HOLLYWOOD—Wow, can you believe it, 2014 only has about a week left before 2015 comes ushering in. There were many great things that occurred in 2014 in television, music, movies and pop culture in general. While 2014 had plenty of big movies, nothing was bigger than “Guardians of the Galaxy” which shattered the box-office and surprised critics and moviegoers alike.
The flick made a household name out of actor Chris Pratt who is sure to have a popular 2015. Another flick that caused plenty of buzz this season was the David Fincher thriller “Gone Girl.” Those who read the novel had an idea of how the movie might turn out, those who didn’t were eagerly thrilled by the movie which stayed in the top five at the box-office for more than eight weeks. The movie has crossed the $150 million mark at the domestic box-office, and is sure to be a hit when released on home video. If you didn’t know the name Rosamund Pike, you now do.
Perhaps one of my favorite flicks of 2014, which was underrated was the Tom Cruise thriller “Edge of Tomorrow.” It was smart, slick, creative and full of twisted surprises. Cruise and Emily Blunt made a formidable team and if you haven’t seen the sci-fi action thriller, the film is available on DVD and blu-ray now.
On the television side of things, many great shows came to an end, so long “True Blood,” bon voyage “Sons of Anarchy,” but with fan favorites leaving the nest, new favorites have also emerged. The CW has produced a massive hit in my opinion with their version of “The Flash” starring Grant Gustin.
It has plenty of wit, comedy, action and surprises that even comic book superheroes can enjoy. And whose jaw didn’t drop with the revelation that Mr. Wells is the mysterious Reverse Flash responsible for killing Barry’s mother when he was a child.
Another series that found an audience quite early was the ABC drama “How to Get Away With Murder” starring Oscar nominee Viola Davis. This show delivers so many surprises it’s a must-see every Thursday night. It doesn’t hurt to have a knock your socks performer in Davis who could be taking the stage at the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globe Awards.
I can’t forget talking about “Pretty Little Liars” who decided to dispatch of the original ‘A,’ Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) in the summer finale. Yep, the series went there, but the big surprise is the revelation that we will know who is “A” before the start of season seven. Which means one of two things, either we’ll learn the identity of “A” in March 2015 or likely at the end of season six. I’m hoping its March 2015, even if just the viewers learn the identity that would put a gleeful smile on my face.
In the musical arena, three breakouts of the year emerged in Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor, Iggy Azalea and Sam Smith. Each had massive hits on the charts with “Problem,” “Fancy,” “All About That Bass” and “Stay With Me.” There is just one slight problem, a woman by the name of Taylor Swift who unleashed her fifth album “1989,” nabbed another song of the summer with her ubiquitous hit “Shake It Off.” Yes, as cheesy as the song is, it’s so damn catchy it’s impossible to escape its melody that sucks you in time and time again.
Swift continued her dominance on the music charts selling more than a million copies of her album in its first week. Other notable jams of 2014 included, “Let It Go,” “Happy” and Sia’s “Chandelier” which delivers emotions one could only imagine.
If we make the transition to pop culture, Kim Kardashian continued to push boundaries to stay relevant by posing nude. This woman indeed loves the attention. We can’t forget about the debacle involving a slew of NFL stars having run-ins with the law including Ray Rice, and voters had a change of hear by allowing Republicans to take control of the House and the Senate. Yep, that means we can expect not much to get done in 2015 and 2016 with President Obama’s agenda.
Oh, we can’t wrap up 2014, without talking about one of the most buzzed movies of all-time that may never see the light of day, “The Interview.” The satirical comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been pulled by Sony Pictures amidst threats of leaking personal information, attacks on movie theaters showcasing the film and a slew of other demands. Yes, the month of December became a sad day for the notion of freedom of speech, censorship and caving into cyber-hackers/terrorist demands.
I must say 2014 was a great year, but I can’t wait to see what surprises lie in 2015 that will ignite a firestorm in movies, music, television and pop culture as a whole.
