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.
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