Top 10 Films of 2014: 10-8

The ultimate feel good flick, a historical comedy with a dark edge, and a war movie that makes “Saving Private Ryan” look like a stroll through the park.

10. Chef

After a string of critical misses, Jon Favreau strikes back strong with the ultimate feel good film of 2014 and quite possibly one of the best films of his career.

Directed by and starring in “Chef,” Favreau returns to smaller scale filmmaking with the story of a chef aiming to rediscover his passion for cooking after a creatively draining period of succumbing to the demands of a restaurant owner cheating him out of his promised creative freedom in the kitchen. Similarly, Favreau succeeds both onscreen and behind the camera in rediscovering his passion for filmmaking after a creatively draining period of succumbing to the demands of the studio system.

What “Chef” lacks in originality, it makes up for in being just a sheer pleasure to watch in so many different ways.

Favreau’s way with actors plays out in full force with the sharp dialogue delivered pitch perfectly by a cast that delivers the material with such a warm spirited humanity that they transcend the stock nature of the plot. He breathes real life into Chef Casper’s problems as both an artist and a man that desires to be a good father with his cast doing the same in support of his venture.

While the film serves as a decent execution of comfort food cinema in and of itself, the subtext of a more seasoned and cynical Favreau riding off of the critically divisive “Iron Man 2” and the financially disappointing studio blockbuster “Cowboys & Aliens” is hard to miss but wonderful to watch. Like a true artist, he picks himself up, dusts himself off, and rediscovers his strengths in order to move forward.

“Chef’s” pleasures may be simple but its execution of taking a chance in life to chase one’s dreams is so exceptional and so sincere, lacking in any saccharine or overly sentimental manipulation, is worthy of the attention that it deserves as a crowd pleaser that stands head and shoulders above other crowd pleasers.

9. Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson’s auteuristic tendencies as a director have not always lent themselves well to the final quality of his art but his passion shines through more often than not. In “Grand Budapest Hotel” however, he has truly succeeded in recapturing the spark of his storytelling that made him famous for “The Royal Tenenbaums” to begin with.

His fantastical caper set within a tale within a tale within a tale of a fictional country amongst characters striving to be civilized within a land teetering on the brink of war and anarchy contains all of the dry wit and quirkiness expected of his work. His timing and camera work however ultimately serve as a means of masking the complexity of the humorous story’s darker subject matters and examination of the balance between basic human instinct and the desire for cultural refinement.

With just the right amount of playfulness, the cast brings their characters to life in deceptively complex ways to create a unique comedy experience that manages to be both hilariously cynical and genuinely heartwarming by the end.

8. American Sniper

The most tense 2 hour experience of 2014, “American Sniper” is not for the faint of heart.

Words may not exist to describe just how powerful of a comeback this film may be for Clint Eastwood. You would never know he was an 84 year old man on a downward spiral in his career considering he’s made what may be one of the best war films ever made.

Bradley Cooper’s earned his place as a hot ticket item in Hollywood with a portrayal of veteran Chris Kyle that details his transformation from civilian to hardened killer and his trouble with reconciling the two sides of himself as the fighting is over. The battlefield may be intense but his ability to run the gamut of emotions as an American patriot without ever dipping into caricature is the star of the show.

Not to say that the war itself is brushed off. The action is intense but the brutality of the conflict never comes off as excessive nor does it make the mistake of demonizing an entire nationality under the label of a specific political enemy. Every second of the conflict in Iraq is tense, unpleasant and hard to watch as it should be. No sanitation has been applied.

The goal of any war film is to humanize a larger than life conflict but in focusing on the endeavor’s of a single man’s involvement both on the field and in a bird’s eye position, “American Sniper” is so nerve-rackingly emotional while maintaining full narrative cohesion that I’d happily rewatch it 3 more times if only I had the stomach for it.