SLIS’s Best Movies of 2014: my picks from one of the most impressive years of cinema in the 21st century.

UPDATED 4/12/15: I’ve gotten around to seeing most of the 2014 buzz films, and have updated my selections accordingly.

If there was one entertainment medium that over-performed in 2014, it was cinema. The year has been so stellar that I had trouble whittling down my choices, and I haven’t even seen many of the entries generating the most Golden Globes or Oscar buzz!

That said, here’s my list of the best (and one of the worst) of what I did see.

I have Amazon links for each entry where available. Simply click on the title image to preview and order. 

 

Best Comic-book movie: Captain America The Winter Soldier

Marvel added some 70’s conspiracy thriller intrigue to CATWS, and it rocked. It also proves that the more comic book movies can shake up the formula, the longer the shelf life they’ll have with audiences. Click here for my full review.

 

Runner-up: Guardians of the Galaxy

[amazon_image id=”B00N1JQ2UO” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Guardians of the Galaxy (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital Copy)[/amazon_image]

Marvel’s gamble on one of their lesser known comic book properties paid off handsomely with this charming sci-fi comedy. Too bad the lame villain and drawn out ending put a slight drag on the narrative. But enough of my nitpicking. Groot rules.

 

2nd Runner-up: X-Men Days of Future Past

Bryan Singer’s attempt to meld past and present incarnations of the X-Men cast was a largely successful and unique bit of retcon filmmaking, even if some potholes were jarring.

 

 

Best Action Film: John Wick

I haven’t been excited about a Keanu Reeves film since The Matrix, but John Wick is a majorly kick ass revenge flick. With a simple premise: man kills mobsters who killed his dog, first time directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski created a rich criminal underworld, and a ton of kinetic fight sequences. The great supporting cast and witty dialogue made this the most unlikely hit of the year, and ultimately my favorite film of 2014. Yep, I said it.

 

Runner-up: The Raid 2

If you thought the first Raid was an exhausting battle royal, the sequel is such an adrenaline ride that it’s almost too much of a good thing. The CGI-free action set pieces are jaw-dropping.

 

Best Thriller: The Guest

With nods to the works of John Carpenter and James Cameron, director Adam Wingard (‘You’re Next’) makes a killer fusion of suspense and humor in his tale of a deranged ex-soldier and his hold on a family grieving their son. One of the freshest films of the decade thus far.

 

Runner-up: Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal channels Scorsese level psychosis in this tale of a videographer a little too good at capturing victims of homicides and traffic accidents in L.A. Riveting, hilarious and unsettling.

 

Best Indie Film: Blue Ruin

This crowd funded stunner is a tale of vengeance gone horrible wrong, Blue Ruin is a revenge thriller that examines the full price of taking the law into your own hands. Click here for my full review on Examiner.

 

Runner-up: Cold in July

A fun slice of 80’s noir featuring Dexter’s Michael C. Hall, and a killer cameo from Don Johnson.

 

Best Horror Film: Goodnight Mommy

This Austrian body horror film is a tale of twin brothers who fear their mother has been replaced with a cruel insane imposter, post cosmetic surgery. Scary, repulsive, nerve rattling, and unforgettable.

 

Runner-up: The Babadook

The Aussie indie horror film has won deserving critical acclaim for this tale of a mother and son plagued by a character who apparently sprang to life from a disturbing children’s book.

Click here for my Examiner list of the 6 best horror films of 2014

 

Best Sci-fi: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Following the excellent prequel Rise, Dawn shows the apes 10 years later, becoming more evolved, yet remaining perilously fractured over disputes over whether they can live alongside  humankind. Incredibly emotive motion capture performances and assured direction by Matt Reeves  made for the most thoughtful blockbuster of the year.

 

Runner-up: Interstellar

It’s too long, and there are some big plotholes…fitting for a film about wormholes. But Director Christopher Nolan still succeeds in visionary grandeur and a go for broke statement on the human condition.

 

Best Special Effects (Tie): Interstellar/Dawn of the POTA

Yep. Both looked mighty impressive.

 

Runner-up: Godzilla

[amazon_image id=”B00K2CHVJ4″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Godzilla (Blu-ray + DVD)[/amazon_image]

Reviews were polarizing, but for those few moments when Godzilla beat the snot out of the MUTO’s, it was junk food nirvana.

 

Best Cinematography: Under The Skin

A visually audacious and hauntingly hallucinatory experience thanks to the cinematography of Daniel Landin.

 

Runner-up: Birdman

[amazon_image id=”B00PLG8LFY” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Birdman[/amazon_image]

Emmanuel Lubezk’s amazing tracking shots were certainly deserving of critical acclaim.

 

Best Documentary: Jodorowsky’s Dune

This recounting of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt at directing Frank Herbert’s novel is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Luckily we get a glimpse into the glorious excess that might have been.

 

 Runner-up: Citizenfour

Director Laura Poitras’s expose of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was a fascinating and troubling look at our eroding privacy rights, and offers an sympathetic and enlightening glimpse into a man seen as alternately pariah and saint.

 

2nd Runner-up:  Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau

The second best doc of the year is ANOTHER tale of a doomed film; in this instance the infamously bonkers behind-the-scenes making of the failed 1996 Dr. Moreau remake. You will cry from tears of laughter and bewilderment from a troubled production far more gripping than the film it chronicles the making of.

 

Best Comedy: 22 Jump St

[amazon_image id=”B00KPYT3LS” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]22 Jump Street (2 Discs) [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

21 Jump Street was a lopsided comedy that provided a few laughs but was otherwise pretty forgettable. But leave it to directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (also responsible for The Lego Movie) to up the ante and make one of the best meta-comedies to date: wonderfully deconstructing the cynical expectations of a big Hollywood sequel.

 

Runner-up: Top 5

Chris Rock’s latest directorial effort is a scathingly hilarious take on the pitfalls of being a comedian. Lots of great cameos including Tracy Morgan, SNL’s Leslie Jones, and a scene stealing appearance from Jerry Seinfeld.

 

Best Foreign Film: In Order of Disappearance

Another great 2014 revenge thriller, this Norwegian effort has Stellan Skarsgård playing a man avenging his murdered son. For such a grim premise, it excels at absurdist humor, making it one of the years most unusual films.

Best Genre of the Year: the return of the Revenge Thriller

It felt like the late 80’s in 2014: cold=blooded revenge flicks like John Wick, In Order of Disappearance, Raid 2, and Blue Ruin all ruled supreme, proving that there’s still room for old-fashioned practical carnage in a medium run rampant with CGI.

 

Best Animated: The Lego Movie

A movie that played equally well to kids and adults, and the best toy tie-in film to date.

 

Best Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)

The general consensus at Oscar time was that Michael Keaton was robbed for Birdman. But at least he got nominated in the first place. IMHO Gyllenhaal gave a more riveting performance (along with my runners-up)

Gyllenhaal’s Louis Bloom emanates a sociopathic charm with his bug eyes and manic delivery. I realize that Jared Leto has already been cast as the Joker, but if that doesn’t wind up working out, this guy could pull it off.

 

 Runner-up: Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)

[amazon_image id=”B00RY85CQI” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Imitation Game[/amazon_image]

Cumberbatch gives a touching and intense performance as real-life war hero Alan Turing, a man appreciated far too late for his role in helping to end WWII.

 

2nd Runner-up: Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

The odds of Serkis getting an award or even a nomination for his motion capture performance remains in doubt, so let me champion his cause. The range of emotions and heartache he realizes as Caesar is moving and beyond impressive.

 

3rd Runner-up: Tom Hardy (Locke)

Locke was a fascinating film experiment, with Hardy portraying a man whose life disintegrates over a series of bluetooth calls on a long road trip. The actor does a masterful job, showing a quiet, unassuming man damned by a moment of weakness. This will get lost in the awards shuffle, and that’s just not fair.

 

Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton (Birdman)

[amazon_image id=”B00TPJE3ZK” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Birdman[/amazon_image]

Norton’s turn as a backstabbing egotistical thespian was the highlight of Birdman for me, and overshadowed Oscar winner JK Simmons (more on Whiplash later).

Runner-up: Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

Kebbell’s Koba was THE villain of 2014. Sadistic and power-hungry yes, but thanks to Kebbell’s bruised portrayal, we feel the pain of a creature driven to distrust humans from the cruel lab experiments forced upon him. To emanate both sympathy and hatred is a tall order, and he pulled it off with aplomb.

 

Best Actress: Scarlett Johansson (Under The Skin)

This polarizing film likely won’t get much award buzz, and Johannson’s left of center approach is so foreign she’ll probably get overlooked, But as a frazzled alien sexual predator, she gives a fascinatingly multifaceted performance that evokes equal parts allure, fear and tragedy.

 

 Runner-up: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

[amazon_image id=”B00S65TBHY” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Gone Girl[/amazon_image]

Yikes: Pike’s turn as Amy Dunne was chilling, unhinged and a great showcase for her acting chops.

 

2nd Runner-up: Amy Adams (Big Eyes)

Tim Burton’s best film in years boasts a masterful performance from Adams, who turns from a lamb into a lion as Margaret Keane.

 

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)

[amazon_image id=”B00RNELHU8″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]A Most Violent Year [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Chastain dazzled as Anna Morales, a ruthless, calculated woman determined to toughen up her husband when his business is threatened by organized crime. The fact that she didn’t get an Oscar nomination is, well criminal (sorry).

 

Runner-up: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

[amazon_image id=”B00MEQUNIW” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Boyhood (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)[/amazon_image]

Arquette’s poignant performance as a mother fighting against all odds to raise her children offered moments of heartbreak and humor, making her Academy Award well deserved.

 

Best Score: Gone Girl (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

I feel weird claiming this is the best score, given I haven’t even seen the film yet, but perhaps that makes it even more valid as Reznor and Ross have made a score that is entrancing and alluring all by itself.

 

Runner-up: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes-Michael Giacchino

Giacchino’s score manages to pay tribute to the late Jerry Goldsmith’s original iconic POTA score while conjuring those  beautiful melancholic tones that make him one of the best cinematic composers oft he 21st century.

 

2nd Runner-up (TIE): Under The Skin (Mica Levy)/Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)

[amazon_image id=”B00IM50C0I” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Under The Skin (Music By Mica Levy)[/amazon_image][amazon_image id=”B00OTLFGDW” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Interstellar: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack[/amazon_image]

In one corner, a very eerie synth-score by Mica Levy and in another, a bombastic score from Hans Zimmer. But its’ too bad Zimmer’s score was pumped so high in the mix that the dialogue was hard to make out.

 

BEST OST featuring no new songs: Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol.1

No movie has ever utilized old songs in such a winningly incongruous manner as GOTG.

 

Movie way better than its shitty trailer: Edge of Tomorrow

[amazon_image id=”B00K2CHWOI” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow (Blu-ray + DVD)[/amazon_image]

The trailer for this film looked like a video game with a Groundhog Day premise. And while that description is apt at times, it’s a very entertaining sci-fi flick that deserves a bigger audience than its middling box office would dictate.

 

Most Overrated: Snowpiercer

[amazon_image id=”B00M7D824O” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Snowpiercer [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Reviews for this film were so abundant with praise, I have to think some folks were paid off to talk this thing up considering the divide between critics and moviegoers. A ridiculous premise, cringe-worthy dialogue and a half-ass conclusion do not a great movie make. And for all the talk of its breathtaking visuals, I found it sub par in that department as well. Zzzzz.

 

2nd Runner-up: Whiplash

[amazon_image id=”B00PT3AUYO” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Whiplash [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Why was this movie so celebrated? A racist, homophobic prick who beats the shit out of a bratty, self-centered millennial= an inspirational tale? Huh? Movie had great editing, but it’s contrived storyline pushed suspension of disbelief into overdrive, making its celebrated status bizarre to say the least.

 

3rd Runner-up: Foxcatcher

[amazon_image id=”B00QK4ANEI” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Foxcatcher [Blu-ray][/amazon_image]

Watching this film I was confounded at the lack of detail imparted from director Bennett Miller. The true life story behind this case was far more riveting than its cinematic interpretation. By robbing the film of the details, it loses its focus, and feels too vague to be essential.

 

Best Drama/Best Director: Boyhood (Richard Linklater)

Boyhood is an odd film. Unlike John Wick or The Guest, It’s not a movie I would watch on a regular basis, but it’s unique, quiet tone and ambitious 11 year gestational period was truly impressive and cements Linklater’s position as one of our most diverse and quirky filmmakers.

So that’s my list of the best (and one worst) of 2014. I will be sure to update after I have a chance to see more films. In the meantime, give me your favorite films of the year in the comments. And be sure to check my lists of the best albums, songs and TV shows of the year, as well as my list of best 2014 Blu-rays.