It gives us great pleasure to do the things we love to do. We feel most content when our time is spent approaching desires and goals we hold dearly to our hearts. Time spent otherwise is usually ponderous. Our ungovernable passions then dictate how we go about our lives, be it either influencing us in choosing our profession, religion, or lover. An indefinable delight arises within us, rendering us beyond excitable, and also rendering us completely oblivious to what potentially awaits us outside of our seemingly impregnable bubble.

Cinema in 2014 dared to expose examples of deeply shadowed avenues of peoples’ existence. The best films showed us territories of individuals’ lives once they became disconnected from that precious desire they held so closely to their hearts. Questions were asked, such as how can I get back the past? In short, the 2014 cinema year recognized a world where individuals were forced to face a harsh reality – what happens when we once thought all that was infallible and undeniable proves us wrong?

Hey there freaks and geeks, BAADASSSSS! is here with a list of the best films I saw in 2014. Instead of doing the traditional top ten list as originally planned, I decided to take a cue from the great Nigel Tufnel and crank this sucker up to 11 (yes, I am aware that some people are doing top 20 lists, top 50 lists, top 100 lists, etc., but I didn’t see enough of last year’s releases to make a list quite that long). So you will find on this list my ten favorite films that were released last year, one that wasn’t, and my three choices for the worst of the year. And the hell with round numbers.

We are a few weeks into 2015, so it’s time to go through all the movies I have seen this year to pick the best of the best, the cream of the crop. For those of you who’ve followed my few posts here on Geeks of Doom, you may have read my Top Ten Movies Of 2014 So Far back in August. Now, instead of revisiting that list, I’ve gone through to select my finalized Top 10 with a fresh view. (Although, to be honest, I had the top few movies memorized already.)

So without further ado, here’s my Top 10 Movies Of 2014.

2014 was a pretty amazing year for cinema. We saw new work by visionary filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Linklater, David Fincher, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Bennett Miller, and Wes Anderson.

We witnessed incredible performances by Michael Keaton, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Carell, J.K. Simmons, Rosamund Pike, and David Oyelowo. And we were entertained and awe-struck by one of the best slates of summer blockbusters in recent history, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Edge of Tomorrow.

I saw 100 new releases this year. That’s a pretty low number, actually. To put it into perspective, The New York Times reviewed nearly 900 films in 2013. Usually, I see close to 200 new films a year, but this year I needed a break. Seeing 2-3 new releases a week can be great for a movie-lover, but doing it year after year can lead to burnout and an increase in overall disenchantment.

Luckily, I saw some truly great films that renewed my love for film and kept (most) of the cynicism and negativity buried beneath awe, joy, and optimism. Here are the films that did just that: 30 films that moved, inspired, and entertained me. Here are 30 reasons I love movies.

There has been a lot in the news these past few days about how poor the box office was in 2014. I make the case often that people aren’t willing to fork over money for just any movie. In this age of streaming content, Redbox, and the “Internet” (wink wink), people are wanting bigger and bigger spectacles for their dollar.

Take a look at 2014 and you’ll see that some of the best performing movies at the box office were indeed some of the more “You gotta see it in a theater” movies. My top flicks of last year are pretty consistent with that theory. Check out the list here below of my Top Flicks of 2014.

I was initially apprehensive about creating a “best of” movie list for 2014, because upon review, it was easier to make a list of all the critically acclaimed movies I didn’t get a chance to see than did. In fact, here’s that list now: Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Only Lovers Left Alive, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Whiplash, Selma, Ida, Goodbye to Language, The Babadook, and Inherent Vice.

So with the caveat that the best films of the year (and possibly your favorites) may still yet to be seen by me, here is a list of the best films I did see this past year.

Now that 2014 is over, we are left with deciding which movies were the best of the year. Contrary to to what the box office says, 2014 was a pretty amazing year in film. But as I look back at the 100 or so films that I have seen in the past year, the following 15 films are the ones that I have seen repeatedly, could not stop talking about, or have had the biggest impact one me. Of course this is a subjective list, as there are plenty of other films that I have and have not seen that are or could be better, but honestly, these 15 left the biggest impact on me. I’ll also throw in a couple of honorable mentions. Hit the jump to check it out.

Now that 2014 has come to a close, it’s time to look back on the films that were released during the year, so here below is a list of my favorite movies of 2014. Now, I’m not saying these are the “best” movies of the year, just that these are my favorites. I see a lot of movies each year, but admittedly most of these are viewed on home video. Most of the ones that I selected as my favorites of 2014 were films that I had been anticipating and that I did make a point to watch in the theater, sometimes even more than once. Since many of my selections are already out now on home video, I’ve gotten to watch them several times. And, for someone like me, if I want to repeatedly watch a movie, then that’s a likely candidate to make it to the top of my list of favorites for the year.

With that, here’s a list of my Favorite Movies of 2014.