The bottom-line is that this was not a great year for movies, so it may also have been the wrong year to watch over 200 of them. It felt like last year’s crop was stronger in general, but I’d still highly recommend anything on this list that got a B+ or better, and my top twenty in particular deserves to be seen. In fact, I love each of the top twenty so much that maybe this wasn’t such a bad year for film after all…
Quick Note: Due to time or availability constraints, I haven’t gotten around to seeing some highly acclaimed films yet, so keep in mind that this is a list without having seen “Starred Up,” “Selma,” “American Sniper” or “A Most Violent Year.” Also, I did not finish “Nymphomaniac Vol. 1” or “Vol. 2” partly due to time and partly due to lack of interest in what little I did see, so for all I know, that’s really the worst film of the year.
And, as always, just because several films share the same grade doesn’t mean they are equally good and the rankings reflect that. How else to separate the dozens of titles that got a C- this year?
The Worst Film of the Year: “Dracula Untold”…Last year, I had trouble picking a movie terrible enough to be considered the “worst” film. This year I had trouble picking one because there were so many contenders, and really any of the bottom five could be plugged into this slot. I picked “Dracula Untold” because 2014 was a year that felt as uncreative as any in recent memory, and nowhere was that more apparent than in trying to take a tired character and slightly tweak their genre as an “originality” substitute.
Worst Film Runner-Up: [Tie] “Beyond the Lights” and “Heaven is For Real”…The worst movies are not just bad, but also offensive. Both of these movies are so obviously geared towards their respective demographics (urban liberals that aren’t really that liberal for “BtL” and red-state “Hollyweird Haters” for the Jesus movie…in which a big deal is made about him having blue eyes, you’re welcome Nebraska!) that they actually come off as cynically pandering. “Lights”—which contains no truthful scenes whatsoever about fame, relationships, or honest race relations—may be particularly egregious since it actually tricked critics into thinking it’s a good movie, but since more people will actually see “Heaven” (through forced Sunday school and Christian private school viewings) it felt just as dangerous.
Worst Film Second Runner-Up: The Other Woman…The lovable Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann have never been so shrill, and no one involved comes off looking better than they did going in. The worst part is that this movie deals with real pain (adultery, divorce, fraud, embezzlement, revenge) in a “fun, breezy” way that looks like Nancy-Myers-meets-a-GAP-commercial.
Dishonorable Mention: Not Cool…This film is only notable because the reality show “The Chair” (where two directors make the same script) showed us that the exact same script didn’t have to be made into a nearly unwatchable, extended-YouTube video of a movie.
218. The Equalizer: D-…About as lifeless and pointless a remake as you could ask for, it’s like a “Taken” sequel crossed with a Home Depot commercial.
217. Tammy: D-
216. God’s Pocket: D
215. Reasonable Doubt: D
214. Heatstroke: D
213. The Legend of Hercules: D…The only reason it’s not lower is because it is (unintentionally) hilarious
212. Devil’s Knot: D
211. The Homesman: D
210. Open Grave: D+
209. Two Night Stand: D+
208. Ragnarok: D+
207. Rage: D+
206. In Your Eyes: D+
204. [Tie] “Let’s Be Cops” and “Ride Along” prove it wasn’t a great year for buddy cop comedies: D+
203. Stranger in Paradise: D+
202. Pompeii: D+
201. Hateship/Loveship: D+
200. Before I Go to Sleep: D+
199. Filth: D+
198. Gambit: D+
197. Dumb and Dumber 2: D+…Maybe it wasn’t so great to see Harry and Loyd back up to their old tricks (and I mean nearly identical old tricks), but they can still be glad that they’re the very best of the D grade. That’s something…
196. Maleficent: C-
195. Sin City 2: C-
194. Rhymes for Young Ghouls: C-
193. A Winter’s Tale: C-
192. 300: Rise of an Empire: C-
191. Non-Stop: C-
190. Robocop: C-
189. Need for Speed: C-
188. Drive Hard: C-…Between this and Need for Speed, this is actually the more fun car-chase movie
187. That Awkward Moment: C-
186. Happy Christmas: C-
185. The Double: C-
184. Stage Fright: C-
183. The Last Patrol: C-
182. Holidaysburg: C-…Being the best of the two films from “The Chair” really isn’t saying much apparently
181. Venus in Fur: C-
180. La Bare: C-
179. Leave the World Behind: C-
178. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa: C-
177. Fading Gigolo: C-
176. Very Good Girls: C-
175. The Nut Job: C-
174. Top Five: C-
173. War Story: C-
172. Night at the Museum 3: C-
171. Into the Woods: C-
170. Firestorm: C-
169. Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit: C-
168. If I Stay: C-
167. The November Man: C-
166. Sabotage: C-
165: Wish I Was Here: C-
164. What If: C
163. The 50 Year Argument: C
162. Frontera: C
161. The Anonymous People: C
160: The Machine: C
159. Paycheck to Paycheck: C
158. Alive Inside: C
157. A Long Way Down: C
156. Enemy: C
155. Frequencies: C
154. 112 Weddings: C
153. Canopy: C
152. The Judge: C
151: Planes: Fire and Rescue: C
150. Rio 2: C
149. The Gambler: C
148. 3 Days to Kill: C
147. The Lunchbox: C
146. Stretch: C
145. Into the Storm: C
144. The Monument’s Men: C
143. Mitt: C…This was supposed to make Romney look human, but all I saw was a guy using pizza and his family as props to look more human as he strategized.
142. The Amazing Spider-Man 2: C
141.Unbroken: C
140. Cuban Fury: C+
139. Dead Mother’s Club: C+
138. Labor Day: C+
137. Veronica Mars: The Movie: C+
136. Mr. Peabody and Sherman: C+
135. Only Lovers Left Alive: C+
134. No No: A Dockumentary: C+
133. Advanced Style: C+
132. Half a Yellow Sun: C+
131. Ida: C+
130. Knights of Badassery: C+
129. Burt’s Buzz: C+
128. A Night in Old Mexico: C+
127. Nas: Time is Illmatic: C+
126. Korengal: C+
125. Exodus: C+
124. Le Weekend: C+
123. Teenage: C+
122. A Million Ways to Die in the West: C+
121. The Theory of Everything: C+…A poor representation of a great man, one that will leave audiences knowing just as much about his wife’s faith than his own scientific discoveries.
120. This is Where I Leave You: C+
119. The Fault in Our Stars: C+
118. Begin Again: C+
117. The Maze Runner: C+
116. The Trip to Italy: C+
115. Fury: C+
114. Love Child: C+
113. The Boys of Abu Ghraib: C+
112. Divergent: C+
111. Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia: B-
110. Godzilla: B-
109. The Unknown Known: B-
108. The Purge 2: Anarchy: B-
107. The Wind Rises: B-
106. Trials of Pamela Smart: B-
105. Hank: 5 Years From the Brink: B-
104. The Boxtrolls: B-
103. The Drop: B-
102. It Felt Like Love: B-
101. The Test: B-
100. Captain America 2: Winter Soldier: B-
99. Xingu: B-
98. Child’s Pose: B-
97. At Middleton: B-
96. Blue Ruin: B-
95. Jimmy P. : B-
94. Breathe In: B-
93. No God, No Master: B-
92. The Last Passenger: B-
91. Young and Beautiful: B-
90. Rosewater: B-
89. The Galapagos Affair: B-
88. Glena: B-
87. Two Lives: B-
86. How to Train Your Dragon 2: B-
85. Million Dollar Arm: B-
84. The Missing Picture: B-
83. Bad Words: B-
82. Big Hero 6: B
81. Penguins of Madagascar B…Just a little bit better than Big Hero 6 by maybe a millimeter or so
80. Mission Blue: B
79. Big Eyes: B
78. The Case Against 8: B
77. Death Defying Acts: B
76. The Normal Heart: B
75. Marmato: B
74. Grand Piano: B
73. Transcendence: B…The most misunderstood movie of the year and made quite a few “worst” lists…
72. The Giver: B…The second most misunderstood movie of the year…
71. Men, Women, Children: B…See where I’m going with this? This is the first film to really capture how important online relationships can become, and it was also one of the most unfairly panned movies this year.
70. Guardians of the Galaxy: B…Followed by one of the most unfairly praised movies this year. It’s not a bad movie at all, but it’s also not worth putting on all those 10 best of the year lists, and Marvel fans are screeching it should win best picture while feeling like they’re somehow hipper than critics for picking such an “offbeat” choice. This is the highest grossing film of the year and people are acting like they’re picking something different in loving this film, itself a not-exactly-original-mashup of various 80’s movies.
69. Muppets Most Wanted: B
68. The Face of Love: B
67. Omar: B
66. Noah: B…The best of the Biblical movies this year, by far
65. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me: B
64. Lucy: B
63. Trust Me: B
62. Ivory Coast: B
61. Hunger Games 3: B…This is the least satisfying film of the series, but major points for being a mega-blockbuster for teenagers that’s (essentially) about a propaganda war
60. Private Violence: B
59. Altman: B
58. 22 Jump Street: B
57. Neighbors: B
56. Cesar Chavez: B
55. Hobbit 3: B
54. A Walk Among the Tombstones: B…Could have been a standard Liam Neeson thriller, but is much sharper than you’d expect
53. Mistaken for Strangers: B…One of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen on brothers, just too bad the music keeps getting in the way since it’s technically a concert film
52. The Good Lie: B
51. John Wick: B
50. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: B
49. Gone Girl: B…Read the book or at least read it first
48. CitizenFour: B+…Edward Snowden is like a thin Seth Rogen crossed with a young Steve Jobs, and makes the most surprisingly solid leading man in a documentary this year.
47. Tim’s Vermeer: B+
46. Banksy Does NY: B+
45. Bethlehem: B+…Just a little bit better (to me) than Omar
44. Hello Ladies: The Movie: B+
43. Draft Day: B+
42. Journey to the West: B+
41. Small Time: B+…The best movie that I almost didn’t watch because I was so sure it’d be direct-to-DVD bad
40. A Birder’s Guide to Everything: B+
39. The Immigrant: B+
38. Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache: B+
37. Print the Legend: B+
36. The One I Love: B+
35. The Book of Life: B+
34. Maidentrip: B+
33. Obvious Child: B+
32. Edge of Tomorrow: B+
31. Dom Hemingway: B+
30. Nixon on Nixon: B+
29. Citizen Koch: B+
28. Chef: B+
27. Firestone and the Warlord: A-…This is sort-of cheating since it’s a “Frontline” special, but it’s the best doc on PBS I saw this year. [Also good: “Getting Back to Abnormal” about a New Orleans city council contest that divides amongst racial lines.]
26. The Retrieval: A-
25. Whitey: The United States Vs. James J. Bulger: A-…It’s as much about how the supposedly “corrupt” FBI agent was railroaded by a bureau that not only knew about, but condoned his relationship with Bulger.
24. The Newburgh Sting: A-…Interesting and scary documentary about how the War on Drugs might one day be replaced with the War on Terror in locking up black men in this example of a security apparatus that was so desperate for terrorists, they practically made up some.
23. All About Ann: A-…A great doc about a great lady
22. DamNation: A-…I know a documentary about Dams doesn’t sound like riveting stuff, so this is all the more impressive for being good. The five minutes on genetically cloned (i.e. “incestuous and retarded”) fishery salmon is the most entertaining ecological warning I’ve seen all year.
The Top Twenty…By All Means, See These Films
20. [Tie] “Wild” and “Bears”…One is about a heroine trying to trek her way out of a dangerous and confusing place, and the other stars Reese Witherspoon. “Wild” is as much about self-exploration as venturing out—and that’s thrilling—but the mother bear in “Bears” trying to save her two cubs from starvation, avalanches, and predatory older male bears that will eat her cubs if they can? It’s the most involving survival story of the year.
19. The Interview…It’s not perfect, but part of me was going to put this in the top no matter what because I’ll be damned if I let anyone make Hollywood even more afraid of political movies. It also helps that the movie itself is actually pretty good—-much better than the overly negative reviews suggest, where was all that nitpicky due diligence when the same critics were giving out blanket passes to Top Five? The Interview’s version of Kim Jong Un is actually more sympathetic and three dimensional than what we know of the man himself, and this is easily the most relevant big studio comedy since “The Campaign.”
18. A Most Wanted Man…The first film that really gets across the nuts-and-bolts of spy work, a lot of which is about as interesting as a desk job. Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s last great performance is a slow burn case study in middle-management suspicion, his veteran spymaster is comparable to any officer manager who’s tired of having his best ideas stolen by flashier bosses or, in this case, his best assets compromised.
17. The Grand Budapest Hotel…Wes Anderson’s best film after “Rushmore” and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a wild, near-fairytale fable that deftly combines a prison break, an art heist, a shoot out, nazi-lite thugs, and a bunch of other things I never thought I’d see in a Wes Anderson movie. And Ralph Fiennes is a natural comic star? Who knew?
16. The Lego Movie…I would have also never thought I’d catch a toy-based movie that’s better than anything Pixar’s been up to in ages. This is the most slyly satirical film I saw all year, lampooning the generic-ness of what’s popular now without a lot of the audience even knowing it. [Hint: “Everything is awesome” doesn’t mean what you think it means.] By the time we get to the film’s big “twist,” it’s become an allegory for an adult world that keeps telling kids to be “creative”…but just in a way that isn’t too “different.”
15. Fed Up…It changed the way I ate…for about 5 minutes. Now that it’s New Year’s Day, I can’t think of a better film to help scare you into your diet.
14. Jodorowsky’s Dune…A documentary about a movie that never got made may sound boring but this doc is mesmerizing. You can’t help but think how much different (and less generic) modern science fiction would be if this film had been made when it was supposed to be. I only wish I had more room in my top ten, because this definitely deserves to be in it.
12. [Tie] “Nightcrawler” and “Kill the Messenger”…Two very different films about very different types of journalism. Nightcrawler’s Lou Bloom may be the scariest leading character of the year. He’s a sociopathic crime videographer who speaks in the self-help business-isms of a guy who thinks filming murders is an exciting entrepreneurial endeavor. The film’s message isn’t subtle—the media has long ago crossed the line from informing people of violence into filling their appetite for it—but Jake Gyllenhaal deserves an oscar nomination for symbolizing that message. Then there’s the underrated “Kill the Messenger,” about the real-life reporter (played by Renner) who exposed the story that the CIA aided drug traffickers in the 80’s to raise money for anti-Communist rebels. The best of the second film is in seeing how other journalists turned on Renner rather than helped report his story, exposing the collusion between big government and big media.
10. [Tie] “Virunga” and “Big Men”…Documentaries that showcase the collusion between foreign corporations and weak African governments. “Big Men” in particular digs deep into the revelatory idea that the every-man-for-himself model for African governance isn’t really different than the greed-is-good-and-companies-are-supposed-to-be-selfish philosophy that has begun to drive America’s economy.
9. Metro Manila…A deceptively simple and under-the-radar gem about a struggling Filipino farmer who moves his wife and kids to metro Manila, a city with more people than dollars. It’s the best film I’ve seen at capturing how overcrowding and poverty can foster so much competition for such basic resources that it can turn anyone into a predator. It starts slow, but the ending—what does it really mean for your family to have a better life?—is a stunner.
8. Foxcatcher…By now this film is underrated since most of the praises (and there’s not as many as there should be) center around Steve Carell’s career-changing performance but not much for the film itself. It’s true that Carell is a revelation, displaying a spooky darkness you didn’t know he had in him, but his vampiric one-percenter would look awfully lonely up there without Channing Tatum’s equally surprising depth as a brooding, overshadowed wrestler and the excellence of the film itself. It’s the first sports movie I’ve really seen that’s an allegory for the way the rich use the poor for sport.
7. Snowpiercer…So many people have said “you gotta see this film” (I even called it the “Next Big Cult Hit”) that I’ve noticed some people are taking delight in trashing it. That’s the problem with being a sleeper hit: you eventually get big enough to draw in people determined to sour the hype. Well what I loved about Snowpiercer was Tilda Swinton’s gonzo performance as a mild-mannered fascist who’s equal parts general and office manager and Captain America himself playing the starving proletariat hero of a class revolt and the terrific train car designs that immerse you in the most fully created world since the first Matrix movie. All this plus a darkly truthful twist ending about how even revolutions are a part of the program? I think I’ll stick to liking this.
5. [Tie] “Interstellar” and “Particle Fever”…Two terrific science driven films, one of which you’ve probably never heard of and the other of which you’ve probably (and wrongly) heard is a disappointment. “Particle Fever” is a documentary about the top physicists at CERN conducting experiments with a Large Hadron Collider to try to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang and find that ever-illusive “God particle.” It hooks you with the promise of being there at the dawn of something Earth-changing.
And “Interstellar” is anything but a disappointment, and I’m still not sure how a film that combines the seamless grandeur of “Gravity,” the slingshot inventiveness of Arthur C. Clarke, and more ideas than all of this summer’s blockbusters combined could be considered a disappointment. Plus, I found myself more moved by this than any film Christopher Nolan has ever made, especially in the scene where McConaughey watches his children grow 20 years in a few hours of video messages or in the idea that love may actually be a highly evolved survival mechanism to keep us from the certain doom of only trying to “save” our own skin.
4. Life Itself…The best documentary (for me) of the year proves that Roger Ebert didn’t just review great movies, he lived one. How great is a life spent at the movies? It turns out, more interesting than a life spent just about anywhere else.
2. [Tie] “Whiplash” and “Birdman”…Two terrific films about what it means to push past mediocrity into greatness. Birdman has received some detractors for its use of flowing steadicam shots that make it look like one long take, but that’s all part of the magic since Riggan Thompson’s “real life” is now inseparable from a performance. As a former superhero trying to reinvent himself as a serious actor, Michael Keaton has a desperate ferocity that takes an existential crisis and makes it tangible. You can feel why it’s so important for Riggan to prove himself, and exactly what it’ll mean if he can’t. The same could be said for a comeback-ready Keaton, and this is his first performance where I felt like he wasn’t hiding. He finds a strange empowerment in being vulnerable, and by the end of “Birdman” I felt I finally knew him.
“Whiplash” is just as good, but slightly more under-the-radar. It’s about the duel between a tyrannical music instructor (J.K. Simmons as a live-wire rattlesnake, by turns sympathetic and sinister but always excellent) and a promising drummer, and to say any more would spoil the many surprises in this film about what it means to be the best at something. The final scene is the best one I’ve seen all year: funny, thrilling, tense, joyful, and ending on a moment that is as close to movie nirvana as you’re likely to get.
1. “Boyhood”…It says something about how much this film moved me that I’m putting it above “Whiplash” and “Birdman.” It’s not as fast moving or building as those films, and any film shot over 12 years is bound to have some pacing issues. But what it does is capture a specific time and place so perfectly that I could point to this film as the way it was to grow up in 00’s suburbs or rural areas. Every single detail from a haircut to a song choice brought me right back so completely, this could really be a cultural artifact they play in the Smithsonian. There are moments that plug you right into what it’s like to be at the table with an abusive adult (tense to breathe) or go to a baseball game with your dad or have a lifeless high school job. The last twenty minutes—from his final talk with his dad (Ethan Hawke, in a career best performance) to his mom (Patricia Arquette, ditto) sending him off to college while realizing deep truths about her own life to maybe meeting a girl that’s more “on his wavelength”—and whether you are moved by them is a good test to see if someone is made of stone or someone worth knowing.
Worst to the best! Impressive review of many, many movies from 2014. Thanks for the review. I have not seen as many movies as I should have but I will be sure to catch more
Wow! Good job. Glad you liked The Wind Rises! Go Studio Ghibli.
I loved Snowpiercer it took me about 30 minutes into the movie to realize it was Captain America and that was only because of the way he walked into the kitchen. I thought wait a minute I know that walk, and then No!
You were super kind this year Pompeii should have gotten an F-
Thanks awesome list.
WOW! Very impressive!