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!
'71
Yann Demange delivers a powerful debut film with '71, his depiction of a young soldier caught in hostile territory at the height of The Troubles in Belfast. Demange is a world builder of the highest order, one who presents an incredibly complex situation as exactly that - plunging the audience into the experience along with the impressive Jack O'Connell as his lead. There are no easy answers here - no answers at all, really - just an intense experience delivered by a master filmmaker who seems to have arrived on the scene fully formed.
Boyhood
Yep, everyone's saying it but that's because it's true. Boyhood is a masterpiece, a long term experiment that required absolute dedication from cast and crew and the confidence from director Richard Linklater that they would actually end up with something at the end of the twelve year process behind making it. They did. I'm not even a particular fan of Linklater but what he's done here is nothing short of remarkable, an honest and insightful piece of work that deserves every bit of acclaim it has received.
Calvary
Yeah, I said I was doing these in alphabetical order to avoid ranking things but this is me breaking that rule right here. Calvary is the best film of the year. Period. Brilliant writing. Brilliant acting. Brilliant direction. Tragic, heartfelt, important and yet still quite funny, this is a masterpiece. See it.
Cold In July
We've been outspoken fans of director Jim Mickle in these parts since the very beginning and he just keeps getting better and better every time out. Calling Cold In July a noir is true to a point but only to that point at the end of the first act when the whole thing convulses and you realize that you're in an even darker world than you first supposed and that there are no rules whatsoever from this point on. Mickle is in absolute control of every frame of this bleak opus, wringing stellar performances from his entire cast and delivering something that feels like an artifact from another time. Brilliant.
Danger 5, Series 2
Yep, I'm totally cheating here by including a bit of television. But though series two of Australian cult action-comedy Danger 5 doesn't hit the air until January, Fantastic Fest attendees got an advance look at three episodes and minds were melted. Series one was already an absolute blast but these latest efforts - which jump the action forward to the 1980s with Hitler enrolled in high school with the intrepid team of international soldiers trying to bring him down before he enacts his sinister plan - are absolutely manic and hysterical. I had more fun hosting these screenings than anything else all year and I can't wait to see the rest of the show.
Free Fall
I set myself only one immutable goal at Fantastic Fest this year, one task that had to happen if the festival was to be a personal success. I had to be the guy who introduced the first screening of Gyorgy Palfi's Free Fall so that I could witness an unsullied audience's reaction to two particular scenes. That missions was a success and the reactions were everything I hoped.
The director of Taxidermia returns with a chapter based trip into the blandly grotesque and drily absurd, a deliciously deadpan satire of modern life executed with a casual, "Yeah, I do this sort of stuff all the time," sort of shrug. Palfi will be an acquired taste for some, no doubt, but I love him and while the format makes Free Fall feel somewhat more slight than some of his other work the peaks are absolutely astounding.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
It's the most Wes Anderson of all Wes Anderson films, so there you have it. If you like Wes Anderson, you'll love it. If you don't, you won't. And other than The Life Aquatic I really like Wes Anderson. There you go.
Over Your Dead Body
Okay, everybody who complained that Miike's latest was too much a slow burn, go do this for me: Go watch Audition again. Get the point? The notorious director's most notorious film moves at an even more leisurely pace than does Over Your Dead Body so let's not even have that conversation, okay? And if you drop the expectation of gore-every-minute from the film what you'll find here is a master at work, deftly balancing out his more artistic - dare I say 'mature' - urges with the shock value of his earlier efforts. It doesn't quite reach the very top of the Miike pile but it gets into the neighborhood and is certainly his best since 13 Assassins.
Peaky Blinders
Yup, more TV. And here's the highest compliment I can pay to the BBC's period set gangster show: When series one wrapped up it left me thinking, "Now, that's what Boardwalk Empire could have been." Bear in mind here that I really, really like Boardwalk Empire and had thought very few negative thoughts where it was concerned but the similarly themed and set Peaky Blinders trumps it so thoroughly on so many fronts that HBO's offering pales by comparison. A lot of it comes down to the simple fact that Peaky Blinders treats its female characters as far more than window dressing - a state that all of Boardwalk's women quickly slid into - and it's got a lot of powerful women in the cast. Plus it's better written, better acted, and boasts quite a lot of Nick Cave and PJ Harvey on the soundtrack. Hard to argue with that.
Song Of The Sea
Irish animator Tomm Moore's debut feature - The Secret Of Kells - received an Oscar nomination and much (well deserved) love around the world and his sophomore effort is even better. Song of the Sea is a gorgeously realized modern fairy tale, a story rich in detail that brings Irish folklore to life in delightful fashion with a heartfelt story and visuals you simply won't be able to tear your eyes off of. We had a hunch we may be seeing the arrival of a new master animator in Moore the first time around and this just confirms it.