Hooked On A Feeling: Matt Donato’s Top 20 Films Of 2014

2) Inherent Vice

There’s no doubt that Inherent Vice is a hit-or-miss fever dream among audiences, which is commonplace for a Paul Thomas Anderson puzzler, but there’s something so genuinely lovable about this psychedelic stoner noir (to me, at least).

Whether it’s Joaquin Phoenix’s heavily-influenced performance, Josh Brolin’s adoration of Chinese pancake houses and frozen bananas, or Anderson’s ability to create a Looney Tunes episode geared towards adults, I still have no regrets about missing my press screening of The Interview to see my second favorite movie of 2014. This film will NOT be for everyone, as the narrative jumps around with seemingly no direction – but that’s half the fun of Inherent Vice. You sit back, strap in, and hope not to get too much of a contact high from Anderson’s addictive criminal haze.

Inherent Vice is a shining achievement in the absurd, as the directors draws so many tremendous performances out of a bumbling connect-the-dots adventure completed by a high kindergartner – and pulls it off with ease.