Best Films of 2014
Collections of best movies I've seen released in 2014. Some of these movies may show 2013 on their titles but they were actually released in 2014.
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- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.By far, the best 2014 movie I've seen. At first, the movie looks like a typical story of an inspired student who wanted to do great with the help of his teacher. But as it progresses, the film takes you to something new, something more beautiful than it already is. Its little twist and turn will make your heart cry, laugh and shout for joy all at the same time.
Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons were equally great and gave life to their characters. I only remember Simmons as a funny guy in Spider-Man movies and Juno, so seeing him in this film is a 360-degrees turn of his usual role showing the actor's real potential. As for Teller, he was over-shadowed with rom-coms. He had serious role once with Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole" but this film should get him to wide-range of roles in the future (hopefully).
There are a lot of takeaways in Whiplash, but perhaps the strongest of all is that you don't limit yourself. Pushing someone beyond their capability is an absolute necessity, as Fletcher (Simmons' character) said in the film. And that must have what writer-director applied in making this gem because it transpired and visible to every take, scene by scene. - DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEllar ColtranePatricia ArquetteEthan HawkeThe life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.Filming a movie for 12 years long can really be exhausted I imagine. But for Richard Linklater and his cast, it was one very long adventure. Boyhood centers on a boy Mason from age 5 to 18 years old.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
- DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsEthan HawkeSarah SnookNoah TaylorAs his last assignment, a temporal agent is tasked to travel back in time and prevent a bomb attack in New York in 1975. The hunt, however, turns out to be beyond the bounds of possibility.
- DirectorDan GilroyStarsJake GyllenhaalRene RussoBill PaxtonWhen Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsJake GyllenhaalMélanie LaurentSarah GadonA man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.There are two doppelganger movies released this year, both praised by critics but I found Enemy crazier and more twisted (in a good way of course).
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsNicolas CageTye SheridanGary PoulterAn ex-con, who is the unlikeliest of role models, meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.This Southern drama reminds you that Nicolas Cage still makes movies with great quality. His character, Joe, haunts me for days after watching it.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsJon FavreauRobert Downey Jr.Scarlett JohanssonA head chef quits his restaurant job and buys a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.
- DirectorSteven KnightStarsTom HardyOlivia ColmanRuth WilsonIvan Locke, a dedicated family man and successful construction manager, receives a phone call on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career that sets in motion a series of events that threaten his carefully cultivated existence.A one-man show film starred by Tom Hardy. This tells us great movies don't have to be star-studded nor involved multi-sets or characters and most of all don't need to be with big budget to impress. It just capitalizes on its actor's potential and creativity.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsRalph FiennesF. Murray AbrahamMathieu AmalricA writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.It's Wes Anderson film. Can you think of his movies that you don't like? That's what I thought.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsChris EvansJamie BellTilda SwintonIn a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.This is the other sci-fi movie of Captain America star, Chris Evans. Well, he is also quite a hero here minus his shield. You better fasten your seat-belt as soon as the movie starts coz' this sci-fi action flick assures you a not-so-safe train ride.
- DirectorPhil LordChristopher MillerStarsChris PrattWill FerrellElizabeth BanksAn ordinary LEGO construction worker, thought to be the prophesied as "special", is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.With few animation released this year, The Lego Movie seems to be the only well-reviewed animated film and a sure bet for Oscars. Though it's still early to say but I'll say it any way. It's the best animated film of 2014.
- DirectorJim MickleStarsMichael C. HallSam ShepardDon JohnsonWhen a protective father meets a murderous ex-con, both need to deviate from the path they are on as they soon find themselves entangled in a downwards spiral of lies and violence while having to confront their own inner psyche.
- DirectorJeremy SaulnierStarsMacon BlairDevin RatrayAmy HargreavesA mysterious outsider's quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
- DirectorJames GunnStarsChris PrattVin DieselBradley CooperA group of intergalactic criminals must pull together to stop a fanatical warrior with plans to purge the universe.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsScarlett JohanssonJeremy McWilliamsLynsey Taylor MackayA mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisYayan RuhianArifin PutraOnly a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.If you loved the first movie, you're surely love this sequel.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsPatrick StewartIan McKellenHugh JackmanThe X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsTom CruiseEmily BluntBill PaxtonA soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
- DirectorAnthony RussoJoe RussoStarsChris EvansSamuel L. JacksonScarlett JohanssonAs Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.One of the best superhero movies I've seen (yes it's even better than The Avengers). With great action sequences that don't really look fabricated, enough pacing and packed with surprises, "The Winter Soldier" has raised the standards for marvel cinematic universe to paramount (Joss Whedon must be feeling the pressure now for "Age of Ultron")
- DirectorRichard GlatzerWash WestmorelandStarsJulianne MooreAlec BaldwinKristen StewartA linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.