'Suffragette' crashes on rocks of Oscar season, while 'Peanuts' dares to be different by staying the same

Not all movies that dare to land in the thick of awards season land on their feet. Word had been getting around for a few weeks before now that Sarah Gavron's well-meaning Suffragette just doesn't have the goods, and I have to sadly agree. It's unfortunate that in a year that features so many female-driven films contending in the awards race, that this one -- which was also written and directed by women -- should become such a visible casualty.

But it is what it is. The film just isn't very good. The subject matter it tackles is noble (at times unflinchingly brutal), but importance is not equal to quality.

Mourning in the American 'Wild' and the Irish 'Sea': Double Feature Review

Late December is often a time of great celebration. No matter what your faith or customs may be, there's always an extra emphasis on enjoying time with our loved ones this season, as we prepare to close the book on one year and eagerly welcome another.

But, inevitably, the closing out of the year also becomes a time of solemn reflection, to remember what we've lost while cherishing what we still have. 2014 somehow feels like a disproportionately painful year for the filmmaking community; The tragic premature deaths of geniuses like Robin Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman punctuating an already long list of cinema giants who finally left us after significant, fruitful lives.

Perhaps that's why it's been so much on my mind as I've frequented the movies this year. I don't want to be responsible for giving anyone a case of the holiday blues, but it's been impossible for me not to notice a similar thread running through a number of 2014's major releases; A thread about the way people deal with loss, process grief, and ultimately find closure; A thread about how mourning varies from individual to individual, yet is universally human.

A pair of distinctive and radically different films that are currently in limited release, Wild and Song of the Sea, suddenly seem like distant cousins when viewed through this thematic prism.