The one movie of 2014 that I was not looking forward to seeing but knew I had to see was, without a doubt, The Imitation Game. I learned early in the year that this would end up being one of the movies to beat, but the trailer suggested it would be well-made, tell a great, true story, and also be incredibly dull and long. I was wrong. The first thing to point out was that this movie was only 110 minutes. I love a film that can tell its story in under two hours. I understand the standard tends to be closer to 2 hours and 15 minutes (with many movies pushing or exceeding 3 hours), but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Secondly, this movie was never dull. In the wrong hands, this movie is a complete snooze-fest. It was anything but. This is why I am ready to give Morten Tyldum a Best Director nomination without having seen some of the probably Oscar-nominated movies yet to be released (notably Unbroken, American Sniper, Selma, Mr. Turner, and Into the Woods). The only other nomination I have cemented is Richard Linklater (Boyhood). The direction in this movie was outstanding, and I am confident there will not be three better-directed movies in 2014 that I have yet to see.