best of 2014: movies + tv

   First things first, here they are friends, the 41st - 45th movies I watched this year:

1. Cowboys & Aliens (11)
2. Meet Me in St Louis (44)
3. Rounders (98)
4. The Dark Knight (08)
5. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (05)

    All quite different from each other, clearly. And if you were trying to figure our which of these I'd watch and write a paper about for an university course, it would be that gem of hilarious cinema: Cowboys & Aliens.  What a world we live in.

   On to the best of! For the movies I picked my two favourites that I saw in theatres and one that I don't think many would find and watch unless they came across it by chance (as I did) or heard about it from a friend.

• Noah (2014, Darren Aronofsky)  This movie has garnered a great deal of attention and discussion, and when I watched it and posted about it earlier, I said that I felt I did not need to add to the conversation, except to say that this was a truly beautiful and poignant film. I still feel that same way. It's gorgeous. It's moving. It's worth your time. 
• Interstellar (2014, Christopher Nolan)  Speaking of movies that are beautiful (and filmed in Iceland), after you see Noah might as well see Interstellar. It's got space, it's got weird locations, it's got (fake) science. It makes me think that maybe one day they'll make a movie of Foundation. 
• Barbara (2012, Christian Petzold)  This might be the best movie I've seen all year, and maybe last year too. It is golden. It makes a point of being understated and a bit claustrophobic. It's also in German, but please don't let that dissuade you. A doctor living in Eastern Germany in the 80's makes a request to leave, and is subsequently relocated to a rural hospital and put under constant surveillance. Maybe I'm not making it sound very thrilling, but see this movie. I think it's on Netflix still. 

 SPEAKING OF NETFLIX, do you like TV? I do. I highly recommend these:

• The West Wing
• X-Files
• The West Wing
• X-Files
• The West Wing
• X-Files

   Start watching those and you'll be fine

  And that's that for this installment, folks. If you click on the "Movies" label at the bottom of this post you can see/read about the other films I watched this year, if you feel so inclined.