Films watched in 2014

I watched 120 films in 2011, 69 films in 2012 and 83 in 2013.

1) Skyfall (2012) 8.5/10
To me, this is the best Bond flick till date and so my most favorite Bond flick also. Ironically I am not a big fan of Bond and this is not your typical Bond film either. Probably that's reason why I have enjoyed this the most. Directed by a seasoned director, Sam Mendes whose other two films I have seen are American Beauty (1999) & Road to Perdition (2002), both of which I liked.

2) Life of Pi (2012)  7.5/10
When you see all these African animals running around in an Indian zoo and then listen to the childish Tamil spoken with funny accent, in the opening sequences of the film it starts off in a disappointing note. At the end, it was an enjoyable movie. Nice to see some dialogs in Tamil. I always wish there were some nice Indian characters speaking some Indian language in Hollywood films, whenever I see Chinese, Spanish and Russian dialogs.

3) The Abyss (1989)  7.0/10

4) Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) 4.0/10

5) Nadunisi Naaygal (2011) 6.5/10

6) Kalyana Samayal Saadham (2013) 8.0/10

7) Les Misérables (2012) 8.0/10

8) Argo (2012)  8.5/10

9) Jilla (2013) 5.0/10

10) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) 6.0/10

11) Crash (2004) 7.0/10

12) Running Scared (2006) 8.0/10

13) Looper (2012) 7.0/10

14) Daredevil (2003) 5.0/10
One of the dumbest & most boring of super heroes movies in a long time.

15) Silver Linings Playbook (2012) 8.5/10
One of the most refreshing movies in a long time. I thought after a long time here was a movie with very nice realistic acting by not only the lead pair of Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence, but also by the supporting pair of Robert De Niro & Jacki Weaver playing the parents of Bradley Cooper. It was nice to know that all four were nominated for Acting Oscars and only Jennifer went on to win.

16) Jack Reacher (2012) 8.0/10

17) The Expendables 2 (2012) 7.0/10
My rating for this movie is mostly influenced by two things: the all-start team of Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Van Damme, Bruce Willis & Arnold in the cast and some of the funny one liners. Other than these two its an ordinary movie with some nice raw action. I particularly liked that one shot that had the three Hollywood super stars in one frame.

18) A Time to Kill (1996) 7.5/10
Though this film was a 100M hit in the US, I couldn't get a DVD or get to watch this on TV for a really long time. Almost like the other film 8 Miles. Finally caught this on TV and a very nice movie.

19) Lincoln (2012)  6.0/10
Since I was not aware of the historical facts associated with the movie, it turned out to be a big drag for me.

20) Bramman (2014) 5.0/10
It is sad to see Sasikumar doing such a film and such a role. It doesn't suit him at all. He is better off playing roles like the one in Sundara Pandian. This movie would have looked old even 30 years back, as Davani Kanavugal was.

21) The Last King of Scotland (2006)  8.0/10
Its ironical that even though I was not aware of the historical facts associated with the movie, I really enjoyed this one, which was not the case for Lincoln, despite Steven Spielberg & Daniel Day-Lewis. Here you have a relatively smaller actor Forest Whitaker, living the role of Idi Amin and went onto grab the Oscar.

22) Iron Man 3 (2013) 8.5/10

23) Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) 7.0/10
 
24) Inside Man (2006) 7.5/10
This film had Chaiya Chaiya as the title song.

25) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) 7.0/10 

26) Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013) 6.0/10

27) A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) 6.0/10 
While it is unfair to compare this with the first or second Die Hard films, when comparing this to the fourth film that came in 2007, it is not up to the mark. I rate this at 6.0 only for the action sequences and not for anything else!

28) Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) 5.0/10 

29) The Internship (2013) 6.0/10

30) White House Down (2013) 6.5/10 

31) Oblivion (2013) 7.5/10

32) Elysium (2013) 7.5/10 

33) The Heat (2013) 6.0/10

34) Yaamirukka Bayamae (2014) 7.5/10

35) A Separation (2011) 8.0/10

36) G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)  7.5/10  

37)  Insidious (2010) 7.0/10

38) Kochadaiyaan (2014) 6.0/10

39)  Identity Thief (2013) 5.0/10

40)  The Bank Job (2008) 7.0/10

41)  Grown Ups 2 (2013) 6.0/10

42) Arima Nambi (2014) 8.0/10 

43) Sathuranga Vaettai (2014) 9.0/10  

44) Velai Illa Pattathari (2014) 8.0/10

45) The Hangover Part III (2013) 6.0/10

46) Captain Phillips (2013) 8.0/10

47) After Earth (2013) 4.0/10

48) Fast & Furious 6 (2013) 8.0/10

49) The Lone Ranger (2013) 7.0/10

50) Attack the Block (2011) 7.0/10

51) Anjaan (2014) 3.0/10 

52) Nirmirndhu Nil (2014) 4.0/10

53) Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) 7.0/10

54) Nootrenbadhu (2011) 4.0/10 

55) Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) 8.5/10

56) The Wolverine (2013) 7.0/10

57) Pizza II: Villa (2013) 6.0/10

58) Man of Steel (2013) 7.5/10
Would have give it a 9.0/10, but for the drag in the middle.

59) Gangster Squad (2013) 7.5/10
This looked more like a Tamil film to me!!

60) Aadama Jayichomada (2014) 7.0/10

61) Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) 6.5/10

62) Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (2014) 6.0/10

63) World War Z (2013) 7.5/10

64) We're the Millers (2013) 7.5/10

65) Jigarthanda (2014) 9.0/10

66) Ivan Veramaathiri (2013) 7.0/10

67) Now You See Me (2013) 8.0/10

68) RoboCop (2014) 6.0/10

69) Linga (2014) 6.0/10

70) Madras (2014) 8.0/10

71) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) 8.0/10

72) Hummingbird (2013) 6.0/10

73) Neerparavai (2012) 8.0/10

74) Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam (2014) 7.5/10


My Top 5 Tamil Films of 2014 were:

1. JIGARTHANDA
2. SATHURANGA VAETTAI
3. VELAI ILLA PATTATHARI
4. MADRAS
5. ARIMA NAMBI

Those that  missed narrowly were: Yaamirukka Bayamae, Aadama Jayichomada, Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam

The biggest disappointments of the year were: Kochadaiyaan, Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, Linga, Bramman, Nirmirndhu Nil and of course the bottom of the chart should be ANJAAN.