CINEPHILES! TIGHTEN YOUR MONOCLES! Here are my favorite movies that played in Portland in 2014. It was an excellent year for film—while most critics crank out a top 10, I had a hard time whittling it down to 15. Each day I'll highlight one of those, going alphabetically, because fuck that ranking nonsense.

CALVARY So, this is a cheerful place to have a nice chat then.
  • CALVARY "So, this is a welcoming place to have a nice chat then."

Calvary
dir. John Michael McDonagh
Now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD, on Netflix Jan 6
From the Mercury's review: "Calvary is neither an easy film to watch nor a cheerful one. It is, however, excellent."

John Michael McDonagh—like his brother, Martin—doesn't try to light up the darkness. And he shouldn't: darkness is all around us, and it pervades, and it defines. Unlike the significantly funnier The Guard, which McDonagh made in 2011, Calvary doesn't have many release valves (it feels, at times, like an endurance test), but thanks to some fantastically sharp performances, the film never stops being perversely enjoyable. The characters are great, and even when they're in the most dire of straits, there's something phenomenal about watching them live. Or worry about not living, as the case might be here.