Time again for my best of the year list. “Best of” lists, when it comes to film, are usually made up of films critics think will win Oscars, so they can smugly sit in behind their computer and say, “I told you so.” Instead, the criteria for my list is based on is films that I genuinely enjoyed. Some of which I have seen numerous times and will honestly be around long after the Oscar buzz has subsided and all those copies of 12 Years a Slave are in the bargain bin next to The Artist. I ended up being 10 films shy of 300, so here is to hoping I hit that number next year and see some more amazing films in 2014.
So let me know what you think and if you agree or disagree. Feel free to comment below with your best of list as well!
Seriously, this film is the perfect example of what a summer blockbuster is and should be. Fast 6 has got the larger-than-life stars, it’s funny, self aware and has just enough plot to get by. I honestly love these films and am hopeful for the future of the franchise even with the untimely death of Paul Walker.
The best way I could describe this film is pure cinematic joy. This film about a man falling in love with his phone’s OS leaves gimmickery at the door and instead does an in-depth study about loss, love, and what it means to be human in a not so distant future. A solid script, brilliant acting, and beautiful production values all work together to tell a love story that will definitely surprise you.
Quite honestly, this is the greatest film made about a film that was never made. It’s rare that a documentary subject exposes himself as Alejandro Jodorowsky does in this film. Much like the director himself, the film is a raw look at what could have been one of the greatest science fiction films ever made. There is a lot of love in this film and it honestly makes for a documentary no cinephile should miss.
Also filed under “This is why we can’t have nice things” is Guillermo del Toro’s ode to kaiju and giant robots, Pacific Rim. This film is so much fun, plain and simple, and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It’s just giant robots beating up giant monsters and it excels at that on so many levels that it’s all you really need.
This is probably the pick of the litter for mainstream theatrical horror last year and a film that was grossly mis-marketed. You’re Next is not just a grisly home invasion film, but also one of the smartest black comedies I saw last year. You’re Next will definitely go on to be a horror classic and 10 years from now folks will be lying and saying they went and saw this in theaters INSTEAD of The Purge.
The satirical creepy older brother of The Bling Ring is a hard look into the dark recesses of the souls of Millennials, as seen through the eyes of Harmony Korine. This film managed to troll the generation it was satirizing thanks to an ad campaign aimed at the butt of the joke. They showed up in droves only not to get it. Spring Breakers is bleak, beautiful, and will surprise you every time you watch it.
The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears is the most visceral experience committed to celluloid this year. This Neo-Giallo about a man whose wife has suddenly disappeared is an audio/visual feast for the senses. While Amer was a love letter, Strange Colour is an evolution of the Giallo sub-genre and some of the most stylistic horror you will ever see.
Child of God based on the book by Cormac McCarthy is by no stretch of the imagination an easy watch, but it is an amazing one. The film by James Franco is bleak look at connection and the human condition as seen through the eyes of mentally handicapped man with companionship issues who is killing the young girls of a small town. The film is raw and unflinching and is honestly the work of one of the most exciting directors currently working today. Yes, that James Franco.
There are few films that were as perfect and as bittersweet as Frances Ha. The film is the kind of love story that I think gets overlooked quite a bit in film. It’s the story of a woman who loses the love of a best friend and figures out how to love herself instead. It would be hard to do something like this with another actress, but Greta Gerwig has a perfect balance of whimsy and vulnerability that really gives this unique character life.
The Act of Killing is dangerous in a way cinema rarely is nowadays. The documentary about a group of Indonesian gangsters that went from scalping movie tickets to leading death squads is a chilling look at what if the bad guys won the war. Joshua Oppenheimer and an almost all-anonymous crew shed some light on these atrocities by allowing the boastful executioners re-enact their crimes in the style of their favorite film genres.
It’s films like this that give you hope that the film is still capable of doing amazing things and changing the world as we know it.
Honorable Mentions (alphabetical):
Big Bad Wolves
Detective Downs
Escape From Tomorrow
Gravity
Narco Cultura
Only God Forgives
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Thor 2
The Most Underrated Films of the Year
The Lone Ranger
Machete Kills
Man of Tai Chi
R.I.P.D
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