Hype. The single most important word in the film industry. I know you’re thinking, "John, you’re wrong it’s obviously money!". Nay, nay I say, without the hype there is no money. Hype is the reason that we have movie trailers, and now teasers of movie trailers, and sneak peak shots of the teasers of movie trailers. You get the point. It doesn’t stop when the movie is released though. The hype train continues right on through the theatrical release to home video, and sometimes, into history. This whole aspect of Hollywood always leaves you with a few films that just don’t fit the buzz they were assigned. Some great films are just passed over while other highly lauded films leave you thinking the world is high as a kite and they forgot to pass you the doobie. We’ve got the whole of the PDC together for this list as we visit what we think to be the most overrated and underrated films of 2014.
When you're done, be sure to check out all of our end-of-year coverage here!John NolanOVERRATED LucyI know, I know, it’s kind of a weak pick. Half of you are probably sitting at your computers saying “What the hell was Lucy?”. You know, that completely forgettable movie with Scarlett Johannson where the big hook was “What happens when someone uses more than 10% of their brain?!?”, yeah…that one. I’m kind of an easy sell, if you give me something that’s halfway enjoyable I’m not going to trash it. I completely trashed this movie. I can’t remember a longer 90 minute stretch of my life than sitting through this absurdly nonsensical oxymoron of a film (how can you be full of action, yet completely boring?). No big deal, forget it and move on…and, stay with me, here’s where it earns it’s place on the list, then the reviews start coming out and people are praising it! Not in waves, mind you, but they are out there, enough to earn a fresh score on rotten tomatoes. Lucy. Overrated. Understatement.
UNDERRATEDRobocop
Something told me this one was going to be alright. I’m not exactly on my own in thinking that but it’s far from the popular consensus. I guess the original was just a case of the right movie at the right time and this remake, as good as it was, had to much of the 80s in it. Well, we are living in an 80s world and I am an 80s girl….err…guy. That’s the argument I have to make because Robocop not being universally loved makes no sense to me. As far as remakes go this should be a template. Other than a few forced call backs to the original they did everything perfectly, updating not just the look, but the story and feel to our modern world. The sad thing is, if the original Robocop had never been released, then you release this exact same movie people would have praised it, going so far as to call it prophetic. The thing is, the world created in the 1987 Robocop was implausible…a sci-fi fever dream coated in blood. The 2014 version is not only possible, but in many ways plausible. Past all this it was just a whole lot of fun, sure I could have used more blood but I can say that about anything (I’m a blast at dinner parties).
Roxana HadadiOVERRATEDSt. VincentThe Bill Murray hipster resurgence is exhausting. Not everything Bill Murray touches is gold, and St. Vincent is absolutely proof of that. A frustratingly formulaic movie built around on the been-there-done-that premise of "grumpy old man befriends charming child; charming child befriends grumpy old man; everyone wins or whatever," the movie asked very little of Murray and he gave very little back. And that supporting cast? Please. Melissa McCarthy has had a year full of misfires and Naomi Watts, with her terrible accent and caricature of a Russian prostitute character, did absolutely nothing to deserve that Screen Actors Guild nomination. And yet this film has somehow made $44 million, because ugh.
UNDERRATEDFoxcatcher
Foxcatcher came out strong in film festival competition, yielding a Best Director win at Cannes for Bennett Miller, tons of critical hype, and then ... nothing. The film opened quietly the same weekend as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, and since then has struggled to find an audience, making only about $3 million. But this film has haunted me for the weeks since I've seen it - all of its weirdness and quietness, all of its unanswered questions, all of its critiques about the nature of inherited wealth and the myth of American dominance and the masculine desire to prove oneself before anyone and everyone who asks. Why haven't more people seen this movie? Why hasn't it received more award-season nominations? As John DuPont, Steve Carell's performance is determinedly, effectively off-kilter. As Olympic-gold-winning wrestler Mark Schultz, Channing Tatum is flawed and tragic. As Mark's even-more-celebrated older brother Dave Schultz, Mark Ruffalo is likable and, because the world is a terrible place, doomed. This movie will linger over you like a dark cloud, and more people should join me under it.
Julian LytleOVERRATEDEdge of TomorrowYou know this one here for me is clouded by the fact that I read the manga adaptation of the original story All You Need Is Kill. I tried to go into this with an open mind and it’s also a reason I try not read a story before viewing a film version. I see many people enjoyed this movie and while I can see where it can be enjoyable too many things bother me about it. My main problem with the movie is that it totally destroys that character of Rita Vrataski. In the entire movie she only does two things helps Tom Cruise’s character get better and then just becomes a damsel in distress. You never really see how bad ass she is supposed to be at most she’s just like a person drill sergent for Cruise’s William Cage. Also I think the movie made the aliens needlessly difficult in how they work. It just doesn’t work for me, like they wanted to make a Halo Groundhog Day. In the end I’m like "really"?
UNDERRATED Godzilla
GODZILLA 2014 IS LIFE! See I never understood what people were expecting. Folk complaining how come there wasn’t that much of the monsters fighting? Why was there so much human story? Clearly all those people either never saw a Godzilla movie or being that they were children only paid attention to the last 15 minutes when the Godzilla was wrecking. This film did a modern interpretation of 70s superhero Godzilla. He wasn’t destroying the city on purpose, he had a foe and was ready to kill them. Godzilla doesn’t half step. He befriended Quicksilver (Aaron Johnson) crashed on downtown to sleep off his bar fight and bounced in the morning like any good homie. Not only that they had great winks to Mothra and Kiryu in the film. So many folks need to get familiar.
Mae Abdulbaki OVERRATEDHow to Train Your Dragon 2 It doesn't really matter what many say, this sequel to the very well made How to Train Your Dragon is disappointing and doesn't live up to the original at all. A lot of people liked it, it made almost $50 million its opening weekend alone, but there's something about it that just doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps it's the fact that Toothless kills Hiccup's father and everything is hunky dory about two minutes later. Don't get me wrong, the animation itself is stunning and visually beautiful, but the film doesn't carry the same torch as the original. The inclusion of Hiccup's mother only feels like a replacement for his father, who is offed so his son can become the leader he's always wanted him to be. But I mean, if Hiccup never wanted to be a leader, don't force him into it. Astrid would have been a much better choice anyway. Sigh
UNDERRATEDGet on Up
Show of hands, who actually saw Get on Up? I hear the crickets chirping. If you did, great, because this movie is frankly not given enough love. It's not a perfect film, but it retells the story of music legend and icon James Brown, played by rising star Chadwick Boseman, in a non-linear fashion that immediately takes you into the story and keeps you there. We visit several different parts of Brown's life, but it always comes back to his present. A montage that cuts between Boseman performing and Brown's actual performances is very well done really makes you feel like you're at a concert. The wonderful performances by Boseman and the rest of the cast, which includes Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, is well worth the watch. Definitely a film that should've been seen by more people.
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Travis HopsonOVERRATEDStill AliceHey, I get it. We all love Julianne Moore. I do, too! She’s a redhead, of course I love her. Oh, and she’s an amazing actress, and is pretty great in Still Alice. But did anybody notice that none of the consequences of her character having Alzheimer’s is actually dealt with in ANY way, shape, or form? Like not at all. Her kids possibly inheriting the disease? Nope. Her career-driven husband’s awesome new job getting put on hold because he has to care for her? Nope. It’s like co-directors/writers Richard Glatzer and Wash West are averse to the very idea of confronting anything. Maybe that’s how the story plays out in the book but it doesn’t matter. I have a feeling it has to do with the lousy adaptation from the same guys who somehow made a biopic on philandering Errol Flynn (The Last of Robin Hood) boring and drab. How is that even possible? Anyway, Still Alice isn’t terrible; it’s just mediocre. Still love you, Julianne. Call me.
UNDERRATEDThe Skeleton Twins
Only one movie could make me put Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” on my playlist. When I first saw The Skeleton Twins at Sundance it struck me like a thunderbolt for a number of reasons. This sweet, affecting dramedy about two highly-dysfuctional siblings features amazing performances by Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. The SNL vets know one another so well their chemistry is flawless, all while venturing into the most dramatic territory of their careers. The film manages to stay light and funny while dealing with some heavy subjects (suicide, infidelity), a credit to up ‘n coming director Craig Johnson. I thought this film would have done more upon release but it kind of vanished in the blink of an eye, so grab someone close to you and check this movie out on Blu-Ray. You won’t be disappointed.
Designed as a cinematic version of a doctor's office info pamphlet, Still Alice is mostly concerned with informing on the disease rather than telling an effective story. Clunky scenes between Alice, John, and her doctor are information dumps and only move the narrative along in a functional manner, rather than an emotional one. While the screenplay is always honest and well-intentioned, it doesn't stretch too far beyond that. Alice's condition completely rearranges the deck chairs for her family in every way imaginable, but all of the problems it causes are swept away in a scene or two. The disease is hereditary and threatens her children, as well, but we barely see the situation dealt with or hear their concerns. John, who values his career and has just got a prominent new job at the Mayo Clinic, proposes to uproot Alice and move out to Minnesota, a situation rife with dramatic conflict that never materializes. This may be a reflection of Genova's novel that we only see things from Alice's perspective, but the more interesting story is larger than the one we get. How the family copes with seeing such a vibrant personality snuffed out by degrees is sadly missing.
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