There were a lot of great choices for geek chic films this year, but when it was all said and done ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ was not only a surprise but our pick for the best movie of 2014…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
Before we get started with the breakdown of the best movies of the year for 2014, let’s get something out there right away.
This list is only made of movies normally covered or talked about by NerdcoreMovement.com — now make no mistake we definitely cover a wide variety of films on this site and are not bound by any rules that would exclude us from covering all of the movies made in the world. The choice, however, is to focus in on a smaller group of films and TV shows that make up what we believe is the essence of Nerdcore Movement.
So as much as films like ‘Boyhood’ and ‘Foxcatcher’ deserve to be on the list for the best movies of the year — and we highly recommend going to see both of those incredible films — they just aren’t the typical cult/sci-fi/superhero/geek driven content we tend to cover here. But as a secondary note on our best films of the year story, we will provide of a full list of movies that everyone should check out regardless of genre! Fair enough?
Then let’s begin….
BEST MOVIE OF 2014: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
It’s a little shocking judging by all the ‘best of’ lists I’ve perused over the past few weeks that this movie didn’t get mentioned more often. Part of the reason I believe ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ didn’t gain more critical acclaim at the latter part of the year is because it came out in the first half of 2014. Usually the most well received and reviewed movies come out in the fall months, which cozies right up to Oscar voters. It’s a ploy as old as time, but I’ve seen some real gems slip through the cracks just based on a January-May release date.
One of the reasons I loved ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ so much was because it really felt like it transcended the ‘superhero’ genre of filmmaking. It’s part of the reason you’ll see another film of similar quality later in the list as well (it involves a talking tree and a bad ass raccoon). What ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ managed to do was take the cape and cowls away and replace them with a taut, suspense driven spy movie more akin to ’24’ than ‘Iron Man’.
Following his 1940’s adventures in the original Captain America movie and his appearance in ‘The Avengers’, Steve Rogers is starting to get acclimated to live in 2014, slowly but surely. He’s an active Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. working directly for director Nick Fury when a series of revelations lead to the big reveal that another organization has secretly been living and thriving inside the spy agency for decades. Like a virus just slowly gestating, the bad guys have been breathing just under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s noses for years, but only through some keen work from Fury with the help of Rogers and his new gal pal, Natasha Romanov, are the players behind the coup de tat finally revealed.
The action is very Marvel — which means it’s well done and not over the top — but what really drives this film is the story and the dialogue. I’d argue that playing Captain America — No. 2 only to Superman in terms of the ultimate boy scout thus usually the ultimate film bore — is no easy task but Chris Evans handles it with charisma and charm. The flirtation shared with Scarlett Johansson is undeniable and outside of that brief appearance, the film stands alone without needing any outside interference from the rest of the hero world to make this film soar.
If you like intrigue with a dose of muscles and action this is definitely the film for you. Admittedly I went into this movie expecting to enjoy it, but not come out raving to everyone I know how blown away I was by what I just witnessed. I’m not a Captain America fan at all either — I rank him just above Thor in my ‘characters I care least about from Marvel’ list — but it didn’t matter. This movie made Captain America heroic with a shot of realism, which is something Marvel has just mastered since getting into the big film business.
There were a lot of standout movies in 2014, but for my money ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ topped the list.
BEST OF THE REST:
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
This was the other Marvel film that really made an impact this year and by most critical standards landed ahead of ‘Captain America’ (just not on my list). Director James Gunn was not only the perfect choice for this film — I believe he’s the only person that could have pulled this off. Let’s not forget this rag tag group of outer space dwellers was barely on the fringe of recognizable by most comic book fan standards and Gunn transformed them into a rival to ‘The Avengers’ in one movie.
The search for a mystical orb with world altering power is at the center of the story, but really it’s an origin tale how one human, a talking raccoon, a barely talking man-tree, a beast and a beautiful warrior come together as the most unlikely team of heroes this side of Jupiter. Humor mixed with heroics made for one of the best experiences you’ll have with a movie this entire year — and probably next year as well!
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
This movie about the life and times of Stephen Hawking is getting praised mostly for the performances turned in by actor Eddie Redmayne and his co-star Felicity Jones — and the acclaim is well deserved. But this story about Hawking’s transformation from a lively student on the cusp of making great discoveries in science to his dedication to continue the work despite an apparent death sentence after being diagnosed with ALS is extraordinary. With each new challenge handed to Hawking he finds new ways to overcome them despite the fact that his marriage cannot. Maybe the best and most heartbreaking part about the true story is the fact that these lifelong sweethearts just can’t make it work in the end and things don’t go happily ever after. At least not in the traditional sense.
THE BABADOOK
It seems like once a year there’s a new and original voice heard in the horror genre and this year it comes from writer/director Jennifer Kent with her ‘monster in my closet’ scare fest, ‘The Babadook’.
The movie centers around a mother, who is dealing with the tragic loss of her husband, and now has to endure the lurking evil around every corner thanks to a creature that’s haunting her son from one of his favorite night time books. This is the kind of film M. Night Shyamalan could have possibly made a decade ago before he decided ‘the big reveal’ was the only way he knew how to tell a story. I digress.
This is a real story of fear and dread that doesn’t rely on typical horror film tropes like jumping out from behind objects or waiting for something bad to happen so you get a good yelp from your seat. ‘The Babadook’ is an intense, creeping story that wears on you like a damp coat while the temperature in the room just drops ever so slightly, minute by minute. It’s uncomfortable at first and by the end it’s down right unbearable. In this case, however, that’s a good thing!
HONORABLE MENTIONS (AND THE FULL LIST OF FILMS WORTH SEEING IN 2014):
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Boyhood
Interstellar
Nightcrawler
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Birdman
Gone Girl
Locke
The Imitation Game
Chef
Under the Skin
Edge of Tomorrow
A Most Violent Year
