ts;wtrm (Too short; want to read more): here’s the full post

List (with occasional category winner and honorable mentions

1. Whiplash (Full Review)

2. Calvary (Full Review)

3. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Full Review)

4. Boyhood (Full Review)

5. Inherent Vice

6. Dallas Buyers Club Award: Nightcrawler (Full Review), w/ Gone Girl (Full Review) and The Imitation Game (Full Review)

7. Annie Hall Award: Listen Up Philip, w/ Love Is Strange and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Full Review)

8. Whiplash Award: Starred Up (Full Review), w/ Blue Ruin

9. Stephen Isn’t As Snobby As Commenters Say He Is, Sometimes He Likes Stuff People Actually Saw Award: Edge of Tomorrow (Full Review), w/ The Lego Movie (Full Review), Guardians of the Galaxy (Full Review), 22 Jump Street (Full Review), and Big Hero 6 (Full Review)

10. Take the Premise and Run Award: Force Majeure, w/ The One I Love (Full Review)

Misc / Defied Ranking:

The Act of Killing Award (documentaries I didn’t know how to compare to fictional works, which really need to be seen): Three-way tie between The Missing Picture, Jodorowsky’s Dune, and Mistaken for Strangers w/ runner up Life Itself

Vintage Stephen Award (traditional indie flicks): Frank (Full Review), w/ Obvious Child and Skeleton Twins (Full Review)

Tree of Life Award (movies I respected much more than I especially liked): Under the Skin, w/ Only Lovers Left Alive