10. The Place Beyond the Pines
I was expecting this to be some cool action movie going in, but what I got instead was a thoughtful drama that flows from character to character in a really interesting way. I was surprised by how much I ended up liking it.
9. The Way, Way Back
I know what it's like to be the weird, quiet kid who has trouble connecting with people who think quiet people have something wrong with them, and how freeing it is to be around those people who want to see you be yourself. This movie captured that well.
There have been several apocalypse movies lately, but this one put an original spin on it by making it about a group of actors (playing themselves) trying to survive cooped up in a house together. The humour may not be for everyone, but I found it funny.
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
I didn't realize this was going to be a comedy, but it's actually pretty funny in parts, and entertaining in a Breaking Bad sort of way because the characters are finding success in doing terrible things. I was also very impressed with Jonah Hill's full-on character performance here.
6. 12 Years a Slave
Parts of this were hard to watch because of the horrible treatment of the slaves, but I think that's also what makes this one effective and real. Really strong and beautiful performances across the board here, and I feared it was going to be one of those long and boring historical epics, but I was not bored in the slightest.
5. Gravity
I got to see this in 3D at the theater, and it was quite an intense and gripping experience. It's a fairly simple concept, but everything that could go wrong generally does, ramping up the tension until the very end. And I'm not normally a Sandra Bullock fan, but this was the best performance I've ever seen from her.
4. Star Trek Into Darkness
I liked the first movie, but I found this one to be ten times more fun, which is rare for a sequel. And I haven't even seen much of any of the TV series'.
