Best films of 2014

2014 was a solid year for films, it featured new directorial efforts from masters such as David Fincher and Paul Thomas Anderson, and big disappointments from established names such as Ridley Scott and for the first time, Darren Aronofsky. Some good surprises came in the shape of big blockbusters such as Doug Liman's "Edge of Tomorrow" and some horrible surprises also came in the shape of big blockbusters, such as Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider Man 2". Below are the list of my favorite films of 2014.

Gone Girl

Director: David Fincher

Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Banes, Missi Pyle, Sela Ward, Casey Wilson, Emily Ratajkowski, Lola Kirke, Boyd Holbrook

Enemy

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, Isabella Rossellini

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director: Wes Anderson

Stars: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Lea Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori, Bob Balaban, Fisher Stevens

Inherent Vice

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Owen Wilson, Joanna Newsom, Benicio Del Toro, Reese Witherspoon, Maya Rudolph, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jena Malone, Martin Short, Hong Chau, Eric Roberts, Serena Scott Thomas, Jordan Christian Hearn, Sasha Pieterse, Keith Jardine, Martin Donovan, Martin Dew, Taylor Bonin

Love is Strange

Director: Ira Sachs

Stars: Alfred Molina, John Lithgow, Marisa Tomei, Darren E. Burrows, Cheyenne Jackson, Manny Perez, Christina Kirk, Harriet Harris, Charlie Tahan, John Cullum

A Most Violent Year

Director: J.C. Chandor

Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, Albert Brooks, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Elyes Gabel, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Peter Gerety, Christopher Abbott, Ashley Williams, Matthew Maher

Foxcatcher

Director: Bennett Miller

Stars: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller, Anthony Michael Hall, Guy Boyd, Brett Rice

Nightcrawler

Director: Dan Gilroy

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Anne Cusack, Riz Ahmed, Kevin Rahm, Michael Hyatt, Marco Rodriguez

Birdman

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Stars:Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, Lindsay Duncan, Merritt Wever, Jeremy Shamos

Under the Skin

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, Kevin McAlinden, Andrew Gorman

Special highlights also go to the following films: Bryan Singer's "X-Men: Days of Future Past", Doug Liman's "Edge of Tomorrow", Tim Burton's "Big Eyes", Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" and Bong Joon-Ho's "Snowpiercer". The biggest disappointments of the year for me were both Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and Ridley Scott's "Exodus: Gods and Kings".