The movie industry, even though its one of the most recent ones, has seen an enormous amount of releases in the past decades and studios are fiercely competing with each other to release blockbusters. Indie movie makers have also gained momentum in the past, and many are gravitating towards this genre because blockbusters have become a bit repetitive in people’s eyes. Nonetheless, 2014 was an action-packed year with many movies being released. Here’s a top ten movies of 2014 list, which aims to list ten movies that have impressed us by having original story lines as well as great cinematography. There’s no particular order for the films presented in this top ten movies of 2014 summary, suggesting mainly our take on which films released this year would definitely merit two hours of your time. Naturally, there are at least 10 more movies made in 2014 that deserve those hours, but maybe we’ll tell you about those in a Top Ten Movies of 2014 – Part Two article.
1. The Equalizer
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – The Equalizer
Let’s pretend for a moment that Denzel Washington being part of the cast for The Equalizer didn’t convince you that this movie deserves a spot in the top ten movies of 2014. Denzel Washington’s performance may remind you of the Book of Eli, with all the hardcore fight-scenes and the silent treatments, as well as the usual deceiving look you can sometimes see creep upon the actor’s face. In The Equalizer, Denzel Washington’s character, Robert McCall is a widowed man, who fails to keep the promise made to his wife – staying out of the black ops and the violent lifestyle. He gets mixed up with the Russian mafia in Massachusetts because he emphasizes with one of their victims of sex trafficking. Robert McCall is more of a vigilante than a personae in The Equalizer and as you progress in the movie, the script confronts you with the brutalities and unjust character of human nature.
2. Olympus has Fallen
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – Olympus has Fallen
Olympus has Fallen ended up being on the top ten movies of 2014 list because it depicts a situation that most of us would never expect: Chinese terrorists taking over the White House in Washington D.C. Olympus has Fallen is an action-packed movie starring Gerard Butler as Mike Banning, in the leading role, as well as Aaron Eckhart as the U.S. President and Morgan Freeman as the Speaker of the House, Trumbull. Mike Banning feels like a disgraced Presidential guard for having chosen the President over his wife in a car accident, but still ends up trying to protect the American President after learning of the Chinese terrorist attack on the White House. Olympus has Fallen is more of an action movie centered around a single character using their wits and training to solve the issues at hand, but offers an entertaining time with excellent special effects and cinematography. Definitely deserves a spot on the top ten movies of 2014 list.
3. Automata
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – Automata
Automata is a post-apocalyptic movie that details how the Earth would look like if a solar flare would make the surface radioactive and force humanity into a technological regression. Antonio Banderas plays the role of Jacq Vaucan, who is an insurance agent at ROC Robotics. The company manufactures robots that can do daily tasks humans need to do, as well as protect them and build their walls for them so that they can be protected from the wasteland that has become the Earth. Jacq is faced with a series of unnerving events concerning altered robots – pilgrims, and discovers something that nobody would have expected to happen. Even though Automata doesn’t seem to be the most original script to choose for a post-apocalyptic movie, it earns a spot on the top ten movies of 2014 list because of great cinematography, great acting, especially on the part of Antonio Banderas, admirable special effects and a great soundtrack. Even though you will be left with some questions unanswered at the end of the movie, it’s still worth watching.
4. Sin City – A Dame to Kill For
Top Ten Movies of 2014 Sin City A Dame To Kill For
If you’ve seen Sin City, from 2018, you will surely be expecting something similar in Sin City – A Dame to Kill For. The new Sin City movie follows the same type of cinematography and narration, with multiple characters describing, living and re-living their stories only to blend into one organism when the feature is over. Sin City – A Dame to Kill For is an extremely atmospheric film which focuses more on what you feel and perceive rather than on what you can understand from the movie. Its black and white, occasionally colored with a few drops of vibrant red and yellow, cinematography impresses quickly and the brilliance of actors like Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and more only add to the dark, cramped, weird atmosphere of the movie. Definitely one of the best movies on the top ten movies of 2014 list.
5. The Giver
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – The GIver
The Giver is a fantastic sci-fi movie which emphasizes how humans can’t appreciate what they have been given in their life and are never satisfied with how they are doing. Brenton Thwaites learns what it is to be different, what it is to be free and what it means to bear the burden of knowledge and responsibility. Throughout the feature, we are confronted with a most important question: would you choose freedom or would you choose safety? The director tries to debate an interesting concept of what human nature is comprised of and what people would be willing to sacrifice in order to further their evolution and keep themselves united. A great film to watch over a big bowl of popcorn, to be washed down with a cup of hot earl grey, accompanied by a philosophical inner monologue about what you truly value in life. The Giver is not only an entertaining movie, but one with great visual effects and soundtrack, definitely worthy of a spot in the top ten movies of 2014 list.
6. X-Men – Days of Future Past
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – X-Men Days of Future Past
X-Men is the favorite comic of half of the world and the X-Men Saga has been no less revered. The latest in the X-Men movies, X-Men – Days of Future Past, is just as action packed as the others and deserves to be on this list because of its absolutely stunning special effects as well as the great acting we get from Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender and many others. Although your X-Men timeline probably is a bit confused by the time you get to X-Men – Days of Future Past, by the time you finish the movie, you’ll be in the know, trust me. The movie features time-traveling and changing the future, which rarely goes wrong when it comes to X-Men.
7. Deliver us from Evil
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – Deliver Us From Evil
If you’re a horror fan, you’ve surely notices that aside from a handful of features, most of the horror flicks of the past few years have been sub-satisfactory. It’s hard to create a horror movie that can genuinely scare you and impress you at the same time, mostly because we’ve kind of run out of subjects. Deliver us from Evil is not the best horror flick you can come across, but it certainly is atmospheric and chilling. It’s a blend between the portrayal of religion and possession, as well as an analysis of what can be considered pure evil and suggests that human nature has its evil sides. The film has its plot-holes and you might raise your eyebrows a few times, but overall it’s one of the best horror films of 2014 and deserves a spot in the top ten movies of 2014 list.
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – The Grand Budapest Hotel
This feature should be the highlight of this list, with an excellent cast and a magnificent story-line that will leave you breathless at times. The feature has already been called the best movie of the year, and with good reason. It’s definitely a must-see and one of the most important titles in our top ten movies of 2014 list. The movie is almost like the best screening of a novel, written with excellent talent and know-how. It tells the story of Gustave H, a concierge and his trusty lobby boy, who embark on an adventure that reminds me of Jules Verne, is some ways. The movie is goofy and eccentric, as well historically revealing and interesting.
9. Transcendence
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – Transcendence
Even though Transcendence has received many negative reviews, it remains one of the most interesting sci-fi feature films of the year. The movie deals with the concept of being one with technology and of sentient robotics. Will, portrayed by Johnny Depp, is a bright scientists who tries to create a sentient computer, but ends up being one after being killed by RIFT, an organization militating for a complete break from technology. While Will, with the help of his wife, continually expands his knowledge into the universe and creates particles that could end all the issues of humanity in a blink, there arises a question of whether one should be able to control all of the world or should they surrender their power in favor of humanity. The film explores an interesting world of transcendence and has excellent visual effects and cinematography, so it definitely deserves a spot on the top ten movies of 2014 list.
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10. Lucy
Top Ten Movies of 2014 – Lucy
It seems that the sci-fi genre is dominating this top ten movies of 2014 list and fairly so, since technology and the concept of its evolution has become widely debated because of the progress mankind has made in the field. Many are questioning our future with technology and Lucy illustrates what the ups and downs of advanced knowledge might be. The film revolves around Lucy, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, who ingests a nootropic drug that gives her psychokinetic abilities like nothing you could have imagined. The main idea behind the film is what it would be like if humans would use their brains’ 100% capacity, as opposed to the mythical 10% we are currently using.