Well I am just calling it. Here is my personal favorite 15 movies of 2014. I still havent seen everything and it would take months to do so. I couldnt narrow it down to 10 so I just went with 15. 1. LOCKE--Tom Hardy has become one of my very favorite actors. Since seeing him in Bronson I have been following him avidly and when I saw the trailer for this film I HAD to see it. I saw it when it hit local theaters and it blew me away. Seeing one of you favorite actors carry an entire film on his own is a real treat. While some may feel it was dull, I thought it was one of the most thrilling thrillers of the year. Making films like this is not easy and they did it. 2. NIGHTCRAWLER--This is the kind of movie I hope for each year. I like hard crime films with intriguing character studies and this one has it in spades. In the tradition of Taxi Driver we follow a sociopath (played with chilling coldness and fear by Jake Gallyenhall) through the city streets on a path to violence. A brilliant and haunting film. 3. HORNS--Alexandre Aja has been my favorite horror director of the new century starting with 2003s High Tension. Team him up with the son of Stephen King and you get this great fairy tale that has everything from horror, love, coming of age tales and even some great comedy. You cant lose with this one. 4. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY--When I heard they were making this I thought, Who are these characters? I have never heard of them. That turned out to be the best thing about it. James Gunn delivered one of the most entertaining films of the year in my book. I loved every minute of it and it made me feel like a kid watching Star Wars again. A great cast all around. My whole family loves it and keeps viewing it. 5. COLD IN JULY--So far these guys have been making some good indie films and it continues here as they bring one of Joe Lansdales novels to the screen and it is just so badass. This 1980s set crime drama is fueled by stellar performances from the three leads, Sam Shepard, Michael C. Hall and Don Johnson. 6. BLUE RUIN--This was my birthday movie last year. Rented it on VOD when it became available. Revenge films are my favorite subgenre and I love when a film can make it all feel as real as possible. Going for character over style. This is the way violence happens and what the consequences are. 7. GRAND PIANO--A wonderful throwback to the thriller in the vein of Hitchcock and DePalma. Just a solid thriller from start to finish that should have been a bigger deal. 8. SNOWPIERCER--I was already a huge fan of the director and I had heard such great things about this movie. I loved it. I am usually not a science fiction fan but this one kept me on board and moving forward just like the heroes of the film. If we can call them heroes. Flaws and all they were fun to watch. 9. THE ROVER--I had been a fan of Animal Kingdom so I was really looking forward to this one. Add Guy Pearce who I absolutely love in one of his grittiest and most emotional roles ever and you have one hell of a wild ride. This is the kind of movie I always look out for. Even Robert Pattinson should win people over in this one. 10. JOHN WICK--People were calling it the best action film in a decade. I was not the biggest fan of Reeves as an action star and this movie just seemed to be another stinker but what was such a surprise was while it was nothing new in the revenge genre, it was so well done and so damn fun. 11. CHEF--A feel good movie that really speaks about the trials and bullshit artist have to put up with when they put themselves out there in the world. I have always loved Jon Favraeu and Liguizamo is usually always a lot of fun. Likable characters and a fun road movie which I am always a sucker for. 12. TUSK--Not the weirdest film of the year but one of them. As a Kevin Smith fan I was of course interested in seeing this one. Hearing mixed reviews I watched it and laughed my ass off the whole time. After seeing it, I couldnt shake the desire to see it again. And again. And again. It is one of those head trip movies you just cant shake and it is fall out of your chair funny. Also a film that had no rules or cares about pandering to the audience. Kevin simply made a movie he wanted to see and he didnt give a damn if anyone liked it or not. It is one of the most free films of the year. 13. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST--The X-Men were always one of my favorite comic books and if you were a fan then you wanted this movie made. The X-Men films have for the most part been up and down. Some were good, some were okay and some were just awful. In my book, this is the best of all of them. 14. GONE GIRL--I am a Fincher fan so this one was a must see. I didnt know much about this movie going in other than it was good and it was about a man accused of murdering his missing wife. The praise is rightly directed at it. It is a great thriller that should be consumed. 15. CHILD OF GOD--About 10 years ago or so my cousin told me I needed to read the work of Cormac McCarthy. The first novel she suggested was this one. I was floored. I fell in love with McCarthy. In fact the Coens adaptation of his novel No Country For Old Men is still my favorite film of the decade. Child of God the movie is a bit low budget but it is such an odd and violent and messed up tale that it kind of had to be made out of the system. The film is intriguing because McCarthys story is and the lead actors performance is one of the years best.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:41:48 +0000
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