IMOCritic's 'Top 10 Films of 2014' are films that were released in the UK over the course of 2014. I am aware that some of these films were released worldwide in 2013 but I am counting the films for their UK release date only. My top 10 films are determined purely from my own opinions, nothing more. I hope you enjoy!
IMOCritic's Top 10 FIlms of 2014
10. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesPeter Jackson's conclusion to the Hobbit trilogy is relentless in both its action and its story. While many people justifiably believe that 3 films for one relatively small book is far too much, Jackson does not compromise the story, but adds in new and familiar characters to flesh out the world we all love so dearly. While one love triangle is needless and irritating at times, this film gives you exactly what you'd expect; a thrilling battle and great performances all round, headed off by Martin Freeman and Ian McKellan as Bilbo and Gandalf respectively. I'll admit, this final chapter is not worth watching if you haven't seen the first 2, but as a conclusion to a solid trilogy and an excuse to let out your inner 7-year-old, this is an immensely fun ride and an absolute must for fans of the films! |
9. NightcrawlerJake, freaking, Gyllenhaal is all that needs to be said… but I'll also say that Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler is an impeccable thriller. Gyllenhaal plays by far the least likeable lead in many years. Lou Blum is unsettling, tense and unpredictable. Combine this with a freelance news team story and you have a fantastically gritty, in-depth look at the seedier side of LA's news broadcasts. Gilroy beautifully directs and the tension amps up to no end as Blum continues to push himself and test how far he can go when bringing news to the world. A brilliantly tense lead character and a truly unpredictable storyline makes this, much like Blum's news stories, must-see! |
8. The Raid 2After the best action movie of 2011 that was The Raid, there was a lot of pressure of Gareth Evans to bring us a sequel that was bigger, badder and more spectacular. The Raid 2 really goes for it with all guns blazing! While its superiority to the first film is entirely down to opinion, this is a truly great sequel with fantastic cinematography, in-depth characters, intensity, complexity, scale and some of the best fight scenes of any action film in recent years. Iko Uwais shines as leading man Rama and the choreography is so amped up from the first film, it's hard not to flinch at every punch, kick and stab. If you're new to this franchise, watch the first one so you don't get lost, but otherwise this film is everything it promises to be and more. A true martial arts gut punch of a movie! |
7. The Lego MovieNow if any film on this list had the most potential to be a disaster, The Lego Movie would be it. Thankfully this is not the case at all, and what we get instead is the surefire favourite for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. Phil Lord and Chris Miller absolutely struck gold with The Lego Movie. This brilliant feature literally has everything, from every pop culture icon imaginable to a great story, even including some surprising gags about Lego itself. This fantastic movie is brimming with both heart and hilarity. This is also, by a mile, the most quotable film of the year with no shortage of t-shirt worthy quips and gags. With one of the best scripts of 2014, I can not recommend this super entertaining, brick-filled joyride highly enough. |
6. Inside Llewyn DavisThe Coen Brothers 1960's Folk Music story Inside Llewyn Davis is a personal and in-depth look at a week in the life of its title character, played by Oscar Isaac. Isaac is fantastic as the inconsiderate, lazy but endlessly endearing folk singer trying to adapt after the loss of his songwriting partner. The casting is brilliant with everyone putting 100% effort into the roles. The fantastic trademark sarcasm and wit of the Coens is just as apparent in this film's superb script. Their direction is also spot on with a beautiful presentation of the folk music world, especially during the live performances of the music. The songs are where the heart of the film truly lies; every one of these original numbers is catchy, memorable and brilliantly written. They give every indication that the 1960's folk music movement is in full effect. A funny, enlightening, touching and refreshing look at the life of a struggling musician. The Coen's have done it again. Truly brilliant. |
5. InterstellarChristopher Nolan's Sci-Fi epic is a true adventure film; with a desire to show us what could be 'out there', Nolan has brought us a fun, thrilling and emotional ride with Interstellar. Amidst all the scientific mumbo-jumbo, this film has real heart, and that is beautifully realised through a fantastic cast. Matthew McConaughey delivers a powerful and emotional performance as leading man Cooper. This film gives us thrills and tears in equal measure with Nolan always making sure the story puts emotion before science. With probably my personal favourite film score of the year by Hans Zimmer to top it off, Interstellar never stops surprising you and takes you to the farthest reaches of both the imagination and the heart. Christopher Nolan delivers yet another mind bending, emotional, gut wrenching story and as a result it is a truly memorable Sci-fi stunner! |
4. The Imitation GameMorten Tyldum's WW2 biopic of Alan Turing is a truly remarkable film. In a year where WW2 films have not been hugely successful in giving us anything new, The Imitation Game changed the game (ironically) by giving us a look at what was happening back in Britain where the fighting was minimal. The script is absolutely spot on, the cast are fantastic with one of the best leading performances of the year in Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing. Tyldum's direction is so smooth that it's easy to get soaked up in the storytelling. This fantastic film brings you to the edge of your seat with intelligence, humour, tears, stress and so much more. This film also contains one of the best musical scores of the year by Alexandre Desplat. With great pacing, brilliant acting and outstanding direction, all in equal measure, The Imitation Game is a must-see. |
3. The Wolf of Wall StreetMartin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall St is beyond a shadow of a doubt, the funniest film of 2014. The excess and luxurious lifestyle of Jordan Belfort is brilliantly brought to life, with many ridiculously over-the-top fiasco's including my pick for 'Funniest Scene of the Year' which sees Leonardo DiCaprio's Belfort horribly attempt to enter a Lamborgini whilst exceptionally high on drugs. The supporting cast are all fantastic, with fantastic set pieces and trademark Scorsese direction, which is no bad thing in any way. This film brings laugh after laugh with what is hands-down the best script of 2014. Curse-word after curse-word, gag after gag and dollar after dollar; the laughs, while a portion were improvised, are so quick that the audience has little time to breathe. It's 3 hour run time is not apparent at all, and in the end valuable lessons are learnt about living the high life. Absolutely hysterical and a true modern comedy classic. |
2. 12 Years a SlaveSteve McQueen has completely blown all other director's out the water with his outstanding cinematography and direction of this fantastic historical biopic 12 Years a Slave. Chiwetel Ejiofor is nothing short of breathtaking as lead Solomon Northup. Lupita Nyong'o is equally stunning in her supporting role as Patsy. This film is a gutsy, brutal depiction of slavery in America and it's immensely uncomfortable to watch, but every lash, strike or insult is necessary for the storytelling. One scene, done in a single long camera shot, features a vicious whipping. This scene almost forces you to look away but your eyes will likely already be blocked by tears of despair at the poor wretch who suffers it. You genuinely feel for Northup's struggle and want him to return home safe, but nothing is ever as simple as that. This film won 2014's Best Picture oscar and with good reason. Simply unmissable. |
Honorable Mentions
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Pride The Grand Budapest Hotel Mr Turner Paddington Guardians of the Galaxy Locke 22 Jump Street | A brilliant followup to a great reboot! Spectacular special effects and a brilliant finale! Highly recommended. A wonderful feel good movie, with excellent lead performances all round. Bill Nighy is a highlight in every scene. See this is you're a Ralph Fiennes fan or a fan of the old Pink Panther style comedies! Hugely entertaining! One of the best looking films of 2014 with stunning sets and cinematography. A bit long, but Timothy Spall is truly wonderful! A future kids classic I'm sure, with wonderful special effects and a great cast, combined with a 1990's silliness that is very hard to dislike. This huge surprise became one of 2014's biggest box office smashes. It's great fun! Dave Bautista's Drax steals scenes with his hilarious inability to understand metaphors. A true example of experimental cinema; the whole film takes place during a single car journey. Tom Hardy is stunning as the one and only on-screen character. Highly recommend for lovers of minimalist films. Hilariously self aware of its sequel status, this film is a big improvement on the already hilarious 21 Jump Street. Exceptionally funny and endlessly quotable. |
And IMOCritic's Number 1 Film of 2014 is…
1. Boyhood
Anyone who reads film reviews should not be remotely surprised by this pick. However, if you do in fact read film reviews, you will also likely know that this is for many a good reason:
Richard Linklater's Boyhood is, in my opinion, as close to perfect as any of the all time classics we know and adore. This film will be remembered with the best of cinema and deservedly so. The acting is perfect, the direction is spot on, the soundtrack is beautifully chosen with the script that is elegant and genuine.
This film follows 12 years in the life of Mason Evans Jr, played by Ellar Coltrane. From his youngest school days to his college entry, this film follows Mason as he suffers heartbreaking changes, makes life changing decisions and most importantly we see the ever-altering relationship between Mason and his family throughout the years.
Linklater is constantly demonstrating his complete understanding and affection for his characters through his impeccable writing and direction. The concept of this film is truly revolutionary as well; this film was created and filmed over 12 years so the actors naturally age with the story. This has never been done in a single film before and it works so well that you get lost in the journey and completely forget that it's even happening, right up until the credits roll.
The script is outstanding and flows like real dialogue; with hesitations and mistakes that no other script seems to want to put in these days, Linklater's script instills the belief that these words are naturally coming from the thoughts and hearts of the characters and not simply from good script delivery. Obviously this can be partially attributed to the absolutely flawless cast.
Ellar Coltrane is completely stunning as lead character Mason Evans, Jr. As he grows up both on and off screen, you get a sense of his maturity and natural charisma growing with him and it's a beautiful thing to see. All the cast are absolutely perfect, but Coltrane definitely deserves a mention as he is the newcomer, which is funny since he is also technically an acting veteran of 12 years. The chemistry between all the cast is so natural that you really do get a sense that this is a family with a complete history that stretches far beyond when Mason's character was born.
The story is written perfectly to match this travel through time; with love, loss, pain and a never-ending flow of real, genuine emotion, this film takes the viewer on an emotional ride with family drama never told so poignantly. The story takes us through character drama, teenage frustration, despair, feel good family fun but never feeling forced in any one scene. You genuinely feel like you know these characters, but not as characters, as people. With a 3 hour run time, this film maximises every minute to develop the characters and relationships so by the time the credits role, you just want to keep watching this wonderful boy and his family grow. This film is currently the frontrunner for the 2015 Best Picture oscar and for the first time in many years I 100% can not imagine any other film coming close.
Since I legitimately can not fault this film, I would consider it a crime not to name Richard Linklater's Boyhood 'Best Film of 2014'.
Richard Linklater's Boyhood is, in my opinion, as close to perfect as any of the all time classics we know and adore. This film will be remembered with the best of cinema and deservedly so. The acting is perfect, the direction is spot on, the soundtrack is beautifully chosen with the script that is elegant and genuine.
This film follows 12 years in the life of Mason Evans Jr, played by Ellar Coltrane. From his youngest school days to his college entry, this film follows Mason as he suffers heartbreaking changes, makes life changing decisions and most importantly we see the ever-altering relationship between Mason and his family throughout the years.
Linklater is constantly demonstrating his complete understanding and affection for his characters through his impeccable writing and direction. The concept of this film is truly revolutionary as well; this film was created and filmed over 12 years so the actors naturally age with the story. This has never been done in a single film before and it works so well that you get lost in the journey and completely forget that it's even happening, right up until the credits roll.
The script is outstanding and flows like real dialogue; with hesitations and mistakes that no other script seems to want to put in these days, Linklater's script instills the belief that these words are naturally coming from the thoughts and hearts of the characters and not simply from good script delivery. Obviously this can be partially attributed to the absolutely flawless cast.
Ellar Coltrane is completely stunning as lead character Mason Evans, Jr. As he grows up both on and off screen, you get a sense of his maturity and natural charisma growing with him and it's a beautiful thing to see. All the cast are absolutely perfect, but Coltrane definitely deserves a mention as he is the newcomer, which is funny since he is also technically an acting veteran of 12 years. The chemistry between all the cast is so natural that you really do get a sense that this is a family with a complete history that stretches far beyond when Mason's character was born.
The story is written perfectly to match this travel through time; with love, loss, pain and a never-ending flow of real, genuine emotion, this film takes the viewer on an emotional ride with family drama never told so poignantly. The story takes us through character drama, teenage frustration, despair, feel good family fun but never feeling forced in any one scene. You genuinely feel like you know these characters, but not as characters, as people. With a 3 hour run time, this film maximises every minute to develop the characters and relationships so by the time the credits role, you just want to keep watching this wonderful boy and his family grow. This film is currently the frontrunner for the 2015 Best Picture oscar and for the first time in many years I 100% can not imagine any other film coming close.
Since I legitimately can not fault this film, I would consider it a crime not to name Richard Linklater's Boyhood 'Best Film of 2014'.