Best Of 2014: Todd's Top Films

Founder and Editor; Toronto, Canada (@AnarchistTodd)
Yes, it's that time of year again, time to look back over the previous twelve months and lay out what we liked best of what we saw. The results of ScreenAnarchy's big contributor poll ran yesterday and today I present both my own top ten list and - later today - a selection of ten new directors I believe we should be keeping an eye out for in the future. As always for me, there is no scientific method to this, no particular separation of 'serious' film from pulp, this is simply a snapshot of what I liked best of the 250 or so feature films I saw in 2014 arranged in alphabetical order to spare myself the anxiety brought on by ranking them.

The Omissions

Before getting into the actual goods it's important to first point out that there are several titles out of the running right out of the gate for one of two reasons.

First are the films I simply haven't seen. There are always a few titles every year that I manage to miss despite really, really wanting to see them and, sadly, that number seems to be going up in recent years as other obligations mean I end up spending more time in meetings at major festivals than I do actually watching films. So if you're wondering why the likes of Alleluia, It Follows, Force Majeure, Birdman, Nightcrawler, Starry Eyes, or Whiplash aren't on here it's not a sign that I didn't like them, it's purely that there aren't enough hours in the day and - in those cases and probably a few I'm not thinking of - it's that I haven't seen them (yet) and so can't consider them. I have a hunch at least a few of that list would make the cut if I had.

And then, second, there are the films removed from consideration based on my own direct involvement with them either in a producer or sales agent role. The sales agent ones sting a bit as the entire reason I get involved with finished films in a sales role is because I love them, but hey ... conflict of interest and all that. So, The Raid 2, Housebound, Killers, The Dead Lands, Spring, Felt, etc ... that's all of you off this list, too. Sorry. Though, yeah, I'm using the Raid 2 image here because it was rather a big deal for me personally. But now, onwards!

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