Sam's Top 10 Films of 2014

2014 was a remarkably personal year at the movies. It offered intimate, emotional experiences that reminded me of what Roger Ebert once said about cinema: "The movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams, and fears. It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us.”

These are the cinematic journeys I was most grateful for last year.

10. "A Most Violent Year" In a quietly implosive performance evocative of Al Pacino in "The Godfather," Oscar Isaac stars as an immigrant oil man trying to keep clean amid corruption in New York City. Set in the winter of 1981 — the city's most crime-ridden year on record — the film follows this man down its mean streets as his fuel trucks are routinely hijacked and his wife (Jessica Chastain) cooks the books for their home-heating company.

As cars and gunmen cut through crisp city air and crooked characters struggle to go straight, "A Most Violent Year" conjures up comparisons to the mean-streets cinema of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Sidney Lumet. Maybe writer-director J.C. Chandor will enter that echelon of filmmakers years from now.

9. "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

This film's power is summarized in the opening shot of a computer-generated ape's piercing, achingly realistic eyes. It's a blockbuster spectacle that stares into your soul. Anchored by Andy Serkis' deeply felt motion-capture performance as a revolutionary ape leader, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" is a rich, rousing interspecies war drama that never loses sight of characters' internal struggles amid explosive chaos.

8. "St. Vincent"

"St. Vincent" is a dramedy you can see getting ready to pull your heartstrings from miles away. But when it does, it is no less emotionally overwhelming. Bill Murray delivers his best performance since "Groundhog Day" as a cantankerous old man who befriends an awkward boy (Jaeden Lieberher). We see him through the kid's innocent eyes. Like Murray's character, this film has grace beneath its gritty surface. The exposure of it is a powerful revelation that will bring a tear to your eye.

7. "Birdman"

Michael Keaton stars as an actor fighting for recognition beyond superhero fame — a battle the "Batman" star never has to endure, especially after this performance, which pulsates with wit and pathos. In an effort to be taken seriously, Keaton's character stages his own adaptation of a Raymond Carver story, but his blockbuster demons interfere in the process.

Many critics dislike director Alejandro González Iñárritu's "showy, look-at-me creative choices" here — the delirious drum score, long tracking shots, etc. For me, the style engagingly mirrors the flashy nature of the main character — an insecure artist who hides behind ostentatious theatrics. However, as intoxicating as its aesthetic is, the film works best when the kinetic camera lands on Keaton as his character quivers out confessions from beneath his mask of regret.

6. "Nightcrawler"

The best crime movies evoke the dangerous, forbidden thrill of being a fly on the wall in the midst of mayhem. They seduce our morbid curiosity, lure us into the dark, and then scowl at us for being there — in the same way the abyss you stare into stares back at you. “Nightcrawler” is one of those crime thrillers. Like a West Coast version of Martin Scorsese’s early forays into the mean streets of New York, Dan Gilroy's directorial debut bravely follows a troubled night owl through a dangerous city.

Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a searing performance as a freelance videographer, Lou Bloom — a wide-eyed embodiment of sensationalism who chases the sound of sirens and gunshots across the streets of Los Angeles. What we see through Lou’s lens and scarred psyche is darkly dazzling, leaving us confronting our morals and shivering with excitement as he breaks them.

5. "Whiplash"

"Whiplash" works on the same sort of scarily exhilarating level as "Nightcrawler." Neither jazz band conductor Terence Fletcher's abusive instruction nor drummer Andrew Neyman's alienating determination are morally sound. But they compel us to stick with them as they go to questionable extremes, tuning out the rest of the world and pouring blood, sweat, and tears into music. J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller are electrifying as the teacher and student in this sophomore effort from writer-director Damien Chazelle — a new artistic voice that demands our attention.

4. "Foxcatcher"

Like "Whiplash," "Foxcatcher" is a seemingly uplifting story shrouded in more sinister notes. The true-life tale starts with Olympic gold-winning wrestlers, Mark and Dave Schultz (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo). Eager to step out of his brother's shadow, Mark is easily seduced by chemical-fortune heir John du Pont's (Steve Carell) invitation to train on his sprawling estate as part of a national wrestling team. The initially inspiring athletic facility ended up being a place of death and despair.

As “Foxcatcher” crawls to its grisly conclusion, a thick air of dread looms over the film like the fog floating above the fields of the du Pont farm. Director Bennett Miller bravely keeps the movie subdued and viewers on edge with two-plus hours of calm before the storm. Cinematographer Greig Fraser maintains an unsettling stillness while composer Rob Simonsen’s strings slowly rumble like soft rolls of thunder. And the performances — especially Carell's — will sneak up and floor you.

3. "Boyhood"

Like his breakthrough film, "Dazed and Confused," Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" quietly immerses viewers in the world of a Texan youth. The film doesn't have a rigid plot. It moves like life, leaving us uncertain about what will happen from one moment to the next — suggesting that the moment seizes us. While you eavesdrop on intimate moments between Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his family as he grows up, you may start to see your own life unfold on screen. The fact that "Boyhood" was filmed over the course of 12 years just makes it that much more powerful.

2. "Chef"

Writer-director Jon Favreau, who is now largely known for summer blockbuster spectacles like "Iron Man" and "Cowboys & Aliens," manages to enchant us here simply with scenes of a father and son chatting over a hot stove, discovering the secret ingredient of love that makes everything better.

For me, "Chef" emerged as one of the year's most powerful moviegoing experiences in the scene wherein Favreau's character makes his son a grilled cheese fit for a fine dining food critic. My father was that kind of cook, fixing the simplest snacks with the most meticulous attention. This film captures his spirit. Before he passed, my dad talked about opening a Mexican food truck like Favreau’s character. He would have loved this film. It understands the passion of foodies like him and follows a character doing exactly what he did as a chef and father — making joy for others.

1. "Life Itself"

In his review of Steve James' 1994 documentary, "Hoop Dreams," beloved film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the best films "give us the impression of having touched life itself." James' documentary portrait of Ebert does exactly that, making viewers feel a connection to the critic beyond the screen — as though he is sitting in the theater with them, presenting his true self, warts and all.

"Life Itself" shows Ebert outside the movies, following him from his start at the Chicago Sun-Times — where he found his voice — to his battle with thyroid cancer that stole his ability to speak. It's a powerful look at a man growing, touching lives, and experiencing the adversity of age amid the ageless magic of movies. And it leaves us with the same sense of magic Ebert loved about them.