By Dennis D. McDonald

Thank goodness for streaming Netflix and Amazon Prime. I’ve seen many movies this past year that I would not have seen otherwise. Many were from previous years but were still new to me.

These are the best movies I’ve seen in 2014; links are to the movie review section of my blog:

Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR. The most emotionally engaging film I’ve seen since Malik’s Tree of Life.
Toa Fraser’s DEAN SPANLEY. A shaggy dog story told from a unique and emotionally engaging perspective.
Todd Robinson’s PHANTOM. A terrific Cold War era submarine picture.
Akiva Goldsman’s WINTER’S TALE. A gorgeous romantic time travel tale.
Francis Ford Coppola’s TWIXT. Francis Ford Coppola’s outlandishly produced but human scaled ghost story.
Ari Folman’s THE CONGRESS. A unique tale of Robin Wright’s digitized persona in the future. Unusual.
Sandra Nettelbeck’s LAST LOVE. Sensitive, touching, and a tour de force performance by Michael Caine.
Bong Joon-ho’s SNOWPIERCER. Finally, something different on the dystopian front!
Disney’s FROZEN. Is this movie’s quality evidence that the influence of Pixar management techniques have taken hold at Disney?
Doug Liman’s EDGE OF TOMORROW. Best damn military sci-fi since Aliens. Great character arc from Tom Cruise.
David Ayer’s END OF WATCH. Intense buddy movie in the wilds of Los Angeles.
Bille August’s NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON. A haunting reconstruction of past loves and revolution.
Eric Khoo’s TATSUMI. A gritty adult cartoon about post-WWII Japan.
Alexa Gajic’s TECHNOTISE: EDIT & I. Best evocation of future tech via incredible animation.
Jon Wright’s GRABBERS. This funny horror movie makes me want to return to Ireland.
Jake Schreier’s ROBOT AND FRANK. An exploration of dementia, robotics, and robbery.