Mediocre year for movies yields few gems

The fact that one of the year’s most emotional big-screen moments involved a short-tempered raccoon and a talking tree speaks to both the minor miracle Marvel pulled off with the ridiculously entertaining “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the realization that 2014 was a pretty mediocre year at the multiplexes.

The year was so full of remakes, three of them — “About Last Night,” “RoboCop” and “Endless Love” — opened on Valentine’s Day. It was Hollywood’s lowest-grossing summer since 2006. Even the end-of-the-year Oscar-bait films were, as a whole, closer to good than great.

Looking back, though, 2014 wasn’t a bad movie year locally.

Penn Jillette and Teller touched greatness with “Tim’s Vermeer.” Narrated by Jillette, directed by Teller and executive produced by both, the film — in which Texas inventor Tim Jenison re-created 17th century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “The Music Lesson” despite having zero experience as a painter — was one of 15 feature documentaries shortlisted for March’s Academy Awards and one of five nominated for the BAFTA Awards, the Oscars’ British counterpart.

The comedy sequel “Think Like a Man Too” played out like a Las Vegas travelogue, following Kevin Hart and pals throughout Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort, even Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club and the old North Las Vegas jail.

The Strip was the backdrop for another sequel, “Step Up All In,” and it was destroyed, albeit largely off-screen, in “Godzilla.” And six disparate groups of fans traveled to the 2013 Electric Daisy Carnival in the documentary “Under the Electric Sky.”

Jon Hamm portrayed Las Vegas sports agent J.B. Bernstein’s evolution from shallow jerk to caring family man in “Million Dollar Arm.”

Erich Bergen, who originated the role of Bob Gaudio in the Las Vegas production of “Jersey Boys,” reprised it in Clint Eastwood’s big-screen version.

After years of delays, North Las Vegas author Roger Stanton Baum finally saw the animated “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” based on his 1989 children’s novel “Dorothy of Oz,” hit theaters.

And Bishop Gorman grad Jillian Bell had her big-screen breakout performance as Mercedes in “22 Jump Street,” stealing the sequel out from under Jonah Hill by mocking him at every turn, then repeatedly, and hilariously, punching him in the face.

Elsewhere, my favorite movies that played Las Vegas in 2014: “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Her,” “Birdman,” “Gone Girl,” “The Imitation Game,” “Snowpiercer,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Boyhood,” “Whiplash” and “Chef”/“Begin Again,” which were basically the same movie.

My favorite performances, in no particular order: J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash,” Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl,” Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything,” Scarlett Johansson in “Her,” Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher,” Jenny Slate in “Obvious Child,” Ralph Fiennes in “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Jake Gyllenhaal in “Nightcrawler,” Chris Pratt in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game.”

It was a huge year for faith-based films, from major studio releases “Noah,” “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” “Heaven Is for Real,” “Son of God” and “When the Game Stands Tall” to smaller efforts such as “Left Behind,” “God’s Not Dead,” “Gimme Shelter,” “The Identical” and “Saving Christmas.”

And it was a doubly good 2014 for Tom Hardy, who showcased two very different sides of himself in “Locke” and “The Drop,” and Angelina Jolie, who starred in the global smash “Maleficent” and directed “Unbroken.”

Other highlights of 2014 included:

■ The infectious enthusiasm of “The Lego Movie.”

■ The graphic realism of “Lone Survivor.”

■ The music of “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

■ The utter weirdness of “Under the Skin.”

■ The Quicksilver scene in “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”

■ The talking, horse-riding, assault rifle-wielding simians of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

■ The way “The Giver” exposed just how much of “Divergent” was borrowed from other young adult fiction.

■ The way Robert Pattinson proved in “The Rover” that there may, in fact, be life after those “Twilight” movies.

■ The way Melissa McCarthy proved in “St. Vincent” that she can deliver solid laughs without threatening to shove anything inside, or rip anything out of, anyone.

■ Dom Hemingway the character, not “Dom Hemingway” the movie.

■ The brief Kevin Costner renaissance that yielded “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “3 Days to Kill” and “Draft Day,” all before May.

■ Chris Rock’s new direction in “Top Five.”

■ Chris Pine’s over-the-top machismo in “Into the Woods.”

■ The painfully few moments of Seth Rogen’s “Neighbors” that weren’t spoiled by the trailers.

■ And the trailers, the only footage that played local theaters, for Rogen’s “The Interview.”

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.