I was very sad and disappointed to see that The Dissolve will be closing up shop. They assembled a great group of writers and were producing consistently excellent think pieces and film reviews. It quickly became my go-to site for all things cinema and I’m not sure what’s out there to fill that void. It’s also disconcerting that a site with the healthy support of Pitchfork couldn’t find enough of an audience, or more likely didn’t produce enough clickbait, to survive in today’s hyper-competitve web world.

Gorgeous new track by James Murphy from Noah Baumbach’s upcoming film While We’re Young called “We Used To Dance”. This guy can do no wrong in my book. I’m no fan of Ben Stiller but I liked him in Greenberg, and generally like Baumbach’s movies so I’ll give this one a chance.

Tony Zhou’s Every Frame A Painting series is a great example of serious film analysis that makes you appreciate great movies without making you work too hard to get there. I like to think I have a pretty well-trained eye when it comes to film but I didn’t pick up on the use of quadrants in Nicolas Winding Refn’s brilliant Drive. I’ve already seen it twice but may have to go back a third time after this tip.

One of my favorite movies of 2014, and a strong contender alongside Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler to earn my vote for Best Original Screenplay, was Force Majeure. Wikipedia tells us that the film’s title “means “superior force”, but is also known as casus fortuitus (Latin) “chance occurrence, unavoidable accident” and is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, riot, or an event described by the legal term act of God (such as hurricane,earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract.” This is important since the film hinges almost entirely on the reaction of the film’s central characters to an incoming avalanche at a ski resort in the French Alps. The film was written and directed by Ruben Ostlund, who used his background making professional skiing videos to help inform this beautifully shot feature. The script is filled with cutting insights into modern life and how we define ourselves as men and women amidst shifting cultural values. I found it to be thought-provoking, highly-relevant and often hilarious. It has a strange tone that I could never quite put my finger on but helped add to the tension that pushes this film from being a snapshot of a family vacation so terrible it becomes life altering into something much deeper and more disturbing. Adding to the absurdity is the presence of Kristofer Hivju, better known to most as Tormund Giantsbane from Game of Thrones, who aside from a wardrobe shift doesn’t look all that different. I loved every scene he appeared in and was thankful to whoever made the decision to cast him. Force Majeure won the grand jury prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Foreign Language Oscar and is one of the few truly original pieces of film making I’ve come across in some time. It’s the kind of movie that gets in your head for days and one that begs to be watched again.

I’ve been very surprised to see the lack of critical love for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar – my favorite film of the year by a wide margin. There are screenwriters whose efforts I like and admire but feel a sense of familiarity with their work, meaning I understand what it took to get there. That is simply not the case with Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan. From Memento straight through to this most recent effort, I am consistently in awe of their brilliant imaginations and attention to narrative detail. To be able to create films this smart that still appeal to a large audience is not only tricky it’s extremely rare and I don’t think they get enough credit for their success in pulling it off time and again. I also admire their worldview. Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker with talent on par with the late great Stanley Kubrick, someone he greatly admires and is frequently compared to, but whereas Kubrick only saw the darkness at the depths of men’s souls Nolan chooses a much more optimistic view of the world without denying any of the corruption, betrayal or selfish motivations that push us. I also love that he chooses to root his films in reality no matter how far he stretches the boundaries of that idea. At the heart of this sci-fi epic about finding a new planet is the eternal connection between a father and his daughter. Simply put I thought the film looked incredible, was perfectly cast and held my attention from the first frame to the last. Interstellar certainly had its flaws but nothing I saw this year came close to it’s visionary ambition or stunning execution. Given all the praise, admiration and hardware that were heaped on Gravity last year I have to admit I’m surprised that this vastly superior film is going largely unrewarded.

I saw Nighcrawler the day before my son was born and my wife and I both loved this twisted piece of pulp cinema. Jake Gyllenhall is incredible as the demented sociopath Lou Bloom. Honestly, I couldn’t stop laughing at his pitch perfect delivery of dialogue that would make any writer jealous. The movie takes you on a wild ride that plays like some bizarre mix of John Cassavettes, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and amateur YouTube videos. It’s clear that writer/director Dan Gilroy spent a good amount of time developing this material and he absolutely nails every aspect. It’s hard to imagine a simple scene in a Mexican restaurant that consists of nothing but a conversation being any creepier. This was asily one of the best films I saw this year and an instant classic in my book. Stan Brakhage would have loved it.

I have to admit The Drop caught me by surprise. In retrospect I should probably have expected more from such a strong cast operating in a typically understated Dennis Lehane script. Tom Hardy is particularly impressive as he soft pedals his way through this veritable sea of sharks in a Brooklyn that barely exists today, one filled with low stakes hoods, Russian gangsters and erratic ex-cons. It’s difficult to keep audiences entertained with a slow burning thriller and even harder to execute a twist we haven’t seen in the overpopulated world of crime drama but Belgian director Michael Roskam, aided heavily by Lehane’s script (adapted himself from a short fiction piece) manages to do both. The Drop turned out to be one of my favorite films this year and one I’d go back to again just to admire Hardy’s performance. I hope it gets some well-deserved recognition when the awards are announced.

I re-watched Joachim Trier’s brilliant debut Reprise recently and it remains smart, inventive and vital. It’s been a personal favorite of mine since it’s release in 2006 and is a major touchstone for the new script I’m working on. I love the way he’s able to use music and cultural references as crucial parts of his character’s identities. His ability to effortlessly portray the complicated ebb and flow of relationships amongst a group of Norwegians in their 20’s through a series of flashbacks, impressions and even invented scenarios never fails to impress me. It’s well worth seeking out for any aspiring screenwriters or anyone interested in dynamic modern filmmaking.

Gone Girl was a grand slam. Super smart writing, highly relevant subject matter, pitch perfect casting, David Fincher’s masterful direction and of course that plot twist – which hit me with full impact since I hadn’t read the book. I can’t think of anything I would change.This is a prime example of a director taking good source material and making it great. It also turns that rare trick of being highly entertaining and sticking in your head long after you leave the theater. I’m still thinking about it almost a week later. I know we’re about to get deluged with prestige pictures vying for awards but right now this is the best movie I’ve seen in 2014. Rosamund Pike was so convincing as Amazing Amy I’m going to have a hard time not being inherently suspicious when she pops up in some of the more benign roles she’s typically cast in.

I loved Guardians of the Galaxy. It made me feel like a kid again when going to the movies was about one thing = having fun. Chris Pratt was perfect as Star Lord and the entire supporting cast is great. They certainly took a few cues from Star Wars but this still felt like original material. I loved the way the writing moved from action to comedy and was even able to sneak some depth in at times. This was that rare, lucky movie that was wildly entertaining and seemed to get everything right. I’m not sure if they can duplicate that in the sequels but I can’t wait to watch this one again, hopefully with my own son.