The Top 15 Movies (I Saw) in 2014

Rounding out my picks for best movies of 2014, here are the Top Five Documentary Films (I Saw) in 2014:

The Act of Killing (a 2013 film that I saw this year). Incredibly bizarre and brave movies about political terrorism in Indonesia, in which the murderers of thousands try to explain and justify their lives.

Finding Vivian Meier. Film about the the posthumous discovery of the works of a mysterious amateur photographer who lived and died in obscurity.

Muscle Shoals. The handful of white guys in a tiny Southern town who helped make some of the greatest rock, soul, and blues recordings in the world. 

Particle Fever. Incredible as it may seem, a movie that can help you understand particle physics and care about the results of the world's biggest physics experiment.

Virunga. A frightening and courageous documentary about those risking their lives to protect a national park in the Congo. Some footage shot while the cameras and crew were literally under fire.

With a nod also to the documentary on environmental activism, If a Tree Falls.

So that concludes my list of the top 15 movies I saw in 2014 (with Birdman replacing one earlier on the list, sorry Judi Dench), which are:

12 Years a Slave

The Act of Killing

L'Atalante

Birdman

Dr. Strangelove

Finding Vivian Meier

The Great Beauty

In a World

Man with a Movie Camera

Muscle Shoals

Particle Fever

Playtime

The Selfish Giant

Two Lives

Virunga