top 10 films of 2014

Last year I put together my list of top 10 films of 2013 and I am here today to do the same for 2014!

If you've been tracking my blog or my life or me you know that my bff Wendy and I have been trying to see 50 films at the Pickford Film Center by January 1st. Unfortunately we didn't meet that goal but we saw a ton of movies all the same (check out our list here).

Without further adieu, the best of the best for 2014, note that they are not in any sort of order:

Boyhood

photo from here

I could write about Boyhood forever and ever and ever (mostly because it took forever to make and there's so much to say). I loved just about everything in this film. It's flawless. It represents childhood for some children in America, including a lot of things that I align with — some that I didn't as well. Ellar Coltrane is 20, the same age as my sister, and since this was shot from 2002 – 2013 I felt like I was growing up along with them. Everything from the music, to the wardrobe, to the current events encapsulates time in a way no other film has or probably ever again will.


Dallas Buyer's Club

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I wrote a bit about Dallas Buyer's Club here. This was such a strange strange comeback year for Matthew McConanghaheheyhey — from True Detective, to Dallas Buyer's Club, to The Wolf of Wall Street he's doing some serious work. Mmm hmmmm hmmmmm mmmmmm *chest bump with fist*.


Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse

photo from here

I wrote in depth about my thoughts on this film in this blog entry. What an amazing film. I hope this has a chance to come to Netflix or PBS so more can see it but get your hands on it however you can.


The Grand Budapest Hotel

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On a lighter note, this film is incredible. This is the most Wes Anderson of Wes Anderson movies ever made. The colors, the lighting, the sets, oh my god the sets. I can't get enough of Zero and Agatha and just everyone in this. Tilda Swinton! And Adrien Brody! And Willem Dafoe!


Obvious Child

photo from here

I talked about Obvious Child as well as the film below, on this blog entry: summer films. I still can't get over the significance of seeing this film on the day Burwell v. Hobby Lobby was announced. If you've watched my much yacked about favorite show Bob's Burgers you might be familiar with some of Jenny Slate's other work as the characters Tammy and she is also responsible for the work of genius that is Marcel In the Shell. See it, love it.


Ida

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Ida. Oh lord Ida. When I saw this in theaters I was surprised at how many people complained about the ending — spoiler alert, indie films don't always end the way you expect them to/how you want them to. Get over it. This film is so subtle and lovely and dark. The main actress is ethereal to her aunt's alcoholic mess of a life. This film is now available on Netflix.


Vi är bäst! aka We Are The Best!

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Story of my childhood! But in Swedish! Three girls struggle to find their identities, their boyfriends, their ideal hairstyle and most importantly their musical tastes. This is basically the story of my life from age 11 - present. This film is now available on Netflix.


Gone Girl

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Ugh this movie! I read the book, which now I kind of regret because the movie wasn't as suspenseful as it could have been.  I sat between my bff Wendy and an older lady who kept saying "OH GOD!" when something shocking happened. I was kind of tipsy and shouted things like "NOOO DOOGIE HOWSER!". But at the end of the day this was an incredible film and continues to prove that David Fincher can do no wrong. I also love that Fincher continues to use Trent Rznor and Atticus Ross for the soundtracks and that this film was produced almost entirely by WOMEN. GO FIGURE. This is also a great comeback film for Ben Affleck.


Tracks

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The true story of Robyn Davidson's trek across Australia in 1977. Mia Wasikowska was so good in this, I mean, she's great in everything (The Kids Are Alright, Jane Eyre, Only Lovers Left Alive, etc. etc.) but she was incredible in this. Really the breakout star of this is Adam Driver who has been in so much this year it's hard to remember (and Frances Ha notably last year). The adventure of this film is worth watching it alone, and the scenery is absolutely incredible. While I didn't feel like taming some camels and hitting the trail it, like so many other books and films, inspired me to continue to explore and adventure.


Birdman

photo from here

The final film worth mentioning this year, Alejandro González Iñárritu does it again with this film. If you're like, what is that crazy name, who is this person please recall the masterpieces: Amores perros, 21 Grams, Babel, and Biutiful. This film was a bit of a departure in that it was less depressing and more magical than his previous works (Biutiful is available on Netflix and is soul-crushingly amazing). Michael Keaton hasn't been in anything worthwhile mmm possibly ever/since Beetlejuice but this was incredible. Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, and Naomi Watts KILL IT. Run don't walk to go see this before it's too late.


A few fun things to note: several of these films represent huge breakouts for stars like Ellar Coltrane, Jenny Slate, Tony Revolori, and the ladies of We Are The Best! they also represent some amazing roles for females and some comebacks for Matthew McConahahgheyhey, Ethan Hawke, Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton. What a year for film!

That's it for this year. Honorable mentions go out to: Nebraska (Netflix), The Pretty One, Finding Vivian Maier, Life Itself, Alive Inside (Netflix), Skeleton Twins, and Rich Hill.

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why #dothedoula ?

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What is a doula? From Doulas of North America (DONA) a doula is:

The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.

I'm just a day away from completing my initial training as a doula at Bastyr University in Kenmore Washington. From there I will work towards achieving DONA certification and become a working doula.

Why do I want to be a doula? That's a little bit complicated.

**Warning, things are about to get real ranty**

I haven't always been outspoken, I remember being at Costco with my mom when I was probably 10ish and she wanted a mocha shake. She sent me to the concessions to make the purchase and when I got to the front of the line they were out of mocha shakes and then asked if a fruit shake with chocolate blended in would suffice. Thinking — wow, that sounds disgusting — didn't stop me from saying "uhh sure" because I was too bashful and shy and awkward to say "uhhh gross, no".

When I was in college I discovered The Business of Being Born, a documentary by Ricki Lake of all people primarily focused on natural birth and the state of the birth "industry" in the United States. I was, to put it lightly, appalled at the endless cycle of unnecessary interventions, needless c-sections, and in the end traumatic births taking place because they are most easily regulated, "safe", and speedy for the doctor and hospital. What-the-heck I thought, I need to change this.

I started small, spreading the word through my friend group about movies like The Business of Being Born, and books like Spiritual Midwifery by one of my now idols, Ina May Gaskin. I drug a helpless friend along to see Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin & The Farm Midwives which includes a pretty gnarly breech-birth video.

I also started reading, reading about birth but also studying things like c-section rates in the U.S. vs. other nations, the rate of VBACs in the U.S., infant and maternal mortality rates. I took anthropology courses that included sections on birth and asked many a question about home births, hospital births and everything in between.

It wasn't until I decided I really wanted to be a midwife myself that I had to sort out my feelings about birth and life and death. I decided, then at 23 and now at 24, I'm too young and inexperienced to become a midwife. I haven't actually seen a birth yet, I might hate it, and becoming a midwife is rather involved as one might imagine and not really worth doing and then quickly abandoning.

It was with those, what I consider to be quite mature realizations, that I decided to become a birth doula for a while, test the waters (birth-tub waters, as it were). I am going to witness birth in all forms, from natural home births to hospital births with doctors and epidurals and catheters. I will see all the fun that comes with operating under the roof of western medicine that treats the birthing process as scary and unpredictable and takes all measures to medicate those unknowns out of it.

Will I like it when my clients are told they should really consent to pitocin or else, or that they really need to have their amniotic sacs broken, or they should should should circumcise their newborn sons — I surely will not. Will I help them to gain a voice, stand up for what they want, ask questions, and be skeptical, I surely will.

For a myriad of reasons I have become probably a worse-case scenario patient for my doctor, eye doctor, dentist, etc. I do not take suggestions at face-value, I do not consent without proper information. When my doctor told me a treatment for my persistent hiccups would be low doses of anti-seizure, anti-psychotics, or anti-depression meds I said — but why, they're hiccups.

In college when the student health center refused to acknowledge a study regarding frequency for Pap tests in women my age published by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and jointly by the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology I flipped out. I was told "we'd rather over-Pap you" and I wrote a scathing review of the information I was being given vs. what the study had revealed and sent it to the staff of the health center. My next visit went a little better.

Being a doula, for me, is all about giving women information and options. It's not really informed consent if the information being given isn't thorough, well researched, and true. It's giving clients the voice that I didn't have until I was 22 and had all sorts of dentists and doctors treat me in ways I didn't like or didn't think was necessary. I'm excited to share both my enthusiasm for birth as well as my enthusiasm for being a woman — what an amazing gift to help others express themselves, their choices, their wishes, and their feelings during one of the most transformative times in life.

#dothedoula