The (global) best (and worst) of 2014
by Radu_A | created - 03 Jan 2015 | updated - 26 Jul 2015 | PublicI get to see a lot of movies from all over the world (340 in 2014); most best-ofs tend to focus on Anglo films, so this is an attempt to lump ín together a global choice of titles. It's a matter of personal taste, so no superhero blockbusters everybody knows. I've also put in a few no-no's from my point of view.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Tangerines (2013)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, War
In 1992, war rages in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. An Estonian man, Ivo, has decided to stay behind and harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo takes him in.
Director: Zaza Urushadze | Stars: Lembit Ulfsak, Elmo Nüganen, Giorgi Nakashidze, Misha Meskhi
Votes: 49,014 | Gross: $0.14M
My favorite film this year. Its message has become very urgent in the past year with the Ukraine crisis. So far the best example - along with 'In Bloom' - for the ongoing Georgian cinema renaissance. To my surprise it did get an Oscar nomination.
2. Winter Sleep (2014)
Not Rated | 196 min | Drama
A hotel owner and landlord in a remote Turkish village deals with conflicts within his family and a tenant behind on his rent.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Stars: Haluk Bilginer, Melisa Sözen, Demet Akbag, Ayberk Pekcan
Votes: 55,600 | Gross: $0.17M
My 2nd favorite film this year. Won Palme d'Or. Excellent photography. Very good script adapted from Chekov's short stories. Very good performance by lead actor Haluk Bilginer. Only reason why it's not my favorite film is its excessive runtime.
3. The Golden Dream (2013)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
A road movie about teenage immigrants and their journey to the U.S.
Director: Diego Quemada-Diez | Stars: Brandon López, Rodolfo Domínguez, Karen Martínez, Carlos Chajon
Votes: 5,132
My 3rd favorite film this year. Very realistic, very good script. A must see for Americans because it explains the background of the refugee crisis very well.
4. Wild Tales (2014)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Six short stories that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in distress.
Director: Damián Szifron | Stars: Darío Grandinetti, María Marull, Mónica Villa, Diego Starosta
Votes: 216,477 | Gross: $3.11M
Among the films nominated, this would have been anyone's guess for the foreign language Oscar. Most successful Argentinian film of all time. It's only weakness is - as in all anthology films - that some episodes don't hit as hard as others.
5. Hope (2013)
Not Rated | 122 min | Drama
Story of an 8-year-old girl who faces a horrible rape that damages her internally and affects her emotionally, trying to overcome all the obstacles following the incident with the good support of those around her.
Director: Lee Joon-ik | Stars: Lee Re, Sol Kyung-gu, Uhm Ji-won, Kim Hae-sook
Votes: 9,668
From 2012 but with very limited release due to its controversial subject matter. Have never seen it handled so well and the performance of the girl (Lee Ree) is nothing short of amazing.
6. Like Father, Like Son (2013)
Not Rated | 121 min | Drama
Ryota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki, Lily Franky
Votes: 28,162 | Gross: $0.28M
Koreeda continues to be the greatest author of Japanese cinema. Best-written film I've seen in 2014. Very good performance by Masaharu Fukuyama, who is actually one of Japan's most famous rock stars.
7. Boyhood (I) (2014)
R | 165 min | Drama
The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Elijah Smith
Votes: 367,256 | Gross: $25.38M
It's Linklater's masterpiece and probably the only US film of the year which can be truly called defining. Won Silver Bear for directing and would merit a similar Oscar.
8. Interstellar (2014)
PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy
Votes: 2,102,506 | Gross: $188.02M
I'm one of the people who believe that Nolan's work since 'Memento' never caught up to that masterpiece, and that confusing the audience with plot twists and noise doesn't amount to clever film-making. But as blockbusters go, this one's exceptional. Easily the best OST of the year, too - probably Zimmer's all-time best.
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody
Votes: 887,338 | Gross: $59.10M
I have to admit that I often don't get Wes Anderson's brand of laconic humour, and mostly like his films because of individual performances. Ralph Fiennes certainly pulls of one of his very best here, but what makes it so captivating is its orgy of lavish costumes and sets.
10. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
PG | 137 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Kaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, James Marsden
Votes: 54,058 | Gross: $1.51M
Easily best animated film. Isao Takahata's swan song may not just be the penultimate Ghibli masterpiece, but outmatched grandmaster Hayao Miyazaki's own 'The Wind arises'. This degree of perfection may never be achieved again in animation.
11. The Square (2013)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Drama, History
A group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
Director: Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Ahmed Hassan, Khalid Abdalla, Magdy Ashour, Ramy Essam
Votes: 9,404 | Gross: $0.12M
Best documentary I've seen in 2014 (at Berlin film fest, so rather late). Has a relentless drive to it that perfectly catches the revolutionary atmosphere - which, as we now sadly know, has been completely crushed.
12. Papilio Buddha (2013)
108 min | Drama
A band of displaced untouchables in Western Ghats of India embrace Buddhism in order to escape from caste oppression.
Director: Jayan Cherian | Stars: Kallen Pokkudan, Saritha, Prakash Bare, David Briggs
Votes: 144
If there was an Audacity Award for film making, this one would easily deserve it. Shows a perpective that is usually ignored and has nothing to do with standard Bollywood fare. Forbidden in India.
13. No Man's Land (2013)
118 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A young lawyer from the city travels to the Gobi desert where he embarks on a series of adventures and challenges.
Director: Ning Hao | Stars: Zheng Xu, Duobujie, Nan Yu, Huang Bo
Votes: 2,755
It's a Chinese western set in the present. That premise works primarily because of excellent camera work and scenography. Also pretty poignant critique of Chinese society, aside from action fun.
14. The Raid 2 (2014)
R | 150 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.
Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara
Votes: 131,320 | Gross: $2.63M
Best martial arts film of the year. Or decade. Or ever. This much combat action has never been done before, and will be hard to top.
15. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
Votes: 737,443 | Gross: $100.21M
Credit where credit is due, 'EoT' was the funniest, fastest, most engaging action film of 2014 if you can't stand DC superhero movies (like yours truly).
16. The Babadook (2014)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
Director: Jennifer Kent | Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney
Votes: 247,436 | Gross: $0.92M
My favorite horror film of the year, proving once more that imagination is more terrifying than blood and guts, and that Australian cinema is pretty much setting the zeitgeist pace (as does its vibrant music scene).
17. Nightcrawler (2014)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
Votes: 604,950 | Gross: $32.38M
If the world and the Academy are just, Gyllenhaal will get nominated for this (he didn't, to much controversy). As in 'Enemy', he's put a mile between himself and other US leads. Riz Ahmed would also deserve a supporting actor's nod. Not my favorite film of the year though because of gaping plot holes.
18. Still Life (I) (2013)
TV-14 | 92 min | Drama
A council case worker looks for the relatives of those found dead and alone.
Director: Uberto Pasolini | Stars: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Karen Drury, Andrew Buchan
Votes: 8,910
This is one of these nice little films that never get noticed outside of the festival circuit, which is regretful because of Eddie Marsan's wonderful performance.
19. Calvary (2014)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After he is threatened during a confession, a good-natured priest must battle the dark forces closing in around him.
Director: John Michael McDonagh | Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen
Votes: 64,366 | Gross: $3.59M
Another movie to watch for its excellent lead performance. It's a career best for Brendan Gleeson. Surprisingly ignored by the Academy, maybe because they dislike religious themes these days.
20. A Story of Yonosuke (2012)
160 min | Drama
Were people's lives changed by having known Yonosuke?
Director: Shûichi Okita | Stars: Ayumi Ito, Kengo Kôra, Gô Ayano, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 2,312
Probably the best among the recent wave of nostalgic Japanese films, with very nice performances by leads Kengo Kora and Yuriko Yoshitaka - if you like Japanese awkwardness as much as I do.
21. Queen (2013)
Not Rated | 146 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A Delhi girl from a traditional family sets out on a solo honeymoon after her marriage gets cancelled.
Director: Vikas Bahl | Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon, Jeffrey Ho
Votes: 68,355 | Gross: $1.43M
This was one of the most successful Indian films this year, a major break-through for its star Kangana Ranaud, and should probably be your choice if you only watch one Indian film per annum.
22. A Touch of Sin (2013)
Not Rated | 130 min | Crime, Drama
Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
Director: Zhangke Jia | Stars: Wu Jiang, Baoqiang Wang, Tao Zhao, Lanshan Luo
Votes: 12,901 | Gross: $0.09M
Director Zhangke Jia's most accessible film to date features a formidable performance by China's arguably best actor Wen Jiang. It's as obvious as social critique gets in China.
23. Lilting (2014)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Romance
A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his 4-year male lover, who grieve but don't speak a lick of each other's language.
Director: Hong Khaou | Stars: Pei-Pei Cheng, Ben Whishaw, Andrew Leung, Peter Bowles
Votes: 6,578 | Gross: $0.02M
Has remained relatively obscure, but commendable for legendary wuxia actress Pei-Pei Chang's performance. Hong Khao is arguably the most interesting gay director right now.
24. Joe (I) (2013)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-con, who is the unlikeliest of role models, meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Gary Poulter, Ronnie Gene Blevins
Votes: 51,223 | Gross: $0.37M
Won Tye Sheridan Venice's newcomer award and proves that he's definitely one of the most interesting new faces in US cinema (as Whiplash meanwhile emphasized).
25. My Sweet Pepper Land (2013)
100 min | Drama
Baran, a Kurdish independence war hero, is now sheriff in Erbil, the capital city. No longer feeling useful in this society now at peace, he thinks about quitting the police force, but ... See full summary »
Director: Hiner Saleem | Stars: Korkmaz Arslan, Golshifteh Farahani, Suat Usta, Mir Murad Bedirxan
Votes: 2,530
Golshifteh Farahani is far too beautiful for her role but how can she help it being the arguably the most gorgeous actress worldwide right now. Somewhat dwarfed by her radiance, the film is an interesting political western.
26. Snowpiercer (2013)
R | 126 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris
Votes: 389,202 | Gross: $4.56M
A disappointment to me given the very high expectations I had, it's still a must-see for Tilda Swinton's performance. I wish they'd reshoot it with Viggo Mortensen in Evans' role as he effectively kills the film. Read my review if you like.
27. Tattoo (2013)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
The romance between a 18-year-old soldier and the cultural ringleader of an anarchist cabaret.
Director: Hilton Lacerda | Stars: Maria de Jesus Baccarelli, Jesuíta Barbosa, Ariclenes Barroso, Arthur Canavarro
Votes: 2,173
Best gay-themed film I saw in 2014. Manages to embed a realistic gay love story in a convincing period context. Read my review if you like.
28. Predestination (I) (2014)
R | 97 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
As his last assignment, a temporal agent is tasked to travel back in time and prevent a bomb attack in New York in 1975. The hunt, however, turns out to be beyond the bounds of possibility.
Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor, Madeleine West
Votes: 304,898 | Gross: $0.07M
Most ambitious film of the year perhaps, complex script adapted from Robert A. Heinlein - the most unadaptable writer of SciFi -, exquisite cinematography reminiscent of Alex Proyas' 'Dark City' and directing brothers clearly aiming higher.
29. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Horror
Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.
Directors: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi | Stars: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh
Votes: 200,379 | Gross: $3.33M
It's very popular but to my taste a bit of a rip-off: The idea clearly comes from the Belgian mockumentary 'Vampires' (2009). But to be sure, it's arguably the best comedy of 2014 (which wasn't a very good year for comedy).
30. Heavenly Shift (2013)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
1992. Milan Kolarov escapes from Yugoslavia to Hungary. Shortly after that, he gets recruited by paramedics, who are making big money of selling identities of the people died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Director: Márk Bodzsár | Stars: András Ötvös, Roland Rába, Tamás Keresztes, Sándor Zsótér
Votes: 2,887
A local hit, 'Heavenly Shift' gives testimony to a growing importance of Hungarian film in the European context, as 'The Notebook' did in the previous year and 'Just the Wind' the year before.
31. Witching and Bitching (2013)
Not Rated | 112 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A gang of armed robbers finds a safe haven in a secluded village crammed with witches--only to encounter the bizarre, the unexpected, and the occult. Can they save themselves, and the rest of the world from the next witch apocalypse?
Director: Álex de la Iglesia | Stars: Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Pepón Nieto, Carolina Bang
Votes: 15,480
Most entertaining European film I've seen in the past year - which, however, was a particularly dreary one for that region's industries. Unmissable for Carmen Maura's witch queen performance. Read my review if you like.
32. Pizza (II) (2012)
Not Rated | 127 min | Horror, Thriller
A pizza delivery boy lands in a mysterious circumstance and it works a dramatic change in his life.
Director: Karthik Subbaraj | Stars: Vijay Sethupathi, Ramya Nambeeshan, Aadukalam Naren, Karunakaran
Votes: 8,700
Only got to see this Tamil horror film last year due to its obscurity, but it does have an excellent story which explains its high imdb rating. Was adapted poorly in Hindi, stick to the original as always.
33. Big Bad Wolves (2013)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
After a little girl is brutally murdered, a suspect avoids arrest due to lack of evidence. Working separately, her father and a cop decide to do something about it.
Directors: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado | Stars: Lior Ashkenazi, Rotem Keinan, Tzahi Grad, Doval'e Glickman
Votes: 17,561 | Gross: $0.03M
Again, very good story with interesting subtext. Far more to it than meets the eye. Read my review if you like.
34. Heart of a Lion (2013)
104 min | Drama, Romance
Neo-Nazi falls in love with a woman who has a black son and finds himself fighting with conflicting feelings.
Director: Dome Karukoski | Stars: Peter Franzén, Laura Birn, Jasper Pääkkönen, Yusufa Sidibeh
Votes: 4,169
My favorite Scandinavian film of late, I recommed it for its poignant dialogues.
35. Miss Violence (2013)
98 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A chilling account of a horrendous family tragedy perpetuated behind closed doors. As chronic violence chips away at the household's elaborate façade, the shocking secret reveals that almost nothing is as it seems.
Director: Alexandros Avranas | Stars: Themis Panou, Reni Pittaki, Eleni Roussinou, Sissy Toumasi
Votes: 9,966
Won Silver Lion in 2013, best of many Greek social dramas of late dealing with the aftermath of the 2011 crisis.
36. Gone Girl (2014)
R | 149 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry
Votes: 1,068,041 | Gross: $167.77M
Most over-hyped film of the year. It's not a bad film by any means, but there's nothing that wouldn't have been treated with more style in 'Basic Instinct' or more panache in 'War of the Roses'. Pike got an Oscar nomination, but compare her to Sharon Stone and ask yourself who's better.
37. Eastern Boys (2013)
Unrated | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A businessman makes a regular arrangement with a Ukrainian prostitute, despite the youngster's involvement in a controlling street gang.
Director: Robin Campillo | Stars: Olivier Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov, Daniil Vorobyov, Edéa Darcque
Votes: 3,845 | Gross: $0.02M
Worst film I saw in 2014. Subscribes to a 'young man needs old man' fantasy today's liberated gays have fortunately overcome. Extremely offensive to Eastern Europeans. Read my review if you like.
38. Two Days, One Night (2014)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama
Liège, Belgium. Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a EUR1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job.
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée, Baptiste Sornin
Votes: 50,553 | Gross: $1.44M
2nd worst film I saw in 2014. I liked the social realism of the Dardenne's in the '90s when it was new, but they've been doing the same thing ever since. Cotillard won her 2nd Oscar nomination for this, even though her approach to acting is limited to exaggerated sobs and wide-opened eyes.
39. Goltzius and The Pelican Company (2012)
Not Rated | 128 min | Biography, Comedy, History
Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Ramsey Nasr, F. Murray Abraham, Hendrik Aerts, Boris Bakal
Votes: 1,378
Wasn't released until 2014 for very good reason. Greenaway did groundbreaking work in the '80s, lost himself in mannerisms in the '90s and by now has become simply annoying.
40. Winter's Tale (2014)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Director: Akiva Goldsman | Stars: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly
Votes: 56,888 | Gross: $0.02M
Worst literary adaptation since I don't know when. The book is a marvelous, albeit Ayn-Rand-ish American fantasy, the film is a dull tale of ill-fated romance.
Tell Your Friends