Movies I Saw in 2014

It is one of our greatest American traditions for me to rank the best movies of the year for discriminating cinephiles. We don’t go to the movie theater much so this is limited to the few 2014 movies we saw outside our house. I didn’t see any prestige pictures yet. It’s mostly superhero movies.

99. Into the Storm. I knew this wouldn’t be a cinematic triumph but just wanted to see some tornado special effects. It wasn’t worth the scene with the tornado of fire. The acting was even worse than you thought it would be. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

71. Godzilla. Not a fan. I fell asleep in the theater (we had just flown home from vacation).

4. X-Men: Days of Future Past. This movie played fast and loose with some of the details of the comics classic but for what it was, it worked. I understand why they had to change the main character to Wolverine because audiences are going to want to watch him run around more than Kitty. The only thing I didn’t like is that so many D-list mutants were alive in the future. The original was so poignant because only the core group was left. They also could have thrown in an appearance by Rachel Summers, who was so crucial to the X-Men mythos. I loved how preventing the dystopian future rebooted the series. As resetting franchises goes, it was a smart, in-story way to do it, rather than just starting a new series in three years and not acknowledging what came before.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy. Initially I had no interest in seeing this, as I didn’t care about many of the C-list characters. But what a treat to see a comic movie with such humor and such heart. In a completely different role than his Parks and Recreation character, Chris Pratt wins me over.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This may have been my favorite superhero movie yet, a riveting adaptation of the acclaimed comic story that brought the long-lost Bucky back into circulation as a brainwashed former Soviet killer. It played like a ‘70s spy thriller and in dismantling SHIELD, was a true alteration of the status quo for the Marvel movies. The tension-filled scene with Captain America getting ready to fight Hydra agents in the elevator was one of my favorite scenes of the year.

1. Gone Girl. Yes, Amy is psychotic but she still has a point about how men can treat women in the “Cool Girl” speech. Her husband is no prize either and by the end of the movie, you realize these two were made for each other. I don’t know if Gone Girl was a dark comedy or thriller or what but there is enough meat there to warrant discussion and elevate the movie. If you’ve read the book, this adaptation is very faithful, only without the last few knockout lines of dialogue. The cast is wonderful, including sulky Ben Affleck, level-headed Carrie Coon, creepy Neil Patrick Harris and hilarious Casey Wilson. Best of all is Rosamund Pike, who deserves an Oscar nomination for her terrifyingly unknowable performance.