As we reach the end of another year, it’s time to look back at NewsFour’s favourite movies of 2014.
Wes Anderson’s beautifully crafted films have always left us cold but with GBH he finally managed to inject some heart into his work. The best looking film of the year also features a career best performance from Ralph Fiennes.
We thought the prison genre had nothing left to offer until this gritty British drama arrived and swept us up in its rugged tale of a violent young offender transferred to the adult prison where his estranged father is housed.
Lars Von Trier’s exploration of female sexuality was every bit as bonkers as we expected, but wildly entertaining in the process. Newcomer Stacy Martin is one of the finds of the year.
It feels like an age since this slavery era drama opened way back in January, but it was always going to hang onto a top 10 spot thanks to its powerful yet subtle take on its subject matter.
One of the performances of the year came from Jake Gyllenhaal in this cracking cynical thriller about a sociopath who becomes LA’s top crime scene videographer.
Like Wes Anderson, the Coen Brothers never quite did it for us, making a series of movies that were undoubtedly well mounted but emotionally unengaging. That accusation can’t be levelled at this beautiful look at the life of a fictional folk singer attempting to eke out a living in a stunningly rendered ’60s New York.
This ensemble Italian drama came out of nowhere and instantly won us over with a gripping plot, fascinating characters and a host of great performances.
An entire movie set in a car sounds like a recipe for boredom, but with Tom Hardy at the wheel this turned out to be one of the most involving dramas of the year.
One of the best movies about childhood ever made, this is a film that’s impossible not to love.
Adam Wingard’s homage to ’80s genre cinema blew us away with its quiet confidence and reinvented Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens as Hollywood’s hottest action man.
Here’s to another year of great movies in 2015!
By Eric Hillis
