Editor’s note: Kyle Arensdorf reviews movies for the Kernel. Here are the first five of the Top 10 movies of 2014. Check tomorrow’s paper for the rest of the list.

10. “Beyond the Lights” (Gina Prince-Bythewood)

Due to a completely misguided marketing campaign, “Beyond the Lights” was dealt an unfairly poor hand and had a fleeting tenure on the big screen late last year. But there wasn’t a film all year that was as pertinent as this one–a searing indictment of today’s misogynistic culture of celebrity and excess, our willingness to blindly indulge it and the struggle to break away from those bonds to become an artist. And with attentions fixed on the lack of diversity among the Oscar nominations, Gugu Mbatha-Raw delivers one of the most effortlessly precise depictions of the year.

9. “Nightcrawler” (Dan Gilroy)

It’s difficult to make people care about such a repellant character as Jake Gyllenhaal’s Lou Bloom. He cheats, he steals, he lies, he does anything he can to get on top, and then everything to stay on top. His meteoric rise through the ranks of Los Angeles’ crime journalism scene relays Gilroy’s problem with the media as a whole. The film breaks down into a satire, but the morbid picture it paints of the future of crime journalism may be more imminent than we think.

8. “Whiplash” (Damien Chazelle)

Miles Teller plays Andrew Neyman, a young jazz drummer with lofty expectations of becoming the next Buddy Rich. Throughout the film he verbally (and physically) spars with J.K. Simmons’ Terence Fletcher, a hard-nosed drill instructor of a professor more suited for military camp than the confines of a liberal arts school. “Whiplash”’s greatness lies in its filmmaking. The way it’s cut leads you to believe it was made by a directing veteran — close ups and long shots strung together with a fluid ease — but it’s only Chazelle’s second picture. He may be green in the world of film, but the confidence he exudes is remarkable, sticking the landing of each chance he takes.

7. “How to Train Your Dragon 2” (Dean DeBlois)

Making a great animated movie that appeals to all generations is difficult to do. There are certain rules and stipulations that you must follow to appeal to kids, but there are also certain ones you must break to appeal to an older generation. DeBlois’ first installment of the series was a step in this direction, but he struck gold with this visual masterpiece that takes on a myriad of issues such as family and sacrifice, diplomacy and loyalty, and female empowerment. It also isn’t afraid to get a little dark, a quality that should be sought out in animated features.

6. “Top Five” (Chris Rock)

I wasn’t expecting much going into this film, but I was blown away by its sharp, skewering narrative. Chris Rock wrote and directed this small but surprisingly great film about internal struggles within the world of one’s fame; excess vs. credibility, validation vs. failure. “Top Five” reads and feels like a Woody Allen film, but sings when Rock’s patented brand of comedy is sprinkled into its plot. I realize it’s difficult to care about the feelings of celebrities, but there just hasn’t been a film that has peered into their minds quite like this one does.