My Top 25 Movies of 2014: Part I (#25-11)

I've counted down my favorite male performances of the year, my favorite female performances of the year, and (essentially) my least-favorite/most disappointing movies of the year. But now that I've gotten the lists no one cares about out of the way, it's time to make the list a few less people will not care about: my favorite movies of the year!

As always, this list is entirely subjective, so any and all comments about how wrong I am for liking something more than something else should be kept to a minimum -- in other words, quiet in the peanut gallery!

25. Enemy
Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Bizarre and slightly chaotic, this dark, symbolic tale of a man and his doppelganger is both an excellent showcase of Jake Gyllenhaal's skills as an actor and a great example of the effectiveness of a psychological drama when it doesn't succumb to the predictable tendencies often found within the genre.

My Top 10 Male Performances of 2014

The male version of my last post, obviously. The female list was a tad shallow, but this one was really difficult for me to make, since there were almost twice as many performances I would like to have included on this list, so bear with me. Any disagreements? Let me know what you think. Obviously, this list is just my opinion, though, so do try to be civil in making your counter-points: there are children present.

10. Joaquin Phoenix - Inherent Vice

A strange combination of Jeff Bridges' The Dude and Johnny Depp's Raoul Duke, Phoenix goes all out here (as usual for him) and gives one of the most entertaining performances of the year as a whacked-out private investigator in a drug-addled '70s Los Angeles setting. A trippy movie with a lead performance just insane and hilarious enough to match the tone.

My Top 10 Female Performances of 2014

A fairly self-explanatory post, this is my quick write-up of the top 10 female performances of 2014 as I see it: favorite, best, etc. Enjoy.



10. Carrie Coon - Gone Girl

Providing excellent support in a movie totally dominated by a single performance, Carrie Coon's portrayal of a sister caught up in the betrayal, lies, and complexity of her brothers highly publicized missing persons case is one of the more subdued performances of the film, but easily one of the most compelling and genuinely moving.

My Top 10 UGH Movies of 2014

What makes a movie "ugh"? Lots of things. I'll let you know better after this lovely picture.



Ahh... now wasn't that nice?

This isn't a list of the worst movies of the year. These are the movies I felt failed in some way to capture what they were hoping to achieve, or movies that I felt were over-hyped, or other reasons I will explain later. Largely, this is a list of disappointing movies for me. Generally, I don't bother watching movies I know I won't enjoy (hence me choosing not to watch creatures like 'Blended'), so when I put a movie on or go to the movies, I usually put at least a little thought into it. Sometimes, I know what I'm going into - such being the case with Ouija, Annabelle, Dracula Untold, I Frankenstein, etc. I did not expect these to be good movies, so I could not be too let down by them. The movies that are on this list are the ones I had at least some expectations for...that, or they're so profoundly stupid, they make the list just on the principle of it.

So, before I bore my audience to oblivion, here is the list. Enjoy.