It’s that time of year again when we reflect back on everything we’ve seen in the past 12 months and attempt to make a grand verdict on the best films of 2014. For what it’s worth, 2014 was another strong year for independent film: at least half of our Best 20 Films of 2014 were independently made, and there were dozens more that just missed our list (Stray Dogs, The Guest, Only Lovers Left Alive and Oculus to name a few). It was weak year for blockbusters (though Guardians of the Galaxy was close to making our list) and a relatively quiet year for award season releases (save for a few like Selma and Inherent Vice, which weren’t seen in time by enough of our staff). Our results seem to suggest 2014 was front-loaded, as many of our favorites came out at the beginning of the year, including our top pick, which might not just be the best of this year, but one of the better films we’ve seen in recent years.

For your perusal and discussion, Way Too Indie presents our selections for the top 20 films of 2014.

Way Too Indie’s Best Films of 2014

#20 – Chef

Give me a movie with succulent shots of a crunchy, gooey grilled cheese sandwich and I’m hooked. Under the tutelage of Roy Choi, Chef writer/director Jon Favreau spent a week in intensive culinary boot camp to ensure his cooking scenes were on point. Many actors have been praised for doing their own death-defying stunts or putting their bodies through drastic weight changes for a role. Not to be overlooked, however, is the risk involved with the mad chopping skills of a true chef. And Favreau really brings it. But his appreciation of the culinary arts isn’t the only thing that shines through in this heartwarming film. Delving into the internal struggles of a man who sold out his unique genius for security, we see a man in need of redefinition, not only of who he is in the kitchen, but in the world. In his process of bottoming out professionally and creatively, and taking on a new venture in food-trucking, he also gets a chance to reconnect with his son. From the colors and flavors of Miami to French Quarter beignets and Austin’s smokehouse brisket, Chef is a gastronomical road trip of discovery that succeeds in capturing the supernatural powers of food. [Scarlet]

#19 – The Double

In 2010, cult comedian Richard Ayoade released his first feature, Submarine, which garnered mostly positive reviews and was a pretty decent directorial début. His follow-up, The Double, is a much darker and more stylish film, a quantum leap for the young filmmaker. The Double is bolstered by Jesse Eisenberg’s superb double performance as all-too-forgettable office lackey Simon James and his ultra-confident alter-ego James Simon, who unexpectedly shows up in Simon’s life to wreak havoc. Taking obvious tones from Brazil, the dystopian office environment is awesomely designed and endlessly funny. It is a horrendous, dingy world, which would undoubtedly be a miserable experience, though it seems to come entirely from Simon’s own worldview – in all, it is one of the best depictions of what it feels like to be a nameless, faceless workingman wishing to be noticed while entirely without the aptitude to stand out. Despite its intense outlook on life and its equally intense Dostoevsky source material, it is superbly shot and edited, with terrific wit, making The Double a strangely breezy, playful experience. [Aaron]

#18 – Foxcatcher

I wouldn’t place the affect of Foxcatcher entirely on Steve Carell’s shoulders (although clearly I’ve already written about the brilliance of his performance), but the profundity of this true-tale balances entirely on what he brings to this film. It could be the depressing, and not particularly exhilarating, tale of a man with any number of mental instabilities performing a heinous crime against an innocent man. Instead—with arresting ensemble collaboration with Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum—Foxcatcher becomes a nuanced look into the various ways we pursue fulfillment. As quiet and slow-paced as the film is, its tension builds as well as it does because the characters’ motivations are ones everyone experiences. Tatum’s Mark Schultz and Carell’s John du Pont, two men born into very different family and societal situations, seek the same thing: a sense of affirmation and respect. It’s what everyone wants in some small way, and the mental extremes both go to in pursuit of them remind us of what we might all be capable of. Bennet Miller has proven his capabilities with a film that never gets in its own way or stumbles over its huge performances. He clearly understands the delicacy of the craft.  [Ananda]

#17 – Two Days, One Night

The Dardenne brothers were bound to work with a famous actor at some point in their career, and in Two Days, One Night their first collaboration with an A-lister proves to be terrific, and for fans, assuaging. The Dardenne’s gritty, no-frills style of storytelling is challenging for any actor to interpret, but Marion Cotillard stuns as a dangerously depressed factory worker who over a weekend must convince her co-workers to forego their bonuses to save her job. Her conversations with her colleagues range from heart-warming, to infuriating, to violent, to uplifting, though they’re all awkward and uncomfortable. Two Days, One Night an exquisite, bite-sized tale that’s as engrossing as it is hyper-relevant to today’s economic landscape. One of the brothers’ best. [Bernard]

#16 – Wild

We’ve already declared Reese Witherspoon’s performance in Wild to be one of the best of the year. It takes, however, quite a collaboration to allow an actor’s skills and talents to be able to come to fruition within a two hour time span. It begins with an incredible story, and it helps that it’s true. Cheryl Strayed’s memoir had already been Number 1 on the New York Times’ Best Seller list for seven weeks straight in 2012. Successfully adapting it into a movie would take skilled screenwriter Nick Hornby and director Jean-Marc Vallee, who directed last year’s Academy Awards’ winners for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in Dallas Buyers Club. Throw in the incredible cinematography of Yves Belanger to capture the beautiful span of nature along the Pacific Crest Trail and I would say we’d have one of the best pictures of the year. The only thing missing might be a heart-wrenching performance by the glorious Laura Dern. But then, they have that too. [Scarlet]

#15 – Nymphomaniac

Lars Von Trier gave an extensive interview recently, confessing that he’s been high and drunk while writing a lot of his screenplays, and that Nymphomaniac was the first screenplay he’d written sober (it took him 18 months). If that’s the case, then he’s proven his talents even while sober because the 4 1/2 hour sex-capade—split into two volumes for release—is an embarrassment of cinematic riches in all shapes, sizes, and vocal groans. It follows Joe’s (Charlotte Gainsbourgh) story of sexual awakening (the Young Joe is played by Stacy Martin, a brilliant first-timer that we signaled out as one of the year’s best performers) as she tells it to the asexual hermit Seligman (Stelan Skarsgard) in Vol. 1. Her story continues into adulthood as a mother and a wife in Vol. 2, where laughs are exchanged for dark decisions and reflections. Nymphomaniac is novelistic in structure, operatic in scale, painterly in design, yet wholly, insatiably, and helplessly cinematic in result. It’s funny, dark, at moments gorgeous, at others repulsive, but never ever dull and always intellectually stimulating. The film packs in everything that’s been interesting and fascinating to von Trier recently, so it’s also—at its core—a look inside the mind of one of the world’s most fascinating and audacious artists. [Nik]

#14 – The Babadook

What makes Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook so terrifying is that long before the monster appears, the film is a study of a single mother’s descent into parental madness. The protagonist is a woman who is not only haunted by the loss of her husband six years prior, but slowly terrorized by the reminder that her six-year-old son is tangentially to blame for that loss. This builds a simmering parental resentment that is as unsettling as it is unnatural. Kent further builds on this by making the child an oppressive force of hyperactive energy and piercing volume, whose singular obsession is his terrorization by a monster that doesn’t (yet) exist. Add sleep deprivation, the weight of a demanding and thankless job, a collection of unsympathetic friends with enviable suburban lives, and absolutely no chance of finding love again anytime soon, and you have a woman on the brink of both implosion and explosion. You have a woman so weak, she is ripe for a good haunting. And a good haunting she gets. [Michael]

#13 – Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin is a rare film. A violent, wholly uncompromising thriller where the stakes of violence are raised with every turn. We see lots of films portraying vengeance but not a lot, if any, that involve a protagonist who is so amateurish at it. The film involves an unknown drifter, Dwight, who seeks retribution on a trashy small town Southern family who wronged his own family years before. Dwight is one of the most flawed anti-heroes in a long time. The best thing about the film is how little information we are given; Blue Ruin is bare bones, giving only the information needed to understand the dilemma. What I love about the film is how it shows the consequences of violence, a rare facet in films these days. Writer/director Jeremy Sauliner tells the story without any fat on its bones. His filmmaking is so focused and acute that the audience is able to feel Dwight’s every wound; emotional and physical. [Blake]

#12 – Mr. Turner

Whilst biopic’s are often awards-bait they are also films that are difficult to get right. They can be—when directed badly—pretentious, dull affairs. Yet with Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh has overcome inherent biopic challenges to produce one of the outstanding films of the year. Lit majestically by cinematographer Bob Pope, many of the film’s scenes echo the breathtaking beauty of Turner’s paintings. Mr. Turner features a standout performance from Timothy Spall, who grunts and wheezes his way into the shoes of the larger than life character. Yet Spall is also supported by brilliant performances from the rest of the cast, particularly Dorothy Atkinson, who puts in a subtle yet moving performance as Turner’s underappreciated housekeeper. Mr. Turner also adeptly manages the balance comedy and drama; Leigh pokes fun at Turner without the film being reduced to a ‘parody’, and equally celebrates the man’s artistic genius without pretentiousness, never losing sight of the very human flaws behind the brilliance. Mr. Turner, is a thought-provoking character study, energetic comedy and a brilliant piece of arthouse filmmaking which may well be Leigh’s best film yet. [Eddy]

#11 – Snowpiercer

Bong Joon-ho’s wickedly entertaining Snowpiercer was the subject of heavy word-of-mouth hype this summer after its distributors, The Weinstein Company, gave the movie a limited late June release before dumping it on VOD in July. At a time when Transformers and Tammy were at the top of the box office, Snowpiercer’s groundswell of support felt less like an indictment of Weinstein’s handling of the film, and more like a plea to get audiences to pay attention to a thrilling, sci-fi/action flick that dared to exhibit originality. Brought to life through Ondrej Nekvasil’s immersive production design, the bizarre world of Snowpiercer features a completely unique setting, brutal action, and a bonkers performance from Tilda Swinton. As Chris Evans’ Curtis battles his way from the back of the train to the front with his multi-ethnic cohorts, each new section brings a fresh set of circumstances and surprises. Finding out what actually goes into the protein blocks, discovering how the society aboard the train indoctrinates its youth, and realizing that even the train’s elite are stuck in a blissfully unaware state of drug addiction (kronol, please!) are all exciting revelations in the absurd and absurdly entertaining Snowpiercer. [Zachary]

#10 – Gone Girl

David Fincher is known for making some of Hollywood’s most intense thrillers throughout his 20-year tenancy in the film capital of the world, but none are more scathing and vicious than his newest film based on Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel. While Gone Girl is, at first, about the disappearance of a small town housewife, it’s really about peeling back the layers a seemingly happy couple upholds to expose the not so greener pastures that exist underneath. And when the media gets involved, Gone Girl narrows the lens on society’s own snap judgements and expectations of people we don’t truly know but have no problem judging. Aided by a scorching script written by Flynn herself, Fincher’s film is led by a duo of virtuoso lead performances in Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. Affleck has hardly, if ever, been better and Pike gives 2014’s best performance – man or woman. Give her the Oscar already. The film isn’t one of Fincher’s best by any means, but is nonetheless a stellar addition to his already impressive canon. [Blake]

#9 – Ida

The brilliance of Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida starts with the bleak elegance of its aesthetic: a black-and-white palate presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio that is haunting in its simplicity. It’s the perfect presentation for the film, as it belies the weight of the story, yet sets the proper stage for it. And what a weighty story it is: on the brink of taking her final vows, a novice Catholic nun in 1960s Poland learns she is Jewish. She and her only living relative—an estranged, world-weary aunt with a formidable reputation as a post-war prosecutor—embark on a journey to learn the truth of their family’s past. The two women were strangers just days before, but as the story progresses and truths unfold, they find themselves dependent on each other in ways neither had anticipated. First-timer Agata Trzebuchowska is mesmerizing as the holy ingenue with hypnotic eyes, but it’s the devastating performance Agata Kulesza gives as Aunt Wanda, who begrudgingly plays part parent, pit bull, party gal, and private eye. And she’s not without her own soul-searching, either. Ida rightly earns every accolade and award it receives, as well as its spot on this list. [Michael]

#8 – Winter Sleep

Walking away with this year’s coveted Palme D’Or is pretty much tasting the crème de la crème of film awards (sorry, but not really, Oscars). And yet, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s latest masterwork Winter Sleep has really loud detractors who call it “lesser Bergman” and deride it for its extensive dialogue scenes and interior shots. Not sure what those people have watched, but there’s simply no other film that will suck you into its world faster and smoother than this opulent Turkish delight. Set in the mountainous regions of Cappadocia, the film follows hotel owner Aydin (Haluk Bilginer) while he purveys the small town as its landlord and kingly lion in winter. The film truly comes alive in the conversations he has with wife Nihal (Melisa Sözen) and sister Necla (Demet Akbag), and the various townsfolk he meets along the way in the course of the film. Humanity is peeled in syllables, and the sins that shackle the human condition surface through jolts and pangs of emotional, subtle, revelations. Critics hail Boyhood as the film that most wholly reflects life in a grander scope, but in this writer’s opinion, that mantle belongs to Winter Sleep, as it digs much deeper towards what truly makes us who we are. [Nik]

#7 – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson can be an acquired taste and is often mocked and celebrated in equal measure. With The Grand Budapest Hotel however, Anderson has created his most accessible film to date. It has all the hallmarks of Wes Anderson (watch our video essay on his unique style); it’s typically kitschy and kooky, with its intricately detailed sets, elaborate costumes and dry sense of humor. Yet the real strength of the film comes from the relationship between hotel concierge Gustav H (Ralph Fiennes) and the lobby boy, Zero (Tony Revolori). This is due to a charming performance from Ralph Fiennes who clearly relishes escaping from the serious dramatic roles he seems to have been too often restricted to over the years. Tony Revolori also gives a terrific performance as Zero, Gustav’s bellboy, with Anderson seeming to have a knack for finding young talented actors and really letting them shine. The warmth in the relationship between these two helps prevent the film from becoming detached from its characters. This makes The Grand Budapest Hotel easily one of the most heartfelt films he has made, enjoyable and accessible even to those outside Anderson’s cult audience. It’s one of the funniest and most charming movies of the year, a feel good film with real class and a supporting cast including Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, and long time collaborator Bill Murray all in top form. [Eddy]

#6 – Whiplash

Who knew a movie about jazz drumming would become 2014’s most exhilarating film? Whiplash follows first-year music student Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) as he endures an onslaught of abuse from his jazz instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Fletcher firmly believes in the end justifying the means, destroying the hopes and dreams of hundreds of young students if it means pushing one of them to become the next Buddy Rich. What Neiman represents for Fletcher is the opportunity he’s been waiting for: someone willing to swallow his twisted, bullshit philosophy without question.

Writer/director Damien Chazelle does what some would consider the unthinkable: he shows Fletcher’s horrifying methods paying off. But Chazelle also shows the agonizing, dehumanizing costs of getting to that point: shutting out loved ones, removing a social life, and not even caring for your own well-being if it gets in the way of “true greatness.” Yes, the film’s incredible finale depicts Andrew finally getting the approval he desperately seeks, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory. We watch in awe at the skills and primal fury on display, but we also stare in horror at what Andrew has become. [C.J.]

#5 – The LEGO Movie

Are there more pleasantly surprising filmmakers than Phil Lord and Christopher Miller working today? First, they turned a kids book into a cult classic. Then they revamped a 1980s television series at a time when reboots and rehashes were becoming sickening, and made a brilliantly funny and original comedy hit. Should we have ever doubted that these two could make a resonant, beautiful, and hilarious film based entirely on block toys? The LEGO Movie is widely being considered not just the best animated film of the year, but one of the most beloved films of 2014. From an animation standpoint, the film is interesting and beautiful, using the LEGO form beyond its furthest extent. The LEGO Movie features an eclectic group of voice performers, including Will Arnett’s take on the caped crusader, perhaps the best film representation of Batman there has ever been. The filmmaking duo’s sharp satirical wit and unique look at popular culture are on full display, making it one of the year’s best comedies for both kids and adults. But the film also has a lot of heart. Its messages of good teamwork and being yourself don’t feel cheap or dumbed down for a younger audience. Its greatest message, however, is aimed to the older generation who have let rules and stipulations get too involved with their entertainment pursuits. Toys (video games, films, cosplay outfits, etc.) are about creativity and imagination and don’t need to meet anyone else’s plans or expectations. The LEGO Movie wonderfully lives in this spirit. [Aaron]

#4 – Under the Skin

Of all the films on our list, none are as cinematically daring and bizarre as Jonathan Glazer’s sci-fi anomaly, Under the Skin. Scarlett Johansson stars as a predatory being from elsewhere, prowling the streets of Glasgow, using her body to ensnare hapless horny fellows off the street. The performance is divine: her face is stuck in a zombified state throughout the film, but her eyes tell another story, transforming from those of a sharp predator to those of a sick, lost puppy. If Johansson’s career-defining acting wasn’t enough, the film’s score is ethereal and unnerving, and Glazer’s imagery is minimalistic, elegant, and vicious, arguably the highest visual achievement of the year.

Several colleagues I’ve spoken to about Under the Skin didn’t click with the film quite like I did. But one thing they all say, without fail, is that it’s an important film whose artistic value is pretty much unimpeachable. As film lovers we should be staunch evangelists for risk-taking filmmakers like Glazer because, pass or fail, their films help expand the horizons of cinema past what we’re comfortable with or conditioned to accept. And where Johansson’s career goes from here is anybody’s guess, because for a young actress to star in The Avengers and yet still have the hunger to tackle a role like this is what earns the respect of peers, audiences, and critics alike. [Bernard]

#3 – Birdman

How to explain the significance of a film about a washed up actor trying to rebuild his reputation with the seemingly selfish act of creating his own spotlight and walking into it? Hollywood notoriously loves introspective films, but what makes Birdman unique in this regard is that not only does it poke fun of that egotism, and indeed hints at the madness behind it, but director Alejandro G. Iñárritu uses our beloved medium as a weapon, hitting any self-ascribed film enthusiast, actor, stage savant, or critic in the face with the art of it. Birdman contains some of the most impressive camera-work in a film all year, much of it in extended dizzying takes, a feat that also serves to prove the brilliance of the film’s performances as everyone in the film has to be amazing without much editing room help, and all of it is literally underscored by spastic moody jazz drums that provide one of the most inspired scores of the year. It’s a lot. And it’s just enough.

As a former superhero film star and failing father trying to prove his worth, Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson is an insecure, egotistical, surreally magical, and often pathetic creature. And even while laughing at him, or wondering at the level of certifiability to his madness, he’s an engaging and easy to root for loser. And Keaton is just the tip of the acting greatness in the film. There’s Emma Stone as his daughter, reminding Riggan how out of touch he is; Edward Norton’s egomaniacal co-star demeaning his every attempt to be taken seriously; Zach Galifianakis as his tense and pandering best friend, producer and lawyer; Lindsay Duncan as a theatre critic determined to take Riggan down; and a host of others who all bring their A-game. What keeps Birdman from the darker end of the black comedy spectrum is the insinuation that all this madness might just be the key to great art. To which I say, go as mad as you want Iñárritu, it looks pretty damn good. [Ananda]

#2 – Nightcrawler

Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler is a nasty piece of work, and I mean that in the best way possible. Some have described it as a media satire, but that would be missing the forest for the trees. Gilroy sets his sights on the current state of business in America, viciously tearing into and exposing how the country’s late capitalist system thrives on sadism. That message takes the form of Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal in his best performance to date), the kind of person who drinks and regurgitates the corporate Kool-Aid with a grin on his face. Bloom, an unemployed and undereducated man whose go-getter attitude is really a sign of psychosis, discovers the potential for an exciting new business opportunity: capturing the bloody aftermath of crime scenes on camera and selling the footage to morning news outlets. Once he finds a news producer (Rene Russo, also doing amazing work) willing to buy his footage, Bloom begins building an empire on the pain and suffering of others.

Gilroy, making his directorial début, doesn’t hide his anger for one second. In a just world, Louis would get shunned or locked up for his behavior. Instead he’s rewarded, and the more he stomps on ethics and morals, the more successful he becomes. Nightcrawler makes it abundantly clear that this is a state of the nation address rather than a cautionary tale, a world where the moral compass has been replaced by the bottom line. It’s an uncompromising, cynical, darker than dark film, with such strong directing, writing, acting and cinematography (from the great Robert Elswit) it feels like the work of an established master instead of a first-time director. What Nightcrawler makes terrifyingly clear is that, through seeing Bloom’s sociopathic behavior push him up the ladder rather than into the gutter, this isn’t a case of the inmates taking over the asylum; it was always supposed to operate that way. [C.J.]

#1 – Boyhood

Despite all the early award season speculation and dominating year-end lists, there’s seemingly no limit to the amount of praise for the epic 12-year project Boyhood. Few films in the history of cinema have portrayed ordinary life so profoundly as Richard Linklater’s masterpiece. Yet for a film that took over a decade to make and spans nearly three hours, it’s remarkably simple. Boyhood literally observes actor Ellar Coltrane grow up on-screen from his early childhood through his adolescent years. But instead of focusing on pivotal milestones in life—first love, school dances, marriage, etc.—the film is about those moments between those milestones which are equally memorable. Rather than putting up title cards to signal a new year, Boyhood makes effective use of pop culture, technology advances, and haircuts for its transitions in time. These also serve as a nostalgic time capsule for the ’00s. Throughout the years the land-line phone, colorful iMac G3, and Gameboy Advance are naturally phased out by a cell phone, slim laptop, and Xbox 360. While these are all seemingly simple achievements, rarely do filmmakers take such an organic approach the way Linklater does here.

Even though the title implies just a coming-of-age story of a boy, it could have easily been called “Parenthood.” Patricia Arquette experiences the difficulties of raising two kids as a single-parent and it’s heartbreaking to watch her bounce from one abusive relationship to the next. While she’s the glue that holds everything together, frequent Linklater collaborator Ethan Hawke displays the most range as a character. Hawke first shows up as a reckless father who abandoned his children. But by the end he matures into a responsible parent and a caring husband happily remarried. This film demonstrates the process each of us undergoes on a constant basis, the evolution of trying to find ourselves at every age. A decade is a long time to shoot a film, but perhaps it’s the perfect way to capture the way life passes by. Boyhood is a sprawling cinematic achievement that could only come around every 12 years or so, and probably even more rarely than that. [Dustin]

December hasn’t even started yet, and the lists are already starting to come out. Sight & Sound just put out their list of the year’s best films, and it’s quite the mix between awards fare and more out there material. Now you may be asking yourself, “Why are we talking about this list?” Well it’s because Sight & Sound, run by the BFI, is one of the most respected film publications in the world. They’re also responsible for the survey on the greatest films ever made that gets updated once a decade, the gold standard when it comes to all-time lists.

So what’s on this list? First off, it’s based on UK release, so some films like Wolf of Wall Street and The Wind Rises are on the list despite coming out last year in the US. Putting those aside, the top of the list doesn’t come as a surprise with Richard Linklater’s Boyhood at number one. Seeing the number 1 next to Boyhood is going to be a sight we all have to get used to by the end of the year (not that anyone’s complaining, though). After that it’s a range of titles from the more mainstream (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ida, Mr. Turner, Birdman) to the extreme arthouse picks (Jauja, Horse Money, Goodbye to Language). In other words, watching these movies will give you a fair share of the accessible and inaccessible in 2014.

Read the list below, check out our reviews for some of the films by clicking on them, and take a peek over at the Sight & Sound website for more information on the list. And be sure to check out all of Way Too Indie’s year-end coverage coming up throughout December, when we reveal our list of the best films of 2014 at a more reasonable date than the end of November.

Sight & Sound’s Best Films of 2014

1. Boyhood
2. Goodbye to Language 3D
3. (tie) Leviathan
3. (tie) Horse Money
5. Under the Skin
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel
7. Winter Sleep
8. (tie) The Tribe
8. (tie) Ida
8. (tie) Jauja
11. (tie) Mr. Turner
11. (tie) National Gallery
11. (tie) The Wolf of Wall Street
11. (tie) Whiplash
15. The Duke of Burgundy
16. (tie) Birdman
16. (tie) Two Days, One Night
18. (tie) Citizenfour
18. (tie) The Look of Silence
18. (tie) The Wind Rises

Now that we’re officially at the halfway mark of the year, we put our heads together here at Way Too Indie to come up with our favorite films of 2014 so far. Our list contains a variety of films ranging from festival darlings, indie dramas, horror movies, and even a couple of (really good) mainstream movies. We decided to only include films that had a North American release date between January 1st through June 30th to keep things consistent. Considering our list for the front-half of the year looks this solid, we’re eagerly waiting to see what the rest of year brings. In the meantime, here are the best films of 2014…so far.

Way Too Indie’s Best Films of 2014 (So Far)

#15 – The Immigrant

James Gray is quickly becoming one of the most shamefully unsung directors of American cinema today. He started off remarkably well in 1994, when his debut Little Odessa won the Silver Bear at Venice. Fast forward 20 years, and he’s only managed to complete four more features, mostly because his films haven’t been getting the critical and box-office love needed to stay prolific. The pattern continues with his latest, The Immigrant – which premiered at Cannes last year, and bless the French festival for realizing Gray’s talent because since his debut, every single one of his features unveiled there. If you’ve seen the first part of our Best Of 2014 (So Far) Hangouts session, you’ll hear me showering all kinds of praise on this beautiful, gentle, unique, and softly stirring picture about a woman’s unwavering love for her sister, a man’s wavering love for this woman, and the rock-solid strength of faith. Detractors like to call it out on its melodrama but I think Gray manages, thanks in large part to the orchestration of the mise-en-scene and cinematography which glide us back into its 1920s New York setting, to put the mellow in the real drama of the story. Marion Cotillard, Gray-regular Joaquin Phoenix, and Jeremy Renner deliver outstanding performances, and lovers of visual storytelling will be rightly gawking at the last shot of the film for some time. It’s still my favorite of the year. Don’t listen to the hushed-up welcome The Immigrant received once it finally got released this year, and go melt into it on the big screen as soon as you can. [Nik]
Watch Trailer

#14 – Oculus

I’ll be the first to admit that a horror film centered around a haunted mirror sounds ridiculous. While Mike Flanagan’s Oculus contains a simple premise—an antique mirror that possesses people to commit murder—the film is surprisingly smart. The film begins by having two siblings recall their past with wildly different interpretations, forcing the audience to pick a side. Then with fancy editing techniques, Oculus seamlessly blends flashbacks into the present, making it impossible to tell what’s real and what the mirror is manipulating. Like The Conjuring before it, Oculus demonstrates how unsettling suspense that sticks with you is far superior to temporary jump scares. [Dustin]
Oculus Review | Watch Trailer

#13 – A Spell To Ward off the Darkness

The symbol separating each of the three acts in A Spell to Ward off the Darkness is an equilateral triangle, an image that would appropriately sum up the film’s structure. As a mute, unnamed man (Robert A.A. Lowe) spends a third of the film trying out a specific lifestyle (living on an Estonian commune, living in isolation in Finland, performing with a black metal band in Norway) before promptly moving on to the next, directors Ben Rivers & Ben Russell craft a cinematic powerhouse about an existential quest for belonging. The sublime camerawork, from a hypnotic opening shot to a gorgeous long take watching the man fish, comes to a head in the film’s final third. As the man embraces primal fury through his playing with the metal band, the film’s themes come together in a spiritual, near-transcendental way. It’s sublime filmmaking, plain and simple. [CJ]
A Spell To Ward off the Darkness Review | Watch Trailer

#12 – Locke

On a late night highway drive into London, Tom Hardy navigates a series of phone calls that unravel his life in close to real time, despite his never leaving the confines of a BMW X5. If that idea doesn’t intrinsically sound compelling, there is little in Locke that will convince you otherwise; however, the subtle-yet-bold execution from writer-director Steven Knight (writer of Dirty Pretty Things & Eastern Promises) makes the film stand out even amongst one-man thrillers. In the lead role, Hardy delivers a strong performance that doesn’t require overt physicality. Despite its limiting setting, Locke remains compelling through carefully constructed dialogs and engaging until its ending. [Zachary]
Locke Review | Watch Trailer

#11 – Chef

Food porn it is, but one-dimensional it’s not. Jon Favreau’s winning, heartfelt dramedy Chef follows a creatively plateaued executive chef (Favreau) as he travels cross-country with his son and best friend (John Leguizamo) in the food truck of his dreams to rediscover his passion for food. From watching Favreau chomp on a crispy-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside grilled cheese, to seeing him in ecstasy as he savors a smoky, tender morsel of Texas barbecue, the film will make you want to sprint out of the theater and straight to the closest eatery, guaranteed. The film’s got soul, too, as it tells a touching father-son tale that’ll make even the hardest of hearts a little sniffly. (Or maybe it’s the onions…) The cast of A-players, including Sofia Vergara, Oliver Platt, Robert Downey Jr., and Scarlett Johansson, are well-suited in their roles and each have good chemistry with Favreau. Post-movie dinner plans are a must! [Bernard]
Chef Review | Watch Trailer

#10 – Cold in July

Jim Mickle has been stunning audiences for a few years now with his run of successful indie horror films, but this sopping wet with sweat, moody and atmospheric 1980’s set Texan thriller is his best yet. When a decent man (Michael C. Hall) accidentally kills an intruder in his home, it brings the intruder’s father to town to even the score. When Hall does some digging into his own shooting he finds out that he may or may not be able to trust the cops that investigated the crime. From there Cold in July unspools into gritty grind house delight as loads of blood is spilled in a spectacular shootout. [Blake]
Cold in July Review | Watch Trailer

#9 – Blue Ruin

This Southern thriller is a mixture of revenge, brutal violence and unpredictability. A mysterious man, who happens to be horrible as an assassin, goes after a family of hicks who in some capacity (we never find out why) wronged his own. What makes Blue Ruin so good is that it never insults the audience’s intelligence and has a clear direction it wants to go in. It also has a lead character who chooses to carry out acts of violent vengeance and at times isn’t completely up to the task. Making a revenge film with a lead character that is very sloppy is a breath of fresh air. The lesson of the film? Revenge is never simple and it’s never clean. [Blake]
Blue Ruin Review | Watch Trailer

#8 – The Double

Two Jesse Eisenbergs: one painfully nebbish, the other unflappably confident. Many actors have pulled off portraying their own doppleganger but in The Double, Eisenberg’s dual roles exist in a beautifully detailed retro-futuristic environment reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. The 2nd feature from actor/filmmaker Richard Ayoade retains the quirky sense of humor that defined his teenage love comedy Submarine, but the tone is considerably more mature in The Double with darker jokes and deeper philosophical themes. Ayoade’s movie moves at a brisk pace, bouncing between comedy, drama, romance and thriller in an unpredictable manner until its shocking ending. Although The Double contains significant, notable influences from others filmmakers, the amalgam of ideas portrayed in this movie becomes the unique vision of Ayoade. [Zachary]
The Double Review | Watch Trailer

#7 – Stranger by the Lake

Set entirely on a beach where gay men rendezvous for brief sexual encounters, Stranger by the Lake is among the year’s best and most unusual thrillers. When Franck witnesses a man being drowned in the lake by his lover, he is pulled between fear and seduction, unsure whether to go to the police or get even closer to the mysterious killer. Still, Stranger by the Lake is much more than a run-of-the-mill murder thriller — though those elements are extraordinarily tuned. Dealing with many issues surrounding homosexuality, including inclusion, community and being “the other”, the film also becomes among the most probing films in a rapidly growing gay cinema. You can come for the exploration of these issues and then stay for the explicit sex scenes. All of this tension (sexual and otherwise) leads to a dynamite conclusion that will have you on the edge of your seat. [Aaron]
Stranger by the Lake Review | Watch Trailer

#6 – Snowpiercer

Summer is normally the breeding ground when studios launch their latest franchise/sequel blockbuster to the masses. At first glance, Snowpiercer seems to hit all the check marks for a standard popcorn movie: huge budget ($40 million), all-star cast (Chris Evans, Ed Harris, Tilda Swinton), and a graphic novel adaptation that promises action. But Snowpiercer remarkably satisfies both the arthouse and mainstream crowds with a high-concept plotline stuffed with stunning visuals and marvelous action sequences.

This single location blockbuster is set in the near feature where a chemical reaction creates a new ice age, survived only by a small group of people aboard a sophisticated train that travels around the world on an endless loop. A class system divides the train’s society, causing the lower class to revolt against the billionaire industrialist at the helm. The film’s pacing perfectly balances thoughtful backstories with action-packed mayhem. The Weinstein Company’s decision to make Snowpiercer a limited release is a shame, this is a rare science-fiction film that everyone should see. [Dustin]
Snowpiercer Review | Watch Trailer

#5 – Only Lovers Left Alive

Yes, Only Lovers Left Alive is one of the best vampire films in ages, but calling it a “vampire movie” would be selling it short. Jarmusch is more fascinated by immortality and human creativity. Vampire couple Adam & Eve (Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton, both fantastic), while madly in love with each other, differ on their view of humans. Adam’s cynicism toward “zombies” consistently goes up against Eve’s optimism (when Adam says he feels like the sand is at the bottom of the hourglass, she tells him to turn it over), but Jarmusch clearly takes Eve’s side on the debate. Only Lovers Left Alive is a celebration of artistic triumphs, with piles of literary and musical references only Jarmusch is able to pull off without any sense of pomposity. These characters have lived for centuries, and it becomes clear that, for them, their only true friends are the various forms of art they surround themselves with. Through this Jarmusch paints a different view of eternal life; humans may not live forever, but their art and legacy will never die. [CJ]
Only Lovers Left Alive Review | Watch Trailer

#4 – Under The Skin

If there is a more alluring and visually striking film than Under the Skin to come out this year, I want to see it immediately (and then probably disagree). Jonathan Glazer’s nine-year return to feature filmmaking is a strange mix of science fiction and horror, though it doesn’t really try hard to be either. Instead, it simplifies everything (almost radical for modern sci-fi), taking out most of a conventional plot for mood and visual poetry. The film never gives us any direct explanation of who our alien protagonist is and why she is on her mission, but these answers probably aren’t that important. Scarlett Johansson’s unnamed visitor, who roams through the misty Scottish cities looking to trap men to steal their essence, is both otherworldly and human, frightening and sympathetic. Even though there isn’t a lot of plot for her to deliver, it is one of the most challenging performances of the year so far and one of her best. Add in one of the most interesting productions ever, an unforgettable score, and a repeated haunting scene featuring total blackness, and Under the Skin is creeping in on special distinction. [Aaron]

Under The Skin Review | Watch Trailer

#3 – Nymphomaniac (Vol 1+2)

Lars Von Trier, you lunatic. Much has been said about Von Trier’s latest opus, starting with its various lengths, versions, and parts. The bottom line on that is that the original 5 and a half hour uncut full version has yet to see a theatrical light of day anywhere, the film was split into two volumes for easier distribution, and both volumes were censored and cut down into two 2-hour-long parts. An uncut Vol.1 premiered at the Berlinale, and an uncut Vol.2 will premiere at TIFF later this year, but consider this entry as the full, censored & stripped-down version of Nymphomaniac that’s seen public release. There should be colossal quotations marks around stripped down, of course, since even a censored and cut Von Trier manages to protrude, probe, and puncture all kinds of safety nets to make – in my opinion – the greatest film in 2014 released so far. What makes Nymphomaniac one of Von Trier’s greatest accomplishments and something of a crowning achievement for his career thus far, is that the film manages to be his funniest, most entertaining, deeply felt, super-intellectual, and most vulnerable to date. Through the character of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Von Trier gets to criticize humanity’s hypocritical ethics and morals, and through Seligman (Stellan Skarsgaard) he gets to make the most wonderful digressions about the art of fly-fishing and Edgar Allan Poe, among other things. Nymphomaniac is also a film about storytelling, individual freedom, identity, sanctity of faith, and sex. Lots and lots of sex. It’s something of a miracle, then, that it’s one of the most tasteful and thought-provoking films of the past few years. [Nik]
Nymphomaniac Review | Watch Trailer

#2 – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Never has Wes Anderson worked with such precision, elegance, and style as he does in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Brimming with delectable fancies, the tale of hotel concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his misadventures with his loyal lobby boy Zero (newcomer Tony Revolori) is one of Anderson’s best, transforming from murder mystery to heist film seamlessly all while telling a charming story of friendship throughout. Fiennes gives one of the deftest performances of his career, bringing M. Gustave to life while upholding the character’s rigid formality. The period setting of the remote, 1930s European resort plays to Anderson’s strengths, fitting his colorful visual style like a glove and making the film a wonder to behold. It’s hard to think of a moviemaker more technically sound, and The Grand Budapest Hotel is quite possibly the finest demonstration of his skills. [Bernard]
The Grand Budapest Hotel Review | Watch Trailer

#1 – The LEGO Movie

If you’ve seen The Lego Movie, you probably aren’t judging us right now quite so harshly as our indie-devoted followers are, because you are in on it. We know guys, we know. Our #1 of the year so far is an animated so-called children’s movie starring a toy brand. Which just proves great movies can come out of anywhere.

Directing-writing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have written a script that jumps the adult-child barrier possibly better than any family film ever has. Employing major voice talent throughout, the film features the voice of Chris Pratt as Emmet, a construction worker Lego who wholeheartedly embraces the Lego drone lifestyle, being the best version of the limited self he can be. When he finds a strange red block that attaches itself to him in a construction zone one day, badass chick Wildstyle (voiced in sultry tones by Elizabeth Banks) declares him the prophesied ‘Special’, the Lego hero who will save them all from Lord Business (Will Ferrell, of course) and encourage creativity in the Lego world. Emmet accepts the title, hoping to get in with Wildstyle, and the two, along with Batman (Will Arnett), Unikitty (Alison Brie), Spaceman Benny (Charlie Day), and the Gandalf/God-like Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), embark on an epic journey to save the people of their world. The film is sharply hilarious and perfectly poignant. Opting for a refreshing think for yourself message and positing that being oneself is better than hoping for ‘specialness’, The Lego Movie throws the usual themes of uniquely qualified heroes down the drain. Adding to the impressive story and non-stop laughs is a film that looks truly innovative. Bright and colorful, the film looks like a stop-animated film made from real Lego materials, the details are simply astounding.

When a film gets all the elements right, it doesn’t matter if it was made for 4-year-olds or 40-year-olds, it’s just damn good. [Ananda]
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