It's December, and film writers everywhere are putting together their lists of the best films of 2014. But best-of lists are so subjective, so here's our take: ten films from 2014 that are guaranteed to get you thinking, and talking!
Interstellar (M). Director: Christopher Nolan. 169 minutes
If Christopher 'The Dark Knight' Nolan's reputation was already stellar, it is now officially galaxies-wide as he delivers another visually stunning, mind-blowing blockbuster grounded in strong characters and story. Matthew McConaughey stars as a NASA pilot who leads an intergalactic quest to find a new home for humankind when it is threatened with ecological annihilation. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne served as an executive producer and contributed some of his own data to help the filmmakers with their modelling of the film's famous black hole.
Not previously reviewed by Eureka Street
Gone Girl (MA). Director: David Fincher. 149 minutes
Fincher's excellent adaptation of Gillian Flynn's controversial 2012 novel documents the violent outcomes of a marriage that has decayed in the clammy clutches of mutual narcissism. When smug, philandering out-of-work writer Nick (Ben Affleck) finds himself suspected of murdering his self-centred yet enigmatic wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), a media circus ensues. But did he really do it? Captivating and full of twists, Gone Girl is a guaranteed conversation starter about the various shapes and implications of domestic violence and misogyny.
Full review
Whiplash (MA). Director: Damien Chazelle. 107 minutes
Miles Teller is a revelation as jazz drummer Andrew, who is singled out for tutelage and torment by a revered but brutal professor (J. K. Simmons) at a prestigious New York music school. As the film unfolds the bully Fletcher's antagonism begets a kind of symbiotic transformation in Andrew, who in literally bleeding for his art emerges as a kindred spirit to his equally obsessive teacher. This gripping, sinister depiction of a young man's obsessive pursuit of artistic greatness is fired by some fantastic music, notably the Hank Levy tune from which the film takes its title.
Not previously reviewed by Eureka Street
Under the Skin (MA). Director: Jonathan Glazer. 115 minutes
Glazer's eerie adaptation of Michael Faber's 2000 novel features Scarlett Johansson as an alien who dons the skin of an attractive young woman and tempts men with the unspoken promise of sex, luring them to her lair in order to harvest their flesh. A chance encounter with a man with congenital facial deformities introduces her to the concepts of compassion and mercy, and later the femaleness that she had wielded as a weapon proves also to mark her