50 Best Films of 2014 - #40 - #31

Moving on to my next ten favorite films of 2014, #40 through #31.

40. Coherence

A delicious low budget slice of science fiction, Coherence takes a really cool concept and executes it very well. I will say no more because I don't want to spoil the fun of the film, as I found not knowing what to expect to be the very essence of why it works so well.

39. Still Alice

A very good film featuring a breathtaking and devastating performance by Julianne Moore. As hard as the content of Still Alice is to swallow, you owe it to yourself to sit down and watch the very definition of what makes acting an art form. I keep on saying it, over and over and over: just give her the damn trophy already.

38. Force Majeure

A very simple concept done fascinatingly well, Force Majeure examines a husband making a split second decision and the ramifications of it being deemed the wrong one by his wife. This one is sure to lead to some interesting conversations between spouses after seeing it, as you can't help but wonder...what would they do in the same situation?

37. Locke

Minimalist cinema done so, so well, Locke takes place entirely inside the car of a man as he drives. Sounds boring, right? Thanks to the performance of Tom Hardy, and the creative decision to let the man carry the film with his amazing talent, Locke is surprisingly riveting stuff, and the more you learn about where he is headed and the pressure he is under, it's impossible to look away.

36. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

While not quite as excellent as the second installment, Catching Fire, it is unfair to hold it to such lofty standards. Mockingjay Part 1 is still a very well made movie and one that leads beautifully into the highly anticipated final chapter, due out later in 2015. I was pessimistic about the choice to split the third book into two films, and obviously the decision was financial motivated more than a creative necessity, but I was surprised to find that there was very little fat to trim off these bones. While I'm sure sequences could have been cut, the film still flowed with ease and there is plenty to look forward to in Part 2.

35. Tangerines

Excited to include some Estonian cinema on my list, and Tangerines is a worthy choice. This is a film driven by the amazing performances from the entire ensemble, and I honestly think it would work just as well as a stage play because I could watch these quiet yet intense conversations over and over and never be bored. 

34. A Most Violent Year

J.C. Chandor strikes again with another winner, as expected when a gifted filmmaker casts the amazing Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain to play the two key roles in the movie. A Most Violent Year is a tense, exquisitely crafted work.

33. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I am more than willing to admit when I am wrong, and my skepticism about Dawn of the Planet of the Apes proved to be misguided. I really believed a sequel to the surprisingly good Rise of the Planet of the Apes seemed like it had no chance to work, but not only did it work, it was a step up from the previous film in every way.

32. Starred Up

I love when a film that I never anticipated sneaks up and shocks me due to its high quality. Starred Up did just that, a movie about a father and son both serving time in the same prison and the charged, dangerous dynamic such a thing would cause. Jack O'Connell was good in the otherwise cringe worthy film Unbroken, but this was his breakout role of the year. 

31. Godzilla

I'm a sucker for big blockbusters involving giant, awesome monsters. Godzilla very clearly fits that bill, and while the performances along with any attempt to develop a meaningful human character came up flat, it didn't matter in the end because everything else kicked so much ass. Some of the set pieces are breathtaking and the musical score of Alexandre Desplat perfectly suited the film, leading to some sequences that were flat out amazing to experience on the biggest screen in town.

Another ten down, into the top 30 we will go soon. The image above is from a film that will appear on the next list.

My Unofficial 20 Favorite Films of 2014 - #20 - #11

It's that time of the year when the best of 2014 lists come flying in from every direction, but I actually typically don't post mine just yet. My tradition is to make the previous year official on the day of the Oscars, as that gives me the first two months of the new year to catch up on films I am yet to see. While I have managed to watch 90 movies released in 2014 already, there are still so many more that I need to make sure to catch before I can really feel good about what I claim to be my favorites. Films like American Sniper, Into the Woods, Inherent Vice, Foxcatcher, Selma, A Most Violent Year, Wild, Whiplash, The Imitation Game and more, so many works receiving tons of praise that I must witness before my 2014 wraps up.

That being said, why not release an unofficial best of list now?

These are my the first ten of my current twenty favorite films of 2014:


20. Godzilla

My Review of Godzilla


Is it a flawless film? Of course not, but the pacing, the musical score by Alexandre Desplat, the confident direction by Gareth Edwards, and the jaw dropping visual effects all combined to make this a blast at the theater way back in May.


19. The Fault in Our Stars

My Review of The Fault in Our Stars


As a thirty year old man, I was apparently not the target audience of this film. As I always say though, there are no bad genres, only bad films, and The Fault in Our Stars is not one of them. I refuse to write off something for being a "chick flick" before I even get a chance to see it, and this hit so many wonderful notes for me and made me weep openly in the theater that day.


18. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

My Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes


I was extremely pessimistic about a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes as I thought the progression of the apes would prove to be silly. I am so glad I was proven wrong. Exciting action and excellent storytelling, not only was this a worthy second installment into the rebooted franchise, it turned out to be a rather large step up from the first in every way.


17. The Guest

My Review of The Guest


The 2014 film I most recently watched and I was surprised to find it entering my top 20 films of the year, but this fantastic genre film was a total blast and the final fifteen or so minutes were possibly the most entertaining of anything I have seen all year.


16. X-Men: Days of Future Past

My Review of X-Men: Days of Future Past


Another film that I admit I was pessimistic about in advance, as I thought it would be too crowded, a movie trying to do too much and thus it would succumb to its lofty ambitions. Again, glad to be proved wrong. I actually just revisited this on Blu-ray the other night and everything I loved about it in the theater held up just fine at home. A smart, stylish, entertaining film.


15. Enemy

My Review of Enemy


Last year the film Prisoners was my #2 of the year, a gritty, dark and disturbing thriller that had me truly riveted from start to finish. While not quite reaching those heights in 2014, director Denis Villeneuve is back again with his new film Enemy, a confounding and original work that made me literally yell out loud at the end, and then scratch my head as I wondered what I just saw. I am still not entirely sure, but I know it is great.


14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

After a down year in 2013 for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I was hoping my boy Captain America would bring the intelligence and excitement back, with a little less focus on absurd humor and more on a solid script and some kick ass action. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was just what the doctor ordered, essentially a fantastically crafted spy thriller that so happens to have a superhero in it.


13. Under the Skin

My Review of Under the Skin


When I finished watched Under the Skin, the first thing I thought was "What the hell?!" but I had a pretty big smile on my face because I meant it in a very positive way. A truly bizarre experience, but the themes are pretty apparent and meaningful and I appreciated the way it was handled. Seriously though, some of the imagery seen here will keep you up at night. Some truly weird crap, without a doubt, and I loved it.


12. Blue Ruin

My Review of Blue Ruin


I thought I had Blue Ruin pegged from the get-go. I assumed it would go down a rather predictable path, but then something happened that surprised me: exactly what I thought would happen did...except all in the first act of the film. So much story to tell and I had no idea what to expect next. A smart revenge flick that keeps you on your toes until the very end.


11. Life Itself

My Review of Life Itself




Growing up, there was no Rottentomatoes or Metacritic to go to for every review you could imagine. I found my film criticism from two places: the Chicago Sun-Times, where I quickly flipped through in search of the written words of Roger Ebert, and also the television program Siskel and Ebert. I greatly admired Roger for his passionate love for film and the fact that he was able to create a connection with his readers and viewers by never seeming like he knew more than you. He wrote so that you would understand why he felt the way he did, and after you finished reading you truly were persuaded to either see or skip the film being reviewed.

Life Itself is hard to watch at times because it follows Roger to the very end and focuses on the good and the bad, but it is a remarkable tribute to the life of a great man.

My next list will be my current top ten of the year. Happy New Year everyone, here's to a hopefully great 2015.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Review

Prior to the release of the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I had essentially zero interest in the Ape franchise. No desire to go back and see the films of the past and no desire to witness anything yet to come, it simply didn't register on my radar with even the faintest blip. That changed after I caught wind of the positive reactions to that reboot film released three years ago, but even that shift was a rather begrudging one, more of a "Alright, I guess I will check it out" rather than a race to find it with eager anticipation.

Much to my surprise, I found myself delightfully entertained and engrossed and emotionally invested in that first film, yet still my pessimism reared its ugly head when the movie concluded and I immediately expressed my doubts about a sequel. Sure, it was fascinating and rather moving to see the early days of Caesar as he interacts with his human family, and the beginning of the ape uprising was exciting cinema, but the whole fleet of intelligent apes with the ability to speak throughout an entire film was sure to be cheesy and a let down, right?

Wrong.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a superior effort to the 2011 franchise reboot in every way, and I believe its existence will make Rise of the Planet of the Apes a better film as well. The story has been built up bigger than I imagined, the scope of the franchise has skyrocketed, and the development of Caesar and his conflicted emotional connection to humanity makes knowing where he came from and how it all began all the more important. After a brief montage of news footage showing the downfall of civilization due to the ALZ-113 virus, we are reintroduced to Caesar and the community of advanced apes he leads located in the Muir Woods. As far as they are concerned, the human race has officially become extinct as they discuss the last time they even caught a glimpse of the species, but that all changes when they encounter a small group of survivors lead by a man named Malcolm (Jason Clarke).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is an absurdly smart, meaningful film that has an allegorical message to send, but it never feels like it takes itself too seriously or delivers the themes too heavily for the summer blockbuster that it is. What's clear here is that behind the cinematic war between man and ape we have a film addressing the concept of racial divide and the extensive damage such a thing can do, and the aspect that was handled beautifully and thus allows those themes to really resonate is the incredible character development on both sides of the aisle. Director Matt Reeves was given a script to work with that is never biased towards man nor ape, showcasing that on both sides of the war you will find good, those that are willing to learn to trust each other and work towards peace, and you will find evil, those that refuse to accept anything outside of their own, anything unfamiliar, and would rather spill blood than work at finding common ground.

The most powerful thing for me with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was when I realized that the line between a human being and an ape had been completely blurred, that I no longer looked at either one differently in any way after I entered the experience worrying that the idea of them speaking might come across as silly. Both Caesar and Malcolm deal with the struggles of leading personalities that conflict with their own. They both have families to protect and deal with the pain and bliss that accompanies love, and while characters across this film from either species look different from one another on the exterior, in their eyes I saw the same thing: a soul. 

By the time the final frame went black, I couldn't believe I ever had doubts. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a thrilling blockbuster, one that you absolutely should not miss.

4.5/5