10 Great Overlooked Films from 2014

Have you noticed there are more movies than ever coming out each week? There were over 600 major releases that opened last year, and with the ease of digital distribution and streaming network that number is only going to increase. So there's simply no way anybody can catch them all. It's simply not possible.

The "Overlooked" list is always a tough balancing act for me. Last year I left off a criminally underseen indie like Short Term 12 because it ended up at the top of my "Best" chart, and that problem has reared its ugly head again. Why should I put great movies like Frank or God Help the Girl here when I have them so high elsewhere? And as is the case every single year, there are more than enough films deserving of your attention that sadly got lost in the tidal wave of big-budget sequels and franchises. So here are just 10 of them you may have missed that are definitely worth your time.

The One I Love (review here)
Director: Charlie McDowell
Cast: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson


Film Clip: 'The One I Love' by WSJ Live

The Skeleton Twins (review here)
Director: Craig Johnson
Cast: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell


Kristen Wiig is Mad at Bill Hader in THE SKELETON TWINS Clip ('Wow') by The Seven Sees

Enemy (review here)
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Gadon, Melanie Laurent, Isabella Rossellini


Enemy - Clip 2 by Flixgr

Joe (review here)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan


Joe Movie CLIP - Trouble (2014) - Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan Drama HD by Trailer 2014

Cold in July (review here)
Director: Jim Mickle
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw


Cold In July - Clip: Beat Down by Dread Central

Fort Bliss (review here)
Claudia Myers
Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Ron Livingston

Keep On Keepin' On
Director: Alan Hicks
Cast: Clark Terry, Justin Kauflin


Film Clip: 'Keep on Keepin' On' by WSJ Live

Force Majeure
Director: Ruben Ostlund
Cast: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli


Film Clip: 'Force Majeure' by WSJ Live

The Babadook (review here)
Director: Jennifer Kent
Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman

THE BABADOOK Movie CLIP - The Book (2014) - Horror Movie HD by Horror Movie Trailers

The Book of Life (review here)
Director: Jorge Gutierrez
Cast: Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Ron Perlman, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo


The Book Of Life - Clip - Land Of The Remembered by MyMovies_International

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Box Office: 'Nightcrawler' Edges Out 'Ouija' for Top Spot by $9,000

1. Nightcrawler- $10.909M
I feel I should say something about the state of the American cinematic audience when a potential Oscar film featuring a certified superstar BARELY makes the top spot against the worst reviewed horror movie in years. Then I remember that it was Halloween weekend. Still, while not a traditional Halloween type movie, Nightcrawler had enough of a creepy element to it that it should have stolen a chunk of Ouija's box office.

2. Ouija- $10.9M/$34.9M
See Above

3. Fury- $9.1M/$60.4M
The Brad Pitt starring WWII masterpiece holds on to a top three spot in its third week of release. Few movies combine this level of acting with top tier action sequences, I guess that's why these numbers are disappointing to me. As one of the best movies to come out since July I had really hoped Fury would have passed the $100M mark by now.

4. Gone Girl- $8.8M/$136.6M
Now a certified hit on both the critical and financial scales, Gone Girl pulls in another 8 million, Affleck's really bringing some Bruce Wayne style success to his films as of late.

5. The Book of Life- $8.3M/$40.5M

6. John Wick- $8M/$27.5M
Keanu is starting to solidify his new calling as a B-movie action star (B-movie meaning type of film, not quality) as John Wick pulls in another $8M bringing them within reach of the $30 million dollar goal for most films of its kind.

7. St. Vincent- $7.7M/$19.5M
With all of the meh buzz surrounding Bill Murray's latest these numbers are quite surprising to me.

8. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day- $6.4M/$53.6

9. The Judge- $3.4M/$39.5M
Despite lackluster reviews the Robert Downey Jr vehicle nears the $40 million dollar mark.

10. Dracula Untold- $2.9M/52.8M
It's no masterpiece but if the world was fair Dracula Untold would be swapped with the craptastic Ouija. What, is Dracula not Halloween worthy anymore?

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Box Office: 'Ouija' Possesses #1 with $20M; 'John Wick' Opens Strong at $14.5M

1. Ouija- $20M
If it's Halloween, expect the folks at Blumhouse to come up with another low-budget horror flick to rule the box office. Ouija is the latest attempt by Hasbro to launch one of their toys into a movie franchise, but unlike the bloated flop Battleship this one's actually a success. The $5M Ouija racked up $20M from the genre fans looking for their scare fix. They probably went home disappointed on that score, and chances are the film will drop 70% next week and be gone in a flash, but for now Ouija is a hit.
2. John Wick- $14.5M
Here's a case of solid buzz and star power overcoming low expectations. The Keanu Reeves-led action flick John Wick opened at $14.5M, a strong debut for a movie nobody knew about two months ago. But once those early screenings started rolling out and people started talking about the bloody revenge tale as Reeves' big comeback vehicle, John Wick suddenly was on a lot of radars. And it truly deserves all of the positive response as the film is extremely good, one of the best action movies of the year, and Reeves as good as ever. I'm really digging this new phase of his career focusing on genre films that, tangentially, harken back to his performance in The Matrix. Last year's Man of Tai Chi was excellent and had some amazing fight choreography, and the same goes for John Wick. So yes, let's see some sequels, please.
3. Fury- $13M/$46M
David Ayer's WWII thriller Fury slipped 45% in week two, with the $68M film totaling $46M in two weeks. That's not bad, and the film will earn a profit domestically for sure. However it should do even better overseas since Brad Pitt is such an international superstar.
4. Gone Girl- $11.1M/$124M
5. The Book of Life- $9.8M/$29.9M
6. St. Vincent- $8M/$9.1M
Expanding more than 2200 theaters is the Bill Murray/Melissa McCarthy comedy, St. Vincent, adding $8M for a total of $9.8M.  Reviews have been solid but unspectacular, so this one is being powered by the strength of Murray and McCarthy's appeal.
7. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day- $7M/$45.5M
8. The Best of Me- $4.7M/$17.6M
9. The Judge- $4.34M/$34.3M
10. Dracula Untold- $4.3M/$48.3M

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Box Office: 'Fury' Steamrolls to #1 with $23.5M; 'Dear White People, 'Birdman' Both Open Strong

1. Fury- $23.5M
When was the last time we had a big Hollywood war movie? It's been awhile, and apparently audiences were eager to see Brad Pitt in an R-rated war flick like Fury, as the film opened with $23.5M, basically hitting all the projections. While the $68M movie was largely sold on Brad Pitt back on a war footing for the first time since Inglourious Basterds, the strong debut is also a feather in the cap of David Ayer, the director best known for cop dramas like End of Watch and Sabotage. As he pushes ahead to direct the DC Comics adaptation Suicide Squad, this should go a long way in establishing him as a director capable of painting on a larger canvas.
2. Gone Girl- $17.8M/$107M
Another solid hold for David Fincher's Gone Girl, moving past the $100M in week 3 and totally $181M worldwide. And just as it hurt the chances of success for The Judge last week, I think it may have done the same to The Best of Me's debut. More on that later.
3. The Book of Life- $17M
For my money the best animated film of the year, 20th Century Fox's Latin-themed The Book of Life opened strong with $17M. The $50M film had the backing of producer Guillermo Del Toro, and a number of popular celebrity voices in Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Ice Cube, and Diego Luna, along with many popular Mexican entertainers. It's been a strong year for movies geared at Latin audiences and The Book of Life is just the latest example, but it also saw benefit from an ad campaign that emphasized how different it was from the familiar projects by other studios. Sometimes audiences do reward movies that dare to be different.
4. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day- $12M/$36.8M
5. The Best of Me- $10.2M
Opening with a scant $10.2M was The Best of Me, the latest melodramatic romance adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. This is actually the ninth film based on the author's work, and it's also the lowest-debuting of the bunch, which hopefully means people are getting tired of them because they're all telling the same story but with different white people. And yeah, that is a factor in today's multicultural society where diversity is seen as a virtue; Sparks' films seem antiquated by comparison. I hesitate to blame stars Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden because Sparks adaptations have never needed big stars to be a hit. Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough starred in Safe Haven and that nearly broke $100M. The bigger problem may be competition, with Gone Girl locking down much of the "date night" audience. Whether this is the start of a trend we'll find out soon enough because two Sparks adaptations are on the way in The Longest Ride and The Choice, both with essentially the same plot. Ugh.
6. Dracula Untold- $9.8M/$40.7M
7. The Judge- $7.94M/$26.8M
8. Annabelle- $7.92M/$74.1M
9. The Equalizer- $5.4M/$89.1M
10. The Maze Runner- $4.5M/$90.8M

Opening in limited release were two of this season's most anticipated films. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's meta-comedy Birdman opened in four theaters and banked $415K, while Justin Simien's satire on race, Dear White People, made $344K at only 11 locations. Not bad for both, and they'll likely keep up the pace upon expansion in the next few weeks.

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Review: 'The Book of Life' featuring Channing Tatum, Diego Luna, and Zoe Saldana

We can all appreciate the brilliant and gorgeous animated films of Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks, but let's be honest that they all kind of look and feel the same. They're either selling toys or retelling old fairy tales, and while that doesn't diminish how good they are the animated field has been in desperate need of a kick in the pants for a long time. Actually, what it needed was a dash of spice, or in the case of the visually breath-taking The Book of Life, a dash of Mexican flavor.

Directed with obvious passion by Jorge Gutierrez, The Book of Life is a smorgasbord for the eyes, bursting with colors and energy like an overstuffed piñata. It's good to see a film that doesn't try to diminish its Latin heritage, but embraces it in a universal story of love and friendship based on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, the "Day of the Dead". The story begins simply enough, both narratively and visually, with a museum tour guide (Christina Applegate) introducing a group of kids to a very special exhibit. The story she tells involves powerful gods, best friends, magical realms, and lots of music. It follows the friendship of the passionate Manolo (Diego Luna), the spirited Maria (Zoe Saldana), and heroic Joaquin (Channing Tatum), all of whom are burdened by their families' expectations. Manolo has the heart of a musician but comes from a long line of brave bullfighters, while Joaquin was born to protect the town from a scourge of bandits. Once this part of the story gets into gear, the animation switches to something unlike anything we've seen before, with decorative wooden models reflecting the characters' personalities, and worlds that are never less than festive.

The boys may be pals but they both desire Maria's love, and that's when two scheming gods see fit to make a gamble on the outcome. The villainous Xibalba (voiced by Ron Perlman, confidante of producer Guillermo Del Toro) bets on the brave Joaquin, while his wife La Muerte (Kate de Castillo) chooses Manolo, with control over the "Land of the Remembered" the prize. Fearing he may lose the wager, Xibalba gives Joaquin a special medal imbuing him with courage and invulnerability, which he uses to become a greater hero than his legendary father. Manolo becomes a bullfighter who refuses to kill the animals he faces, bringing shame to the family. When a grown up Maria returns to town, they begin competing for her heart once again, and the gods can't help themselves from meddling.

A fun selection Latin-flavored renditions of Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, and Biz Markie hits give the film a distinct sound, and is a smart way to embrace multiple cultures maximum appeal. You can sense Del Toro's influence in every frame, especially when Manolo is forced to descend into the "Land of the Remembered" and the "Land of the Forgotten"; one a carnivale of colors the other a gloomy wasteland. But the real find here is Gutierrez in his feature debut, and in The Book of Life he's created an animated film with so much passion and soul it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as The Lego Movie, and at least for me it's even better. You can feel the love for his Mexican heritage in every character, from the luchadore-masked priests to the goofy mariachi bands. There's so much to take in that it's impossible to catch it all at once. Fortunately for us, The Book of Life is destined to go the way of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas as an annual holiday classic.

 Rating: 4 out of 5

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New Trailer for 'The Book of Life' Enlists Biz Markie for Help

In the midst of all the big Hall H presentations at Comic-Con, Jorge R. Gutierrez's colorful animated comedy The Book of Life had one of the show's most memorable moments. With much of the cast on stage talking about the Mexican fairy tale, rapper Biz Markie stepped up on stage for a rendition of his worn out rap classic, "Just a Friend" (I maintain he hasn't done the full song in 20 years), hijacking star Channing Tatum to rap the lyrics right along with him. It was a cute moment and emphasized the movie's good-natured spirit, and you can find more of it in the latest trailer.

Produced by Guillermo Del Toro and featuring the voices of Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Ice Cube, Christina Applegate, Ron Perlman and more, the film centers on Manolo who is torn between his desire to be a musician and his bull-fighting lineage. Tatum voices Joaquin, a boisterous local hero and Manolo's rival for the attentions of Maria (Saldana), their friend from childhood.

Gutierrez came into town a few weeks ago to show us some footage from the film and while it looks great, the real selling point is the director's enthusiasm and the personal connection he has to the story. This is clearly a labor of love for him and hopefully The Book of Life will do well when it opens October 17th.  Check out the trailer plus Tatum rappin' with Biz Markie below.


The Book of Life Official Trailer #2 by itsartmag

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Comic-Con: 20th Century Fox Panels Include Everything But 'Fantastic Four' and 'X-men'

Okay, so if we're to go by the released schedules for this year's Comic-Con the studios are seriously holding back. Lucasfilm isn't bringing Star Wars: Episode VII, Warner Bros. has nothing on Batman v Superman, and now 20th Century Fox isn't presenting Fantastic Four. At least not officially. Their 2-hour presentation will be held in Hall H on Friday July 25th, and will include some crapola like Let's Be Cops (!!?!?), and potentially cool stuff like The Maze Runner and Kinsgman: The Secret Service. Notice there isn't any mention of the X-men, either. *grumble*

Let's Be Cops
Panel participants are Damon Wayans Jr, Rob Riggle and Keegan Michael-Key.
Release Date: August 13, 2014
It’s the ultimate buddy cop movie except for one thing: they’re not cops. When two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party, they become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted “heroes” get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line.

The Maze Runner
Panel participants are Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Writer James Dashner and Director Wes Ball.
Release Date: September 19, 2014
When Thomas wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape. Based upon the best-selling novel by James Dashner.

The Book of Life
Panel participants are Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, Writer/Director Jorge Gutierrez and Producer Guillermo del Toro.
Release: October 17, 2014
The Book of Life, a vibrant fantasy-adventure, tells the legend of Manolo, a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to rescue his one true love and defend his village.

Kingsman: The Secret Service
Panel participants are Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Taron Egerton, Sophie Cookson, Sofia Boutella and Co-Creators Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons.
Release Date: October 24, 2014
Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class), Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

Hitman: Agent 47
Panel participants are Zachary Quinto and Hannah Ware.
Release Date: February 27, 2015
Based on the top-selling, award-winning videogame franchise, Agent 47 is an all-new motion picture about an elite and genetically engineered assassin, known only by the last two digits – 47 – of a barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. His latest target is a young woman on the run from powerful and clandestine forces. The mission brings startling revelations about the lethal agent and his prey, hurtling them on a collision course with their pasts. And this time, his number may be up.

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First Trailer and Images from Guillermo Del Toro-Produced 'The Book of Life'

Whenever Guillermo Del Toro is part of a project, whether it's as producer or director, certain expectations come with it. We've come to expect fantastical imagery and haunting art design, whether the film is a dark fairy tale like Pan's Labyrinth or a giant robot flick like Pacific Rim. This fall he is producing the animated film, The Book of Life, based on the Mexican holiday the "Day of the Dead", and now USA Today has new images plus the first trailer which looks like it could have come from Del Toro himself.

Animator Jorge Gutierrez is at the helm and wrote the script, with Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, and Diego Luna voicing the three lead characters. The story largely centers on Manolo, a young man with creative aspirations that go against his family's deep history as bullfighters. He embarks on an incredible journey across three remarkable worlds before deciding whether to follow his heart or family tradition. Meanwhile, the gods are waging on who will win the love of Maria; Manolo or his best friend, Joaquin.

Also featuring the voices of Ice Cube, Danny Trejo, and Hector Elizondo, The Book of Life opens October 17th.

THE BOOK OF LIFE - Trailer by dmagianet
 

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