Top 10 Movies of 2014 and Explanations: This has been a fantastic year for film and I didnt want this to just be a regular say the name list. So Ive also added little explanations as to why I thought these movies were so great and what stood out. 10. Locke: This is a simple yet thrilling film that relies on a great performance and some good direction. Director Steven Knight does a brilliant job at making us feel the closeness of the main character as we have to spend the entire film with him in his car. The big key to the movies success comes from the lead performance by Tom Hardy who does a powerful job at displaying a man whose life in crumbling in one night. Locke is a great film because it manages to be interesting while being simplistic. As long you have a good setting, director, and actor then you can still do anything. 9. Gone Girl: David Fincher has become a better filmmaker over the years and this time he made another great one with Gone Girl. This is a movie that I think Hitchcock would’ve loved. It pulls you into a dark and intense story that surprises and manipulates you with twists and turns. I was surprised at how even with some parts of the story became very farfetched that I was still pulled into it. This is all done with style by Fincher who does a great job at using the darkness and tone, a nice ambient score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and stellar performances by Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck. 8. Interstellar: This was probably the most polarizing film of the year, but in my opinion it was one of the best. Christopher Nolan continues to astound me with his ambition and here he achieves it with a movie that feels epic and heartfelt. Instead of going for a doom and gloom approach to the end of the world, Nolan gives us a more hopeful approach that says how we’ll find a way somehow and love will always be there for us. That might seem cheesy but to me that’s touching. Nolan once again raises the bar for what can be done visually while never forgetting the personal side with his cast and the quieter moments. 7. Snowpiercer: This had to be the most unique film I saw this year. Snowpiercer takes a familiar theme while putting in a very original setting that you don’t forget. Instead of being a totally brainless action film which we get too many times, this is a thrilling movie that can be strange but always surprising. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho fills Snowpiercer with sets, costumes, effects, and cinematography that make his film feel like a fully realized vision unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s rare that a movie can take something that seems familiar but turn it into something fresh and exciting. 6. The Grand Budapest Hotel: When there are so many filmmakers who are all about style with no substance that makes me appreciate someone like Wes Anderson who’s been able to use his style as a way of telling a story instead of being a showcase. I think The Grand Budapest Hotel displays the best of that. In this film, Anderson sticks to his unique style but also tells a fun and wacky story. The story itself is funny, compelling, strange, and heartfelt all at once and Anderson never forgets to do all of that while a style that he puts all of his heart into. 5. Ida: This is the film that I hope wins the best foreign language oscar because its a beautiful piece of art. This Polish film by Pawel Pawlikowski tells a powerful story that cuts deeper the more you think about it. It takes two compelling characters who are played by great actors to show people who have been affected by war in ways that they dont even know yet. Ida also contains gorgeously photographed in black and white. This movie in haunts you in ways that are unpredictable and subtle/ 4. The Tale of Princess Kaguya: The always talented Studio Ghibli has created what I think is by far the best animated film of the year. The hand drawn animation which is displayed in a water color style is a marvel to look at and its part of what draws us into this story that can touch your soul. Like Studio Ghiblis other films, it can pull you in by being sad, happy, and even humorous at times. Even though this story is based off one of the oldest Japanese folktales, it never forgets that its telling a story about people. Director and writer Isao Takahata has created a film that is drawn with soul and lets the story have one too. 3. Whiplash: This film by newcomer Damian Chazelle not only shows a musician who is being pushed to a breaking point. It cuts deep down into our own feelings of wanting to be successful and how much we sacrifice to achieve what we want. Whiplash doesnt hold back in showing a disturbing side to that ambition. Chazelle uses his directing and editing to pull us into every bit of sweat and blood that is poured out by the characters. He also gives us two incredible performances by J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller to add to all that. 2. Birdman: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has created a masterpiece. Birdman tells a story that is compelling, satirical, and relevant to the time we live in. Michael Keaton gives what I think is the best performance of the year as a man who we can both pity and despise. The rest of the stellar cast which includes Emma Stone and Edward Norton only adds to this story that studies what it means to be relevant in todays society. Inarritu presents this in a way that forces us to think and let us fill in the holes ourselves. The genius Emmanuel Lubezki gives us some of the best best cinematography Ive ever seen in this movie. Birdman is an experience that I will never forget and I cant wait to watch it again. 1. Boyhood: Boyhood not only affected me, but I think it can affect everyone. Even if you dont like it as much as I did, Id be surprised if this movie doesnt make anyone think about their own life journeys and how much theyve changed through the years. But it wouldnt have worked if Richard Linklater didnt make this movie in the ambitious attempt of filming it for 12 years with the same cast. Having that knowledge and watching it on screen truly game me an experience unlike any movie before and by the end I felt like a parent who watched their kid grow before their eyes. Using everything that makes a movie great like acting, photography, music, directing, and everything else, Linklater has made a movie sticks to you forever. Like many of the best films ever made, it can completely change the way we look at movies but is still compelling in general. Saying this is the best of the year doesnt do the movie justice. Boyhood is the biggest achievement of films in 2014.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 06:37:03 +0000
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