With all the major movies opening in 2014 having been seen, and with the new year on the horizon, the last of the year-end lists are coming (check out all of ours right here). And as you’ve noticed, the last few weeks have seen no shortage of folks weigh in. But what about the people in the Hollywood trades? Well, the critics from the two biggest daily providers of all that’s moving and shaking in tinseltown have dropped their roundups of the best of what this year had to offer.
Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy found much to love in international cinema this year, shouting out a small handful of movies from across the ocean. So too did Scott Foundas and Justin Chang at Variety, while all three found plenty to love from Hollywood as well. Overall, there are no major surprises to found here, particularly in this late stage of the year. The movies you expect to see are likely mentioned somewhere, but it’s still interesting to note which movies rank over others.
Check out all three top-tens below.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy’s Top 10 Films Of 2014
1. “Leviathan”
2. “Only Lovers Left Alive”
3. “Birdman”
4. “Ida”
5. “Boyhood”
6. “Foxcatcher”
7. “Wild Tales”
8. “A Most Violent Year”
9. “Selma”
10. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Honorable Mentions: “The Salt of the Earth,” “Citizenfour,” “Life Itself,” ”The Babadook,” “Obvious Child,” “Dear White People,” “Locke,” “The Raid 2,” “Fury,” “All Is by My Side,” Diplomacy, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Mr. Turner.”
Variety’s Scott Foundas’ Top 10 Films Of 2014
1. “Goodbye To Language”
2. “Citizenfour”
3. “Winter Sleep”
4. “Inherent Vice”
5. “Foxcatcher”
6. “The Immigrant”
7. “Gone Girl”
8. “Interstellar”
9. “Selma”
10. “American Sniper”
The next 10 (in alphabetical order): “Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Ida,” “Listen Up Philip,” “Manakamana,” “Mr. Turner,” “Nymphomaniac Vols. 1 and 2,” “Two Days, One Night,” “Whiplash”
Best films lacking U.S. distribution: “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” “Blind,” “Charlie’s Country,” “Cracks in Concrete,” “Episode of the Sea,” “Five Star,” “The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq,” “Two Shots Fired,” “We Come as Friends,” “The Wonders”
Variety’s Justin Chang’s Top 10 Films Of 2014
1. “Boyhood”
2. “Under The Skin”
3. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
4. “Winter Sleep”
5. “Foxcatcher”
6. “Bird People”
7. “Gone Girl”
8. “Selma”
9. “Mr. Turner”
10. “Interstellar”
The next 10 (alphabetical order): “Birdman,” “Calvary,” “Force majeure,” “Goodbye to Language,” “Only Lovers Left Alive,” “Starred Up,” “Still Alice,” “Stray Dogs” (Tsai Ming-liang), “Two Days, One Night,” “We Are the Best!”
Best films lacking U.S. distribution: “From What Is Before,” “Stray Dog” (Debra Granik), “Walking Under Water”
Someone finally puts Leviathan at no. 1! Yay!! 🙂
We\’ve already had our secret meeting and decided that "Boyhood" and "Birdman" are the winners. "Interstellar" was loud and boring, "Gone Girl" was okay but not great, "Selma" is a great remake of a made-for-cable movie, "Foxcatcher" was a downer, and "Budapest Hotel" was (unsurprisingly) pretentious. So congrats to the winners and we\’ll see you at the show in 2015!