[trackercowe]

So the last couple days I've been reading many of the top ten movie lists out there, it seems like nothing great came out this last week, so I think it's safe to say most of the better movies have already hit theaters in one way or another (On Demand).

Personally I think I've seen all the major contenders; other than Birdman, Boyhood, and Grand Budapest Hotel, all of which I will eventually see. I think overall this was a really great year in film, as there's more than one movie I considered for my top spot (1-4 was actually up for grabs).

However, I've also seen a glut of awful movies, and for some reason many of them stand out. So I'll start there first.

10. Monuments Men
9. Transcendence
8. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
7. Sabotage
6. Transformers Age of Extinction
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
4. Pompeii
3. I Frankenstein
2. Left Behind
1. Ouija
HM: Need for Speed, Deliver Us From Evil, The Devils Due.

I thought of putting The Hobbit on there, but the whole series was a gigantic disappointment. However to be fair as a movie it's no worse than The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Hercules, and they don't belong on my list either. I still remember the night where we planned on seeing Fury, but were forced to see Ouija instead when we arrived late.

Now for the top half of my list;

10. Enemy
9. The Edge of Tomorrow
8. Snowpiercer
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
5. Whiplash
4. The Guest
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Gone Girl
1. Nightcrawler

HM: Interstellar, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Lego Movie, John Wick, Predestination, Blue Ruin, and The Raid 2. That's a really solid year, considering Interstellar would probably have made my top 5 in 2013.

I also quite liked Godzilla and The Purge Anarchy, but not enough to justify having them as honorable mentions. I do think both far surpassed the standards set by their previous outings; which is what I was hoping for going in.

Now I don't think Nightcrawler is necessarily the best movie among them, but Gyllenhaal's memorable turn as Louis Bloom elevates it above the rest. I compared it to De Niro as Travis Bickle previously, and think that's an apt connection. Both movies gave as a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a sociopath, they work in different ways; at least in how you connect with our leads by the end of the movie.

So what are everyone else's thoughts? This was an outstanding year at the movies, and I could see our lists being quite varied with the works being offered in 2014.