--- description: From big studio blockbusters to indies screened at Cannes, here are the year's strongest offerings in film (so far) title: Here Are the 10 Best Movies of 2014 (So Far) image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here Are the 10 Best Movies of 2014 (So Far) by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2014 4:39 PM CUT by [Richard Corliss](/author/richard-corliss/) ## Richard Corliss Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2014 4:39 PM CUT The movies on most critics’ annual 10 Best lists tend to be released late in the calendar year, when studios release their prestige Oscar bait. The first half of 2014, though, has brought a rich harvest of distinguished, challenging and just plain fun films in the indie, animation, documentary and blockbuster categories. My greedy wish: that the second half is even more bountiful. StartFragmentEndFragment ### 1\. _The Grand Budapest Hotel_  THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, from left: Paul Schlase, Tony Revolori, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, 2014\. ph: Martin Scali/TM and Copyright ©Fox Searchlight Pictures Martin Scali—Fox Searchlight Gustav H. (Ralph Fiennes) is the perfect concierge for a sumptuous hotel in an imaginary Eastern Europe country about to surrender its luxe to the brutes of war. Wes Anderson’s masterpiece is a dizzyingly complex machine whose workings are a delight to behold. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_The Grand Budapest Hotel_**](http://time.com/17897/wes-andersons-the-grand-budapest-hotel-make-that-the-great/ "undefined")**)** ### 2\. _The LEGO Movie_  The Lego Movie Warner Bros. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller turn those blocky, personality-deficient toys into living, lovable movie stars. It’s the best animated feature since — well, _Frozen_, but you know what we mean. **(READ:** [**Review of The LEGO Movie**](http://time.com/4983/the-lego-movie-socialist-toys-are-just-another-brick-in-the-wall/ "undefined")**)** ### 3\. _Jodorowsky’s Dune_  Frank Pavich In the 1970s, nutsy auteur Alexander Jodorowsky planned a lavish movie of Frank Herbert’s _Dune_ novels. It never got made, but this enthralling documentary shows that, at 83, Jodorowsky still has the power of a mad artist. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Jodorowsky’s Dune_**](http://time.com/30500/jodorowskys-dune-movie-review-documentary/ "undefined")**)** ### 4\. _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_  This image released by Marvel shows Chris Evans, left, and Scarlett Johansson in a scene from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." (AP Photo/Marvel-Disney) Marvel/AP “Hail HYDRA!” whisper U.S. Senators loyal to Marvel Comics’ favorite Nazi social club. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, turns Edward Snowden with way more muscles in this superior sequel — a thrill ride into paranoia. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Captain America: The Winter Soldier_**](http://time.com/46760/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-movie-review/ "undefined")**)** ### 5\. _Only Lovers Left Alive_  This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Tilda Swinton in a scene from "Only Lovers Left Alive." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, Sandro Kopp) Sandro Kopp—Sony Pictures Classics Two-thousand-year-old vampires in love: that’s the super-suave duo played by Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, in Jim Jarmusch’s weirdly sweet love story for the ages. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Only Lovers Left Alive_**](http://time.com/53548/only-lovers-left-alive-movie-review/ "undefined")**)** ### 6\. _Noah_  Niko Tavernise—Paramount Darren Aronofsky turns God’s first zookeeper into a survivalist who gets the Creator’s cleansing, destructive message in dreams. Russell Crowe lends a loopy magnificence to this dead-serious, madly ambitious Biblical epic. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Noah_**](http://time.com/38365/noah-movie-darren-aronofsky-russell-crowe/ "undefined")**)** ### 7\. _Night Moves_  Tipping Point Productions From Crowe the eco-freak to Jesse Eisenberg the eco-terrorist. Instead of building an ark, he wants to blow up a dam. Kelly Reichardt’s political parable boils with silent rage and explodes with the violence of ideals gone wrong. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Night Moves_**](http://time.com/2796956/review-night-moves-movie/ "undefined")**)** ### 8\. _Edge of Tomorrow_  Warner Bros. Tom Cruise, nearly 52 but still G.I.-Joe fit, is a soldier who must keep reliving — and redying in — a bloody battle with alien monsters in Europe. _Private Ryan_ meets _Groundhog Day_ in the early summer’s smartest action fantasy. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Edge of Tomorrow_**](http://time.com/2822587/edge-of-tomorrow-movie-review/ "undefined")**)** ### 9\. _Stranger By the Lake_  Strand Releasing Gay men take their anonymous pleasures at a French lakeside where a killer awaits. The tension has an icy grip in this gay spin on _Rear Window_, this _Blowup_ on the beach. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_Stranger by the Lake_**](http://time.com/1781/stranger-by-the-lake-blue-is-the-cruelest-color/ "undefined")**)** ### 10\. _300: Rise of an Empire_  Warner Bros. My feta movie: Greek cheese and sleaze. Seven years after the homoerotic _300_, cool, luscious Eva Green makes war a game both sexes can play, on nearly equal terms. **(READ:** [**Review of** **_300: Rise of an Empire_**](http://time.com/16474/review-300-rise-of-an-empire-is-bloody-good/ "undefined")**)** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2823520/best-movies-of-2014-so-far/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2823520/best-movies-of-2014-so-far/"},"headline":"Here Are the 10 Best Movies of 2014 (So Far)","datePublished":"2014-06-05T16:39:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:14:56.604Z","description":"From big studio blockbusters to indies screened at Cannes, here are the year's strongest offerings in film (so far)","url":"https://time.com/2823520/best-movies-of-2014-so-far/","keywords":["movies","The Lego Movie","The Grand Budapest Hotel","Noah","TIME 100","Captain America: The Winter Soldier"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Corliss","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/richard-corliss/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2823520/best-movies-of-2014-so-far/","name":"Here Are the 10 Best Movies of 2014 (So Far)"}}]}] ```