Top Ten Movies Of 2014

The fans have spoken! Here are the best films of the past year. - 8 years ago by

It’s been a great year for movies and television. 2014 presented some powerful masterpieces and some groundbreaking blockbusters. As you know, there are major critics and academies that judge every year’s movies, such as The Golden Globes and the Oscars, but here we will show you a list of another very important critic – the viewer. Here are the top ten movies of 2014: 

10. Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice is the kind of movie that about thirty minutes into it you realize you will have to watch it again! The plot of the film is about private eye Larry “Doc” Sportello (played by the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix) who investigates three cases at the same time (although it feels like 15). A billionaire land developer has gone missing, probably at the hands of his beautiful trophy wife and her lover (and also a spiritual coach), a saxophonist’s widow thinks that her husband might have just come back from the dead and a white supremacy thug tries to go back on his word to a black-power prison gang...Confused yet? Don’t worry, the confusion is the whole idea, after all it’s the 70’s. Joaquin Phoenix delivers that quiet yet dazzling performance that would probably never win you any awards but will definitely be quoted for decades. Great cast, powerful direction and definitely a must see!

 

9. Gone Girl

Very dark, highly intelligent and stylish, David Fincher’s Gone Girl, based on the global phenomenal bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn is probably the most controversial film of the year. As brilliant as disturbing, this film unearths the secrets of the hearth of a modern marriage. The plot follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) who reports his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing on the day of their 5th wedding anniversary. Because of the incredible media frenzy and the pressure from the police soon enough Nick’s portrait gets darker and darker, with all his lies and issues coming to the surface. And it brings up the inevitable question that drives the whole movie and keeps us on the edge of our seats in this breathtaking masterpiece: “Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?”

8. Nightcrawler

“Nightcrawler” is a term for freelance cameramen roaming around LA in the night in search for a sensation to sell to TV. The story follows Lou Bloom, a newbie freelancer desperate for work who finds a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, murders, fires and other disasters. The psychological richness that this lean thriller brings alongside Jake Gyllenhaal’s unnerving and icy performance as the delusional, greasy-slicked hair antihero insomniac is what gives the whole movie its class. After all, if you want to win the lottery, you have to earn the money to buy a ticket.    

7. Selma

Described as a “Scorching civil rights masterpiece” and “heartbreaking and inspiring”, Selma is the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who leads a vicious and dangerous campaign for equal voting rights in 1965 with his legendary march from Selma to Montgomery, which brings one of the most significant victories of the civil rights movement. Rising British star David Oyelowo delivers a commanding performance and his absence from the Oscars and Bafta nominations is probably the biggest shock this year. Charismatic, commanding, complicated and utterly credible, his portrayal of Dr. King is a true masterpiece a simply note-perfect.

 

6. Under The Skin

The adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel by Jonathan Glazer is trying to get across a woman’s perspective without a single word of narration, which is hard enough like that but she is an alien, making it even harder! The movie is very bold and from time to time a nothing like the novel. The amazing Scarlet Johansson plays the alien in human form Laura – a single-minded huntress, driving down Scottish highways looking for men to seduce and capture. Ultimately, Under the Skin is about identifying with the unknown and that even though some acclimation is possible, it can never be complete. 

5. The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything is a biographic film about the life of one of the greatest minds of our time – Stephen Hawking. The story begins with the once young and active man who receives a horrible diagnosis and begins a cruel battle with the one thing he most ambitiously decided to study – time. Alongside his tireless wife Jane, together they defy all odds and successfully achieve absolutely incredible results in medicine and science.

Eddie Redmayne, whose portrayal of Hawking just in terms of physical transformation is absolutely remarkable. His commanding performance earned him an Oscar for best male lead. 

4. Whiplash

Whiplash tells the story of Andrew Newman portrayed by Miles Teller, a young jazz drummer who is attending the best musical academy in the country and has to deal with the rough teaching methods of the jazz maestro Terrence Fletcher played by Oscar winner J.K. Simmons.

An incredibly tense and deeply emotional film with fantastic performances from Teller and Simmons. Together they are described as “one of music’s best chemistry in movie history”. An incredible pace of endless and exhilarating tension follows throughout the entire movie. Director Damien Chazelle absolutely wins our hearts, even more so this being only his second work. 

3. Boyhood

Whatever we say about this film will is seemingly never going to be enough. One of the most revolutionary films in cinema history. Boyhood is filmed over the course of 12 years with the same cast and tells the groundbreaking story of a kid named Mason (Ellar Coltrane) who is literally growing up in front of us on the screen. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette grace us with great performances as well, portraying Mason’s parents. Boyhood serves as a kind of a time capsule as it shows us the rocky path of childhood like nothing ever before. As viewers watch and see how people change with time it makes them fall in deeper attachment.

As it was described by The Entertainment Weekly: “Linklater makes you feel as if you’re watching a photograph as it develops in the darkroom.”

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

A movie so wonderful:  “it makes you doubt yourself on the way home. Could I really have enjoyed that film so much?”- words of Drew McWeeny from Hitfix that probably describe best the environment and the emotion of this film.

The Grand Budapest Hotel tells us of the adventures of the concierge M. Gustave, an absolute legend, who worked in a famous hotel in Europe between the great wars and his best friend, a lobby boy named Zero Moustafa. Together they recover a stolen art masterpiece. A great visual, funny and perfectly balanced adventure that will keep your eyes open through the entire time.  

1. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

The absolute winner in the awards this year and deservedly so Birdman has become an instant classic. With its amazing cast and even more amazing director and story this film is a complete blast from start to finish!

This breathtaking story about an actor (Michael Keaton) who got famous by playing an iconic superhero, trying to put his ego his career and his life back on track.  Overall a great film with superb acting all the way and plenty of material for discussing into the wee hours of the night. As profound as entertaining and definitely the best film of the year.