This was a very hard list to order. Unlike the past few years, there was no obvious top tier of movies. I'd argue that I like the strength of my top 20 movies in 2014 more than in years past, but the top five don't separate themselves from the rest. I kind of scrambled to see a lot of movies late on the off chance that a surprise best movie would be among the end of the year releases. None were at that level, but with all this movies still so fresh in my mind, there's sure to be some recency bias clouding things. What I'm trying to say is that, while I really like my top 10 and top 20, I could very well want to swap some of the positions tomorrow.
Before I begin, I'd like to explain the list real quick. I've ordered everything I saw released in 2014 from best to worst by my own opinion (Mainly by asking myself "What would I most regret having not seen?). I've divided them up in 4 groups: Top 10, Next Top 10, Bottom 10, and Everything In Between.
2013 Edition
2012 Edition
2011 Edition
Top 10
1. NeighborsI love comedies and I'm a sucker for a specific brand of them. After several times tearing apart and rebuilding my top ten, I kept coming back to this, stopping myself from picking it because it's not a movie snob pick. You know what? I don't care. Neighbors is a tightly efficient comedy. The cast is great, the jokes are funny, the premise is simple. Throw in a solid message about the fear of growing up (a sort of meta commentary on the whole Apatow man-child genre of comedy) and I can't find a reason not to have this top my list of 2014.
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
I'm a sucker for a smart movie with a $100 million budget. As a sequel to a remake of a SciFi franchise, there's no reason for Dawn to be as good as it is. Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell are stellar as the apes and Gary Oldham, Jason Clarke, and Keri Russell aren't so bad as humans. If every blockbuster could be this smart then people wouldn't be so down on the Hollywood system.
3. Nightcrawler
No movie this year left me saying "Holy fuck" the way that Nightcrawler did. Already a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, I was floored by his performance here as Louis Bloom. It is dark and intense and complex. I don't remember the last time Rene Russo was this good either. This has been the movie most in danger of me over-hyping it for people because I so completely fell for it.
4. Gone Girl
This thriller turned comedy was one of my biggest delights in the fall. Ben Affleck uses his Ben Affleck-ness perfectly here and Rosamund Pike is a revelation. For god's sake, it got me to like Tyler Perry. That alone is top 20 worthy.
5. Whiplash
Miles Teller and especially J.K. Simmons are great in this. It has the best third act of any movie I saw this year and the best final shot I've seen in even longer. Few movies do as good a job depicting hard work and dedication in service of greatness.
6. Oculus
This is smart horror in which the leads are smart and capable. There's no going down dark hallways or pointlessly splitting up. This is battling a force of evil that is more powerful than you. I now have a slight fear of mirrors at night and I have to credit that to Oculus.
7. 22 Jump Street
After the assault on the Hollywood reboot cycle that was 21 Jump Street, I shouldn't've expected any less from 22 Jump Street about needless sequels. This is the best example this year of having your cake and eating it too by joking about the very tropes it uses. Oh, and Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are still a hilarious duo and Ice Cube gets the year's best buffet-related outburst.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy
The movie that finally let the rest of the world know that Chris Pratt is great. It's pretty incredible that Marvel is able to take a modestly known comic, make it into a fun and entertaining movie, and have the biggest hit of the year. I won't say that they can do know wrong, but they've certainly earned a longer leash.
9. The Interview
It's the most controversial movie of the year, but lost in the discussion is that it's a very funny movie. I've loved the Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg collaborations since Superbad and while this isn't their best work (tough competition there), it maintains my excitement to see what they do next.
10. Birdman
A nifty movie with a lot of great performances. Michael Keaton is better than ever. Edward Norton reminds me that he should be one of the most revered actors in Hollywood. Emma Stone is still someone I'm always happy to see. The continuous take effect is a gimmick, but a cool one that never got old.
Next Top 10
The Imitation Game
Oscar-baity in all the right ways. Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley are at their finest. The movie proves that there's still a couple new angles left for World War II movies.
The LEGO Movie
It gave me "Everything is Awesome". Isn't that enough.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The climax of this was the closest I can to jumping out of my seat and cheering all year.
Under the Skin
I hate to say it, but it really does get under your skin. I haven't been able to shake it or Scarlett Johansson since seeing it.
Top Five
Finally, a good Chris Rock movie. It's been far too long.
Interstellar
The ambition exceeded the final product. I still think seeing it again will improve my opinion of it.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
For this to be the lesser of the Marvel movies this year says more about Guardians than reflects poorly on this.
Wild
Who knew that watch Reese Witherspoon hike would be this engaging.
Boyhood
I appreciated the experiment of it all more than the final product.
Edge of Tomorrow
A high concept, original, big budget, star-vehicle summer movie. Such a thing does still exist. Word of mouth has been deservedly very kind to it.
Everything In Between
Felicity Jones is great at these loves stories that don't end well.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
It's still Middle Earth so it's not going to fall too far, no matter how unsubstantial the movie.
Foxcatcher
Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo are all great. The movie is dark and a little oppressive.
Happy Christmas
It's short and has Anna Kendrick and Lena Dunham. I liked this the way I liked Drinking Buddies.
The Fault in our Stars
Sometimes you need a good cry, or in the case of this movie, about a dozen.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
I'm a sucker for this franchise even still. This too gets bonus points for being the first movie I ever saw where I was the only person in the theater.
Into the Woods
A fun movie but a lot of the musical numbers were a bit underwhelming.
Big Hero 6
Marvel meets Disney Animation. I can't wait to see a Baymax at Disney World.
Unbroken
I get the feeling that the people making the movie thought they were making something much more significant than it was.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Very impressive as a work of franchise course correction. The movie itself was only meh.
The Drop
A very simple movie with an effective climax, but mostly, it has Tom Hardy with a puppy.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
I wish I liked Wes Anderson more. This is a technically accomplished movie. I was disengaged by the style and tone of it.
Knights of Badassdom
I respect movies that are unapologetically what they are. Knights of Badassdom. That's a mission statement, not a title.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Until I see the conclusion, I can't put this any higher.
Divergent
Is there any doubt left that Shailene Woodley is a star?
The Equalizer
Sometimes, you just want to see a movie about Denzel Washington killing everyone. And I mean EVERYONE.
Fury
I could always use another gritty WWII movie.
Noah
I would love to go to church with Darren Aronofsky one week.
The Monuments Men
It smartly pulled out of awards season. It is more of a buddy movie than an Oscar epic.
St. Vincent
Bill Murray is sure having fun in this and Melissa McCarthy reminds me why I like her so much (as opposed to Tammy, which I'll get to later).
Snowpiercer
Fun SciFi. Lame social commentary.
Magic in the Moonlight
A great first draft. A so-so movie. In other words, par for the course for Woody Allen. I'm still a little weirded out by that age difference.
Maleficent
It's nice to have Angelina back in front of the camera.
Horrible Bosses 2
The sequel was a little forced, but mostly, it's just not my style of comedy.
The Giver
I noticed a trend this year of books being adapted into movies where the biggest fans seem to be the people who have read the book, which is strange. Normally movies are made to service the fans of the book and I'm beginning to see why. All I saw when I watched this was a lifeless dystopia and I'm pretty sure all the context for it can be found in the book (Hint: that's not a good way to make a movie).
Dumb and Dumber To
Like Harry and Lloyd, the comedy stylings of the Farrelly brothers hasn't aged well. I can't help but think that the same movie, released in 1998 would be received much more favorably.
Annie
Sometimes "good natured and uninspired" is all a movie needs to be.
Video Games: The Movie
Documentaries have a hard time on this list. Ones about topics that I already know well have an even harder time.
The Maze Runner
Generic young adult dystopia. I would've liked a movie made a little less with an impending sequel in mind.
If I Stay
Chloe Grace Moretz can, in fact, carry a movie. Now we know that.
Let's Be Cops
Ferguson really killed the fun of this one.
About Last Night
Proof that Kevin Hart works best as a supporting character, and that's not meant as a dig at him.
Ride Along
I don't dislike Kevin Hart. I just don't particularly like him either.
Godzilla
I appreciate the patience to reveal Godzilla. I don't appreciate the absurdly convenient script.
300: Rise of An Empire
Eva Green nearly saved this needless sequel. She was a force to be reckoned with.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I couldn't figure out who the audience was for this.
The Penguins of Madagascar
Proof that being popular comic relief doesn't entitle characters to a movie. Do you hear that, Minions?
The Other Woman
Leslie Mann willed her way through this movie and somehow came out looking good. That is saying something, because this was pretty awful otherwise.
Bottom 10
Wasted talent is why this falls so far. Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Catherine Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard, Abigail Spencer, Ben Schwartz. That should be the cast of my favorite movie...or maybe TV show. I just can't forgive how unenjoyable this was given all that talent.
Lucy
I can't get past the ridiculous logic of the movie. It was nice to see Scar-Jo in a lead role, kicking some ass. The central conceit is too much to overcome and the climax to abrupt.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
I hate being sequeled at. Sony was so concerned about preparing for all the planned sequels that they let the "Some Pig" moment* happen on the bridge. Marvel Studios is steering the conversation so much that even the non-Disney Marvel properties are getting crushed by the world building.
*Credit for that goes to my friend, Ben.
Sex Tape
If there's no good way to make a premise work, drop the premise. It's as simple as that. Even accepting the premise, it wasn't a very funny movie. In hindsight, the truths of "The Fappening" make the movie look even less informed about how the Internet works than it did originally.
Tammy
The biggest bummer is that I can only blame Melissa McCarthy for this. Her and husband Ben Falcone used all their clout to make this: a roadtrip comedy that wasn't all that funny. McCarthy is a hilarious comedic performer and she's settling for all the easiest jokes and pratfalls here. It doesn't help that most of it is supposedly set in Louisville and I spent to much of the movie saying "that's not Louisville". That's mostly on me, I'll admit.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
An empty epic. Ridley Scott wanted to make a movie about the Exodus story but didn't have any ideas for it. He removed the over Godliness of it, replaced it with nothing, botched the parting of the Red Sea (which should've been the IMAX seen of the year), and I won't even bother laying into the lazy casting again.
Non-Stop
No movie surprised me by how much I disliked it more than Non-Stop. It's a series of contrivances and lazy acting that I'm still dumbfounded by. It doesn't embrace the absurdity enough to be a dumb action movie. It doesn't have a coherent enough script to be a thriller. I'm genuinely amazed that there are movies I liked less than this in 2014.
Need for Speed
I've never appreciated what the Fast and Furious movies do more than after I saw this. the characters are assholes. The dialogue is unbelievably wooden. The story is ludicrous. The recklessness of the people racing is one of those things that works in a video game but is pretty reprehensible in live action. How does someone make Aaron Paul look like this bad of an actor?
The Judge
It's sad when a movie wants to be taken seriously, but doesn't know why. And there's the creepy incest plot.
Transformers: Age of Extinction
I want to make this clear. I am not a Michael Bay hater. I LOVE the first Transformers movie. The third one was solid as well. I liked Pain & Gain too. In general, he can make a very good action movie and I don't think he aspires to much more. And I don't mean that in a demeaning way. Entertaining is just as important as artistic expression in my opinion. That said, this movie is awful! It is far too long. It's designed to cater to foreign markets (China, in particular) to a laughable degree. Mark Walhberg is not used well here. Michael Bay is clearly tired of making these. Worst of all, it just looks bad. The animation is cluttered and messy. I rarely knew what was going on. The $200 million production budget is what seals it for me. I'm ok with that budget when it has a purpose. But, the studio literally threw money at this in hopes that it would get better. This is an embarrassment.
2013 Leftovers
Thanks to Oscar deadlines and the crowded Christmas season, there's always a few movies that don't quite make it to me in Louisville until after the new year, so I can't get them on my list in time. 2013 had several releases like this that represented some of my favorite movies that year. So, I went ahead and ranked the six 2013 releases I saw in theaters in 2014. Below that, I assembled an updated top 10 for 2013 to show how they reshuffled things.
Inside Llewyn Davis
The music, the script, the acting. I ate it all up. This is up there with the best of the Coen brothers movies as far as I'm concerned.
Her
Such an interesting take on relationships. Anyone at this point who doesn't believe that Joaquin Phoenix is one of the best actors in movies right now is just being stubborn.
Philomena
I'm still not sold on it being "best picture" good. It was interesting though and Judi Dench is top notch in it.
Nebraska
It's a shame that Bruce Dern and June Squibb got all the attention, because Will Forte is the one who really wowed me.
Lone Survivor
Was it worth putting up with Battleship? No. Was it a solidly entertaining war movie? Yes.
August: Osage County
Proof that some stage productions don't need to be made into movies.
2013 New Top 10
1. About Time
2. Gravity
3. Before Midnight
4. V/H/S/2
5. This is the End
6. Inside Llewyn Davis
7. Frozen
8. Her
9. Spring Breakers
10. 12 Years a Slave
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