Instead of waiting for my year end Top Ten list, I keep a running list throughout the year: Best Movies of 2014 – So Far. That list is shaping up, though, and my recommendations are getting validated by the early critics awards. In the last two weeks, both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle recognized my #1 film, Boyhood, as the top film of the year and my #2 film, Ida, as the top foreign film. And the New York Times’ A.O. Scott picked Boyhood and Ida #1 and #2 on his top ten list.
Boyhood is pretty much out of theaters, awaiting a DVD release in January. So is Dear White People, out on DVD in February. But you can see almost all the rest right now:
Birdman, Gone Girl and Force Majeure are in theaters right now. And Ida, Locke, Calvary, Alive Inside, A Coffee in Berlin, Borgman, True Detective and The Grand Seduction are available on DVD and/or streaming. Check my Best Movies of 2014 for DVD/streaming availability.
To get on my list, a movie has to be one that I’m still thinking about them a couple of days later. I’m still mulling over whether to add A Most Wanted Man, The One I Love or Whiplash.
I’m still waiting to see several contenders for my year-end list: A Most Violent Year, Big Eyes, Inherent Vice, Selma, American Sniper, The Overnighters and Two Days, One Night. From what I read, any or all of these might end up on my final list. [Although it’s likely to be nominated for a Foreign Language Oscar this year, most of us won’t get a chance to see the Russian Leviathan until well into 2015, so I’ll leave it for next year’s list.]
For some reason, Under the Skin, Snowpiercer, Grand Budapest Hotel , The Lego Movie and Love Is Strange are all showing up on some top ten lists. I really can’t understand why. At least Under the Skin and Snowpiercer were entertaining, but none of these were great.