This is sort of a customary thing to do in reviewer circles, and I've been experimenting with different ways to do it throughout the year. My first list, for 2012, was rudimentary and limited, whereas my 2013 list was a badly-made video with iffy criteria. This time around, I find it hard to rank my favourites, and thus will just list them alphabetically. Without further ado:
The Babadook
directed by Jennifer Kent
Birdman
directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Hope you don't tire of seeing this one on lists. Birdman is nearly guaranteed a bunch of Oscar nominations, and thankfully its quality more than justifies such. This film marries style and substance to the extreme, overflowing with ideas in true maximalist fashion. The core of Birdman is its protagonist, Riggan Thomson, a former superhero actor who is now trying to stage a play on Broadway. This character has to come to terms with a wide range of forces in his life, pulling his career together, his family together, himself together. This movie makes itself a Big Event, and it has the themes and characters to hold that event together. In addition, the cast is absolutely stunning here. Keaton of course is the best, not only capturing Riggan Thomson, but becoming Riggan Thomson, but the supporting cast are also superb, and these performances fit together and bounce off each other perfectly, like a sort of jigsaw puzzle of acting. And it is a fun watch indeed.
Boyhood
directed by Richard Linklater
Oh, you may have heard of this one. Boyhood is an impressive achievement. It captures twelve years with an amount of realism that nobody's ever seen before. Lead character Mason Evans Jr. is played by one actor over these twelve years, and we see this very real individual growing up. To capture a life in film is an undertaking of extensive scope, and somehow, Linklater has pulled it off. When you have a very real life in similar circumstances to many people who might be watching, parallels will pop up. The most affecting part of Boyhood are the parts that are the most relatable, and this will vary from person to person, just because of how different people are from each other. Perhaps just as interesting, though, is the time period the film is consequentially set in. This is a movie of the 21st century that is set in the past of the 21st century, and it's refreshing to have a movie that is so much about the present day without being about events in the present day.
The Dance of Reality
directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky is a director beloved in many circles, but before now I never actually watched any of his films. Of course, there had been a conspicuous absence that ended this year, with the superb documentary Jodorowsky's Dune and, of course, this movie. The Dance of Reality is Jodorowsky making a movie about himself in a way that only Jodorowsky would, a blend of reality and fantasy. Make no mistake: This is a very personal film. This is the tale of Jodorowsky told as it is in the mind of Jodorowsky, filled with coping mechanisms, metaphors, reflections and many more things that would only exist in a memory. It may not be the most accurate way to tell one's own life, but it is perhaps the most honest. This isn't a director recreating his life story, this is a director telling it to us. It's pure storytelling, done with an eccentric passion that is trademark to Jodorowsky. Let's hope for more from this man in the future.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
directed by Wes Anderson
The LEGO Movie
directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
The LEGO Movie is, hands down, the most surprisingly good movie of the year. Nobody expected much from an animated movie about LEGO bricks, but after its release, this film was the looming shadow that all the other animated movies this year had to live up to. Animated movies thrive on creativity, but none celebrate it quite so explosively as this one, not that it's a surprise for a movie based around building blocks. But more than that, The LEGO Movie is just a clever, funny, and extremely smart piece of family entertainment, the sort of thing that has become increasingly rare. This is a movie that care was put into, with a stronger plot than anyone could have rightly expected, deconstructing then reconstructing the Hero's Journey cliche... as if it's made of LEGO. Funnily enough, this is a movie which has attracted a large older audience, which is only fitting considering that unity between target and periphery demographics is one of the film's main themes.
Life Itself
directed by Steve James
Steve James' documentary on Roger Ebert could have easily been overly reverential, but instead it's a balanced, captivating portrait of this man, sketched in the outro of his life. Ebert didn't live to see Life Itself, and infact didn't even outlast the film's production. Of all the film critics, it's arguable if Ebert was the greatest, but he was certainly the most influential. In the documentary, we can see how the people he touched vary. Also interesting was how James adapted Ebert's memoir into his film, mixing passages with interviews that expand on Ebert's words and add depth to his impact. Having Ebert's thoughts connected with something more tangible really does hammer home the man's influence on those around him. Ebert really was the bridge to a new generation of critics, and the actions that caused him to be such an inspiration are illuminated here, and, in the end, we internet critics are left an approving nod from a man who was an influence for many.
Nightcrawler
directed by Dan Gilroy
Halloween is a time we most associate with the horror genre of films, yet the biggest and best release of that weekend was a thriller. But let's make no mistake: Nightcrawler is still a truly disturbing sit. What I think is most remarkable in this movie is how the main character operates: He goes from a petty thief to a big-shot crime journalist through a complete and utter disregard for ethics and morality. People are tools to this man, simply steps to help him climb to the top. Compare this to the press, hungry for the biggest scoop. These two forces are perfect for each other, and Nightcrawler creates these complementary forces to expose the rotten core of both. This is a self-feeding system of sociopathy that discards human life, and with Dan Gilroy's sleek direction and Jake Gyllenhall's cold, pitch-perfect performance, it's really a chilling ride.
Snowpiercer
directed by Bong Joon-ho
Snowpiercer has been slightly divisive, but clearly you can see which camp I'm in. This is a truly visceral action movie, balancing the horrors of a dystopia with the fun of the genre. The action scenes in this movie are intense and brutal, capturing a revolutionary spirit in the supposed freedom fighters at the core of the film. And yet, this film isn't satisfied with that. It questions the entire system that drives revolutions to occur, wondering if what we've been told about the world is correct. It's a radical movie that asks ourselves to question if we can live outside the system, and which suggests that perhaps there's hope for change, that perhaps things aren't so bad. Capping itself off with an ending that is open to interpretation, Snowpiercer is an action film with a brain and with things to say. The director has created an excellent world here, something that is one of the major pillars of science fiction, and it's from there that he pushes his ideas.
Whiplash
directed by Damien Chazelle
Whiplash is exhilarating and intense. It's a movie that takes you in and doesn't let you breathe until it's over. In a way, then, this movie is like a jazz performance. It certainly has the drive and focus of one. More than that, though, this movie is about ambition, and how it can drive a person past the limits of reason. This movie questions what is worth enduring to pursue your passion, and the results aren't pretty. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons give excellent performances, which certainly add to the intensity of Whiplash. Seeing how Andrew Neiman's drive destroys his life is compelling on its own, but when you pair it with Terence Fletcher's determined antagonism, you have a fascinatingly unhealthy relationship, and one with no happy ending. Fletcher himself is equal parts infuriating and terrifying, and you want to see him get his comeuppance-but, the fact is, what the world sees of him will never allow him to really get what he deserves.
Now, for some runners-up. These are some movies that weren't quite as good as the above, but which I didn't feel right not mentioning at the end of the year.
Edge of Tomorrow
directed by Doug Liman
Edge of Tomorrow is an action film that takes action films apart and puts them together, turning them inside out in the process. Having action star Tom Cruise play someone who is incompetent as a soldier is a unique turn, and taking a cue from video games and Groundhog Day to deconstruct the "badass action hero" trope is a fascinating idea all on its own. Then there's deep ideas about how reliving a day over and over may take a toll on someone. What makes Edge of Tomorrow so remarkable, however, is the fact that it's a great action movie on top of these ideas. It has the humour and the fight scenes that the genre work, and those are very well-done, which is why this movie is one of the most well-liked blockbusters of the year. That it has all these interesting ideas beneath the already strong action movie exterior is just a bonus that makes the movie even better than it would be otherwise.
Gone Girl
directed by David Fincher
David Fincher directs Gone Girl like a horror movie, keeping a demented sort of tone that builds up to an insane crescendo. The film is, interestingly, littered with problematic elements, but these elements are in a curious form that is heavily open to interpretation and invites discussion. I was initially dissatisfied with how it ended, but I think the unsatisfying ending is just another little element that changes depending on how you think of the movie, and which opens itself up as you think about it. Few movies can handle that quite as well as Gone Girl does, but this is a movie that would benefit from a second watch, boasting so many elements that can be turned on their head by simply going in with a different mindset. On top of that, it's just an excellent thriller, with an intriguing story and captivating twists, though it's really what those twists say that makes Gone Girl so intriguing.
Guardians of the Galaxy
directed by James Gunn
Ah yes, the "mandatory entry". This was a really good year for Marvel, and having to pick between the two Marvel movies this year, I decided I had more fun with Guardians of the Galaxy than with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That's really what makes these Marvel movies work so well: Fun. This movie has more of a unique personality than the other ones, with a cast of kooky characters and a more irreverent tone. It's an action-comedy through and through, embodying the genre better than even the Iron Man films have. I thought that the movie was dramatically kinda weak, but the humour is so good that it made up for that. These were characters that were mostly unknown to the vast populace when the film was announced, and it sets an excellent precedent that Guardians of the Galaxy did so well, as it means we might see more interesting and unique ideas like this in the Hollywood Blockbuster Factory.
The Normal Heart
directed by Ryan Murphy
This movie stands out from the others on the list, because this was actually a TV movie on HBO as opposed to a theatrical release. This is a shame, because The Normal Heart is really an excellent drama, weighted by fantastic performances. While the crisis depicted in the movie is gone now, some of the problems aren't, and the character issues at the centre of the original play are still dramatically potent. Nowadays, this is a story about people reacting to the slow loss of hope, and to increasingly desperate situations. Mark Ruffalo really is excellent in the lead role, and his performance is the beating heart at the centre of this reproduction. The addition of film elements to Larry Kramer's original play is interesting on its own, and there's even some potential parallels to current day issues, but I think that what really makes The Normal Heart work is that Kramer's passionate soapboxing simply translates well to drama.
I had a really good year at the movies in 2014. I saw 37 films in total, which is a higher number than my total from 2013. So, here's to an even better 2015.
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