Shirrel Rhoades Top Ten for 2014

Top Ten Movies of 2014

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

Yes, it’s that time of year when movie critics compile their list of the Top Ten Movies of the Year. Amazing how different the lists are from movie maven to movie maven. Which just goes to prove how personal and diverse movies are.

Here is my personal list of the Top Ten movies I saw in 2014:
10. “Birdman” – An audacious almost-single-shot film where art imitates life with Michael Keaton portraying as a former superhero movie star trying to prove his self-worth by doing some serious acting.

9. “Citizenfour” – A remarkable documentary about whistleblower Edward Snowden that scoops the news as he tells why he choose to expose the NSA’s secret surveillance.

8. “Edge of Tomorrow” – I know it’s hard to believe but this futuristic, sci-fi time-travel space opera starring Tom Cruise is on my list. Don’t let the dopey name fool you.

7. “Guardians of the Galaxy” – Ditto for this Marvel comic book blockbuster about a superhero team you probably never heard of. Told with wit and great SFX.

6. “Only Lovers Left Alive” – Who would expect Jim Jarmusch to give us a bleak vampire tale perfectly cast with pale Tom Hiddleston and wan Tilda Swinton?

5. “Selma” – You’ll get the message about racial equality in this spot-on, sometimes-painful–to-watch recreation of the March on Selma, Alabama.

4. “Boyhood” – Richard Linklater spent twelve years filming this story about a boy growing up. His patience is rewarded with this insightful drama about the offspring of a Texas family.

3. “Gone Girl” – Don’t care what you say, I liked this taut thriller about a husband suspected of murdering his missing wife. Ben Affleck has redeemed himself for that bad movie with J-Lo.

2. “The Imitation Game” – Benedict Cumberbatch mesmerizes us with his portrayal of Alan Turing, the British mathematician who cracked the Nazi’s Enigma code, inventing the computer in the process. Who cares that he was gay? Well. His country did.

1. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” -- Maybe Wes Anderson is an acquired taste, but give me more. His stylized tale about the concierge of a decadent European hotel features Ralph Fiennes and his nearly unrecognizable repertoire of character actors, giving us a magical movie to equal “Moonrise Kingdom.”

These are the ten movies I applauded during 2014. Did I overlook one of your picks?

srhoades@aol.com