Best of 2014

I think that I have had this "best of the year" list since 2007(?), and since that time I have thought about including a "best video game of the year" category.
I don't know why I never did it-- I'm just lazy/dumb, I guess. This year a game excited me more than any movie or piece of music.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, INTRODUCING


Best Game



Hale to the yay-o.
Dragon Age: Origins (2009) is my favorite game of all time. Dragon Age 2........ was a game.
Inquisition is FINALLY a worthwhile sequel. The only problem with it is that unlike its Origins... origins... it's not designed for PC gameplay.
It functions much better on an X Box 360 or (so I'm told) PS3. If you go in with a mouse and a keyboard on this thing you're coming out with a bloody screen.
The graphics are stunning, the quests are mostly awesome (with the exception of a long, boring-ass quest with stodgy aristocratic morons) and it has a lot of replay value.
If you were on the fence about this one, IT'S TIME TO COMMIT.

Best Film
In this case, the "best film" was by no means great or extraordinary or any crap of that nature because 2014 produced a lot of good films and no great films.
I might take flack for this choice, but I don't give a shit:



When I bought a ticket for this one I expected to see something analogous to a showdown between Clayton Kershaw and....... Sandy Koufax (in his prime)... yeah, I couldn't think of anyone who is even in Kershaw's league and still pitching. Plus, these guys would be on the same team, so it doesn't make sense. JUST GO WITH IT.
DUVALL AND DOWNEY; DUVALL VERSUS DOWNEY-- it's all an awesome spectacle that never disappoints. Vera Farmiga and Vincent D'Onofrio ain't no slouches neither. Billy Bob Thornton delivers the same understated, regular guy performance that he is so good at giving.
The most common complaints about it: 1) the drama with Vera Farmiga and Layton Meester could have been omitted from the script and no one would have noticed any difference. I agree-- again, it's good, not great. 2) It's just a cynical, formulaic cash cow for small town middle America. I disagree completely. A cash cow would have glossed over the true hell of cancer, and the arguments between Downey's character and Duvall's characters would not have been as heated.

Most Disappointing Movie

Interstellar. It's not even a contest-- it was not the "Inception in Space" that we were promised. If you didn't read my prolix review about it and are having a touch of insomnia right now, go here.

Best Cinematic Performances

Actor: Like many, many people who have seen "Birdman," I'm not sold on it being an epic masterpiece, but I am sold on the return of Michael Keaton. THE MAN WALKED THROUGH CROWDS OF PEOPLE IN TIDY WHITIES, FOR GOD'S SAKE. WHAT MORE DID HE NEED TO DO IN THIS MOVIE?

Actress:


I'm the cunt you married. The only time you liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like. I'm not a quitter, I'm that cunt. I killed for you; who else can say that? You think you'd be happy with a nice Midwestern girl? No way, baby! I'm it.

Rosamund Pike in "Gone Girl." I considered this film for "best film." It's just too much Ben Affleck, though. I couldn't shake that mediocre-to-horrible performance out of my mind. The next Batman is going to be as bad as you imagined, folks. Pike was awesome, though. She made unbelievable scenarios seem believable.

HONORABLE MENTION: For the past few years, I've tried to include underrated performances/performers on this list. I want to mention my favorite indie movie of the year:


Mark my words on this one: Fatima Ptacek is The Next Big Thing. She delivered an incredible supporting actress role in this one, and she will attain superstardom in three to five years.

Best Song

It's really nice to... be here
I love you all



I never even heard my favorite song from '14 on the radio. And it was performed by... an actor. Michael Fassbender delivered the words and cadence of the feelings that most stage performers have about their audiences.

Best Album
Shady XV.


I'm just a rich nigga from a city that's bankrupt
-Royce da 5'9".

Yeah, if you don't care about rap and/or Detroit then you probably don't care about this album. It's mostly new material, but it has a few old favorites-- if you can call songs by 50 Cent "favorites."


I want to close out the year with a picture that I took at Hollywood Improv in August. As I wrote on this blog a few entries ago, I met Robin Williams once. He couldn't have been more of a gentleman even though I could detect the pain in his face. I really wish that I had just asked him, "are you feeling alright?" or words to that effect.
R.I.P. forever and ever, Robin.