The 19 Best Movie Moments Of 2014

In any given year, hundreds of movies are released across a broad range of genres. There are juggernaut tentpoles with vast budgets, and small independent projects made on a shoestring. Some break box office records, while many sink without a trace. A handful arrive with ‘awards buzz’ already attached, and some take us entirely by surprise. All of them represent the creative endeavour of ambitious individuals, but a few of them – just a few – contain moments that linger long after the final credits roll. These moments are, of course, entirely subjective – as is the entire movie-watching experience – but some are moments that resonate so loudly and powerfully that they stay with many people, rather than one alone. Perhaps they are particularly funny, or inspire an upsurge of emotion. Maybe it is pivotal to the story, and therefore impacts greatly on the viewing experience. Whatever the reason for the moment standing out, stand out it does, and in a positive way. Join us, as the writers of We Got This Covered look back on what they consider to be the best movie moments of 2014. Godzilla – Power Up Anticipation was high for this movie, especially considering that it was billed as something of a franchise reboot, and directed by Gareth Edwards of Monsters fame. The film ultimately divided audiences - with some bemoaning the slow pace and characterization – but as a whole, it builds to an incredible payoff. That payoff is the emotional connection with the creatures, which in turns makes us deeply invested in the final sequences of confrontation. At this point, it almost certainly doesn’t warrant a spoiler alert to discuss the fact that Godzilla’s presence in the movie is for the purpose of battling other kaijus and, as a result, protect enormous cities. The rendering of these creatures is fantastic. They are imposing and intimidating and make the most incredible sounds. But the real triumph on the part of Edwards and his team is that these creatures emote. As Godzilla faces off with two destructive kaijus, we find ourselves rooting for the scaly ancient predator, for reasons no more complicated than the fact that we have seen the other two kaijus cause death and destruction for an hour already, while Godzilla has been referred to in mythic tones – like some ancient lone ranger. The battle is long and violent, and Godzilla seems to be decidedly out of his depth. As the kaijus land blow after blow, Godzilla repeatedly cries out in pain. It seems Godzilla has been bested, and our champion is beaten. There is a moment of devastating hopelessness; if Godzilla cannot beat them, what hope is there for the rest of us? But then, in the background – shrouded in darkness and draped in smoke – there is a pale blue light. Slowly, but purposefully, it spreads upwards to reveal the mighty Godzilla, with an illuminated spine - towering above the city and turning to face his enemy. It’s on. Godzilla powers up, inhales and lets rip on the monstrous kaiju with the full force of his radioactive blast. It is a brilliant reveal of a power that many of today’s generation wouldn’t even know he had. It's at once a beautiful homage to the source material and a fantastic movie moment that brings the audience together, rallied behind Godzilla – saviour of the city. - Sarah Myles The LEGO Movie - The Big Twist Anyone who grew up playing with LEGO knows the magic that comes with each and every brick. The toy is literally designed for endless play, and over the years, LEGO builders - young and old, novice and professional - have proven that there are limitless possibilities for what can be created by simply letting your imagination run wild. That idea is at the very core of The LEGO Movie, a film that was far better than it had any right to be, thanks to some expert direction from new favorites Phil Lord and Chris Miller. As fun as Emmet, Wildstyle, and Vitruvius’ adventure was, the film’s true focus was on the fact that the sky isn’t even the limit when it comes to LEGO. That message was perfectly translated through the big twist: that everything we’ve seen on screen thus far had all taken place within a child’s imagination. In a brave moment of self-sacrifice, Emmet throws himself off Lord Business’ tower and finds himself on the floor of a basement in the real world, where it’s revealed that a boy has been playing with his father’s LEGO bricks, and creating the adventure that we’ve all been following on screen. The twist is simple but extremely effective, and is perfectly followed up by a side story involving the boy’s father (who he’s used to base Lord Business on), an adult LEGO builder content with simply, and religiously, following the instructions. Once he begins spending time with his son - seeing what he’s created - he lightens up and joins in on the play. Together, they’re able to tap into LEGO’s true potential and unlock the magic that’s made LEGO endure for as long as it has. - James Garcia Foxcatcher – The Shooting It's an overlooked fact, but moviegoers simply take the acting ability of comedians for granted. Men-children from Jim Carrey (The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind), to Robin Williams (Insomnia, One Hour Photo, Good Will Hunting), to even Seth Rogen in the criminally underrated Take This Waltz have proven time and time again that they actually have talent beyond making a fool of themselves. Steve Carell is the latest to join the club, playing the schizophrenic, delusional, cocaine addicted, overly patriotic, nut job John du Pont. He also happens to be obsessed with the sport of Olympic wrestling. Carell, with a nasally voice and prosthetic nose shaped like an eagle, gives a genuinely creepy performance that will raise the hair on your skin. Despite the fact that he is a whack job, he never once strikes you as the type that could actually be capable of murder. However, that is exactly what John du Pont does towards the end of Foxcatcher. There isn't even any tension or build-up to the moment; it's just something he does. It's clear that even director Bennett Miller doesn't know why, as Foxcatcher isn't out to deliver all the answers behind the richest man ever convicted of murder, but rather to show us the characters and allow us to analyze them, coming to our own conclusion. Even the direction behind the scene is exceptionally executed; it's John du Pont in the passenger seat of his car, pulling up to a major character's driveway in the snow filled middle of winter, and gunning him down with crazy eyes for no real discernible reason. Steve Carell is probably a lock for a Best Actor nomination at this point, and this is the scene that sealed the deal. - Robert Kojder X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Quicksilver Scene The now-famous Quicksilver scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past is simply one of the greatest sequences we’ve ever seen in a comic book movie, and is perhaps even more impressive when you consider the incredible amount of backlash and negativity surrounding the character before the film’s release. Poorly-Photoshopped images and what looked like a lame costume design colored our impression of the speedster before we ever gave him a chance, but Bryan Singer proved us all wrong by giving Quicksilver the best scene in the entire film. Things don’t go quite as planned when Charles Xavier, Beast, Wolverine, and Quicksilver attempt to break Magneto out of his high-security prison cell below the Pentagon, resulting in the need for…. well… a quick getaway. When the fivesome are cornered by guards in a kitchen, Quicksilver dons his headphones, turns on Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle,” and zips around the room at breakneck speed, finding clever ways to either disarm or re-direct the opponents and save the day. It’s all handled quite effectively by Singer, using impressive effects and tons of humor, and just goes to show that perhaps we shouldn’t judge these superhero films so harshly before we actually see them realized on the big screen. - James Garcia Birdman – A Stroll Through Times Square Birdman is 2014’s most inventive head trip, a film that delves deeply into one man’s madness and misery as he tries to revive his collapsed film career with a Broadway show. The backstage drama, with sparks of sharp comedy, feels both intimate and overwhelming due to the film’s main stylistic trick: the illusion that Emmanuel Lubezki’s camera rolls uninterrupted, a la Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope. While this cinematographic genius makes excellent use of New York’s St. James Theater, it means the viewer does not often tread outside the building’s hallowed walls. Regardless, we do move outside the famed theater a few times. In the film’s most audacious sequence, Michael Keaton’s Riggan Thomson takes a smoke break between his scenes at the stage door. When the door accidentally shuts on his costume, leaving him stranded outside and forced to disrobe to his tighty whities, Riggan realizes the only way to get back on the stage is to traverse the packed city streets. That detour includes Times Square, leaving the actor exposed as he tries to race back to the theater’s front doors. The sequence works due to a variety of factors. Keaton is a gifted comic talent and his registered panic and embarrassment as he tries to evade tourists is great schadenfreude. Meanwhile, his exposure out in the city’s most recognizable juncture adds layers to the film’s exploration of celebrity. On another day, Riggan would savor the attention. In this predicament, however, he knows the only good that will come is some viral popularity. Meanwhile, Lubezki orchestrates the mania brilliantly, weaving in and out of the crowded section with gusto. In a film filled with crazy, exuberant moments, this street scene was as zany and creative as they came. - Jordan Adler The One I Love - “Well, I’m not an aardvark” The One I Love, Charlie McDowell’s small-scale dramedy about a couple (Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss) who discover an unusual phenomenon while on a weekend retreat to rekindle their dying marriage, is one of the most thought-provoking, honest, and downright weird films of the year. The premise rivals some of the best Twilight Zone episodes, and the performances are top-notch, but Justin Lader’s smart script is the true star of the film. Things come to a head in the third act, as Duplass and Moss’ characters literally come face to face with the better versions of themselves. Where most films would find ways to scientifically explain what’s happening, The One I Love cleverly avoids this and instead faces the existential questions with a funny dialogue, in which Duplass’ doppelganger tries telling a metaphor about an aardvark in a dark room. After what is absolutely a thought-provoking, on-the-nose comparison that cleverly sums up the film’s larger psychological implications, Duplass’ character, unmoved and unimpressed, says, simply, “Well, I’m not an aardvark.” In a film filled with brutal and thought-provoking honesty, that dismissive line delivery is incredibly simple, but memorable all the same, and without a doubt one of the best movie moments that 2014 had to offer. - James Garcia Guardians of the Galaxy - We Are Groot Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the best movies of 2014 for a number of reasons, but one that stands out is that it strikes a beautiful balance between high-octane action and unexpectedly emotional character development. Never is this balance more clear to see that in one of the blockbuster's last scenes, when talking tree-being Groot sacrifices himself to protect the rest of the Guardians as the spaceship they're on crashes into the planet Xandar. Marvel has done a lot of plainly wonderful things in the six years since 2008's Iron Man kick-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they have never given us a scene with the emotional wallop of this one. It's beautifully directed by James Gunn, the voice work of Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon is spot-on, and the visuals add to the sense of wonder and beauty that is Groot's sacrifice for the sake of the team. Guardians of the Galaxy is a giant, fun blockbuster, and Groot is a talking tree, but even given that, I dare you not to tear up. - Isaac Feldberg Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - “Koba is not ape” Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is another film that was better than it had any right to be. Its predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, was a great reset button for the Planet of the Apes franchise, but lightning usually doesn’t strike twice in tentpole blockbusters, and there were several points at which Dawn could have gone off the rails and fallen short of greatness. Luckily for us, director Matt Reeves took the reins of the franchise and knew exactly what to do with it: focus on the apes. Humans are positioned as the flawed species, but over the course of the film we see that apes are more like us than they realize. With their newfound intelligence comes a wave of human-like emotions and desires, and they begin to develop fear, rage and jealousy all the same. That is conveyed perfectly by the dynamic between Caesar (Andy Serkis) and Koba (Toby Kebbell), the two ape leaders who butt heads multiple times throughout the film. Koba is driven by anger and hatred toward the humans, and eventually turns those feelings toward Caesar. He attempts to kill him, blames it on the humans, launches a full-scale and fatal attack on the San Franciscan human colony, and begins to lead the apes through fear and domination. He even breaks the one rule banding the primates together: Ape no kill ape. At the end of the film, Caesar realizes that humanity has corrupted the apes, and faces off with Koba in a high-adrenaline, emotional climax. He comes out on top and has the chance to save Koba. Koba reminds him that “ape no kill ape,” but Caesar tells him, “Koba is not ape.” He then lets go of his hand, allowing Koba to fall to his death. That distinction is a turning point for Caesar, and, I suspect, for all apekind. Until now, Caesar has viewed the human/ape conflict as a fight between “us and them,” but by film’s end, he’s come to realize that the lines are blurrier than he could have ever imagined. - James Garcia Selma - Edmund Pettus Bridge Protest You likely haven't yet had a chance to see Ava DuVernay's Selma, but don't miss it under any circumstances when it arrives in theaters on Christmas Day. The film, a biopic about the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, is one of the year's best - a stirring and crucial testament to those who fought for racial equality in America, as well as a solemn (and unfortunately well-timed) reminder of the fact that we don't yet live in a post-racial society. DuVernay's film is filled with gorgeously shot, heart-wrenchingly powerful scenes. The most unshakeable of those is her staging of "Bloody Sunday," the infamous day on which protesters violently clashed with police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Eerily and brilliantly shot by ace cinematographer Bradford Young (one of the few cinematographers out there who can light black actors with skill and beauty), it's a shocking, searing examination of the time's hatred and brutality toward African-Americans. Up there with 12 Years a Slave's whipping scene, it unfolds on screen before you just once but replays in your mind for months afterward, never losing an ounce of its chilling forcefulness. - Isaac Feldberg Calvary – Opening Confession What is the best way to open a film? Some director will try to bring in a haunting, unforgettable image, like the forest burning from Apocalypse Now. Others will rely on triumphant music to set the tone, as Disney often does. Sometimes, the screenwriter will draw attention to the dialogue, immersing the audience into the feeling and intensity of this world. Often, that first impression comes via voice-over. However, in John Michael McDonagh’s terrific, under-seen drama Calvary, he opens with a gripping confession. The four-minute scene is all done in one shot, lingering on the sunken face of Father James (Brendan Gleeson) as he listens to an unidentified man explain that a priest raped him as a young boy. Now that this priest is dead, the man wants redemption by killing another leader of the church. Who has he chosen to unleash his fury upon? Father James, who now has to come to terms with his own life before the man kills him the next weekend. “Killing a priest on a Sunday,” the man scoffs. “That’ll be a good one.” It’s a mesmerizing, shocking opening scene that lays out the moral ambiguity, the plot and some of the film’s more colorful dialogue in a span of a few minutes. The camera is still, soaked under brown light and never moving from Gleeson’s stoic, if slightly terrified face. The moment juxtaposes the severity of Lavelle’s faith with the futility of the anonymous man who speaks with him, setting up Calvary’s divide between the father and his parish. With a cynical sense of humor, sharp plotting and thick suspense, it is the year’s most masterful starting sequence. - Jordan Adler The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - The Hanging Tree No one who saw Mockingjay - Part 1 left the theater without Jennifer Lawrence's grim rendition of "The Hanging Tree" echoing through their heads. The Panem nursery rhyme, sung to Katniss by her father as a child, becomes one of the rallying cries for the rebellion against President Snow and the totalitarian Capitol. Director Francis Lawrence (no relation to his star) begins the film's coverage of the crucial song with a close-up of Katniss as, sitting by a picturesque lake during a rare quiet moment, she begins to sing. The raw beauty of her voice shocks her documentary team, which, sensing the moment's potency, begins to roll the cameras. Soon, Katniss' voice has been broadcast to all the districts, which take up the song as they march on the Capitol. The chilling conviction of the rebels as, under cover of night, they advance on a shadowy dam, incurring heavy losses from Capitol guards along the way but never ceasing in their chant, cut me to the core. The scene speaks volumes about the darkness of dystopia, the solemnity of rebellion and the undefatigable nature of the human spirit - all aspects of the Hunger Games franchise that makes it the most politically astute and thought-provoking YA phenomenon, perhaps ever. - Isaac Feldberg Captain America: The Winter Soldier – The Elevator Scene Marvel shifted genres with Captain America’s second film this year, producing their first spy movie for the masses. Of course, with this being a superhero blockbuster, The Winter Soldier still packed in the mind-blowing action sequences we’ve come to expect from the comic book studio. While the climactic face-off between Cap’s allies and Hydra was engrossing from start to finish - with fans overjoyed to finally see Nick Fury prove why he’s so bad-ass in the car chase sequence - the highlight of Winter Soldier takes place in the small confines of a simple elevator. The scene starts innocuously enough as Steve Rogers enters an elevator with a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Tension begins to build, though, as Cap notices some of the men suspiciously holding their guns close by. Small talk ensues until the elevator is filled entirely with undercover HYDRA agents. “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” In the ensuing chaos, Rogers is immediately pinned against the wall and cuffed by over a dozen men. Five seconds later, almost half have already been taken out. Despite being repeatedly tasered in the stomach, Cap continues to fight on and takes out the majority with literally one hand behind his back. Anyone who still considered Captain America as the weak link in the Avengers had to eat their words after watching what was arguably the coolest fight scene Marvel have yet committed to celluloid. The entire sequence is worth watching just to see the way Rogers casually flips his shield up into his hands at the end. Badass. - David Opie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 – If we burn... Although arguably Mockingjay - Part 1 didn't offer fans an overwhelming selection of great cinematic moments, watching Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) annihilate President Snow (Donald Sutherland) during an on-air 'propo' definitely set the mood for the rest of the franchise. The character we knew in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire had briefly become unrecognizable up to this point in the film as she struggled to come to terms with the reality of District 12 being gone and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) being held captive in the Capitol. And frankly, that version of Katniss didn't translate as well onto screen as it managed to come through in the book. This scene was the breaking point where Katniss took a stand against the Capitol and said, "Enough." It was a powerful scene for more than one reason, but mostly because it showcased Katniss's underlying ability to rise to the occasion. She's never been a showboat, but when the situation calls for it she always seems to naturally meets the challenge. Instead of running and hiding when the air strike became a threat to her team, she used her super nifty explosive arrows to make the point that all it takes is one person to stand up to the Capitol to make a difference. Granted, she had some gadgets that swayed things to her side when the average citizen was working with nothing more than makeshift weapons, but there's no way to engineer courage. Jennifer Lawrence brought her 'A' game to this scene and gave moviegoers a reason to cheer. You could feel the raw emotion radiating from the screen as a breathless Lawrence showered Panem, and the audience, with hope. - Lindsay Sperling The Skeleton Twins – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” The main selling point of Sundance hit The Skeleton Twins is the dramatic about-face of ex-Saturday Night Live stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. In the film, they play siblings Milo and Maggie, who reunite after a prolonged absence and try to help each other deal with personal demons. With themes like suicide and neglect coming to the fore, this is far from the territory they used to mine when they were live from New York. However, the film does have its moments of comic bliss. Its pièce de résistance is a scene where Milo tries to cheer up Maggie by turning on the cheesy 80s anthem "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. The song is a duet between the band’s two main singers, so Milo tries to get Maggie to join along with him as he lip-syncs. The scene’s spontaneity enlivens some of the rest of the film’s despairing subject matter, while also proving just how formidable the chemistry is between Hader and Wiig. Here, the actors break free and begin dancing to the beat of the song, giving the moment an energy and glee that is difficult to resist. Interestingly, director Craig Johnson revealed that the original 80s song for that moment was "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips. Of course, Kristen Wiig already did some lip-syncing to that ditty at the end of Bridesmaids. Hader and Wiig’s chemistry and dazzling comic timing would have made the moment a classic, though, regardless of the song Johnson had picked. - Jordan Adler Whiplash – Final Concert At its core, Whiplash is a film about pushing yourself beyond what is expected in order to become one of the "greats" at something. This theme is on display throughout the entire film as J.K Simmons portrays an insensitive, crude, and confrontational jazz instructor. It's for good reason though; to bring out the best in his students. Only that way can a true master at an art-form rise. His most prodigious student by far is played by Miles Teller, but they unfortunately have a falling out with each other. It's not something I'm going to delve into too much here, as what's most important is that it sets up a final show-down between the student and his mentor. Seething with rage and seeking revenge, J.K Simmons tricks Miles Teller into performing a piece that he does not have the musical sheet for. To make matters worse, there is a highly respected critic watching the concert, who could make or break the career of Teller. Completely aware that he is fumbling his way through the song, Teller attempts to switch it up and play Whiplash. What proceeds is an enthralling and riveting drum solo where Teller perfects every little nuance that J.K Simmons had been screaming and pestering him about up until now. Lasting roughly 5 minutes, the scene may as well be the very definition of exciting, but it's not just because the musical performance is awesome to watch. This is the moment where the two finally reach a mutual respect, and furthermore, the student makes the master his bitch. - Robert Kojder Gone Girl – “Crepe?” David Fincher’s Gone Girl is a dark and disturbing stream of questionable morality and horror that constantly catches the audience off-guard, and keeps them guessing. Never really feeling sure where the twisting tale will head next, viewers can only hang on and wait for the nightmarish events to play out. By the time we reach the third act, we are floored. The film has flipped over on itself, our assumptions are blown out of the water, and the grim reality of the situation has become startlingly clear. We are, in effect, feeling exactly the complex mix of emotions that are played across the face of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) as he walks into the kitchen of his marital home to see Amy (Rosamund Pike) at the stove. He approaches slowly - shell-shocked by the events of the past few days, and by the vast amount of knowledge he now possesses about his wife. The scene lasts just a few moments, but carries the weight of the entire film thus far. All of that dishonesty, mistrust, bitterness, pain, violence, horror and revelation has led us here – to this kitchen that is blasted with light, and feels chillingly cold and clinical. Amy has been revealed. He knows who she is now, and he knows what she is capable of. As he walks into the room to see wife cooking, we know that it has previously been a welcome sight. Now, in this moment, he is looking at an abomination – an abomination that is perfectly turned out, and in full control. She looks up, meets his gaze and smiles a breezy smile. “Crepe?” - Sarah Myles The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Goodbye Gwen Stacy To say opinions on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were a tad divided is putting it lightly. Fans of New York’s favorite webhead were put off by the overstuffed plot, the poorly developed characters, and of course, Electro’s infamous dubstep-tinged operatic soundtrack. And as a huge fan of the film, I’ll admit and agree that those are perfectly acceptable reasons to be put off by Spidey’s latest adventure. Yet, even the most cynical audience members had their stone hearts melted by the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, played to perfection by Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. The chemistry between the two could best be described as adorable, and if you knew how much I hated using that word, you would know that it’s high praise. Even though they spent much of the film separated as part of Peter’s wish to keep Gwen safe from harm at her father’s request, a glimmer of hope shines through in the end when the two get back together and plan to move away from the Big Apple. Sure enough, a villain or two shows up to try and take the girl/destroy the city/kill all humans/etc., but Spidey and Gwen put the kibosh on everything posthaste. As the battle with the Green Goblin draws to a close, Gwen gets dropped down a clock tower, and Peter naturally saves her from danger by a hair, with both of them getting the storybook ending they wanted. Except Peter is too late this time. Right when you think he’s saved her, that devastating shot of Gwen’s head smacking the ground shatters everything. Fans of the series will know that the name Gwen Stacy basically spells out “I will die eventually,” but to see it happen so suddenly, so brutally, and in the wake of such hope, it’s heartbreaking. If not for the relationship built between the two throughout the beginning of the film, this would have just been another plot point to cover, like Uncle Ben’s death or Peter’s transformation. Even if the final few minutes of the film fumble Peter’s character arc as he deals with the fallout of Gwen’s death, relegating what should have been a full-length, emotionally invested movie into a handful of schmaltzy scenes, her death still haunts me. As a fan, I was completely aware that Gwen would be an unfortunate catalyst in Peter’s maturity, but it’s never been as heartbreaking to watch as it was in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. - Christian Law The LEGO Movie – Pirate Ship Engine Noise Picture the scene: you are sitting in a darkened theatre, enthralled by one of the best movies you’ve seen in a long time. You are loving the fact that the whole thing is created in LEGO, and that it is zipping along with a tight, well written script and brilliant direction. You’re enjoying the characters, and the humorous interactions between them. You’ve tried to stifle a few squeals of delight at the appearance of Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Benny The Spaceman, and you’ve let out a few belly laughs at the thinly veiled references to the suppression of creative thought. Suddenly, there’s a cutaway – literally, a couple of seconds of film, denoting the beginning of a journey. Our heroes are aboard Metalbeard’s Pirate Ship and are setting off on their voyage. The shot switches to an exterior – the Pirate Ship against a flat background. It lifts and begins to move, and somebody off-camera vocalises an engine noise. It’s a very simple moment, but one that generates laughter, goosebumps and teary-eyes all at the same time. Making engine noises is a universal thing – we’ve all done it as children, our own children do it, and we do it again while playing with them. It’s an instinctive, natural action that we engage in while indulging our creativity with toys. The beauty of this brief movie moment is that it holds a mirror up to that behaviour and allows us to recognise ourselves, acknowledge the ridiculousness of it, and relate to every single other person – regardless of who they are, or what their age is. It is a joyous beat in a perfect film, and easily one of the best movie moments of 2014. - Sarah Myles Interstellar – Docking Scene When it comes to action sequences, there are few things more exciting than an unfathomably huge object moving at break-neck speeds. Throw in the need for intense precision, plus almost unbeatable odds and the stakes of sure death, and you've got yourself a sweat-inducing masterpiece. That's the case with the space docking scene of Interstellar, one of the most remarkable movie moments of 2014. Interstellar hit the full range of emotions, but there wasn't a scene that had me more on the edge of my seat than the docking. The stakes were well-established beforehand, but even if they hadn't been, just watching the spinning space ship try to align with the station would have blown me away. The tension is absolutely unbearable. In fact, I'm getting a bit nauseous just thinking about it. Both Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway play the scene with an intensity that's unrivalled in the rest of the film and in any space epic in a very long time. There's shock, there's despair, but most of all, there's fear-fuelled brilliance. Some will say this scene was just a portion of the force of last year's Gravity, but to me it seems as if Nolan took everything done in Gravity, learned from it, and improved on it. The result is a few unforgettable minutes of hurtling through space. - Alexander Lowe