THE 10 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS OF 2014 REVISITED

1- SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR: There are only two sections of this film that are based on stories from Frank Miller's comic book and it shows. "A Dame to Kill For" is, really, the only watchable section of the film, an entertaining, vicious yarn. I guess they couldn't get Clive Owen to reprise his role? The rest of the film is an awful mess. Will Robert Rodriguez ever make another good film? Been awhile. *1/2 (out of ****)

2- THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL: The best film I've seen from 2014 so far and Wes Anderson's best since Rushmore. It's so precise and intricate. The set design, the timing, the score, the acting...are all spot on. It's also stylish as all hell, sad, beautiful, whimsical, funny, and super-entertaining. A masterpiece. ****

3- INHERENT VICE: Hasn't come out in Philly yet.

4- UNDER THE SKIN: The trailer is awesome. The movie has some cool, bizarre shots to it but ultimately is just a head-scratching disappointment. The book, by Michel Faber, is better (and more coherent). *1/2

5- INTERSTELLAR: Unfortunately the two hour set-up leads us nowhere intriguing. The tidal wave planet is, realistically, the only good aspect of the film and that was given away in the trailers and is only ten minutes long. There's so much wrong with this film and so little right. The McCounaghey-trapped-behind-the- bookcase scene is definitely one of the worst and silliest things ever put on film. *1/2

6- THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN: It's the worst Hobbit film...but so was the third Lord of the Rings. There's a huge hour and a half chunk between action set pieces that is just total filler. But the action scenes are fun. **1/2

7- THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1: Read the review below. **1/2

8- THE RAID 2: The best action film since Hard Boiled. It's literally insane. ***

9- INTO THE WOODS: Haven't seen it yet.

10- GODZILLA: Okay...why is Godzilla a good guy? All I want is to see him destroy cities. Instead we got Godzilla fighting monsters and being a hero. There's some cool special f/x sequences but it's mostly a misfire. **