The 15 Best Movies You Probably Didn't See This Year
The best movies aren't always the ones that are highly publicized.
Our friends over at crowdsourced rankings website Ranker came out with a list of the best movies you may not have seen this year. Check out these 15 movies and you'll be a film buff in no time.
15. The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as British logician and cryptologist Alan Turing, who helped crack the Nazi's "enigma code" and brought the Allies to victory in World War II. Still in theaters, the movie has already received five Golden Globe nominations.
14. Whiplash
A talented jazz drummer is accepted into a prestigious music conservatory where he's willing to do anything to win the approval of the abusive yet respected professor who takes him under his wing while becoming the next drumming great.
13. Into the Woods
When a baker and his wife can't conceive, a witch promises them a child if they bring her three magic ingredients. Based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim, and adapted from the original book and film by James Lapine, this tale of witches, girls in red cloaks, and magic beans has become an enchanting classic.
12. A Most Wanted Man
In what became one of his final performances, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a German spy who plots out a trap to catch a well-known Muslim scholar accused of helping finance terrorist operations.
11. A Walk Among the Tombstones
An ex-cop-turned-PI (Liam Neeson) agrees to help a heroin trafficker track down his wife's murderers. In the process he discovers that this is not the first time the perps have committed a crime like this, but it will be the last. Lawrence Block's bestselling novel comes to life on screen in this vengeful thriller.
10. The Raid 2: Berandal
The sequel to "The Raid: Redemption," rookie Indonesian cop Rama goes undercover to overthrow a criminal gang in Jakarta from the inside.
9. Birdman
"Birdman" stars Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, and Edward Norton. A washed-up film actor who once played the superhero Birdman tries to reinvent himself as a serious actor by taking a role in a Broadway play. Dealing also with his deadbeat daughter and method-acting co-star makes for a witty and entertaining view.
8. Million Dollar Arm
A failing sports agent heads to India to find a couple of all-star pitchers who can save his career. It's there that he finds two cricket players who, though they know nothing about baseball, can throw a mean fastball, and the agent, played by John Hamm, must help them adapt to the American game.
7. The Theory of Everything
Based on the work of Stephen Hawking, played by Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything" follows Hawking from Cambridge, where he met his wife Jane, to his devastating diagnosis, to his field-altering work in astrophysics. The real Hawking loved Redmayne's performance and even lent his own electronic voice to the film.
6. John Wick
Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a former hitman who comes out of retirement to track down the men who wrecked his life after the death of his wife. Wick's quest for revenge is an adrenaline rush from start to finish.
5. Boyhood
The movie, which took 12 years to make, follows a six-year-old from childhood to puberty to adulthood as he lives through birthdays, vacations, school, and young love. Richard Linklater's beautiful story, nominated for five Golden Globes, is a heartwarming look into a typical American family as viewers watch him literally grow up on screen.
4. St. Vincent
"St. Vincent" is the movie whose success took everyone by surprise. Vincent (Bill Murray) is the retired grump who cares for the son of his next door neighbor, a single mother, while she works. Despite Vincent's love of drinking and gambling, he forms an unlikely bond with the boy.
3. Nightcrawler
A journalist desperate for work ventures into the world of chasing dangerous crimes, or "nightcrawling," in order to get stories. Jake Gyllenhaal was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in this crime thriller.
2. Chef
Starring Jon Favreau and Sofía Vergara, "Chef" is the funny and heartwarming story of a promising chef who, along with his ex-wife, best friend, and son, tries to make a name for himself in the food truck business among the cutthroat culinary industry in LA.
1. Snowpiercer
After an ice age kills most of the global population, the only survivors, divided by class, are stuck on a train powered by a perpetual motion engine. Set in a dystopian future, "Snowpiercer" is a film about leveling the playing field and taking down the top. Starring Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, and Octavia Spencer, this is a film that opens viewers' eyes to what might happen if global warming isn't stopped.