By Christopher Lominac /
10. Top Five
As fitting as it would have been to include Top Five in the top five, the film is going to have to settle for just making the top ten. A semi-autobiographical meta-comedy, Top Five stars Chris Rock as a popular comedian whose life is adrift in ennui. Tired of starring in schlocky mainstream comedies and looking to establish himself as a serious actor, Rock agrees to spend an afternoon walking around with a news reporter, played by Rosario Dawson, as she interviews him about his newest film. The conversation quickly turns to other topics though, such as Rock's rocky relationship with his famous fiancé, his fear of performing standup comedy sober, and Dawson's troubled relationship history, as the two slowly fall in love strolling the streets of New York City. For a film with as much foul language, drug use, and sex as Top Five, the movie has an almost old-fashioned quality to it. A man searching for his worth in life and a romantic relationship that almost crumbles due to misunderstandings is very reminiscent of the films of Frank Capra, and Chris Rock being the classic movie enthusiast that he is, no doubt took inspiration from the director's oeuvre. The film also has a lot of similarities to another critically acclaimed movie this year, Birdman, but Top Five actually exceeds this film in almost every aspect. Top Five is a more genuine and funny film whose social and industry commentary is not stated as obviously - rather it's much more in depth and nuanced. Birdman is definitely a good film in its own right, but if the Academy really wanted to be on the cutting edge they would nominate Top Five instead.