Critics give nod to ‘Ida’ and ‘Boyhood’
This photo from IFC Films shows Ellar Coltrane at age 6 in a scene from the film,”Boyhood.”
This photo from Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix as Larry “Doc” Sportello in “Inherent Vice.”
In this photo from Fox Searchlight Pictures, Michael Keaton portrays Riggan in a scene from “Birdman.”
This photo from Music Box Films shows Agata Trzebuchowska in a scene from “Ida.”
The top films of 2014, according to Associated Press film critic Jake Coyle:
1. “Ida” – Where did this perfect little gem come from? Its director, Pawel Pawlikowski, wasn’t previously a major name in international cinema. Yet at a time when most filmmakers can’t keep their movies under two hours, Pawlikowksi plunges into Polish history and back again in less than 90 minutes. Yes, an austere, black-and-white Polish film doesn’t sound like the most appetizing stuff. But it’s a hauntingly beautiful film, and thanks to the tremendous Agata Kulesza, there’s humor here, too.
2. “Boyhood” – One of the most memorable parts of film in 2014 was seeing the movies play with time, capturing it in elapse (“Boyhood”), bending its particles (“Interstellar”) and wryly gazing at its courses across centuries (Jim Jarmusch’s excellent “Only Lovers Left Alive”). Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in-the-making “Boyhood” is a landmark, for sure. But for a much-lauded masterpiece, it’s incredibly humble, warm and humanistic.
3. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Wes Anderson’s heroes are, like him, devotees of brilliant escapes: the beachside oasis of “Moonrise Kingdom,” the play land of Rushmore Academy, the pre-war elegance of this film’s Eastern European resort. Dreams are inevitably punctured by outside forces, and a new, compromised life must be found – some melancholy combination of fantasy and reality. Usually, Bill Murray’s there somewhere.
4. “Mr. Turner” and “Birdman” – In a year rich with colorful portraits of artists (the obsessive, rigorous drummer of “Whiplash,” the arrogant, oblivious author of “Listen Up Philip”) these two most stood out: “Birdman” for its blisteringly kinetic flow and the raging ego of Michael Keaton’s actor; and the masterful “Mr. Turner” for its total lack of pretention and Timothy Spall’s gruff, grunting painter.
5. “Interstellar” – Admittedly, I’m a sucker when it comes to stories about dads and daughters. Many critics poked holes in the imperfectly stitched cosmic fabric of Christopher Nolan’s space epic, but I found the time-traveling epic – science fiction build on science fact – grandly moving. So I’m a sentimentalist who digs space. Sue me.
6. “Inherent Vice” – Obviously, I’m also an easy mark for a glorious mess. Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaption of Thomas Pynchon is probably a noble failure in an impossible task. But there’s no movie I’m keener to return to, to again feel its electric songs and its scruffy sadness.
7. “The Immigrant” – A number of films in 2014 weren’t shy about their Big American Themes. Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” was the most mesmerizing; JC Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year” the most atmospheric; and Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” the tautest. But James Gray’s period Ellis Island tale was the most majestic. The film’s powerful last shot is an absolute knock out.
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The top films of 2014, according to Associated Press film critic Jocelyn Noveck:
1. “Boyhood” – This movie just pulsates with the feeling that it’s something utterly unique – something rare and exciting. It’s not just that director Richard Linklater managed to shoot it over 12 years, creating an astonishingly fluid view of a boy’s life; It’s how the film makes us feel. By the end, we know Mason (the sensitive Ellar Coltrane) so well, it feels wrong to leave him. Shouldn’t he be coming home with us?
2. “Birdman” – Absolutely bracing in its verve and inventiveness, Alejandro G. Inarritu’s meditation on fame, relevance and self-worth is a marvel. Michael Keaton is raw and vulnerable as an aging actor trying to exorcise his superhero past; Edward Norton is superb as a charismatic jerk. The cherry on top: Emmanuel Lubezki’s stunningly seamless camera work.
3. “Selma” – Talk about a movie that comes just when the country needs it. A beautifully restrained performance by David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr. anchors this stirring account of events surrounding the famous march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery. Director Ava DuVernay is equally adept at depicting intimate moments – like a testy Oval Office exchange between LBJ and George Wallace – as she is conveying the sweep of a historic movement.
4. “Ida” – Pawel Pawlikowski’s film is pure, austere, and powerful – exactly how one might describe its young star, Agata Trzebuchowska, who plays an orphaned novice about to take her vows when she learns she has an aunt, her only living relative. Ida’s subsequent journey, in which she explores Poland’s dark wartime past to discover both who she is and who she wants to be, is mesmerizing.
5. “Mr. Turner” – Timothy Spall studied painting, drawing, even Greek and Roman architecture – all to play the great landscape painter J.M.W. Turner. And it shows: The wonderfully gruff Spall doesn’t seem to act in this movie as much as inhabit it, messily and fully. Mike Leigh’s gorgeously detailed biopic doesn’t fall into typical formula – and the visuals do Turner proud.
6. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Wes Anderson, we surrender – to your whimsy and singular imagination. This movie is a visual delight; it’s also a madcap caper and, a layer deeper, a more serious look at a dying way of life in Europe. Mostly, it’s a perfect vehicle for Ralph Fiennes, as a wonderfully pompous concierge, to display his lesser-known comic skills.
7. “Whiplash” – None of us would ever want to be in a classroom with the abusively demanding jazz instructor played by J.K. Simmons – it’s hard enough to be in the movie theater. But boy, Simmons grabs the role by the throat, thrillingly. Miles Teller is excellent, too, as the driven student who accepts this abuse, all to be a jazz drummer.