2024: Thanks for all the Sharks! Best Films of 2014

We'll get to why you all come to movie sights, the best of the year, but the more and more I go on with this nonsense the clearer it is that the true test is their staying power ten years on. But really there's merit to both - films could be incredibly in the moment and impactful the first time you see them, or sometimes they fade over time. So while we've had a lot of random lists across the years here, this will be our official 2014 list, or at least what we're jazzing on right now.

#10: Noah

This is a ridiculously underrated film that really hasn't had any mention or reappraisal at all in the past ten years, but I really dig the cinematography and how much this thing pops. I do think the last maybe hour or so needed to be cut, yes, it does get that excessive with the Ray Winstone stowaway bits. I don't really think that adds anything to the narrative. It's not stupid like you'd expect it to be, nor is it preachy. Just good clean, pretty sad fun.

#9: John Wick

The more I looked at movies from 2014 the more it seems like the biggest ones had a long reaching influence. Every action movie in the past ten years wanted to be John Wick. And for better or worse this launched a lot of directors' and stunt coordinators turned directors' careers that have made a lot of really crappy movies. 2014 was all about pushing vibes with really innovative, creative, original stuff like this, Guardians and the LEGO Movie, which have had a ridiculous amount of imitators over the past decade. These have of course all failed because they are not coming from a place of original expression or novelty, but chasing a recreation of a feeling. Anyway, John Wick is still fun and clean as hell.

#8: Interstellar

Interstellar has gone through this quasi-appraisal ranging from "is it a masterpiece" to "is it even good?" I don't think it hits as hard as it did when it dropped but by all accounts the big ideas it drops are still very compelling. It's big, it's fun, it's part of the McConaughsaince. It's great.

#7: The Interview

I should probably stop throwing The Interview on this list. But the great thing about doing this ten years past is that we're not really beholden to any kind of popular whim at all. It's fun. I feel like calling this one of the last really great funny movies. Politically held up surprisingly well.

#6: Foxcatcher

I don't know where this movie is now, it was pretty lauded at the time but never really made a dent in any actual awards. It reminds me of the recent Iron Claw (2023) but maybe that's just wrestling. There is a match between intensity of performances, vibes, cinematography, and subject matter that gels very well. This was also an early introduction to how bold of an actor Channing Tatum can be. I don't think anyone really thinks about Foxcatcher these days but I do.

#5: Guardians of the Galaxy

I'm not sure any film really matches the influence of Guardians, it was such a big cultural force, and for good reason. It gave such few fucks and created James Gunn's now signature style of elevating the most genre of genre material into real human drama. Unfortunately it also led to ten years of "Well, if the Guardians could be come household names, why can't Moon Knight?" and such and such. It also led to a thousand imitators who did not come close to matching its style or attitude, from Suicide Squad (2016) to The Suicide Squad (2021) to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). We're still trying to cop this crap in Borderlands (2024). It was such magic in a bottle, and although its legacy may be diminished by lots of imitations and endless milking by Disney Marvel, but it's still a great movie.

#4: Gone Girl

Gone Girl does an unreal job at understanding modern media, and feels like a warning of things to come that all just happened. It's also impeccable casting, looks great, and Fincher is crushing it here. But it's also an insanely deep character study. It's held up very well and you could watch it today.

#3: Birdman

I should probably watch Birdman again. It was such a giant of the time that it earned a permanent position on this list. It's probably THE movie I think of when thinking about 2014. I have a feeling it would lose some impact of novelty upon a second viewing where you could probably just pick out all the cuts, but it's still such a perfect marriage of lighting, music, acting, casting, and everything that it's hard to ignore. Totally ignored during award season. I mean, I guess it won Best Picture and three other awards but I'm still sore about Michael Keaton. Who has played flying-based superheroes in two franchise movies since this for some reason.

#2: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

I thought this was one of the greatest movies I've ever seen when I first caught it. I think the second time lessened the impact but it's still a great achievement. It's so damn lonely and iconic. It twists and writhes and plays with its own presumptions and impact, simultaneously informed by its context and ready to defy it. It all works and I still dig it.

#1: Under the Skin

I can't believe this is ten years old, but this remains one of the few movies I can recall that exists totally within the language of film. I'm not sure I can re-watch it, I probably need to. It demands such close watching while being the ultimate slowburn. But I still remember multiple scenes. I love how nothing is explained and you have to become engrossed into the visual language. It's a merging of form and function that I haven't really seen much like since.

That's that. I dropped Inherent Vice. I had trouble getting through it on a second viewing, I really loved it, and then I apparently totally lost interest. What We Do in the Shadows should also probably be here? Maybe? I also really remember liking Why Don't You Play in Hell? but I could not remember it at all, to be honest.

Top 10 Films 3.0: 2012-2014

As we did yesterday with years 2009-2011, it's about that time where we re-evaluate our Top Ten film rankings of yesteryear. Attitudes change and some movies hold up better or worse than others over the years. While this is certainly a pointless exercise with no real end year after year, it's definitely a nice way to be reminded of how many good flicks there are out there and an encouragement to see as many as possible. I would postulate that as my tastes have evolved, these latter years won't change that much - based both on their recency matching my current profile and the original lists being more solid and less random and pandering than when I first started this site.

Again, for our first realignment back in 2014, which also holds our first lists, click here!

2012:

The Campaign
The Grey
The Five-Year Engagement
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Life of Pi 
Skyfall
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained
The Master

When we last met I was but the student

There's only three films that I have retained through the years, four since 2014 which is actually incredible. The Grey has maintained a low spot on the list while Django and The Master have unwaveringly held the top two positions. Other than that I've moved away from the slew of great action films in 2012 like Dredd and Looper in favour of the great comedies like The Five-Year Engagement and Celeste and Jesse Forever. I never thought much of Life of Pi, but it's grown on me, and in terms of big spectacle films I traded The Dark Knight Rises for Skyfall. 2012 is an all-around pretty solid year that I can see switching around quite a bit, while I don't think much can touch those top two giants. Other films like Moonrise Kingdom, Seven Psychopaths, and even Pitch Perfect were tough to leave off, but they're ultimately all too gimmicky. Then again, The Campaign gets the #10 spot as a film that's held up remarkably well as its outrageousness is eclipsed by actual contemporary political campaigns.

2013:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Frozen
Prisoners
12 Years a Slave
The World's End
Pain & Gain
Spring Breakers

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Wolf of Wall Street
Stoker

omg shoes

I really love a list that includes Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Prisoners so close to each other. You may have noticed how much I've loved the Phil Lord and Chris Miller films, but I'd argue that the sequel is actually the superior film in many ways. Now, to be sure, my original 2013 list was a total cop-out that just allowed me to list all the films I liked. That's all kind of bullshit. Of the 19 films listed, six remain here. In 2014 I re-ranked and as predicted, the lists are pretty similar, with seven films still cropping up here. The major difference is Stoker, which I just watched and loved, earning it the #1 spot. In future installments I'd be curious if that film's position is tenuous. Other than that this list is crazily similar. Frozen moves from #8 to #9, 12 Years a Slave moves from #6 to #7, and the Top Five largely remain identical besides the downvote of The World's End and the inclusion of Stoker. To be sure, when making the 2017 list I didn't even glance at previous rankings; I literally re-ranked from scratch, which means 2013 is remarkably stable, at least as far as my tastes are concerned. I would like The Lone Ranger to make it someday.

2014:

Interstellar
The LEGO Movie
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
The Interview
Birdman
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice

Under the Skin

Scottish Men only use 10% of their dicks

Some years are weird with titles, like how 2012 has "The" in front of a lot of films. 2014 is all about "In" - Interstellar, Interveiw, Inherent Vice...2014 retains seven from the original list, but in drastically different order, with Under the Skin moving way up and Interstellar moving way down. Birdman I unanimously named my favourite at the time, although it's #4 in 2017. What's more weird is that in 2015 I re-ranked and only five remain from that one just a little over a year ago. Those are basically the Top Four, although I had difficulty leaving John Wick and Dear White People off the list - the former because it's a well-constructed action film that isn't that great of a film, and the latter for just being something that didn't stick with me as much as it did in 2015. Instead, Foxcatcher and Snowpiercer sneak in, both of which I still actively talk and think about.

These ranks ought to be considered Norwegian Morning Wood canon for at least the next three years. I'd be curious to see how anything changes between now and 2020 or if we've somewhat stabilized. We of course JUST ranked 2016 and re-ranked 2015 here, so you may check that out as well. As for the future, we can only guess as to which films rise to prominence, which seem to flash hot then fade, and which barely miss the cut in favour of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

87th Academy Awards - Live Blogged Results!

3:31 pm: Hey folks! Come on and check back at 8 pm for the start of this nonsense. Now, last year I somehow went 20 for 24 on categories. There's no way I'm hitting that this year, there are a ton of really insane things that could go a number of different ways. Hopefully I've addressed a lot of that stuff in my reviews of each major category these past few weeks. You can check out my thoughts on acting, screenwriting, director, and Best Picture. Stay tuned for more managed insight all night!

8:35 pm: You can't really get more charming than NPH and Anna Kendrick. And that background was actually really cool and 3D looking. Let's do that in a movie sometime.

8:44 pm:

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Predicted Winner: J.K. Simmons

Actual Winner: J.K. Simmons

That rushing or dragging scene is the only moment that 99% of this country know from Whiplash. Still, it's a good moment. No surprises here, folks as JK finally nabs a very well-deserved Oscar for both this great film, his great role, and a lifetime of funny yelling at people.

Accuracy: 1/1

8:50 pm: Maroon 5 playing a track from Begin Again. So....bathroom break? They're getting dangerously close to the half-hour mark with only having presented one award. Why does anyone watch this ceremony? Just read all the winners when it's over.

8:57 pm:

Best Costume Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

Predicted Winner: Into the Woods

Actual Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

This is actually a sure sign that The Grand Budapest Hotel is going to clean up a ridiculous amount of awards. I was headed more towards the Academy's trend of honoring dumb historical-ish musicals, but the crowd loves this chick and it's apparently her fourth Oscar. I could have probably expected this the way Grand Budapest has been raging lately, but whatever.

Accuracy: 1/2

9:00 pm:

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Predicted Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Actual Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

This was an amazing category where I actually loved all three Makeup nominees, and I sort of think that Guardians actually deserved this, because it was amazing, but that old-ass Tilda Swinton is actually super-convincing. Grand Budapest is so set to win every single one of these, which is amazing.

Accuracy: 2/3

9:03 pm: Doogie Howser's intro jokes are solid.

9:10 pm:

Best Foreign Language Film

Leviathan
Ida
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales

Predicted Winner: Ida

Actual Winner: Ida

This isn't a huge surprise, but I wouldn't have been shocked if Leviathan had had a little upset. That apparently wasn't to be. Ida actually seems pretty broadly liked and by the end of the Oscar Race it seemed to grow in notoriety far more than anything else offered here. Touching, smart guy, whoever this director is. Now play him off. Louder. LOUDER!

Accuracy: 3/4

9:18: This is just a terrible reminder that The LEGO Movie wasn't nominated for Best Animated Film...This is also the most extravagant Oscar performance ever.

9:25 pm:

Best Short Film, Live Action

"Aya"
"Boogaloo and Graham"
"Butter Lamp"
"Parvaneh"
"The Phone Call"

Predicted Winner: "The Phone Call"

Actual Winner: "The Phone Call"

Fuck yeah! I love nailing these categories. Mostly because it helps my average a ton. I have no idea what this is about, even when they were showing clips just now my eyes were down on the keyboard typing the category. I also dig these guys completely not giving a shit about the music playing them off. Why not? This is their moment!

Accuracy: 4/5

9:28 pm

Best Documentary, Short Subject

"Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
"The Reaper"
"White Earth"

Predicted Winner: "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"

Actual Winner: "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"

Tight. What the fuck is "The Reaper" about? That looked nuts. I dig this series of phone-call centric nominees winning the short subject categories.

Accuracy: 5/6

9:46 pm:

Best Sound Mixing

American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Interstellar

Actual Winner: Whiplash

Wow, very cool. I didn't totally think that Interstellar could pull this off, lately it just didn't seem like a popular choice. I might have thought American Sniper or Birdman would be the one to upset it though, but this is a cool award for Whiplash. It's getting some good attention, maybe my call for it for screenplay isn't totally nuts.

Accuracy: 5/7

9:48 pm:

Best Sound Editing

American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

Predicted Winner: Interstellar

Actual Winner: American Sniper

This is totally not a surprise, and I'm more surprised that Sniper didn't win both of these. Whiplash really is that perfect mixing win, though, because it's such a music film that isn't really a musical. Sniper is so visceral and as it turns out, more popular than anything else here. I wonder if Interstellar will falter over visual effects.

Accuracy: 5/8

9:51 pm:

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Predicted Winner: Patricia Arquette

Actual Winner: Patricia Arquette

I love these digs at like, Oprah and Streep. I don't think they are used to people making fun of them. Nice shot of Bruce Dern in the crowd. As for Arquette's win, that's a no brainer. Glad Arquette chose a little stump platform there, although I honestly had tuned out because of how boring the beginning of her speech was and how expected the win was. I want to write something like "fuck yeah, wage equality" but home come that keeps coming out as sounding sarcastic? It's really important!

Accuracy: 6/9

10:00 pm: Hey, look at that, another perfectly timed bathroom break. Thank you for saving "Glory" for the end. I should stop drinking.

10:03

Best Visual Effects

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Predicted Winner: Interstellar

Actual Winner: Interstellar

Yay! This sort of reminds me of how 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) also won for this category, which is of course, the only Oscar Stan Kubrick ever won. Very fitting for Interstellar. More visual effects projects need to aid our understanding of the universe.

Accuracy: 7/10

10:07 pm:

Best Short Film, Animated

"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
"A Single Life"

Predicted Winner: "Feast"

Actual Winner: "Feast"

Aww, "Feast" looks so cute! I correctly called all of the short subject awards, by the way, no big deal. I really want to watch "Feast" now, it looks awesome.

Accuracy: 8/11

10:09 pm:

Best Animated Feature

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Predicted Winner: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Actual Winner: Big Hero 6

Okay, I really like how much NPH is addressing the snubs. He's doing an excellent job, but I wonder if any of that will rub the Academy the wrong way. Probably not. This is a bit of a surprise over How to Train Your Dragon 2, which had fallen into the default pic after everyone virtually assumed The LEGO Movie would be a lock. Don't worry, years from now everyone will remember The LEGO Movie over both of these as the superior work. Fuck, everyone does now! Unfortunately, I now need to win out to match my prediction accuracy from last year! That sucks and isn't going to happen...

Accuracy: 8/12

10:18 pm: The president of AMPAS is a middle-aged black woman? How the hell wasn't DuVernay nominated?

10:21 pm:

Best Production Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

Predicted Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Actual Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

No surprise here at all. Grand Budapest's production is the best part of a very good movie. I now totes expect Grand Budapest to win the most awards at this ceremony without winning Best Picture. Or maybe it will! Staaaayy tuned!!

Accuracy: 9/13

10:25 pm:

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins, Unbroken
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Dick Pope, Mr. Turner
Robert Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, Ida

Predicted Winner: Lubezki

Actual Winner: Lubezki

So Lubezki is officially the hottest cinematographer out there. Two wins in two years. Now I just sort of wonder if the single-take gimmick will get stale...no, it'll probably be out there more than ever. It's a telling trait that that could happen and it'll all look like crap because talent at the height of Lubezki is rare.

Accuracy: 10/14

10:43 pm:

Film Editing

American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Boyhood

Actual Winner: Whiplash

Holy shit, is Whiplash becoming a thing? Damn my screenplay prediction looks awesome right now. I wish I had been a little more adventurous. Boyhood has only won for Supporting Actress and Birdman has only won for cinematography. Sit on that for a while. Definitely a cool win, but I officially can't do better than last year now. Crud.

Accuracy: 10/15

10:47 pm: Terrence Howard was blown away by...The Imitation Game to the point where he's rendered speechless when introducing it? And then he blows through Selma? I'm not racist for thinking that's off, right?

10:50 pm:

Best Documentary Feature

CITIZENFOUR
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt in the Earth
Virunga

Predicted Winner: CITIZENFOUR

Actual Winner: CITIZENFOUR

I was almost thinking the Academy would shy away from this and stick with Virunga or something, but hopefully this win brings attention to a film that brings attention to the nuance of Eddie Snowden instead of the blind labeling of him as an American traitor. It's a pretty amazing film and speech here, considering the right wing backlash. Yay Hollywood! I mean, that NPH joke sums up the reductive nature of the National Attitude towards him and simultaneously negates that speech. Kind of a jackass move. I wonder if he teed up a possible joke for every nominee or just counted on CITIZENFOUR winning.

Accuracy: 11/16

10:59 pm: It's got to be kind of tough to come up with two different presentations for both the Grammys and the Oscars within a few weeks of each other. I think this is a little more epic, but either way I want to see John Legend's wife cry again when they win. Nice standing o and shot of Oyelowo crying. Then a shot of Chris pine crying?! Why is Chris Pine crying?! Did they just scan the crowd for anyone crying? I hope so.

11:06 pm:

Best Song

"Everything is Awesome" from The LEGO Movie (written by Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from Selma (written by Common and John Legend)
"Grateful" from Beyond the Lights
"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me
"Lost Stars" from Begin Again (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)

Predicted Winner: "Glory"

Actual Winner: "Glory"

Ha! I actually like that little bit between Travolta and Adele Dazeem and the tacit acknowledgment that Travolta can't pronounce anyone's names. Did Common and Legend even have time to make it back to their seats? For a film that hardly got any nominations, this crowd is loving Selma. Common rules, by the way. I've actually never liked him as an actor, but he's the man and a sublime wordsmith. And again, Chris Pine is down with the brothers! First one up to clap!

Accuracy: 12/17

11:16 pm: What the fuck? Why is Lady GaGa singing us Sound of Music tunes?

11:21 pm: Damn, Julie Andrews looks good.

11:22 pm:

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

Predicted Winner: The Theory of Everything

Actual Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

I told you! Grand Budapest is winning everything! It's crazy! This virtually means that The Theory of Everything will go home with no awards, unless that Eddie Redmayne buzz as of late pulls through and he dethrones Keaton. There is some chance in the Adapted Screenplay category, but Whiplash seems like much more the darling right now. This is awesome how that turned out.

Accuracy: 12/18

11:30 pm:

Best Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, Foxcatcher
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Predicted Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Actual Winner: Birdman

Crap. I'm starting to slip hard. How did Grand Budapest miss this? More importantly, is this a sign that Birdman will upset Boyhood. I'm not thinking about that. It's nice to see Eddie Murphy making peace with some national institutions he hasn't really gotten along with lately, namely the Academy and Saturday Night Live.

Accuracy: 12/19

11:33 pm:

Best Adapted Screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Jason Hall, American Sniper
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Predicted Winner: Whiplash

Actual Winner: The Imitation Game

Whiplash would have actually been a really weird win, considering it was based on a short film that Damien Chazelle made. Graham Moore was the more conventionally expected winner, so fuck me for going out on a limb. I really thought the night was trending towards Whiplash, too. I now haven't predicted a winner right in the past three categories. This speech is actually really emotional and probably more relevant and immediate than any of the other politically charged messages of this night (of which there's been lots. That's a good thing).

Accuracy: 12/20

11:41 pm:

Best Director

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Predicted Winner: Linklater

Actual Winner: Iñárritu

Wow, so this is really really swinging Birdman's way, which is shit for all my predictions. Iñárritu becomes a rare single-night double Oscar winner. He could become a three-way winner with a Best Picture, which would be a few shades of impeccable. I was looking so solid there for a while. This sucks. Help me, Julianne Moore. Actually, at this rate, Keaton may also pull through for Birdman after all.

Accuracy: 12/21

11:48 pm

Best Actor

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Predicted Winner: Michael Keaton

Actual Winner: Eddie Redmayne

I like how they played the same scene to showcase both Keaton and Stone's performances. That film has so many good outlets for these great actors. Anyway, this win is unbelievable. The kid is obviously excited, which is cool, but it's still more a totally bait-y role than a totally immortal, career-defining / honouring role like Keaton's was, so it's kind of an all-around bummer. Also my prediction totals are truly terrible now.

Accuracy: 12/22

11:54 pm

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Predicted Winner: Julianne Moore

Actual Winner: Julianne Moore

I haven't seen Wild, what the hell was that cornea donation scene? Anyway, thank yo, Julianne Moore for being a great easy pick that makes me seem less stupid. How the hell was I 20/24 last year. I'm just going to keep reminding you of that to demonstrate that I don't totally suck at this.

Accuracy: 13/23

12:03:

Best Picture

American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Boyhood

Actual Winner: Birdman

Was that a little Barney magic with those predictions? Cool. Not as fun as selfies or pizza, but cool. Sean Penn, lighten up, Michelle Obama did this last year. These little vignettes for each nominee are really cool. Iñárritu wraps it up and completes a stunning trifecta of Best Screenplay, Director, and Picture. Consolation for Mike Keaton I guess. Damn you Birdman for completely wrecking my picks, I thought you were totally fizzled out although in October I thought you were a lock and also my personal pick for Best Film of the Year.

Final Total Ultimate Accuracy: 13/24

Not the worst year I've had, above .500 but waaaay worse than I thought I'd do, honestly. Not many of these were totally in the dark, but it ended up being the Birdman and Grand Budapest show, which I had figured to some extent but not this significantly. So these winners will immediately be canonized, and I think a lot of them will be pretty significant and well-remembered down the line. Until next year, folks - it's been real!

2015 Oscar Predictions 100% Right

Wait, I went 20/24 last year? What the fuck?! How am I supposed to compete with that? That's really a tall order but I'll give these predictions my best shot. Holy crap. To be honest, I don't know why I even care about the Oscars. This entire blog is predicated on the notion that you can't really grade films against each other and that all art has the ability to stand on its own and be judged through a mix of cultural impact, personal preferences based on lived experiences, and technical merit. The Oscars kind of flies in the face of all that because it suggests to many people that these are good movies they would enjoy seeing, but that's not really true. It's more just what a consensus of a bunch of industry professionals think are the best of the year.

And "best" is rather lightly used - it's more about stumping, timing, and likability in a culture that seeks to destroy rather than maintain personal relationships. So why cover this garbage at all? It gets clicks. And it IS interesting, if only to examine how films, filmmakers, and studios position themselves against each other. It is also one of the major reasons why studios bother making good films at all instead of just shoving all of their cheddar into a handful of mindless tentpole releases each year. There's a reason why this is Hollywood's biggest night, and it's something adult, cultured, and refined in an industry that otherwise caters to 14-year old nerds.

Right now I'll just run through things quick, and my predictions will probably change over the next couple weeks, especially as this falls out. Seriously, there are a ton of surprises and snubs here. The LEGO Movie (2014) was going to be my default Animated Picture pick, what the fuck do I do now?! I'll get deeper into the categories that actually matter over the next few weeks. For now, here's my gut:

Best Picture

American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Boyhood

I didn't really like Boyhood at all, although it's still an impressive cinematic achievement that I'm surprised hasn't been done in a similar fashion before. I actually only rated two of these in my personal Top Ten for the year, but those two films - Grand Budapest and Birdman actually have the strongest chance of actually upsetting Boyhood. While Birdman seemed like a virtual lock a few months ago, Wes Anderson's latest may actually be tending towards the one that actually nabs him the big prize. Linklater is also deserving in the sense that he's had a great career that the Academy hasn't really recognized yet.

Best Director

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Predicted Winner: Linklater

I could have saved that Linklater talk for this category as well. Iñárritu is the obvious upset with Anderson a close third. The production coordination of both Boyhood and Birdman is astounding achievement, but Linklater made by far the picture that the Academy is typically more comfortable with. He pulls off the twelve-year gimmick well, delivering a family drama with just enough of a curve to be notable while Birdman lambastes most of the current Hollywood business model. There will still be folk who dig the industry story, especially the actor's section, though that won't help it here.

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Predicted Winner: Julianne Moore

This is kind of a weird one that Julianne is sort of running away with now. Jones is the highest profile movie here in terms of Award Nominations, but the competition here is intense. Reese and Cotillard are former winners and Pike turned in the best performance of anyone this year. Moore though, is a five-time nominee who has never won, which is ridiculous to think about. No one at all has seen Still Alice, which could hurt its chances, but as it trends now, this seems like a no brainer reward for an excellent career.

Best Actor

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Predicted Winner: Michael Keaton

There were a crazy amount of great acting performances this year, and Redmayne is sort of a weird rival to Keaton suddenly, especially because of how popular The Theory of Everything seems to be with the Academy. It is a pretty safe biopic of an interesting handicapped modern historical figure. That's Oscar gold, baby! But Keaton very much deserves this and like so many others, this is a lifetime achievement award for creating a crazy amount of iconic characters and Birdman is in innumerable ways a film made for him and he just destroys it.

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Predicted Winner: Patricia Arquette

Remember all that stuff I've been saying about how these awards are all basically going to be career achievement awards? That'll keep going on. The same could be said for Laura Dern here, but Wild doesn't have the profile of Boyhood right now. The younger nominees are interesting and in years past this may have been Emma's to lose, but this is all Patricia. Now, if only David Arquette can be awarded...

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Just Kidding Simmons

Copy and paste all that other text I wrote about the other acting nominations. JK Simmons is the favorite character actor of everyone in the world, and this category is tailor-made for performances like his in Whiplash. It's loud, showy, and most of all, a perfect conduit for his schtick. This award notoriously goes to people playing notorious characters, and this will fit right in line with where it has gone in the past.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Jason Hall, American Sniper
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Predicted Winner: Whiplash

This is my bold prediction. Reading more about how P.T. Anderson adapted Inherent Vice, I'm actually impressed with it, but it really doesn't have any momentum. The other three movies are totally safe choices that no one would blink an eye about. Whiplash, though, is a chance to award a young writer-director who turned in an extremely talented and unique screenplay. That's totally like past winners such as Argo (2012), The Descendents (2011), and Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009).

Best Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, Foxcatcher
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Predicted Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Academy has sort of finally realized that they've never awarded Wes Anderson anything, and even though this isn't his year to gain Best Picture, he'll be happy walking away with Best Original Screenplay. It's got the most buzz out of any of these flicks, although if Boyhood or Birdman feels like sweeping, one of them will take this. Grand Budapest is actually riding pretty high right now, though, and there are other locks for those films to take. Oscar ceremonies have been more split lately than dominated by one or two films, and there's so many great, widely beloved films this year, Anderson takes him his first trophy.

Best Foreign Language Film

Leviathan
Ida
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales

Predicted Winner: Ida

I really couldn't believe that Force Majeure wasn't nominated, but Ida is the next best thing we've got (No Babadook, either!). Ida is actually the safer pick than Leviathan, which won the Best Foreign pic award at the Golden Globes. It's tempting to go with that pick, but with a surprising nomination in Cinematography as well, it's clear that Ida gained ground among more than just the typical voters. It's also a way more normal movie that the Academy likes rather than Leviathan.

Best Documentary Feature

CITIZENFOUR
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt in the Earth
Virunga

Predicted Winner: CITIZENFOUR

CITIZENFOUR is assuredly the most high profile doc on this list, but in the past that hasn't always been a guarantee for success. It does more for the genre than any other film here, though, as it's really about making the story along with documenting it. That could be derided by some purists. It's a hugely relevant tale, though, and most people have at least a vague familiarity with the Eddie Snowden story. The Academy could chicken out and not award it for its controversy, but Hollywood is nice and liberal, right?

Best Animated Feature

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Predicted Winner: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Give the Academy some credit for throwing an absolute monkey wrench into what is typically one of the larger no brainer, automatic categories of the Ceremony. The LEGO Movie losing out on the Globe was one thing, but to not even receive a nomination here is crazy. Any one of these becomes a deserving and very possible winner, but How to Train Your Dragon 2 ought to follow in the vein of Happy Feet - a not that great animated film that made a lot of money and appealed to a lot of people. There are some flaws with that logic, but it's easily the film that unsure voters will default to.

Film Editing

American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Boyhood

Everything else is crap, but this will come down to Grand Budapest and Boyhood. The sharp, competent editing style that demonstrates a wit to match the film favors Budapest, but the majestic technical feat of splicing together twelve years of footage (okay - twelve weeks shot over twelve years) and keeping that straight in the editor's head is damned impressive. Again, gimmicky, but impressive.

Best Song

"Everything is Awesome" from The LEGO Movie (written by Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from Selma (written by Common and John Legend)
"Grateful" from Beyond the Lights
"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me
"Lost Stars" from Begin Again (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)

Predicted Winner: "Glory"

"Everything is Awesome" may  have seemed like a lock, and it would be awesome to say Academy Award Winner Andy Samberg (he would get in on that, right?), but it's more and more apparent that no one in the Academy gives a shit about The LEGO Movie, even with a song that's was indelibly tied into its film. "Glory" makes the bridge from Selma to today, though, and we'll have to settle on Academy Award Winner Common. It's the only controversial speech the Oscars are going to get, but hopefully they'll go for it, and we'll get someone to give White America a good Richard Sherman-like scare.

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

Predicted Winner: Johann Johannsson

I just picked the best name, and it turns out he's favored! Hooray! I can't really pick out any of these scores and we're not going to be jamming to The Theory of Everything ten years from now, but with no Antonio Sanchez Birdman or Mica Levi Under the Skin noms, it's the best we've got.

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins, Unbroken
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Dick Pope, Mr. Turner
Robert Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, Ida

Predicted Winner: Lubezki

There shouldn't really be a question here. Lubezki won last year for Gravity (2013), and normally I'd rather have the wealth spread out a bit more, but he's just so damn deserving. He's become the master of the single-take tracking shot and Birdman obviously goes nuts with this idea. Like the editing for Boyhood, from a technical planning standpoint alone this is an incredible feat. This should be a no brainer.

Best Costume Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

Predicted Winner: Into the Woods

Grand Budapest is the obvious pick but obvious picks never win this category. In the face of huge prestige competition films like Marie Antoinette (2006), The Duchess (2008), The Young Victoria (2009), Anna Karenina (2012), and The Great Gatsby (2013) have pulled off wins. Grand Budapest fits into this model pretty well, being a period piece and all, and heavily favored films like The Artist (2011) have won this in sweeps, but I can just imagine sitting there and hating watching Into the Woods win this thing.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Predicted Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

All three of these are totally worthy and the fact that I care about this race is amazing. Foxcatcher's prosthetics on Steve Carrell are certainly notable, but that's really a small bit of the film. Guardians really did have some of the best Makeup effects in recent memory, but I struggle to see it winning over Grand Budapest - it's just that kind of plausible Best Picture nominee that makes it a good outlet for voters to choose to sweep things like this.

Best Production Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

Predicted Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

See what I'm talking about? Grand Budapest just seems like the obvious default for all these kinds of awards. Interstellar could also be really deserving, but the Academy is more into giving love when it can to solidly loved pics like Wes Anderson's gorgeous baby here.

Best Sound Editing

American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

Predicted Winner: Interstellar

These are all pretty deserving, maybe the coordination of gritty squeals and grunts in Birdman more than some others, but the deafening glory of Interstellar that extorts itself even over its dialogue and score ought to give it some ground here.

Best Sound Mixing

American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

Predicted Winner: Interstellar

Here are five films that are very dependent on sound to establish their message, either through music, war, or space travel. Interstellar is the most high profile and probably the best here as well. It's a good candidate to lavish these kinds of awards on, as Gravity snatched up last year.

Best Visual Effects

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Predicted Winner: Interstellar

I don't think it's really a contest. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes does deserve some recognition for the huge leap forward in realistic furry apes, even from Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), but Interstellar helped us understand how black holes work. Seriously, the effects pioneered in the film to explore more accurate black hole depictions gave us a better understanding of our universe. You've got to award that. I don't even remember anything great from any other blockbuster this year.

Best Short Film, Live Action

"Aya"
"Boogaloo and Graham"
"Butter Lamp"
"Parvaneh"
"The Phone Call"

Predicted Winner: "The Phone Call"

Welcome to the game that we call, "The Dartboard." Gold Derby says "The Phone Call." So I'm going with that. I may do some more research on this crap later, but chances are, I will just do anything else with my life instead. Listen, the shorts are all actually pretty interesting, and it'd be cool if there was some kind of mainstream distribution outlet for them, even though you can snag most on YouTube or something, but they're so hard to get around to seeing. Hopefully I look smart.

Best Short Film, Animated

"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
"A Single Life"

Predicted Winner: "Feast"

Wheeee!!! I have no pretension of backing this up with accurate judgment.

Best Documentary, Short Subject

"Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
"The Reaper"
"White Earth"

Predicted Winner: "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"

Boop boop. Most interesting title.

Okay, folks - those are all my predictions for the 2015 Academy Awards. Some are gutsy, some are obvious, and some are complete shots in the dark, but we'll see how awesome I am on February 22nd! In between now and then I'll be taking some time as usual to go over the more important categories that everyone cares about (like Live Action Short!) before live blogging my stupid reactions to the night itself. Stay tuned, America!

2014 in Review: NMW's Top Ten

You have been so patient, people. I appreciate it. Here we are, with two days left to go in 2014 and it's finally time to really get into the movies that landed this year. I went back and forth on this list a ton and I'm sure that in a few years I'll look back and go "What the hell was I thinking?!" I like the idea of Best Of lists being dynamic rather than static. So, fuck it - let's revise 2013 first!

Wait, I ranked 19 movies last year? What a cop out. Here's 2013's Updated Top Ten, in order:

#10: Nebraska
#9: You're Next
#8: Frozen

#7: This is The End

#6: 12 Years a Slave
#5: Pain & Gain
#4: Spring Breakers
#3: Inside Llewyn Davis
#2: The World's End
#1: The Wolf of Wall Street

Now that that's out of the way, let's dig into 2014. I am actually now more curious about how I will feel about this list in 2015. For some reason I feel like at least The Double will drop out. Anywho, let's get in that ass:

#10: Guardians of the Galaxy

I like the summation here: "Guardians of the Galaxy is better than four out of six Star Wars movies." It's absolutely true! There's a hundred things to love about this movie - its sense of unadulterated fun that's become absent from major studio blockbusters, the deft character work, the inherent humour, or even Marvel's competent cosmic world-building that dips its toes into very nerdy water without lingering too long to make our eyes glaze over. What I love most though, is how Star-Lord finally kicks Ronan's ass through sheer irreverence; a giant post-modern fuck you to the stodgy self-serious soliloquies of blockbusters long past. The movie did all this while turning a half dozen throwaway joke characters into 2014's most significant pop culture force. And the best Soundtrack of the year.

#9: Under the Skin

Okay, I actually have a lot of trouble with Under the Skin. I'm pretty sure it's either the greatest cinematic experience of the year or the most frustrating. It's full-fledged reliance on visual storytelling requires a keen eye to decipher everything that's going on, and the abstract nature of its presentation can be maddening. In some sense it fails because it flat out refuses to divulge all of its secrets in visually coherent ways - but then again isn't a movie that allows you to form an opinion of the narrative, taking as much or as little from it as you want or can, a pretty sublime experience? For what it's worth, Under the Skin made me think more than any other film this year and will probably be on this list for a long time as I keep trying to figure it out, which in itself proves its greatness.

#8: The Double

I didn't totally mean to shit on The Double earlier, but I just feel like it's something I really like right now that may not stay with me. It's hard to say that it's better than the other surrealist doppelganger drama that came out this year, Enemy, but I certainly enjoyed Richard Ayoade's flick a bit more. There's a dry Visioneers (2008)-vibe to the bureaucratic world-building with characters that react very humanly to these impossible situations. Jesse Eisenberg is a revelation here in his dual roles, completely selling two different sides of visually identical duplicates with mere cock-eyed grins, slumped shoulders, or walking pace. Mia Wasikowska balances the equation beautifully, and when I tried to think of who the third lead was I remembered that it was Eisenberg again. He sells that dual role that well.

#7: Top Five

Top Five is the most recent film I've seen, which is unfortunate, because I'm so jonesing off it that it gets #7. Yes, Top Five is the black film I'm choosing for this list over Selma. I feel like this film was years in the making, because Chris Rock has never really been a true movie star. He's always really famous, but that act has never done well translated to an on-screen persona for some reason. He creates a film that's at once a spoof of culture, Hollywood, personal demons, societal expectations, and a chance to riff on everything from Obama to Ho Sleep. The cast hits all the right notes and the ending is perfect.

#6: Snowpiercer

You have to go with the premise, which immediately makes no sense at all. The entire world's population is confined a train which runs infinite loops around the world, where the rich live in the front and the poor live in the back. Where do all the rich people sleep? How do they have cows for steaks and shit? Who knows. Who cares. This movie rules. The action is mind-boggling but so is the confined sandbox world-building, international mix of cast and characters, and even the humour. This is a movie where you never have any idea of what's going to happen next, and when you do, your expectations are subverted and something else totally bonkers happens. In a movie that features a pitch black axe battle over an ice bridge the more insane moments happen in the pre-school car a few minutes later. What's up with that?

#5: The Grand Budapest Hotel

How does Wes Anderson keep out-Wes Anderson-ing himself? I thought that Moonrise Kingdom (2012) was the most Wes Anderson movie ever, but The Grand Budapest Hotel by far takes that trophy. Impressive as it is to have an adjective named after him, Wes Anderson-ing up a film like this somehow works perfectly. The set design gorgeously gels with the story and becomes a character unto itself. Ralph Fiennes gobbles up a juicy role with delight and plays straight the doofiest aspects and plays doofy the straight aspects. It's bewildering and awesome. Then there's the parade of Anderson regulars, from Adrian Brody to Willem Dafoe to Tilda Swinton who show up briefly for wacky side parts that are still so based in consistent character motivations. The whole package works beautifully, which is an astoundingly hard thing to do.

#4: Interstellar

This is probably what a Christopher Nolan Star Wars would feel like. Dripped in humanist realism with big loud epic, humanity-changing moments, this film succeeds in almost every possible facet of blockbuster filmmaking, from its script to the acting, directing, production design, and special effects. It's even a bit more warm than most of Nolan's harshly intellectual flicks (don't worry, there's plenty for your brain to digest), but when the film truly starts soaring into tripped out mind-blowing territory that echoes 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), that's when I knew it'd be sticking with me for a while.

#3: Gone Girl

Dave Fincher's subtle directing here is spot-on, which is a shame in a year full of really flashy directing jobs like Nolan, Anderson, Linklater, and Iñárritu. So he's not likely to be recognized, but his camera work, editing, slow build of tension, and complete mastery of the most brutal twisty mystery of the year is commendable. Likewise to Ben Affleck, who I still think turned in one of the most credible acting performances of the year. Rosamund, who is a ton more showy (and who don't get me wrong, did a ridiculous job of selling every part of Amy's character who swings from affected mania to eerie control on a dime) may rack up the awards, which is some consolidation. You're constantly guessing who the true victim is here and it ends on a truly meaningful and relevant discourse on marriage, gender balance, and media power. It's stunning.

#2: Inherent Vice

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of our greatest living directors and it's refreshing to see him get away from the deep brooding There Will Be Blood (2007) territory and into more silly Boogie Nights (1997) territory. While I loved Blood and The Master (2012), Anderson has this great knack for this level of sincere goofiness and Inherent Vice just kills it with its mastery of attitude, tone, and acting prowess from the best cast of the year. There's a lot going on under the surface, too, and characters who don't even understand their own motivations are the most entertaining to watch.

#1: Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

What do you want to call this? An unparalleled directing achievement? A movie that didn't need to go through a black hole to be a mind-bender? A film that sifts through multiple levels of meta-analysis not only about its own industry but the very nature of subjective art and criticism itself? A heady discussion on the needs and merits of acting vs. living the life of an actor? Or maybe just a self-contained hedonistic exercise in a narrow, pretentious industry. No other film grabbed my attention as much as this did and I had no other experience at the movie theater like it. From start to finish (There wasn't a more memorable opening line this year than "smells like balls") this flick just delivered everything you could want from a movie - complete technological and logistical control disguised as artistic minimalism. It's a wonder to experience.

Honourable Mentions:

I love all these flicks, but not enough for them to get a nice write-up. OK, just a sentence each!

The LEGO Movie: Adorable discourse on cultural hegemony disguised as product placement!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The most heady superhero movie ever!
Bad Words: Jason Bateman's confident and hysterical directing debut!
Obvious Child: Abortion romantic comedies can be hilarious - who knew Jenny "F-Bomb" Slate had it in her?!
Foxcatcher: This cast is a dream in any other genre, but is ridiculous in the dramatic folds here!
Edge of Tomorrow: Oh yeah, I forgot there's a reason why we all love Tom Cruise movies!
The Interview: The silliest comedy of the year is built upon James Franco's expressive face; brings nations and corporations to their knees!
The Babadook: Oh this was scary as hell! But with such a cute name!
Tusk: I really just liked Kevin Smith and Johnny Depp's daughters...
The Imitation Game: All the makings of a classic biopic rendered interesting through the will of Cumberbatch!
Selma: All the makings of a classic biopic rendered incredible through increased contemporary relevancy and an honest portrayal of its subject within the context of the event going on around him!
Whiplash: J. Jonah Jameson, here's your Oscar!
Jodorowsky's Dune: You're an insane man, Alejandro! But you're also nearly responsible for revolutionizing Hollywood!

Snubs:

By the way, I hated both Boyhood and Nightcrawler. On the former I think it's a pretty difficult task that Richard Linklater set out to do, and the conceit is infinitely intriguing and creative, but I just wish it resulted in a better film. Ditto with Nighcrawler - Gyllenhaal is amazing, but I couldn't get passed how much I hated his character. I suppose that means he did a great job. He's had a really underrated year, actually, with Enemy also clocking in as that other doppelganger movie. I just couldn't deal with that one because I'm afraid of spiders, man.

So, where will this list be in 2015? Or even 2020 for that matter? Who knows. I really digged a lot of movies this year, as you can tell, I think I wrote more reviewing this year than any year past. This year gave me a lot of hope for film in the years to come, even if 2015 looks like it's lining up with brainless blockbusters. But hey, we got Guardians out of that attitude, so whatever. As long as we keep taking risks I'm not worried. Hi ho silver! Away!

2014 in Review: Best Scenes in the Films of 2014

Once again I felt like waiting until the last gasp of 2014 to put out my best of list - all those people who rush at the beginning of December really aren't absorbing everything that the year has to offer. With one last mighty breath, 2014 is extinguished and we head into the throngs of 2015. Hoverboards, ya'll! But before that, let us take a moment to describe the best scenes, actors, trailers, music, trends, and films of 2014. This post is going to be wicked drippy. Actually I think I'll split it up, because there's way too much going on here. Let's just talk about the scenes.

Best Scenes of 2014:

There are some spoilers here for sure, because some of these are the endings of films and stuff, so if you haven't seen a lot of these flicks, just skip ahead. I like the idea here of highlighting a lot of crappy movies that had really awesome scenes, along with the best films of the year who did have incredible moments.

#15: Creating the World in Noah



Noah really isn't an altogether terrible movie, or at least it really wasn't as bad as people purported it to be. I mostly enjoyed it because it's trippy as hell and has all these bizarre moments like Rock Angels and other insane gritty moments of like, Ray Winstone eating a live rat on board the Ark. It falls apart because no one cares about Noah, and the character himself grows insane to the point of being unlikable. The production design is also other-worldly and ridiculous, and I've never seen the Biblical account of the World's Creation rendered so creatively.

#14: Breast-feeding in Neighbors

I wanted to pick one scene from Neighbors because it really deserves recognition for being one of the funnier movies of the year, but it's really hard. The set-up for the breast-feeding scene is epic, though, and it wins as possibly being the most painful moment in a movie built upon painful moments. I almost picked the Dance Off, though, as much for Seth Rogen's doofiness as for Rose Byrne's conniving stares.

#13: Ending Concert in Whiplash



There's a lot of painful tense scenes in this film, the rushing or dragging scene above is one of them, but there's no better moment that subverts both the entire movie's set-up and what should have appeared to be a classic "rough teacher just trying to push his students harder" bit of acceptance and redemption. Instead it's nuts and Miles Teller has to become a badass on his own instead of getting it handed to him by J.K. Simmons. I'd love to find a clip, but I think it's a bit too fresh to be online yet.

#12: Home Invasion / Club Fight in John Wick



John Wick succeeded by being a perfect antidote to a lot of action movies out there right now, along with giving Keanu a role that should be really natural for him but we haven't seen him do in a while. And it doesn't suck! If you look at these two fight scenes you'll notice a few things - how fast they are yet how much you're allowed to breathe and actually take in the action, along with how creative and fast-thinking John Wick actually is as he's reloading and dodging bad guys. It's clear, crisp, concise action that's done more in the real world than with CGI. Who would have guessed this style was visually appealing?! And here is the club scene.

#11: Smile in Why Don't You Play in Hell



Why Don't You Play in Hell is a bonkers Japanese film about a young film crew that sets out to film the greatest movie ever with a bunch of gangsters, which really just becomes the gangsters actually killing their enemies on film. It's got a real sense of beautiful mania to it, and the final blood soaked battle jumps off from where Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) left off. But really, the Smile Scene is where it's at for pure weirdness.

#10: Opening of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes



There wasn't more impressive character work done this year than in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, especially considering 1) They weren't human, 2) They hardly spoke, and 3) They were CGI motion captured. Everything you need to know about the principal Apes in the film comes across in the first five minutes of the film and then it spirals from there into lunacy like Monkeys shooting guns from tanks and Koba getting the Hans Gruber treatment. But watching and immediately understanding an entire Ape Society without resorting to this is a ridiculous feat.

#9: The Avalanche in Force Majeure



I haven't seen all of Force Majeure but I have seen this scene (and another one where some girl at the ski resort mistakenly hits on the family's father and his buddy), and it's spectacular. From the sudden tension and drama that unfolds after a "controlled" avalanche goes awry to the complete failure of a father to protect his family to the calm way the scene just picks up where it left off once the snow passes, it's a few minutes where you can identify an entire film.

#8: Birdman takes Flight in Birdman

Maybe I shouldn't say this is the best scene in Birdman - I mean, the whole film is rallying against scenes like this, right? But it is the moment where reality and fantasy begin to really blur (maybe I should have picked that ending), and it forms this elegy for Big Blockbuster Temptation - commercialism that will make you a man more than any crappy artistic play could. It's really the crux of the film and it's also where Michael Keaton's Riggan Thompson finds his mojo. And maybe he dies, who knows.

#7: "Ooh Child" in Guardians of the Galaxy



I wanted to pick a musical moment in Guardians and to me, this is the best. Others may go with Redbone or Blue Swede, but for me, Peter Quill's A Cappella "Ooh Child" Dance Off with Ronan is the highlight of this flick. It's Star-Lord's irreverence slamming headfirst into Ronan's antiquated villainous monologue-y attitude. It's a moment of sincere hilarity in what would otherwise have been any other superhero climactic struggle. And most importantly, it actually works, distracting that big jackass long enough for Rocket and Drax to do their thing and blow his weapon apart.

#6: Andre Allen's Hits Bottom in Top Five

There are a lot of spectacular moments in Top Five, but it mostly relies on verbal jokes, revelations, or riffs on various topics. When Chris Rock's Andre Allen's night in Houston goes from the greatest of his life to the worst of his life, though, I was laughing out of my seat. Cedric the Entertainer has never been more over the top and every element to how this scene was constructed, from the early expectations to Chris Rock's perfect terrified face as things go completely awry is perfect.

#5: The Frozen Arm in Snowpiercer



Snowpiercer is full of insane amazing scenes, and many would probably go with the mid-car ice bridge darkness axe battle, but the Frozen Arm is the first indication that this is a special movie. It's an ingenious use of the movie's own universe to dish out punishment that also provides excellent world-building. You're not quite sure what those portals are or what the man is doing with his shirt off, but as you figure it out on your own it dawns on you how brutal and perfect it is. The limb-losing becomes a common thread, and you can begin to tell that this is something that many people in the back of the train have gone through.

#4: Docking in Interstellar

How does Matthew McConaughey know how to do this? Who cares, but this scene is set up with aplomb and is one of the most tense of the year. First we see Matt Damon complete screw up his docking, which causes all kinds of hell to break loose. Then McConaughey gives it a shot and kicks ass, even though his ass is kicked doing it. Nolan does a great job in this movie of framing concepts that are difficult to conceive, and two objects spinning around in circles trying to line-up with each other could have been pretty boring. Instead, it's the highlight of the film.

#3: Throat-slitting in Gone Girl



Here's the ultimate "OH SHIT WTF JUST HAPPENED" moment of the year. We already know that Rosamund Pike's Innocent Victim Amy is really a conniving bitch, but this is the first true measurement of deep her insanity lies. Like I said in my review of this, I don't really like calling her insane because I think the film justifies a lot of her actions, if in their own way, but this is a brutal out of left field moment that cements her status as the most dangerous creature at the party. It's shocking, in character for everyone, and pushes the ending to a natural delicious tortured finish. It's a sizzling caper to an electric film.

#2: Time in a Bottle in X-Men: Days of Future Past



In terms of sheer awesomeness, it's tough to beat this one. At once it's both how much of a Deus Ex Machina Quicksilver is and a brilliantly majestic use of song, special effects, comedy, and character. It's not so much about advancing plot here as it is just getting the gang out of a jam, but on sheer irreverent cleverness alone this earns some big points for existing in an otherwise self-serious movie about time travel, robot apocalypses, and blue girls kicking ass.

#1: Fire Breath in Godzilla



This should hopefully cause some controversy, but I thought long about this and I decided that my most rewarding moment at the theater this year came from that first little charge up the tail and ended with a giant monster's head being melted off. Maybe it's just that we spent forever waiting for the big guy to even show up and start fighting and you know that his most powerful weapon, the Nuclear Fire Breath is coming. It's also just so well designed visually. The way that glow lights up the night where you didn't even know the G-Man was there. Godzilla is the kind of throwback movie that does all the little things right, and this is really the crux of all that waiting and the payoff is the greatest scene in the film. It's the ultimate cheerable moment, and as Godzilla stands King of the Monsters you can't help but feel a little pride that he's on your side.

Bonus: The Devil in Winter's Tale



I had to include this scene. It's not great by any means, but it's certainly the most downright bizarre in the most bizarre movie of 2014. What is Will Smith doing here? Why is he almost a convincing devil? Honestly, this YouTube video only has like 10,000 views - no one even knows that Will Smith is in this movie. And lest we not even forget what is actually happening in this scene - what the hell is going on? Why is there this bureaucracy for Demons on Earth? It's completely mystifying and spectacularly terrible.

Looking Back on Looking Forward: 2014 Under the Microscope

Way back when 2014 was in its infancy, I called out the ten films I was looking forward to the most. It's always a nice measuring stick to look back and see just how dumb and naïve I was to think that any of these would be good. A lot of my anticipation was justified, and nothing here outright bombed (okay, that first one did), but there is a resound meh from this list. So let's go over what I thought was going to be awesome:

#10: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Oh no! Right out the gate I'm dead in the water. I knew this was going to suck, though. I was mostly just pumped up because I actually saw this being filmed in my hometown of Rochester, NY, which is a first for me. What I couldn't have predicted was just how bad it really was - I mean, it's nearly destroyed what could have been a promising franchise with one of the most popular superheros of all time. But really, if it's enough to get Spider-Man back into the Marvel fold, then I'm okay with this and the next one tanking hard.

#9: Dom Hemingway

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, which I think flew under a lot of people's radar. The plot is paper thin, but Jude Law turns in a really engrossing, slightly out-of-character performance as a man nigh-unlikable who's trying to find some way to move on to the less stupid things in life. It also has an amazing ending that showcases Dom's cleverness along with a full-fledged assault on his masculinity, which really causes a huge push on his character. It's tough to get past the lunacy, but this is an underrated 2014 flick.

#8: The LEGO Movie

This was tremendously well-placed and probably should have been a bit higher. There's no reason why this movie should have been good at all, but then again, Phil Lord and Chris Miller's 21 Jump Street (2012) had no right to be good, either. From taking what could have been a crass, commercialized story and turning it into a strong metanarrative rallying against both pop culture conformity and hyper-specialization to its canny summation of all the potential awesomeness of playing with LEGOs, it hits everywhere it needed to.

#7: Transcendence

I will first say that I didn't think that Transcendence was as mind-numbingly awful as a lot of other people thought, but still, when that's the best I can say, it doesn't bode well. I'd consider it a movie filled with lots of really interesting and relevant ideas that's wrapped in a stiff shell of inconsistent character work and stretches of logic that we can never totally buy. It's not quite an action movie nor is it quite the philosophical treatise that it wants to be, but it still gets you thinking about the next stage in human evolution, which will almost certainly be technologically driven. There's not a lot of other films out there playing with this concept, and not even Paul Bettany's bizarre Stockholm Syndrome can hold that back.

#6: Interstellar

At the time of writing the preview last year, all I knew about Interstellar was the director, the star, and the name. It was enough to get me pumped and thank goodness, because it's the best film on this list. Big, original, engrossing, and intellectual blockbuster filmmaking is crazily rare in the same year that Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) made more money worldwide. I'm not sure if a director other than Nolan could pull this off right now (in execution and in merely getting the film greenlit), which makes encouraging these kinds of films all the more important.

#5: Guardians of the Galaxy

I'm glad Guardians comes after Interstellar because it's on the complete other end of the spectrum. It's the second-best movie on this list and also filmmaking that needs to be encouraged for the completely opposite reason - it's fun! That fun is derived from character, though, which is critically important, especially considering the off-the-wall characters in this thing that could have very easily slipped into forgettable B-movie doofiness. Instead it's always playing with itself, comfortable being a space opera, a dude flick, and an 80s throwback all at once.

#4: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Increasingly my stance on this movie is that the scenes with the Apes are some of the best of any movie this year, while the scenes with the humans all kind of fall apart. I think it averages to present an okay-moviegoing experience that isn't the all-encompassing gift from the movie gods it felt like when it came out.

#3: 22 Jump Street

There was no funnier movie this year, but I still have issues about how it hung its hat on calling out movie sequels for being repetitive but never really innovated on its own despite trying really hard to form some kind of comment on it. I guess I finish with mixed feelings on this, although I can still think of half a dozen hilarious scenes that make me giggle with glee. And who knew that Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill would be an invincible comedy team?

#2: Godzilla

Here's another film that I liked more than it deserved. It was trashed a lot for its midway ditching of Bryan Cranston in favor of Kick-Ass, but I actually thought that his departure was perfect. I don't buy either argument either for or against holding back on seeing Godzilla himself. It's not really executed with perfect Spielbergian attention to tension and investment in character nor does it completely make the first half a waste of time. I'm definitely a fan, even if most of the flick is just waiting for a really satisfying final ten minutes.

#1: X-Men: Days of Future Past

I absolutely loved this film when it first came out, even though when I thought about it for a week after I realized how phenomenally stupid and inconsistent so many scenes were. It's a testament to Singer's directing skills that most of this is masked in a nice layer of candy upon first viewing, though. It's a seamless mix of First Class (2011) and the original X-Men casts, even if that actually just means First Class and Wolverine. More importantly, though, it erased the history of every crappy X-Men movie. Like Guardians, it is also a really fun movie, despite focusing mostly on a Robot Apocalypse.

So there you have it, folks. Out of our Ten Anticipated Movies, I'd say about three were justified, six were meh, and one totally sucked. What will 2015 bring? Probably more crap. Stay tuned after the New Year to find out our picks!