List of 2014 Part Three: Best Movies.

An updated list will be published in a few days.  The following count as the best 2014 releases I saw through today (in no specific order):
FOXCATCHER, THE TRIP TO ITALY, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, AMERICAN SNIPER, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, ELAINE STRITCH: SHOOT ME, JODOROWSKY'S DUNE, SNOWPIERCER, THE DOG, CALVARY, THE LEGO MOVIE
Honorable Mention: BOYHOOD, THE IMITATION GAME, INHERENT VICE, LIFE ITSELF, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: THEM, THE SKELETON TWINS, NIGHT MOVES, BELLE
Disappointments From Major Directors: GONE GIRL, LUCY, THE ZERO THEOREM

2014 List Part Two--Underwhelming Film/TV/Music of the year.

OVERRATED-TO-WILDLY-OVERRATED FILMS OF 2014:
BIRDMAN, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, NIGHTCRAWLER
the first is a well-acted sorrow-and-pity wankfest with jazz drum score which overinflates an interesting idea about a movie star seeking credibility on the Broadway stage;  its success is apparently due to pandering to above-it-all audience members who moan about superhero product crowding out smarter films while refusing to seek out and champion the latter; terrific monologue about two-thirds of the way through from Lindsay Duncan playing a stereotypical I-will-destroy-you critic
re GRAND BUDAPEST: Wes Anderson doing a NATIONAL LAMPOON version of 30s-era Ernst Lubitsch films few people in the audience probably saw--but partially saved by brilliant seriocomic performance from Ralph Fiennes; a big step backwards from the excellence of MOONRISE KINGDOM
as for NIGHTCRAWLER: Dan Gilroy thinks he's doing a more profound exploration of the overobvious subject matter of violent, superficial local TV news than he actually is; Jake Gyllenhaal does his best with a two-dimensional cartoon Amoral Nowhere Man, while the real acting comes from Rene Russo, Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed
WILDLY OVERRATED BY ROLLING STONE:
HIGH HOPES--an album released by Bruce Springsteen apparently to fill a Sony/Columbia Records contractual obligation; better that Springsteen had just released his versions of the title track and "Dream Baby Dream" as what used to be known as a Double-A side single online
DISAPPOINTMENT FROM A TALENTED DIRECTOR:
Terry Gilliam's mostly-seen-on-VOD THE ZERO THEOREM best serves its viewers by making them want to see BRAZIL again
BEST COMMENT ON CABLE NEWS IN 2014:
Larry King discussing missing-plane coverage of his former employer CNN by referring to its use of the term "Breaking News" as synonym for "Breaking Supposition" and "Breaking Speculation."
MILDLY OVERRATED FILMS OF 2014:
TOP FIVE--not quite Chris Rock's GOOD MORNING VIETNAM
INHERENT VICE--Paul Thomas Anderson's latest (adapted from Thomas Pynchon's novel) is better than most of what's out there in the marketplace, but a slight slide downhill after his twin masterpieces THERE WILL BE BLOOD and THE MASTER

Highlights of 2014 Part One

MOVIE OF THE YEAR: THE INTERVIEW
UNMADE MOVIE OF THE YEAR: MIDNIGHT RIDER (RIP Sarah Jones)
TV SERIES CURSED WITH ABBREVIATED FINAL SEASON (tie):
THE KILLING, BOARDWALK EMPIRE
FALLEN IDOL OF THE YEAR (three-way tie):
BILL COSBY/ROLF HARRIS/STEPHEN COLLINS
REISSUE/RESTORATION OF THE YEAR (tie): A HARD DAY'S NIGHT/SORCERER
WORST MOVIE I SAW IN 2014: JOHN WICK
UNDERSEEN DOCUMENTARIES: OUT OF PRINT, LANCE ARMSTRONG: STOP
AT NOTHING
WORTHWHILE BUT OVERRATED DOCUMENTARY: HAPPY VALLEY

More Cobalt Cafe and CobaltPoets farewell messages.

Found these in my e-mail inbox:

Tuesday December 30, 2014
Cobalt Reading 20th Anniversary / Farewell Party

It's a potluck! Bring food and drink of any kind and plan on an evening of reminiscing, socializing, farewell and the mother of all group poems. Not so much a reading tonight but the mic will be open for the sharing of memories. We'll also be taking donations to send Cobalt owner Dave off with a little bit to help him move forward... so think generously, bring a nosh, and yourself as we end an era.

"Tell us what the Cobalt reading has meant to you.  Keep it brief."

I won't be attending the Cobalt farewell on the 30th since I believe it's meant for true friends of the host as well as those who stopped attending years ago but want to return.

Thanks to Dave and his former employees for keeping the Cobalt Cafe alive as a music venue which generously  chose to spare one night each week for poets of all types to read and/or just listen.

For exit music, I'm choosing the following:
http://youtu.be/p51Fgm1m6V0

EXCERPT FROM THIS POEM IS FOR SALE

Portion of satirical poem I wrote about censorship in 2004--originally centering on Janet Jackson at that year's Super Bowl--that's still relevant with regards to the canceled release of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's film THE INTERVIEW.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER article: North Korea probably not behind the Sony cyberhacking.

Inside the studio, though, sources say there is little evidence that North Korea is behind the attack. Cybersecurity expert Hemanshu Nigam also finds it hard to believe that North Korea is the perpetrator. Instead, he theorizes an employee or ex-employee with administrative access privileges is a more likely suspect. For the studio — which has laid off hundreds of employees over the past year in an effort to contain costs — the possibility of a disgruntled employee wreaking havoc is very real.
"If terabytes of data left the Sony networks, their network detection systems would have noticed easily," explains Nigam. "It would also take months for a hacker to figure out the topography of the Sony networks to know where critical assets are stored and to have access to the decryption keys needed to open up the screeners that have been leaked." In addition, he says, "Hackers don't use such things as Hushmail, Dropbox and Facebook when they want to engage in what amounts to criminal activity. Real hackers know that these sites collect access logs, IP addresses and work with law enforcement. It is possible that North Korean-sponsored hackers were working with someone on the inside. But it is more likely a ruse to shift blame, knowing the distaste the North Korean regime has for Sony Pictures."

Link to the article excerpted above: Sony Hack: Studio Security Points to Inside Job
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-hack-studio-security-points-753509#

Twitter reacts to THE INTERVIEW being pulled from theaters due to threat.

Is it possible that the whole #SonyHack mess was perpetrated by the on-line platforms to make sure people never leave their living rooms?--Ira Deutchman

I fully support the #putitonline movement for The Interview. Screw the theaters cowering in fear and release your product to everyone. #Sony--Alex Billington

Theater chains will soon come out with statements about "patrons' safety." That will be a lie. They are afraid of being hacked themselves.--Josh Lincoln Dickey

.@RegalMovies, the same company whose CEO wants to introduce "texting safe" screenings? Blames Sony's "wavering support".--Moises Chiullan

The Interview, like Dr. Strangelove, sounds like a satire. Lives should not be threatened over a 90 minute comedy, regardless of the subject.--Jen Connors

Even if no one goes to see it, The Interview will end up being one of the most important films of the decade now. Funny how that happens.--David Neary

Bill Cosby and Sony don't want certain things written about them.

Again not linking to certain things already racing across the Information Superhighway, but I noticed two things earlier today:
1. Bill Cosby is still in rigid denial over his current reputation resembling a mansion of twigs with a tornado bearing down on it.  Well, maybe he's acknowledging the recent allegations of supermodel Beverly Johnson by what-seems-to-be subtly ordering African-American publications to avoid writing negative profiles of Bill Cosby.
2. Sony now wants the genie of public embarrassment returned to its bottle by ordering no more press coverage of e-mail leaks.
[Pausing a moment to again say that the leaking is obviously not North Korean--if North Korea had been sufficiently infuriated by THE INTERVIEW, it would probably have created a truly destructive cyberattack rather than something akin to Anonymous-or a disgruntled employee.]
On one level, I can empathize with people working there not wanting private/personal information such as home addresses and phone numbers to be revealed.
However, regarding the information that has been regarded InstantNews-worthy, it may be worth pausing to wonder how/why the Columbia/Tri-Star/Screen Gems content-producing outpost of the Sony empire employs Jamie Foxx (who won an Academy Award for playing Ray Charles in RAY) and only utilizes him as supporting player in the upcoming, modernized ANNIE--plus, earlier this year, a superhero antagonist in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2.
And, thanks to the e-mail leak: one gets a little insight into what movies multinational corporations choose to make, why they insist on making "tentpoles" and avoiding medium-budget projects that aren't comedies--and what kind of limitations are assigned by studio executives to non-Caucasian actors.