Flickering Myth’s writing team present our top ten movies of 2014…
As 2014 draws to a close, we’re already salivating over what’s in store for us in 2015, but before we get to the New Year it’s time to revist our favourite films from the past twelve months. As usual, our writers here at Flickering Myth have provided their individual top tens, which we’ve then used to generare our overall list of favourites from the year. So, without further ado, let’s get on with the countdown…
10. Birdman
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough and Naomi Watts.
So, the first film to crack out top ten this year is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, which stars Michael Keaton as an actor famous for a past role as a superhero (sound familiar?) who is looking to relaunch his career by mounting a stage play. The awards hopeful topped one of our writers’ individual lists, and had it been released in the UK during the voting period, you’d have to imagine Birdman would have finished up a lot higher in the top ten this year.
Read our reviews of Birdman here, here and here.
9. Whiplash
Directed by Damien Chazelle.
Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist, Austin Stowell and Nate Lang.
Edging out Birdman for ninth place is another film yet to open on these shores in Whiplash, Damien Chazelle’s festival favourite starring soon-to-be-Mister Fantastic Miles Teller as a young drummer with aspirations of greatness who enrolls at a prestigious music school and finds himself under the tutelage of a ruthless mentor, played by J.K. Simmons. Whiplash topped three of our writers’ individual lists and again, had this opened in the U.K. this year, it would surely have featured higher.
Read our reviews of Whiplash here and here.
8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Directed by Matt Reeves.
Starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Judy Greer, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
It’s predecessor missed out on a spot in our top ten back in 2011, but 20th Century Fox’s simian sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes had enough love among our writing team to claim eighth place this time around. It’s one of three films to make our top ten this year without topping any of our writers’ individual lists, and is also one of only two sequels to make the cut. What’s the other? Well, continue on to #7 to find out…
Read our reviews of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes here, here and here.
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.
Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, and George St-Pierre.
Yes, at number seven this year is Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which kicked off the 2014 superhero season back in May and delivered another critical and commercial hit for Marvel Studios. Captain America: The Winter Soldier didn’t manage to top any of our writers’ individual top tens, but it received enough votes overall to claim seventh place, making it the first Marvel Studios movie to appear in our year-end lists since The Avengers (which was #2 back in 2012). Is it the only Marvel movie to make the cut this year? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out…
Read our reviews of Captain America: The Winter Soldier here, here, here and here.
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Directed by Wes Anderson.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, and Tony Revolori.
After narrowly missing out on a spot in the top ten back in 2012 with Moonrise Kingdom, acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson makes our end of year list for the first time with his star-studded awards contender The Grand Budapest Hotel, which topped two of our writers’ individual lists and just managed to sneak into sixth place ahead of The Winter Soldier by a solitary point in the voting.
Read our reviews of The Grand Budapest Hotel here and here.
Listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast discussion on our picks in the player here, or click the button below to continue on for our top five picks…
Originally published December 31, 2014. Updated July 3, 2023.
