Cinema 2014: My Top 10 Modern English Movies

I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of compiling these lists. If I keep doing it every year, after a decade or so it'll be really interesting for me to look back and trace the journey. 

Here is the final list, after my top ten lists on English classics and modern and classic Foreign-language films. I'm gad I watched seven of these on the big screen.

For the present category, I have considered about 30 movies that I watched in 2014 for the first time, movie that are not more than five years old. 'Inside Llewyn Davis', 'A Serious Man', and 'Short Term 12' could be in this list if I had watched them for the first time in 2014.

So here is the final list:

• Boyhood (2014/ USA) by Richard Linklater: My love for this movie must be more than obvious to the regular readers of my blog. I'm going to strongly root for it at the upcoming Oscars. This is also the only movie I recommended as a must-watch-before-you-die out of the 75 'modern' English and foreign films I watched in 2014.
• Gone Girl (2014/ USA) by David Fincher: This post that I wrote as a reaction to this movie hints at what a revelation it was for me. One of the best screenplays in recent time. A brilliant modern movie.
• The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014/ USA) by Wes Anderson: No one can do this except Wes Anderson. After this movie he has reassured us that he'll keep coming up with his own style of movies and still churn out seriously original material. And all the cameos were just wow!
• Nebraska (2013/ USA) by Alexander Payne: This in my opinion was the Best Picture at the Oscars last year. But it didn't win. And it also didn't win too many audiences in our part of the world. But this stunningly shot B&W film says so much about life, and so interestingly, that it deserves multiple viewings.
• Nightcrawler (2014/ USA) by Dan Gilroy: This must be called the surprise of the year. Everyone is talking about it. I'm glad I watched it on big screen. What a solid entertainer. I really hope Jake Gyllenhaal earns an Oscar nomination for this.
• Nymphomaniac (2013/ Denmark) by Lars Von Trier: I unapologetically and unconditionally loved this two-part 330 minutes long movie by perhaps the most provocative film-maker of our time. What a brilliant commentary on the hypocrisy of our society!
• Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012/ USA) by Stephen Chobsky: This was a beautiful, beautiful movie with some of the most endearing moments. Easily can be recommended to anyone. Perhaps this was one of the most special movie experiences for me this year.
• Under the Skin (2013/ UK-USA) by Jonathan Glazer: I wish they had released this movie in India. Watching it on big screen would have been tremendous. Moody, haunting, seductive, mysterious, and a winning use of the medium. And that background score! Oh!!
• Warrior (2011/ USA) by Gavin O'Connor: I had heard very good things about this movie that also features on IMDB-250 despite not being a commercial success. Absolutely loved its tale of a family coming together through a deep emotional and violently physical catharsis. 
• The Wolf of Wall Street (2013/ USA) by Martin Scorsese: The energy and the madness of this movie makes it impossible to believe that it's made by the Master, one of the most senior filmmakers we have with us today. This also proves how young-at-heart Martin is. And of course, how dependable Leonardo is, all the time.

Honorable Mention: Dallas Buyers Club (2013/ USA/ Jean-Marc Vallee) for the performances and Only Lovers Left Alive (2013/ UK-Germany/ Jim Jarmusch) for the inimitable authorship of Jarmusch.