#10
The Guest
DIR: Adam Wingard
[amz asin=”B00NO834N0″ size=”small”]I surprised myself a little with this pick. The Guest was a movie I really enjoyed when I saw it back in September, just before heading to the Toronto Film Festival, but it didn’t really seem like a film that would end up making my year-end top ten. Then, about a week ago the Blu-ray arrived and I was able to sit down with my wife and it was the collective joy of watching this dark, twisted and insane comedy-thriller again and seeing her enjoy everything I found great about it that solidified it as one of the year’s best.
REVIEW SNIPPET:
Wingard shows a level of improvement here over the well-reviewed You’re Next, which really struggled in its first third, before settling in to what it truly wanted to be. From the moment The Guest starts, however, Wingard is in completely control and the casting of Stevens would appear to be the lynchpin the same way Sharni Vinson was a perfect choice for You’re Next. Strength in casting can elevate a project to great heights and Wingard has now proven twice in a row he not only can turn a twisted story into a darkly humorous and, at times, terrifying tale, but he has a great eye for just the right talent to bring it to life.
Read my full review here.
#9
Edge of Tomorrow
DIR: Doug Liman
[amz asin=”B00K2CHWOI” size=”small”]I had the films I was considering for my top ten on a spreadsheet and I was just beginning to rank them when I knew I had to rewatch one more before finalizing the list… I chose Edge of Tomorrow and I’m quite happy I did. This, as far as I’m concerned, is the best blockbuster of 2014. It blows away the likes of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier and features a wonderful pairing in Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt as Blunt, once again, proves you can put her next to almost anyone and she can make you believe the relationship. Not to mention the fact she’s just as believable as a kick-ass, alien killer.
I know there are some complaints about the film’s ending, but there was an opinion of this film that I read shortly after its release, comparing it to a video game and the process of dying in a video game and starting over and over again and how once you beat a video game you go back to the beginning, ready to play again. It was an interpretation that made it that much easier for me to enjoy the film’s madness and somewhat frustrating final moments.
REVIEW SNIPPET:
Along with Cruise and Blunt, the casting of Bill Paxton as Master Sergeant Farell is perfect. Paxton brings exactly what you’d expect, a hard-nosed GI approach to the character, with just that little edge of humor infused as only he can deliver. And speaking of the film’s humor, it’s not about forced punchlines or witty one-liners. Instead it’s scenes such as one where Cage is seen running around killing a shit-ton of aliens while his fellow soldiers look on in wonderment, “What’s his name again?” It’s both spectacularly awesome action and almost so over-the-top you can’t help but smile.
Read my full review here.
#8
The Grand Budapest Hotel
DIR: Wes Anderson
[amz asin=”B00JAQJNN0″ size=”small”]At this point it seems weird to rank a Wes Anderson movie I loved anywhere other than at the top of a list. That said, from this point on, the next seven films are pretty much all in a tie for second place with only my #1 film setting itself slightly above the rest. The Grand Budapest Hotel makes me smile every time I watch it or even think about it’s many wonderful moments. As I ranked it #8 I started asking myself if I thought it was the best of Anderson’s films. I think that distinction belongs to Fantastic Mr. Fox, a film that seems to take everything I love about Anderson and put it into one movie. I simply love that film, but this very well may be a close second.
Ralph Fiennes is wonderful, Tony Revolori is an excellent find and a lot of love goes to an amazing supporting cast including Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel and Jeff Goldblum. I’m not sure just how well this movie will play to mainstream audiences, but if you’re in the bag for Anderson this seems like a no-brainer.
REVIEW SNIPPET:
A lot of the enjoyment here is in the familiarity of style and a harkening back to his R-rated tone, which has been missing for a couple of films. Grand Budapest is a warm and soothing bath with familiar smells, which is to say it’s altogether wonderful. Time will obviously tell where this places in Anderson’s oeuvre, but for now I simply can’t wait to see it again.
Read my full review here.
#7
Nightcrawler
DIR: Dan Gilroy
[amz asin=”B00Q3DMJZW” size=”small”]Dan Gilroy‘s Nightcawler was more a film I enjoyed and respected rather than truly loved when I first saw it at the Toronto Film Festival. But over the following months it became one of the few films from this year that really stuck with me. Then I interviewed Jake Gyllenhaal (listen to that below) and then I watched the movie again and it was settled, Nightcrawler absolutely was one of the best films of the year, and along with Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo deserves more credit than she’s received for some explosive work in this movie. Yes, Gyllenhaal may be the one that captures your attention as his eyes bug out of his head and he crosses the moral line, but Russo as Nina is supposed to be a character driven by giving an audience the news they need, but she ends up being just as much a villain if not more so than Lou.
REVIEW SNIPPET:
Gyllenhaal brings Lou to life in a most impressive way. Manic and disturbed, yet never seen in public out of control. He slithers through crime scenes like a snake, sifting his way through the blood and carnage, lingering on corpses and soon using questionable ethics, becoming just as much a part of the crime as he is the “journalist” capturing it.
Read my full review here.
