Yeah, I know the year isn’t over and, yeah, I know that there is still a month’s worth of movies to come out, but this is our last publication of the year. So, this is what I will call my tentative top 10 movies of 2014.
1.Fury:
David Ayer’s action/drama movie centers on Wardaddy (Brad Pitt), a brutal tank commander who is leading a group of ragtag misfits through Nazi Germany at the tail end of the war. Packed with great performances and startling visuals, Fury stands as a triumph in a year, thus far, filled with forgettable cinematic fair.
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel:
Writer/director Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is the story of M. Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), the manager of an elegant hotel in an unnamed European country who finds himself, alongside his trusty lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori), caught up in an art heist. Certainly one of the most touching and funniest films of the year, The Grand Budapest Hotel provided me with a certain kind of joy that went unmatched this whole year.
3. Lone Survivor:
Unlike Fury, this war film actually happened and is a stark retelling of how Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and his team tried to make it out of a firefight with the Taliban while being outmanned and outgunned. Director Peter Berg has made a film that pays tribute to the men who were lost in battle and while some may call this film propaganda, I call it vastly entertaining, engrossing and one of the best films of the year.
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4. Guardians of the Galaxy:
At the end of last year, if you told me a movie featuring a talking tree-man and a talking raccoon would be one of the best of 2014, I’d have said you were out of your mind.
Yet here we are. James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a playful action movie that delivers a cheeky take on the space opera. Featuring a great cast (Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace Benicio Del Toro, John C. Reilly, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel) and a smart script, Guardians of the Galaxy was the hit of the summer.
5. Jersey Boys:
Perhaps the most surprising entry on my list, Clint Eastwood’s critically-mixed take on the hit Broadway musical was actually one of the most pleasant experiences I had at the movies this year. The film tells the story of Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young, reprising his Tony-winning role) and his friends from the old neighborhood and how they abandoned likely criminal careers to become vocal sensations.
The first act of the movie is a bit too crammed with plot, but when the songs start rolling it’s hard not to get caught up in the music.
6. Tusk:
When I saw this movie at the theater, my girlfriend and I were the only two people. The plot of Kevin Smith’s twisted tale of a podcaster (Justin Long) who finds himself in the clutches of a devious killer (Michael Parks) who plans to turn him into a human-walrus is as gonzo as it sounds. It’s the most memorable horror film of the year and one of the most bizarre dark comedies I’ve ever seen. There’s even a surprise cameo by a big star to boot.
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier:
One of the best Marvel films since The Avengers, this picture almost feels more like a conspiracy drama (think JFK with more explosions) than a comic book movie. This time, Captain America (Chris Evans) finds himself running from evil G-men and must team with the Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and the Falcon (a perfectly cast Anthony Mackie) to take them down.
8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes:
Andy Serkis returns in top CGI form as Caesar, the first ape with the intelligence of a human who is leading a tribe of apes to survive in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco. Jason Clarke is a human looking to bridge the gap between man and ape. Incredibly engaging and well crafted, this was one of the summer’s biggest and best blockbusters.
9. Boyhood:
The story behind the production of Richard Linklater’s blockbuster is almost more interesting than the film itself. Writer/director Linklater shot the film once a year for 12 years with the same actors, tracking the character Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from age six to age 18. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette are incredible as Mason’s divorced parents.
10. Enemy:
What’s better than one Jake Gyllenhaal? Two Jake Gyllenhaals. In this under-seen indie gem, Gyllenhaal plays a history teacher who discovers he has a doppelganger – a third-rate actor with a pregnant wife. When the two meet and become involved in each other’s lives, havoc ensues.
This film plays like a Hitchcockian relationship thriller (a la Strangers on a Train) through the lens of an avant-garde surrealist drama.
Brian Laughran
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