Happy New Year everyone. This is the annual review time! Here are my choices for the year, not concerned with the opinion of the critics.

Best Malayalam movie: Iyobinte Pusthakam
We had to wait a long to have a Malayalam movie which could stand strong in comparison to so many good ones from last year. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/iyobinte-pusthakam/

Best Hindi movie: Mardaani
There is absolutely no doubt about this one, and even as I haven’t reviewed it yet, there is no shortage of some good opinions about this one. I was pretty late in realizing this movie’s abilities. I might write about it sometime later.

Best English movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Marvel’s most intelligent movie until now happens to be the best from Hollywood in the year, even as there are more movies missing a release here this year. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/captain-america-ii/

Best Animated movie: Mr. Peabody and Sherman
Forget the fans of The Lego Movie and Big Hero 6, as this was undoubtedly the best animated movie of the year, and working for everyone. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/mr-peabody-sherman/

Best Action movie: Hercules
The Rock as Hercules – it delivers as it had promised; there is no doubt about who the super action star is right here. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/hercules/

Best Visual experience: Exodus: Gods and Kings
This visually superior movie, even without too much ciritcal appreciation, is that Biblical Epic that everyone has been waiting for. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/exodus/

Best Thrills: Gone Girl
This movie has that kind of thrills that not many people might have expected, and it surely holds on to that variety in its path to success. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/gone-girl/

Big Surprise: Asha Black
Not that inspiring from the name, and not at all hyped, this movie is strong in its theme, but didn’t run that well in the theatres. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/ashablack/

Righteous One: London Bridge
This movie is so simple and yet scores with its goodness and hidden boost of the morality tale’s seed which grows powerful every second. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/london-bridge/

Magical Movie: Iyobinte Pusthakam
This movie is magical with its visuals and the way in which it deals with its world and the situations, supported by history and fiction equally. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/iyobinte-pusthakam/

Powerful Experience: Apothecary
The power of the message and the strength of the depiction of events make this one a big, powerful experience despite the presence of flaws. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/apothecary/

Game Changer: Om Shanti Oshana
As this one twists the viewpoint, and progresses from the perspective of the girl child hoping to win her love all the time, we can be sure about the beginning of a change. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/om-shanti-oshana/

Personal Favourite: 300: Rise of an Empire
I have been waiting for this movie for a very long time, and with the visual style and Eva Green, I don’t see any reason why not. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/300-rise-of-an-empire/

Unnoticed One: Naku Penta Naku Taka
I had a tough time making sure that I got the tickets and the show was not cancelled, but this a lot better movie and deserved a better chance. Check for review: https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/nakupenta/

 

Worst Malayalam movie: Salaala Mobiles
This one has Dulquer Salman and Nazriya Nazim, and that star combination has somehow managed to bring so much boredom to the viewers that its success is only in being the worst movie of the decade.

Worst Hindi movie: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
Thinking that this is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, and coming up with cheap jokes and stupid imitations, this movie has two dumb protagonists falling in love with each other, and the good guy getting nothing while the shameless pseudo-hero gets the girl.

Worst English movie: Noah
Noah’s horrible drag supports only the bloody nonsense that it shows on screen and despite the deviation from the Bible, it hasn’t found anything interesting for Christians or Non-Christians. My friends get scared of the name “Noah” because of this movie.

Most Undeserving Hit: 1983
This movie’s unnecessary glorification of cricket and its players is rather boring, repetitive and should be an invisible hope for match-fixing as well as a purely money based sport which is beyond the common man’s grasp.

Worst Drift: Dedh Ishqiya
This is the biggest collection of meaningless drag becoming rather a drift with unbelievable amount of ridiculous stuff which has only Hima Qureshi and a nice twist; everything else is complete waste of time.

Worst Drag: 2 States
As it keeps dragging, the movie has nothing that invokes interest except for its silliness which is beyond the borders of the horizon, and its dumb, fake love is glorified like that of Twilight and similar nonsense stuff.

Worst Emptiness: Gunday
As the one movie which seems to have Priyanka Chopra forcing the viewers to hope for the death of her character, but goes on only to reach the much expected end which is not much different from the beginning of the movie – not worth it.

Worst Lie: Hasee Toh Phasee
This movie becomes a big love lie with a strange beginning involving Parineeti Chopra who rarely manages to be not irritating in her new avatar which ends up glorifying the process of stealing at home and also brings up pseudo-love supported by stupid comic scenes.

Worst Stupidity: Main Tera Hero
Here comes Besharam’s evil twin which is so stupid that its collective dumbness makes the equal of foolishness that Ranbir Kapoor’s character had come up with . A more appropriate title would be Main Tera Zero: Irritating Version. Yaariyan almost took this title away.

Unbearable One: Gangster
As one of those movies which makes the viewers suffer so much, this can have the title of being the worst movie of Mammootty, Aashiq Abu and the worst gangster movie of this century, a record which might not be broken for a long time.

Clueless One: Yaariyan
Yaariyan wanders here and there, exhibiting stupidity all the way from India to Australia with a rather racist tone in targeting another race, nation and continent glorifying one culture over the other and proclaims its cluelessness.

Worst Hype: Transcendence
Coming to the theatres with such huge hype, what it delivers can be considered as terribly boring and never anywhere close to being good. Its central idea itself doesn’t work, and there is no point in anything else.

Special Consideration from the Soul:
Best Actor/Actress who made a difference: Shailene Woodley (Divergent / The Fault in Our Stars)
Best Actor/Actress with a surprise: Imogen Poots (Need for Speed)
Best Actor/Actress in a dumb movie: Zoey Deutch (Vampire Academy)
Best Actor/Actress with heroism: Chris Evans (Captain America II)
Best Actor/Actress on villainy: Eva Green (300 II)
*This is only based on the movies I have watched.

Most read movie reviews of the year:
1. Om Shanti Oshana (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/om-shanti-oshana/) {All-time 1st}
2. Saptamasree Thaskaraha (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/09/11/sapthamashree-thaskaraha/) {All-time 3rd following Drishyam}
3. Hate Story II (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/hate-story-ii/) {All-time 5th following Oru Indian Pranaya Katha}
4. London Bridge (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/london-bridge/)
5. Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/mosa/)

2014 Theatre Status:
**89 movies watched on the big screen this year, with 66 of them reviewed. There were 44 English movies, 32 Malayalam movies, 10 Hindi movies and 3 Tamil movies. Total Reviews including honorary ones = 73.
Movies inspiring more than one theatre visit: 1: Om Shanti Oshana {2 times} (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/om-shanti-oshana/)

2013 Theatre Status:
**103 movies watched on the big screen last year, with 71 of them reviewed. There were 44 English movies, 43 Malayalam movies, 12 Hindi movies and 4 Tamil movies. Total Reviews including honorary ones = 109.

Most visits from outside India in 2014
1. United States :: 2. United Arab Emirates :: 3. United Kingdom :: 4. Canada :: 5. Pakistan :: 6. Australia :: 7. Singapore :: 8. Saudi Arabia :: 9. Qatar :: 10. Spain

For what to begin the year with, read https://theteacerebration.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/introvert-queen/
For my earlier take on what is to come in 2015 for Hollywood, check https://theteacerebration.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/brightfuture/