2014 was a great year for movies. After the usually rocky January, 2014 proved to be a year to remember with blockbusters like Edge of Tomorrow, and smaller award caliber movies along the likes of Boyhood. Before we get into my favorites, please note two things. One, is that I didn't get to see every movie. I unfortunately haven't been able to catch a lot of smaller movies like Birdman or Whiplash because they simply haven't been playing near where I live. So if you ask why didn't I give "insert a movie here" a mention, that is probably why. Two, is this is my Top 5 list not yours. Chances our, mine will be very different from yours and that is because "top anything of the anything lists" are some of the most subjective lists out there.
Here are some honorable mentions before we get started:
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Interstellar
22 Jump Street
How to train Your Dragon 2
Snowpiercer (this was so close into making it in!)
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
· This movie is just so much fun. From the characters, to the humor and likable strangeness, this is a film I could watch over and over again. I feel like it’s impossible to dislike this movie! If you do, change your opinion for something is off (jk, opinion is subjective, but really). At the heart of it, what makes Guardians great is that it has the scope and scale of a modern superhero blockbuster with the heart and tone of a quirky, unique, indie film. This is thanks to James Gunn’s articulate ability to blend seemingly unmixable tones and make them work together.
4. Gone Girl
David Fincher has been hailed as one of the greats of our time, and Gone Girl is no exception to that claim. Its marketing campaign focused more on the intrigue rather than the twists and plot points, and it really paid off. Gone Girl was my most engrossing movie-going experience of the year, it always kept me guessing till the end, and all the performances were out of control. Shout out to Rosamund Pike’s chilling performance, which most definitely gives her character villain of the year.
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
· As the summer blockbuster can have a tendency to rely on action and visual effects, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes broke the chain and succeeded in providing great visual spectacle, while maintaining a soul with characters with different angles and motivation. It gets to the heart of the Apes franchise as a real political, pretty much Shakespearean film, addressing the nature of humanity and evil. I know that makes me sound like a hipster, but its true! On top of this, it had fantastic performances from Andy Serkis, Tobey Kebel, and the rest of the cast. It did this while being ABSOLUTELY groundbreaking on a technical scale, which is quite rare to say in a summer blockbuster.
2. The Lego Movie
· This is animation at its absolute purest form. As a kid, I was a die-hard Lego fan (Lego mini-figures were basically my only friends at a certain point) and this captured exactlly what I wanted The Lego Movie to be and more. It has great animation, an amazing sense of humor that only adults could truly understand, and a unique heartfelt message. When I saw this, I went with my brother, and there were moments where I would be laughing my face off, and all the kids were almost dead silent. I have watched it countless times, and every time I love it even more.
1. Boyhood
My number one film of the year, is Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. It might be too soon to tell, but I think this is one of the absolute MASTERPIECES of the decade. It was filmed with the same actors over a twelve-year period, and utilizing that technique, it captured the essence and emotional beats of growing up like no other film has before. It wasn’t that the movement of time was thrown in your face, but because it was there. It captured it in time’s own settle pace where you look back at to see it wasn’t as slow as it seemed in the moment. It represented the last decade so well because it referenced real events, real pop culture hits and misses, and represented this generation in a way that is so darn relevant. If someone were to ask me in 20 or so years what movie best represents my generation, I’d show them Boyhood. Whether you agree or disagree with its message, it is absolutely thought provoking, and asks real questions without shoving them in your face. All in all, if you can’t tell, I LOVED this movie, and it represented everything I love about film. That is why Boyhood is number one.
