Sunday, January 4, 2015

Top Ten Films of 2014

Something kind of funny happens when you have a kid (which I did, last March): you stop caring quite as much about what other people think. Of this. Or that.

However, one thing I still do care very much about is what movies people are seeing and what those people think of those films. Which is to say, despite my new life as a working mom these days, I am still a die-hard cinephile. And somehow, miraculously, I managed to see some goddamned movies in 2014. One of them was even in the theater! (A blissful two hours in a darkened public space, sans baby. I actually cried when the trailers began.)

So, although my top ten lists of years past were much more comprehensively "researched," I am still immensely grateful that I got to see the dozen or so new releases that were up for consideration. Knowing that I would have such limited opportunities to see films in 2014, I also took great pains to be terrifically choosy in my recreational viewing. So hopefully that made a difference. In any case, whoever even reads this blog anymore, I humbly offer up my Top 10 Films of 2014 below. Enjoy!


1. Ida, dir. Pawel Pawlikowski

2. Birdman, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu


3. The Grand Budapest Hotel, dir. Wes Anderson

4. The Lego Movie, dir. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

5. Snowpiercer, dir. Joon-ho Bong

6. We Are the Best!, dirLukas Moodysson

7. Ilo Ilo, dir Anthony Chen

8. The Trip to Italy, dir. Michael Winterbottom

9. Breathe In, dir. Drake Doremus

10. Fading Gigolo, dir. John Turturro

Honorable mentions: Filth, directed by Jon S. Baird; The Immigrant, directed by James Gray