best of '14

This is my 11th year doing my "best of the year" post and it wasn't my finest year in terms quantity of movies seen. However, I think I have a good selection and I think my top 10 is solid. 

This is a simple list. I'm not the Academy, nor am I the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. I am but a man who enjoys watching movies. I'm still not sure if this is a "favourites" or a "best" list, but I would say it's somewhere in between, which is why I provide explanations. 

I rate every movie I see out of 5. I'm not sure how relevant this is. I may change my rating system next year. 

Here is my criteria:

1. I need to have watched the entire movie.
   (I fell asleep during The Comedy)
2. The movie needed to be released in theatres (or on demand) during the 2014 calendar year.

Total Movies Seen: 43
(60 in '13, 58 in '12, 44 in '11, 57 in '10, 43 in '09, 40 in '08, 32 in '07, 55 in '06 and 53 in '05)

# of Movies I Gave 5/5; 8

Notable Movies Not Seen; 

• Birdman
• American Sniper
• The Babadook
• The Lego Movie
• The Theory of Everything
• Selma
• Big Hero 6
• How To Train Your Dragon 2

My 10 best movies of 2014;

10. The Guest
9. Foxcatcher
8. Insterstellar
7. Obvious Child
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
5. Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Gone Girl
3. Boyhood
2. Nightcrawler
1. Whiplash


Honourable Mention (a.k.a. Movies I loved, but didn't make the Top 10)
John Wick
Snowpiercer
Edge of Tomorrow

List Overview

Let's start from the bottom, like Drake. 

The Guest was crazy. I wanted to see this movie because it was playing at the Atlantic Film Festival. Then I saw this amazing and hilarious clip.  This was like a cool, old school B movie with a big twist at the end. It was a great movie and one I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun and highly entertaining movie experience. 

Foxcatcher was just a very good film and one of the best one's I've seen recently that is based on a true story. I wish I knew about the story of these American wrestling brothers before hand. If I did know then maybe I wouldn't have liked it so much. However, the acting was excellent and the tone and cinematography was excellent. Steve Carrell was great, as was Mark Ruffalo. 

Interstellar intrigued me. I didn't find it too confusing, but any time-travel movie can get a little convoluted. This was just a beautiful film experience and I'll leave it at that. I had very high hopes and it was good. I just don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I didn't see it in 70mm IMAX. 

Obvious Child is a treat. It was a simple premise in a nicely contained plot and it is beautifully constrained about a girl. I really loved it. It's not quite a rom-com but more just a story about a funny, young girl. Incredible acting also. This probably wins the "feels the most realistic" award. 

Guardians of the Galaxy surpassed my expectations. This was just a fun movie with a great cast and was very well directed.  

The Grand Budapest Hotel was a Wes Anderson movie. However, I think the style may be getting a bit tired for me. I LOVED Moonrise Kingdom and most other movies and the acting and directing are great, as always. This was great, but just kind of "par for the course" for West. Still a great movie though. 

Gone Girl was probably the most shocking movie I saw all year. I had no idea what was happening all year and this was my top movie of the year for most of the year. If I read the book I may not have ranked it so highly, but this was well acted and just such an amazing thriller. It felt like one of those throwback 90s thrillers but modernized and way better. 

Boyhood is just an incredible feat. I think the acting was very good and I just recognize that the film is an achievement. It did feel spaced out, but I think it did a great job of just telling this story from the boy's perspective. Great stuff as always from Ethan Hawke, too.  

Nightcrawler features Creepy Jake. Creepy Jake is great. The cinematography was beautiful and the story kept you guessing. This felt like it was based on a novel, but it was all original. The dialogue and interactions were all really good. Excellent flick. 

Whiplash may have been one of the most intense movies I have ever seen. I think I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I was just all in for the entire movie. I don't think I've ever been that sucked into a movie. I  felt like I was in the movie and was feeling the emotions that Miles Teller was displaying or feeling. Incredible acting from the two leads and the writer/director made this movie based on his own life. That is very intense and there's a lot of emotions in this movie. 

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Biggest Surprise; TIE - Obvious Child and The Guest


Obvious Child Trailer >>
The Guest Trailer >>

Thanks for reading!