Yes, most of the Film Fights this year were terribly late, with roughly half showing up in December, but we got there in the end. So what was the best film of the year? As always, my caveat from earlier years applies: Film Fight is done in a knock-out style and, as such, only picks my favourite film of the year; there are no guarantees about second place.

First up, the honourable mentions; the good films that, for some reason, did not win their month:

• American Hustle
• The Wolf of Wall Street
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Dallas Buyers Club
• The Lego Movie
• The Double
• Only Lovers Left Alive
• Zero Theorem
• Under the Skin
• Starred Up
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• The Raid 2
• Frank
• X-Men: Days of Future Past
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Interstellar
• Snowpiercer

Now, the monthly winners:

• January: 12 Years a Slave
• February: Her
• March: The Grand Budapest Hotel
• April: Calvary
• May: Blue Ruin
• June: Fruitvale Station
• July: Boyhood
• August: The Rover
• September: Before I Go to Sleep
• October: Gone Girl
• November: Nightcrawler
• December: In Your Eyes

It was an uneven year, but it started incredibly well. January, February and March were absolutely rammed with great movies, where the mid to end of the year were a lot weaker. Looking over the winner’s list, though, and they’re all strong contenders (but not classics).

The moods evoked by Before I Go To Sleep, Her, Blue Ruin, In Your Eyes and The Rover were all affecting in very different ways. The dark humour in Calvary and Gone Girl hit perfectly, with some lovely direction in both. The real-life inspired 12 Years a Slave and Fruitvale Station showed up awful, brutal moments of humanity. The Grand Budapest Hotel was another strikingly shot and wonderful Wes Anderson film. Boyhood, while not the most gripping story, was a fascinating cinematic experiment.

However, the winner for 2014 (not by much) was Nightcrawler. The lead performance was a career best that no-one saw coming (the bit parts are all strong too), it’s cleanly shot, and is a very dark, satirical statement on modern journalism that never missteps. A great film.

The last film fight before the big finale has three films…

First up, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is that most annoying of films: the set-up for another movie. It feels very much like a cash-in. With the lucrative franchise coming to an end, the decision to split Mockingjay into two films has seriously harmed at least this part. For the vast majority of the film, we see a boring set-up and a few dull action sequences to fill it in. With the exception of one remarkably well structured sequence towards the end (the SWAT-style assault), this film is fairly tiresome, never making us care about many of the characters. To be clear, it’s not bad; merely unnecessary. Avoid. (See my Mockingjay Part 1 Twitter review).

Joss Whedon decides to do something different for In Your Eyes: his newest writing project (he did not direct), that went straight to digital services, rather than a regular cinematic release. So what does a Whedon indie film look like? Pretty great. It’s strikingly pretty, with sweet dialogue (rather than the writer’s trademark humour) and great pacing. The two leads are very good, giving a sense of reality to the central conceit (people across the country who can see and feel through each other’s eyes) and keeping the whole thing interesting until the end. Very worthwhile. (See my In Your Eyes Twitter review).

Finally, Big Eyes is based on the true story of Margaret Keane, an artist who let her husband take credit for her work as it became world-renowned. While there are great moments in the performances by Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, they are ruined by the film’s lack of tonal consistency. It can’t seem to decide whether it should be a straight biopic, somewhat light, or wildly over-the-top and thus fails at them all. It also has the worst voiceover I’ve seen in a long time. A minor character pops in occasionally to literally state what is already happening on-screen. A real shame, because the core of the story is interesting but there’s too much wrong with this for it to really work. Avoid. (See my Big Eyes Twitter review).

The winner for December is In Your Eyes. Well-written, and touchingly performed.

There are three films in the film fight for November…

First up, Nightcrawler is a stylish, dark satire about the shock culture prevalent in modern journalism, particularly the nightly news. Jake Gyllenhaal absolutely nails the lead performance as a psychotic, but fascinating, camera man who will chase down any story; it might be a career best. The pacing is excellent: always pushing forward without being relentless, leaving the viewer gripped to their seat as the story unfolds. It’s made clear that the protagonist will do anything to get ahead, but it’s quite something to see exactly what he does. Exceptionally strong. (See my Nightcrawler Twitter review).

As a fan of Christopher Nolan, it feels strange to say that Interstellar might be his weakest film. That’s not to say it’s bad, it just doesn’t live up to the high points he has elsewhere. The visuals are stunning, bringing clarity to any number of complex scenes and scenarios that involve astronomical phenomenon that are hard to comprehend. This bleeds over into the world-building which swiftly shows the end-of-days scenario playing out for humanity, and why the mission must go ahead. Despite the odd slow patch, the whole never feels like a three hour movie. All of that said, some of the dialogue is absolutely terrible, incredibly cringeworthy and painfully out of character speeches mar the otherwise good performances. Anne Hathaway’s speech in the middle is jarringly bad (due to the writing, not her performance). The central conceit in the plot (about love and family) doesn’t help much here either, turning a solid hard sci-fi film into an overly saccharine movie. Good, but flawed. (See my Interstellar Twitter review).

Finally, Snowpiercer is that rarest of things for a modern action film: clear. The linear set-up, of taking a train carriage by carriage, brings a clarity to the plot and action that is often missing in many movies. While the performances are solid (Tilda Swinton and Chris Evans in particular), it’s really the mix of different action sequences and the big, dark moment at the end that really make it all work. Mostly fun. (See my Snowpiercer Twitter review).

The winner is Nightcrawler: well-paced, looks great, and with a top-class performance. Film of the year material.

October was a busy month for me, so there is only one film in the Film Fight…

First and last up, Gone Girl is David Fincher’s latest, about a man who is accused of abducting and killing his missing wife. The pacing here is masterful, with each act taking the story in a different direction; moving from straight-up thriller to dark satire along the way. As you’d expect from Fincher, the whole thing looks gorgeous, with a golden sheen over all of those fixed camera shots. While the film is generally well-acted, there are a few of the smaller performances that are a bit broad, but nothing to really put you off. All in all a very good movie (See my Gone Girl Twitter review).

The inevitable winner is, of course, Gone Girl.

For September’s Film Fight, we have three films…

First up, The Guest very quickly establishes that its tongue is firmly in cheek and that, despite the unease and tension in some scenes, it is not to be taken seriously. Doing this early was a good move, as it can then play scenes as knowing, rather than misjudged. The film finds just the right balance of dark comedy, home-intruder horror, and outright action for the mix to work. Enjoyable. (See my The Guest Twitter review).

While the slow burn of a spy thriller can be rewarding, A Most Wanted Man is not. It has the hallmarks of the genre: a slow, methodical build-up of misdirection, double-agents and deep-planning. It fails to pay-off on any of it. Maybe that was the intended punch-line, that sometimes these cat-and-mouse games don’t work, but to the viewer the lack of any real dramatic moment meant it was largely dull. Boring. (See my A Most Wanted Man Twitter review).

Finally, Before I Go To Sleep has a lingering and sad atmosphere, every scene filled up with a sense of mourning for a life that has been forgotten. Nicole Kidman is fantastic as a woman filling in the details of her former life day-on-day; with Colin Firth and Mark Strong both giving good performances. While the ending is overly saccharine, and oddly out of place, the majority of this film is excellent. Beautifully shot, well acted, and with an interesting narrative. Must watch.   (See my Before I Go To Sleep Twitter review).

The obvious winner is Before I Go To Sleep, for its strong performances and great direction.