To some people, love doesn’t exist unless you acknowledge it in front of other people.

by Grace Crawford

Valentine’s Day images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.

Ah, Valentine’s Day: that most beloved or most hated day of the year, depending on your relationship status and whether or not you’re happy about it. When I was younger I used to dress all in black and declare that I was mourning the death of St. Valentine, a tradition that stopped short the first year I actually had a date that day. Because what’s life without double standards?

Like many holidays, Valentine’s Day is a time that draws out different reactions in different people. You might be in a brand-new relationship, a little shy but excited to see where it goes.

Maybe you’re a happily married couple of 20 years with two or three kids, thinking, “Gosh, life is pretty great right now.” Or (hopefully not) you might be celebrating your 50th anniversary and getting the uncomfortable thought that this other person has suddenly become a stranger to you.

But this isn’t restricted to Valentine’s Day: these scenarios merely fit in with the theme because, what, it’s a holiday to celebrate love? So’s Christmas, if you’re doing it right (because Jesus was born in the summer). So’s Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, if you’re on good terms with yours. Heck, so’s Halloween, if you like your kids and want them to be happy with obscene amounts of candy.

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Year-End Review

“Bonjour.”

Looking back, 2014 was a surprisingly good year for me. It was a year of transition, a year of change, a year of building a foundation for the future. As a result of that year, I now have stable employment, a roommate, a bachelor’s degree, the complete first draft of a novel, and a fiancé. So as far as years go, I think it was probably the best one thus far.

On the other hand, it was also a year of bad hockey teams and surprisingly sub-par films. But amidst all the movies whose plots slipped out of my mind the minute I left the theatre, or even the movies that were “just fine” (I’m looking at you, Maze Runner and Divergent), there were the odd few that stood out, a handful of needles glittering deep within the haystack. Some I expected to be incredible, while others were a surprise to me, as you’ll soon see.

Keep in mind as we begin, I still haven’t seen The History of Everything, The Imitation Game, Into the Woods, or Big Hero 6, so however good they might be, I won’t be including those in my top picks. (Give me a break; it’s been a crazy year.)

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Year-End Review

“Hey.”

As I look back on the year that’s passed, I remember 2014 as the year that got away. Maybe a year that never truly arrived. A year typified if not consumed by betrayal and treason and murder in the nights and days of our discontent(s). A year of modest beginnings, false starts, and the hollow hopes of misinformed adventure. A year of paralysis and failure in direct spite of foolish hopes and inexplicable dreams. A year best left forgotten.

But then… that’s usually how I remember every year.

From a cultural perspective — by which I mean movies, not like, art or symphonies or anything like that — 2014 marked several turning points, including possibly the two best Marvel Studios movies of all time, hopefully the final Peter-Jackson-helmed piece of Tolkien lore, the first time America got Godzilla anywhere near right, and the triumphant return of the X-Men to theatres, in between bouts of profundity (Interstellar), pain (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), achievement (Boyhood) and intense malaise (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

And none of it met my expectations. Continue reading →