Mr. Turner (2014) – Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh’s latest film Mr. Turner is not only one of his strongest films to date, but it is also one of the greatest biographical films. In a typical biopic, there is always an attempt to pinpoint the defining elements that reveal the central figure’s troubled brilliance and how they differ with their peers. These […]

Citizenfour (2014) – Laura Poitras

In the fifth century B.C., a Roman farmer was appointed the dictator of Rome to defend the city against attacks from the Aequi and the Sabines. After defeating the enemies, he promptly and willingly relinquished his political throne and returned back to the farm. He symbolized the “model of civic virtue” for serving the public […]

A Most Violent Year (2014) – J.C. Chandor

A Most Violent Year is another ambitious film directed by J.C. Chandor. Chandor, who has a thematic affinity for modern market capitalism and the American Dream, is the new Oliver Stone of today. Margin Call, Chandor’s Wall Street, is a riveting first feature about the financial crisis in 2008, which coincided with the Occupy Wall […]

Foxcatcher (2014) – Bennett Miller

Director Bennett Miller’s films are distinct for its monotone visual palette, cold atmospheres, and bleak narratives. There is an ominous air that permeates through his films that reveals a sense of gravity and portent in contemporary society. Capote focuses on the brilliant literary mind of Truman Capote as well as his moral and ethical denigration […]

American Sniper (2014) – Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood claims that American Sniper is meant to be apolitical and the “biggest anti-war statement” any film could make. Predictably, it has been compared to Kathryn Bigelow’s 2008 film The Hurt Locker, which is set during the Iraq War and centered on a Sergeant who is a maverick when it comes to disarming bombs. […]

Top Ten Films 2014

Unlike most critics out there who decry but still participate in arbitrary list making, I unapologetically love making top ten lists. The films on my list are chosen not merely for personal reasons. I selected films that I think are a contribution to cinema and have some societal relevance. These films push the boundaries of motion pictures. […]

The Interview (2014) – Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg

Well, I lived to write this review. Despite of the threats aimed at movie theaters that dared to screen The Interview, I summoned the courage to watch it, and I came out unscathed. To be fair, I watched it in the comforts of my own living room for $6.99 on YouTube, but I digress. After […]

Ida (2014) – Pawel Pawlikowski

Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida is one of the most quietly powerful films of the year. It is a detective story, road movie, and a coming-of-age narrative wrapped concisely into 82 minutes. Set in 1961 Poland during the Stalinist dictatorship, Ida centers on Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), a young orphaned woman who was sheltered in a convent since she […]

Inherent Vice (2014) – Paul Thomas Anderson

If I ever needed a psychedelic trip without turning to drugs, then watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice would do the trick. Anderson’s latest film feels like a synthesis of Boogie Nights and The Master, borrowing the wit and slapstick comedy of the former while retaining the abstraction and intellectual masturbation of the latter. To […]

The Imitation Game (2014) – Morten Tyldum

The Imitation Game has been quite a crowd-pleaser because it is both a satisfying thriller and a poignant biopic. Taking the center stage of the film is Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), an idiosyncratic and socially awkward British mathematician and prodigy. Turing was hired to crack Nazi Germany’s Enigma, a code used by the Germans for […]