Best movies of 2014

An absolute treasure of a film that will be discussed long after so many other 2014 titles have disappeared into obscurity. Director Alejandro Inarritu has given us an instant classic, a film that is as exuberant, energetic and playful as it is contemplative, intelligent, and thematically ambitious. The insanely accomplished visual technique only adds to the sheer magic, and I can't praise the film enough for its ability to exist as both an intensely personal exploration and a broad statement about the nature of filmmaking, theatrical arts, and criticism. Birdman is at once a highly literary and multi-layered virtuoso and a sharply funny, purely engaging whirlwind of ingenious movie-making. It's easy among the most noteworthy cinematic achievements of the decade.--My 2014 Favorites - Xanadon't

See also: PvtCaboose91's review

"Boyhood" is an audacious experiment of a film that chronicles the everyday life experiences of a young boy named Mason, played by newcomer Ellar Coltrane, as he lives out his childhood hitting on universal moments that each person can relate to no matter what the age is. Mason is the kind of young boy you get to know over the course of the film who bears strong similarities to a friend you might have had in school, or perhaps even one's own self at certain points. I saw both in my experience. He lives a very ordinary life with his mother, played wonderfully by Patricia Arquette who merits an Oscar nomination. She shines brighter on screen than she ever has before, including "True Romance". Along for the ride as well is the divorced dad played very well by Linklater regular Ethan Hawke, whose character's goofy charm is always endearing and fun to watch as he brings a lot of humour to many of his scenes. Every performance is stellar because the story is so intimately told which brings out the level of authenticity and realism that most films lack. So real it has a sort of documentary feeling to it.

This is a truly groundbreaking movie literally spanning 12 years of of a story that flows at its own pace, free from contrivances in the plot or cliche characters. It feels closer to real life than most movies on the subject of growing up. Nowadays, I feel like audience attention span is so limited that filmmakers feel that have to play to that ineptitude by removing any time to take it all in and experience the atmosphere, world, and circumstances our characters inhabit. In this movie, not a whole lot really "happens", if that makes sense. There's no villain's evil scheme, there's no ticking-clock scenario, no pointless shenanigans, no three-act structure, and especially no dumbing down of the material. This isn't that kind of movie. It's truly about those little moments no one talks about to much between the big moments that build up the human experience and how they all amount to what life is like in a way. By shooting little chunks of movie with the same cast and crew over a 12-year period Richard Linklater and company were able to take the quiet normality and blandness of everyday life and turn out an extraordinary cinematic achievement.
--from The Movie Geek's review

Not enough can be said about Rigor Mortis' unique style. Visually this is an extremely cool and accomplished piece of work. The film oozes with style and gritty charisma. There is definitely some heavy filtering going on as the movie presents itself in primarily cold, muted colors that gives the entire film an eerie feel. Pools of blood somehow become even more ominous. Shadows somehow become even less friendly. The stark blonde hair on a young boy might suggest hope. Innocence. But here the child feels like a bright and shining angel-headed target. Surely, dark and wicked claws will come screaming through the night, charging down black corridors to snuff out this unwelcome light.

A frenzied and manic marvel fuels the film's many action sequences and the film finds inventive ways to splash its bloody carnage and unearthly haunts across the screen. But to say that Rigor Mortis is strictly an exercise in style over substance would be doing the film a disservice. The primary characters of the movie are well-developed and give a very real and human backbone around which to stage the supernatural action horror elements at play. Meanwhile, the narrative framework of the film is not only clever, but lends the movie a twist in meaning and more to consider than I might have guessed. All of this adds up to a fresh and exciting piece of cinema, the kind of film that comes along and gets me excited about horror films and the prospect of discovery within the genre.--from My 2013 Toronto Film Festival List! - Xanadon't

Review by PvtCaboose91

Review by BAMF