favorite films this year

It's December, so it's a good time for some summing up and list-making, right? I watch a fair share of movies, but the very best that I've seen this year were not necessarily first-run in theaters. I also caught up with some titles on cable, streaming, or Blu-rays from the library.

Here is my list of the movies I liked the best, would love to see again (and again). There are links to longer reviews. The list is in the order that I saw them. Looking at it I see that there are a few trends. There are quite a few two-person movies. The fantasy films all feature a central, larger-than-life character, with a sense of humor. The comedies are all pretty quirky, and on the quiet side, as opposed to the current gross-out trend. Three of my favorite actors, who are no longer with us, all turn up on the list - Robin Williams, James Gandolfini, Philip Seymour Hoffman. They will be missed.


The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Ben Stiller takes a thoughtful, beautifully filmed journey to find himself.

Pirate Radio - Philip Seymour Hoffman is wonderful as a renegade DJ on a floating radio station in the '60s.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Pirate Radio

James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in Enough Said

Enough Said - James Gandolfini and Julia-Louis Dreyfuss are a wonderful pair of would-be lovers in this clever, quiet film about second chances.

The Way Way Back - Sam Rockwell is an irreverent but kind boss and quasi spirit guide to young Duncan (Liam James) during a summer on the Cape.

The Lego Movie - Everything is awesome, really, in this wonderfully clever animated adventure.

Rear Window - Hitchcock's classic about love and what really happens behind our neighbors drawn curtains.

Annie Hall - Diane Keaton is the subject of this comic love story, both a tribute and a spoof, from Woody Allen.

Lovers Madame D. (Tilda Swinton) and Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) in The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Another stylish (and hilarious) film from Wes Anderson, starring Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton.

The Humphrey Bogart Film Festival - I was lucky enough to attend this annual festival, where I was treated to screenings of Bogie classics like Casablanca, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep and Key Largo.

Maleficent - Angelina Jolie, her beauty chiseled and CGI-ed to perfection, has a blast with her role as Sleeping Beauty's nemesis.

The Birdcage - One of my all-time favorite films. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are adorable and funny as hell, and just manage to stop Hank Azaria from stealing the picture from them.

Hercules - Dwayne Johnson leads a merry crew in this fun, raucous take on the Hercules legend. Ian McShane steals every scene he's in and then some.

Guardians of the Galaxy - I am Groot. We all are Groot. And Guardians of the Galaxy is the best comic book movie of them all.

Our Idiot Brother - The movie is as laid back as its main character, played by Paul Rudd, and that is a good, and very funny, thing.

Gone Girl - Rosamund Pike is picture-perfect as Amy, in this cold-as-ice chiller-thriller.

Big Hero 6 - A very sweet animated film, with a layer of sadness that never quite goes away. Beautifully animated, too.

Philippe (François Cluzet) and Driss (Omar Sy) go to the opera

The Intouchables - A twist on the buddy picture, this French hit features the beautiful friendship of odd couple Philippe (François Cluzet) and Driss (Omar Sy).

Only Lovers Left Alive - A mesmerizing, beautiful love story from director Jim Jarmusch. About vampires. With Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston. And John Hurt. I could just watch this over and over and over ...

legoland fun

The kid and I checked out Legoland on a little mini-vacation this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, for both of us. We didn't do the water park, or one of the rides in the regular park that warned that we wouldn't get wet, we'd get soaked, but did pretty much everything else. We are in the middle of Florida's rainy season, so I came armed with umbrella, just in case, but last weekend ended up being sunny and hot — REALLY hot. Thankfully, the park has a lot of trees and places to catch some shade or duck into for some A/C. of course, those respites of cool also offer opportunities for purchase ...

A super kid with some super heroes

A Lego Movie poster made of Legos

The kid took me for a boat ride

One of the Lego Chima characters posed for a picture (don't ask me which one or what Chima means)

My DC friends would love the miniature city and Smithsonian Castle

fun at the movies and the arcade

The kid's birthday festivities continued this afternoon with a (re) viewing of The Lego Movie and lots of fun at the arcade.

the lego movie — everything is really awesome

I was so pleasantly surprised by The Lego Movie that I actually am excited about the prospect of seeing it again. Whether that will be another trip to the theater or when it comes out on disk I can't say. But I haven't felt that way about an animated movie, or really any movie, for quite some time.

The movie's plot concerns Emmett Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an extremely ordinary guy (and minifigure), who finds the "piece of resistance," and is thrown headfirst into an adventure where he finds he may be "The Special," the one who can save the world(s) from the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) and his mysterious super-weapon the "Kragle." Along the way he meets many interesting characters, including the wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), a good cop/bad cop (Liam Neeson) who works for Lord Business, Batman (Will Arnett), and an intriguing Lara Croft-like girl called Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks).

Emmett, Batman, Vitruvius, Wildstyle

Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) not only have a lot of affection for Lego building sets, but movies and pop culture, and they manage to interweave all of these elements into their fast-moving, great-to-look-at film. One doesn't need an intimate knowledge of the Lego themed sets of recent years to enjoy all of the mini figure-spotting opportunities, which include superheroes like Superman and Wonder Woman, historical figures like Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln, as well as fictional characters like Gandalf and Dumbledore and plenty of other fun figures, and even some surprise appearances. Visual jokes are abundant as well, as Emmett and his friends race through Legoland cities and environments, from Lord Business's totalitarian (and funny) posters displayed on huge skyscrapers, to floating clouds and clever characters in a quaint Western town.

The Lego Movie is so much fun I don't really want to write any more about it for fear of spoiling any surprises. Suffice it to say that its ear worm of a theme song, "Everything Is Awesome!!!" by Tegan and Sara, featuring The Lonely Island, pretty much sums it up. And viewing the film has also inspired me to pull out that Harry Potter Lego Hogwarts Castle that I got for the kid a few years back (and the cats demolished) and give it another go. "Everything is awesome ..." [humming]