Full disclosure: there are tons of films I did not see this year, as always. But, I am happy with the 10 films that make up this list, and though I'd love to see The Babadook or Selma, I just didn't get there in time. So, without further ado, here are my personal top 10 favorites of 2014.
10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, 130 min. PG-13
Planet of the Apes is a curious franchise because the majority of films that comprise it are not very good. There's a lot of great philosophical ideas and cold war analogies in the original 1968 Planet of the Apes, but the films became progressively worse with each sequel, bottoming out with Tim Burton's attempted reboot back in 2001. Now we get a follow-up to 2011's pretty good Rise of the Planet of the Apes with a surprisingly fantastic action/thriller/sci-fi film. It continues to follow Caesar and his ape friends, who became more aware in the first film and have now formed a clan in the Golden Gate Recreation Area outside of San Francisco. Meanwhile, the human race has been reduced by the outbreak of the Simian Virus, and the immune band together to try and rebuild society. When these two worlds collide, the threat of war is imminent as the humans don't know how to regard these intelligent apes, and the apes despise their once captors. While the human element is a little weak (although the actors are good), the real magic comes from the apes, lead by Andy Serkis as Caesar using the latest motion capture technology. The film also benefits from slowly building the conflict between the two species, basic storytelling techniques that most filmmakers seem to have forgotten. There's action peppered throughout, but it's easy to imagine a lesser director taking the material and escalating the war pretty quickly so that it would comprise more of the run time. I have to say I didn't expect much from this Apes sequel (especially considering it's 70s counterpart, Battle for the Planet of the Apes), but I was pleasantly surprised and highly enjoyed this film.
9. Gone Girl, 149 min. R
I'll readily admit that on a re-watch, Gone Girl did not hold up as well as the first viewing. I won't get into spoilers, but a lot of elements that comprise the second half, including the ending, make huge logical leaps that fall apart under scrutiny. So why include a film I openly criticize? Because, even on the second viewing, the first hour of the film was just as intense as the first time around, and the film as a whole was still damn entertaining. David Fincher has developed a clinical precision to his movies, which are atmospherically dark and moody, even if they're about twenty-year-olds starting the largest social networking site in existence. Fincher has an all-star crew, with returning cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, editor Kirk Baxter, and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Fincher films have begun to develop a consistent tone film-to-film as if you were returning to a weekly TV serial where the plot and characters always change. Sometimes the style can't mask bad material (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but if the plot is interesting enough, then I'm happy to be along for the dark ride.
8. Ida, 82 min. PG-13
Ida is a film that looks like it was shot in the 60s, but was made today. That's no small task to accomplish, and gives the film a classic aesthetic, is if you had discovered a forgotten gem from long ago. But Ida was released as recently as 2013, and is a moody, engrossing tale of a young, orphaned, novitiate nun, on the verge of taking her vows, receives news of her family's jewish roots and, with her only living relative, sets out to discover them. A character driven piece, the film's reveals are not all that shocking, but it strikes an emotional depth too often missing from today's films, and the turmoil of the central character carries real weight. It's a film you've probably heard about (it's nominated for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars), and is currently available on Netflix streaming, so you really have no reason not to check this out.
7. Jodorowsky's Dune, 90 min. PG-13
I have not read Frank Herbert's Dune or seen David Lynch's apparently abysmal 80s version of the story. So do I believe Alejandro Jodorowsky, the title subject of this fascinating documentary, could have done justice where Lynch failed? The documentary detail's Jodorowsky's attempt to make the movie Dune back in the 70s, and how he was allegedly going to bring together Dan O'Bannon, H.R. Giger, David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Udo Kier, Orson Welles, and Salvador Dali together to make and appear in his wild vision. The way the doc portrays Jodorowsky's vision reveals a film that sounds like it could have been the ground breaking sci-fi spectacle that Star Wars would be. The film does make some bold assertions that Jodorowsky's unreleased film influenced many iconic moments in future sci-fi flicks (some of these make sense, but most don't), but, at 84, Jodorowsky is a fascinating, tireless artist who was unfortunately limited by his own hubris.
6. Birdman, or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, 119 min. R
Birdman is an interesting backstage drama/comedy that focuses on one actor's desire to be taken seriously. Michael Keaton stars as Riggan, a washed-up Hollywood actor whose glory days were spent playing a costumed hero named Birdman (get it, it's Batman everyone! Keaton played Batman! And he's kind of washed up now! Do you get it?). All joking aside, what director Alejandro G. Iñârritu accomplishes is an intense, layered, and at times weird portrayal of the mounting tensions to put on a play. The cast includes Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Stone, and its biggest gimmick is that it is seemingly all done in one, long camera take. Working with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, a longtime collaborator of Alfonso Cuaron (Chidlren of Men, Gravity), Iñârritu never lets the one-take conceit feel too gimmicky, and it indeed allows the actors more freedom to fully explore the emotional arcs of their characters. Actors often have to get into the moment of a scene take to take, and while most do an admirable job of this, Birdman allows the actors themselves to build their character's through lines. It's a highly entertaining film with lived up to a lot of the hype it generated.
5. Snowpiercer, 126 min. R
Few sci-fi films can efficiently establish a scenario and pull the audience into the world, giving them enough information at the start to understand what's going on, but not enough to show all the cards the film is holding. Snowpiercer has a relatively routine structure, in which a bunch of passengers on a train try and fight their way to the front to take control. The film takes place in a near-future where humans bring on a new Ice Age that freezes the entire planet. The only salvation is on Wilford's train, and the last survivors of the human race take a place there. As long as they are on the train, and as long as the train moves, they live. However, the train is divided into a class system, where naturally the steerage customers are treated like criminals. The film has an endless sense of invention, and as the passengers, lead by Captain America himself Chris Evans, move forward we encounter new environments in every passenger car that reveal more and more how the train functions and this society exists. Add in some brutal violence and a killer climax, and you have one of the best sci-fi action films in recent memory.
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel, 100 min. R
I've seen this film three times so far, more than any other film this year, and every time and has held up as another entertaining, whimsical entry to Wes Anderson's oeuvre. Like Fincher, Anderson has found his style, and it works film to film. That's not to say Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, and this are exactly the same, but a lot of the execution, mannerisms of the characters, and overall developments are. Set in a fictional European country in the 1920s, the film details the exploits of M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his Lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori) as they run the Grand Budapest Hotel. Drama ensues when one of M. Gustave's patrons (Tilda Swinton) is murdered, and he is the primary suspect. The film features a lot of Anderson's trademark mannerisms and style, and while some may tire of it, I find its strong and works well.
3. Life Itself, 120 min. R
It was pretty much almost a given that I was going to love this film and include it here. Roger Ebert is one of the most famous film critics of all time, and I miss reading new reviews still. The documentary is a mixture of footage shot during Ebert's final months, first in a hospital and then back at home, with the unwavering support of his wife Chaz. This is mixed in with a recount of Ebert's life, with excerpts from his memoir narrated by Stephen Stanton, who sounds remarkably like Ebert. Directed by Steve James, who also made the docs Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters, this film gives us the brutal truth of Ebert's predicament in his final years: with no jaw, a tube is shoved down his throat to feed him, and daily live is a never ending chore. It's an emotional ride and celebration of a great man who may have made a living trashing other people's work, but championed and valued great filmmaking more.
2. Boyhood, 165 min. R
This is the only film I reviewed this year on the blog, so I'll be brief since my full thoughts are in the post. Richard Linklater's 12-year odyssey to tell the story of a young man from age 6 to 18 is a wonder to behold. Beyond the aging conceit, which is hard to ignore because it is in your face the entire time, there are engaging stories of single parents, from Patrica Arquette's mother making the same mistakes over and over (as we do in life), to Ethan Hawke's father who is still a child in disguise. Much criticism as of late has been leveled against the Mason character for not being interesting, and that nothing much happens in the movie. To the second argument, I say nothing much happens in life day-to-day. Sure we all have a lot of the same experiences, but an average day is not that interesting and that is this movie's focus; to tell a story that is relatable to all of us. There is melodrama early on with the abusive father, and the movie wisely avoids any more big dramatic subplots throughout. As for the boring character, I guess that's a matter of perspective. Mason isn't the most fully realized character, but I feel like that's Linklater's projection of himself, and Mason still felt like a real person, even if he wasn't the most "interesting." To me, the movie holds up beyond its "took 12 years to make" gimmick. That just adds the extra layer.
1. Whiplash, 107 min. R
My favorite genre is the thriller. When done well, it holds you on the edge of your seat and raises your heart rate. I love it when a movie can do that to me. And while Whiplash isn't a thriller in the conventional sense, it was definitely a movie that pitched me to the edge of my seat several times. Miles Teller stars as Andrew, a drumming prodigy attending a fictional Julliard-like school for music in New York. One day he is selected as an alternate for the Jazz Band of the fearsome Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), an instructor that takes to his musicians like a drill sergeant. Fletcher has a very intense philosophy that he must push his pupils beyond what they think themselves capable of. It's controversial and the movie challenges Fletcher, but ultimately seems to land on his side with the line, "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than Good Job." It's a movie that reminds you that to be great, you do have to push yourself and commit yourself beyond what you think you are capable of. That doesn't necessarily mean you will be great (as Monsters University illustrated very well), but you can't take a short cut. The movie is filled with musical performances that had my heart racing: will Andrew screw up, or will he successfully perform in the double time swing? This culminates in a final ten minutes that climaxes with one of the few moments in cinema I've wanted to stand up and cheer. Yes, there may be some over the top things that happen in the middle, but the movie took me on an emotional trip few other movies have, and as a result I was magnetized. It's one of the best experiences I've had this year.
