Let
me throw out the usual caveats before we get down to business. These are my personal favorite films. There are other films that easily could have
been included. You won’t agree with all
of them (but feel free to tell me that).
Enjoy!
Films I haven’t seen:
Calvary, Frank, Selma, American
Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year,
Leviathan, Belle
Honorable mentions: X-Men:
Days of Future Past, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Lego Movie,
Life in a Fishbowl, The Imitation Game, Ida, Foxcatcher, The One I Love, Pride
10. Oculus
Definitely
the most surprising film of the year, Oculus
is far better than a movie about a haunted mirror has the right to be. It sports a well-thought-out narrative, some
truly scary moments, and excellent visual motifs. Once it takes off it doesn’t let go, blending
grounded psychological horror with flecks of gore. The performances, particularly by child actor
Annalise Basso, are far better than you get in most horror films and are
essential for landing the fears the film’s playing with. As I said in my review, Oculus understands that there are far scarier things than ghosts
and axe-murderers, and it’s all the better for it.
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9. Get on Up
A few
films could’ve slid into this spot, but Chadwick Boseman’s unforgettable performance
as James Brown lands this film in my top 10.
It’s a mannered performance, but it always rings true and doesn’t
overpower the film. The movie’s stage
performances are electric, Brown’s brilliance shines through (as does his
arrogance), and his far from perfect life makes for an interesting story. Some were turned off by the non-linear
narrative, but I thought it kept things from getting too bleak. Plus, it gets extra points for being really
funny.
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8. Fury
A
World War II movie about a seasoned tank crew trying to break in a new recruit,
Fury is one of those well-trod war
stories that’s made great by some brilliant execution. Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman turn in top-notch
performances, and director David Ayer edits the action sequences so they’re
always tense and clear. However, it’s
the cinematography that really pulls it all together. The German countryside is portrayed as a
place covered in muck with a constant mist hanging in the background, making
the discomfort and the threat of battle inescapable.
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7. Birdman
Definitely
a film for movie people, Birdman is
all about the balance between art and commerce and the internal and external
pulls that accompany it. It’s actually a
very familiar story, but it’s got such energy and visual flair that it’s hard
not to like it. The trick of editing the
film to look like one shot really sweeps you off your feet and keeps you bounding
right along at the film’s quick pace. Michael
Keaton as a used-to-be movie star is great, but Edward Norton stole the show as
an overly intense artiste.
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6. Force Majeure
What
happens in the moments after this still defines a family’s vacation, forever
changes how they view each other, and leads to some downright hilarious
moments. This is one of those films that
brings up serious ideas without forgetting to entertain you. It may be aimed at a small subset of people,
particularly the kind who laugh in awkward, intense moments, but if you fall
into that group you’ll find Force Majeure
to be simultaneously astute and hysterical.
Personally, I refuse to apologize for laughing at a grown man crying on
a bean bag chair. It’s just funny.
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5. How to Train Your Dragon 2
The
choice to age these characters up and allow the story to grow along with them
was a bold decision by DreamWorks Animation, and it may have allowed them to
unexpectedly become the owner of a generation-defining kid’s series. People my age grew up with Toy Story, and I don’t think I’m
overstepping when I draw comparisons between these two series. Both made a concerted effort to build on
their themes from film to film, mirroring the maturation of their target
audience and thus earning a special place in these kid’s cultural psyches. As an adult looking at it, I can appreciate how
much of a risk it is to throw such a big change-up into an established hit, but
I can also appreciate just how well How
to Train Your Dragon 2 pulled it off.
Add in that this had by far the best 3D I saw all year, charming
background jokes, and a running gag about an arm fetish, and I was sold hook,
line, and sinker.
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4. Nymphomaniac: Volume 1
Speaking
about sex frankly and intellectually is a rare thing in America, and few movies
have explored it from a woman’s perspective like the two Nymphomaniac films. Volume 1
is the far better section, allowing Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stacy Martin)
to tell her story of complete surrender to sexual addiction without
judgment. Yes, there are negative
effects, and the movie is honest about that, but the camera and her audience of
one, the bachelor Seligman played by Stellan Skarsgård, always looks at her
with a humane eye. The infamous Lars von
Trier is pushing us without going too far in this one and shows a surprising
funny streak, which is never more apparent than when Uma Thurman shows up and
keeps you squirming with uncomfortable glee in my favorite scene of the
year.
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3. Edge of Tomorrow
Or Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow or whatever else it gets
called in the future is a spectacular movie that doesn’t deserve its
underwhelming box office total. The
summer of 2014 delivered a number of great blockbusters, but this one stands
head and mechanical shoulders above the rest.
Smart without being challenging and fun without being easy, there’s some
real stakes in Edge of Tomorrow that
kept me invested even after the twists had been revealed. The action is big and rendered with a gritty
beauty, Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt sell every moment, and it’s infused with a
surprising amount of humor. If only all
blockbusters could be this well made, and if only audiences would go see them.
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2. Nightcrawler
Whether
you take it as a character study masquerading as a thriller or a thriller
masquerading as a character study, you’ll find lots to like in Dan Gilroy’s
expertly paced Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal keeps you unsettled but
unable to look away as the smarmy Lou Bloom, and cinematographer Robert Elswitt
makes the LA night pop with color, light, and the darkest of personal
ambitions. I think this is the best shot
film of the year (yes, over Birdman),
and it manages to skewer America’s latent bloodlust while wallowing in the
grime. This is why I don’t trust people
who quote self-help books.
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1. Mommy
Getting
to tag along on other people’s emotional journeys is one of the great joys of
watching movies, and nothing else this year grabbed me with the ferocity of Mommy.
Following a mother, Diana, who enlists the help of her neighbor to turn
her son’s life around, this is an energetic film that radiates the emotions of
its characters out into the audience.
Keeping you on your toes is the son’s emotional vacillations, turning on
a dime and at times getting unnervingly dark.
Through a surprisingly unintrusive 1:1 aspect ratio, a slew of
well-known songs, and excellent performances by the lead trio of Anne Dorval,
Antoine-Olivier Pilon, and Suzanne Clément,
Mommy captures the intoxication and confusion of their lives without ever becoming
unsympathetic towards any of them. In a
year where my parents divorced, this tale of unwavering love stuck in an
untenable circumstance hit home.
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