A really uneven year for movies, IMHO, but then again that could be true of any year. This is written as a top ten, but these could really be in any order. That said...
#10: Upstream Color
Shane Carruth's latest resides somewhere between Soderbergh's "Side Effects" and Harmony Korine's "Spring Breakers" - a very slick looking, hauntingly shot film that is narratively very very loose and open to interpretation. It's that last part that confounds the most. I don't know if this is objectively a great film, or even a good film, but it's definitely extraordinary. Highly recommended.
#9: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
I don't know how effective this movie is for people not familiar with Alan Partridge, though I'd imagine most audiences will get the point. Well worth the effort.
#8: Side Effects
Eclipsed as this has been by "Behind the Candelabra," this movie is most definitely one of Soderbergh's finest moments as a film director. A fine, twisting screenplay from Scott Z Burns that benefits from Soderbergh's emotionally aloof style, with wonderfully complex performances from Jude Law and Rooney Mara. Even Zeta Jones manages to not grate on my nerves in this one.
#7 : Gravity
As I've written elsewhere, this movie is breathless and breathtaking, the most claustrophobic movie I've seen since "Buried", and the most audaciously directed film I've seen since "Enter the Void." "Gravity" exists somewhere in between, an apocalyptic riff on "Apollo 13."
#6: The Wolf of Wall Street
I'm completely confounded by people who tell me they _would_ like this movie if Jordan Belfort was more sorry about what he did, if he expressed any amount of contrition or regret. Why is that important? This movie explodes with energy as Belfort, played by DiCaprio, narrates his own path into excess and white-collar crime, blind to himself and the lives capsized in his wake. Some truly amazing moments of cinema in this somewhat overlong three hour opus. Jonah Hill in particular is spectacularly vulgar. Highly recommended.
#5: The World's End
This probably belongs higher on this list, if only because I saw this in the theater 3 times. The final installment of the arbitrarily titled "Cornetto Trilogy", Edgar Wright reunites with Pegg & Frost for another go around in the world of conflicted man-children plunged into circumstances they can barely comprehend, coming out the other side a little smarter and perhaps slightly better people. The sheer narrative velocity helps the audience skip the plot holes - ballsy, dark, viciously funny, goofy, not particularly feminist, and endlessly entertaining - I heartily recommend this.
#4: Leviathan
This is my kind of documentary: in-the-moment, uncompromising, intensely visual and utterly mesmerizing. The last 20 minutes are an endurance test of excruciating shot duration and grinding repetition, but otherwise this is a remarkable and highly recommended experience.
#3: The Act of Killing
One of two documentaries that boggled my mind this year, "The Act of Killing" defies description. Bewildering and hilarious, then in another moment monstrous and heartbreaking. A truly unique film that needs to be seen.
#2: Inside Llewyn Davis
I didn't expect much of this but was delighted by how this latest film from the Coen Bros speaks to an emotional vulnerability absent from much of their other work. There's an assuredness to the direction that is quite breathtaking, anchored as it is by an outstanding performance by Oscar Isaac as Davis.
#1 with a bullet: A Field In England
Ben Wheatley returns on the heels of "The Sightseers" with a remarkable, sparse horror film set in civil war England. A bold, cinematically adventurous film that feels at the same time playful & willfully oblique while still marking a new, more mature note into Wheatley's oeuvre. Thick with atmosphere and extraordinary characterization, this is the perfect antidote for a year bloated by blockbuster spectacle. Highly recommended.
Honorable Mentions :: A couple of movies I really liked:
Europa Report
If only this movie had had a more compelling script, this would be classic. As it is, it's a striking cabin-in-space movie with an found-video aesthetic that works surprisingly well. Performances throughout are great, the scenario mostly works and the tension feels honest and earned - a rarity in this genre. But ultimately the story is a bit of a let down, which is a shame, because there's real talent employed here.
The Conjuring
One of the best nights at the movies I had all year: the audience I saw this in the theater with where hooting and hollering throughout. This is an outstandingly well-directed film - mood, pace and tone are pitched at exactly the right levels to suspend the audience's incredulity at the not terribly original script. The delivery is everything - Wan knows that the audience has seen all the great horror movies and plays into those expectations with wit and style.
Don't go to see this expecting anything new, just expect to see something excellent.
Other movies that appeared on my radar but didn't shine quite as bright: "Pacific Rim" was fun, if a bit hollow. "Computer Chess" is an oddball affair that has its moments, "Sunshine on Leith" brings all the goofy shallowness of "Mama Mia" to the music of Edinburgh duo The Proclaimers, Ron Howard's "Rush" is a lot of fun, let down by an absurdly over-the-top score and extended-for-dramatic-effect concluding scene at the end, and "American Hustle" left me a bit cold, I have to confess.
Some interesting movies coming down the road for 2014 - see you next year.
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