birdman.jpg

too high

aka the voters

nah, that seems about right. was my #22 on the strength of the camerawork, music & performances.

it's prob not gonna place but i wanna say again how much everyone should see The Overnighters; easily a top film of the year.
Vic and Flo was quite good though it's not a movie you want to watch at midnight with your mother.

Midnight With Your Mother sounds like the title of the next Denis Cote (or perhaps Xavier Dolan) film.

long as it's not louis malle

The Europeans are wide awake now..

enjoying this weird-paced, artsy rollout

Yeah! Wide awake! I've actually had way too much coffee already. I apologize in advance for my behaviour when either Stray Dogs or Boyhood shows up.

Actually, it was probably smart to post Birdman while we snobbish Europeans were asleep. By far the worst film I didn't see this year.

Hello Euros. We'll start in a moment.

(Tie) 20. The Immigrant (134 pts. 5 votes)

http://s15.postimg.org/r2ks9l3m3/20_The_Immigrant.jpg

the immigrant looks crazy predictable and very pearl clutchy, lace rending. i really need to see this?

too low

Cotillard the weakest thing in it, but only because meek passive suffering roles drive me crazy. Otherwise the movie's masterfully paced and photographed. James Gray one of the best American directors.

I wasn't blown away by it but between this and Two Lovers I finally understand the Gray partisans where I couldn't before.

Cotillard looks so much like she has stepped out of a b/w glamour photo of that era.

(Tie) 20. The LEGO Movie (134 pts. 7 votes)

http://s10.postimg.org/inx11imdl/20_The_Lego_Movie.jpg

Oh man, that was my best hope for a passable #1 :(

Third one I voted for, after Force Majeure and National Gallery.

Only thing I voted for to show up at this halfway point is the Ebert film. Only other one I've seen so far is Vic + Flo. The Strange Little Cat, Force Majeure, Love is Strange, The Babadook, The Immigrant and, what the hell, Birdman all on my to-see list though.

19. Calvary (137 pts. 6 votes)

http://s7.postimg.org/470e90m1n/19_Calvary.jpg

Yeah that's about what I thought.

18. Norte, The End of History (139 pts. 4 votes 2 #1)

http://s11.postimg.org/sltrxiq03/18_Norte.jpg

calvary is the movie i wish martin mcdonagh had made after in bruges instead of seven psychopaths, but hey thats what brother directors with similar worldviews are for i suppose

We kinda wanted to watch that but we will need to clear 4 hours. Worth it, I trust (Norte)

Heh, yeah Norte! Voted for the two other Diaz I saw this year - I liked both more - but at least one of those will prob get wider release this year, so it was pretty dumb all in all. Glad to see it made it anyway.

in my top three

I watched in two uneven chunks.

had to watch Winter Sleep in two sessions, long films are tough for late night boozing viewers.

I thought Calvary was ok, a bit flimsy and over-reliant on Gleeson's charm and skills.