Stephen's Top 14 Films of 2014
Posted by Stephen Lambrechts (follow me @Slambrechts)
Well it's that time of year again! So many great films have been released this year, which is why we're compiling a list of our absolute favourites. These are lists that are not meant to be academic or definitive – we are simply listing the moves we've personally most enjoyed this year. Due to increasingly annoying delayed release dates in Australia, I've unfortunately not seen a handful of films that could've conceivably made the list – Inherent Vice being a particular sticking point for me. I've also missed a few films which sound awesome, like Whiplash, Birdman, Selma and Foxcatcher. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go by the ones I did see!
So without further ado, here's my list! THE TOP 14 FILMS OF 2014
14. John Wick
Honestly, there is nothing more satisfying than watching a trained killer absolutely destroy the people responsible for killing his dog. Reeves wipes the floor with wave after wave of worthless gangsters in a way that is endlessly entertaining and cheer-worthy. This could’ve been just another run of the mill action thriller, but director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad chose to populate their world with intriguing and well-defined characters in every corner. I’ll be rewatching this one many times in the years to come.
13. Edge of Tomorrow
From my review: “Cruise puts in a movie star performance that is up there with the best he's ever given (in fact, everyone from Bill Paxton, Emily Blunt and even small supporting players like Aussies Noah Taylor and Kick Gurry bring their A-game), and when you add to that a smart script with an intriguing plot, energetically-staged action and an abundance of laughs, you get one of the most enjoyable blockbusters of the year.”
12. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ever since Fantastic Mr. Fox (probably my favourite kids film ever), Wes Anderson has been on a real roll. His latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is his funniest and most meticulously-stylised film yet. Probably my second favourite Ralph Fiennes performance after In Bruges, and the rest of the cast is also doing fantastic work here. Truly splendid.
11. The Editor
My personal favourite horror subgenre is the Italian giallo, so the idea of a movie that pays tribute to that very specific kind of film in a loving and hilarious way was always going to appeal to me. We love the filmmaking collective Astron-6 around these parts, and The Editor is the group’s most accomplished movie yet. These guys really get what makes giallo films so great. The dialogue and dubbing is funny as hell, the performances are pitch-perfect, the blood and nudity is glorious and copious, the music is amazing and the giallo-style cinematography is fantastic. I can’t wait to revisit this movie again and again.
10. Why Don't You Play In Hell?
Sion Sono’s marvellous ode to filmmaking is an absolute riot. A renegade group of aspiring filmmakers known as the Fuck Bombers get the chance to shoot a real and extremely violent yakuza war. Things get insanely bloody and over-the-top – limbs fly, heads roll and arteries spray in the yakuza film shoot to end them all. Seriously, this movie is absolutely hilarious and for fans of samurai sword action, gunfights and martial arts, this is required viewing.
9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
From my review: “Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) has done an 'apesolutely' incredible job, making a sequel that manages to outclass an already stellar first film. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the best summer movie of the year so far. We can't wait to see what Reeves does with the next film in the franchise.”
8. The Raid 2
From my review: “Just like the first film, The Raid 2 has rewritten the book on action cinema, albeit this time with stronger characters and story. No wires, no CGI, just bloody, bone-breaking bliss. This is the perfect action movie.”
7. Gone Girl
David Fincher does it again. The visionary director puts the modern marriage under a microscope, all under the guise of a missing person thriller. Fincher also delights in taking the media to task, as well as our own preconceived notions of the roles that men and women play in their marriages. Gillian Flynn’s adaptation of her own novel is one of the best of the year, and Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are mesmerising as the married couple in question. See it before someone spoils it for you.
6. Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal is mesmerising as Lou Bloom, the sociopathic creep who makes a living videotaping accidents and deaths and then selling them to news stations. It’s the kind of film we don’t really get to see in theatres anymore – a real movie for adults looking to explore dark characters. Nightcrawler is the kind of film that will sit comfortably alongside other classics like Taxi Driver, American Psycho and The King of Comedy in your movie collection.
5. Boyhood
This might be Richard Linklater’s best movie yet. Filmed over twelve years, Boyhood follows a boy’s journey from child to man, teaching us a lot about life and family along the way. Truly a unique and powerful experience, Boyhood’s almost three hour runtime flies by. This is the most truthful film about life I’ve seen in years. I really hope this is the film that earns Linklater an Oscar.
4. Chef
Jon Favreau’s Chef is an absolute delight. It’s a foodie’s dream, with various mouth-watering cooking scenes that leave you hungry for more. The film also makes you wish you could drop everything and drive across the United States in a food truck.
This really is a wonderful road-trip movie with a terrific father and son bonding storyline at the centre. You’re unlikely to have a better time watching a movie than with this. Personally, I didn’t want it to end.
3. Snowpiercer
Bong Joon-ho’s English language debut is an outright masterpiece. The world is pretty much over. All that is left is a single perpetual-motion train called the Snowpiercer full of people that continually travels around the earth. Bong uses the train as a metaphor, harshly critiquing class systems and showing us a small scale version of the world we live in. The rich live in luxury at the front of the train, while the poor live in filth and squalor at the back.
These poor people live piled on top of each other, under the watch of armed guards, and have to survive on disgusting processed garbage. Decades have passed like this, but a revolution is brewing. Chris Evans and company are ready to fight their way to the front of the train and take over, and to say anything else would be to spoil the many surprises each train car has to offer. Bong doesn’t waste any time getting the action started, and seeing seeing the dwindling group move from car to car is enthralling every step of the way. Honestly, I was blown away by this movie. It’s films like this that made me a cinephile in the first place.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Any other year, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier would’ve been my top choice. Here’s a sequel that effortlessly outclasses its predecessor in every regard. Taking the character of Steve Rogers and inserting him into a paranoid political thriller was a stroke of genius on Marvel’s part, but it’s really the film’s heart that raises the film above others of this kind. Cap’s visit to an elderly, alzheimer's afflicted Peggy Carter tells us early on that this isn’t your ordinary comic book film.
Chris Evans once again nails Cap’s heroic earnestness, making him someone you just can’t help rooting for. Even better was the choice to cast Anthony Mackie as his loyal friend and ally, Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon. Scarlett Johansson once again does terrific work as Black Widow, and Sebastian Stan gets to really shine as The Winter Soldier.
The things I love about this film are too numerous to name. I could go on and on about Cap and The Winter Soldier’s relationship, the absolutely fantastic action and fight choreography, the in-jokes, the resurgence of Hydra or the use of Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man soundtrack over the film’s closing montage, but I think I’d rather just go watch the film again.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
What an incredible year Marvel has had. It may be a little fanboyish of me to list two Marvel films at the top of my list, but they really are that good. Director James Gunn has long been a favourite of mine, and nothing pleases me more than to see him hit the big time with the most entertaining and heartfelt Marvel blockbuster to date. Gunn has reinvigorated the space opera with a set of wonderfully unique characters that instantly found their way into our hearts.
Chris Pratt is an instant star in the role of Peter Quill a.k.a. Star Lord. His character’s backstory really grabs you emotionally. Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista are excellent as Gamora and Drax the Destroyer, but it’s really the duo of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as Rocket and Groot that steal the show. They may just be voice performances, but they’re so fantastically realised and well-written that you instantly fall in love with them.
Much can be said about the film’s fantastic world building, breathtaking action and glorious special effects, but when all is said and done, people are going to come away loving it because of the strong familial bond the characters achieve. Seeing a bunch of loners come together as a family is a hundred times more powerful than any CGI explosion. We are Groot indeed.
__________________________ So there you have it! My Top 14 films of 2014. What do you think of my choices? What would you have chosen? Let us know in the comments below!
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