While most people rush to get their top 10 lists out as soon as the year ends, perhaps even right before it ends, I like to do mine right around the time of the Academy Awards.  This allows me the time to not only see all of the films released late in the year, but to have the time to let them sit and process for a bit.   Listen, that’s my excuse and I am sticking with it.

This year I saw more than 120 films that were released this year.    Coming up with a top 10 was not an easy decision, and some great films just missed out.  These 10 films are the ones that struck me the hardest and gave me the most lasting impressions.

 

10 – This Is The End

This is not a film for everyone, but for those who love a good raunchy comedy (note – GOOD raunchy comedy, not raunchy for the sake of it, *COUGH Ted COUGH*), it doesn’t get much better.  The scene with James Franco and Danny McBride arguing over a magazine is the hardest I have laughed at the theater in years.  I originally wasn’t going to even have a comedy in my top 10, and this fought hard with Somebody Up There Likes Me, but with as hard as it made me laugh I had to include it in my list of the year’s best films.

 

9 – Captain Phillips

What I thought was a very tense thriller about the real-life hostage situation that occured in 2008 became much more than that in the final minutes.  Barkhad Abdi was brilliant, but the true star here is Tom Hanks.  His final scene in the film is one of my favorite acting moments since Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For A Dream.  To get shut out of an Oscar nomination this year shows just how many impressive lead performances there were this year.

 

8 – Kings of Summer

I’m a sucker for a really good coming-of-age film, and this was one hit on all fronts.  At times compelling, sad, funny and even goofy it hit all the notes perfectly.  Sometimes a really good film can take you back to yourchildhood, and this was that film for me.  OK, so maybe I never ran away and built my own house in the woods, but the wilderness scenes did take me back to tarantual hunting in the Arizona desert.  Don’t worry, we kept them as pets.  Wait, that’s almost worse, isn’t it?

 

7 – Rush

I found Ron Howard’s Rush to be a very underrated film.  This was a great story about the 1976 Formula One racing season that had very compelling drama and great action with the racing.  Chris Hemsworth is excellent as the partier James Hunt, but Daniel Brühl steals the show as the straight-laced Niki Lauda.  Brühl gives the character great depth and really raises the film high.

 

6 – The Spectacular Now

Like I said, I am a sucker for a good coming-of-age story, and this was as good as they come.  I originally wrote the review last February and I feel just as strongly now.  I wrote that Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley were about to break out as big stars, and that is certainly coming true with both being tapped to lead huge movie franchises in Divergent (Woodley) and The Fantastic Four (Teller).  It’s too bad the film didn’t perform better at the Box Ofiice, but I think it will gain in popularity over the years and be this generation’s Say Anything.

 

5 – American Hustle

I loved David O. Russell’s take on Martin Scorcese when I first saw it, and my opinion has not changed.  Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper were all amazing here, and were all rewarded with well-deserved Oscar nominations.

 

4 – Short Term 12

Brie Larson gives the best performance of her career as a social worker in a group home.  Destin Cretton wrote the screenplay and directed the film, and his gritty and intimate style really delves into these characters and creates a very rich, well-layered narrative.

 

3 – Her

Like most everyone, I thought the premise of Her sounded very silly, but Spike Jonze did a masterful job both directing and writing the screenplay to make this a very compelling romance story.  Jonze treats his characters with sincerity and respect, and it makes you believe it very possible for someone to fall in love with their operating system.  The nostalgic style in a futuristic world was also a magnificent touch to make the story and film timeless.

 

2 – 12 Years a Slave

I did not enjoy this film.  I don’t know how one could.  Steve McQueen shows the pure brutality of slavery to seem so commonplace that several critics have referred to it as torture porn.  Personally, this film hit me very hard and I couldn’t get it out of my head for several weeks.  No, this is not an enjoyable film, but it is an immensely powerful one.

 

1 – The Wolf of Wall Street

Another film that turned off a lot of critics, The Wolf of Wall Street hit a grand slam for me.  I stated above that David O Russell made a great Scorcese-style film, but here we have the master himself in top form.  Leonardo DiCaprio puts out his best performance ever as the immensely likeable and charismatic, yet amoral and completely despicable human being Jordan Belfort .  Some thought that the film was glamorizing Belfort’s actions, but the reason people found themselves almost rooting for Belfort was because we bought the product Belfort was selling – himself – even though we know it was as worthless as penny stocks.  Now, that’s an amazing sales pitch.