2014 was a great year for movies, and here are ten movies we considered the best of the best. Some were omitted, some weren’t seen, but this is the ten that grabbed us in 2014. What are your choices? Let us know in the comments section!
10. The Sacrament
Directed by Ti West
Magnet Releasing
Release Date: June 6th
Director Ti West continues to find new ways to hone the craft of filmmaking through the horror genre, and gets better every time. “The Sacrament” is a part found footage and part pseudo-documentary that drips with tension and terror from minute one. Though many have accused it of being a re-staging of the Jonestown massacre, I view it as West emphasizing how false prophets can slither in to our world and take over a small sect of society for their own motives. AJ Bowen kills it as a reporter who ventures out to a small community named Eden Parish where his co-worker Patrick agrees to meet his sister Savannah. What looks like a quiet commune immediately descends in to terror, as the film crew learn of what the commune is engaging in behind the scenes, and desperately try to make it home when they realize the guards for Eden Parish are not intent on letting them leave. “The Sacrament” is expertly crafted, disturbing, and stuck with me for days; director West continues to impress.
9. Captain America Winter Soldier
Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release Date: April 4th
I liked “The First Avenger,” but I didn’t love it, although I did appreciate the ability to make Captain America cool in modern times. “Winter Soldier” accomplishes that task two fold, implanting America’s biggest patriot in to modern times where Americans are being spied on, thrown in to hysteria, and turned in to public enemy number one. Sadly, Cap Am is turned in to a prime target, when a simple rescue mission drops him in to the middle of a humongous plan for world domination that leaves him without an army, and a fugitive in his own home. “Winter Soldier” is much more stern and filled with urgency, as Captain America is left trying to figure out how to navigate in a world he’s barely adapted to, and stop a grand scheme that will change the world as he knows it. What’s worse is America has given in to most of the efforts, and he has to work against the rising tide of oppression, conformity, and the destruction of our civil rights. “Winter Soldier” is an adult sequel to what should be a film series that makes a statement, and I loved every minute.
8. The Skeleton Twins
Directed by Craig Johnson
Roadside Attractions
Release Date: September 12th
Considering the comic talent behind “The Skeleton Twins,” it’s hard to believe the film is so restrained and subtle. Bill Hader garners the most laughs in his co-starring role as a self loathing homosexual with a wry sense of humor, and is a damn scene stealer. Hader dominates the screen with his tragic character that’s so deprived of love and affection, that he enters in to a sick and twisted affair. Wiig is at her usual best as a house wife on the brink of a life filled with stability and happiness who has no idea how to do anything but sabotage herself. “The Skeleton Twins” spotlights two really unlikable characters, but by the end we get to really understand and empathize with them in some form, as they’re at least made aware of their horrible road to self-destruction and will likely figure out that they deserve happiness and normalcy by the time the film closes. It’s a funny, heartwarming, and brilliant look at the brother and sister dynamic.
7. John Wick
Directed by David Leitch, Chad Stahelski
Summit Entertainment
Release Date: October 24th
I was surprised at how “John Wick” snuck up on me. There were so many dark action thrillers with middle aged stars in 2014 that I just kind of tuned them all out. That is until I decided to give Reeves a chance, and was pleasantly surprised by his starring turn. Surely, it’s not experimental, or epic, or even original, but sometimes there’s just nothing like sitting through a fun revenge picture. “John Wick” watches like a sort of sequel to “The Professional” where Jean Reno’s cleaner is suddenly pissed off to the brink of pure rage. Watching the villains shudder at the realization that they’ve crossed the last man anyone wants to cross is a thrill, but watching Reeves go Terminator on a bunch of scumbags is entertaining. Keanu Reeve’s “John Wick” is a vicious and brutally excellent revenge film about a legendary assassin seeking a peaceful end to a life filled with violence and sadness. Reeves plays the role of Wick well whose fury is unleashed when Russian thugs break in to his house, beat him up, and murder his puppy before his eyes. You just don’t fuck with a man’s dog. You just don’t.
6. Jodorowsky’s Dune
Directed by Frank Pavich
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: March 21st
It’s mind blowing how a film that was never made managed to be one of the most influential movies ever made. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s mad mission to take “Dune” and transform it in to the one of the greatest movies of all time is one of the more compelling artistic missions ever committed. Jodorowsky has a love for the book he’s adapting, but more so, he views the film as a personal vision quest that he must see through to the end to complete his soul. Isn’t that the struggle of every artist? Isn’t it the struggle to create something amazing, to really change lives, and to obtain some sense of immortality? Alejandro Jodorowsky’s enthusiasm for filmmaking and creating is absolutely infectious, and his recounts of gathering what he described as his “spiritual warriors” provides some of the film’s best material. He didn’t have a time machine, but Jodorowsky was prophetic in so many ways, and it’s exciting watching his vision come together and present a taste of a film that may have actually changed lives.
5. The Babadook
Directed by Jennifer Kent
IFC Films
Release Date: November 28th
Director Jennifer Kent’s small scale horror film, and feature debut is a brilliant deconstruction of the mother and son relationship where Kent analyzes the old saying “I didn’t ask to be born.” Star Essie Davis gives a remarkable performance as widowed mother Amelia, who lives in isolation with her hyperactive over imaginative son. Her small flat she shares with her son has become a virtual womb for the two to wile the days away, and her son is growing in to a maladjusted young boy with an overactive imagination. When a mysterious story book makes an appearance, telling the story of a horrific monster named the Babadook, the pair soon finds themselves being terrorized by an unseen force. What’s more, Amelia begins to wonder if the book has unlocked something sinister, if her son is enacting the monster’s devious deeds, or if she’s just going insane. Complex, thoughtful, and filled with psychological undertones about death, and the horror of grief, director Kent’s horror movie is a stunning accomplishment.
4. Snowpiercer
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
RADiUS-TWC
Release Date: June 27th
“Snowpiercer” was every bit as excellent as I was hoping it’d be, as it’s filled with incredible visuals, and a glimpse at a world destroyed by global warming, and class warfare. Bong Joon Ho’s science fiction epic is a brilliant tale about class warfare with amazing performances left and right. Joon Ho packs his story with magnificent character actors and allows them to take turns that are just mind blowing. In particular there’s the barely recognizable Tilda Swinton as a militant leader who thrives on making examples out of the lower class residents of the back carts of a super train, and Allison Pill as a elementary school teacher whose devotion to the super train’s engineer is literally frightening. Chris Evans’ turn as an impromptu revolutionary, intent on making it to the front of the super train he inhabits with a slew of lower class individuals is magnificent, and every car holds a shock, surprise, and mind blowing bit of machinery that takes what could have been a misfire and transforms it in to a near masterpiece.
3. Blue Ruin
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
RADiUS-TWC
Release Date: April 25th
Director Jeremy Saulnier injects urgency with every moment his character Dwight inflicts revenge on the man who murdered his parents. From the moment he flees the restaurant with a blood soaked hand, an explosion has occurred, and now he has to scramble to pick up the pieces, and ensure no one is caught in the blast of his quest for justice. Director Jeremy Saulnier’s indie thriller stuck with me for all of 2014 after I’d finished watching it. It’s a revenge film, but one that completely side swipes you with its unpredictable set up. Not to mention it examines the domino effect that follows revenge and how it can affect everyone you know, no matter how swift you may think you accomplished your vengeance. Macon Blair’s performance is phenomenal, as he portrays a man whose own sense of self satisfaction becomes a hazard for his family. Blair is powerful and really keeps “Blue Ruin” running at a maddening pace where his obsession with revenge becomes a mission of self-preservation. It’s a simple, and subtle, but very powerful look at destructive grudges, and the exhausting act of revenge.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
Directed by James Gunn
Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Entertainment
Release Date: August 1st
Marvel has really banked on taking risks with out of the box filmmakers, and their streak continues with James Gunn. His indie sensibilities, matched with his pure skill behind the camera works wonders with his adaptation of the Marvel comic. Mostly considered a second tier team for years until their most recent revival, “Guardians of the Galaxy” was a risky proposition, but one that director Gunn accomplished beautifully. Centered on family, your classic science fiction anti-hero archetypes, and giving the entire space epic an eighties twist, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a blockbuster film oozing with heart and characters we care about.
Chris Pratt holds up excellently against a cast of familiar supporting players, all of whom are from vastly different worlds, and are all struggling to make sense of some parts of their lives they’re not completely sure about. Starlord is still a man grappling with the demons of his mom’s terrible death from cancer, Gamora has closed herself off to genuine emotions after being orphaned, and even the braggart pirate Rocket Raccoon is still bitter about his life lived in constant pain and torture. “Guardians of the Galaxy” is about the victimized taking back some parts of their lives, and using their experiences and pain to battle terrible foes, all of whom seek to dominate the universe and destroy even more lives. “Guardians” stood with me days after it ended, thanks to the top notch performances, wry sense of humor, and brilliant soundtrack.
1. Boyhood
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Written by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Lorelai Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette
IFC Films
Release Date: July 11th
Richard Linklater is my favorite filmmaker working today. He’s obsessed with picturing life, not as a grand designed event with a major ending, but a series of events that either lead in to nothing, or something immense. What’s ironic is that when Linklater filmed “Boyhood” it led to a brilliant work of art. Shot over the course of twelve years with the same cast to picture them at certain periods of their lives, it’s interesting to see the actors evolve in to people so distinct and charming. Audiences used to different actors playing older versions of characters we saw younger a few minutes before will be stunned to see how these individuals grow up through the narrative.
Linklater is never too heavy on the drama, focusing on how life just coasts by and we’re along for the ride, manning the bumps, waves, and pain. Did we really expect the good guy professor to be such an abusive bastard? Did we really think the noble army veteran would be such a resentful prick? And was I the only one expecting Mason and sister Sam to get at least a little closer, rather than staying exactly the same when we left them? But that’s life, as Linklater sees it. Sometimes relationships evolve, sometimes they fall apart, and sometimes they just stay exactly the same as when we left them years prior. “Boyhood” is one of the few family coming of age movies without a big realization or experience that sets a path for our characters. After almost three hours with our characters, the movie ends with them still focusing on navigating through their own lives, still trying to figure things out, and still living in the moments.
When we see main character Mason in the end, he still is experiencing new moments, new affections, and has a vast world he has to see for himself. For Mason, everyone has an answer but no one really knows what life is going to hold for them in “Boyhood,” and we garner the cruel reality of it in the emotional disappointed breakdown with Patricia Arquette. We all think there’s going to be something huge waiting for us, but sometimes life is about living as best as you can and trying to come out of it unscathed and wiser for the experience. The truth is no one knows what’s coming up ahead, we just have to take it on as best as we can. Linklater is a master, and “Boyhood” is so fucking impressive.
YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T SEE IT, BUT YOU SHOULD, YOU REALLY SHOULD:
The Normal Heart
The adaptation of the stage play is as powerful and relevant as ever. The homosexual community is still demonized, and AIDS is still an epidemic, just not in the areas that were more dominant once. AIDS, though, is still widely considered a disease exclusive to the gay community, giving them the horrible shadow of a myth that many people around the world still believe. Filled with enormous performances, gut wrenching accounts of AIDS victims being dehumanized, and an ending that really doesn’t end on any semblance of hope or faith, “The Normal Heart” is a magnificent drama that deserves to be watched.
Guilty Pleasure of 2014:
Into the Storm
Fire tornadoes, you say? Director Steven Quale’s disaster drama about massive storms and hurricanes demolishing a small town in America was fun, and I had a great time watching these characters prove themselves to be heroes. It’s cheesy, and goofy, and a bit melodramatic at times, but I enjoyed how Quale jumped from disaster cinema to disaster found footage cinema back and forth, and how he placed our characters in great peril. Just when you think they’re played it smart by hiding in a small tunnel, they’re thrust back and forth in what becomes a giant vacuum for humans, and it’s a blast from beginning to end.