Best Films of 2014

I know, I’ve been slacking a little bit with this blog. I had to deal with some hurt and disappointment in January on top of trying to get caught up with all these 2014 films, life happens. I’m most certainly not 100% caught up, so bear with me. Also, instead of a numerical list, I decided to just list all my favorite films of 2014 alphabetically. The reason for that is because I always feel like I’m leaving off some awesome films, so yeah. Anyway, here are the 2014 films I really enjoyed:

22 Jump Street

It’s rare that a comedy sequel like this is better than its predecessor. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have phenomenal chemistry and the film is hilarious because of it. It’s also delightfully meta in the sense that it pokes fun of itself and the idea that most sequels are just rehashes of the original. And those end credits? Perfect!

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie

I’ve been a huge fan of AVGN ever since I started watching his reviews in 2007, and it was great to finally see the film he put so much time and effort into. It’s no masterpiece, but as a fan, I was not disappointed. It’s so much fun and self-aware of its low budget with some cool cameos. I’d love to see him do a feature length horror film as his next project.

Big Eyes

A very different film from what Tim Burton normally does, and I’m perfectly okay with it. He wonderfully captures the humor and the bleakness of Margaret Keane’s struggle, which involved her husband stealing credit for her artwork. It’s nice to see her make a stand over the course of the film and get the credit she certainly deserves for her artwork. Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz give top notch performances and overall this is Burton’s best work since ‘Big Fish’ or ‘Sleepy Hollow’ even.

Big Hero 6

This is a Marvel series I was unfamiliar with going into the film, but I ended up really loving it. The characters are likeable (great voice cast!) and it’s both entertaining and touching. It also makes you wish that Baymax, the personal healthcare robot in the film existed in real life. We could all use a companion like that…not to mention a huggable companion.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Calling this a modern masterpiece is a bold claim I know, and it truly is. Technically and creatively, this film is flawless and the best of the year. It’s so meta and existential and perfectly captures the struggle of taking a creative risk and remaining relevant in an uncaring world that’s constantly trending and will just as easily forget about you. The whole “long take” approach to the film is genius and completely works. The acting from Keaton, Stone, Norton and the entire cast is phenomenal and it would bring tears to my eyes to see Keaton win best actor even though I’m not huge on the Oscars. I’ve loved Keaton ever since seeing him play Beetlejuice and Batman as a kid; he’s truly at his best here.

Blue Ruin

More of a 2013 release technically, but it didn’t receive a wide release until 2014, so I count it anyway. It’s a great low budget, stripped down revenge film. The director, Jeremy Saulnier was able to raise funds for production on the internet via Kickstarter, which goes to the show that online crowd funding can be effective for us filmmakers who can't get big studio funding. I hope for more awesome work from Saulnier in the future.

Boyhoood

Easily one of the most ambitious films ever made, ‘Boyhood’ is literally a cinematic journey through a boy’s childhood. We follow him for 12 years and watch him grow and change along with those around him. This is pure dedication on director Richard Linklater’s part because he used the same actors over the entire 12 year production. The end result is a stellar and profound film that visually captures a large and important chunk of a boy’s life and resonates with a viewer like me.

Captain America: The Winter Solider

And I thought ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ was awesome! This was a superb follow up in all aspects. It’s essentially a super hero film with all the elements of the conspiracy thriller films of the 70’s, which no doubt inspired the makers of the film. The stakes are as high as ever for the follow up, ‘Captain America: Civil War’, and I’m sure it’ll be just as amazing.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

An even better follow up to the solid reboot, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, I loved it. More focus was put on the apes this time, but we’re allowed to connect with both them and the human characters. It’s a summer blockbuster that’s both entertaining and emotionally touching. Andy Serkis will never be out of work either as long as motion capture is still in use.

Dead Snow 2

The first ‘Dead Snow’ was decent, but underwhelming. This sequel was way better and tons of fun! Martin Starr was a nice addition along with his two female companions, who are total geeks! Definitely one of the best zombies films of recent years.

Edge of Tomorrow

What do you get when you mash the premise of ‘Groundhog Day’ with sci-fi and action? A superbly entertaining film from start to finish that features one of Tom Cruise’s best performances. Not much else to say other than that it’s highly recommended.

Frank

This is a quirky and loveable dramedy about an aspiring, yet struggling musician and the eccentric band he joins, fronted by Frank, a man who wears a Frank Sidebottom mask. It’s a great look a struggling band that is unable to hold their own as they push for a larger audience. The third act is really quite touching and Michael Fassbender is once again flawless as the film’s title character.

Guardians of the Galaxy

2014 was a one-two punch for Marvel; we got ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ AND this. It was so much better than anyone expected it to be. A perfect mix of sci-fi and superhero elements, it was entertaining from start to finish. You really connected with the characters, even Groot, a giant tree who only says four words throughout the entire film. James Gunn took a Marvel series that was practically unknown and adapted it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe flawlessly. Also can’t help but love Chris Pratt as Star Lord. What, you haven’t heard of him?

Gone Girl

What sounded like a big budget Lifetime original movie actually turned out to be pretty damn awesome. David Fincher really pulled it off and gave us a dark and twisted look at a troubled marriage. Rosamund Pike plays the manipulative, if not evil wife perfectly and Ben Affleck is great as the husband trying to hold his own as his wife’s “disappearance” and presumed “murder” is slowly being pinned on him. Hell, even Tyler Perry is great in this…and who can forget that haunting score from Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross?

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Is this Wes Anderson’s best film to date? Maybe because it’s just so awesome! It has all his quirky trademarks and elements with an amazing cast to boot. Ralph Fiennes is especially charming here and it’d be great to see him work with Anderson again in the future. So much fun and I can’t recommend it enough.

The Guest

Adam Wingard’s follow up to ‘You’re Next’ is another hit. An ex-soldier is let into the family home of a deceased friend he claims to have served with and it’s slowly revealed he’s not the kind of guest who should’ve been let in. The film is tense from the get go and the slow build up to the reveal is quite great. Dan Stevens is phenomenal in the lead role…and to think he’s also on ‘Downton Abbey’!

Horns

The latest film from Alexandre Aja, and his best film to date. A friend of mine described this as the horror version of ‘Gone Girl’ and I agree entirely. It manages to pull off being sad, horrifying, and funny. Despite having such an odd premise, this film works and is another impressive outing for Daniel Radcliffe post Harry Potter.

Inherent Vice

This is a hard film to talk about…it’s out there and has that uniqueness typical of director Paul Thomas Anderson. Some have described it as a “stoner movie” and I’d say that’s accurate…so bizarre and the story is hard to follow. So many pieces and parts, this one requires a second viewing in order to put them altogether and understand it. The characters are quite eccentric and memorable not to mention Phoenix and Brolin are both stellar as usual.

Interstellar

It’s a shame that Christopher Nolan receives a harsh amount of backlash anymore. It happened with ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, which despite its flaws, was still a great conclusion to the Batman trilogy, and it’s happened with ‘Interstellar’. I thought it was very ambitious and really packed an emotional punch as it took us on a cinematic journey through space and time. It’s very thought provoking and leaves you wondering where else (and when else) humankind could find its place in the universe.

The Interview

‘Tis a shame that the controversy around this film killed any chance of it having a wide release because I thought it was quite funny. Too bad humor isn’t universal, eh? Seth Rogen and James Franco once again prove to be quite the comic duo and the film doesn’t hesitate to go for shocks alongside the laughs.

John Wick

Keanau Reeves is back and totally bad-ass! Nobody expected this film to be as great as it turned out to be. It’s a surprisingly touching action revenge film with Reeves at his best. A lot like to criticize Reeves for his acting ability, but he’s great in this. We’re made to sympathize with him and understand his motivation for revenge early on. Killing the dog that was given to him by his dead wife? Hell no! Glad this turned out to be such a commercial and critical success.

The Lego Movie

It was way better than I thought it was going to be. The voice cast was superb and it was very well written. It was imaginative and managed to resonate not only with kids, but also adults. It will be certainly remembered for the excellent film it is I hope as opposed to it being overlooked by the Academy.

Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhall gives his best performance to date as Lou Bloom, a sociopathic and aspiring LA crime journalist/video stringer trying to establish a news career. The film is dark and a rough critique on the news media and the questionable ethics of those who work for it. The film leaves you wondering if perhaps you have to be detached from humanity like Bloom in order to do what he does.

The Purge: Anarchy

What the first ‘Purge’ film should’ve been! We actually see action in the streets this time and have Frank Grillo playing our bad-ass protagonist. It’s tense and fun from start to finish and pretty much succeeds where the first film failed.

Snowpiercer

Quite a shame this didn’t get a wider U.S. release; it’s a taut claustrophobic, post-apocalyptic action thriller. The characters don’t get lost in the action, something that happens so much in big budget Hollywood action films anymore. It’s a change of pace to see such a balance, and Chris Evans gives his best performance to date in this.

Tusk

Well, this was quite the dark horror comedy from Kevin Smith that more or less works. A man gets turned into a walrus…it’s odd and absurd and Smith treats it like so. Michael Parks is once again flawless and Johnny Depp’s presence is odd, but welcome. It’s a relief to see him in something that’s NOT directed by Tim Burton or a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film. Kevin Smith’s next film, ‘Yoga Hosers’ sounds just as bizarre and I’m totally on board with it.

Whiplash

Holy dumb hell, talk about an intense film! It goes to show how much dedication and ambition is required to become a master drummer. Having attempted and struggled to learn the drums myself, this film really hit home. Miles Teller is great as the film’s protagonist, a drummer trying to perfect his craft and JK Simmons is brilliant and totally deserving of his Oscar nomination. Simmons plays a one of a kind instructor, who despite his rough as nails approach truly loves music and pushes the film’s protagonist to better himself.

Wild

Based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail, this is another fine film from director Jean-Marc Vallée. The past and present events are edited together nicely to allow us to sympathize with Cheryl as she makes her journey, but to also see her flaws and what exactly forced her to go on the agonizing hike. It’s emotionally engaging mostly due to the phenomenal acting from Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl and Laura Dern as her mother. Essentially, it’s a film about triumphing over past hardship and mistakes and moving on.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

The bad taste of ‘X-Men: The Last Stand” and ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ has been erased from our mouths. This is an awesome sequel that features the cast of the original trilogy as well as a large chunk of the cast from ‘X-Men: First Class’. The end credits also set up the next film, ‘X-Men: Apocalypse” nicely. Can’t. Freaking. Wait!

I know there’s a lot of critically praised films I haven’t included or watched, but I shall continue to get caught up as the year progresses. If I waited till I was all caught up, you wouldn’t be seeing this list till December or perhaps even 2016!