Richard Linklater’s Boyhood was released in mid-July, there was an immediate sense in the Dissolve office that the rest of the year was a race for second place. Watching a child grow up over a 12-year period is enormously powerful on its own, but through the prism of this one life, Linklater makes so many profound observations about love, family, politics, religion, the South, and the changes that happen at home and in the culture at large. Though we reached a solid consensus over Her in our inaugural poll, that was nothing compared to Boyhood, which topped five of our seven individual ballots, and placed second on a sixth. From there, the best of 2014 branched out into a diverse assortment of auteur favorites, unconventional historical biopics, form-challenging documentaries, and mainstream hits that proved that even a risk-averse Hollywood could still put out smart, innovative, broadly appealing entertainments. The only unifying theme is that 2014 came in like a lion and out like a lamb: Of the films below, only Selma and Inherent Vice were harvested from the late-year awards crop. Otherwise, there are no hidden patterns, just confirmation that great films came in all sizes and from all corners this year.
Source: http://thedissolve.com/features/2014-in-review/857-the-best-films-of-2014/