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| Scene from Birdman |
We have officially reached the end of the year. It is time to uncover the best films of the year. The following is a rundown of the Top 50 films that I saw in 2014 (for films that I missed, check this list). From animated films to very surreal foreign films, it was a great year that is deserving of some recognition. These are the films that strove for something different whether artistic or thematic. Enjoy as I count down personal favorites and give some opinions on why they matter. Don't be afraid to share your thoughts on the films as well as your own list.
11. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (dir. Matt Reeves)
If there's one franchise that has been regenerated better than any other in the reboot era, it's the Planet of the Apes. In the latest film, the series ramps up with one of its most intense and groundbreaking films of the year. The motion capture has rarely been better. The film is also a hybrid of many fascinating genres including neo-western, war, sci-fi and propaganda films. It is a haunting lecture about the downfall of man that makes this film a rather bold film with a big budget. By the end, there may be too much cynicism to see any hope, but the thrill ride mixed with relationships that extend beyond the norms creates a complicated look. Also, it is just really fun and energetic in ways that films about apes aren't usually.
12. Gone Girl (dir. David Fincher)
This is a film that is both the best example of "spoiler alert" culture and tonally works as the year's greatest hat trick. It is a subversive look at how media spins tragedy into gold while also serving as a perverse look at marriage. It is rather trashy while exploring sexual, violent and poetic themes that all pay off beautifully. Does the film seem too tame and reek of indistinctness? Yes. However, it is manipulation at its finest that distracts from the haunting undertones and forces the viewer to look at the deeper issues. Still, the film's reputation will forever be ingrained in my head for the experience I had watching it. Sitting next to an enthusiastic woman, we watched together as the shocking events played out. She went on to think that it was the deepest movie ever. She isn't right, but her enthusiasm reflects just how refreshing this film was after a lull period called September.
13. Birdman (dir. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu)
It is the film that got by on one gimmick: giving off the appearance that it was shot predominantly in one take. The film loses some steam in the third act, but it still is a tight film that follows Gravity in showing how long takes can effectively be used to drench out drama and tension. It relies on creative shots, a charismatic cast that manages to bring the laughs. It's a meta story on theater and Michael Keaton's career in ways that should be applauded for ambition alone. Save for the bad soundtrack, it flows through beautifully and ends with one of the most mystical and enjoyable films about acting of the year.
14. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (dir. Francis Lawrence)
I have long been a fan of The Hunger Games. I have enjoyed its themes that mix media perception with PTSD behavior. It is a franchise striving for something more profound. However, this is the first film to feel like it delivers on something more than kitschy entertainment with a lot of memorable moments. The performances are more fluid and the propaganda influences shine through, creating a film that effectively uses shots to show how a rebellion can build. While the film has received middling reviews, it is one that I feel will be considered more important than most YA movie adaptations in the long run, even the previous two films. It is intense, provocative and more rooted in important themes than most blockbusters nowadays actually are.
15. The Fault in Our Stars (dir. Josh Boone)
For starters, I have been in awe of Shailene Woodley since her fantastic performance in The Spectacular Now. While 2014 saw her turn in three wildly different performances, this is the only one that stood out as being something deeper. Serving as one of the better teen romances in years, it is a story of cancer and embracing your fragility. Unlike films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Way Way Back, this film actually earns its silly naivety. It also packs emotional punches towards the end that will definitely make this one of the more iconic young adult films of the year.
16. Nightcrawler (dir. Dan Gilroy)
It may not be this generation's Network on speed, but it does come very close at times thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal's bug-eyed performance. The film manages to capture the unsettling voyeuristic renegade journalism that comes out after midnight and feeds on tragedy. It is a haunting, unapologetic portrait of Los Angeles culture that is darkly funny. While it isn't completely perfect, few films have as powerful a scene as the one in which stagehands orchestrate footage of a murder scene while the news show is running. It is examples of this that manage to reflect something deeper and more problematic of our culture better than any other film this year. Just don't flub up in front of Gyllenhaal, or you'll regret it.
17. Foxcatcher (dir. Bennett Miller)
After mixing economics with sports in Moneyball, Bennett Miller decides to create the anti-sports film in this dour adaptation of a true story. It is cold and disconnected, much like its antagonist John Du Pont. It is a story of how familial relationships can tear us apart while desperation leads us to do unfathomable things. Featuring great performances by Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, it is a tale of frustration and disappointment in how we treat our athletic heroes. As an Olympics fan, it is a little disturbing to watch this film without thinking of everyone I've forgotten. As seen in the first moments of the film in which Tatum tells the story of his Olympics medal to a room full of disinterested students, this isn't going to end well. It is dour, but for those who want an atmospheric reconsideration of family dynamics and the damnation of sports worship, there's few films as great as this.
18. The Double (dir. Richard Ayoade)
There's few films as rich and exciting in mixing genres as that of The Double. With a great soundtrack by Andrew Hewitt, this is a film that explores the rich history of film noir through a Terry Gilliam gaze. It also features some of Jessie Eisenberg's best work in years as he plays twins that are polar opposite. Full of aloof humor, this is a film that is rich with a lot of weird moments that makes for one of the most endearing, enjoyable and original films of the year. If nothing else, it will prove that cinema's history is still alive and well in our modern culture.
19. Ida (dir. Pawel Pawlikowski)
There are few films that are as simple as they are beautiful. Shot entirely in black and white, this Polish film manages to turn each shot into meditative beauty. Following the journey of a nun who discovers that she's Jewish, the film manages to take the story into interesting directions that make its economic and brief running time more effective. It is beautiful and insightful through its performances and cinematography that definitely explain why it is the most successful foreign film of the year.
20. Why Don't You Play in Hell? (dir. Shion Sono)
The opening is a novelty idea featuring an infectious jingle. Somehow, its excessive use over the next two hours doesn't wear it down. Instead, it is only the jumping point for one of the craziest, most creative films of the year. Exploring Japan's rich cinematic history, it manages to mix violence as a director films a fight between two opposing gangs that is over the top and bloody in all of the most beautifully baffling ways possible. It may not always make a lot of sense, but its fast paced transitions and ridiculous enthusiasm make it one of the most infectious love letters to cinema of the year.Listm
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