This was such a terrific year for film, seriously. Mine's a tie between Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel. I would say Inherent Vice but I haven't seen it yet. Stanger by the Lake is also fantastic. Boyhood was good, but I can only really say that as my life mirrored so much of the protagonist's. I haven't seen several of the films in this top ten, but I can't imagine American Sniper to be truly deserving, honestly. Seems like war porn and "apolitical" americana, but I trust PTA's take on america more than Clint Eastwood's. Goodbye to Language was as self-reflexive as Dance of Reality, with a better commitment to purpose and less daddy issues, but it just wallows in post-structuralism, with a lot of things better left unsaid, which means its hour-long runtime was even too much. It is good, though. I'm far more concerned with the films listed on the Negative Ten. Although it may not mean much to a film critic, as there has always been plenty of avant garde cinema to fill pages, there has been an impressive amount of experimentation being offered to the public and it has been widely accepted, and this is fantastic. Birdman is fucking beautiful and it knows it's audience. I can't really say for certain in a list form because I haven't seen Ida, Foxcatcher, Inherent Vice, Whiplash, Two Days, One Night, Leviathan... jesus christ I have to catch up. One thing that has stuck out to me in the past few years is the inclusion of films and narratives from southeast Asia. The Missing Picture is much better than The Last of the Unjust to me for this reason alone. The Act of Killing (2012) deserved every second of hype that it got, and the fabulous work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul (I recommend Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives).
To make a non-list list of films to see to get a feel for 2014, I would say: The Grand Budapest Hotel Under the Skin Ida Birdman Leviathan (hopefully) Foxcatcher Manakamana Big Men (to seen neo-colonialism and the abuse of Africa in action) Snowpiercer is bad an you are bad for liking it.