Discovery Movies of 2014

I have really been slacking on the blog this past year as it’s 2016 now so here it goes.  I see plenty of new movies over the year but I also make a point to go back and see some older movies that I missed for one reason or another.  Here are some of my favorites of 2014 in no particular order and you will notice it is filled with 70s greatness:

This features a great cast of actors with Walter Matthua, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, and many more.  A group of men who are named by color (Reservoir Dogs anyone?) hijack a New York subway train car and hold it up for ransom.  Sure they get paid but how do they escape?  Watch to find out.

This is about an insane general that triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.  This stars Peter Sellars in three roles, George C. Scott, James Earl Jones, and Slim Pickens in in his most iconic role.  This was directed by Stanley Kubrick who was not really known for comedies.

Four not so good men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous South American jungle.  This is from director William Freidkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) so he knows a thing or two about doing good car chases and I never knew a truck going five miles an hour could be so suspenseful.  This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat or rather a cliff for that matter.  This movie got lost over time as it was released a month after a little sci fi movie called Star Wars.

A disfigured composer sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, an evil record tycoon betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise.  This is a comedy, musical, horror, fantasy movie from the great Brian De Palma and it is out there and is really fun.  Paul Williams (Smokey and the Bandit) stars as the record tycoon in this rock opera version of The Phantom of the Opera.

Marshal Wyatt Earp kills a couple of men of the Clanton gang in a fight. In revenge Clanton's thugs kill the marshal's brother. Thus, Wyatt Earp starts to chase the killers together with his friend Doc Holliday.  A sequel of sorts to Gunfight at the O.K. Corral with different actors but John Sturges directed both of them.  I love anything that deals with Wyatt Earp and I watched this shortly after James Garner died.  He was really good in the role as he was a lot more cold and quiet than his normal roles.  You will see some more Wyatt Earp in a bit.

I really do not know how I missed this over the years since I loved the first one so much.  This is another anthology movie with only three stories this time as we see a wooden Native American take revenge on the killers of his owners, a water blob comes after teens on a raft, and a Bond girl runs over a hitchhiker that just wants to thank her for the ride.  This is a fun horror flick with Tom Savini and George Kennedy.

A police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigations of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased 'Gemini' serial killer, lead him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.  This is the real sequel to the Exorcist as George C Scott plays the cop from the original classic who finds someone very interesting in this psych ward.

A Western retelling of the Shoot-out at the OK Corral from the great director John Ford.  I would place this among the top Westerns of all time as the directing, cinematography are awesome, and the scenery from Ford’s favorite Monument Valley make a great back drop even though it’s nowhere near Tombstone, AZ.  As in all the movies about Wyatt Earp the facts are a little loose in this as there never was a person named Clementine involved with Earp but the name was used simply because of the song of the same name that appears in this Western classic. 

After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into the Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, but lacking in heroic skills.  This is a great action, comedy from director James Gunn who did that little Marvel movie called Guardians of the Galaxy.  You go watch this and Slither and you will see Marvel truly let Gunn have his own vision on Guardians and that is a great thing.  I can’t wait for Volume 2.

Alien brain parasites, entering humans through their mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie so some teenagers and the great Tom Atkins start to fight against them.  This is another horror comedy I somehow missed over the years but I remember the VHS cover.   I saw this at the Alamo’s first Dismember the Alamo horror marathon and it was great to watch with an audience.

Maybe I will do 2015's a little sooner.  Stay tuned.