The hardest part of singling out my favorite films of 2014 was highlighting only 10 great films out of so many. Usually, the end of the year is a waiting game for the Oscar season movies to fill out a 3-4 slot hole but this year was so overrun with quality films of several varieties that my list was practically completed by October.
Animation, Hollywood, indie dramas; if you couldn’t find something worth a theater viewing in 2014, you really weren’t trying to look at all. Even the summer was more cerebral than it had any right to be.
But alas, as is the nature of having to limit the praises of a very large medium across an entire year, excellent films are doomed to miss mention despite worthiness. As such, I pay respect to a few gems that whose only failure to make the top 10 lie simply in the fact that I could only choose 10 movies to focus on.
Get On Up
At a time when the phrase “based on a true story” has become a media joke breeding ground regarding interpretive fallacy, one would think that this would make modern day biopics unpredictable if nothing else, whether the topics of the films in question feature stories that are actually worth telling.
Despite this sadly not being the case, the Godfather of Soul and all of his eccentricity still deserves credit for injecting a little life into a dramatic genre that was getting a little bit too comfortable with Oscar-bait status.
While the screenplay may have been lacking in certain areas of James Brown’s life, the true star of the show is Chadwick Boseman’s incredible performance and the organized chaos of the editing. Without feeling gimmicky, "Get On Up's" narrative jumps around its subject's life with a dynamic sense of unpredictability worthy of Brown's eccentricity and carried by a multilayered performance by Boseman that is so good his lack of nomination would've been criminal had the year not been loaded with so many other equally great performances.
The Giver
After a month of watching Young Adult novel film adaptations that proved to be mediocre at best, I was pretty much ready write off the YA genre. Several months later, I don’t quite doubt the validity of that course of action, as I truly wish that I didn't live in a world in which “Divergent” was more successful than this film.
Not without its own brand of stylistic awkwardness and in need of tighter editing, what “The Giver” lacks in polish it more than makes up for in passion, cleverness and a respect for audience intelligence unseen in its genre since “Harry Potter’s” long passed finale.
The story of a dystopia aiming to eliminate the darkest aspects of human nature by way of suppressing basic desires and instinct resulting in a rising rebellion to break the system is far from original but within this film, it is an artfully told one. Jonas’ adventure to return emotion and culture to humanity features an incredible use of cinematography and lighting to parallel the emotional maturity of not only its protagonist but humanity in general to weave a tale about celebrating the best of our species despite its many hiccups as a society.
“The Giver” isn't without, namely a lack of more depth could have enhanced it, blocked off by its unfortunately short length sitting at roughly an hour and a half or less but what it does have is a level of sincerity this genre has been lacking recently even at the best of times.
Dear White People
The tricky status of modern minority relations in America is not a black and white picture. There are problems from all factors and as easy as it is to make a single scapegoat, no lone side is innocent for the current state of things.
Which is why it’s so satisfying to find a film not afraid to openly criticize everyone.
“Dear White People” is bound to polarize audiences based on the name alone but don’t let the accusatory outer shell fool you. The film’s nuanced approach to various race relations issues manages to explore many of the problems regarding our society’s lack of empathy and the institutions that encourage such behavior in a balanced capacity but is packaged as a Wes Anderson-esque comedy that even general audiences can have an appreciation for.
White privilege, wage gaps, biracial stigmas, black homophobia, etc. “Dear White People” isn't afraid to address issues that can make people defensive but doesn't accuse the audience or make any pretense of having all of the answers. It’s merely a deceptively complex look at the issues that separate us as people and a damn fine directorial debut for up and comer Justin Simien.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
When I praised the original release of “The Avengers” back in 2012 as my favorite film of the year, I did so hoping that the superhero genre would take the turn that could bring about a film precisely like this.
Brian Singer’s return to the “X-Men” franchise after taking a turn for the worse back in 2007 could have been nice enough as a return to form for a franchise past its prime but not content to just be a reminder of how good the series was, “Days of Future Past” out does previous entries and progresses the franchise while jettisoning the worst contributions to it without breaking from storytelling.
The film is in essentially all of the flash of “The Avengers” with a healthy dose of the one element that film had to go light on in order to work; drama.
“Days of Future Past’s” interpersonal character drama is wonderfully acted and directed with a true eye for cinema. X and Magneto’s friendship across the ages, Wolverine and X’s role reversal as mentor and student, the struggle of a few representatives of a minority to make the best case possible for the majority to prevent the doom of civilization and several other conflicts are explored in an almost Shakespearean plot to change the course of the future without rejecting the outlandish nature of superhero narrative the way so many companies seem intent on doing these days (looking at you “Man of Steel”).
If nothing else, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” deserves points for successfully railing a series that was on its way to the scrap heap compared to its peers of the modern day. When once the franchise was overdue for retirement, I’d be lying if I said I weren't excited for more.
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