As far as Hollywood blockbusters are concerned, this year has been a complete and utter nightmare. It brought us Michael Bay’s Transformers 4, which actually featured a vagina-shaped alien ejaculating on robot John Goodman, the Melissa McCarthy comedy misfire Tammy, the Lawnmower Man remix Transcendence, and another excuse for Adam Sandler to vacation somewhere cool (Blended), among other cinematic calamities. But there have been a plethora of excellent films this year—they’ve just been a bit harder to find. So without further ado, here are the best films of the year (so far).
Tribeca Film
I’m sure you’ve heard the news already but just in case you haven’t, the latest from Richard Linklater will finally earn the mild-mannered Texan the respect he deserves as one of this generation’s finest filmmakers. Filmed piece-by-piece every year over 12 years, and featuring the same cast aging in front of our very eyes, the film chronicles the maturation of Mason Jr. (newcomer Ellar Coltrane), the child of divorced parents (Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke), from entering the first grade through graduating high school. It is, simply put, a masterpiece; a film at once intimate and startlingly ambitious; a string of fleeting, indelible moments sewn together in a profound patchwork that will drape over you, making you feel warm and, most of all, grateful to be alive. Time is, to borrow a phrase from the Stones, on our side.
IFC Films
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho wowed us with his creature feature The Host and sent chills up our spine with his spooky Oedipal neo-noir, Mother, but this sci-fi actioner elevates him to visionary status. The year is 2031, and an experiment to counteract the effects of global warming has killed everyone on Earth—that is, except for the inhabitants of Snowpiercer, a perpetual-motion train on a track circling the globe. The train is divided by class, with the rich, led by Mason (Tilda Swinton, in fantastic aging makeup), occupying the front cars, and the poor, who subsist on a diet of disgusting protein blocks, in back. All that changes when Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a revolt. Bong’s film boasts a stellar supporting cast, including John Hurt, Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell, and Ed Harris, as well as some of the most elegantly crafted action sequences all year—the five-minute hatchet-fight scene will floor you. This is a sci-fi flick of epic proportions, and is unlike anything else you’ve seen in recent memory.
The Weinstein Company
Inspired by the writings of Austrian fatalist Stefan Zweig, Wes Anderson’s latest colorful confection is a pastel-coated caper set in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, somewhere in the Alps. It centers on the rakish Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes, glorious), famed concierge of the titular hotel, and his young apprentice, Zero Moustafa (newcomer Tony Revolori). The dynamic duo become embroiled in a plot involving a priceless painting, imposing henchmen, and Bill Murray. Anderson is one of Scorsese’s favorite filmmakers for a reason: he’s an auteur in every sense of the word, and here, He’s crafted his most delectable film to date. The sheer craftsmanship on hand here leaves other filmmakers in the dust. A true work of art.
Martin Scali/AP
Gareth Evans’ sequel, incorporating the Indonesian martial art pencak silat, is 2.5 hours of limb-snapping, hammer-hitting, roundhouse-kickin’ insanity. The plot, an undercover cop infiltrating the crime families of Jakarta, is pretty run-of-the-mill—and entirely secondary. It’s all about the elaborate action set pieces. Evans’ cast of nimble martial artists, whose lightning-fast punches make Bruce Lee seem downright lazy by comparison, lay waste to one another on a subway car, a noodle bar, a porn factory, a prison yard, inside a car during a high-speed chase, and in a nightclub. The Raid 2 will have you oohing and aahing for its duration as you watch Evans and Co. reinvent and reinvigorate the martial arts film for a new generation.
Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, this Polish-language film is set in 1960s Poland, and tells the tale of Anna, a young nun in training who is told to pay a visit to her family before giving her vows. She visits her Aunt Wanda, who reveals that Anna’s name is in fact Ida Lebenstein, and her parents were murdered by the Stalinist regime during the war. So, the two women embark on a journey to find their resting place. Shot in stunning black-and-white, Ida is a hauntingly poetic exploration of Europe’s past, present, and future; a film about the lengths people will go in the name of faith, and truth.
Music Box Films
Most vampire films focus on a bloodsucker seducing a human but precious few have tackled what it might be like to maintain a centuries-long relationship. Only Lovers Left Alive centers on Adam (Tom Hiddleston), a tortured musician living in the wasteland of Detroit who, despite his massive popularity, remains in seclusion, and Eve (Tilda Swinton), a more optimistic vamp who spends the bulk of her time in exotic Tangier. On the surface, Jim Jarmusch’s coolly detached film appears to be a moody meditation on lasting love, but dig deeper, and you’ll find an intriguing satire of Western civilization—a society in decay where humans, who Adam calls “zombies,” muck about aimlessly while the world burns.
Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez, this beauteous documentary traces the paths of several different groups of pilgrims who travel to Nepal, and then ascend the mountains by cable car to worship at the renowned Manakamana temple. The camera homes in on faces for minutes at a time, forcing you to peer deep into their souls and, like these faithful voyagers, search for meaning. It’s a hypnotic, deeply spiritual cinematic journey that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
The Cinema Guild
As Ewa Cybulski, the doomed Magdalene-like protagonist of James Gray’s The Immigrant, Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard delivers one of the best performances of the year (so far), fully embodying a Polish émigré who lands at Ellis Island in 1921, only to fall into the clutches of Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix), a seedy nightlife impresario/pimp. In addition to Cotillard’s devastating turn, Phoenix is convincingly disturbing as a self-destructive sad sack, and Jeremy Renner pops up for some fun as Emil/Orlando the Magician, a dashing chap who’s taken by Ewa’s beauty and élan. And the filmmaking composition by Gray is exquisite, offering image after image of a world not often put to screen—the largely Jewish Lower East Side of New York during the ’20s—before closing things out with one of the finest last shots in recent memory.
The Weinstein Company
Seven years ago, filmmaker John Carney won us over with Once—the romantic tale of a lonely busker falling for a young Czech flower girl in Dublin. The film won the Oscar for Best Song (“Falling Slowly”), and has since spawned a hit Broadway musical. While Once is a ballad about two actors falling in love onscreen, his long-awaited follow-up, Begin Again, is a catchy pop ode to the Big Apple. The film centers on Gretta (Keira Knightley), a burgeoning singer-songwriter who was dumped by her far more popular musician-boyfriend, Dave (Adam Levine, of Maroon 5—bear with me). One evening, Dan (Mark Ruffalo), an over-the-hill record exec, catches Gretta performing in a Downtown Manhattan watering hole and thinks he’s just discovered the next big thing. Together, the two record an album in different locations all over Manhattan. It’s a delightful gem of a film. Your biggest issue will be getting the tune “Lost Stars” out of your head.
Andrew Schwartz
Yes, it is “based on a series of short stories by James Franco.” But this visually arresting portrait of teenage angst, ennui, and frustration is the best film made by a Coppola in a decade (really). In this case, it’s photographer turned filmmaker Gia Coppola, the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola and cousin of Sofia, who presides over this drugs-, sex-, and mischief-fueled teen tale with poise and assuredness. She’s aided by a trio of compelling performances courtesy of Emma Roberts as a rebellious goody two shoes, Jack Kilmer (son of Val) as a well-intentioned screw-up, and Nat Wolff as his hell-raising, self-destructive pal, Fred. Palo Alto is one of the biggest surprises of the year.
Tribeca Film
Hands-down the film to beat for the Best Documentary Oscar. What a perfect marriage of director and subject: Steve James, the master documentarian with a gift for exposing the humanity in his subjects, whether it’s the would-be basketball stars of Hoop Dreams or the gang-busters in The Interrupters, and Roger Ebert, the late, great film critic who imbued his writing with tremendous humanity. James’ adaptation of Ebert’s memoir of the same name traces his rise from the only child of a bookkeeper and an electrician in Urbana, Illinois, to his struggles with booze and women, to becoming the most celebrated film critic ever. But it’s his heroism in the face of the cancer that stole his jaw, voice, and ability to eat—but never his creativity or inspiration—that makes this story unforgettable. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.
The plot of this wacky R-rated comedy isn’t the most original one, but its execution is absolute aces. After a young couple (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne) with a baby move into a house, they discover that a rowdy college frat, run by Zac Efron and Dave Franco, has taken over the place next door. Soon, the two parties find themselves swept up in a no-holds-barred prank war. Directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), this high-octane comedy shouldn’t work as well as it does, but really hits you thanks to the hilarious script, zany pacing, and fully committed performances of Rogen, Byrne, and Efron, whose apparent cocaine troubles while filming only seemed to augment his character’s intensity. This may be the funniest comedy since Bridesmaids, and is a definite must-see.
Photo Credit: Glen Wilson
Filmmaker Rupert Wyatt’s 2011 reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes caught a lot of moviegoers—present company included—by surprise with its engaging story and riveting motion capture ape performance, courtesy of mocap maestro Andy Serkis. The sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, has a different filmmaker in the director’s chair (Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves), and ditched the stars of the first film (James Franco, Freida Pinto) in favor of a new cast, including Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, and Gary Oldman, who find themselves caught in the middle of an epic showdown between a pack of genetically-evolved apes, led by former lab rat Koba (Toby Kebbel), and mankind. Serkis reprises his role as Caesar, turning in the most nuanced, heartfelt motion capture to date, and Reeves’ film not only pushes the limits of motion capture, but also explores heavy themes like gun violence, tribalism, and discrimination.
Twentieth Century Fox
Under the Skin: Jonathan Glazer’s hauntingly poetic film boasts an icy, seductive turn by Scarlett Johansson as an alien picking off randy targets on the streets of Scotland. (*Pictured)
Locke: A shrine to the enviable talents of British thesp Tom Hardy, who delivers a magnetic turn as a man confined to his car whose entire world is crumbling around him.
Obvious Child: This hilarious—and sweet—comedy introduced the world to Jenny Slate, who wows as a Brooklyn comedienne whose one-night stand sends her life into a tailspin.
Night Moves: The latest from Kelly Reichardt, one of America’s most underrated filmmakers, centers on a trio of environmental activists (Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard) whose attempt to blow up a hydroelectric dam goes terribly awry. The closing shot will floor you.
A24
