Nowadays, the pervasive narrative is that film is dead and television is better. This statement is only half true. While television is better than ever before, cinema isn’t doing too badly, either.

Most of my film experiences this summer were nothing but pleasant. Besides anything Michael Bay had his name on, there were very few complaints to be had about the intelligence of Hollywood blockbusters (in retrospect, I even enjoyed Winter Solider). In the art house world, some directors were doing things with the form that nobody has done before. Well, that happened in the blockbuster world as well.

Film is in a transitional period. This was the summer of On Demand, where a lot of films were available on your TV set the same day they were playing in select theaters. While I still prefer a trip to the theater any chance I get, it was nice to have access to the sort of films that usually don’t expand nationwide. It is too bad this wasn’t around when I was a high schooler yearning for my hometown to be a hip, indie place.

Here are my top six films of summer 2014. I choose six because math is irrelevant to me:

6. Obvious Child

There is nothing like a good summer indie to get away from all of the blockbuster explosions. Obvious Child was the breath of fresh air I needed. While Obvious Child wasn’t the most original romantic comedy ever made, it was never trying to be. In this tale of abortion, the one thing it is striving for is honesty, and that is exactly what it achieves. Plus, Jenny Slate delivers a career-defining performance. She turns all the noises she makes and fart jokes she tells into art.

5. 22 Jump Street

With both The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street under their belts, Phil Lord and Chris Miller have made two of the best movies of the year. By seamlessly combining action and comedy, 22 Jump Street is the rare sequel that manages to surpass the original. It takes meta to the extreme without crashing and burning. Oh, and it is hilarious. At this point, Lord and Miller could film a pile of dog poop for three hours and everyone in America would pay to see it.

4. The Immigrant

This film about the American Dream does not shy away from the grittiness of history that historical films often try to conceal. The Immigrant contains a great performance from Marion Cotillard and a mesmerizing one from Joaquin Phoenix. It concludes with an ambiguous final shot that will one day be studied in film classes. In terms of stories of dirty, miserable, early 20th century New York, The Immigrant is a fine companion piece with The Knick (which you all should be watching).

3. Snowpiercer

The best of summer indies combined with the best of summer blockbusters make for the most entertaining allegory in ages. Chris Evans proves that he is an action star for the ages, and Tilda Swinton proves that she can play anything, even if you don’t understand what her character is. Snowpiercer is about rebellion, the class system, and even God. Not to get all current event-y here, but look at some of the recent events happening in Ferguson or the Middle East, and tell me that doesn’t remind you of Snowpiercer at all.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

Contemporary blockbusters have two settings: they are either grim and gritty, or goofy and self-aware. By being both goofy and sincere, Guardians of the Galaxy is the first comic book adaptation in a long time that manages to be both. Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the funniest movies so far this year, and it gets all of its humor based off of its characters, which you wouldn’t normally see in a giant space opera. I have seen Guardians of the Galaxy twice and purchased a Rocket Raccoon action figure. Guardians reminded me why I love to write about movies in the first place.

1. Boyhood

This coming-of-age epic was twelve years in the making and worth the wait. The way Boyhood was made is an achievement on its own, so the fact that it was actually good is pretty amazing. This is the first film I have seen that I feel like really captured my childhood, though people that grew up in every generation have said the same. Richard Linklater’s ability to hold my attention for nearly three hours with nothing but conversations and small milestones is miraculous. If Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, and most of the other people involved don’t get Oscar nominations, then I will be extremely disappointed. There are so many moments in Boyhood that could have turned out to be terribly corny (“we don’t seize the moment…the moment seizes us”), but the overall authenticity truly sells it. Guardians of the Galaxy made me remember why I love movies, while Boyhood made me remember why I love life, even in all of its triumphs and failures.

Honorable Mentions: Life Itself, Edge of Tomorrow, X-Men: Days of Future Past, They Came Together

“We have always been a nation of immigrants who hate the new immigrants.” -Jon Stewart

Between Colonial Williamsburg and 90s nostalgia, humans have a bad habit of white washing history. Between the men dressed in funny outfits and the All That reruns, we often forget the wars and the dysentery.

Because of this, I praise the heavens above when a film like The Immigrant comes out. This is the kind of film that treats history less like an epic poem and more like a rap lyric. In other words, this film is aware that life is a dirty game, and you’ve got to play dirty to win. Now, excuse me while I slap myself in the face for writing those last few sentences.

Set in 1921, The Immigrant touches a nerve for me, as all Jews must grow both sentimental and weary at the sight of Ellis Island. Passage into America meant escape from Cossacks, but it also meant living in squalor while dealing with even more persecution (this went for every ethnic group that came here). The Immigrant tells the story of Ewa Cybulska (Marion Cotillard), a young Catholic woman from Poland who is willing to do anything to survive. Or maybe she doesn’t want to do anything to survive, but she is forced to do so.

Not long after arriving at Ellis Island, Ewa is detained and nearly deported. Luckily, she is saved by  the benevolent, vaguely Jewish, Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix). While Bruno takes care of her and gives her a home, he also forces her into a harsh life of prostitution. Phoenix is on a winning streak lately, and he is so good in this that it is almost hard to describe, but I will try anyway. It looks like he learned a few tricks from Philip Seymour Hoffman while working with him in The Master. Like Hoffman did with Lancaster Dodd, Phoenix paints Bruno as stable on the outside, yet unpredictable within. Every act on kindness seems to be cloaking some sort of shady intentions. Making bad intentions reasonable and good intentions questionable is the crossroads at which the perfect amount of moral ambiguity can be created.

The Immigrant is the kind of film that is rarely made anymore, because it is the kind of film that audiences don’t normally want to see. There is no nice message at the end, and no characters ever really act out of kindness towards one another. It is an endless pit of sadness, yet it is not sadness porn, as some might call it. This is not like 12 Years a Slave that you watch once and never want to see again. There is something both compelling and oddly enjoyable about this film. There is no real comic relief to be found, but the immersion into the culture of 1920s New York is seamless. Besides this, the most enjoyable part of the film is the thrilling plot, which heads in whichever direction it feels like taking.

The Immigrant is a film about the American Dream, but not in the way in which everybody ultimately gets what they want. When you think about The Immigrant, think about The Godfather: Part II and Once Upon a Time in America. That might seem like a bit of a reach, but this is the kind of film that aspires to climb to that high of a level. This is more of a film about what America takes away than what it gives. Even if you are one of the lucky few to get a shot at this great opportunity, that doesn’t mean that your life is all that great. Everyone worked and fought so hard to reach New York, and then once they got there, they all wanted to get away. Nothing better reflects this than the very last shot of the film. I dare not spoil it, but it’s one of the most incredible cinematic illusions I have ever seen. Once you see it, you can’t forget it.