Best Of 2014: Less Lee Moore

Peaky Blinders

When there are horrible things happening in the world (and there always are), it might seem frivolous to discuss popular culture. But that’s what we do here at Popshifter, albeit with eyes, ears, and minds attuned to how that pop culture has a symbiotic relationship with those very horrible things. Rather that list all the ways in which those who create, consume, and critique pop culture contributed to that horribleness, I’d like to champion the aspects of pop culture that made my life worth living this year.

Television continued to dominate my pop culture consumption, with Hannibal at the top of that list. Its second season was even more ambitious, grotesque, terrifying, and emotionally devastating than the first. But it had some stiff competition: True Detective. If there was any doubt that The McConnaissance was still a thing, this riveting, brilliant show (as well as Matthew McConaughey’s work in Interstellar) makes it clear that isn’t going away any time soon. (Thank the gods.)

Other film actors who dominated the TV landscape with their amazing talents: Clive Owen (The Knick) and Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders), though praise should be given to all the cast members of both shows. Tom Hardy brought a whole new dimension to the word “frightening” on Peaky Blinders (and his shape-shifting turns in Locke and The Drop were equally impressive, though vastly different in tone).

I am compelled to praise Gillian Anderson’s remarkable work on both Hannibal and the BBC series The Fall, the latter of which I consumed in a 24-hour span. (I also don’t think I’ve actively hated a TV bad guy more than I hated Jamie Dornan as The Fall‘s Paul Spector.)

The new seasons of other favorite shows revealed themselves to be brilliant (The Walking Dead, Mad Men, The Good Wife, and Game Of Thrones) while others, like seasons 6 – 9 of Supernatural, were remarkably uneven. I’d miss Sam, Dean, and Castiel if they went away forever, but the show’s best days are a couple of seasons behind it and I’d prefer to see it go out on a high note.

I also revisited Twin Peaks and remembered why the first season made me hold my breath back in 1989 as well as why the second season made me sigh with disappointment. Still, I’m looking forward to David Lynch’s new iteration of this still-relevant and influential show.

As far as movies go, if there are a few things that don’t show up on my list, it’s probably because I didn’t actually get to see them in 2014. In fact, I could easily make a Top Ten list of the movies I regret not seeing in 2014 (in case you were wondering, the top five would be The Babadook, Gone Girl, Birdman, Force Majeure, Maps To The Stars). In terms of music, there were a few albums I missed out on, too, like the new releases from Lana Del Rey and Weep, as well as James Williamson’s Re-Licked.

But there’s always 2015 to catch up on what I missed in 2014! Here’s to pop culture consumption!

Special thanks to: Melissa, Brad, Jeffery, and all the Popshifter contributors; Carol Borden; Spectacular Optical; Colin Geddes and The Royal Cinema; Rue Morgue; The Black Museum; TIFF Vanguard, TIFF Midnight Madness and all the bloggers; Peter Kuplowsky; Electric Six; Roger Joseph Manning Jr.; all the wonderful bands I saw perform live this year; Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead; Astron-6; Peter Strickland; mole crickets; Nerd Noise Night; Toronto After Dark; Richard Crouse; Giallo; Aliens; Jessica Williams; The Soup (forever!); Craig Ferguson and Geoff Peterson; Cary Baker @Conqueroo; Jessica and Patrick @Pitch Perfect PR; Matthew Ingham @Cherry Red Records; Dark Entries; Omnivore Recordings; and social media, which continues to give a voice to those marginalized people who are so frequently denied one.

Best Movies Of 2014:

1. What We Do In The Shadows
2. Godzilla
3. Interstellar
4. It Follows
5. Nightcrawler (review)
6. The Editor
7. Housebound (review)
8. Cold In July (review)
9. Under The Skin
10. Spring

More Movies I Loved This Year:

11. The Duke of Burgundy
12. We Need To Talk About Kevin
13. Her
14. The Guest
15. The Great Gatsby
16. A Field In England (review)
17. The Hunt
18. Suburban Gothic (review)
19. Guardians Of The Galaxy
20. Take Shelter

Best Albums Of 2014:

1. Iceage, Plowing Into The Field Of Love (review)
2. Ty Segall, Manipulator (review)
3. Merchandise, After The End (review)
4. Lower, Seek Warmer Climes (review)
5. Death From Above 1979, The Physical World (review)
6. Lowell, We Loved Her Dearly (review)
7. Odonis Odonis, Hard Boiled Soft Boiled (review)
8. Temples, Sun Structures (review)
9. Electric Six, Human Zoo (review)
10. Zola Jesus, Taiga