On this very cerebral installment of the Way Too Indiecast, Bernard, Ananda and Zach have a meeting of the minds as they review Pixar’s latest animated adventure, Inside Out. The gang also pick their favorite “movie minds,” characters whose psyches, philosophies and/or thought processes they find particularly memorable, fascinating, frightening or even downright pathetic. Plus, an overview of our Best Movies of 2015 So Far list, and our Indie Picks of the Week.

Topics

• Indie Picks of the Week (2:15)
• Best Movies of 2015 So Far (6:19)
• Favorite Movie Minds (15:09)
• Inside Out Review (31:09)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

Inside Out review
A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence review
The Nightmare review
Two Days, One Night review
20 Best Films of 2015 So Far

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As you are likely aware, legendary actor Christopher Lee passed away at the age of 93. As a fan of both horror films and giant blockbuster franchises, he was one of my favorites. Perhaps it was the types of films he was most recognized for, but he’s one of the most under-appreciated, underrated stars of the screen. This is made even more apparent by the utter lack of his films available to stream. I was all set to blow out a number of streaming recommendations starring Lee… until I looked to see which of his 281 credits were on Netflix. You’re basically stuck with his small role in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, a 2013 film called Night Train to Lisbon, family comedy A Feast at Midnight, 1970’s adventure film Caravans, apparent knock-off The Tale of the Mummy, and The Bloody Judge (which, OK, I’m intrigued). Not exactly a showcase of his best work—Netflix doesn’t even throw us a bone with delightfully campy The Howling II: My Sister Is a Werewolf. So, instead of the perfect Christopher Lee streaming weekend, here are some other recommendations new to the usual streaming suspects.

Netflix

Orange Is the New Black (Season 3)

Netflix’s best original series to date is back with 13 new episodes from Litchfield Penitentiary. Like most quality television, we left off the season with many changing dynamics. Piper and Alex are on dicier terms then ever. Daya and Bennett’s relationship is starting to crumble. Red has hit rock bottom. Vee’s escape is bound to have serious repercussions on the remaining inmates. The emotional and dramatic stakes couldn’t be much higher for the start of season 3, which is sure to provide more shakeups, new characters, and more insight to the characters we already love. Orange Is the New Black was quick to becoming one of the best dramas AND comedies on television, and I doubt that’s going to change. If you somehow haven’t caught up, all three seasons are now streaming on Netflix.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
The Cobbler (Thomas McCarthy, 2014)
Happy Valley (Amir Bar-Lev, 2014)
Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy, 2014)
Primer (Shane Carruth, 2004)
Rosewater (Jon Stewart, 2014)

Amazon Prime

The Island of Dr. Moreau (John Frankenheimer & Richard Stanley, 1996)

If you’ve been watching Orphan Black, you’ll know that H.G. Wells’s influential science fiction novel has played an integral part. There are probably better excuses to watch John Frankenheimer’s (slash Richard Stanley’s) trouble 1996 adaptation, but I’m going to run with that. When the film was released it was heavily panned and it’s reputation hasn’t exactly grown over time—but can we still hold out on a critical subculture rediscovery? The Island of Dr. Moreau is undoubtedly a messy film, but it is also weird enough be noticed. Featuring one of Marlon Brando’s last performances, well after he had reached his tipping point, the larger than life icon (and quite large at this point, too) has to be seen to be believed. You also have ultra-serious, ultra-crazy Val Kilmer. It killed the career of one director who was replaced by a well respected filmmaker trying to make a comeback. Oh, and half-human half-animal hybrid monsters. The cinematic car crash that became The Island of Dr. Moreau is well documented, but maybe worthy another look.

Other titles new to Amazon Prime this week:
Life of Crime (Daniel Schechter, 2013)
Murder of a Cat (Gillian Greene, 2014)
The Paper Chase (James Bridges, 1973)
Repo: The Genetic Opera (Darren Lynn Bousman, 2008)
Words and Pictures (Fred Schepisi, 2013)

Fandor

Alive Inside (Michael Rossato-Bennett, 2014)

Fandor has built its reputation on providing foreign and classic films with their partnership with the Criterion Collection, but this week I want to highlight some recent films that are new to the streaming service. Alive Inside is a emotionally captivating, under-seen doc from last year about a non-profit’s attempt to bring music to those who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Based on recent medical studies, music has shown to spark memory and reestablish identity, albeit briefly. In the film, a number of retirement home residents take part in the organization’s outreach, and the results are stunning. To see, time after time, men and women recapture something from their past from something so simple is extraordinary. Alive Inside shows the power of music as clearly as any film ever has, thus showing the great power of documentary film. Reading a study on this topic would be enlightening, but there is nothing like seeing the eyes of these individuals yourself.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
The Builder (Rick Alverson, 2010)
A Common Enemy (Jaime Otero Romani, 2013)
Concerning Violence (Göran Olsson, 2014)
Harmony and Me (Bob Byington, 2009)
Farewell, Herr Schwarz (Yael Reuveny, 2014)

Video On-Demand

Hungry Hearts (Saverio Costanzo, 2014)

Starring Adam Driver and Alba Rohrwacher, Hungry Hearts is a psychological drama about a young couple’s emotional strain following the birth of their first child. Having a child is obviously one of the most wonderful moments in a parent’s life, but it is also one of the most stressful. Not only is there now a small thing that is set to dominate your life, each individual choice you make when raising this child could have incredible consequences. Hungry Hearts plays with this inherent suspense quite well with brilliant performances from its up-and-coming leads. When we reviewed the film earlier this month, we said it is “a harrowing and hard to watch film, but the sincerity of its performances and the tantalizing and rather unexplored content it delves into, make for the sort of film that is impossible to turn away from.” Hungry Hearts is available on VOD at the same time as its theatrical release.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
The DUFF (Ari Sandel, 2015)
Madame Bovery (Sophie Barthes, 2014)
Red Army (Gabe Polsky, 2014)
Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014)
The Yes Men Are Revolting (Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno & Laura Nix, 2014)

All week long we’ve slowly been revealing our choices for Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far, and today we’ve reached the top of the list. While every film we’ve chosen thus far represents the incredible cinematic achievements made during the first half of this decade, the following ten films are the best of the best. Here’s to an amazing first five years of the decade, and hoping the next five lead to even bigger and better things.

Next week we will release our Best 50 Songs of the Decade So Far and later this month we will feature Best Albums and Best Television Shows!

Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far
(#10 – #1)

The Act of Killing

The perspective Joshua Oppenheimer presents to his audience in his landmark documentary The Act of Killing is simply extraordinary. The most fitting comparison might be when horror movies in the 1980’s started using forced perspective shots from the killer. But The Act of Killing is about real life—and the genocide that spread through Indonesia in the mid 1960’s is far from the events of Camp Crystal Lake. The Act of Killing primarily does two things. First, it describes the Indonesian murders the gangsters committed in almost meticulous detail. Oppenheimer gives Anwar Congo and the other executioners the stage (quite literally) to create a historical record of what they did and how they did it. In doing so, the film becomes a deep and surprising character study of these men, who may easily be described as real life monsters. The boldest result of the documentary’s format, however, is how it forces these men to reflect on themselves—what was probably described to them as a showcase of their personalities, perhaps even as a way to show the world who they really are, instead forces the subjects to return to their crimes and reconsider them. This “act” is probably something Congo has done a million times in braggadocious retellings to friends and enemies, but there is something in the reenactment that incites a break in his character. The Act of Killing is quite disturbing, but also incredibly cathartic. [Aaron]

Blue is the Warmest Color

This film sent ripples around the festival circuit pretty quickly, and if you’ve seen it, it isn’t hard to see why. It has been described in a variety of ways, from “coming out narrative” to “bildungsroman,” and undoubtedly has provoked plenty of discussion around its sex scenes alone. But Blue is the Warmest Color does not fit into any one of the many labels it recalls, because it is not one movie. It is as easily placed into a genre as one can place the life of a woman into a genre. Because that is exactly what this film is: a life, a narrative that has more emotional reality than plot, and more symbolic function than events. To describe it in a summary of plot events does it little justice, because said events bear the relative significance of a wall to a house: indispensable, undoubtedly, but not anywhere near the defining feature. For one film to tackle love, art, literature, culture, class, education and above all, consumption, is ambitious enough, but to do so while seamlessly jumping a few years in time, and then leave us wanting more at the end of nearly three hours? That is truly remarkable. [Pavi]

The Turin Horse

Béla Tarr’s self-declared final film The Turin Horse is, if nothing else, a perfect ending to an amazing career. Tarr has defined himself for his use of long, elaborate takes, shooting long films in as few shots as possible. The most extreme example of this would be his 430-minute epic Satantango, which only contains about 150 shots. The Turin Horse runs at a considerably smaller length of 150 minutes, and only in 30 shots, but it can be a grueling experience. Taking place over six days, the film follows a farmer and his daughter as they live out an existence that almost amounts to nothing. Tarr spends over an hour of his film watching them go through the exact same daily motions, before slowly removing one aspect after another from their lives. First their horse won’t move, then the well dries, and by the sixth day things take an apocalyptic turn. The Turin Horse doesn’t exactly sound like a fun time, but its power is immense. Tarr has a style that’s all his own, and his work behind the camera (along with regular cinematographer Fred Keleman) is nothing short of extraordinary. There are plenty of grim films, but few can pull off the all-encompassing and evocative world Tarr creates here. The Turin Horse isn’t a pleasant experience, but it’s one that’s well worth taking. [CJ]

The Social Network

Let’s talk about unlikely masterpieces. “The Facebook Movie” interwove three timelines, two litigations, a hard-to-like protagonist, and the deterioration of his relationships, both personal & professional, into a story that more closely resembles Citizen Kane than other social media-based projects like Catfish or Unfriended. This coming from a filmmaker whose most iconic film works depict a serial killer who bases his murders on biblical sins and on an underground group of brawling men. Like most of David Fincher’s films, part of what makes The Social Network so distinctive is that it features his collaborators operating at peak ability. The movie features Jesse Eisenberg’s only truly transcendent performance, one that turns his neurosis into focused passive aggression. Both Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake are stellar here as well. Aaron Sorkin’s script tosses around computer programming jargon with the elegance of a ‘30s screwball comedy. The Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross score, their first contribution to Fincher’s films in what has since become a partnership, is likely the best of their collaborations to date with “In Motion” still a standout among the many great tracks they’ve produced. The Social Network captures the qualities of ambition and selfishness innate in the origins of wildly successful people, with an engrossing, modern aesthetic. [Zach]

12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen’s unflinching depiction of slavery in the mid-19th century is the type of harrowing portrayal of true-life tragedy that rarely emerges from American cinema (perhaps explaining why this picture came from a British director). A thoughtful, focused look at an ugly but historic American institution is stripped of the hero’s journey narrative forced on a majority of studio-made films. There are few moments of triumph in 12 Years a Slave, barely any speechifying, and thankfully a notable lack of angelic, white savior figures to save Solomon Northrup. Instead McQueen implements his signature long takes to become a fly on the wall to the truly awful treatment that slaves received. Scenes involving the brutality of slave owners unfold in real-time, and without allowing the audience the benefit of a cutaway to more pleasant scenes. None of the movie should feel like a revelation to anyone with knowledge of America’s tainted past; however, the no frills honesty with which McQueen approaches his subject seems the only proper approach to this sad era of history. Complimented by stellar performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson and a terrifying Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave is the type of film tragedy deserves, an unwavering representation of both the power of the human spirit and the evils of which humans are capable. [Zach]

Under the Skin

These days, science fiction seems to be all about the big budget FX. Recent sci-fi offerings ranging from the cerebral Interstellar to the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy all rely on huge FX set-pieces to sell their sizzle to the audience. It wasn’t always this way. In fact, one of the greatest, yet simplest, sci-fi entries of all time wasn’t even a movie—it was a radio show. Performed by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the Air players in 1938, The War of the Worlds, adapted from the H.G. Wells novel of the same title, proves in retrospect that all the digital cinematic wizardry in the world can’t trump the powerful simplicity of a solid story and terrific performances. The same can be said about Jonathan Glazer’s 2013 film Under the Skin. Sure, it has some dazzling FX, but it’s the simplicity of story—a mysterious woman of otherworldly origins assumes the characteristics of another girl and methodically hunts men in Scotland—and a career-defining performance from Johansson (which is saying something), that makes the film not only mesmerizing, but an entry worthy of mentioning in the same breath as The War of the Worlds. It might be disguised as an art house film, but have no illusions, Under the Skin is a seminal entry in the sci-fi genre, setting a new standard of excellence and positioning itself to be the topic of discussion for decades to come. [Michael]

Nightcrawler

There are antiheroes, there are villains, there are sociopaths, and then there is Lou Bloom. Jake Gyllenhaal as the emaciated and determinedly self-assured young Bloom is more intricate than the average villainous protagonist. I’m not sure he can even be described as a sociopath because his motivations in becoming a scumbag video journalist, capturing the gruesome aftermath of horrendous Los Angeles crimes and accidents late at night, is decidedly an emotional investment. An investment in his own shockingly self-absorbed and narcissistic ambitions. A sociopath has no sense of their wrong-doing, Bloom knows and has already decided his own need to excel takes precedence. As the film debut of Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler is especially impressive. Each action-filled scene made darkly beautiful by Robert Elswit’s camerawork—and the pace steadily increasing as Bloom’s thirst for notoriety increase—the film portrays the seedy side of Los Angeles and insightfully proves the darkest capabilities of humanity don’t always lie with the guy holding the gun. With exceptional work from Renee Russo—who proves she can shine when given the chance—as well as Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed as Bloom’s unfortunate protege, the film is unsettling and yet guiltily fun. After all any sociopath or villain is only as compelling as how well they provoke us to consider how far our own ambitions could take us. Gyllenhaal’s Bloom sets a new bar for controlled crazy. But its exactly that control that makes this film so amazing and unsettling. [Ananda]

Her

Quite a turn from Spike Jonze’s last feature film in 2011, Where the Wild Things Are, which he also produced and directed, 2013’s Her was a necessary science-fictional exploration into a concern that has been discussed to no end since the introduction of the handheld mobile device. What would it lead to? Where could it take us? Jonze had already touched on those questions with his 2010 short I’m Here, but was able to delve a lot deeper with a feature film and a larger budget; and with the invention of Siri in 2011, the discussion became even more pronounced and more imaginative. Artificial Intelligence isn’t a new concept by any means in the world of science fiction, however this one tends to hit close to home. When one can barely go out in a crowd without most of the faces in it being buried in their phones, it doesn’t seem quite as far fetched as it used to be portrayed. We are already exceedingly further dependent on our devices than anyone is truly comfortable with. Spike Jonze capitalizes on that concern without actually getting preachy or sinister, while at the same time opening a window into the possibilities and allowing us to draw our own conclusions and moral stances on the subject. The response to the movie was hugely positive and it was considered a strong contender for the Best Picture category at the Oscars. It didn’t win but it did win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay. With an original score composed by Arcade Fire, it was also considered for an Oscar for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Joaquin Pheonix is left alone to create most of the dramatic tension, emotional conflict, and plot-furthering entirely on his own physically-speaking, an incredible accomplishment. Although he was overlooked for an Oscar nomination, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. This futuristic love story holds just enough logic to be thought provoking, and its charming portrayal of a future society that seems only a few steps removed from our own makes for a mesmerizing watch. [Scarlet]

Boyhood

We’re constantly fighting time: we rush to work in a sweat, take medicine to extend our lives, agonize as we procrastinate instead of doing our taxes. Our war against time—the most unyielding, unstoppable thing in the universe—is a losing one, but with the advent of movies we discovered a way to cheat time, in a sense. With movies we can capture moments and relive them again and again, trick ourselves into thinking we’re someplace else, and even spend time with those who’ve long since left our world. It’s a wondrous thing. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood captures time in a most fascinating way, stuffing a sprawling 12-year story about a boy and his family into a 165-minute bottle of modest, elegant filmmaking. All movies help us cope with time in their own way, but what’s special about Boyhood is that it beautifully reminds us how lucky we are that we need not face life alone. The people who stand by us through all the ups and downs, through the little triumphs and the massive failures, through the mundane, ephemeral moments that fill up most of our days—they’re our greatest gift. Boyhood isn’t about extraordinary people. It’s about ordinary people who’ve shared lots of time together, and in doing so have found love in one another. It’s a film about family in the deepest sense of the word, and there have been few films over the past half-decade more worthy of your precious time. [Bernard]

The Tree of Life

It’s 2011, and the venerable Terrence Malick is set to make his Cannes debut with a new film. Six years passed since The New World, his last film, which was met with hushed response (though, many would later cozy up to it). So, nobody could really tell how The Tree of Life  would play out. Aside from Malick, the flames of intrigue were stoked by the casting of Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, and rumblings of it being Malick’s most personal film to date. Fast track to 2015, and The Tree Of Life is a Palme D’Or winner, an important player in the year that turned out to be The Year Of Jessica Chastain (forget Pitt and Penn, though the former is outstanding here as well), and a gargantuan critical darling. Case in point: Sight & Sound released their updated Greatest Films Poll (updated once every 12 years) in 2012, and The Tree Of Life was just shy of cracking the Top 100.

All of this makes complete sense to most of us here at Way Too Indie (it’s No. 1 on my personal list, too). Terrence Malick has found a way to tap into the wonders of the human experience unlike any other director in the decade so far. Malick’s vision, and his creative impulse to search for God in the details of this semi-autobiographical story of a remembered childhood, is perfectly partnered with Emmanuel Lubezki’s luminous cinematography. The result is a limitless exploration into the essence of what makes us who we are, what we take from our mothers (materialized in Chastain’s eternal mother) and fathers (materialized in Pitt’s mortal father), and where God fits into it all. Like Linklater’s quest for life’s defining moments in Boyhood, Malick’s quest is similar, but with him the end result is a much more solemn and incorporeal one. More than any other film of the century so far, The Tree Of Life expands the boundaries of the art to its furthest corners. [Nik]

See the rest of our Best Movies Of The Decade lists!

View Other Lists of this Feature:
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#50 – #41)
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#40 – #31)
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#30 – #21)
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#20 – #11)

Like most years, there was a lot of controversy over the Academy’s choices for Oscar nominations this year. Some felt that the lack of Selma representation, namely in Best Actor and Best Director categories since it did receive a Best Picture nom, spoke volumes about the predominately white demographic of the Academy. Though lets not forget last year’s Best Picture winner was appropriately given to 12 Years a Slave. At the time of announcement others felt the love for American Sniper was a bit of a reach, though the film has since set numerous opening box office records. But don’t think for one second I’m completely siding with the Academy, there were big time snubs in most categories (including the enormous neglect for The LEGO Movie). Below are predictions on who will win an Oscar, who deserves to win, and who should’ve been nominated in all the major categories.

Complete List of 2015 Oscar Predictions

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida – Poland
Leviathan – Russia
Tangerines – Estonia
Timbuktu – Mauritania
Wild Tales – Argentina

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

BEST EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Everything Is Awesome” – The Lego Movie
“Glory” – Selma
“Grateful” – Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
“Lost Stars” – Begin Again

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

While Birdman comes in with the most Independent Spirit Award nominations this year with a total of six, I’m predicting Richard Linklater’s Boyhood winning the most awards with four (including most of the big ones). Birdman will likely pick up at least two awards, same as Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, and the rest of the field should be fairly spread out. You’re likely to see wins for smaller independent films like Dear White People, Blue Ruin, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and CITIZENFOUR.

In addition to picking the winners, I explain the reasoning behind my picks underneath each category. There’s still plenty of time for some shakers and movers between now and when the winners are revealed as the award season continues on. Tune into IFC on Saturday, February 21st at 2PM PT and watch live to see if my predictions hold up.

2015 Independent Spirit Award Predictions

(My prediction for the winners are highlighted in bold red font)

Birdman
Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
David Zellner – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

André Benjamin – Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
John Lithgow – Love is Strange
David Oyelowo – Selma

Marion Cotillard – The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton – Only Lovers Left Alive

Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Alfred Molina – Love is Strange
Edward Norton- Birdman
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo – Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz – Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone – Birdman

Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski – Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor – A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch – Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias – Love is Strange

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Dear White People
Nightcrawler
Obvious Child
She’s Lost Control

Desiree Akhavan – Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo – Little Accidents
Justin Lader – The One I Love
Anja Marquardt – She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien – Dear White People

Darius Khondji – The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman
Sean Porter – It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young – Selma

Sandra Adair – Boyhood
Tom Cross – Whiplash
John Gilroy- Nightcrawler
Ron Patane – A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard – The Guest

Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Mommy
Norte, the End of History
Under the Skin

20,000 Days on Earth
CITIZENFOUR
Stray Dog
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Blue Ruin – Jeremy Saulnier
It Felt Like Love – Eliza Hittman
Land Ho! – Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Man From Reno – Dave Boyle
Test – Chris Mason Johnson

I’m certainly not the first to admit 2014 wasn’t a ground-breaking year for cinema—Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter conceded it was “far from a great year,” Robbie Collin at The Telegraph declared it “a relatively placid year,” and Dana Stevens of Slate confessed it had “been kind of a rough year.” And I’m sure I won’t be the last to say 2014 wasn’t phenomenal. But that doesn’t mean it was a horrible year for movies. In fact, our overall favorite film of the year, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, wasn’t just the best film of the year—it’s one of the best film of the past five years—at least in the humble opinion of this writer. So if it wasn’t such a poor year, why do many critics insist on calling it one? It might have something to do with release dates.

Movie studios spend a lot of time figuring out when they should release their film. And there’s a lot of different factors at play in this decision. The most important consideration is what kind of film they’re promoting. Summer months are for blockbuster movies like the latest Michael Bay film or the latest reboot of a comic book franchise. If a studio believes they have a flop on their hands they’ll screen it in what’s called the “dump months,” time periods which follow high attendance months when commercially promising movies are released. The dumping grounds are typically in the months of January/February and August/September. Now when a studio knows (or at least thinks) they have a critical hit, they’ll save it for an award season push sometime between October and December. There are outliers of course, but the movie industry has been around for a long time and have this strategy pretty much ironed out.

The Huffington Post recently did a study which found 77% of Oscar Best Picture winners were released between October and December, the three months before the Academy releases their list of Oscar nominations. Which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Films that remain fresh in the memories of voting members would logically increase their chances of being nominated. Studios are aware of our short-term memories and seize the opportunity by spending large amounts of money for an Oscar campaign.

The same basic principles of short-term memory applies to critics and moviegoers too. Our perception of an entire year’s worth of movies could easily be effected by the movies at the end of the year. Which might explain why 2013 felt like a speculator year for movies. Last year was stacked with good Oscar season releases, resulting in an exciting Oscar race led by two films which were released in October; 12 Years A Slave and Gravity. In fact, not a single film in last year’s Best Picture category was released before October. While it’s still too early to make definitive predictions for this year’s Oscars, since nominations haven’t even been announced yet, Boyhood seems to be the front-runner; a film that received the dreaded August wide release date.

Ellar Coltrane growing up in Boyhood

Boyhood is not alone. On our list of the 20 Best Films of 2014, 10 of those films were released before October. That means exactly half of our favorite films of the year were outside that favorable award season release zone. And most of them weren’t even close. All but one of those 10 films were released in June or even earlier.

Furthermore, several of our year-end favorites defied all odds by screening in the first few months of 2014. Specifically, The LEGO Movie which won over audiences all the way back in February and The Grand Budapest Hotel back in March, yet still found their way on Metacritic’s Top 20 list at the end of the year. Other great films including Under the Skin, Blue Ruin, Only Lovers Left Alive, and Oculus reached audiences as early as April. It’s impossible to predict what the impact would’ve been if these films waited for an October release instead, but they’d have better odds of landing higher on year-end lists.

Late season standouts this year included Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dazzling Birdman, Dan Gilroy’s creepy Nightcrawler, David Fincher’s murder mystery Gone Girl, Damien Chazelle’s brutal Whiplash, and Ava DuVernay’s vital Selma. But aside from Birdman, it was rare to find any of those picked as the Best Film of the year. There were several major studio films like Fury, The Theory of Everything, Interstellar, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and The Imitation Game which didn’t meet expectations and only made some Top 10 lists. Not to mention complete duds such as Unbroken, Annie, The Gambler, and Exodus: Gods and Kings. Even critic favorite Paul Thomas Anderson failed to crack most Top 10’s with his highly anticipated, but ultimately perplexing, Inherent Vice.

So what does all of this mean? Perhaps the batch of underwhelming movies towards the end of the year, combined with the excellent but distance memory of the first half, altered people’s overall impression of 2014 in terms of its movies. Maybe 2014 wasn’t such a downer year after all, and it was just more front-loaded than we’re used to. So if the year’s releases had been reversed, the discussion might just have been about how strong 2014 was for movies.

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]

Sometimes a single scene can elevate a good film into a great one. Other times a moment can single-handedly redeem a film, or save it from the brink of disaster. Like last year, 2014 had plenty of terrific scenes and moments out of the many films released over the last twelve months. Before we reveal our big list of 2014’s best films, along with plenty of other year-end goodies, a few of the Way Too Indie staff put together this list of our favorite movie moments of 2014. Whether these scenes made us laugh, cry, creeped us out or got our hearts racing, they’ll certainly stay in our brains long after the year is over.

Warning: Some of these descriptions contain spoilers.

The Babadook – Reading The Book

The best horror film of the year’s scariest scene doesn’t involve a murder, a monster or a bump in the night, but a single mother reading a children’s book to her troubled son. The book that releases Mister Babadook is a brilliant piece of design. Beautifully drawn and written, the book’s pop-ups start out as delightful before becoming more elaborate and psychotic. The further along Amelia and young Samuel get, the nastier it becomes, and the the more it sucks in the viewer. Suddenly, one might realize that this isn’t just a general warning, but a true foreshadowing of events to come. The book’s narrative directly impacts our expectations up until the end, making us truly dread what’s coming. The Babadook has so much more going for it than a typical haunted house horror flick, but this quiet scene is its scary height. [Aaron]

Blue Ruin – In The Trunk

Jeremy Saulnier’s fantastic debut feature, a moody, bluesy, violent deconstruction of the revenge thriller, is at its best when it’s also darkly comedic. No scene mixes the two better than when Dwight has his second of three confrontations with the Cleland family. By this point Dwight is already established as being completely out of his element, but now he’s been introduced to a firearm by a former friend he meets in the previous scene. Once Dwight opens the trunk to come face-to-face with Teddy, it is difficult to predict what exactly will happen, but it certainly won’t be good. Dwight is trying his best to end the blood feud here, not wishing to harm Teddy but nervously willing to use deadly force. Pettiness, or perhaps some effed up fate, won’t let that happen, however, especially after Dwight is tricked and overpowered by his hostage. I won’t spoil what happens next, but the scene ends on a perfect laugh to break this tension – first, horror over the remnants of a violent act, followed by a simple, yet philosophical decree: “That’s what guns do.” [Aaron]

Enemy – Spiders!

Denis Villeneuve’s deliberately confusing Enemy, an adaptation of José Saramago’s novel “The Double,” really loves to throw spider imagery around. The opening scene has a group of men watching a woman crush a spider with her foot. A shot of streetcar cables looks awfully similar to a spider web. And to make matters worse for arachnophobes, the protagonist repeatedly has nightmares involving disturbing, Cronenbergian images of giant spiders terrorizing Toronto. A shot of the Toronto skyline goes from ominous to severely creepy once you notice the massive spider towering over the city’s skyscrapers in the background. An image of a naked woman with a spider’s head comes straight out of a Lynchian nightmare. And oh yeah, that ending. I’m not gonna spoil it (and if you don’t want it spoiled, don’t go sniffing around on Google either). People have already called it one of the scariest endings to a movie, and while I don’t agree with that declaration, I don’t blame anyone for getting freaked out by those final frames. [C.J.]

Force Majeure – The Avalanche & Arguing In Bed

If someone were to explain the plot of Force Majeure outright, they would probably give the wrong impression. A well-to-do family’s vacation in paradise quickly upended by a natural disaster sounds more like The Impossible than its internalized examination of masculinity and familial responsibility. Without nailing the pivotal avalanche scene, there is no film, no matter how great the remainder may be. As the Swedish family enjoy their casual lunch on the side of a mountain, with a view as tasty as the expensive cuisine, someone notices a controlled avalanche building on the slopes in the distance. In the course of only a few minutes, the scene twists and turns as the blinding powder hurdles toward them. Is this truly a controlled blast, or something out of control? We can see the characters working through thoughts from the serene to the horrified, leading to the ultimate actions which set the film’s second and third acts. It perfectly connects with the plot and themes of the entire film, but could stand on its own as a wonderful short film that can adequately hit on these themes all on its own. The avalanche is beautifully shot in a single long take, a perspective allowing the intense background and the entire lunch crowd to be viewed together. Shoot it any other way, and the scene just wouldn’t build as organically as it does. [Aaron]

The avalanche at the crux of Force Majeure does more than test the relationship between the film’s lead couple. Tomas and Ebba’s concerns become the subject of several conversations, including a notable one between themselves and Tom’s full-bearded friend Mats (Kristofer Hivju) and Mats’ 20-year-old date Fanni (Fanni Metelius). At the end of an awkward night together, Mats and Fanni return to their room where the night of bickering has only just begun. Mats attempts to empathize with his friend, but Fanni suggests that, were he to be caught in a similar situation, Mats would have likely ran from the avalanche rather than returned to help his children. What Fanni means as an innocuous observation leads to the couple debating in bed throughout the night. Lying next to one another, Fanni attempts to explain her thinking while Mats continues to assert his masculinity, offended at her insinuation. As the lights keep flicking on and off, with the couple finishing and reopening their argument, the uncomfortable familiarity of getting stuck in an argument headed nowhere creeps in. This scene is one of the most relatable, hilarious moments of the year. [Zachary]

Gone Girl – Consummation

A warning: Readers shouldn’t be reading this if they haven’t seen David Fincher’s Gone Girl. But assuming those of you reading are film lovers who have already seen this fantastic modern satire, please proceed. Amy (Rosamund Pike) emerges halfway into the film as the antithesis to the cool girl, but then finds herself in a bit of a pickle with her ex-stalker Desi (Neil Patrick Harris). How she gets rid of him is one of my favorite moments in 2014. Fincher, working in tandem with regular collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (music), Kirk Baxter (editing) and Jeff Cronenweth (cinematography), manages to shine a whole new light on Pike’s multifaceted performance; that of the psychotic, murderous, dangerously intelligent bitch. Luring Desi into the bedroom, Amy’s plan to “cry rape” works perfectly in the film’s highest dramatic moment when she slits Desi’s throat while he’s inside her, the blood spurting all over her body and Desi’s thousand dollar sheets, shown through slow-burning black fades and ominous chords. I’m pretty sure my irises expanded as if I had just been injected by a drug, and as shocking as it was, I couldn’t help but smile and admire all the artistry behind the creation. If I were to anatomize scenes from 2014, this would be the first. [Nik]

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Lobby Boy Interview

There are many, many wonderfully spiffy and affably hilarious moments to choose from in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. I equally love loads, but the one I’d like to signal out here is Zero’s (Tony Revolori) interview with M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes)—centered around the cornerstone of the film’s marketing question, “Why do you want to be a lobby boy?” After shouting out various demands and instructions, Gustave realizes that he has no clue who this little earnest boy following him around is. “You’re now going to be officially interviewed” “Should I go and light the candles first, Sir?” “What? No.” This tit-for-tat between Revolori and Fiennes in the first of their many brilliant exchanges, mostly dominated by Fiennes’ spectacular comic timing. Not only do we get why Zero is called Zero (“Education. Zero”), but this moment also shows how well Anderson balances funny with poignant. When asked about his family and the young boy replies, “…zero,” it’s poignant enough to produce a lump in one’s throat. Anderson does that well throughout The Grand Budapest Hotel, but this early-on interview, which turns out to be the beginning of a wonderful bond between Gustave and Zero, is as good an example as any. [Nik]

Honeymoon – “Take it out”

In a year full of exciting horror debuts, many of which come from first-time female directors, Leigh Janiak’s debut feature Honeymoon has been somewhat overlooked. Perhaps this partially stems from the film’s minimalist approach to the actual scares. The movie largely confines its disturbing imagery and spilt blood to one intense, prolonged scene near the story’s end (Warning: Spoilers ahead). As the newlyweds lose their trust in one another, Paul (Harry Treadaway) decides he’s had enough of Bea’s (Rose Leslie) unexplained weirdness, tying her down to the bed until she reveals what’s really happening. Bea pleads with Paul, thrashes around, and attempts to break free, eventually falling silent instead of saying the words Paul needs to hear. As an audience member, Honeymoon makes you think that Paul has gone crazy as well, but when Bea finally begs for Paul to “take it out,” the real horror emerges. Paul sticks his hand deep inside Bea and pulls out a slimy, alien organ that has burrowed inside her. The “retrieval” is hard to watch, and harder to listen to with disgusting noises and Bea’s pained exhales. It’s a wonderfully gross reveal of what Honeymoon was hiding all along: a body snatching. [Zachary]

Interstellar – Tesseract

The “docking moment,” with its visual effects paired with Hans Zimmer’s ear-melting score halfway through Christopher Nolan’s arresting direction, is considered the ultimate highlight by many Interstellar fans. But, what personally took my breath away at the cinemas, and will end up being very high on my year-end list of awestruck theatre moments, was something that happens towards the end, “the big reveal” as it were. Obviously, if you have managed to still not see Interstellar, definitely stop reading this right now. But, if you have, then this should be familiar. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) detaches from the main ship as a last attempt to collect the data from the black hole and save the human race. All his prayers made, his death an impending inevitability, he instead surprisingly finds himself in a multi-dimensional, time-warped “tesseract” (a.k.a. that colorful cube thingy) and realizes that he brought about his own future as his daughter Murphy’s (Mackenzie Foy) mysterious “ghost.” This moment of revelation should go down as one of the most unforgettable plot twists of the 21st century. The emotion, McConaughey’s performance, the visual effects, how it ties into the core of what Nolan’s sci-fi is truly about—the word ”awesome” can’t even do it justice. [Nik]

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons – The Fish Demon

Stephen Chow, the director of Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, knows how to create grand visual comedy, combining lowbrow humour with pure, inventive spectacle. He’s credited as a co-director on Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, but the opening sequence feels like it could only come directly from his brain. A fish demon terrorizes a small, ramshackle fishing village (think Waterworld), gobbling up anyone foolish enough to get near the water. Amateur demon hunter Xuan decides to take a crack at defeating the evil creature, resulting in one of the year’s best action sequences. The elaborately staged scene, including a bit with giant seesaws that feels straight out of silent-era comedy, shows the immense talent and precision on display, while the use of cheesy CGI and a fat suit as a punchline makes it hard not to burst out laughing at the lunacy on-screen. Journey to the West marks Chow’s first time back in the director’s chair since 2008, and it’s a reminder of how much his zany imagination has been missed. [C.J.]

Leviathan – Appeal Denied

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan is a cinematic goliath, and it feels almost wrong to single out just one scene, when part of power the film holds is how gracefully it weaves all of its scenes together into one knockout punch. That said, I want to climb every mountain top and scream the praises of this wondrous film, so I’m grabbing every chance I get to talk about it. A standout scene is Nikolai (Aleskey Serebryakov) visiting the court, after hearing that the Mayor’s (Roman Madyanov) plans of demolishing his house are moving forward, and listening to the judge deny his appeal by reading out a litany of rules and clauses, loopholes upon loopholes which Nikolai gravely realizes he’ll never be able to jump through. The speed at which she spits his virtual sentence out, Serebryakov’s powerhouse subtlety, Zvyagintsev’s choice to slowly track towards her in a shot that is unexpectedly long. It’s but one masterstroke in a film satiated in them, and the first moment that makes one realize how cinematically rich this film is. [Nik]

Nightcrawler – The Car Chase

There have been plenty of car chases in the history of film, so at first glance it might seem unnecessary to single out this one, but the climactic chase in Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler is an exception. Why does this one stand out from the rest? Because of Lou Bloom’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) escalating obsession with capturing carnage on film to sell to the news. Bloom becomes more fanatical in his quest to capture great footage at blood-filled crime scenes, even going so far as to move a body so he can get a better angle. In the final act, Bloom deliberately creates a showdown between two dangerous criminals and police, and once the battle starts the film goes full throttle. The energy and intensity of the car chase is a massive expulsion of all the obsession brewing under Bloom’s façade the entire time. People die in the chase because of Bloom’s unsympathetic and greedy decision-making; but what does Louis think? All he cares about is if it looked good on camera. [Blake]

Nymphomaniac: Volume I – Mrs. H

The first part of Lars Von Trier’s epic, explicit saga of Joe, the titular sex addict (played in this scene by Stacy Martin) has plenty of sexual depravity going on, but the film’s knockout sequence doesn’t have anyone baring skin. In a chapter titled “Mrs. H,” one of Joe’s regular flings comes to her place with his bags. He’s left his wife and children, ready to finally come live with Joe. She isn’t actually interested in this man, but that’s the least of her problems. Suddenly the man’s wife (Uma Thurman, who needs to work more with Von Trier) shows up with their kids, letting herself in and unleashing a firestorm of emotions on Joe and her husband. The scene is Von Trier in top form: funny, unbearable, sad, provocative, and riveting all at once. It’s a sequence that lingers all the way through to the next volume, and while the rest of the film offers plenty to like, nothing comes close to matching the power of “Mrs. H.” [C.J.]

Rosewater – First Interrogation

When Maziar Bahari is first taken in by the Iranian government and questioned about his involvement covering the presidential election, it seems like a joke. Certainly, he’s not an American spy as he’s being accused. We’ve seen his incredible attempt at trying to stay unbiased while still being inquisitive. But his accusers are wrapped up in silly questions over his possession of Italian art films and misunderstand his appearance on a satirical political show. Javadi, his interrogator, seems like a brutish buffoon who will easily get his comeuppance. But then Javadi leans into Bahari, lowers his voice and changes his expression. He asks Bahari why he talks about Americans and Iranians as if they are similar. Suddenly, the entire mood of the scene and the film changes from a fish-out-of-water comedy to something much more serious. In a simple character moment, we understand that Javadi isn’t a clown or a buffoon, but a very serious man who is hurt and angered. He’s not just a powerful captor, but a wounded animal who poses a legitimate threat to Bahari’s freedom. There are louder, more dramatic interrogation scenes in Rosewater, but none crystallize the complex political environment as much as this moment. [Aaron]

Snowpiercer – The Classroom

The Snowpiercer classroom scene is a bit like the “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” moment from The Wizard of Oz. It begins the unmasking of the surreal world brought to life by Bong Joon-ho in an abrupt shift of tone. Lead by an absolutely zany performance from Alison Pill, the schoolteacher guides her young class through ritualistic songs praising the train’s mighty engine and its creator Wilford. Sure, the scene’s use of propaganda as educational material serves for a convenient exposition dump, but the colorful classroom and its blissfully ignorant children occupants add a moment of levity between the movie’s frequent brutality that manages to somehow feel crazier than many of the story’s insane twists. This scene turns swiftly brutal too, after Teacher retrieves a hidden automatic gun only to be dispatched by a swiftly thrown knife. All of it is mesmerizing and bizarrely fun. [Zachary]

Stray Dogs – Final 2 Shots

Anyone familiar with Tsai Ming-Liang knows how duration plays a vital part in his work. I saw Stray Dogs in theatres last year during its festival run, hopeful that Tsai’s self-declared final film would have him close off his filmmaking career on a strong note. I did not expect something as powerful as the film’s final two scenes, possibly the best work Tsai has ever done, to come from it. It’s hard to explain exactly why the ending has the power of an emotional sledgehammer without getting into too much detail, so I’ll stick to the facts. Shooting on digital instead of film, Tsai no longer has the limitation of a film reel to stop him from rolling. The penultimate shot lasts for close to 15 minutes, and the next shot lasts closer to 10. The extended length turns both shots into something constantly changing with each minute, an engrossing and ultimately transcendent experience. Few films have moved me the same way as those final minutes of Stray Dogs. I’m sure that only a few films ever will. [C.J.]

Two Days, One Night – Meeting Timur

Marion Cotillard’s Sandra spends the length of Two Days, One Night attempting to convince a slew of co-workers to give up a significant bonus which will allow her to retain her job. The task is uncomfortable, and for Sandra incredibly anxiety-provoking, especially after her first couple of face-to-face interactions with co-workers don’t end in her favor; however, one excursion provides Sandra hope, and gives Two Days, One Night a much needed release of tension early in the film. As Sandra starts to hesitantly ask for empathy, becoming accustomed to the routine of being turned down by her colleagues, Timur instead is the one to break down into tears. He confesses that the decision to take his bonus rather than fight for his job has been haunting him. To Sandra’s surprise, Timur is relieved to have the opportunity she’s provided him, so much so that he’s even agreed to call another one of their co-workers. The scene comes unexpectedly, but is a beautiful and heartfelt moment that sets Two Days, One Night into motion. [Zachary]

Watchers of the Sky – Tycho Brahe

At the end of Watchers in the Sky, one of the documentary’s subjects relates a story about the 16th century astronomer Tycho Brahe. Brahe spent decades observing the stars and their position in the sky, writing his observations down every night. When someone asked Brahe what the purpose of his work was he said he didn’t know, but he was sure that, when someone does figure it out, he’ll have saved them several decades worth of work. And sure enough, Brahe’s measurements ended up being used by the first astronauts on the moon. It’s a moving, goosebump-inducing sequence because of how perfectly it ties into the film’s subject. Following different people fighting to end genocide, Watchers of the Sky commends them for their hard, thankless efforts. None of these people might ever see their goals fully realized, but their work will help make it easier for whoever ends up carrying their torch. It’s a level of selflessness that can inspire chills. [C.J.]

Whiplash – The Concert

If one thing’s obvious from Damien Chazelle’s 2nd film Whiplash, it’s the director’s impeccable sense of timing. The film moves along at a quick pace, settling into a rhythm of highs and lows for Miles Teller’s lead character Andrew. It’s in the film’s exhilarating finale that Chazelle allows his movie to hit the crescendo (Warning: Spoilers ahead). As Andrew performs with a band of professionals lead by the abusive conductor he’s just screwed over, he finds out Fletcher has set him up for disaster by not giving him sheet music to play. Andrew fumbles through one song so spectacularly that he leaves the stage out of embarrassment; however, just as you’ve become ready to accept this downer ending, Andrew storms back onto the stage. He interrupts Fletcher’s preamble with a energetic jazz beat and leads the band into an electric performance of “Caravan,” highlighted by a captivating drum solo. Andrew’s talent shines through so undeniably that he even wins over Fletcher. It’s an intensely visceral, satisfying moment that deserves a standing ovation. [Zachary]

What Else?

Working on this feature was like dealing with an embarrassment of riches. We could keep going on, talking about dozens of other scenes that left some sort of impact on us this year, but we all have our limits. In some cases it was simply too hard to pick one scene out of a film that contained so many amazing moments, like Under the Skin, A Spell to Ward off the Darkness and Winter Sleep. While we talked about the heart-pounding car chase in Nightcrawler, an earlier scene where Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo “negotiate” over dinner, is also notably skin-crawling. 22 Jump Street wasn’t as funny as its predecessor  but its end credits, a hilarious montage of potential sequels, was ingenious;  the ending revelation of The Overnighters packs a wallop, tragically shedding everything that came before it in a new light; and the moment when Jean-Luc Godard “splits” his 3D cameras in Goodbye to Language 3D is, simply put, something that’s never been done in cinema before. Want to share the love of a moment we picked? Want to let us know how wrong we are for not including a scene you loved? Let us know what your favorite movie moments of 2014 are, and here’s hoping 2015 brings us many more unforgettable sequences.

It’s starting to feel like Christmas already as the nominations for our favorite awards show, the Film Independent Spirit Awards, were announced moments ago. Leading the pack with a total of six nominations was Alejandro G. Iñárritu‘s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) grabbing nods for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing, and three acting categories. Not far behind it was Richard Linklater‘s masterful Boyhood which received a total of five nominations in major categories. Also landing five nominations were Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, and Ava DuVernay’s Selma.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the absence of Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyer’s Club follow-up Wild, since a lot of people have been talking about Reese Witherspoon’s performance in it. However, the biggest snub this year belongs to The Overnighters for not getting a nod for Best Documentary, as this indie doc is getting some serious Oscar buzz. Also, I had to do a double take when seeing André Benjamin’s name under the Best Actor category, which seems a little out of left-field but also edged out Ellar Coltrane for Boyhood and Oscar Isaac for A Most Violent Year.

Here at Way Too Indie, we were especially happy to see nominations for some smaller films such as A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (which picked up 3 noms and landed on our Must See Indie list), The One I Love, and It Felt Like Love. The 2015 Independent Spirit Awards will broadcast live (new this year) on IFC at 2:00/5:00pm PT/ET on Saturday, February 21, 2015.

Watch For: Our Spirit Award predictions coming soon.

2015 Independent Spirit Award Nominations:

Birdman
Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
David Zellner – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski – Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor – A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch – Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias – Love is Strange

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Dear White People
Nightcrawler
Obvious Child
She’s Lost Control

Desiree Akhavan – Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo – Little Accidents
Justin Lader – The One I Love
Anja Marquardt – She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien – Dear White People

André Benjamin – Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
John Lithgow – Love is Strange
David Oyelowo – Selma

Marion Cotillard – The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton – Only Lovers Left Alive

Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Alfred Molina – Love is Strange
Edward Norton – Birdman
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo – Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz – Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone – Birdman

Darius Khondji – The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman
Sean Porter – It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young – Selma

Sandra Adair – Boyhood
Tom Cross – Whiplash
John Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Ron Patane – A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard – The Guest

Force Majeure (Sweden)
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Mommy (Cananda)
Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
Under the Skin (United Kingdom)

20,000 Days on Earth
CITIZENFOUR
Stray Dog
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Blue Ruin – Jeremy Saulnier
It Felt Like Love – Eliza Hittman
Land Ho! – Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Man From Reno – Dave Boyle
Test – Chris Mason Johnson

Foxcatcher

Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon

Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson

Amanda Rose Wilder – Approaching the Elephant
Darius Clark Monroe – Evolution of a Criminal
Dan Krauss – The Kill Team
Sara Dosa – The Last Season

Ana Lily Amirpour – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia – H.
Chris Eska – The Retrieval

Nighttime vultures circling around the cynical, cruel world of newsworthy accidents and tragedies are depicted with delectably compelling malice in Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut, Nightcrawler. Hitting home runs with feature debuts seems to run in the Gilroy family, with older brother Tony’s excellent Michael Clayton coming out of the woodwork in 2007. With his own debut, Dan has channeled the very best from big brother’s repertoire, and written one of the year’s standout screenplays; full of razor-sharp dialogue and nail-biting suspense. But the spoils don’t stop there, because there are two guys who help Gilroy raise Nightcrawler to deliciously deviant levels in the form of leading man Jake Gyllenhaal and Director of Photography Robert Elswitt.

Things kick off in the dead of night, where petty thief and all-around scumbag Louis Bloom (Gyllenhaal) scavenges the L.A. streets for ways to make a dime. His game is usually to steal and pawn, though he does ask for jobs and a chance to prove himself any chance he gets. One night, while jammed in traffic because of an accident on the highway, he sees freelancer Joe (Bill Paxton) taping the brutal scene, and finds out what “nightcrawlers” like him do. Armed with a police scanner, a camera or two (if there’s an assistant to film different angles), and a vehicle, these people tape crime scenes and sell the footage to whichever news station coughs up the highest pay. Louis is hooked on the spot and proceeds to get into the game himself; pawning a bike for a cheap camcorder and “hiring” bottom feeder Rick (Riz Ahmed) as his intern and GPS navigator.

Louis’ fearsome determination and resolve to be the very best nightcrawler he can be starts to pay dividends when he begins to foster a working relationship with Nina (Rene Russo), news director of a local station and as desperate for ratings as Louis is focused for success. Starting off with petty home invasions and dog attacks, and moving up to heavier crimes, Bloom realizes that he’s finally found his vocation. How far will he go to make sure his videos are the first thing people see in next morning’s breaking news? What lines will Bloom cross, dragging whoever stands in his way, in order to get the best angle? The lines dividing and connecting ethics, morals, and professional conduct don’t just get blurred; they get smeared in blood.

Jake Gyllenhaal has outdone himself here, slithering under the skin of Louis Bloom to create a compelling anti-hero for the ages. As introverted as Travis Bickle, as ambivalent as Patrick Bateman, and as greedy as Gordon Gekko, Gyllenhaal’s Bloom joins the seedy ranks of charismatic anti-heroes who inadvertently glue the viewer in; unsure whether one wants him to succeed or fail, or whether it’s hatred or admiration that draws one to this strange man. Gyllenhaal has been on a roll since 2012’s End Of Watch but Louis Bloom is, without a doubt, his greatest performance. Amusing, menacing, and wacko in more ways than one, the character is Gilroy’s spawn as much as Gyllenhaal’s. Gilroy has made his previous work (Bourne Legacy, Reel Steal and The Fall, most notably) look like child’s play compared to his Nightcrawler screenplay. A dual character study of the modern American entrepreneur and the cutthroat world of contemporary media, Nightcrawler is the apex of the year’s original screenplays; brimming with intelligence, humor, and tension.

Elevating the picture that much further is the exemplary work of master cinematographer Robert Elswitt, regular Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator. Choosing to shoot on film, the establishing shots of L.A. nights haven’t looked this attractive in ages, almost surpassing Michael Mann’s signature visuals. While the film is a little slow in its first act, and before Bloom begins to truly flower, we have Elswitt’s keen eye to nurture our senses and immerse us into the belly of this beast. The supporting cast, lead by an inspired Rene Russo unseen in this form for what feels like decades, and rounded off by the excellent Ahmed and Paxton, almost make Nightcrawler into an ensemble piece, if it wasn’t for Gyllenhaal stealing scene after scene.

Much of the film’s appeal comes from the fact that it’s so many things all at once; a showcase for Gyllenhaal’s evolutionary maturity since the early days of Donnie Darko, a reminder that Rene Russo can act circles around her peers when the material is right, and an astonishing feature debut by Dan Gilroy, who may not direct as seamlessly as he writes, but whose imperfections here are almost too minute to count. This is cryptic twilight moviemaking of the highest order, and the result is a ferocious film predestined for cult status.

Review originally published on 9/24/14

Nightcrawler trailer

You might be thinking “Already?!” but yes, award season is already starting. Today, New York’s Gotham Independent Film Awards put out their nominees, a list filled with pleasant surprises and some very obvious choices.

Let’s start with the obvious choice: Boyhood. Any indie award would be insane to deny Richard Linklater’s film, possibly the indie event of the year, some love, so Gotham understandably gave it four nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Ethan Hawke), Best Actress (Patricia Arquette) and Breakthrough Actor (Ellar Coltrane). Also unsurprising is Birdman nabbing three nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor (Michael Keaton). Expect to hear even more about Birdman in the months to come.

Because the Gotham Awards are about independent film, that gives some great underrated films and performances the chance for some exposure through a nomination. The biggest surprise might be Under the Skin and Scarlett Johansson scoring nominations for Best Picture and Actress. It’ll be unlikely for Jonathan Glazer’s strange sci-fi to get much love outside of critics’ circles this year, so nominations like these are nice to see. Another great choice by Gotham: Giving Ira Sachs’ wonderful Love is Strange a Best Picture nomination. Sachs’ film, a quietly heartbreaking drama, seems bound to get left out this year once the awards race kicks into high gear (if Best Actor weren’t so competitive this year, John Lithgow and Alfred Molina would have been locks). Any recognition for Love is Strange is a huge plus.

Read on below for the full list of nominees, including the nominees for Breakthrough Director and Actor. For those more interested in the bigger awards, take note of Oscar Isaac’s nomination for A Most Violent Year. The film hasn’t come out yet (it opens AFI Fest next month), so this nomination might be a hint of another shake-up in the coming weeks. And if anyone’s wondering where current Best Actor frontrunner Steve Carrell is, Gotham decided to give Carrell and co-stars Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo a special award for their ensemble performances in Foxcatcher.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards will hold their awards ceremony on December 1st.

Best Feature

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Love Is Strange
Under the Skin

Best Actor

Bill Hader in The Skeleton Twins
Ethan Hawke in Boyhood
Oscar Isaac in A Most Violent Year
Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Miles Teller in Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Actress

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Beyond the Lights
Julianne Moore in Still Alice
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin
Mia Wasikowska in Tracks

Best Documentary

Actress
CITIZENFOUR
Life Itself
Manakamana
Point and Shoot

Breakthrough Actor

Riz Ahmed in Nightcrawler
Macon Blair in Blue Ruin
Ellar Coltrane in Boyhood
Joey King in Wish I Was Here
Jenny Slate in Obvious Child
Tessa Thompson in Dear White People

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Ana Lily Amirpour for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
James Ward Byrkit for Coherence
Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler
Eliza Hittman for It Felt Like Love
Justin Simien for Dear White People

We’re at the midpoint of the Mill Valley Film Festival and this is where I jump in. Having made the trek from Los Angeles to join in our coverage of the festival, I’ve been immediately greeted with colorful fall trees and some compelling film viewing.  I was lucky enough to catch Whiplash, an intense and (literally) rhythmic film, that kicked off my first Mill Valley Film Festival experience with some serious energy. But like the tree covered hills surrounding this quaint town, the festival continues to show it’s versatility with unpredictably high highs, and deep and somber lows. Stay tuned for the rest of the week as Bernard and I team up to give you more coverage from Mill Valley!

Out in the Bush

[Ananda]

There’s a luxurious feeling associated with watching a matinee on a Wednesday. And after Whiplash’s intensity I was ready to relax with Charlie’s Country. Starring David Gulpilil — a man known as much for his eccentric outback lifestyle as his straightforward acting approach in such films as Walkabout, The Last Wave, and Rabbit-Proof Fence — the Un Certain Regard acting award at Cannes was presented this year to Gulpilil for his performance. While Charlie’s Country is indeed a quiet sort of film, with many gorgeous vistas of the Australian outback, it is anything but calming, providing a distressing depiction of life for the “Blackfellas” of Australia, stuck living at the hands of white law enforcement who essentially introduced the traps the Aboriginal people now fall into: drugs and alcohol.

Fed up when a police officer takes away the hunting spear he’s crafted in order to stave off the starvation threatening him, Charlie heads into the bush to live as his ancestors did. When the relentless rain of the bush makes him ill, he’s forced into medical attention at the city hospital, and is then sucked into life with the Aboriginals there, drinking and smoking and wasting the money he has. Eventually he ends up in jail and has the last of his freedoms stripped, including his identity as they shave his iconic white curls and beard.

The film is not without hope, and director Rolf de Heer steers Charlie back to his homeland and back to the roots he values. Charlie’s Country ambles through this moment of Charlie’s life, lingering on Charlie and his tendency to quietly watch what’s happening around him, the confusion of the injustice he endures reflected in his glassy eyes back at the audience. The film has many funny moments, and was based largely off Gulpilil’s own experiences and life, but its lasting impression is a somber reminder of the way mankind creates its own problems and punishes others for them.

Holding Out for An Anti-Hero

[Ananda]

Charlie’s Country provided the sort of introspection that a well-performed mirror-on-society film can, and it put me in a pensive place. Then Nightcrawler came and jerked me right out of my revery.

Led in full force by a sinewy Jake Gyllenhaal, Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut shocks the system, pulling its viewers down into the underbelly of LA’s late night crime journalism world. Almost more villain than anti-hero, Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, an intrepid but aimless young man whose every bit of diction sounds like the worst of self-help book drivel. What is it about a sociopath that makes them so easy to love? Perhaps because their lack of emotion is so easy to interpret as naiveté?

When Bloom happens across a crime scene one night, he first encounters the audacious and questionable freelance video journalists of Los Angeles. Those who listen to police scanners and roam the streets of LA late at night looking for whatever crime scene will be juiciest to sell to the blood-hungry morning news outlets. Bloom decides to try his hand at it, and as a fast learner he only pushes the boundaries further and further in his relentless pursuit of whatever angle is grisliest. But Bloom’s entrepreneurial spirit knows no bounds, and his ambition drives him beyond the level of the crime he captures on camera.

Gilroy proves a surprisingly astute director, his writing experience translating to engaging characters in all their depraved and unethical glory. Full of noir-ish atmosphere, the film has just enough wickedness to seem fantastical. And thank goodness, or this LA lady might have a hard time ever leaving her house at night again.

The Race-Relations Do-Si-Do

[Bernard]

While Ananda was a few miles down the road in Corte Madera watching the unsettling Nightcrawler, I was in San Rafael, where I was equally unsettled, but in a different way. A custody drama between a white family and a black family that left me perplexed and mildly offended, Black and White, directed by Mike Binder, fumbles its messaging on black stereotypes and white guilt and sullies things even further with inexplicable outbursts of gag comedy. My face was in perpetual “cringe mode”, as at times I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing.

Kevin Costner (who also starred in the ultimate white-guilt fantasy, Dances With Wolves), stars as drunk, rich widower Elliot, who lives in LA. When we meet him his wife’s just died in a car accident, and his daughter died a few years prior giving birth to his granddaughter, Eloise (Jillian Estelle). Fighting Elliot over custody of Eloise is her grandmother (Octavia Spencer) and her absentee, drug-addicted dad, who use Elliot’s racist-ish tendencies and his alcohol abuse as leverage in the case.

Binder on the red carpet

A few things about this film rub me the wrong way. For one, despite the seriousness of the themes and subject matter, the film will throw a random, silly joke in your face that feels tonally inappropriate, frankly. There’s a running joke in the film involving Eloise’s nerdy math tutor handing people essays he’s written on an impossible number of subjects. When he’s on the witness stand, he pulls out an essay and hands it to the judge, evoking a hearty laugh. Seemingly moments later, we see Elliot half-apologetically explaining why he called Eloise’s father a “street nigger”. This ping-ponging from comedy to racial drama is incredibly uncomfortable, making the film is an awkward example of white ignorance.

With Toronto now in our rearview mirror, we’ve had time to reflect on which films at the festivals left the greatest impression on us as well as ones that left us with a bad taste (check out our coverage hub). Unlike last year’s 12 Years a Slave or Gravity, the lineup this year seemed to lack a headliner film that everyone flocked towards, but this allowed us to put on our exploring gear to discover some hidden gems. And we certainly found some surprises. We compiled our favorite and most disappointing films of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, listing any films we already saw at other festivals like Cannes and SXSW as part of our honorable mentions.

Favorite Films of TIFF 2014

Bird People

Pascale Ferran’s film defines whimsy, but don’t take that as a red flag. Split into two parts, Bird People (review) tells a similar story through two slightly connected lives. An American businessman on a trip in France makes a major, life-changing decision in the first part, and in the second one of the cleaners at the hotel the American stays at has a life-changing decision made for her. It’s best to go into Bird People not knowing too much, because the shock of where Ferran takes her film is a large part of what makes the experience so pleasurable. By finding an utterly audacious way to tell the same story twice, Bird People serves as a reminder of the limitless possibilities of storytelling. [CJ]

The Duke Of Burgundy

Wonderfully acted, sumptuously shot, vibrantly edited, Peter Strickland’s The Duke Of Burgundy (review) was one of those festival films that floored most critics, and became the unofficial recipient of the “Critic’s Choice Award.” You can count me among those who fell ecstatically in love with this intoxicating and deliciously spirited picture. Tracing the waning stages of a relationship, it may sound conventional on paper but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single conventional frame here. Chara D’Anna and Sidse Babett Knudsen play lesbian lovers Evelyn and Cynthia, deeply involved in a relationship founded on BDSM and Cynthia’s profession in lepidoptera, and the emotional core of the film is the lovers’ attempt at holding on to the passion that binds them. It’s creative in every imaginable cinematic way, and with US rights secured by IFC Midnight, I urge readers to keep a look out for release date because this is one you won’t want to miss. [Nik]

In the Crosswind

Director Martti Helde’s debut, based on Stalin’s purge of Baltic residents to Siberia, was one of the fest’s more surprising discoveries. Shot in black and white tableaux vivants, the camera slowly floats around each meticulously staged scene (each shot took months of preparation) while the protagonist narrates her experiences. It’s a bold stylistic move that pays off in spades, providing one moving image after another. At its worst, In the Crosswind (review) can be admired for its exquisite cinematography, but it’s much better than an excuse to show off some terrific camerawork. Helde merges the story’s emotional impact with the meticulous staging, delivering something completely unique and awe-inspiring. [CJ]

La Sapienza

Eugène Green’s newest work sounds trite on paper. When a famous architect loses the passion for his livelihood, along with his marriage, he sets off with his wife to study a famous Baroque architect’s work in Italy. A stop along the way has them crossing paths with two young siblings, and their experience with the brother and sister cause the couple to fall back in love again. But leave it to Green, whose formal approach is something entirely his own, to make La Sapienza (review) a thought-provoking, altogether pleasant experience. Even if one can’t adjust to Green’s habit of placing the camera directly in front of his actors, the inventive and evocative ways he films Baroque architecture will surely wow viewers. [CJ]

Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a creepy thief who stops at nothing to earn himself a buck in Dan Gilory’s directorial debut Nightcrawler. Shot by the extraordinary Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia), the film shows a side of Los Angeles that you’ve never seen before. Eager to get into any job field that will accept him, Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) stumbles into the dark and dirty world of racing ambulances to crime-scenes to capture gruesome footage for local television stations. Gyllenhaal plays a perverse anti-hero who somehow has us rooting for him in more times we care to admit. Nightcrawler keeps you on the edge of your seat with twists and turns down to the very end. For my money, it’s a better version of American Psycho. [Dustin]

Phoenix

Christian Petzold returned to the festival circuit this year, to remind us why he’s one of Germany’s most accomplished and leading directors working today. In a sixth collaboration with his muse Nina Hoss, he has directed the most sophisticated film I saw at TIFF. Phoenix (review) tells the story of Nelly, a Holocaust survivor who returns to her native Berlin to try and piece her broken life back together. She searches for her husband Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld, also fantastic) who may or may not have betrayed her to the Nazis, and in an intricate narrative, ends up pretending to pretend to be herself. It’s a brilliant storytelling move by Petzold, who explores an identity crisis and symbolizes it in the context of post-war Berlin. The ending is probably the greatest thing Hoss and Petzold ever achieved together; it will eat you alive. [Nik]

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence

Featured in our Top 15 Most Anticipated films for TIFF, it’s safe to say that Roy Andersson’s Golden Lion winner did not disappoint in the slightest. With a title you just want to hug, A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence begins in typical Andersson style; a stationary camera angled at a beige-colored museum room, and a pasty-white overweight man walking around, looking at fossils and relics, with his wife impatiently waiting in the background. One of these fossils turns out to be a dusty pigeon, sitting on a branch, frozen in stuffed reflection. A series of vignettes proceed to flow and connect in Andersson’s philosophizing world full of contemplative, existentialist, and often hilarious, characters and actions. Some of the scenes, including one where two eras meet in a café, are reminiscent of the superior Songs From The Second Floor in their astounding choreography and technical fortitude. For the third part of his trilogy about “being human,” Andersson has proved yet again that he is one of the most fascinating directors working today. [Nik]

The Theory of Everything

Here’s a challenge for you. Try watching the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything (review) without shedding a tear. Based off the memoir of Jane Hawking, the film chronicles the life of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking from the time the two met at Cambridge and the difficulties they faced after Stephen was diagnosed with the paralyzing Lou Gherig’s disease. Most people only hear the scientific side of Stephen’s achievements, but this film sheds light on his personal life and the emotional struggles he and Jane went through trying to raise a family while battling a vicious disease. Don’t be surprised if you hear Eddie Redmayne’s name called come Oscar time. Portraying Stephen Hawking before and after the disease required a difficult physical transformation that Redmayne brilliantly performs. It may be a little sappy and conventional at times, but The Theory of Everything remains an incredibly uplifting film about love and hope. [Dustin]

Tokyo Tribe

Sion Sono tops himself yet again which his biggest and most ambitious film to date. Taking place over one night in a dystopian Tokyo run by 23 different gangs, Sono’s hip-hop musical/action/comedy/horror/whatever-you-want-to-call-it throws everything it can on the screen at once. At times overwhelming and exhausting, Tokyo Tribe (review) is nonetheless frequently hilarious and twisted, filled with incredible scenes and violence galore. This might not be the best introduction to Sono’s insanity (last year’s Why Don’t You Play In Hell? might work better for that), but fans of the Japanese madman have no need to worry. Sono continues to fire on all cylinders, and for all we know this could be his masterpiece. [CJ]

Wild Tales

The Argentina film Wild Tales (review) was easily the most fun experience I had at the festival. Consisting of six completely insane short stories, director/writer Damian Szifron takes these episodic segments to hilarious levels by combining pitch-black humor with creative ways to show vengeance. Each story begins with an ordinary situation most people can relate to, but as they unfold Wild Tales shifts into overdrive with exaggerated circumstances filled with irony. For example, one of the stories involves a slow driving hillbilly who serves across lanes so that they only other car on the country highway can’t pass him. When the guy finally manages to pass the slow driver, he makes an explicit gesture towards him and speeds off, only to get a flat tire a few miles later. The scene becomes chaotic and ends on an epic note. Wild Tales is packed with a lot of laughs, claps, visual style, and plenty of shock value that you would expect from a film produced by Pedro Almodóvar. [Dustin]

Most Disappointing Films of TIFF 2014

Cub

Ever read a synopsis for a movie and thought “that sounds so fantastic, it’s almost impossible to mess up,” only to walk away totally disillusioned and disappointed? That’s pretty much exactly what happened to me and this promising Belgian horror film about a 12-year-old boy scout caught in a booby-trapped forest with his troop, trying to avoid the fatal antics of a “wolf-boy” called Kai. Playing in the Midnight Madness, promoted with a tasty festival trailer, Jonas Govaerts’ Cub is, sadly, a neutered, declawed and defanged puppy, completely harmless in terms of true horror. With a unique setting in the woods, in the context of scouts and their “be prepared” motto’s, and the deliciously-sounding booby trap techniques, Cub has all the potential to be an inventive, visceral, experience. It’s nothing of the sort; relying on conventional scares, uninteresting characters, and a painfully flat finale. [Nik]

Mommy

Xavier Dolan wants you to know he’s a serious director. The Quebecois filmmaker with many job titles to his name (including actor, director, writer, producer, and editor, to name a few) made a huge splash this year when Mommy received a rapturous response at Cannes, getting a 12-minute standing ovation and a Jury Prize. Count me as someone who doesn’t get the fervent support around Dolan. With almost no plot or story, Mommy follows a mother and her troubled teenage son around as they befriend their new neighbor. Dolan shoots in a 1:1 aspect ratio, a completely useless gimmick, and tends to repeat a formula of shrill, violent fights between mother and son before dancing the pain away to a poorly chosen pop song played in full. Mommy is bad melodrama, plain and simple, a surprising step down for Dolan after his previous two features, Laurence Anyways and Tom at the Farm, showed a lot more promise. [Nik]

The Voices

The only time I felt the urge to walk out of the theater at the festival was during incredibly underwhelming The Voices. Unfortunately, I didn’t leave early thinking (nay hoping) the film would get better, a decision I would later regret. Jerry Hickfang (Ryan Reynolds) plays a seemingly normal blue-collar worker, but his home life reveals a dark secret behind this disturbed man. He hears the incredibly silly voices from his evil cat and angel-like dog who convince him to do unthinkable things. None of the performances are especially good in the film, which is disappointing considering Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick, and Jacki Weaver were involved. The tone of The Voices is completely inconsistent, beginning with an overly playful musical then shifting into a dark comedy, and eventually ventures to nonsensical horror, without an ounce of cohesiveness. During moments when the film was trying to be funny I found myself laughing at it instead of with it. Despite being a rather stylish film, The Voices is an awkward mess of genre mashing gone horribly wrong. [Dustin]

Honorable Mentions

Other films that are definitely worth checking out that played at TIFF (and other festivals): Adam Wingard’s rapturous and playful The Guest, Palm d’Or winner Winter Sleep, latest from master filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Two Days, One Night, 3 and a half hour epic Li’l Quinquin, harrowing street life portrait Heaven Knows What, ambitious and transcending Jauja, and Mike Leigh’s exemplary Mr. Turner.

With the Oscars looming on the horizon, it’s time for filmmakers, actors, and studios to bring out the big guns and fight to nab one of those wee golden fellows. For cinema-goers, the fall season is the best time of year: With the summer blockbuster melee out of the way, our focus is shifted to the foreign dramas, auteur showcases, and breakout performances that will populate theaters through to the winter. It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty, and with so many excellent films to look forward to in the next few months, we’ve compiled our list of 20 must-see films of the fall. Some we’ve seen, and some we haven’t, but all in all, this fall season is shaping up to be one to remember.

20 Essential Fall Films

#20 – Force Majeure

Ruben Östlund made a splash at Cannes back in 2011 with Play, a controversial film based on real-life incidents of a group of children elaborately mugging other kids their age. This year, Östlund returned to Cannes with a different kind of film. A family vacationing at a ski resort in the Alps has a close call with an avalanche, and an impulsive fight-or-flight action by the father causes the family unit to break down. Like it or hate it, Play showed that Östlund has remarkable directorial skills, and the praise from Cannes only has us more excited for his follow-up. After a bow at TIFF, Magnolia will release Force Majeure in October. Keep your eyes on this one, as it’s been one of the more buzzed about foreign films this year. [C.J.]

#19 – Tusk

In 2011, when Kevin Smith released his last feature film, Red State, he announced (with his usual long-windedness) that he’d be retiring from film directing after completing one more film. Since then he seems to have calmed down. At Comic-Con Smith did his usual “Evening with Kevin Smith” where he spent a lot of time talking about the new Star Wars film, before revealing the first trailer for his upcoming film Tusk. Based on a conversation Smith had on his podcast discussing a craigslist ad a man posted offering a free place to live to someone willing to dress as a walrus while there, Smith’s always-buzzing brain of course ran free with the very dark way such a scenario could play out. And the trailer indicates the film is just as creepy, dark, and (because it’s Smith) funny as his imagination could make it. Starring Justin Long as a podcast host investigating a reclusive old mariner in Canada, and playing up Smith’s offbeat sense of humor in lieu of Red State’s politically-charged tension, it seems like Smith may finally have found his perfect style of horror. Release date is September 19th, just in time for some pre-Halloween fun. [Ananda]

#18 – The Two Faces of January

A throwback to ‘60s romance thrillers (and appropriately set in the ‘60s itself), Hossein Amini’s The Two Faces of January throws three excellent actors—Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, and Kirsten Dunst—into a dizzying, dangerous love triangle set in sun-drenched Greece. An adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel, the film is rife with deception, jealousy, and murder, a treat for those of us with a taste for such noir-ish goodies. The film has gotten some decent buzz on the festival circuit, though it’ll likelier to please retro lovers than the mainstream masses when it hits in early October. [Bernard]

#17 – The Theory of Everything

I’m pretty much a sucker for anything involving Stephen Hawking. While he is most known for his brilliant advancements in physics, The Theory of Everything appears to center more around his personal life. Before being diagnosed with a fatal illness at 21 years old, he fell in love with his first wife while studying at Cambridge. Dealing with this tragedy, the film aims to be both heartbreaking and inspirational. Based on the trailer and the award season release date of November 7th, it seems that Eddie Redmayne (who plays Hawking) could be in early contention for an Oscar nomination. We hope to catch its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, so stay tuned for our coverage. [Dustin]

#16 – The Interview

The Interview received a good amount of unexpected publicity thanks to North Korea’s decision to file a complaint with the United Nations over the movie’s plot; TV personality Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) become involved in a secret CIA plot to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (Randall Park). This film, the 2nd from Rogen & his writing partner Evan Goldberg as directors following This Is The End, finds the Pineapple Express duo partying hard, rescuing puppies and manning DPRK tanks. Despite Sony’s decision to digitally alter aspects of the movie and (supposed) cutting of a rumored “face melting” scene, reuniting Rogen with Franco in this premise seems absurdly promising. [Zach]

#15 – Listen Up Philip

Because Alex Ross Perry had already mesmerized us with his previous no-budget film The Color Wheel, his newest film Listen Up Philip has been on our radar since its announcement. Then overwhelmingly positive reviews flew in from its Sundance premiere. Combine all of this with the fact Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss star in the film and you’ve got our full attention. Schwartzman playing an arrogant novelist seems like a perfect role considering his character from HBO’s Bored to Death. Perry is quickly becoming an independent director to keep an eye on, so mark your calendars for when Listen Up Philip opens in theaters on October 17th—we already have. [Dustin]

#14 – The Skeleton Twins

If someone wanted to convince me to watch Craig Johnson’s The Skeleton Twins and began the sentence with “Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig play twins,” I will most likely tune out anything else after that. Deep down I know my mind would already be made up: there’s no way I’m not watching this movie. Hader and Wiig have both grown out of their SNL multi-personas and transitioned into film; Wiig has been the more successful of the two thanks to Bridesmaids, but Hader’s small charming role in The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby hints at his untapped dramatic talent. In any case, The Skeleton Twins looks like a perfect showcase for both actors to show they have what it takes to be both funny and serious. Unveiled at Sundance to very positive response (it’s currently 100% fresh on the Tomatometer) the story deals with the reconnection of twins Milo and Maggie after they both manage to cheat death on the same day. [Nik]

#13 – Big Hero 6

Over the past two decades, Pixar Studios has taken most of the shine away from Disney Animation, and rightfully so. Toy Story is coming up on 20-years-old. Think about that for a second. Disney has had its share of recent hits with Tangled and Frozen, but those are films that aren’t really catered to me. What about a super-hero film about a boy and his robot companion with flavors of Japanese anime? Yeah, that sounds pretty good to me. Big Hero 6 has a lot of potential as a unique entry in the overpopulated super-hero genre. It doesn’t hurt that Baymax looks to be an impossibly cute robot character, on the level of Wall-E and the Iron Giant. I don’t know if the film will be as good as those films, but if it can deliver on the fun premise, it has a chance to be one of the most satisfying films of the year. [Aaron]

#12 – The Overnighters

Earlier this year at Hot Docs I called The Overnighters “a roller coaster” that’s bound to be one of 2014’s best documentaries. My feelings haven’t changed since. Jesse Moss’ remarkable film follows a small town in North Dakota going through an oil boom. As people across the country flock to the town looking for work, a local pastor’s decision to let new arrivals sleep in his church (housing is next to impossible to find) triggers a surprising chain of events. With a narrative so cinematic the doc could easily be adapted into a drama, The Overnighters starts out riveting and never stops. Drafthouse will release the film on October 24th, and don’t be surprised if this one ends up becoming an Oscar nominee. [C.J.]

#11 – White Bird in a Blizzard

This novel adaptation looks to be a stylized coming-of-age story about a teenager (played by Shailene Woodley) whose mother (Eva Green) suddenly disappears one day. The early buzz from its Sundance premiere had people praising Woodley’s brave performance as she swears up a storm and spends a fair amount of time undressed. Perhaps her acting career is evolving from Young Adult hits like Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars to more serious and adult roles. Although Green doesn’t have as much screen time as Woodley because of her character’s mysterious disappearance, it’s been said she makes every minute count. White Bird in a Blizzard will be available on VOD September 25th and in theaters October 24th. [Dustin]

#10 – The Guest

Adam Wingard is proving to be one of the most formidable directors in modern horror, with 2013’s excellent You’re Next infusing the tried-and-true slasher genre with a quirky style that’s both primal and electro-cool. The Guest, his latest offering, again takes an old-school set-up and kicks it in the teeth, straight into the new millennium. Dan Stevens plays a soldier who visits the Peterson family, claiming to have been a close friend of their son, who was killed in action. The family invites him to stay, but as random acts of violence begin to pop up throughout town, young Anna (Maika Monroe) suspects they may stem from their mysterious visitor. I’ve just come from a press screening of the film as I write this, and let me tell you—The Guest is bloody freakin’ brilliant. Go see it when it’s released on September 17th. [Bernard]

#9 – Nightcrawler

Dan Gilroy’s debut feature as a director burst onto the scene with a trailer full of frantic energy. Led by what looks like a batshit performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, he continually reiterates the motto, “If you want to win the lottery, you have to make the money to buy a ticket.” The actor looks increasingly unhinged as freelance crime journalist Lou Bloom, pursuing cop cars and moving bodies to get the perfect crime scene shot before that chill-inducing shot where he screams while grasping at the bathroom mirror. The director, Gilroy, has written several films including Tarsem’s The Fall; however, worthy of note he is the brother of Tony Gilroy (also a producer on Nightcrawler), whose debut as a director (Michael Clayton) became one of the most compelling adult dramas of the last decade. Nightcrawler debuts at TIFF in September before its October 31st U.S. release. [Zach]

#8 – The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

Most years when I sit down and think about the best films of the year, there is usually one or two picks near the top of my list that are unquestionably flawed, but incredibly daring in its writing and structure — last year’s The Place Beyond the Pines, for example. I don’t know a lot about The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, but the thought of one film basically splitting into two different films from the differing perspectives of a failed relationship has me beyond intrigued. The studios recent decision to theatrically release the film in three different version (labelled Them, Him, and Her) has me wondering if this is going to be cinema gold or a complete train wreck, but it definitely has my attention. [Aaron]

#7 – Stray Dogs

I caught Ming-liang Tsai’s movie at last year’s TIFF, and was floored by its audacious nature and relentless control. It’s a very particular wheelhouse that Tsai’s movies play in, but if it happens to be yours then Stray Dogs will not disappoint. The central narrative storyline deals with a small impoverished family unity (a father and his two children,) as they move around the outskirts of Taipei and try to survive. Those familiar with Tsai’s won’t be surprised to hear about incredibly long takes of actors staring off into oblivion, or a slightly grotesque scene featuring cabbage, but Stray Dogs is nothing if not one of the year’s greatest examples of transcendental and deeply captivating works of cinematic art. The film is finally getting a theatrical release on September 12th courtesy of Cinema Guild. [Nik]

#6 – Foxcatcher

Capote and Moneyball director Bennett Miller returns with what many have described as his passion project, a film about the late John du Pont, whose attempt to support the US wrestling program in spite of declining mental health. The unlikely actor portraying du Pont is comedian Steve Carell in a part tailored for Oscars consideration, flanked by both Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo in strong roles. While the film was among our writer Nik’s Cannes disappointments this year, there are many touting not only the highly anticipated performances. After stops at TIFF and NYFF in September and October, Foxcatcher opens everywhere on November 14th. [Zach]

#5 – Dear White People

It’s about time a filmmaker set their sights on race in America, especially with people claiming the country is now living in a “post-racial” society. Justin Simien’s debut feature Dear White People is an ensemble following several black students at an Ivy League school, a premise Simien uses to open up a funny and probing insight into what race and identity means today. Back at the LA Film Festival, our writer Ananda said Dear White People is “sharply written” and “progressive and humorous”, and we can’t wait to see it once it comes out on October 17. [C.J.]

#4 – Whiplash

Whipping up a mighty buzz-storm at Sundance, Damien Chazelle’s drummer drama Whiplash stars Miles Teller as a young percussionist pushed to the breaking point by his vicious drum instructor, played by JK Simmons. Teller has been living up to expectations with each role he tackles, proving to be one of the most promising new faces in movies, and combined with Simmons’ veteran savvy, sparks should fly as their combative mentor-pupil story unfolds. Since Sundance in January, the excitement surrounding the film hasn’t fizzled in the slightest, a strong indicator that we’re in for a treat when it drops in October. [Bernard]

#3 – Interstellar

I’m partly tempted to explain Interstellar’s placement toward the top of our most anticipated Fall films list by simply stating “Because Chris Nolan” and “Because Matthew McConaughey”, but if you need qualifiers, I bet I can think of a few. For starters, the ambiguity surrounding the film for so long indicates (and it would be par for the course with Nolan) that Interstellar might be more than we yet know. The latest trailer gives us plenty to stew over. Dirt storms show a water shortage on Earth and Matthew McConaughey’s character, Cooper, is a father faced with the difficult decision of leaving his children to travel through a wormhole to find a new planet for humans to survive on. Along with fellow spacetraveler, Brand (Anne Hathaway), and a few others, Cooper and the small team travels through some gorgeously crafted foreign galaxies. Further motivation to see the film in IMAX. But knowing Nolan, who loves his late reveals and complicated relationships, we can almost guarantee that Interstellar will, ahem, take us further into space and story than we can even imagine. The film releases on Nov. 7th, which seems like forever. [Ananda]

#2 – Birdman

Despite some slight foreboding after watching the trailer for Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s new film is still one of my personal must-see films of the year, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, Iñárritu has yet to truly disappoint me (yes, I even liked Babel) and perhaps I’m even more inclined towards his new film because his last one, Biutiful, was so undeservedly neglected by many. Secondly, this is cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s first post-Gravity project to see release and he’s a guy who knows how to make pretty pictures, plus there’s reports of more long take wizardry in Birdman. Add to that the ensemble cast of Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis and Naomi Watts all lead by a resurgent Michael Keaton, and there’s really no need to go any further. The film will open the Venice Film festival, play the New York Film Festival, and then unspool for the public on October 17th. [Nik]

#1 – Gone Girl

Top of the list is the latest from a perennial favorite, David Fincher. Not only is he master of the book to film adaptation, but he excels when working with crooked characters. And Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel Gone Girl is a character-study in marital crookedness. In the film, Ben Affleck plays Nick Dunne, a man whose wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), goes missing on their 5th wedding anniversary. When her disappearance goes public, Nick finds himself the primary suspect and the most hated man in the country, and as detectives uncover more around the case, Nick begins to question just how well he knew his own wife. I predict the sort of character mastery we’ve seen in House of Cards and Social Network combined with the nerve-fraying plot development of Se7en and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Rumor has it the ending is slightly different than the book, co-written by Flynn and thus having her blessing, so even those of us familiar with the novel should be in for some new twists come October 3 when the film is released. It’s going to be a dark and twisty fall, and we can’t wait. [Ananda]

Today marks the kickoff of the fall festival season, as the Toronto International Film Festival announced its first wave of Special Presentations and Galas. TIFF CEO Piers Handling and Creative Director Cameron Bailey announced around 13 Galas and 46 Special Presentations set to play this September, including some films we easily predicted and a few big surprises. Surprisingly the opening film wasn’t announced today. Instead the closing film, Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos starring Kate Winslet, was revealed today. Also playing will be some of the more buzzed about titles from Cannes earlier this year, including Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Wild Tales, David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, and Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher.

One of the more controversial aspects of this year’s festival is TIFF’s decision to take a tough stance on its World and North American premieres. In recent years the Telluride festival, taking place just before TIFF, stole away some of Toronto’s major prestige film premieres from them. Telluride was able to get away with it because their screenings were “sneak previews” instead of full blown premieres, announcing the film with short notice. Last year Telluride nabbed sneak previews of 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, and Prisoners, all major films for TIFF in 2013. The buzz was coming from Telluride instead of Toronto, and TIFF decided enough was enough. This year the first four days of the festival will only screen true World and North American premieres, with all other films playing in the remaining 7 days of the fest. That means, if a film plans to play Telluride first in any way, TIFF won’t play it during the first four days.

With that policy in place, people have been curious to see how it would impact TIFF’s line-up this year. Will it succeed for them, or will it backfire completely? When news came out that Birdman would open Venice, followed by the New York Film Festival getting world premieres for David Fincher’s Gone Girl and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, people already began claiming the new policy was a failure. Losing two of the fall’s most anticipated titles is a blow for TIFF, but until we got a look at the line-up it was impossible to say whether or not TIFF’s aggressive approach paid off.

So what some of the films TIFF announced today? Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young, Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children, Liv Ullmann’s Miss Julie, Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, The Good Lie starring Reese Witherspoon, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn starring Al Pacino, Jon Stewart’s Rosewater, Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything, and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild, just to name a few. For arthouse fans new films from Abel Ferrara and Mia Hansen-Love will play as well. 37 World Premieres were announced today, not too shabby of a number.

Read below for the full list of films announced today, and be sure to check back next week when TIFF unveils more titles. As always, Way Too Indie will be covering the festival this fall, so be sure to check out our reviews, news and interviews as we get closer to one of the biggest film festivals in the world. The Toronto International Film Festival starts on September 4th this year, and if you want to learn more or buy tickets go to www.tiff.net/thefestival

Gala Presentations

Black and White (Mike Binder), USA, World Premiere. Black and White is the story of a widowed grandfather who is left to raise his bi-racial granddaughter. When the little girl’s paternal grandmother seeks custody, a bitter legal battle ensues that forces the uneasy family members to have an honest conversation about life, death, anger and America’s racial divide. Starring Academy Award-winners Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, as well as Anthony Mackie, Jennifer Ehle, Gillian Jacobs, Bill Burr, Andre Holland and Jillian Estell.

The Equalizer (Antoine Fuqua), USA, World Premiere. In this big-screen adaptation of the cult ‘80s TV show, McCall believes he has put his past behind him and has dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by—he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to extract vengeance upon anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer. Starring Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo.

Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller), USA, Canadian Premiere. Based on true events, this film tells the dark and fascinating story of the unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship between an eccentric multi-millionaire and two champion wrestlers. Starring Anthony Michael Hall, Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Vanessa Redgrave, Mark Ruffalo and Sienna Miller.

Haemoo (Shim Sung-bo), South Korea, International Premiere. The ragtag crew of a fishing boat takes on a dangerous commission to smuggle a group of illegal immigrants from China to Korea, in this tense high-seas adventure co-scripted by South Korean genre-movie guru Bong Joon-ho. Starring Kim Yoon-seok and Park Yoo- chun.

The Judge (David Dobkin), USA, World Premiere. Big city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth, and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard and Billy Bob Thornton.

Closing Night Film: A Little Chaos (Alan Rickman), United Kingdom, World Premiere. A landscape gardener with a taste for the unconventional is invited to design one of the fountains at the Palace of Versailles. As she battles with the weather, the perilous rivalries at the court of Louis XIV and her own private demons, she finds herself drawn closer to the formality and enigma of the architect who hired her. Starring Kate Winslet, Stanley Tucci, Alan Rickman and Matthias Schoenaerts.

Maps to the Stars (David Cronenberg), Canada/Germany, North American Premiere. David Cronenberg forges both a wicked social satire and a very human ghost story from today’s celebrity-obsessed culture. Starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, John Cusack and Robert Pattinson.

The New Girlfriend (Une nouvelle amie) (François Ozon), France, World Premiere. When her best friend Lea dies, Claire falls into a deep depression. However, after making a surprising discovery about her late friend’s husband, she’s given a new lease on life. Starring Romain Duris, AnaÔs Demoustier and Raphaël Personnaz.

Pawn Sacrifice (Ed Zwick), USA, World Premiere. In this remarkable true story set in the height of the Cold War, chess legend Bobby Fischer is locked in a gripping championship clash with the Soviets as he struggles against his own psychological demons while the whole world anxiously awaits the outcome. Starring Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard and Liev Schreiber.

The Riot Club (Lone Scherfig), United Kingdom, World Premiere. A privileged young man is inducted into the exclusive, debaucherous company of Oxford’s elite “Riot Club,” in this scathing dissection of the British class system. Based on the hit play Posh, the film stars Natalie Dormer, Max Irons, Sam Clafin, Jessica Brown Findlay and Douglas Booth.

Samba (Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano), France, World Premiere. Samba migrated to France 10 years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burnout. Both struggle to get out of their dead-end lives—Samba’s willing to do whatever it takes to get working papers, while Alice tries to get her life back on track—until fate draws them together. Balancing light-hearted moments with heavier emotion, Samba is a story about two strangers on a new path to happiness. Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Omar Sy and Tamar Rahim.

This is Where I Leave You (Shawn Levy), USA, World Premiere. Shawn Levy’s dramatic comedy follows four adult siblings who return home after their father’s death to spend a week with their over- sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and frayed relationships among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways. Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll and Kathryn Hahn.

Wild (Jean-Marc Vallée), USA, International Premiere. After years of reckless behaviour, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Cheryl Strayed makes a rash decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own. Wild powerfully reveals Cheryl’s terrors and pleasures as she forges ahead on a journey that maddens, strengthens and ultimately heals her. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Michiel Huisman, Gaby Hoffmann and Kevin Rankin.

Special Presentations

99 Homes (Ramin Bahrani), USA, Canadian Premiere. After his family is evicted from their home, proud and desperate construction worker Dennis Nash tries to win his home back by striking a deal with the devil and working for Rick Carver, the corrupt real estate broker who evicted him. Starring Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern and Michael Shannon.

American Heist (Sarik Andreasyan), USA, World Premiere. Two brothers with troubled pasts become embroiled in a high-stakes bank robbery, in this indie action thriller. Starring Adrien Brody, Hayden Christensen, Jordana Brewster and Akon.

Before We Go (Chris Evans), USA, World Premiere. Set in Manhattan, the story follows two strangers after their serendipitous meeting in Grand Central. Over the course of one night, they form an unlikely bond and the conflicts in their own lives become the basis for exploration into each other and themselves. Starring Chris Evans and Alice Eve.

Breakup Buddies (Ning Hao), China, World Premiere. Recently cuckolded and reeling from a messy divorce, a hapless former singer hits the road—and the bar—with his all-too-helpful best bud, in this hilarious romantic comedy.

Cake (Daniel Barnz), USA, World Premiere. Cake tells the story of the acerbic Claire Bennett who has managed to alienate everyone from her life, with the exception of her loyal housekeeper. When Claire becomes fascinated with the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group, she develops a poignant relationship with the woman’s grieving husband and comes to terms with her own personal tragedy, catapulting her forward into life. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman and Sam Worthington.

Coming Home (Zhang Yimou), China, North American Premiere. Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labour camp as a political prisoner, just as his wife is injured in an accident. Released during the last days of the Cultural Revolution, he finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife has amnesia and remembers little of her past. Unable to recognize Lu, she patiently waits for her
husband’s return—until Lu determines to resurrect their past together and reawaken his wife’s memory. Starring Chen Daoming and Gong Li.

The Dead Lands (Hautoa) (Toa Fraser), New Zealand/United Kingdom, World Premiere. Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones after his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains led by Wirepa, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden “Dead Lands” and forge an uneasy alliance with a mysterious warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years. Starring Xavier Horan, Raukura Turei, Rena Owen, James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare and Te Kohe Tuhaka.

Dearest Peter (Ho-Sun Chan), China/Hong Kong, North American Premiere. Drawing on remarkable true stories, Peter Chan delivers a moving drama about child abduction in China. Huang Bo stars as a father whose young son disappears in the streets of a big city. He sets out on a search across China, stopping at nothing to find him. In this star-studded cast, Zhao Wei plays the role of a mother from a poor rural area.

The Drop (Michael R. Roskam), USA, World Premiere. The Drop follows lonely bartender Bob Saginowski through a covert scheme of funnelling cash to local gangsters in the underworld of Brooklyn bars. Under the heavy hand of his employer and cousin Marv, Bob finds himself at the centre of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighbourhood’s past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living – no matter the cost. Starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts and John Ortiz.

Eden (Mia Hansen-Løve), France, World Premiere. In the ’90s, French electronic music is developing at a fast pace. Entering this exciting Parisian nightlife, Paul and his best friend form a DJ duo called Cheers. But just as they rapidly find their audience, they are caught up in a euphoric and short-lived rise to fame. Eden retraces the steps of the “French touch” generation from 1992 to today—a generation that still enjoys outstanding international success thanks to DJs like Daft Punk, Dimitri from Paris and Cassius. Starring Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Vincent Macaigne, Greta Gerwig, Golshifteh Farahani, Laura Smet and Vincent Lacoste.

Far From Men (Loin des Hommes) (David Oelhoffen), France, North American Premiere. Algeria, 1954. While the rebellion rumbles in the valley, two very different men thrown together by a world in turmoil are forced to flee across the Atlas mountains. In the midst of an icy winter, Daru, a reclusive teacher, has to escort Mohamed, a villager accused of murder. Pursued by horsemen seeking summary justice and vengeful settlers, the two men decide to confront the unknown. Together, they fight to gain their freedom. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Reda Kateb.

Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund), Sweden/Norway/Denmark/France, North American Premiere. A Swedish family’s ski trip in the French Alps is cut short by news of an oncoming avalanche, during which an impulsive decision by the father Tomas drives a wedge between him and his wife, Ebba—he has run for his life, while she has stayed to protect her children. When the anticipated disaster fails to occur, reality and embarrassed relief returns to the mountainside resort, but the family’s world has been shaken to its core. Force Majeure is an observational comedy about the role of the male in modern family life. Starring Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju and Fanni Metelius.

The Gate (Régis Wargnier), France, World Premiere. Two decades after forging an unlikely alliance in Pol Pot’s Cambodia, a French ethnologist and a former Khmer Rouge official meet again after the latter is arrested for crimes against humanity, in this drama from top French director Régis Wargnier.

Good Kill (Andrew Niccol), USA, North American Premiere. A Las Vegas-based fighter pilot turned drone pilot fights the Taliban by remote control for 12 hours a day, then goes home to the suburbs and feuds with his wife and kids for the other 12. But the pilot is starting to question the mission. Is he creating more terrorists than he’s killing? Is he fighting a war without end? This story follows one soldier’s tale with epic implications. Starring Ethan Hawke and January Jones.

The Good Lie (Philippe Falardeau), USA, World Premiere. Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon and an ensemble of young Sudanese actors—all of whom have direct personal ties to the war in their country—bring the inspiring and uplifting story of The Lost Boys of the Sudan to the screen in a film about heartbreak and hope, survival and triumph. Also starring Corey Stoll, Arnold Oceng, Kuoth Wiel, Ger Duany, Emmauel Jal and Femi Oguns.

Hector and the Search for Happiness (Peter Chelsom), Germany/Canada, North American Premiere. Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. Deciding to break out of his deluded routine, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive formula for true happiness? and so begins his larger-than-life adventure with riotously funny results. Starring Rosamund Pike, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Simon Pegg, Stellan Skarsgård and Jean Reno.

The Humbling (Barry Levinson), USA, North American Premiere. The Humbling tells the story of a legendary stage actor who has an affair with a lesbian woman half his age at a secluded country house in Connecticut. Based on Philip Roth’s final novel, it is a tragic comedy about a man who has lived inside his own imagination for too long. Starring Al Pacino, Mandy Patinkin, Dianne Wiest and Greta Gerwig.

Hungry Hearts (Saverio Costanzo), Italy, International Premiere. Mina and Jude meet while stuck together in the restroom of a restaurant, marking the beginning of a true love story. They move in together. They get married. And anticipate the arrival of their baby—until a spiritual guide tells Mina she is bearing an “indigo” child. Starring Adam Driver, Alba Rohrwacher and Roberta Maxwell.

The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum), United Kingdom/USA, Canadian Premiere. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.

Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet Canada/France/Lebanon/Qatar/USA, World Premiere. (Roger Allers, GaÎtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Joan C. Gratz,Mohammed Saeed Harib, Tomm Moore, Nina Paley, Bill Plympton, Joann Sfar)
and Michal Socha. Inspired by the beloved classic, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is a richly-animated story and celebration of Gibran’s book, created by artists, animators and musicians from around the world. Starring Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek-Pinault, John Krasinski, Frank Langella, Alfred Molina, John Rhys-Davies and Quvenzhané Wallis.

The Keeping Room (Daniel Barber), USA, World Premiere. Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women—two sisters and one African-American slave—must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army. Starring Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, Muna Otaru and Kyle Soller.

The Last Five Years (Richard LaGravenese), USA, World Premiere. In this adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, The Last Five Years is a musical deconstruction of a love affair and a marriage taking place over a five year period. Jamie, a young, talented up-and-coming Jewish novelist falls in love with Cathy, a Shiksa Goddess and struggling actress. The film, told almost entirely through song and a beautiful pop music score, portrays an honest, heartbreaking, often funny, exploration of love and its consequences on individual identity. Starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.

Learning to Drive (Isabel Coixet), USA, World Premiere. As her marriage dissolves, a Manhattan writer takes driving lessons from a Sikh instructor with marriage troubles of his own. In each other’s company, they find the courage to get back on the road and the strength to take the wheel. Starring Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley.

Love & Mercy (Bill Pohlad), USA, World Premiere. Focusing on Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys, Love & Mercy paints an unconventional portrait of the artist by interweaving seminal moments in his life, from his artistic genius to his profound struggles, and the love that keeps him alive. Starring Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, John Cusack and Paul Giamatti.

Manglehorn (David Gordon Green), USA, North American Premiere. Angelo Manglehorn is a small town locksmith who never got over the love of his life. Clara was a beautiful, idealized woman who left him heartbroken 40 years ago. He still writes her letters obsessively as he tries to find her and get back the woman of his dreams. Manglehorn is the journey of this magical man, his son, his cat and a beautiful new woman trying to help him put the pieces of his heart back together. Starring Al Pacino, Holly Hunter and Chris Messina.

Mary Kom (Omung Kumar), India, World Premiere. Glamorous Indian star Priyanka Chopra completely transforms herself to play Mary Kom, world champion in women’s boxing. From traditional village life in remote Manipur state to high-stakes bouts in India and around the world, this is a remarkable story of triumph.

Men, Women & Children (Jason Reitman), USA, World Premiere. Men, Women & Children follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. Starring Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler and Judy Greer.

Miss Julie (Liv Ullmann), Norway/United Kingdom/Ireland, World Premiere. A country estate in Ireland in the 1880s. Over the course of one midsummer night, Miss Julie explores the brutal, charged power struggle between a young aristocratic woman and her father’s valet. Starring Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton.

Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh), United Kingdom, Canadian Premiere. This biopic explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Profoundly affected by the death of his father, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, until his death. Throughout his life, the popular—if anarchic—member of the Royal Academy of Arts travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. Starring Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage, Joshua McGuire, Ruth Sheen, David Horovitch and Karl Johnson.

My Old Lady (Israel Horovitz), USA, World Premiere. A down-and-out New Yorker inherits an apartment in Paris from his estranged father and is stunned to find a refined old lady living there with her protective daughter. Starring Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Ned Rifle (Hal Hartley), USA, World Premiere. Ned Rifle is the third and final chapter of Hal Hartley’s tragicomic epic begun with Henry Fool (1997) and continued with Fay Grim (2007). At once a saga concerning the Grim family of Queens and how their lives are turned upside down by the arrival of the self- proclaimed genius Henry Fool, the trilogy is also an illustration of America’s grappling with ideas, art, politics, and religion over the course of 20 years. In this swiftly paced and expansive conclusion, Henry and Fay’s son Ned sets out to find and kill his father for destroying his mother’s life. But his aims are frustrated by the troublesome, sexy and hilarious Susan, whose connection to Henry predates even his arrival in the lives of the Grim family.

Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy), USA, World Premiere. Lou Bloom, a driven young man, discovers the nocturnal world of L.A. crime journalism. Joining a group of freelance camera crews who film marketable mayhem, Lou makes his own place at the table, aided by Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news. Blurring the line between observer and perpetrator, Lou finds his calling in a murderous world reduced to transactions. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton.

Pasolini (Abel Ferrara), France/Italy/Belgium, North American Premiere. Rome: on the night of November 2, 1975, the great Italian poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini is murdered. Pasolini is the symbol of an art that’s fighting against the power. His writings are scandalous, and his films are persecuted by the censors; many people love him and many hate him. The day of his death, Pasolini spends his last hours with his beloved mother and later with his dearest friends, until he finally goes out into the night in his Alfa Romeo in search of adventure in the eternal city. At dawn Pasolini is found dead on a beach in Ostia on the outskirts of the city. In a film dreamlike and visionary, blending reality and imagination, it reconstructs the last day in the life of this great poet. Starring Willem Dafoe.

Phoenix (Christian Petzold), Germany, World Premiere. Nelly Lenz is a concentration camp survivor who has been left with a disfigured face. Following facial reconstruction surgery, Nelly begins the search for her husband Johnny. When she finally does find him, he does not recognise her. Nevertheless he approaches her with a proposal: since she resembles his wife, whom he believes to be dead, he asks her to help him claim his wife’s considerable inheritance. Nelly agrees, and becomes her own doppelganger—she needs to know if Johnny ever loved her, or if he betrayed her. Starring Nina Hoss.

The Reach (Jean-Baptiste Leonetti), USA, World Premiere. Ben, a young man who works as a hunting guide, gets a job of a lifetime when he is hired by Madec, a wealthy businessman from Los Angeles, to hunt a bighorn sheep. Their excursion in the Southwestern desert quickly goes from bad to worse when overly-eager Madec gets trigger happy, accidentally killing an old prospector. He attempts to bribe Ben for his secrecy, but Ben staunchly refuses. Outraged, Madec turns on Ben, determined to eliminate the only witness to his crime. Trapped in a sadistic cat-and-mouse game, Ben has to rely on his basic survival skills to make it out alive. Starring Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Mangan, Lawrence and Ronny Cox.

Red Amnesia (Chuangru Zhe) (Wang Xiaoshuai), China, North American Premiere. A retired widow has her daily routine derailed when she starts receiving mysterious, anonymous phone calls, in this scintillating thriller from Chinese “Sixth Generation” master Wang Xiaoshuai. Starring L Zhong, Shi Liu, Feng Yuanzheng, Qin Hao and Amanda Qin.

Return to Ithaca (Laurent Cantet), France, North American Premiere. A terrace overlooking Havana. Five friends gather to celebrate the return of Amadeo after 16 years of exile. From dusk to dawn, they reminisce about their youth, the group they used to form, the faith they had in the future—also their disillusionment.

Rosewater (Jon Stewart), USA, Canadian Premiere. The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart makes his directorial debut with the true story of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari (played by Gael García Bernal), whose appearance on Stewart’s show in 2009 precipitated his five-month imprisonment by the Iranian government.

A Second Chance (En chance til) (Susanne Bier), Denmark, World Premiere. How far are decent human beings willing to go, when tragedy blurs the line between just and unjust? Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen have crafted a startling yet moving drama, about how easily we lose our grasp on justice when confronted with the unthinkable, and life as we know it hangs by a thread. Starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Ulrich Thomsen, Maria Bonnevie, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Lykke May Andersen.

Still Alice (Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland), USA, World Premiere. Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested. Alice’s struggle to stay connected to who she once was is frightening, heartbreaking, and inspiring. Starring Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Julianne Moore.

The Theory of Everything (James Marsh), United Kingdom/USA, World Premiere. The extraordinary true story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Hawking receives an earth-shattering diagnosis at age 21. Together, Stephen and Jane defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, David Thewlis and Emily Watson.

Time Out of Mind (Oren Moverman), USA, World Premiere. George, a man on the decline, enters the New York City homeless shelter system when he runs out of options. George struggles to navigate his way through this new world with the help of Dixon, a shelter veteran while trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter Maggie. Starring Richard Gere, Ben Vereen, Jena Malone, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeremy Strong, Yul Vasquez, Coleman Domingo, Geraldine Hughes, Michael Kenneth Williams and Steve Buscemi.

Top Five (Chris Rock), USA, World Premiere. Written, directed by, and starring Chris Rock, Top Five tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen, whose unexpected encounter with a journalist forces him to confront both the career that made him famous and the life he left behind. Starring Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Jay Pharoah, Anders Holm and Michael Che. And featuring music by Questlove.

While We’re Young (Noah Baumbach), USA, World Premiere. Noah Baumbach’s exploration of aging, ambition and success, stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged couple whose career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives. Also starring Amanda Seyfried, Adam Driver, Charles Grodin, Maria Dizzia and Adam Horovitz.

Whiplash (Damien Chazelle), USA, Canadian Premiere. Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite East Coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability – and his sanity. Starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang, Max Kasch and Damon Gupton.

Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes) (Damian Szifron), Argentina/Spain, Canadian Premiere. More than living up to its title, director Dami·n Szifron’s compendium of outrageous, hilarious and truly bizarre anecdotes offers a
subversive, blackly comic portrait of contemporary Argentina. Starring Ricardo Darin, Oscar Martinez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Erica Rivas, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg and Dario Grandinetti.