10 Great Overlooked Films from 2014

Have you noticed there are more movies than ever coming out each week? There were over 600 major releases that opened last year, and with the ease of digital distribution and streaming network that number is only going to increase. So there's simply no way anybody can catch them all. It's simply not possible.

The "Overlooked" list is always a tough balancing act for me. Last year I left off a criminally underseen indie like Short Term 12 because it ended up at the top of my "Best" chart, and that problem has reared its ugly head again. Why should I put great movies like Frank or God Help the Girl here when I have them so high elsewhere? And as is the case every single year, there are more than enough films deserving of your attention that sadly got lost in the tidal wave of big-budget sequels and franchises. So here are just 10 of them you may have missed that are definitely worth your time.

The One I Love (review here)
Director: Charlie McDowell
Cast: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson


Film Clip: 'The One I Love' by WSJ Live

The Skeleton Twins (review here)
Director: Craig Johnson
Cast: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell


Kristen Wiig is Mad at Bill Hader in THE SKELETON TWINS Clip ('Wow') by The Seven Sees

Enemy (review here)
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Gadon, Melanie Laurent, Isabella Rossellini


Enemy - Clip 2 by Flixgr

Joe (review here)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan


Joe Movie CLIP - Trouble (2014) - Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan Drama HD by Trailer 2014

Cold in July (review here)
Director: Jim Mickle
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw


Cold In July - Clip: Beat Down by Dread Central

Fort Bliss (review here)
Claudia Myers
Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Ron Livingston

Keep On Keepin' On
Director: Alan Hicks
Cast: Clark Terry, Justin Kauflin


Film Clip: 'Keep on Keepin' On' by WSJ Live

Force Majeure
Director: Ruben Ostlund
Cast: Johannes Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli


Film Clip: 'Force Majeure' by WSJ Live

The Babadook (review here)
Director: Jennifer Kent
Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman

THE BABADOOK Movie CLIP - The Book (2014) - Horror Movie HD by Horror Movie Trailers

The Book of Life (review here)
Director: Jorge Gutierrez
Cast: Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Ron Perlman, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo


The Book Of Life - Clip - Land Of The Remembered by MyMovies_International

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Review: Denis Villeneuve's 'Enemy' Starring Jake Gyllenhaal

If interminably dark and unsettling Prisoners weren’t enough of a convincer that Jake Gyllenhaal and Denis Villeneuve is the next big actor/director tandem, then perhaps Enemy will do the trick. Actually shot prior to Prisoners, the sinister and devious Enemy is an epic mind-screw that crawls around in the dark corners of the psyche like a spider in a dusty attic. Subdued, deliberate in execution yet infuriatingly incoherent, Villeneuve's film is as confusing as it is transfixing.

“Chaos is merely order yet deciphered,” the ominous title sequence flashes and muddies the psychological waters in a way that never quite recedes. Somewhat loosely based on Jose Saramago's Portuguese novel, Javier Gullon's sparse script is pregnant with disturbing pscho-sexual context that the source material largely understates. In what is becoming a string of impressively dark lead performances, Gyllenhaal tackles the dual role of dull college professor Adam Bell and his marginally more charismatic doppelganger, Anthony. Adam's boring existence consists of little more than teaching his class, grading papers in his anonymous Toronto apartment, and having regular sex with his girlfriend (Melanie Laurent), who he doesn't seem to share much in common with. Captured in coffee-stain yellows by cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc, Adam's world is one of sickening loneliness and isolation. One night after a chatty colleague randomly recommends a movie, to which the Adam initially responds with an unexpected snark, he goes and rents the film anyway and makes a startling discovery. There in the background, in a minor role few would notice, appears to be his exact duplicate.

Fraught with terrifying dreams of a decidedly alien nature, Adam's buried paranoia bursts forth with this new revelation. Unable to resist, he begins to investigate the nature of Anthony's existence, eventually calling the man's house and connecting with his very pregnant wife (Sarah Gadon, a Cronenberg favorite of late) who thinks he's the husband of one of Anthony's mistresses. An excited but cautious meeting between the two men in a rundown hotel confirms that they aren't siblings but perfect replicas, distinct only in their wildly differing personalities. Where Adam is introverted and almost pathologically nervous, Anthony is a schemer, a devilish rogue and risk-taker. It's Anthony who figures that he can have his cake and eat it too with both women, expecting that Adam would be too meek to do anything about it. As the layers are peeled back on both men, we learn that they share more than just a physical bond, but perhaps a similarly demented sexual thirst.

At only about 90 minutes, Villeneuve's slow burn approach to this clash of male egos can prove an exhaustive exercise, but he still manages to captivate with an unsettling Fincher-esque tone and Gyllenhaal's mesmerizing performance. More an art-house thriller than the big studio Prisoners, Enemy presents an abstract, off-the-wall dreamscape that doesn't always jibe with the seriousness of the situation. Chillingly embraced by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans' disquieting soundtrack, the occasional splashes of B-movie humor seem deliberately placed to leave you unprepared for the impressively terrifying and shocking finale, one of such instant horror it snaps everything into focus.

Enemy will be seen as an off anomaly to some, but it explores human (particularly male) frailty with Villeneuve's meticulous eye for oppressive mood. If anything, it proves he's one of the most interesting and forward-thinking directors working today, and hopefully he has the foresight to keep Gyllenhaal close at hand.

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Red Band Teaser for 'Enemy' Starring Jake Gyllenhaal

In their last collaboration, Prisoners, Denis Villeneuve and Jake Gyllenhaal explored some really nasty corners of the human psyche, making for one of the most thrilling movies of the year, Oscars be damned. They're going to creep even further into the darkness with the doppelganger mind-f**k, Enemy, certainly the most twisted film of the year so far with an ending that....well, the less said about that the better.

A brief, pulsing NSFW teaser has been released that introduces you to this sordid tale. Gyllenhaal pulls double-duty as an ordinary man who discovers his exact duplicate while watching a movie. Becoming increasingly paranoid, he arranges for a meeting, only to discover that his duplicate is one screwed-up cat with some really ugly ideas how to take advantage of the situation. Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rossellini co-star in Enemy, opening March 14th but available now on DirecTV.

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Trailer for Denis Villeneuve's 'Enemy' Starring Jake Gyllenhaal

While Denis Villeneuve's brooding thriller Prisoners was largely ignored by the Oscars despite praise-worthy performances, it wasn't the first time the director and star Jake Gyllenhaal worked together. They actually teamed up on Enemy first, shooting it before Prisoners and debuting it at TIFF where it played to some acclaim. Now before it hits DirecTV next week the first trailer has been released and it promises another haunting, riveting experience.

Gyllenhaal stars alongside Sarah Gadon, Melanie Laurent, and Isabella Rossellini in the adaptation of Jose Saramago's novel about a lonely, paranoid college professor who thinks he has a doppelganger out there. As he tries to discover its true identity, his mental state begins to break down even further. While it's hard to tell everything that's going on here, it's obvious this one is going to go in some weird directions, and the pairing of Villeneuve and Gyllenhaal is quickly becoming a personal favorite on the level of Scorsese and DiCaprio.

Enemy debuts on DirecTV February 6th before hitting theaters March 14th.

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First Trailer and Poster for 'Enemy' from 'Prisoners' Duo Jake Gyllenhaal and Denis Villeneuve

Once the public gets a taste of the riveting and unforgettable crime thriller Prisoners this weekend, everyone is going to be talking about the performance given by Jake Gyllnehaal and the direction by Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve seems poised to become a household name as Oscar buzz begins to grow, and the film has gone a long way in refashioning Gyllenhaal's career. What many don't know is that before Prisoners, the two paired up the mind-bending identity thriller Enemy, and now we're getting our first footage from it.

The first teaser trailer and poster have arrived for Enemy, which debuted to some glowing reviews in Toronto a few weeks ago. Based on the acclaimed novel by José Saramago, Gyllenhaal takes on a dual role as a college professor who discovers what appears to be his doppelganger, growing more paranoid as he attempts to discover its identity.  It looks like another dark and moody character piece from Villeneuve, and if it's anything like the book we can expect a ton of surprises too good to spoil.

Co-starring Isabella Rossellini, Melanie Laurent, and Sarah Gadon, look for Enemy to arrive in 2014.

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