The Case For "Edge of Tomorrow"(01 of22)
Open Image ModalTom Cruise's best movie in nearly a decade had a terrible title and some pretty uninspiring trailers, but none of it mattered when it came to the film itself. As directed by Doug Liman, "Edge of Tomorrow" is like a Road Runner cartoon mixed with "Jerry Maguire" and some lost John Wayne movie about World War II (except with aliens replacing Nazis). Cruise is inspired as the cowardly lieutenant colonel, but it's Emily Blunt who steals the show. Playing a true war hero (and propaganda symbol) who helps Cruise through his time-travel loop, Blunt is the year's most awesome action star. "Edge of Tomorrow" was one of the summer's biggest surprises, and it remains a standout on the list of 2014 features. If only all action movies took as many risks as Liman and his cast do here. -- Christopher Rosen (credit:Warner Bros.)
The Case For "Chef"(02 of22)
Open Image ModalThis delightful charmer written, directed by and starring Jon Favreau can feel like blithe, feel-good fare. And it is, but it's also an artful tale of a man (Favreau) determined not to let his stature dwindle. That goes for his status as a respected California chef and his relationship with his doting preteen son (darling breakout star Emjay Anthony), with whom he sets out to start a bustling food truck. Their road trip takes them to Miami, Austin and New Orleans, giving us a mouth-watering cultural fusion that turns into a heartfelt look at familial bonds and midlife self-discovery. With a supporting cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara, Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale and Robert Downey Jr., a kicker here about how "Chef" is delicious fun would be corny, but also appropriate. -- Matthew Jacobs (credit:Open Road)
20. "Top Five"(03 of22)
Open Image ModalWhat a year for R-rated comedies not named "A Million Ways to Die In the West": "Neighbors," "22 Jump Street," and "The Interview" were all surprisingly thoughtful, unnecessarily well made and, oh, super effing funny. But none had the sustained laughs and auteur stamp of "Top Five." Chris Rock's stab at the kind of personal filmmaking Woody Allen has trafficked in for decades is, for lack of a better word, hilarious. It's also the kind of movie that asks tough questions about fame, addiction and race relations in a way few comedies dare dream. Rock has never had a platform like this before, but the hope is that he will again. As Allen's films fade into a kind of dusty obscurity ("Magic in the Moonlight" was so bad that any goodwill leftover from "Blue Jasmine" was lost), maybe Rock can pop out one talky, profane comedy a year in his stead. -- CR (credit:Paramount)
19. "The Boxtrolls"(04 of22)
Open Image Modal18. "Beyond the Lights"(05 of22)
Open Image Modal17. "The Fault in Our Stars"(06 of22)
Open Image ModalOkay? Okay. If "Beyond the Lights" is the year's best love story, consider "The Fault in Our Stars" its best weepie. This is a three-hanky movie, at minimum; an ugly-cry special for the ages. Based on John Green's best-selling book, "The Fault in Our Stars" handles teenage love and terminal illness with an aplomb that is often absent from those classifications when each is translated to film. Ansel Elgort is our new Tom Cruise based on this one (he's just so damn charming), while Shailene Woodley continued to prove she's the Ally Sheedy to Jennifer Lawrence's Molly Ringwald. There's a reason Woodley graced every magazine cover this year that Lawrence did not. -- CR (credit:Fox)
16. "Inherent Vice"(07 of22)
Open Image Modal15. "Life Itself"(08 of22)
Open Image Modal14. "The Babadook"(09 of22)
Open Image Modal"The Babadook" is proof the horror genre was not laid to rest with the rise of found-footage films and M. Night Shyamalan atrocities. Jennifer Kent's Australian chiller is also the most astute debut feature of any genre this year. The tale of a macabre storybook that when read summons the titular creature for a lifelong haunting, "The Babadook" is chopped together with fast-paced terror that unfolds like a 93-minute nightmare, topped with commanding performances from Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman as, respectively, the troubled mother and son cursed by the book that won't disappear. The real triumph of "The Babadook" is how much is stays with you long after the screen fades to black. Questions about imagination versus reality and the bleak fibers of dismissing one's demons become the film’s lingering terror. -- MJ (credit:IFC)
13. "Guardians of the Galaxy"(10 of22)
Open Image Modal12. "Foxcatcher"(11 of22)
Open Image ModalThe fact-based "Foxacatcher" is a case study in derangement, told with a chilly remove. Pitiful multimillionaire John du Pont (a shocking Steve Carell) looks to his Foxcatcher Farm, a compound for Olympic wrestlers in training, to exact his misguided self-worth. He recruits two talented brothers, Mark and Dave Schultz (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, respectively), who mirror everything du Pont thinks he needs: a protégé who'll let him play father figure, pets who'll heed his demands. That is, until du Pont's instability rears its intemperate head. All three men suffer, and all three actors submit career-best performances, spurred on by the arctic tone director Bennett Miller masterfully employs. "Foxcatcher" works because it doesn't tell you what to think of these complicated men -- their motives are sometimes as much of a puzzle as the unjust cards they were dealt. -- MJ (credit:Sony Pictures Classics)
11. "Obvious Child"(12 of22)
Open Image Modal10. "The One I Love"(13 of22)
Open Image ModalWhat if your love story could start over? Would it do more good or harm? "The One I Love" tackles these questions through a premise so unusual we'd rather not explain it. Let's just say that during a weekend away, a couple (Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss) stumbles upon a bizarre way to return to the glory days of their now-crumbling relationship. Its surreality makes "The One I Love" a comedy. Still, you'll be surprised how long the movie's quiet existentialism leaves you thinking. -- MJ (credit:Radius-TWC)
9. "Wild"(14 of22)
Open Image Modal8. "Whiplash"(15 of22)
Open Image ModalIf kinetic tempos are a fixture of 2014's movies, "Whiplash" has great company. Furiously told and infuriating to watch, Damien Chazelle's stormy portrait of a vicious music instructor (J.K. Simmons) and his dedicated pupil (Miles Teller) offers a ride so wild that you'll feel like you're standing in middle of a 106-minute crescendo. Simmons and Teller are masterful, shattering every teacher-movie trope in favor of an invigorating look at the lengths a person will go to exact his passion. -- MJ (credit:Sony Pictures Classics)
7. "The Grand Budapest Hotel"(16 of22)
Open Image ModalWes Anderson's films have become so Wes Anderson-like that in some ways they play as parodies of themselves. The "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Royal Tenenbaums" director rewrote that predilection with "The Grand Budapest Hotel," a film that aligns with Anderson's canon, but expands on his well-worn tropes and tricks. Predominantly set between the wars -- but also in three other time periods -- we find ourselves in the pink-colored halls of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and in the care of a hand-kissing concierge (Ralph Fiennes). What follows is a zany goose chase around the European countryside. It's certified Wes Anderson twee mixed in with some genuinely poignant notes about life and loss. -- MJ (credit:Fox Searchlight)
6. "Nightcrawler"(17 of22)
Open Image Modal"Nightcrawler" is so good, it should have come out in 1999, when maverick filmmakers like David Fincher, David O. Russell, Paul Thomas Anderson and Spike Jonze were connecting with big swings. Dan Gilroy's directorial debut is an amalgam of "Network," "Psycho" and "Bringing Out the Dead," a biting satire about the media and the American dream in 2014. At the center is Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a tightly coiled lost boy who finds his calling as a freelance news videographer. Lou's a Horatio Alger for the modern age, and the lengths he goes to remain a success are horrifying and hilarious, often at the same time. -- CR (credit:Open Road)
5. "Boyhood"(18 of22)
Open Image ModalA more emotionally honest portrait of growing up has never been put onscreen. That's because Richard Linklater spent 12 years filming "Boyhood," turning this little movie about a boy becoming a man into a directorial achievement on par with what Alfonso Cuarón did with "Gravity." The way Linklater edits his literal years of footage is impressive, and his careful repudiation of big moments in favor small ones makes "Boyhood" feel akin to life itself. "Boyhood" is a time capsule for the audience, something Linklater expresses via music (the first song we hear is Coldplay's "Yellow") and conversation (there's a lot of George W. Bush bashing). It's all so good and effortless that people might take "Boyhood" for granted. Don't make that mistake: We'll never see a movie like this again. -- CR (credit:IFC)
4. "Birdman"(19 of22)
Open Image ModalAs a frenetic take on the egos that fuel Hollywood politics, "Birdman" plays like a volatile amusement-park ride. It's two hours of constrained frenzy, the tonal ebbs and flows as electric as the outsize personalities involved with the Broadway production that's meant to double as washed-up actor Riggan Thompson's (Michael Keaton) career comeback. Underneath Alejandro González Iñárritu's premise is a movie that abounds with pop-culture references, meta commentary about the relationship between artists and critics, and a trenchant portrait of the crisis that rings through one man's head as he leaves his younger success behind. Filmed by Emmanuel Lubezki ("Gravity") under the rousing guise of one long continuous take, "Birdman" soars. -- MJ (credit:Fox Searchlight)
3. "Gone Girl"(20 of22)
Open Image ModalSometime after "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," David Fincher decided to become our preeminent director of books people read on airplanes. As long as the films continue to be as good as "Gone Girl," we're cool with that. In translating Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel to the screen (with a tight script written by Flynn herself), Fincher has created a black comedy for the ages. "Gone Girl" is twisted and mean, a perverse dance between two duplicitous people who deserve each other more than most couples in the throes of true love. As Nick Dunne, the bro with a wandering eye, Ben Affleck has never been better. He's matched by Rosamund Pike, as Nick's wife, Amazing Amy, who gives a performance that would have made Alfred Hitchcock nod in approval. The supporting cast is just as strong; shouts here to Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens and, lol, Tyler Perry because Fincher decided he could literally do anything in this movie. "Gone Girl" proved to be one of the year's most controversial films -- oh, the think pieces it spawned! -- but that just seems to reinforce its brilliance. Like the best films, "Gone Girl" is challenging, messy and leaves more questions than answers. In an era of giving audiences what they want, praise to Fincher for giving us what we can debate. -- CR (credit:Fox)
2. "Love Is Strange"(21 of22)
Open Image ModalIra Sachs proved himself an adept storyteller with the elusive "Forty Shades of Blue" and the grim "Keep the Lights On," but it's "Love is Strange" that gives us the most delicate love story committed to film in years. A brisk 94 minutes, "Love is Strange" trades obligatory political screeds for a subtle look at the tides through which any long-term romance -- never mind one between two men -- travels. Finally permitted to marry after 39 years together, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) are forced to bunk with relatives when the latter loses his job at a Catholic school. It's through this temporary separation -- and their purposeful reunions -- that we learn how much these men mean to each other. It may be the most wistful use of a couple's time apart ever used to exemplify such a rich connection. Concise, subtle and bristling with understated humor, "Love is Strange" reminds us that the oddities of commitment form the bedrock of devotion. It is a masterpiece. -- MJ (credit:Sony Pictures Classics)
1. "Selma"(22 of22)
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