This isn't a top 10/awards/blah blah blah thing. Just a opportunity to reflect on 2014, and share the experiences you've loved.
My favourite film this year is a toss up between Under the Skin or Snowpiercer. Both are dark and pessimistic sci-fi films, that due to their country of origin, differ in style and tone from the genre fiction we see come out of Hollywood. (Despite both having Hollywood cast members.)
Under the Skin is a film about an Alien disguised as one of us, attempting to lure men to a gruesome fate (the film is about more than that, but you know, spoilers). It's a fantastic example of less is more, and how to use visuals, rather than dialogue, to tell your story. It wasn't a film I walked away from immediately thinking "This is amazing!" But it set up camp in my brain and never left, and the more I thought about it, the more the film grew in my mind. It's haunting, beautiful and deeply sad. Plus the soundtrack is masterful.
Snowpiercer is considerably less subtle than Under the Skin, but just as smartly constructed. Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic film, where the whole world has cooled to temperatures that can no longer support life, and the only survivors are the residents of a self-sustaining train, that travels across the entire globe, constantly marching forwards. I don't want to say much more, but it becomes pretty clear that the film is one giant metaphor. It's the Bioshock movie we want, but will never get made, and Chris Evans demonstrates that he is more than a pretty face.
As for TV Shows, it's True Detective and The Legend of Korra Book 3 for me. These two don't have as much in common as my film choices.
True Detective, on it's surface, is your text book murder mystery. But it becomes pretty clear a few episodes in, it's a bit more special than that. The writing is superb, the cinematography is superb, the acting is superb. This series completely changed my opinion on Matthew McConaughey, whose portrayal of Rust has become one of my favourite performances on television. Episode 4 also features a frankly jaw dropping, 6 minute, one take scene. Lets hope Season 2 can match it.
After the inconsistent quality of Book 2 of Korra, the fact that Book 3 was not only a return to form, but at times surpassed past glories, was a hugely welcome relief. The anarchistic, buddhist monk known as Zaheer, (played by Henry Rollins) will go down in history as one of the greatest animated villains ever created. Zaheer defied and subverted any and all expectations general audiences might have about what a "Saturday morning cartoon villain" can and should be. Avatar, both of the Aang and Korra variety, has always been an animated series that has pushed the boundaries, and the show's villains have consistently been far deeper than many of its peers. But even as a long time fan, I was surprised by what they did with Zaheer. That, plus you know, Mir still being one of the best 2D animation studios in the world.
