Top 10 Films of 2014

While 2014 was a pretty crap year overall, but you can't say the same thing for the year's slate of movies. For what was expected to be a pretty fallow 12 months at the cinema, many critics were pleasantly surprised. There was some interesting experimentation, a few unexpected revivals, and more than a couple out-of-nowhere masterpieces. So without further ado, I present the obligatory end of year list...

The Top 10 Films of 2014


10. Edge of Tomorrow

Sometimes all you need is a good premise, and this Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt Sci-fi adventure had a doozy. But while sticking Cruise in a time loop during an alien invasion would have been inventive enough, the film takes the next step and uses their gimmick to ground his character arc and build his journey through the repeated action sequences. The film also uses it to make the growing chemistry between Cruise and Blunt feel like a natural growth. While I still think it should have kept its source material's title, All You Need is Kill, this was still an excellent, intelligent piece of science fiction.

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This almost didn't make the list, but on reflection Marvel threw a sucker punch with this and that more than earned it a place. Pulling an "everything you know is wrong" story twist that uprooted not just Captain America's world but the entire Marvel Movieverse could have gone so wrong, but they pulled it off with enough misdirection and well-shot action beats to keep audiences guessing. Winter Soldier took Captain America and superhero movies to a darker, more political place and pulled the underlying themes of power, patriotism, and the cost of security right up to the forefront. And without sacrificing the humor and heart that made people fall in love with these characters.  A total success.

8. The Grand Budapest Hotel

Nostalgia has become big business in Hollywood of late, but none of those films had as much to say about it or said it as beautifully as this film. The latest from offbeat auteur Wes Anderson, Grand Budapest is impeccably shot with beautiful cinematography that calls to mind turn-of-the-century postcards and antique furniture and gives the film its unique look and feel. But on top of looking great it's just damn fun to watch, a madcap caper full of outrageous characters caught in ridiculous situations. Anderson's usual skill with actors shines through. In particular, Ralph Fiennes' wonderful against type Monsieur Gustave is one of his best performances in years. At turns melancholy and mad as a hatter, Grand Budapest is just as delicious as one of the German pastries that turn the plot.

7. The Babadook

This Australian horror indie came out of nowhere to scare the crap out of everyone who saw it. A true insomniac's film, it eerily replicates the terror that comes when you've been awake for far too long and the small noises your house makes at night set your imagination alight. And the terror is just multiplied by keeping its titular monster hidden, just an outline in the dark or a creepy voice on the phone. But being scary wouldn't mean anything if the fear wasn't grounded in something relatable, and The Babadook ties its terror directly into one of the most realistic portrayals of single parenting and unruly childhood I've ever seen. This one will be having you cover eyes more than once before it's over.

6. The LEGO Movie

If any movie that came out this year should have gone wrong, it would have been this one. And yet, it didn't. The LEGO Movie turned out to be a deconstruction of the very rote, cliche-driven Hollywood cash-ins that many assumed that it would be. But on top of taking apart and mocking formula blockbusters,  it was also hilarious. Making all of its characters individual personalities and drawing the humor from their interactions instead of cheap slapstick to keep the kids' attention. It was made with both heart and effort, and kicked off what would be a great year for animated films.

5. Gone Girl

Leave it to the guy who made Fight Club, Seven, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to make what was probably the film with the darkest subject matter of the year and to make it so good. David Fincher brought his signature unflinching camera and dim lights to this tale of marital strife and he delivered a smart, tense thriller that gives you just enough information to follow along but not enough to guess where it's going. Gone Girl has a lot on its mind, from modern gender politics to the construction of media narratives and the failures of criminal justice, and presents them all uncompromisingly. It won't give you all the answers, but it damn sure will make you think about it.

4. Birdman 

I'm still not sure what the unexpected virtue of ignorance is, but it was certainly entertaining to try and figure it out. Built around Michael Keaton's Riggan Thomson and his slow, protracted crumble into madness, Birdman was a delirious postmodern (maybe even post-postmodern?) look at the lies we build around ourselves to give our lives meaning and was shot with some inpressive camera magic to look like a single continuous take. That would be cool enough, but the filmmakers are clever enough to tie the gimmick back into the theme of artifice that pervades the entire film. It's weird, it's hilarious, parts of it don't really make sense, but I can guarantee you haven't seen anything like Birdman.

3. Snowpiercer 

Here's the movie the Hunger Games wishes it was. Tackling many of the same themes as that series; economic inequality, the cost of dystopia, revolution, Snowpiercer was unafraid to show them as politically charged and opinionated as in real life. And it also wasn't afraid to get bloody with intense close-quarters combat action scenes. Or to show the diversity of the disadvantaged versus the privileged. But besides capitalizing on its themes more strongly, Snowpiercer stood out with its use of Chris Evans, subverting his Captain America persona to show the compromises and hard choices that a revolutionary leader would need to make. Buy a ticket for this train, you wouldn't be disappointed.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

And here was Marvel's other big gamble of the year, and the one that had the bigger payoff. Nobody knew what to expect going into Guardians, but what we got was something that's been absent from sci-fi blockbusters for too long: Fun. Bolstered by one of the best soundtracks in years, Guardians mixed original unique characters, fantastic visuals, and a whip-smart script to become the most overall entertaining blockbuster of the year. But most importantly, it eschewed the drab gunmetal aesthetic that sci-fi has been suffering under for years to bring bright color back to outer space. And for that, I can't praise it enough.

1. Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler was many things; a dark twist on the myth of the American worker, an indictment of news sensationalism, a throwback to the gritty in-the-streets crime dramas of the 1970s. But above all it was beautifully shot, infusing the vacant streets and greasy lights of LA after dark with a sense of menace and danger. And that atmosphere perfectly fits the film and its main character, Jake Gyllenhall's Lou Bloom. Watching this incredible performance, this emaciated hollow-eyed sociopath, is like watching vipers at the reptile house. It's enthralling, making you wonder just what this weirdo is going to do next. Nightcrawler is dark and twisted but you can't look away, which makes this story under the starless LA sky my top movie of 2014.

Honorable Mentions:

Fury
Godzilla
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Big Hero 6
X-Men: Days of Future Past