There were a ton of great films last year. SO MANY GREAT
FILMS. I saw 134 films that came out in 2014 and I liked, in one degree or
another, 94 of them. There are still a ton of them I would like to see that
I’ve missed including The Blue Room, Calvary,
Coherence, The French Minister, Get On Up, Happy Valley, The Inbetweeners 2,
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, Life of Crime, Love is Strange, A Master
Builder, Miss Meadows, The Missing Picture, A Most Violent Year, The Mule,
Norte the End of History, Omar, Particle Fever, Showrunners, The Skeleton
Twins, Space Station 76, The Strange Little Cat, The Unknown Known, Vic and Flo
Saw a Bear, Wetlands, Why Don’t You Play in Hell? and Willow Creek.
There’s
this joy that there are so many interesting films coming out. I’m now living in
a city where more of them can be seen in some excellent theatres, but the world
has changed where within a matter of months all of these films can be seen by
anyone, not just those who live near an awesome art house. If you type in
any of these films to Netflix, the odds are strong that they will be there or
will be there soon.
So even though all of these lists are a little bit silly, I
still like to make mine for the fact that it can be a recommendation list for
you. Is #34 that much better than #40? It was for me, but you may end up
adoring #28 more than anything. This is what I loved last year and I hope that
you too can find something exciting and stimulating and original and bonkers
and sophisticated and a film that makes you too wave it to someone where they
have to see it pronto.
Since I’m writing about so many films, I’m going to try to
keep it brief until I get later in the list. I say that now…
#72
Leviathan
Destruction seems like something that will be inherently
cinematic, but not every film is able to pull off the emotional weight of it.
By the end of this film, you’re really able to feel the impact of all the
consequences that these characters had control of and the ones they sadly didn’t.
#71
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The more superhero films we get, the more Hollywood can’t
rely on the same old stories. This is a complicated and curious story full of
worthy twists and a confidence to play around in this universe. My only
complaint is that I wish it was longer to allow for even more emotional scenes
between its characters.
#70
They Came Together
David Wain continues to be one of the most reliably weird
comedy directors and this is his most surreal where every romantic comedy trope
is put on display. The cast is game for every silly moment, especially Paul
Rudd because there is no actor alive who can play dumb as naturally as
he can.
#69
Top Five
Chris Rock has always been a comedian I’ve liked a lot but
never had a go-to movie that really showed all of his talents. This is easily
his greatest achievement as a writer/director. It’s still not perfect, but it’s
very successful in balancing the emotional exploration he wants to achieve
while having comedy enhance the journey.
#68
White Bird in a Blizzard
I’ve never disliked Shailene Woodley in anything but I never
understood why she was the go-to actress for all the young roles. I needed
to see her work with a really nuanced role like this in the latest Gregg Araki
movie. Nobody writes parts for young people like Araki and this one continues
his streak in finding the emotional truths in heightened scenarios.
#67
Foxcatcher
So many brilliant sports movies are devoted around the
relationship of the athlete and their coach. Foxcatcher serves a cold counterbalance about what happens when
that mentor relationship is unearned with very sad and lonely results for
everyone involved.
#66
Manakamana
Different people take a tram up to a temple in Nepal. That’s
the whole movie. It begins as claustrophobic people watching and then after
seeing so many different types of people (and goats!) take the ride, the little
things become secret celebrations.
#65
Obvious Child
2014 was the year when everyone caught on that Jenny Slate
is awesome. The movie would have been charming without her, but her brilliance on screen
makes this a really special film. The way that she is able (and unable) to
find catharsis in her emotional life through stand-up comedy is a highlight to
watch because I’ve never seen that depicted so well especially from a voice
like Slate’s.
#64
Rosewater
Is it fair for me to ask for Jon Stewart to keep making
movies but I don’t want any fewer episodes of The Daily Show? [EDITOR'S NOTE: When I wrote this paragraph, Stewart hadn't announced his retirement yet. I could easily write a new opening sentence but I'm not going to.] This is a very impressive adaptation of a glorious
book by embracing a new perspective on the events. While the book is a memoir
written by the man who was trapped in the Iranian prison, this movie has the
tone of someone who is friends with the captor. So there is more humor and more
anger and a visual sympathy that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a first-time
director.
#63
Starred Up
When you take a violent and aggressive male and put him in prison,
from the public’s eye, the story is over. There’s so many things still to
explore. This film is able to capture so well what it is like day-to-day in
such an environment with an incredible lead performance to carry through the
hardships.
#62
God Help the Girl
Do you like Belle & Sebastian? Do you like people
singing directly to the camera? I do! Thus, I really enjoyed watching this
movie. /critic
#61
Like Father, Like Son
Great storytellers, like Hirokazu Koreeda, can take a simple
sounding story and make it seem epic because we’re so invested in the emotions
of the characters. In this movie, a couple learns their child was accidentally
switched at the hospital and now they have to decide what involvement they want
with their genetic son. Different elements of modern Japanese culture are
examined through the behavior of the two families with well-done subtle
observation.
#60
The Lunchbox
In this crowd-pleasing movie, a friendship is formed in
India when a wife’s lunch for her husband is accidentally sent to the wrong man
and they start a correspondence through letters. I’m always impressed by actors
who can do so much without having the other person on the screen. Their
performances are even stronger thanks to the depth of the writing of their characters.
#59
Happy Christmas
Mumblecore was an interesting movement that ultimately hurt
itself by being too directionless. It wanted to capture a certain moment but
lacked any sort of narrative drive to see how the characters exist. Joe Swanson
was one of the main contributors of that movement but is now making movies that
really connect with me a lot more. With this and Drinking Buddies, it’s able to have that incredible authenticity
while managing a small personal story that isn’t usually told in films. In this
an uncomfortably relatable mess played by Anna Kendrick crashes at her
responsible sister’s place who has a family. I love watching the awkwardness
play out thanks to how well all the actors were able to coexist with an
understated familiarity.
#58
The Princess of France
My first—and definitely not last—film on my list from the
Chicago International Film Festival was one I knew nothing about going in. I
knew it had a connection to Shakespeare, but I didn’t know how experimental
this movie was going to be. Thanks to an unreliable narrative, it becomes a
playful game similar to the Bard’s farces as we try to figure out who is
playing who and what is really happening. Understanding it 100% isn’t as
important than enjoying the theatrical element of it all as perfectly shown by
its magically genius long opening show.
#57
Ida
This is a masterclass in showing how the framing of the
camera can reveal just as much inner truth to a character than the performance
of the actor. The combination of director Pawel Pawlikowski, actress Agata
Trzebuchowska and the cinematography team of Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal
make this a beautiful feat of art.
#56
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
It’s an Iranian female vampire film that has western vibes
in it! Why haven’t you already watched this already? The movie plays so well
with stillness to really give the audience time to question the horror images
we’re seeing and why is it this female figure is so creepy in this
circumstances.
#55
Two Days, One Night
Depicting depressing in film is a tricky thing because it’s
such a self-defeating emotion that it’s hard to also convey narrative drive
displaying something that makes you want to stay in bed. But this film succeeds
because there is this countdown element with a ticking clock where this poor
woman has a very small chance to save her job. The repetition of the film ends
up working a lot more than I thought it would.
#54
Edge of Tomorrow
Speaking of repetition, that also applies to this film! This
could have been a standard space battle with a Groundhogs Day twist, but the screenplay ends up being really
smart. It uses the format to create a quietly complex structure to fool the
audience about what the characters are hiding from each other. Also it’s really
fun.
#53
Virgunga
The story of this documentary was already fascinating as people
try to protect a national park in the middle of the Congo. It serves as a great
metaphor for rebuilding in a land filled with a history of pain. What separates
it from so many documentaries right now is its epic lens and powerful editing.
Orlando von Einsiedle is a great filmmaker.
#52
Mr. Turner
I keep finding that I really like watching despicable
characters who don’t actually pose any threat to anyone. Timothy Spall plays
the brilliant painter as someone so unapproachable that I all I want to do is
approach him and ask him a million questions. Mike Leigh crafts such a
compelling world that always seems to wonder what we want out of our artists
beyond the art. It’s great to see a master at work.
#51
Wild
There were roughly 2,399 times during this movie when it
could have unbearably sappy. Instead the film succeeds at never trying to make
this the most important story of all time but one personal story towards
acceptance. This succeeds in every way that Eat,
Pray, Love failed.
#50
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Since I’m lousy at drawing anything, there will always be a
part of me that watches an animated film and will wonder at how they did that.
The more animated films go entirely to computer generated characters, the less
awe I personally have. Then a film like this will come along and I’m blown away
by the sequences and the design and cuteness and the horror and the patience
and the scope and the intimacy where I’m just saying “wow” over and over again.
#49
Blue Ruin
Characters like John McClaine or Walter White are
superheroes. They can pull off the badass things because they live in a world
where they can do so. Blue Ruin takes
that action movie drive for revenge and puts it towards something who can’t magically
accomplish all that he wants to accomplish. The results creates an anxious
viewing not because we think he’s going to die every second; it’s that we just
don’t know how this will play out in such a realistic society.
#48
Nymphomania Part I
Why I like Part I more than Part II is how the main
character is using the power dynamic setup of her sexual odyssey to her favor. Her
defiance towards the norms fit in well with von Trier’s strange sense of humor and
his teasing relationship with the audience.
#47
The Trip to Italy
Sequels are difficult to do but they’re worth it when you
just want any excuse to spend more time with these characters. This probably
has more laughs than the first one because following Rob’s foils over Steve’s
will naturally have more of levity towards them because it’s easier to like
Rob. Keep on traveling!
#46
Veronica Mars
I was on a road trip from New Orleans to Austin when the
Kickstarter went live. I spent most of the drive obsessively refreshing the
page to see that this actually was going to happen. I’m happy with the final
result because where all the characters ended up years later felt completely
real. The mystery was a bit weak because it was (literally) all about the
reunion. You got the gang back together, you proved that you could do it, now
it’s time to really knock it out of the park with the twists and class warfare
we love so much.
#45
Journey to the West
There’s a giddiness to Stephen Chow that is only emulated by
Looney Tunes. I will always see his movies because there will be this grin on
my face as the world just twists around to craft the goofiest counter attack.
The plot gets a little too serious near the end but the ride is delightful.
#44
The Guest
This may be the weirdest movie of the year. It basically
took until the final line of the movie for me to understand the tone it wanted
to set. Then it all fell into place. This is almost like the Girl Walk All Day of thrillers where the
story is boiled down to the bare essentials so they can only have the awesome
moments. And it actually works thanks to Dan Steven’s bold performance and just
how weird this movie is willing to go.
#43
Fort Tilden
The elevator pitch for this one is Broad City meets After Hours.
Two clueless girls try to give themselves the day off they definitely deserve
as they try to make it across New York to their beach location. The struggle of
their friendship and self-esteem is perfectly tested through their hysterically
strange world. I want more from everyone involved in this movie.
#42
Witching and Bitching
Do you see the title? Do you see this trailer? You now know
if you need to see this movie or not.
#41
We Are the Best!
They are because this is one of the happiest films of the
year.
#40
The Immigrant
Of the two films last year where Marion Cotillard suffers
from a system outside her control, I prefer this one. The movie pushes this
character in such a dangerous corner where bad decisions seem reasonable
because they could be the only options available. Curiously shot and extremely
well acted, this is worth the misery.
#39
Night Moves
It’s really easy to say you want a revolution but the actual
day to day elements make all of it seem impossible. This story seems like so
many familiar acts of activism but there is new suspense when it’s unclear what
people actually believe in and who is trustworthy.
#38
Young and Beautiful
Francois Ozon has now completed his 180 for me as a
director. He’s now able to take his curious eye and craft it into a really
strong character study with a lot of nuance. There’s such a confidence where he
lets Isabelle control the movie through passive uncertainty that is able to
examine unwanted sexualization and what it means to take it back.
#37
Beyond the Lights
What a great romance film! The star and the everyman story
has been done a million times but none of them have had the authenticity of
this film. The only way to look at sensationlization is to remove yourself from
it where everyone seems vulnerable and approachable. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is so
fantastic in this!
#36
Pride
In a year with an alarming amount of British inspirational
biopics, the best one was way too overlooked. This ensemble is about a gay
advocacy group in the 80s that doesn’t just to work for their own cause, but
for anywhere they see injustice. The cast and the film is so charming that it’s
impossible not to enjoy this film especially when you have such greats as
Andrew Scott, Dominic West, Faye Marsay, Joseph Gilgun, Paddy Considine, and
Imelda Staunton.
#35
Zero Motivation
I’m really looking forward to watching this again because
for the first third I enjoyed getting into this world of female Israeli army
office workers but it was a bit difficult to establish what tone the movie was
wanting. Silly things happen and dramatic things happen but by the second
segment began, I was completely in the groove with the film and it became the
most I’ve laughed in a theatre in a while. There are some hysterical moments
surrounding these great characters in a very unique setting.
#34
Locke
Tom Hardy drives a car for this entire movie. He isn’t in a
chase but he needing to be somewhere quickly. But he is a professional and a
professional can only speed so much. This amazing film manages to be incredibly
dynamic during Locke’s series of phone calls as he drives to his destination.
All of the visual tricks to make the film dynamic are completely effective and
never distracting from this very intriguing journey. Hardy can do no wrong.
#33
22 Jump Street
In every interview, the comedy geniuses Chris Miller and
Phil Lord spoke about the difficulty of comedy sequels. What do you do when the
surprise is gone from the first installment? Their solution is to embrace the
absurdity. The film is in a delightfully meta conflict as forces try to make
them repeat the exact same structure of the first movie while actually having
its character continue to evolve. I think this one is even funnier than the
first one partly because Jonah Hill is way more consistent and has a great foil
to play off of with Jillian Bell.
#32
Frank
The problem with depicting mental illness or addition with
the arts is that it’s too easy to romanticize it because we like their output. Frank has a smarter approach in making
us like the artist more than their art. All of the film is the audience wanting
to learn more about Frank, the charismatic band leader who only wears a giant
paper mache head. Michael Fassbender is incredible as he plays a man who is
kind, genuine but is still doing some very odd things. Maggie Gyllenhall has
never been funnier and the ending makes this a really special movie.
#31
Ernest & Celestine
It’s like Zeus and
Roxanne but 200% more adorable and has a very nice message about
acceptance. But it is lacking Steve Gutenberg so it gets points off for that.
#30
Big Bad Wolves
The idea of normal people trying their hand at justice has
been done a million times before (and at least once more on this list). This
movie excels because it goes for a very strange tone of playfulness and
suspense that makes this feel like a new way to approach this story. Also the
script is very tight as it constantly plays with the audience’s loyalty and
expectations. This is like Prisoners
was actually good!
#29
Begin Again
Once is one of my
favorite movies ever so any follow-up would have unfair expectations. This
never reaches that level of brilliance but it continues this nice series of
films of stories about the importance of music. While the plot is very
familiar, what’s wonderful about this film are the series of small moments.
They give us two moments of watching Keira Knightly sing a song at open mic so
we can experience it on our own first and then see how Mark Ruffallo sees
something that inspires him. The way the characters use their iPods or dare
each other not to dance to a song is this playful encompassing world.
#28
Maestro
I saw this film in an international film festival so this
film should have begun with a message saying, “You are the perfect audience for
this!” It’s about a bumbling commercial actor who manages to get a role in one
of the greatest director’s newest period art film. There’s plenty of humor
gently poking at the pretentiousness of art films. The real strength of the
film is how it shows how there’s value in poetry and summer action films.
#27
The One I Love
Once the science-fiction reveal happens early in the film, I
was worried that it would fall down a very rote path. Instead everything worked
well in this strange, personal and intentionally awkward look at a relationship
on the brink of failure. I loved the way that Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss’s
characters played with the premise in ways that will serve their own needs.
Even as things get stranger and stranger, their relationship still remained the
most important thing to the filmmakers up to the very end.
#26
Only Lovers Left Alive
This is a vampire film without the threat of a Van Helsing
character trying to uncover their secret or sunlight creeping in a window
expectantly. This is about a couple of immortals who feed off society and
appreciates them more than they do towards themselves. More than blood, these
character really love what life has to offer in terms of art, music, and
civilization. But even if that inspires you, it can also drain you at times
when you are able to stick around to see a great city like Detroit crumble.
This is a meditative look at it all through the eyes of foreigners who have
been her longer than we have.
#25
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
We’re 10 Marvel films in and they’ve all been ridiculous
successes. Despite being summer blockbusters they aren’t known as much for
their action as they are for their cool character moments like a Hulk smash or
Iron Man blasting off. With the Russo brothers behind the camera, that really
changed for this one. For the first time, the action wasn’t just CGI figures
hitting each other but smoothly choreographed sequences with expert level
tension. This worked well with the best plotted Marvel story to date, earned
humor and a conclusion that makes you excited for the rest of this insanely ambitious
franchise.
#24
Under the Skin
While the vampires in Only
Lovers Left Alive had insight into the evolution of society, Scarlett
Johananson’s unnamed alien is starting with puzzlingly little information.
She’s a predator hunting unexpecting men who don’t see her as a threat because
she looks like…Scarlet Johannson. Hypnotic has been the overused word for this
movie but it’s a rather perfect word. As her victims become entranced so do we
as we search for meaning in her actions and slowly start to notice something
stranger happening…
#23
The Double
I really liked Richard Ayode’s first film Submarine but it felt like the kind of
movie that anybody could have made. The
Double is a movie that I’m not sure anyone else could have made. It’s so
dark, so strange, so refusing to explain anything and also secretly really
funny. Jesse Eisenberg can use this has undeniable proof against the ridiculous
claim that he only plays the same character. These performances display the
power of expectations and what can be accomplished with the right illusion of
authority.
#22
Cheap Thrills
While there have been many films and documentaries about the
scandals of Wall Street that led to this recession, there still haven’t been
enough films about how is just sucks to live in it. Cheap Thrills is about the insane night between two friends who are
caught up in an escalating series of bets to see how low they will go for a
whole lot of money. All four performances are stellar, every decision is
validated and everyone gets to go home with a sick sense of accomplishment.
#21
Venus in Fur
Recently Roman Polanski adapted the fantastic play God of Carnage into the serviceable film
Carnage. While the script was still
excellent, Polanski wasn’t able to get past the claustrophobia of the living
room. While he has done wonders with that in the past, it was unfortunately
distracting there. Now, Polanski has adapted another beloved play that takes
place in one location and it feels like a whole new director. The battle of
wits between an actress and a playwright becomes surrounded by the nightmare
element of the stage where reality keeps subtly changing around them. It’s a
wonderful criticism of female representation, especially as sex symbols, in
male driven art and all of the points are made using the tropes against
themselves.
#20
The Overnighters
The Christian films I really like are the ones that look at
how you take this philosophy and really apply it to your day-to-day life. It
comes with an inherent struggle because it’s harder to do the right thing more
than you’d realize. The struggles aren’t because bad liberals are trying to
take away Christmas;
it’s because everything is so subjective. This powerful documentary is about a
very nice pastor who has set up a situation to let homeless people live inside
his church. It’s due to the enormous influx of people coming into the town
booming with job opportunities. And yet every kind action this man is trying to
accomplish is foiled by the Christians in the town not wanting homeless people
to be in their city or in their church. It’s a frustrating clash of view that
leads to some really human moments.
#19
Nightcrawler
This is the only time I’m going to mention the Oscars in
this article—probably—but it’s crazy that Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t win Best
Actor. But he wasn’t even nominated because nothing makes sense. His chilling
unblinking intense performance is a perfect culmination of the go-to attitude
that is taught as the only way to succeed in today’s work climate. The film is never
a one-trick pony because the screenplay is tight and inventive, the direction
is very impressive and I love how they ended the film.
#18
Snowpiercer
Thrillers were awesome this year because so many decided they’re
just going to be as weird as they want. This isn’t a super-ironic Sharknado 2 kind of way. It’s in a way
where Bong Joon-ho decided he wanted to tell a movie about class and the best
way to do that would be to have a post-apocalyptic revolution on a train
circling the globe with Captain America, Oldboy, The War Doctor, Octavia
Spencer and Tilda Swinton talking about shoes. It’s bonkers, fun, ridiculous
and it all magically works.
#17
Tim’s Vermeer
There were a lot of movies about geniuses this year and almost
all of them were terrible. They were terrible because they didn’t know how to
make smart look interesting. So those terrible movies had an endless series of
scenes where other characters gasped and said “That’s brilliant” after a line
of gibberish to the audience. We’re supposed to assume they’re brilliant
because someone pretty just said they were. Tim’s
Vermeer is a documentary about an actual genius, working on a very clever
project and it’s so cinematic. An inventor thinks he’s discovered a previously
unknown method for Johannes Vermeer to make sure picturesque paintings. To
prove his theory, Tim is going to spend over a year of his life trying to paint
one of Vermeer’s paintings one little inch at a time. Never before has the
artist’s method been depicting on film so perfectly as we get to see the actual
trial and error in real time.
#16
The Grand Budapest Hotel
I’ve always liked Wes Anderson’s movies but I think for
everyone, including himself, The
Darjeeling Limited was when everyone decided we’ve seen this type of story
from him before. After that he’s been on a storytelling upgrade as he uses his
methods towards Roald Dahl, tales of youth and now a Russian doll formatted
caper. It’s easily his most complex movie as he delves into looking at what we
hold the most value in whether it be the manners of a hotel, the stories we
read or the people who are there for us. It’s hysterical, exciting, silly and
quite moving.
#15
The Babadook
The great horror villains are the ones that seem impossible
to defeat. No matter what plan you have, they’re always going to pop up from the
shadows ready to get you again. That is especially fun when your villain is
tall lanky creature from an evil children’s book with a fun catch-phrase. But
it’s horrifying when it’s more than that. The
Bababook uses horror to explore the soul-draining elements of grief and depression
as a mother and her hyperactive son try not only to defeat the monster, but
function on an hour to hour basis. The movie is gorgeously shot but the most
effective visual moments are not the horror scenes but when we peak into the damaged
psyche of this poor woman.
#14
Inherent Vice
Poor Doc. The great irony of this crazy, fun, bummer of a
tale is that Doc is a nice guy. He keeps getting beat up, threatened and abused
and it’s all because he’s a pot smoking hippie. Yet what he does on pot is just
asking questions about the absurd level of corruption happening around him. He’s
a passive protagonist who just wants to make sure the woman he cares for is
okay and once all the pieces are put together of this mystery, he chooses to
become active in order help those who have been hurt by this greed. This is an
unconventional private eye tale because it’s not about solving a murder but it’s
about recognizing that an era is ending. It’s messed up and it’s easy to
sympathize with Doc that it hardly seems real at times.
#13
Bird People
This is easily going to be the worst paragraph out of the
billion that I’ve written for this article because I pretty much want to say
nothing about why I love this movie so much because the discovery is part of the
experience. Thankfully this is my blog so I can do what I want! This is a
magical French film with Josh Charles and it’s on Netflix. Watch it and then
let’s talk about it.
#12
Selma
Inspirational films are the hardest to do because if it’s
not real it’s unwatchable. Selma
works so well because it is a constant back and forth strategy at play. The
goal is clear and there are many hurdles. Not necessarily villains because LBJ
and the other advocacy group aren’t wrong in what they’re saying; their way
will just take longer or possibly not ever work. Martin Luther King Jr. is so
impressive in this movie not because of his speeches but because of the
difficult moment to moment plays he has to make in order to get one bill to
pass. Director Ava DuVernay brilliantly is able to inspire hope with a quietly
beautiful camera and the patience to let the actors command their roles.
#11
Life Itself
How do you make a movie about a guy who watches movies? Answer:
you recognize that’s not why he was great. Based off Roger Ebert’s fantastic
memoir, Steve James makes a movie that Ebert would have loved. Not just because
everyone is complimenting him, but because it’s a very well made documentary.
To do anything less would be a disservice. It had to be James behind the camera
because it was thanks to Roger Ebert’s continual endorsement of James’s Hoop Dreams that has given him the
career he has now. The film is complicated and never afraid to show Ebert’s
troubling side. This film doesn’t just show why this man was loved but why he
was. Thumbs up.
#10
Winter Sleep
This is a three hour Turkish film that is focused on really
long conversations with everyone sitting down in the scene. Are you still here?
You haven’t gone on to see what I put for #9? (It’s Listen Up Philip.) Good. After this film ended, I was game to watch
more of these characters. The longer these arguments go on, the more you
realize exactly how these characters think about the world. For people don’t
know when they’re actually being destructive especially if they think highly of
themselves. I was in awe of how well articulated all of conversations were
because they felt so realistic and constructive—even when only a portion of the
room is truly listening. This one has stuck with me and is well worth the time.
#9
Listen Up Philip
In this movie, Philip feels like he has unlocked a
superpower. I don’t know exactly how he operated before the first scene but
from the beginning of this film, it’s like he decided that he doesn’t need to
be nice ever again. Any random thought he has in his head, he’ll say usually to
the pain of everyone around him. It’s an unrelenting performance from Jason
Schwartzman and a lesser film would just watch this man for the whole length.
Instead it really makes this a true ensemble as everyone tries to figure out
how to present themselves as they work towards finding a happy center. I have
never seen someone emulate the feel and uneasiness of a John Cassevettes film
since the master himself.
#8
Citizenfour
There were so many things in the news in the past two years
where it just seemed insane this was happening in America. Edward Snowden and
the NSA leaks were a bit of the beginning of that news avalanche and quickly
the media went to blame him as a traitor to our country. This is the first opportunity
to hear his story and the results are cinematically chilling. Director Laura
Poitras was one of the first people Snowden contacted before he revealed any
information. Watching everyone break down exactly how this should play out and
how quickly they have to move was stunning. One of the best scenes of the year
was when you can’t tell if their paranoia in a Hong Kong hotel room is
justified but there’s no reason to think otherwise. Beyond the one-on-one
Snowden scenes, Poitras delves more into the privacy invasion with a really
impassioned argument of how angry we should be. The film isn’t breaking news
(anymore) but it took its time to make a well researched argument that has a
powerful style to it.
#7
It Follows
This is creepy. This is very creepy. It’s effective because
they’re playing in new territory. Even a film like The Babadook is original but it plays upon the tropes of a mythical
horror villain. This is brand new and terrifying in its simplicity. Obviously
because of this, the less you know the better because so many opening scenes put
you into the movie because you really don’t know what’s going on and how high
the stakes really are for these characters. Beyond its excellent horror scenes,
the movie is brilliant in how it handles the gender politics of this age, how
people respond to abuse and how people react in a crisis. This film is opening wide
this March in theatres and VOD. Either watch it at night or better yet, watch
it in the afternoon and then go for a walk outside…
#6
Force Majeure
If there’s anything to gain from this list—besides the fact that
I watched too many movies—it’s that I was really affected by the movies this
year that really examined how people live with each other socially and the
roles they don’t know they’re playing. This movie works as a very playful essay
film as they look at one family and how they responded during a moment where
they thought it was life and death. One parent reacted well and one didn’t. At
times the movie is very funny, at times it’s very dramatic as everyone tries to
come to terms with what happened. It’s scary to look this deeply into yourself
or the ones you love but it’s strangely contagious. Other characters respond to
this family by asking themselves what they would do and then the audience has
no choice but to think the same thing. It’s great because the film knows how contagious
it is because as this spiral keeps continuing the score keeps getting more
jarring as it knows that we’re all trapped in this madness. This movie sounds
crazy as I describe it but the presentation is deceptively civil…or is it? (It
is.) (Kinda.)
#5
Gone Girl
I really loved this book and I was so worried about this
movie. I didn’t know if David Fincher could pull off the right tone, especially
after he didn’t capture what worked so well with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Yet his weirdly distant tones
worked perfectly with this material because if there’s one thing Fincher can do
it’s crazy-time judgment. There’s so much on display as society is skewered on sensationalizing
tragedy, creating narratives and simply decimating the way men are treating
women. While the film has a very clear agenda, it also knows how to be a lot of
fun with its impressive twists and great characters that are more than a
soapbox. One of the most fun I had in the theatres was having the audience
freak out during a key moment in this movie.
#4
The Lego Movie
I didn’t put my ratings during this whole list but this is
when the movies went from A-s to As. These last four are perfect films. I’ve said
so much about all of them already in various places to the annoyance of
everyone I speak to. So I’ll keep it simple at the end. The Lego Movie is about the joy of playing with a sophistical
satire that knows how to question behavior without being cruel and ending with
a heartwarming moment of saying that everything is okay. In fact, it’s awesome.
#3
Whiplash
Of all the films this year, Whiplash has been worthy of the most discussions because it's so hard to figure out if the main theory is right. Does this level of intensity need to be present in order for artists to achieve pure excellence? Or is the high craftsmanship of this film and the sense that the actors enjoyed working on this prove otherwise?
#2
The Look of Silence
This is kinda cheating since this is going to be seen as a
2015 film for everyone else but I saw it in theatre in 2014 and I paid for a
ticket. This is a sequel to the masterpiece The
Act of Killing and it’s honestly just as good. Instead of letting the murderers
speak for themselves, this time one of the survivors confront them asking why
they killed his brother. The results will haunt you.
#1
Boyhood
Yes, this is an American masterpiece and it’s partly because
it never treats itself like one. When you watch Gone with the Wind, every frame reminds you that you’re watching Gone with the Motherfucking Wind. This
is just showing you a series of moments that all fit together simply because it
makes sense that they happened. It’s quiet, it’s passive, it’s confusing, it’s frustrating,
it’s inspiring, it’s hopeful, it’s kind, it’s upsetting, it’s life. It’s not
the scenes you expect to see, but it’s all the moments you didn’t realize you
would remember. Richard Linklater is a writer/director who is driven by the
small human moments and when he’s able to capture them, something magical has
been obtained. This is what he will be remembered for and that’s quite an
honor.
Thank you for reading this far! Please chime in and let me
know what you think of these incredible movies. And as a treat for scrolling
down this far, here’s me being snarky at the end with my Top 10 worst films I
saw last year:
10. This is Where I
Leave You
9. Maleficent
8. Mr. Peabody and
Sherman
7. The Monuments Men
6. Big Hero 6
5. The Judge
4. That Awkward Moment
3. Winter’s Tale
2. Men, Women and
Children
1. Not Cool
Here’s to 2015!
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