Reid’s Top Ten Movies of 2014 (That I Saw)
These are my favorite movies this year. I didn’t get a chance to see everything and obviously this is but my humble opinion. If you disagree, that is also your opinion. We all connect with movies on different levels. I have a laundry list of great movies I saw this year and many great ones were cut, but this is what I believe to be my favorites.
The Close But No Cigar Award goes to The Wind Rises. Kudos to Miyazaki on an incredible, beautifully animated passion project that serves as his last feature film. You have given the world more than we could ask for.
Honorable Mentions go to Oculus, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Interview, Obvious Child, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and 22 Jump Street.
Other random awards will be given out at the end.
10. X-Men: Days of Future Past
This is the only movie this far down on the list that I saw twice, and that’s a testament to everything else on here and this movie alike. DoFP was the perfect sequel to First Class. It took the new actors we loved and mixed them with the old ones we loved in an absolutely awesome superhero movie. It also happened to include one of the best scenes of the year, mixing a beautiful song with cool, funny gags.
9. The Babadook
Most people have no clue what this movie is, and that’s perfect. I’ve become an avid horror fan over the past couple years and I’ve learned to love well-done horror movies. The Babadook is one of them. It centers around a mother and her child who read a book and are subsequently haunted by the monster depicted in the story. The Babadook relies on tension, mood, and acting to keep the movie scary. There are no jump scares to be found here. If you like horror movies, find a way to see this gem.
8. Boyhood
Linklater took on an enormous responsibility with this movie that could have so easily turned out terribly, but turned into something beautiful. Boyhood hits hard for people around my age and the generation two before me because it takes place exactly at the same time that I grew up. The movie is dauntingly long, but necessarily so in order to tell the story of something so simple, yet so incredible. Boyhood was the diary we all wished we wrote.
7. Edge of Tomorrow
Thank God this movie was awesome. I was behind it ever since I saw the first trailer, but I knew in my heart that it could have turned out to be a trainwreck. Tom Cruise is basically a video game character who continues to respawn at the beginning of the day every time he dies. The movie is an absolute blast and just so damn cool. Tom Cruise proved that he still has the ability and the the talent to make a great action movie even at 50 years old.
6. Birdman
So far, this movie has struggled to find an audience, but that’s understandable considering it appeals to two people: movie geeks and theater people. I’m lucky enough to fall into both of those categories. Michael Keaton is a washed up Hollywood actor who turns to a self-written, self-produced, and self-starring broadway play to save his integrity as an actor. The acting here is brilliant from all who are involved and the movie never lets up. It’s a trip that you don’t want to end.
5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (damn these long titles) was a really cool movie that has started something awesome. Dawn was something I was excited to see, but once it started, I thought I knew where it was going. I was wrong. Dawn subverted my every expectation and even through the bad human characters made up for it so much that I cannot wait for the next movie. This new franchise is full of life, wit, and damn dirty apes.
4. The Theory of Everything
One of few movies this year that I grew to enjoy the more I thought about it, The Theory of Everything had my favorite performance this year. Eddie Redmayne turns in an absolutely phenomenal performance as Stephen Hawking in what is now my favorite biopic. The physicality that Redmayne takes on and embraces is so well-done and fascinating. The film is heartfelt and beautiful and somehow continually interesting without. I love this movie.
3. Gone Girl
The best part about this movie is that, if you haven’t read the book, you see nothing coming. I can’t talk much about the movie without spoiling stuff, but I had my eyes and mind glued to the screen for over two hours racking my brain trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Stellar performances from Affleck and Pike make this movie an absolute must see for anyone who loves a good mystery.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
Everyone has seen this movie by now, so there’s no point in me praising its sheer awesomeness. It came out of nowhere, it took the world by surprise, and it gave not just Parks and Rec fans an appreciation for Chris Pratt. GotG puts faith in me that Marvel can do no wrong, which will hopefully come true in the near future.
1. The Lego Movie
If you’ve talked to me at all since February, you might have seen this coming. I’ve seen this movie four times already and I’m not going to stop anytime soon. This film stole my heart from my very first viewing and has no intentions of giving it back. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoy the amount of love, care, and excitement that both went into the movie and came out of it. This is one movie that I have no qualms about putting at the top of my list, in fact, it was there ten months ago.
I saw a lot of stuff this year which means that I feel the small need to talk about a couple more things through some snide awards.
Most Potential goes to Interstellar. I loved this movie so much just up until the end of it. It prided itself on scientific accuracy and legitimacy until something happened. It’s a beautiful movie with stunning visuals that had a point where I literally crossed my arms and pulled my legs up into my seat while I muttered, “Why, God, why?”
Most Disappointing goes to Top 5. I don’t know why, but this movie has some of the best reviews of the year. I went on the pretense of such lauding and came out sorely, well, disappointed. It makes far too many indie movie blunders and mistakes overly sexual raunchiness for humor. It dragged on, both the bad jokes and the movie, only to have a small handful of moments which I enjoyed.
The “Am I Wrong?” award goes to The Grand Budapest Hotel. Everyone I talk to praises this movie to no end, and I had a fun time and all, but I just didn't enjoy it that much. I applaud Wes Anderson for his slight stray from the usual more quaint, smaller story, but I don't think he succeeded. Too many characters with too many settings with too much to do just made it feel scattered unlike the focused Anderson I’m used to. But hey, maybe I’m wrong.
If you’re curious as to the rest of the movies that were considered for my top ten, here they are: Big Hero 6, Chef, The Fault in Our Stars, Frank, Neighbors, Snowpiercer, Wish I Was Here.
Shout out to my least favorite movie I saw this year, Maleficent. Sure, I saw movies worse than this, but this movie just makes me mad. I saw other stuff that I was expecting to fail, but Maleficent was just a heap of bad. The design is the only thing that stands out in a movie filled with plot holes, hypocrisy, unfunny “funny” parts, and straight up boredom. I’m sad it wasn't better, but I just can’t help but think back and despise this movie.
