2014: what a wackadoodle year for movies! I mean, we almost went to war over a Seth Rogen comedy! And speaking of comedy, we lost too many comedy giants this year: Harold Ramis, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Mike Nichols, Sid Caesar, god damn...the world just got a lot less funny. There were a lot of great movies this year though, even with the world of television and streaming services pretty much taking over in terms of exciting new storytelling possibilities (True Detective, Orange is the New Black, Fargo, Hannibal, Louie, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Walking Dead....and those are just the shows I've managed to catch up with!). I had a tough time picking my list this go-round, and I've swapped out the order and picks about 12 times over, but these 10 flicks have for whatever reason really stuck with me. So without further ado: here's my annual Top 10!
10. Chef
Dir. Jon Favreau
No other movie this year will make you hungrier than Chef, Jon Favreau's wonderful little indie flick that acts as his sort of break from giant blockbusters like Iron Man and the upcoming Jungle Book. It's a little predictable and cheesy (both figuratively and literally), but still a wholly enjoyable father-son movie that works as both a quirky, fun family film and unadulterated food porn. Now I want a cuban sandwich.
9. Lone Survivor*
Dir. Peter Berg
To some people this might be the most "huh?" movie on my list, but even after about a year since I've seen it, Lone Survivor still rattles around in my mind as an exemplary war movie. This intense, brutal film initially came across to me as a jingoistic star vehicle for Marky Mark, but it turned out to feature some of the most harrowing battle scenes I've ever seen (in my opinion of course). The word that comes to my mind with Lone Survivor is respect - respect for those soldiers who actually fought on that hill in 2005. Every bullet that whizzes by, every moral decision that's made, every bump and scrape along the way has a real weight to it. And without making any political statements, the film also shows the humanity that the "other side" can show as well, even under the stress of terrorism. I personally don't have a close family relationship with anyone in the military, but even I was close to tears by the end. A lot of critics have ragged on this movie, but I loved it and recommend it to everyone (though it's too bad you can't see it in a theater anymore).
8. Boyhood
Dir. Richard Linklater
This 12-years-in-the-making narrative film is an unparalleled achievement in long-form movie-making, and Richard Linklater smartly chose to frame the adolescence of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) not in terms of the "big" moments of life (save for his high school graduation towards at the end), but the inconsequential ones - that summer you peeked through the pages of a Playboy with a friend, that time you went bowling with your dad, or hung out with some "older" kids who went underage drinking. Although taken individually these moments don't add up to anything, taken as a whole Boyhood is a somewhat profound, pure look at how life unfolds - and how as a parent it moves really damn fast. Though it does have some major problems, the sheer ambition and scope of this movie will ensure it's talked about for years to come.
7. The Imitation Game
Dir. Morten Tyldum
I saw both The Imitation Game and Unbroken in the same week: both "prestige picture" biopics taking place during WWII. Unbroken was a weakly-scripted, boring, unoriginal, "safe," but polished turd, whereas The Imitation Game had a fantastic cast of wonderful characters, a quick-witted, intense story, and presented a fascinating, different side of the battles of WWII - fought not in the air, land, or sea, but huddled in a dank London research building with a bunch of nerdy mathematicians. Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic in the lead role of Alan Turing, whose innovations, left unnoticed for 50 or so years due to government secrecy, developed a machine that decrypted Nazi messages, leading to the end of the war and the development of what we now call COMPUTERS. An amazing story that made for a wholly entertaining film. I highly recommend this to everyone!
6. Edge of Tomorrow
Dir. Doug Liman
While the film might have slightly underperformed at the box office, and has gone through multiple title-crises (first it was called All You Need is Kill, based on its source material, then theatrically released as Edge of Tomorrow, then labelled Live. Die. Repeat. on home video), this Groundhog Day-meets-The Matrix sci-fi action movie was one of the most unexpectedly great, funny, fast-paced, well-edited flicks to hit screens this summer. An officer and former ad-exec who's never seen combat (Tom Cruise), is dumped onto the battlefield on a supposed suicide mission against aliens attacking Earth - but is thrown into a time loop when he's instantly killed. The way the film plays with time travel is nothing short of brilliant (to me anyway), and I think video gamers in particular will relate to the "live-die-repeat" aspect.
5. Snowpiercer
Dir. Bong Joon-ho
It's the future, there's a new ice age, and everyone that isn't aboard the globe-trotting bullet train named Snowpiercer is dead. Not everything is so hunky-dory in the vessel however; the train has segregated itself, with the rich, privileged class located towards the front of the train near the engine room, and the poor, working class in the back. But one man (Chris Evans), in the spirit of Twisted Sister, isn't going to take it anymore and leads a revolt to the front of the train. This action-packed, thinking man's comic book movie is so much fun, so bizarre, and at times, very distressing. Each new car holds different challenges and surprises, and similarly to Edge of Tomorrow has an ingrained, satisfying sense of progression. And if you like Snowpiercer, I couldn't recommend higher that you check out Bong Joon-ho's Mother, which is probably my favorite film of his and doesn't get as much attention as The Host or this for some reason.
4. Tim's Vermeer*
Dir. Teller
Penn Jillette's (of Penn & Teller) friend, Tim Jenison may be an inventor and TV tech expert for his day job, but in his off time he's grown obsessed with the paintings of 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer - which despite the time in which they were made, consist of a similar visual consistency to photography. This film is Tim's journey to paint a 100% accurate Vermeer himself, with the aid of a system he believes was used by the Dutch painter hundreds of years ago. Though I saw this documentary way back in January, it's stayed with me, and brings up all kinds of questions about "what is art?" A little rough-around-the-edges in terms of production value, but a really entertaining movie nonetheless.
3. Whiplash
Dir. Damien Chazelle
"I don't want to be great. I want to be one of the greats." Those words spoken by Miles Teller carry through this wonderful, intense, well-acted Sundance hit about a music student being pushed to the edge by his demanding jazz instructor (J.K. Simmons). Whiplash just captures so well how unbridled ambition is a double-edged sword, and does so in this unique, highly listenable world of jazz music. This movie features perhaps one of the best musical "concert" scenes ever crafted for the screen (in my opinion), and J.K. Simmon's drill sergeant-like verbally abusive tirades, not dissimilar to Full Metal Jacket, evoked both laughter and a deep fear in me (probably from a history of not-so-great teachers in my time).
2. Nightcrawler
Dir. Dan Gilroy
What a butthole-pincher! Maybe coming from a "TV Production" background colored my experience with this film, but I think Dan Gilroy hit it out of the park with this dark satire of modern news-gathering and capitalism in general. Jake Gyllenhaal has never been better and turns in a sociopathi-licious performance as Lou Bloom, a freelance videographer who will stop at nothing to climb the corporate ladder, racing to crime scenes to be the first at the scene. An exciting, tense, weird, different kind of thriller that I enjoyed the hell out of.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
Dir. James Gunn
I can't remember the last time I had more fun at the movies. Hitting all the right beats, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy is one of those rare films whose box office intake corresponds with the quality of the picture. The characters are so distinct and each have their moments, the soundtrack is perfectly groovy, the script balances humor with sadness and grandiosity, and James Gunn's offbeat, independent flair that made me a huge fan of flicks like Slither and Super somehow wasn't lost in translation. I love every fiber of this movie and I'm unexplainably happy to see it succeed.
Honorable Mentions:
THE BABADOOK - Best horror flick of the year; totally creepy and sports a fantastic performance from Essie Davis, playing the disheveled mother of a wild child with visions of a monster.
BIG HERO 6 - Beautiful animation coupled with one of the greatest characters of the year: Baymax. You can't not love him.
CHEAP THRILLS - What would you do for some extra cash? Probably not what these guys do! I thought this was an effective little dark comedy with some twisted messages about modern society.
CITIZENFOUR - Equal parts documentary and thriller, you get to actually see history unfold as this first-hand account of Edward Snowden's time in Hong Kong is chronicled.
GONE GIRL - Great adaptation of a great book; Rosamund Pike is fantastic and Affleck's never been better (gives me some hope for Batman V. Superman). And you've got to love that one murder scene. You know which one.
INTERSTELLAR - Visually spectacular, ambitious space epic that earns its keep despite having some questionable script issues. My biggest regret is not seeing it in IMAX.
THE ONE I LOVE - Low key, Twilight Zone-y take on modern relationships starring Mark Duplass and Peggy from Mad Men. Your mind will be bended.
And here are some movies that I missed out on this year that might've been considered for the "top ten": American Sniper, Force Majeure, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Homesman, I Origins, Ida, Inherent Vice, Leviathan, Maps to Our Stars, Mommy, A Most Violent Year, Mr. Turner, Nymphomaniac, The Overnighters, Selma, Song of the Sea, Still Alice, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Two Days One Night, We Are the Best!, Winter Sleep, White Bird in a Blizzard, and probably a bunch of others!
So that's it guys! Thanks for reading - I truly do appreciate you taking a moment out of your busy Internet procrastination time to read my blog! I'm sure in just a year's time I'll still be right here, posting my "Top Ten of 2015" after a long 365 days-worth of theater-crawling and Netflixing, and I can't wait to see what talkies I'll be raving about. Happy New Year, everyone! [blows confetti cannon]
* Though technically these were released at the tail end of 2013, I'm counting them for 2014 since they didn't become widely available until then and it's my blog and I can do what I want.
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