Best Films Of 2014

These are the movies from 2014 I loved the most. Anything from my top ten stayed with me hours, most cases days after my first viewing and even in the second month of 2015, I can recall them vividly. If you're wondering why this list is so late, I do not have the luxury of attending the festival circuit, nor do I live in New York or Los Angeles, so a lot of late 2014 prestige releases don't make their way to the rest of the country until January. To be able to put movies in the proper context of their respective years, it helps to see the films that have been lauded the most or were highly anticipated, hence the February arrival of this list. In my own world, it's still relevant as long as it's before the Oscars. So here it is.


1. Life Itself

Roger Ebert was a huge influence on me as a cinephile. If I hadn't started reading his reviews as a high school freshman, this very list you're reading may not even exist. I fought hard not to make Life Itself, my #1 movie of 2014 because of how much I adored its subject and for fear that I wasn't being objective, yet in the end, honesty won out. The emphasis on Ebert's love for movies alone would have still made this a memorable film, seeing as how his writing was filled with an observation, wit and insight that made him more accessible than some of his more sophisticated contemporaries at the time. The love he had for cinema was a very genuine and touching one, but in the spirit of objectivity, director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) delved into the man behind the reviews, warts and all. The documentary follows Ebert through the last months of his life as he battled cancer, an ordeal that is not skimmed over in the least and quite graphic at times, in addition to less flattering biographical nuggets mentioned throughout the film. It's the kind of portrayal Ebert himself likely would have championed.

Top 250 Singles of 2014

As the years go on, this list has become more agonizing to sift through because of the amount of great stuff that's out there. I won't complain though. The time and effort that goes into this makes me feel good about songs even in the lower reaches of the list, and that's a feeling that increases with each year. So yes, it's definitely worth it. As usual, I've included a Spotify playlist and for the tracks that weren't available there, I used Soundcloud to compile them (those songs will have a * next to them). Both playlists are also embedded at the bottom. For songs that couldn't be found on either, I just simply included a hyperlink to where you can listen (designated with a ^). If you haven't yet, check out my albums list as well. Hope you find something new that you'll enjoy!

1. FKA twigs - Two Weeks

The past couple of years in music have seen an increasing fascination with the spaced-out, drum heavy sounds of mid to late-90s R&B to much acclaim. One has to wonder where the critical adoration has been all this time and why it took a touch of the fringe to make it palatable and hip (i.e. Banks, The Weeknd, How To Dress Well, etc.). FKA twigs' career has definitely benefited from this growing trend, but with all the comparisons to experimental artists like Björk and James Blake, make no mistake about it; "Two Weeks" is a pure R&B record. Once upon a time, turntable scratches and Auto-Tune were alien to rhythm and blues, so don't let the screwed vocals that pop up throughout deter from classifying it as such. If anything, they add to the atmosphere, which is probably one of the most sensual to come down the pipeline in a year or two. That uneasy tension is likely what twigs wants. For the audience to be kept off guard, to be lulled away from their equilibrium leaving themselves susceptible, until finally, she coos in a voice dripping with confidence and candle wax, "Give me two weeks/you won't recognize her." You're left helpless, she's in full control and more than likely, you're regretfully enjoying every minute of it. What genre besides R&B is more notorious for moves like that?

Best 50 Albums of 2014

At first I thought 2014 was kind of an off year for music, but doing lists like this remind me that there can't possibly be such a thing. I made a Spotify playlist, which you can also listen to at the bottom and make sure to check back soon for my top 250 singles list.

1. Beyoncé - Beyoncé

Of course this album should be under 2014 consideration. How else to explain all the widespread adoration but only so few appearances on critics' year-end lists in 2013? It was released late last December, which was much too close to the end of the year for me and a lot of people to put into proper context of what it meant at the end of the calendar. Twelve months have passed since then and I can confidently say it's still the best thing I've heard in that span. One of the more intriguing developments of the pop world within the past few years was how her previous album, 4, felt like more than just an attempt to put together a radio-ready collection of songs and strove to keep up with some of her more adventurous contemporaries. This was surprising in that it felt like the first LP where we got a glimpse at Beyoncé The Artist and not just simply Beyoncé The Ridiculously Talented & Fierce Superwoman, which we had seen time and time again. The seeds of that experimentation fully blossomed on Beyoncé, her most challenging work yet. The usual Beyoncé trademarks were there, but instead of embracing their more commercial aspects, we were treated with more details that gave everything a personal feel. Girls still ran the world, but novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adicihe was there to explain why. You could still get her bodied, but you had to solve the riddle, and so on. It's a very rare thing when artists of Beyoncé's talent and stature make such bold moves while at the top of their game. That they pay off and in result in an amazing piece of work that's as dark and sexy as this is even rarer.