Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood, which started filming in 2002 and continued off and on for twelve years, is the greatest coming-of-age story ever put to film. Had the film not succeeded, it still would have gone down as a worthy experiment. Since it does work so well, it will go down as a… Continue reading

A Most Violent Year (2014)

A Most Violent Year (2014)

You have to hand it to writer/director J.C. Chandor. He is immensely skilled at taking otherwise mundane topics (the stock market in Margin Call, a disastrous solo sailing adventure in All Is Lost, and the oh-so-glamorous heating oil industry here) and making tense dramas surrounding them. His films are all character-driven,… Continue reading

Two Days, One Night (2014)

Two Days, One Night (2014)

Two Days, One Night is a refreshingly compassionate look at a moral dilemma that no one wants to be at the center of. As written and directed by the Dardenne brothers, the film is a focused, frankly heartbreaking take on personal morals, selfishness, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for… Continue reading

Unbroken (2014)

Unbroken (2014)

“If you can take it, you can make it.” Those were the words spoken by Louis Zamperini’s brother as he prepared to train as an Olympic runner in Unbroken. Little did he know that over the next few years those words would take on more meaning than ever. The film… Continue reading

Foxcatcher (2014)

Foxcatcher (2014)

Foxcatcher, director Bennett Miller’s latest blend of sport and human drama, is an actor’s movie. That’s not so much an insult as an observation. Understated and very casually-paced, the film features three pristine performances in service to a story that builds tension leading to inevitable tragedy. The ending will be a… Continue reading

Whiplash (2014)

Whiplash (2014)

There is a moment during Whiplash‘s final fifteen minutes that not only propels the film to unmitigated greatness, but also one of the most accomplished, intense character-driven dramas in years. Writer/director Damien Chazelle, who first made this story into an acclaimed short before getting funding for this feature-length production, has crafted… Continue reading

Nightcrawler (2014)

Nightcrawler (2014)

“I’d like to think if you’re seeing me you’re having the worst day of your life.” So says Louis Bloom, the anti-hero of writer/director Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler. The film is a pitch-black, often satirically so, look at the bloodlust that engulfs local news. Its parallels with reality are only slightly blurred,… Continue reading

Inherent Vice (2014)

Inherent Vice (2014)

Seedy, drug-fueled, and absent any type of sense we’re used to in film, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice is a film destined to divide any audience that watches it. Its core story is fairly straightforward, but twists and turns abound that don’t make a great deal of sense. Anderson seems to… Continue reading

Wild (2014)

Wild (2014)

Wild chronicles Cheryl Strayed’s 1,100 mile journey along the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995. It’s a story of personal enlightenment and redemption, well-told and acted, and beautifully photographed. The film doesn’t trek over new ground, but its stream-of-consciousness narrative style and an Oscar-worthy turn from Reese Witherspoon raise it above the… Continue reading

The Babadook (2014)

The Babadook (2014)

The Babadook is a relentless psychological horror film. Made for a modest $2.5 million, this Australian export is about five times as scary and disturbing as its big-budget Hollywood counterparts. With most of the film taking place in the dark corners of a house, writer/director Jennifer Kent, in her feature film debut,… Continue reading