into one you'll never forget. earn triple points when you book with the expedia app. expedia plus rewards. . good morning, welcome to ""morning joe." "2014 delivered a wide range of news events, the disappearance of a malaysia airlines flight t. unrest and shooting down of another malaysia airliner plane and, of course, this summer was just racked with violence in gaza, the ebola outbreak and the humanitarian crisis with children crossing america's southern borders. the rise of isis, the civil war in syria and the swing of power in the mid-term election, of course, recently, the hack of

sony pictures. now, any other year any one of these stories would have been considered the top story of the year. the year, another series of events tops most people's lists. we had the associated press on this past week. they picked this as the top story. the events in ferguson, missouri. the events in staten island, fork and the continuing after math of those tragedies. with us to talk about it if boston. msnbc contributor mike barnacle. if new york, editor of bloomberg politics mark halperin and "morning joe" analyst steve radner. and on capitol hill, msnbc contributor michael steele. mike barnacle, let's start with you, how do we put this all in perspective? >> i think, joe, the events of several days ago if brooklyn, two new york city police officers were assassinated sort

of were the pinnacle of the year of real simmering unrest, racial unrest in this country and this country has to continue to try to address it and specifically in the largest city in this country and the most important police department in this country, new york city's, that has to be addressed because the underlying assertion, the city of fork, i think represents an underlying unrest throughout the country when it comes to an issue of race. >> mike, do you understand the frustration for police officers who feel like there has been a national conversation on this topic but the conversation up until these two assassinations has been decidedly one-sided and often painted police officers in the worst possible light? >> yeah, joe, i do. i come from a police family. my brother is a homicide detective for nearly 30 years in the police department, my cousin

was an fbi agent for 30 years operating nationally throughout this country. in new york, i think what is going on there is first of all you have to realize the a trollman's association if new york has been without a labor contract for quite some time. >> that is a key part of the source of tension between the mayor and the police department if new york city. the other element is, there was a group of protesters within the past few days that issued a statement when protests will resume. they will resume. one of the points they want raised. this is a quote the systemic racism in the new york police department. joe, there is systemic racism in this country. you can't single out a police department. sure, there is racism in the police department. there is in every industry in this country. the new york city police department truly reflects the city of new york i think more than any other police department in this country. it represents young men and women from 50 different

countries. they speak 65 different languages within the department. the police department in any city has to be us for a city to sustain itself and i think they do it admirably in new york city. >> they do it admirably and they have done it for a long time. while he was talking about it, we saw the racial breakdown of police officers. it's a widely diverse organization and also, guess what, look at that, 41% white, 28% black, 24% hispanic, 6% asian. at the end of the day over the past several decades, they've done an extraordinary job. i've always said one of the most remarkable governmentable turn arounds i have seen happen between the years of 1990 and 1995 and so much of it had to do with police in new york and keeping tourists and keeping citizens and keeping people in the poorest, most dangerous neighborhoods safe. they have succeeded for decades and it's got to be very hard to

be one of the racist members of the kkk and also hearing hundreds and possibly thousands of people chanting as we've teen in that channel 4 video, what do you want, dead cops, when do you want it? now. i wonder if deblasio doesn't have more responsibility to speak out against the hate speech. >> well, an extraordinary police force and a city that has turned around. for a lot of people, can you walk down almost any street in most of fork city and not feel afraid for your life or your possessions. look, two people really set things off in new york i think. one was the police officer who killed eric garner and through his conduct set off the chain of events that led to the second person. which was the prosecutor. based on my reporting, most people i know close to the case think that pros security did not work hard to get an zoimt from that grand jury. it wasn't a grand jury that

failed to do it after being present evidence by prosecutor who wanted to die. i think those two people have left this city and mayor deblasio in a tough position. the saving factor i think is mayor deblasio's partnership with bill bratton, the police commissioner. the two are working on a long-term project that will balance the respect and funding we need to have for our police department with an appreciation for the diversity of the city and justice is not met out equally in a lot of sessions. >> steve radner. you are a new york democrat. you are a new yorker. you lived here your whole life. grade the mayor on his performance over the past month or so. how is bill deblasio done? >> with respect to this particular issue, i think it's -- i don't think it's a really great record in a lot of ways. i think really this whole problem certainly was exacerbated, brought to a head,

whatever you want to say, by what happened to eric garner. the anteseedants lie back in the middle of the campaign when the previous commission commissioner said on sunday was an anti-police campaign. stop and frisk had its issues. we can all dewitt those. but rightly or wrongly, however you did it, deblasio came away as somewhat hostile to the police. so the reaction of the police today to the mayor is certainly exacerbated by what he said very recently. but it has been simmering now really since the campaign a year ago. . >> and yet, michael steele, isn't it unhelpful rhetoric when you have the heads of police unions and former mares suggesting that the blood of these two ploevss are on mayor deblasio's hands? >> oh, absolutely, joe. it really takes it to a whole another level. i think as was previously said,

this tension between the police and the mayor go back to the campaign. but right now given the depth of these two officers, given the tensions around eric garner. i think the people in new york like the rest of the country are looking for these two sides to come together. i thought the mayor took the right tone in his recent comments in sort of putting out there, let's get beyond the protests. focus on the families of these two officers, let's bury our dead and move forward from there united. i think it will take a great effort by the mayor, quite honestly, to do that. the police, i don't expect the police to come to the mayor and work it out. i really expect the mayor the elected officer to go to the police and work it out with them. i think the people of new york are expecting the same thing. >> mike barnacle, who are these people that were caught on tape and again it wasn't five or ten or 15, it was can el 4, nbc 4 caught hundreds, maybe even a

thousand people marching down the street in new york calling for the death of police officers, who are these people? i suspect tear hatred for police officers and law enforcement had to be around before the eric garner case. >> i assume so, joe, no matter how many of them there were, no matter the ugly things that they were saying, they represent a fringe, a real fringe in terms of the citizenry not only of new york but i think of every city in this country. look, a couple of things ought to be clear here. the protesters have an absolute right to protest their anger, their frustration over the eric garner decision and over the michael brown decision. i was out with the protesters at several times during the past several weeks if manhattan and they were protected by the new york police department. several, more than several members of the fork police department were of the

approximate age as many of the younger protesters and the other aspect of this that ought not to be forgotten is those two police officer that were asass face inned, they were exkutsd. they were shot at and killed because of the uniform they wore, not because of who taerp. a young asian man and a young hispanic man shot by a black man. the black man happened to be mentally ill. he had what, a handgun and that is really the ultimate issue in this country from noon town to brooklyn to the random shootings we see on the streets of this country where the police are there to protect ut, it's the gun that's always available that's the problem. >> steve radner, how do we move forward and learn from the past four months that passed us? >> there are two pieces to it. i will speak specifically of new york as you said, i have lived here my whole run. i think in the short run the

mayor has cleanup to do in the perception of police. i think he's done a reasonably good job, he's got a lot more to do to win back the confidence of the police. i think in the longer run, i think there is retraining some adjustments made in the way police deal with the community with the people they're trying to protect. we talk a lot, joe, ability cameras. that's certainly a tangible piece of it. a lot of it has to do also to interact with people on how they interact with people who may be suspects. i think we request get to a better place a. lot of people who lived here in the early 70s aren't sure we would live in a better place. i believe this could be a positive event out of all these tragedies, maybe something can come if we realize what our problems are and address them. >> mike steele, how do we get to a better place? >> i think it starts with being honest. we have yet to deal with the

systemic issues of race that exist between black and white americans. the frustrations, the suspicions, the doubt, not just the historic aspects of this, but the current economic political dynamic that drives this. and i think that when you, to mark's point about the makeup of the police force, here, yes, it's a huge gulp between ferguson's police force and new york. yet we have the same result in the criminal justice system. so the black community specifically looks at this. they don't see a difference. what they see is how african-americans are treated in the system. it has to be addressed at its root cause and joe you talked about it. i talked about it. all of us has. it really is one of the starting points and go there. we don't want to go there. maybe now we will. >> you are exactly right. we have to have a real conversation on race. it can't be a one-sided conversation. we got to make sure the criminal justice system serves everyone equally.

it hasn't yet. it needs to. we can have that conversation while still respecting police officers who put their lives on the lean every day for us. up next, our picks for the biggest winners and losers of 2014. as the velocity of change in the world increases, new players in new markets face a choice: do it fast and cheap. or do it right. for almost 90 years, we've stayed true to the belief that if you put quality in, you get quality out. it's why everything we build, we build to last. build on progress. build on pride. build on a company that's built for it.

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[ music playing ] >> i love her, is that okay to say? >> she's phenomenal. >> she's so smart. >> an american. >> you should see that "60 minutes" piece on her, she's a savant. she has fun with it. >> i never get to see "60 minutes." i'm never home for that. >> that explains lot. >> we obviously think they lor swift one of them. >> se won. again, i think these a couple albums away from reaping michael jackson's iconic status. >> wow.

>> she's remarkably, remarkably talented. i'd love to talk to her parents some time. >> i know. >> you talk to her in the "60 minutes" interview, they helped her along. >> she is wonderful. >> very adjusted. >> obviously had a talent and a desire and art at an early age and just grew it. >> another winner of this year. when you think of taylor swift, she goes hand-in-hand with mitch mcconnell. now, mitch mcconnell, come on, he rocks, mitch mcconnell, a guy the presses love to hate for a long time. >> he is a winner of 2014. >> and a guy that people predicted would lose if kentucky in the primary. they were wrong and would lose in the general election him they were wrong. he won going away. man, he is in a position to have great impact in washington in '15 and '16. >> his career and taylor swifts are just like remarkably similar

to me. >> all right. >> i do feel mitch mcconnell is a clear winner. this is someone who wanted to be leader since elementary school. he got his wish. you know, i guess you know christmas can bring great gifts, for mitch mcconnell, it's to run that capitol building behind me. >> and hasn't ka is coming up, too. >> he is. >> he will have to do something. >> that's why he'll be on our biggest losers list next year. >> i want to talk to a side of mitch mcconnell i have never seen, you have never seen. trying to reach out. lets hope it works. >> election night, you know, it gets to sam's point, probably a year from now he will be among the biggest losers, but he actually said some constructive positive things on election night, if are you an optimist, you might be willing to think. >> look what followed, they kept the government opened.

>> that ain't nothing. he and harry reed kept the government functioning. >> the best of the things that happened to the democrat and republicans was the republican landslide because on the one hand it gave the republicans so much power that when have you that power, you kind of come out of the barking position and it reenergized barak obama. so it's very one side of the aisle victory i think wins for both sides. >> now, barak obama obviously, donny doing, it's been a terrible 84 for him in many ways, historic landslide losses in '14, historic landslide losses and yet the last month, you may call him if loser for 2014 but december, 2014, liberals like you absolutely love what he's been doing since he has been unleashed. >> pod rats like myself think it's a big year for him, not only the way he closed out with the 14th round tko as far as

cuba and as far as taking strong stands on internet regulation, climate control, but unemployment, quarter, month after month after month keeps coming down below 6%. as long as i have been alive, that has been the ultimate measure of populism in this country. so i give him a big w. >> people like donny deutsche give him a big w. do we name barak obama with a big asterisk, a winner for the last six of 2014? >> that's a good question. does the last month negate what was a pretty crummy year up to then? >> it was a terrible year, yeah. >> i would say, you know, probably. it depends how enduring these executive actions are. this immigration action infuriates a big victory for obama. who know what is the court system says about it. certainly what the next president does about it.

health care reform. this sign up here. no one talks about the seen up here because it's gone smoothly, unlike the last one. but we have a supreme court case down the pike that could negate all of that. the unemployment stuff, you are absolutely right. it has been ticking down, down, down. will we see growth in wages ahead? that's another big measure. it's to be determined. he certainly has got a bit of swagger back. >> what is mildly interesting about the president's last six weeks is you get the sense that he has now gotten over the hurdle of basically his last elections, the last off year elections, he's not running anymore, it's almost as if he is now liberated. he's a free man and he is unafraid to do these things that for whatever reasons political he hasn't been doing for the last six or seven years, he is now going to do them. >> he is going to the bucket list. >> more winners for 2014. >> who is the winner for you? >> lala ma.

she single handedly raised the issue on the spotlight of education on young girls, malala. i kind of agree with this. she is the youngest person to receive i believe she's the youngest to receive nobel peace prize so i mean if that doesn't say it all, i'm not sure who else would be the person of the year, really. >> well, in her life, what she has done with her life after surviving, you can see clearly the threat that she and others pose in that region to the taliban based upon what happened quite recently, the absolutes the slaughter of school children in pakistan. she is a symbol of hope. >> let me ring in one more winner out of another tragedy, mike barnacle writes this, when he died, eric garner was a 43-year-old guy with a lot of health issues and too little

money. he held no job. like so many of the poor, he measured his future by hours and days. how much cash did he need to make it to supper? to the weekend? before he became a legitimate symbol of suppressed and simmering outrage, he was like so many others among the battalions of poor across the country. a product of a two-tiered education system where the poor, black and white, are too often sentenced to inferior public schools where dreams go to die. >> wow. >> pike. >> i guess it's something that sam raised a couple of seconds ago and donny pointed out the unemployment numbers are going down, down, down the take half home pay has been gone flat for decades. >> minimum wage. >> the minimum wage hasn't been adjusted. there are too many things, economically in this country, that go on with families that are basically forgotten about.

both black and white in this country. the right to make a decent wage. to get a pay raise, to participate in the larger economy. this is all a part of water going on, i think, on the streets of this city and other cities, the outrage the disappointment that people feel about their own personal circumstances. we now live in an age when for the first time in my memory, your memory, i think all of our collective memories, no one, no parent has faith and confident in the fol thought that their child, their children, will do better in this country. >> and that's really the great challenge for whoever wants to challenge, republican or alike, you can't go up there and say, few want to fix all the problems in this country, we need to raise taxes. if you are a conservative, you can't say, few want to fix the problems in this country, you got to cut taxes. we got to get beyond that idiotic debate because there is

so much more to this, as mike said, it's systemic. it's been going on for 40 years. we need a real leader to break that cycle. >> all right. those were some of the year's best. next, we look at the worst and the slis long. donny is on it. we'll start there. the year's biggest loseers, next on ""morning joe."" no matter who you are, if you have type 2 diabetes, you know it can be a struggle to keep your a1c down. so imagine ... what if there was a new class of medicine that works differently to lower blood sugar?

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it's too bad they're trying

to buy america and it's time the american people spoke out against this terrible dishonesty of these two brothers who are about as unamerican as anyone i can imagine. >> no, no, no, stop. stop! >> it's a bad year. >> harry reed in february. >> i can do this one. >> say it like you are on anchor, your objective. and have you no feelings about this, you just report it. >> senate majority leader harry reed in february with one of his many attacks on the coke brothers, his criticisms failed to keep democrats in control of the senate, leaving senator read leaving the mo jaert post and making our list of losers. how is that, mike, is that very good? >> no. >> i should really do that. >> great stuff. >> listen, harry reed lost on all accounts, his coke brother's

strategy by all accounts disastrous. >> what do you think the biggest reason for that was, joe? harry reid vs. the coke brothers? can i just venture a guess before you give me your opinion? very few people, ord fare people, they don't know who the coke brothers are. >> don't know, don't care. how harry reid won. >> if you go to the hospital. >> absolutely. >> go to pulmonarys here. >> oh my go, you go to lincoln's home. >> the pulmonary of natural history. >> that's true. so not everybody. there is a lot of people. >> the average people. >> oh, i'm just saying, if you have a shoulder problem or something. >> hospital for special surgery. >> let's not do the philanthropic. >> why not? >> i don't think he should be vilified. >> he calls them unamerican and your city is a better place because of the coke brothers. >> they are clearly not unamerican. >> this is a horrible strategy.

donny, let me ask you, this is the end of the year, we look back and talk about what democrats should have done. i wonder, because everybody is so negative, i wonder if democrats didn't blow an opportunity by actually going, they should have gone positive. this is what we did. the economy was going over the cliff. we saved it. you got health care reform. your little 6-year-old girl that has a pre-existing condition now gets health care service. by the way. >> growing up. >> the mid-west the economy saved, when we say gm, we could go on and on, unemployment was, is now below, i know 7% going down below 6. we killed osama bin laden. on top of that, unemployment is not only down the deficit has been cut by over half. like there are so many things that democrats could have done if they had dared to be

positive. >> i have said this all along and it starts with barak obama. for some reason, he will not take the victory lapse. he will not take that megaphone, if i were selling this president. it's win after when after win. the way we measure presence, even a perceived loss, end up being the right call. if we get this guy out, to pe, they should have been -- by the way, next month, last woke, a million people sign up for health care, so it should have been yes. >> donny, here's the thing, if you and i are debating, i obviously disagree with barak obama, most of his domestic legislation and foreign policy legislation, if we're if debates, you are throwing one success after another at me, joe, are you a deficit hock, you brag about being a deficit hock. you must love the fact that the deficit has been cut by 75%, blah, blah, blah, you must like the fact that you like people

working, joe, they're back from the yields. >> joe, i said it ten times on this show, i don't get it. i don't get it. he has the bullets. >> george w. bush frustrated so many republicans because he didn't take a victory lap after the berlin wall fell down. in fact, he did the very low key approach, said we're not going to do it. he just sort of. republicans are like, what are you doing? >> well, he doesn't brack. >> he doesn't brag. >> and barak obama similarly uncomfortable with saying, we won. >> well, to your point, the two points that you just gave donny the deficit being cut, slashed by 75%, i'd add another thing in terms of what the democrats ought to have done but didn't do. interest rates are at historic lows. so if you are ever going to spend money or borrow money to put america back to work, infrastructure programs, now would have been the perfect time. >> gas is down, he absolutely can take no credit for it. but i would still take credit

for it. >> sure. >> if i'm barak obama. we talked about barak obama being a loser for most of the 2014, turn it around at the end. can we say the same thing about roger goodell? >> i don't think so, not yet. >> because the nfl. >> define the possibilities. >> the nfl is doing well financially. they've survived the crisis. he survived the crisis. >> for now. >> and it seems his handling of adrian peterson, they decided they're going to be much tougher. >> look the truth about the nfl the nfl is going to remain the most populous sport in the world because of tv and fantasy football and all that roger goodell's handling, initial handling, we all know was pathetic. he did bounce back. but i still think there is a verdict that will be rendered on his handling of the national football league probably after the super bowl when the owners think about all of what has happened. >> i think if you take roger

goodell where he was and where he is now, he's a winner. he survived, nfl is making a lot of money and i think they're going to take a lot less out of tear players in the future. >> he survived despite himself, because the power of the league and the owners do like him. the one thing that would be his death note if it comes out in the investigation that he lied. you know, basically, he knew more than he said. that's the one thing he can't recover from. >> 30 more secondsgy is was trying to be nice, nobody was taking the bait. >> i will go through, you say yes or no, i don't think, 78% disapproval rating. >> that would be a loser of the year. irs? >> the questions continue. they're not answered, they're not being forthright. i do agree with bob woodward, if i were a young reporter, i would go to cincinnati and investigate. there is so much under that rock the press still is not overturning. >> the va. >> god, mike, where do you begin with the va? >> huge losers. still, it's improved.

what they don't provide in terms of the time available to veterans coming in, it's shocking. . >> it is. finally, before we go to break, rolling stones. >> what do you think, mica? >> i think it's horrifying, actually, yeah. >> can we say the same about "rolling stone"? this was terrible, it was an embarrassment. but this is happening, it's happened in "new york times." it's happened to the washington post. it's happened to i'm sure it's happened in this network. i don't recall when it's happened. it's happened to every news organization, mike and so it happened to "rolling stone." who has actually had a run. >> incredible reporting. >> incredible reporting, but this one got away from them. how, it happens to everybody. >> it does happen to everybody. but in this case what they did clearly in retrospec is they had an idea for a story and they went out and tried to get component parts to fit the idea for the story, instead of

letting the story just follow, come through. >> that happens, doesn't it? >> i think, joe, you bring up a point, we in the media are so quick, "rolling stone" over the years has done a spectacular year. there was a screwup. "60 minutes" has had a screwup. >> there you go, "60 minutes" the second most news program in america, sorry, in america, "60 minutes" my god, think about what an extraordinary span they've had. they messed up. they screwed up. >> nothing you can do if your source lies to you. nothing you can do. >> especially if you are out on the edge, which "60 minutes" does, "rolling stone" they are pushing it. once in a while. >> we are not apologizing, mica, for anybody, everybody screws up. i apologize i screw up every day. >> oh, really? i think you might be perfect. >> fantastic.

>> during the holidays -- >> how am i supposed to say it? hanomansisn' hanukkah.

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into one you'll never forget. earn triple points when you book with the expedia app. expedia plus rewards. welcome back to ""morning joe." "joining us is the editor at large perk, jesuit priest jess martin. it's good to have you back on the show. how are you doing? >> i'm great. >> the pope earned our respect in 2014. no. 1 is so radical, he focused on the poor, going back to jesus' pain message benefit asked who get to heaven, who doesn't? jesus says you take care of the poor the hungry the sick, you are on your way. this is the first pope in a long time that's focused on that.

>> i think popes have always been focused on that, john paul and benedict were. he is doing the by giving up the trappings of the papacy but laser like focusing on the poor and bringing them up in almost every talk and visit that he does. >> i like his openness to all people. i feel that like something, there is a perception out there that the church, the catholic church isn't. whether it's correct or not. >> again, go back to the script cure. judge not that you be judged. how many times does jesus tell us, don't look at the spec in your neighbor's eyes when you have the spark in your own eyes, again, christ like, he says, who am i to judge? >> he also talks about a very important word for him, accompany, he must accompany people and a culture of encounter. that's one of the things he talked about in terms of the opening of relations between cuba and the united states, a culture of encounter, bringing people together. yeah, he's really showing that

by reaching out to almost everybody. >> mike barnacle. >> one of the almost magical things that pope frances has managed to do in a very short period of time personally speaking is if you were raised in the catholic faith by two very devout catholic parents, my mother was a daily communeicant for parochial school, if you went away and experienced about participating in secondhand all of the horrendous stories of sexual abuse by priests, then suddenly pope frances arrives on the scene. he brings you back to your roots the least among us, things that we're focused on in my childhood and then he says the astounding thing that. >> right. >> we mentioned from the beginning when it comes to same-sex marriage, who am i to judge? this is a remarkable man and a remarkable leader of the church.

>> it's a remarkable shift in tone, too. church teaching has not changed, the tone, the approach, his attitude towards people, i think who am i to judge a lot of people, dismiss that as unimportant. i think it was very important and marked a water shed by a lot of people who felt judge and feel very welcome. >> then you get his spec actions with other cardinals, cardinal burke, cardinal raymond burke, very conservative. opposed the pope verbally, vocally, a head of the vatican supreme court. gone. >> 83, he is not afraid to make changes. a friend of mine that knows him, says the man is not afraid of anything or anyone, very i just finished a couple books, reading a couple bucs on him. he had a difficult time in argentina. he had to deal with the junta there, very prayerful and hopeful is there we have two practicing catholics here, donny

deutsche -- >> is the reaction as positive on the inside of the church and would you tell me? >> yes it is and i would tell you. it is, there are some people who are still a little threatened i would say by this openness and who are not his big fans, but i think, you know, for the most part, people are delighted and people who mate have questions about him are delighted as pike was saying feeling welcomed. >> is he getting finances if order? >> yeah, he appointed cardinal pell, a take charge kind of guy the vatican bank has been on a firm footage and brought in outside audits, which i think is important. >> what is it a billion plus muslims on this planet, what is the pope doing, muslims in this country. there are solidiots that think the average muslim is a fundamentalist. we know 99.99% are wonderful human beings, what is he doing to reach out to the muslim

community? i just finished the book on the pope that said in 2004 he was the first cardinal of buenes aires to visit the islamic center there. he has been doing this for a while. when he went to turkey, he prayed in a mosque. he met imams and muslim leaders. at run with point people said he wasn'tplay praying, he came out and said, foy, i was praying. once againer, it's this culture of encounter. >> all right. thank you so much. we're going to check out his book, "jesus, a pilgrimage." it's really wonderful having you on the show. coming up, it was a banner year in hollywood, awards season is on the way, we'll look back at the best performances of 2014 and a few duds we are trying to forget. we'll be right back. turn the trips you have to take,

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joining us now from washington, elisa rosenberg who covers entertainment and pop culture for the washington post. good to have you on the show. >> thank you for having me. >> a lot of great movies over the past year, water the one most are talking at the end of the year? >> i think everyone has to see "boyhood."

nobody knew it existed. the director shot it for 12 years in secret using child actors and then patricia arquette, ethan hawk as the parents of this amazing family. it's such a special movie. you literally see them grow up on screen and it's this incredibly touching portrait of a family. it's not incredibly dramatic. there is a scene where some of the characters are throwing saw blades at a piece of drywall. you think some disaster is going to happen. it's a movie that doesn't rely on that kind of manufactured drama. it's a beautiful film. >> and president obama declared it his favorite film of the year. >> actually, it makes a little sense when president obama gave his red states and blue state speech to the democratic convention in 2004. he is talking about both how americans are more similar than pundits make himself. but there are pockets of

democrats in deep red states. that's one of the things you see if boyhood, ethan hawk's character is talking to kids about contraception and the iraq war. he ends up converting to evangelical christiany. it's a portrait of america that's much more nuanced tan what we see in the paper. >> also a lot of talk about birdman. >> yes, critics aren't too fond about that one. we've lam pooned a bit. michael keaton returned. it's an actor on broadway. it's gotten attentions for its surrealist elements. that will get a big contender. >> who was lampooned. why did that happen? >> it takes a shot at critics, some accused of being oversensety. i think we are all managing just fine. >> i think it was critically acclaimed is this. >> absolutely t. movie itself takes a couple shots at critics.

certainly tear progresstive. >> hollywood is going to love the two movies spoken about thus far both "birdman" and "boyhood." "byhood" is a tour de force in terms of movie making, to follow the same actors through several different period of tear lives. >> it's a huge gamble. they captured two extremely young child actors. the girl was the daughter, there is wonderful natural performances what if they had grown up. lorali linkletter wanted to quit. when your dad is the director, he can tell awe to do. it was a real risk. they turned in these beautiful touching performances, remarkable. >> and "birdman" is about probably 90% of the people who try to break into moifts are in

movies and have fallen out of movies. there are other movies forget the american globe, "the american sniper." . >> i think it will be really interesting look both, you know, at that war and what it's done to us but what it's like to come home. what is america after our involvement in the middle east. >> two movies that are now being, i should say on tour four, five, my kids have watched all these movies and made me watch all these movies. you can tell when you have "guardians of the galaxy" "hunger games" the "lego point of view." that was biggie. >> that was a great movie. >> think great year in family films in some respect. >> the lego movie is this wholly movie it's about the power of creativity. it's a lovely movie about

fathers and children. it is incredibly silly and funny and satire cal. it is wonderfully hopeful. this is a year where we have conflicted heroes, captain hero returning to a setting after years in deep freeze, it isn't about the power structure. in "hunger games" they've survived these reality television show torture competition. all of a sudden she's free. she is being used as a political symbol for this rebel movement. so there is a lot of conflict. a lot of anxiety about heroism. yet in movies like "the lego movie" and "guardiants of the galaxy" there is an approach to do the right thing, to do adventure and things better than themselves? >> it is, i can't, i just don't see movies but my kids have taken me to all these movies and

"guardians of the galaxy" for the sound track alone helped me get through it. red bone, come and get your love. the grand budapest hotel, wes anderson, an academy award this year? >> you know, i think it's a competitive feel with gone girl and it's charging and anderson's best tra dilgs looks great. i think the winners will be anyone's guess at this point. >> mica, we will play a game here. we're looking at rotten tomatoings top 25 movies of 2014. have you seen any of these? >> snow pierceer. none of them in. >> no. i didn't waste any time. >> i do not choose wisely. thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. >> we'll be right back with much more "morning joe." they're still after me. get to the terminal across town. are all the green lights you?

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. >> good morning, welcome to "morning joe." all this morning, we are taking a look at some of our biggest interviews of the year from the major news makers to a-list celebrities. >> we will start with those individuals whose influence and power we feel here at home and abroad. they all joined us the same exact week. >> joining us now on set, the secretary of state john kerry. great to have you on board, sir. let's start with the kind of over arching question here, who was in the coalition in the muslim world and beyond