The H-Bomb: Well, now that 2014 has come to a close, I am going to do something no movie critic has ever done before, compile a Top 10 list of my favorite films of the past year. Except, instead of doing a Top 10 list, I will be doing a Top 20. Because there were so many good ones, it felt wrong to stop at ten. There are many more, like 300: Rise of an Empire, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Neighbors, Unbroken, Jodorowsky’s Dune, The Lego Movie, and others, that I really liked, but just didn’t make the cut. There are also some, such as Nightcrawler, Birdman, Inherent Vice, the third Hobbit film, that I have yet to see. Of the scores of films released in 2014 that I have seen, here are H-Man’s Top 20 of 2014:
20. Locke– Tom Hardy stars as a hard working man whose life, both personally and professionally, goes completely down the drain one night as he drives from Birmingham to London. For ninety minutes we see nothing more than Tom Hardy in a car, yet it is utterly captivating, thanks mainly to Hardy’s commanding performance, as well as Steven Knight’s sharp script and superb direction.
19. Guardians of the Galaxy– I missed this one in theaters due to the insane hype, and I regret that. This is easily my favorite of all the Marvel movies, though I say that as someone who isn’t much of a Marvel fan (sorry, The Avengers did jack squat for me). This is just pure, insane fun through and through, with Chris Pratt making an engaging, goofy Star-Lord, and Bradley Cooper just owning in a hilarious voice performance as Rocket… an alien raccoon… just watch the damn movie.
18. The One I Love– I came upon this sleeper one sleepless night on Netflix. Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss star as a couple whose marriage is on the rocks, when their therapist (Ted Danson) sends them to spend a weekend at his remote vacation home. What they find when they get there, well, I can’t tell you. What I can say, is what I thought was going to be a by-the-numbers indie relationship drama turned into an intriguing bit of mind-fuckery that even David Lynch would envy.
17. The Purge: Anarchy– This surprisingly strong sequel is the movie that the original Purge should have been. By dropping us right smack onto the lawless streets, where all crime (including murder) is legal, writer/director James DeMonaco puts us in the shoes of the characters who are stranded there, and we are terrified for them. Intense, viscerally exciting, and Frank Grillo is 100% American Bad-Ass!
16. Under the Skin– In this minimalist sci-fi/drama from director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast), Scarlett Johansson arrives as an alien who preys on men in a rather peculiar fashion. A more controversial choice, as many are bound to find this slow, tedious, and ponderous. I found it incredibly disturbing and fascinating. An art house film, to be sure, but a very worthwhile one for open minded filmgoers.
15. Boyhood– For many critics, this is going to be much higher up on the list, and it is a terrific film. Shot over a period of twelve years, this three-hour-long film follows a boy as he grows from a small child, into a college age teen, played the entire time by the same actor, Ellar Coltrane. Considering all the things that could have gone wrong over those twelve years, it is absolutely an impressive achievement by writer/director Richard Linklater. Unfortunately, it’s a film I admire more than I actually like, and unlike most films on this list, it’s one I just don’t really have much interest in ever watching again.
14. Begin Again– Perhaps the most upbeat film on my list, this dramedy comes from John Carney, the writer/director of Once, who tackles a theme very familiar to him, music. Down and out music producer (Mark Ruffalo) has all but given up on himself, when he comes upon a rough-but-talented singer-songwriter (Keira Knightley), who is down in the dumps after breaking up with her cheating rockstar boyfriend. Follows a rather familiar path, but the stars have terrific chemistry, and the characters are so ingratiating, that it’s impossible not to be won over by the film’s charm.
13. Stretch– Director Joe Carnahan retweeted my tweet about his movie: “One of the most crazy awesome flicks of 2014!” And I fuckin’ meant it, too. Patrick Wilson plays a limo driver with a gambling debt, who is about to have the wildest night of his life. I loved every seedy second of this twisted black comedy, especially the priceless cameo by man-god David Hasselhoff, and I bet you will, too. It is on Netflix, so now you have no reason not to give it a go.
12. Snowpiercer– Of all the post-apocalyptic movies to come out this year, this one is probably grimmest. In a world frozen over, the remaining human population lives on a gigantic train, with the rich living up front, and the poor living in the back. The poor have decided they’ve had enough of living in the back, so they, led by Chris Evans, decide to fight their way to the front. A shitload of nasty, but cool, surprises await them, and us the audience, in each new car. Bleak as hell, but also funny, unpredictable, and utterly wild, with Evans giving a career best turn.
11. Joe– Yes, Nicolas Cage managed to appear in a good movie, for a change. And what a good one it is. In this naturalistic backwoods drama, directed by veteran backwoods filmmaker David Gordon Green, Cage portrays an ex-con who befriends a young teenage boy with an abusive, drunken bum of a father. The two become involved in each others’ lives in ways that will change the both of them forever. Raw, ugly, and at times difficult to watch, but also gripping, moving, with Cage demonstrating that he can be one hell of an actor… when he isn’t just in it for the money.
10. Enemy– Another great David Lynch-like mind fuck. Jake Gyllenhaal re-teams with Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve for this tale of a mild mannered college professor who, while watching a movie one evening, notices an actor who looks exactly like him, and quickly becomes obsessed with learning more about him. Much like Under the Skin, this is going to be far too slow, far too abstract, and far too artsy-fartsy for many tastes. I found it to be an intriguing psychological mystery worthy of multiple viewings.
9. Blue Ruin– An excellent indie that flew under way too many radars. A homeless young man receives word that someone who wronged him in the past is being released from prison, and he goes about exacting revenge, with some truly tragic consequences. I don’t know why the hell I didn’t review this proper last year, but I damn well should have, because it damn well deserves it. This low key study of violence begetting violence is the best film of 2014 that you haven’t seen. Now is the time to right that wrong.
8. The Rover– Robert “Sparkles” Pattinson actually can act! This nasty apocalyptic thriller set in the Outback is proof. As a slow-witted young man who gets pulled into a violent pursuit, Pattinson shows more depth, and more range, than he did in all six of those shitty vampire flicks. It doesn’t hurt that he’s acting opposite the formidable Guy Pearce, who is firing on all cylinders as a man who just really wants his car back. This exceptionally harsh, violent yarn is part existential drama, part Mad Max-ish western, all awesome.
7. Only Lovers Left Alive– A Jim Jarmusch film with vampires. Anyone who has ever seen a Jim Jarmusch film, knows exactly what I mean, and exactly what to expect. For anyone who hasn’t and doesn’t, give this a rent and see what all the fuss is about, but be warned, both the tone and humor are extra dry. Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are perfect as the quirky, cool, undead duo, in a film that shows that a vampire’s day-to-day life (or, night-to-night life) can be just as mundane as any human’s. Funny and off beat, this is Jarmusch back in fighting form.
6. Get On Up– An unconventional biopic about a most unconventional musician, James Brown, who is perfectly embodied by Chadwick Boseman, in what is easily my favorite performance of the year. This is a time when I feel fortunate for being a movie critic, because I never would have seen this film of my own volition, but I am damn glad that I did. Great lead performance, great music, great movie. Period.
5. (Pt. 1) Yes, No. 5 is a tie. First up is Gone Girl, a darkly comedic thriller which stars Ben Affleck as a writer whose wife appears to have been kidnapped. But appearances are most definitely deceiving. That’s all I dare say about the plot, which twists and turns and bobs and weaves, always taking us somewhere wholly unexpected. Masterfully directed by David Fincher, with a brilliant breakthrough performance by Rosamund Pike that must be seen to be believed.
5. (Pt. 2) Tied for No. 5 with Gone Girl is Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s massive, immersive space exploration epic. Because Nolan has become the most highly regarded filmmaker of his generation, and rightly so, many have found it fashionable to try and take him down a peg or two by nitpicking the living shit out of his movies. They tried it with The Dark Knight Rises (which is a fantastic film, fuck you very much), and now they’re trying it with Interstellar. Hitchcock had to put up with the same kind of nonsense in his day. He survived it, so will Nolan. Interstellar is fantastic achievement in every way, shape, and form, see my review if you want to know more. This is true next level filmmaking, from a true next level filmmaker.
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes– Them damn dirty apes have never been this damn good. This, I can say without hesitation, is the The Dark Knight of the Apes franchise. Andy Serkis gives a tremendous motion capture performance that is Oscar worthy, the special effects are absolutely breathtaking, and the story itself is thrilling and moving. I would give anything to roll back the clock six months, just so I can see this beast in the theater, the way it was meant to be seen. Spectacular on every level.
3. Fury– If there’s one thing writer/director David Ayer can do well, it’s gritty, and with Fury, he does gritty better than he’s ever done before. This story of a World War II tank crew is, for my money, the best war film since The Hurt Locker. Those are words I do not utter lightly. The combat is exciting and horrifying, the violence is realistically repulsive, and while the characters are not always sympathetic, we do always empathize with them. It’s sad that more of my fellow critics aren’t talking about this one.
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel– Magnificent. I’m not a fan of everything Wes Anderson has done, but this one hit just the right balance of off-kilter humor, charm, and heart. As far as the sets, the models, and the cinematography go, it’s a technical marvel, and Ralph Fiennes gives what could very well be his best performance. I just loved this movie from top to bottom, and if you didn’t, well then, quite frankly, you should have your head examined.
1. The Raid 2– Yes, I shit you not. This is my favorite film of 2014. Some say it was too long, too slow compared to the first film… fuck them, they know nothing of what they speak. What writer/director Gareth Evans has created here is an epic martial arts masterpiece, as well as an engrossing crime story, as well as a meditation on honor amongst lowlives. The action is explosive, the fight choreography awe-inspiring… Evans has turned ultra violence into an art form, a beautiful, crimson colored art form. Bloody amazing, bloody brilliant, and just plain bloody.
