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.

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.

This week, darknets go dark, Obama backs Net Neutrality, Internet satellites, To Spotify or not to Spotify, A new game from Blizzard, and much much more.

Interstellar
Director: Christopher Nolan
Screenwriters: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn
Paramount Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 169 Minutes
Release Date: November 5, 2014

In Christopher Nolan“˜s 2006 film, The Prestige, Cutter (Michael Caine) explains, “Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts.”

“The first part is called ‘The Pledge.’ The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird, or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t.”

“The second act is called ‘The Turn.’ The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back.”

“That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call ‘The Prestige.'” That monologue is all you need to know about Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker. Yes, he is a storyteller, but above all else he is a magician – an illusionist who delights in taking something ordinary and making it do something extraordinary.