As mentioned in my Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2014 article, 2014 was year with a few great movies and a lot of really good ones. Every year has hidden gems and films that rise close to the top without quite making it to the surface. The following is a list of movies that I really enjoyed this year that might have been missed by most audiences and absolutely deserve a look on blu-ray or VOD. Some of these are mainstream movies that missed an audience and some are smaller independents that people may not have ever heard of but I really dig all of them. I have included trailers as well. Let me know what you think in the comments and throw out some of your favorite movies of last year that may not have been noticed.

 

10. Late Phases

As one of the big two in terms of classic horror movie monsters, the werewolf has kind of gotten the short shrift when it comes to really great films. There are a bunch of werewolf movies, sure, but only a handful of really exceptional ones. Late Phases, then, is a very welcome entry into the genre that takes the basic idea of Silver Bullet and replaces the young boy in a wheelchair with a blind Vietnam veteran in a retirement community. It is gory and tense and offers effective intrigue and scare moments. The werewolves in the movie are practical so it is people in werewolf suits, which I always prefer to CGI but I have to say the faces are a little silly looking. Despite this Late Phases works very well and takes the characters and story very seriously. It is not a farce or tongue in cheek but rather a very serious horror movie with more on its mind than you might expect. If you are a fan of the genre, check it out for sure.

 

 

9. Chef

Written, directed and starring Jon Favreau, Chef is a return to the personal indy filmmaking that put him on the map. Telling the story of an executive chef that opens his own food truck after a conflict with a food critic leads to a very public melt down, Chef feels like Favreau is getting out a lot of frustrations about big studio filmmaking versus personal work. The attention to detail and craftsmanship in the food preparation is excellent and watching the movie made me very hungry and also realize that I have been making grilled cheese sandwiches like an asshole all these years. Beyond the food, the story itself is touching without being overly sentimental and hits just the right beats just the right way. I love Favreau in general and I love this Favreau in particular. I am all for the blockbusters but it is even better when he makes one of these in between.

 

 

8. Only Lovers Left Alive

So right off the bat, this tale of two very old vampires who are married and come together when they need each other, is not for everyone. It is Jim Jarmusch which means it is very slow, very ponderous and very gorgeous. This is a character study more than a real story and I found the characters fascinating and the performances incredible. Tom Hiddleston plays the depressed and reclusive Adam with just the right touch just as Tilda Swinton brings more verve and jauntiness to Eve without it feeling silly or overblown. This is a very quiet and understated movie with a bunch of great ideas and terrific performances that are absolutely captivating if you can accept that not very much happens and when it does the characters are pretty mellow and hip about it. I am a fan of Jarmusch so this is right up my alley but it is certainly not for everyone.

 

 

7. Dear White People

The feature debut of writer/director Justin Simien, I went into Dear White People expecting a broad indictment of racial inequality in film but instead got a deep and thoughtful look at race relations at an Ivy League college. While I was pretty on board with my expectations as wrong as they were, I think what I got was way better. The movie is funny but that is not really what it is all about and instead examines the experiences of four different black students carving out their places at the school and it does so without being overbrearing or heavy handed. There were moments in the film that made me acutely uncomfortable and that is what it was meant to do. The film asks some hard questions on both sides of the story and ends up being very moving. The performances are great across the board but the biggest standout for me was Tyler James Williams. He does more with looks and facial expressions than a lot of actors do with their whole bodies. He is also doing a great job on Walking Dead currently so he has that going for him, which is nice.

 

 

6. The Guest

The follow up to Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s You’re Next, the Guest subverts the 80’s horror/thriller trope of the stranger who shows up to help the family but has a shadowy past that may turn deadly much in the same way that You’re Next subverted the home invasion horror genre. This movie has divided audiences a bit as it works within its genre and then kind of explodes it but I loved pretty much every minute of it. Dan Stevens is amazing in the lead and brings a tension to every scene that puts you on edge the whole way through. The Guest is something of a throw back to the 80’s with a sound track at home in a thriller of the time (or in Drive for that matter) but it also feels very contemporary with great effects and even better action and choreography. If you can get on board with what the movie is trying to do you will have a great ride here. Wingard and Barrett are quickly becoming one of my favorite creative teams and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

 

 

5. Edge of Tomorrow

An action sci-fi take on Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow follows a soldier fighting an alien invasion who is  caught in a time loop in which he relives each day over and over again with the day only every ending with his death. Directed by Doug Liman, Edge of Tomorrow is just straight up awesome. It was a lot funnier than I expected and the action is pretty amazing with special effects that are always convincing. Tom Cruise is pretty much perfect in the lead and this becomes one more example of how reliable of an action star he is personal life be damned. Emily Blunt is something of a revelation here as she shows serious action chops as a badass war veteran who knows what Cruise is going through. What happened to this movie at box office is really annoying because people complain about not enough fresh ideas and then ignore them when they come along. It is true that this is an adaptation of the comic All You Need is Kill and the premise feels derivative at first blush but the film itself offers up a great story well told and acted that we haven’t seen before. The title kind of sucks and I think they should have stuck with All You Need is Kill but changing it for the DVD/Blu-ray relase to Live. Die. Repeat. is pretty lame. This movie definitely needs to be seen.

 

 

 

4. Obvious Child

The most potentially divisive movies on the list, Obvious Child is a comedy that deals with a stand up comedian who gets pregnant during a one night stand following a hurtful break up and she has to decide what to do. When you say something like ‘abortion comedy’ that is going to be a turn off for a large number of people and I have a hard time imagining that many pro-life viewers would be interested. That is kind of a shame because Obvious Child is funny, touching and very even handed. Jenny Slate is amazing here and carries the heavy burden on her shoulders of making sure the movie doesn’t feel preachy or irreverent. The insight this provides is invaluable and it does a great job of finding just the right balance that the material needs.

 

 

3. The One I Love

I don’t want to say too much about this movie and in fact I am not going to add a trailer because it is better if you just watch it and experience it as intended. Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss are both great and this is a excellent examination of relationships. That is all I am going to say. Just watch it.

 

2. Top Five

Written and directed by star Chris Rock, Top Five is an examination of what happens to performers after a certain level of success and celebrity and what it takes to course correct once you have lost your way. This could be an interesting companion piece to Chef as they both get at similar things, although Top Five is much more directly self-referential. Packed with terrific performances, Top Five doesn’t just concern itself with show business but also gets into the complexity of relationships from family to marriage and friendship and how easy it is to make poor choices or go the wrong way. It also touches on alcoholism and fear which makes it pretty packed for a movie that takes place in a single day during a walking interview.  It is also very, very funny. It breaks my heart that it didn’t get as much attention as it deserved.

 

 

1. John Wick

John Wick is a  very straight forward revenge picture with incredibly shot at performed action scenes that drips cool like it was its job. Keanu Reeves leads here as a retired hitman who has his dog killed by Russian gangsters following his wife’s death. He takes it personally and goes back to work. A great example about how much can be done with how little, the script is lean and focused and the action speaks for itself. John Wick delivers in spades.

 

Alright so there is my list. Hopefully there are some things on there you might have mist and might be interested in. Again, I would love to see your lists and recommendations in the comments below.