9. Prisoners

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpXfcTF6iVk&w=584&h=390]

I can’t recommend all of Prisoners, a movie that’s both one of the best movies of the year and one of the most nonsensical, depending on what scene you’re in. However, an adult drama this thought-provoking shouldn’t be ignored, a studio movie that dares to ask intelligent questions about torture and how it changes us. Denis Villenueve’s bravura direction grounds a silly script. In particular, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal have never been better as men both trying to bring justice — but with very different definitions of what that means.