We arrived at the end of the line, ladies and gentlemen. 2014 will be on us in a few hours in the books, the year 2015. Finally, I wanted to pile on the endless plateau of articles and top ten lists and the like filled. I do not think this is just my list, so will see below, but my thoughts on the year as a whole, with my picks for the best performance of the year as well as some special category awards. Basically, this kind of reflect that my vote Oscar, as in the major categories, although I can record the full view of a personal choice for a vote in the particular piece ends in a few weeks. We will see. Anyway, time to get this show on the road!
The 2014 film year was seen by some as a true high water in recent years, while others feel that it was a serious disappointment. I? I'm stuck in the middle. I had fewer films that I feel completely in love than usual, but at the same time, I had a total of more films than I liked, as in many previous years. As such, the films can be a kind of feeling of being on a par with the last few years to me. Best of 2014 was incredible for me, with some modern classics, so I can hardly call it a down year on year. Maybe it was just that, a handful of the most vaunted titles were the ones I do not go as crazy, so contributing to a strange feeling in 2014? Anyway, there were a lot of movies that I loved, despised, and just scratched my head. This makes for a complete meal a year of film, so I can not complain. This introduces the year to the point, but I ... more of the same.
Obviously there are a ton of things to look forward to look forward to 2015, maybe this time next year we'll all be on how much better of a film slate noticed, but at the same time, there are always the possibility of a great disappointment. In this case, we would now focus on the happy days we remembered. It's all a shot in the dark when you closed eyes with things to do, as with the early Oscar predictions. There is no reason not to be excited, but. There are still a year where I could not come up with a respectable top ten list, so I doubt that we will be in a particularly difficult phase. If recent history is anything to go off, it will be at least an average year. Fingers crossed for better than that, of course.
Now then, let me reveal my Top Ten list to you, showing what I felt to be the best of 2014:
1. Interstellar
– Also,Editor’s choice The Imitation Game
2. Men, Women & Children
3. Life Itself
4. Whiplash
5. Boyhood
6. The Fault in Our Stars
7. Begin Again
8. Gone Girl
9. Wish I Was Here
10. Obvious Child
Honorable Mentions
11. The Skeleton Twins
12. Chef
13. The Pretty One
14. Under the Skin
15. Fury
16. Draft Day
17. Foxcatcher
18. Love & Air Sex
19. Godzilla
20. About Alex
21. The LEGO Movie
22. Rosewater
23. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her
24. Selma
25. What If
The Best Performances of 2014
Male
1. J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
– Also,Editor’s choice Benedict Cumberbatch in Imitation Game
2. Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything
3. Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
4. David Oyelowo in Selma
5. Miles Teller in Whiplash
6. Josh Brolin in Inherent Vice
7. Ben Affleck in Gone Girl
8. Oscar Isaac in A Most Violent Year
9. Edward Norton in Birdman
10. Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar
Female
1. Shailene Woodley in The Fault in Our Stars
– Also,Editor’s choice Julianne Moore in Still Alice
2. Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin
3. Jessica Chastain in Interstellar
4. Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything
5. Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
6. Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
7. Kaitlyn Dever in Men, Women & Children
8. Kate Hudson in Wish I Was Here
9. Zoe Kazan in The Pretty One
10. Laura Dern in The Fault in Our Stars
2014 Awards by Yours Truly (winner in bold, runner up in italics)
Best Picture – Boyhood, Interstellar, Life Itself, Men, Women & Children, and Whiplash
Best Director – Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), David Fincher (Gone Girl), Richard Linklater (Boyhood),Christopher Nolan (Interstellar), and Jason Reitman (Men, Women & Children)
– Also,Editor’s choice Morten Tyldum
Best Actor – Ben Affleck (Gone Girl), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), David Oyelowo (Selma), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), and Miles Teller (Whiplash)
– Also,Editor’s choice Benedict Cumberbatch in Imitation Game
Best Actress – Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Zoe Kazan (The Pretty One), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars)
– Also,Editor’s choice Julianne Moore in Still Alice
Best Supporting Actor – Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice), Edward Norton (Birdman), Mandy Patinkin (Wish I Was Here), Adam Sandler (Men, Women & Children), and J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
– Also,Editor’s choice Robert Duvall in The Judge
Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Laura Dern (The Fault in Our Stars), Kaitlyn Dever (Men, Women & Children), and Kate Hudson (Wish I Was Here)
– Also,Editor’s choice Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
Best Adapted Screenplay – The Fault in Our Stars, Gone Girl, Men, Women & Children, Rosewater, and Under the Skin.
– Also,Editor’s choice Gone Girl
Best Original Screenplay – Boyhood, Draft Day, Interstellar, Whiplash, Wish I Was Here
Best Ensemble – Birdman, The Fault in Our Stars, Gone Girl, Interstellar, and Men, Women & Children
– Also,Editor’s choice Foxcatcher
That’s a wrap on 2014. Here’s to a great cinematic 2015!