The best movies aren't always the ones that are highly publicized.

Our friends over at crowdsourced rankings website Ranker came out with a list of the best movies you may not have seen this year. Check out these 15 movies and you'll be a film buff in no time.

15. The Imitation Game

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as British logician and cryptologist Alan Turing, who helped crack the Nazi's "enigma code" and brought the Allies to victory in World War II. Still in theaters, the movie has already received five Golden Globe nominations.

14. Whiplash

A talented jazz drummer is accepted into a prestigious music conservatory where he's willing to do anything to win the approval of the abusive yet respected professor who takes him under his wing while becoming the next drumming great.

13. Into the Woods

When a baker and his wife can't conceive, a witch promises them a child if they bring her three magic ingredients. Based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim, and adapted from the original book and film by James Lapine, this tale of witches, girls in red cloaks, and magic beans has become an enchanting classic.

12. A Most Wanted Man

In what became one of his final performances, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a German spy who plots out a trap to catch a well-known Muslim scholar accused of helping finance terrorist operations.

11. A Walk Among the Tombstones

An ex-cop-turned-PI (Liam Neeson) agrees to help a heroin trafficker track down his wife's murderers. In the process he discovers that this is not the first time the perps have committed a crime like this, but it will be the last. Lawrence Block's bestselling novel comes to life on screen in this vengeful thriller.

10. The Raid 2: Berandal

The sequel to "The Raid: Redemption," rookie Indonesian cop Rama goes undercover to overthrow a criminal gang in Jakarta from the inside.

9. Birdman

"Birdman" stars Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, and Edward Norton. A washed-up film actor who once played the superhero Birdman tries to reinvent himself as a serious actor by taking a role in a Broadway play. Dealing also with his deadbeat daughter and method-acting co-star makes for a witty and entertaining view.

8. Million Dollar Arm

A failing sports agent heads to India to find a couple of all-star pitchers who can save his career. It's there that he finds two cricket players who, though they know nothing about baseball, can throw a mean fastball, and the agent, played by John Hamm, must help them adapt to the American game.

7. The Theory of Everything

Based on the work of Stephen Hawking, played by Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything" follows Hawking from Cambridge, where he met his wife Jane, to his devastating diagnosis, to his field-altering work in astrophysics. The real Hawking loved Redmayne's performance and even lent his own electronic voice to the film. 

6. John Wick

Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a former hitman who comes out of retirement to track down the men who wrecked his life after the death of his wife. Wick's quest for revenge is an adrenaline rush from start to finish.

5. Boyhood

The movie, which took 12 years to make, follows a six-year-old from childhood to puberty to adulthood as he lives through birthdays, vacations, school, and young love. Richard Linklater's beautiful story, nominated for five Golden Globes, is a heartwarming look into a typical American family as viewers watch him literally grow up on screen.

4. St. Vincent

"St. Vincent" is the movie whose success took everyone by surprise. Vincent (Bill Murray) is the retired grump who cares for the son of his next door neighbor, a single mother, while she works. Despite Vincent's love of drinking and gambling, he forms an unlikely bond with the boy.

3. Nightcrawler

A journalist desperate for work ventures into the world of chasing dangerous crimes, or "nightcrawling," in order to get stories. Jake Gyllenhaal was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in this crime thriller.

2. Chef

Starring Jon Favreau and Sofía Vergara, "Chef" is the funny and heartwarming story of a promising chef who, along with his ex-wife, best friend, and son, tries to make a name for himself in the food truck business among the cutthroat culinary industry in LA.

1. Snowpiercer

After an ice age kills most of the global population, the only survivors, divided by class, are stuck on a train powered by a perpetual motion engine. Set in a dystopian future, "Snowpiercer" is a film about leveling the playing field and taking down the top. Starring Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, and Octavia Spencer, this is a film that opens viewers' eyes to what might happen if global warming isn't stopped.

SEE ALSO: The 15 Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2014

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Each year, Vanity Fair reveals its annual best dressed list.

Readers and editors vote for well-heeled actors, socialites, and CEOs to determine the top spots.

The list, which was unveiled in August, includes categories for women, men, couples, working professionals, "originals," as well as editors' picks. There were even a few inductees into the "Hall of Fame"this year.

Many familiar names made the list, such as Kate Middleton and actress Emma Watson. But there were a few surprises, chief among them the King of Bhutan who won in the "originals" category.

Since it's the end of the year, it's time to take a look back at who was the best dressed of 2014.

(HALL OF FAME 2014) Designer Karl Lagerfeld

(HALL OF FAME 2014) Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge

(HALL OF FAME 2014) Creative director and CEO of Alice and Olivia Stacey Bendet

The notorious hacker collective “Lizard Squad” says it is no longer attacking PlayStation Network or Xbox Live and will not do so in the future.

You can thank Kim Dotcom for that, the group says on Twitter.

Kim Schmitz, a.k.a. Kim Dotcom, is the German founder of the defunct file-hosting service Megaupload, and the current founder of his new file-hosting service, Mega. He is also the founder and main funder of New Zealand's "Internet Party."

Despite what Lizard Squad says, however, as of Friday evening, PlayStation Network is still down, and Xbox Live is extremely limited.

On Thursday, after 24 hours of solid outages on Sony and Microsoft's game networks — believed to be DDoS attacks from Lizard Squad — Dotcom reached out to the hacker collective, offering lifetime premium subscriptions to his new encrypted filesharing service, Mega.

Following the initial offer, Lizard Squad stopped its attacks on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live — for about six hours. Then it started them up again on Friday morning.

But late Friday afternoon, the Lizard Squad says it has stopped throttling the game networks, citing Dotcom's earlier offer.

On Thursday, Lizard Squad said they initially wanted to take down PlayStation Network and Xbox Live “for the laughs,” but eventually the collective found a cause to rally behind: forcing these companies to upgrade the security on their networks.

It's unclear how Dotcom's offer solves any of those issues, but perhaps the Lizard Squad members felt they got their point across, and settled to exit with their prizes: lifetime memberships to Dotcom's new privacy service.

The Finest Squad, the hacker group that’s been busy keeping Lizard Squad at bay for the past 48+ hours, also confirms to Business Insider that Lizard Squad is “never attacking xbox or psn [sic] again.”

Then again, it’s tough to take Lizard Squad at its word, considering how this anonymous international group seems to enjoy putting a major damper on the holidays for a lot of people. But of course, Lizard Squad doesn't see it that way. 

We're continuing to reach out to Microsoft and Sony on this matter and we'll update this story as soon as we learn anything.

SEE ALSO: ‘Lizard Squad,’ The Hacker Gang That Shut Down PlayStation Network And Xbox Live For 2 Straight Days, Is Now Reportedly Attacking Tor

SEE ALSO: Why Hacker Gang 'Lizard Squad' Took Down Xbox Live And PlayStation Network

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Looking back on his career, "Shark Tank" investor Daymond John realized that no amount of money could buy a company success.

When John founded his fashion company Fubu in 1992 out of the Queens home he grew up in, he had nothing. He and his mother mortgaged the house to supply Fubu with $100,000 to meet a growing demand for its clothes.

By 1998, Fubu was the brand of choice for many of America's top rappers, and it brought in $350 million in revenue. But just five years later, John writes in his book "The Brand Within," he and his team had gotten ahead of themselves and ended up with a surplus of out-of-trend clothes in bargain bins. 

John says that, before it faded, Fubu became the massive success that it was because he started off broke. He needed to make maximum use of every dollar he spent, he told Business Insider at the 2014 Hennessy Privilege Awards in an interview about his coming book "The Power of Broke."

One of the hardest and most expensive lessons John learned in his career, he says, was managing the fashion label Heatherette into the ground several years after partnering with its founders Traver Rains and Richie Rich.

John considers Rains and Rich to be "two amazing designers" but lacking as managers. Heatherette specialized in women's clothing, an industry in which John was inexperienced. He figured that if he supplied Rains and Rich with enough resources and funding, they could take care of everything else.

"Six million dollars later, we didn't have a business," John says. The designers indulged in extravagant costume clothing for the runway but failed to develop a hot ready-to-wear retail line.

"We thought we could just throw people at it, throw money at advertising, [but it] didn't move the needle. It was just us lying to ourselves," John says. "Not that we were lazy. We tried to put in the work. But the money never made the difference."

Now, on ABC's hit show "Shark Tank" and through his company Shark Branding, John invests in entrepreneurs who aren't simply looking for a dose of capital.

"The philosophy of 'The Power of Broke' is, whether you're running a Fortune 100 company or you are just starting out, you have to be creative and determined, and you have to make sure that — instead of other people's money — you use other people's marketing, mind power, manpower, [and] manufacturing," he says. "And if you can't prove your concept when you're broke, you won't be able to prove it with money either."

NOW WATCH: Barbara Corcoran Explains Why Office Romance Is Fine

SEE ALSO: Daymond John Reveals What It's Like Being A 'Shark Tank' Investor

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Iain Armitage recently sat down with Sting to talk with him about his role in the Broadway musical "The Last Ship."

The six-year-old kindergartener began reviewing Broadway shows earlier this year on his YouTube channel.

Produced by Alex Kuzoian. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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"Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Interstellar" may have been among the highest-grossing movies of the year, but what were the best movies of the year?

We've pulled together the best-critiqued movies of the year, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 

15. "Snowpiercer" (Radius-TWC): 95%

Stars: Tilda Swinton, Chris Evans, and Jamie Bell
Box Office: $86.8 million worldwide
165 reviews

Did you know Captain America (Chris Evans) was in another popular movie this year?

This year's sci-fi cult favorite can be easily described as "The Hunger Games" on a train, minus the kid killing and archery. Instead, it follows Curtis (Evans) leading a passenger revolt between social classes upon a train to nowhere carrying the last survivors on Earth after a failed global-warming initiative kills off most life on the planet.

14. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (Fox): 92%

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen
Box Office: $746 million worldwide
237 reviews

Director Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects") returned to unite his original X-Men trilogy stars (Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Hugh Jackman) with the new younger crop (Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender), and it made for the year's best-rated superhero film. 

Sure, the film may have had one of the most confusing titles of the year, but it was one of the best X-Men movies yet. It even wiped away the existence of 2006's critically-panned "X-Men: The Last Stand" to the pleasure of many fanboys. Don't forget the addition of fan-favorite mutant Quicksilver (Evan Peters).

13. "The Missing Picture" (Strand): 99%

Narration by Randal Douc, Jean-Baptiste Phou
Box Office: $52,164 worldwide
74 reviews

The documentary follows a man as he looks for a picture taken between 1975 and 1979 by the Khmer Rouge when they ruled over Cambodia. He believes the picture will prove mass murder and searches vainly in archives, old papers, and country villages for the lost object. 

The film won the top prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at this past year's Oscars.

Actor Eddie Redmayne, 32, was lucky to get the role of famed physicist Stephen Hawking in the new movie "The Theory of Everything" — but it came with a lot of pressure.

Hawking himself , now 72, would be judging the young actor's performance. 

Hawking trekked to London to screen the film ahead of its November 7th release. Before watching the movie, Redmayne told Variety the cosmologist warned: "I’ll let you know what I think — good or otherwise.' I said, ‘Stephen, if it’s otherwise, you don’t need to go into details.'"

When the film screening was complete, Hawking was overcome with emotion (via Variety):

After the lights came up, a nurse wiped a tear from Hawking’s eye. He called the film 'broadly true,' and even celebrated with the film’s director James Marsh and screenwriter Anthony McCarten at a bar where he sipped champagne from a teaspoon. 'He emailed us,' Marsh says, 'and said there were certain points when he thought he was watching himself.'

Hawking was so happy with the movie that he told filmmakers he would allow them to swap the synthetic voice they had been forced to create and replace it with his own, trademarked computerized version. "We spent a lot of time and money trying to reproduce the voice, but we never got it," McCarten told Variety.

Redmayne was thrilled after he heard about Hawking’s offer, believing it was a stamp of approval on a performance he still questioned.

"You’re just hoping to get there," Redmayne said. "Yet there’s this constant frustration — it’s always underwhelming, because you never quite make it. But with his specific voice, it’s an actor’s dream. You’re one step closer to the truth."

Hawking's "voice," as he explains on his website, is a computer-based communication system that has been provided by Intel since 1997. To learn more about how it works, click here.

"The Theory of Everything" has raked in over $23 million at the box office since its release last month and is already getting Oscar buzz.

Watch the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: The Intense, 4-Month Training Eddie Redmayne Went Through To Play Stephen Hawking

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Justin Bieber had a very merry Christmas.

The 20-year-old pop star posted a photo of his luxurious new private jet to Instagram, writing: "New jet for Christmas, and she's beautiful."

Bieber then showed his 20.6 million followers a close-up of his new "beauty."

TMZ guesses the plane is a G6, which "goes for around $60M, give or take a few million," adding, "This one seems particularly tricked out, with at least 8 white leather seats, a large couch and a lounge."

It's not clear whether Bieber gifted himself the jet, but he can likely afford it.

Forbes recently estimated that the singer earned $80 million last year alone and he also holds the No. 1 spot on the magazine's list of top celebrity earners under 30.

Bieber is worth a reported $200 million total thanks to music sales, merchandise, product endorsements, and touring. 

SEE ALSO: Here's What Will Happen To Joan Rivers' $150 Million Estate

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Apple has canceled its annual holiday promotion that previously gave away free movies, music, and more to iOS users, Macworld reports.

The promotion, which was renamed from “12 Days Of Christmas” to “12 Days Of Gifts” last year, offered free giveaways on the iOS App Store for 12 straight days: apps, books, songs, movies, TV shows, and more.

Over the years, Apple has given away free episodes of “30 Rock,” songs and music videos from Foo Fighters and One Direction, and even the film “Home Alone” last year.

It’s unclear why Apple canceled the promotion this year, but we’ve reached out to the company and we’ll update this story when we learn more.

SEE ALSO: People Are More Excited Than Ever About The iPhone 6

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It has been a difficult year for a number of brands, ranging from newer companies like American Apparel to stalwarts like McDonald's.

Fortunately for these companies, nothing is permanent. We spoke with three branding experts to get their take on which struggling business and personal brands are poised to come back strong next year.

American Apparel

The controversial clothing retailer removed founder Dov Charney from his CEO position in June, reportedly after his board of directors became concerned that he had not been truthful in responding to claims that he had sexually harassed his employees.

Jeetendr Sehdev, a celebrity branding expert and professor at the University of Southern California, expects the company's new leadership to return the brand to prominence with its trademark provocative advertising and a new campaign starring dancing YouTube sensation Brendan Jordan.

"American Apparel remains a challenger brand imbued with masses of cultural currency that perfectly positions itself for 2015," Sehdev says.

Lululemon

The yoga-inspired athletic retailer spent 2014 working to recover from a disastrous 2013, when it had to recall 17% of its bottoms for being too sheer and its founder made comments indicating that women who had a problem with the size of Lululemon's clothes were too fat to be wearing them.

But as 2015 draws near, it seems Lululemon is turning a corner. Erich Joachimsthaler, founder and CEO of the strategy firm Vivaldi Partners, thinks the company is in for a resurgence in the New Year.

Joachimsthaler predicts that the company's new ventures into menswear will make everyone forget the mistakes of 2013. Plus, the recent drop in oil prices will help make its products cheaper to produce.

McDonald's

The world's most famous fast-food brand struggled in 2014 as young people continued to seek personalized, organic options over the brand's signature mass-produced hamburgers and chicken nuggets. Meanwhile, the company was the target of nationwide protests from workers seeking higher wages.

Sehdev says that in 2015, the Golden Arches will succeed with the implementation of re-designed restaurants, a mobile ordering app, and the "Create Your Taste" sandwich option, a test program that allows people to customize their own hamburgers with high-quality ingredients.

"Next year we'll see the start of a necessary re-imagining of the iconic brand as McDonald's demonstrates a greater understanding of business ethics and consumer purpose," Sehdev says.

JetBlue

JetBlue started 2014 by stranding a bunch of passengers in Barbados after canceling flights due to cold weather. Later in the year, it eliminated several features that had been the brand's hallmarks, including its one-class-fits-all boarding system, its promise of generous legroom for all passengers, and its refusal to charge a baggage check fee.

Joachimsthaler sees the company bouncing back in 2015, as it begins to make more money from courting high-end, first-class passengers and its geographic expansion into the midwest. He also thinks consumers will be won over by an emotional new ad campaign, through which the company is giving free flights to citizens who perform good deeds.

Justin Bieber

Biebs began the year by getting arrested for drag racing without a license while allegedly under the influence of Xanax and marijuana. He also made headlines for getting into a fight with actor Orlando Bloom, while otherwise keeping a fairly low profile.

Sehdev sees a 2015 resurgence for Bieber due to the release of a new song and renewed interest from fans who admire his willingness to be his bad boy self in public, regardless of what the critics say.

"There is only one Bieber and his brand not only remains differentiated from a plethora of other pop stars but also is now more humanized than ever before," Sehdev says. "Justin's authentic persona is rewarded with Beliebers that are nearly three times as loyal as other fan followings."

The NFL

The National Football League's concussion issue lingered throughout the year, as players fought in court over the fairness of a legal settlement that could cost the league $1 billion. And later in the year, several teams dealt with lawsuits alleging they had paid cheerleaders below minimum wage.

Of course, the negative media coverage from those proceedings paled in comparison to what came after the league ignored allegations that Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice assaulted his wife in an elevator and TMZ published video footage of the incident. The league also endured criticism when Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted for allegedly assaulting his four-year-old son with a tree branch.

Matti Leshem, founder and CEO of the brand strategy firm Protagonist, thinks the NFL is poised to turn its public image around in 2015, in large part due to its hiring of former Pepsi executive Dawn Hudson to be its chief marketing officer.

Leshem, who worked with Hudson when she was at Pepsi, says her willingness to consider outside-the-box ideas and experience reaching out to constituents on the consumer side will give her the power to redirect fans' attention to the league's on-field action.

"She's an incredibly formidable, very strong woman," Leshem tells Business Insider. "She is going to make a huge difference because she really understands marketing and advertising."

Target

The past year was one of change for Target, which suffered a massive customer data breach at the end of 2013 that will end up costing the company an estimated $148 million. The breach caused CEO Gregg Steinhafel to step down in May, with the company hiring Pepsi executive Brian Cornell to replace him.

Sehdev thinks the brand will return to glory in 2015 due to its unique visual identity, which makes it stand out from Sears and Wal-Mart, and new partnerships with Taylor Swift and Billy Joel.

"The retailer's efforts at creating innovative brand-centric shopping experiences, such as partnerships with Taylor Swift and Billy Joel, will not only further its perception as a dynamic brand in tune with today's audiences but also revive some of that 'Targé' mojo in the hearts and minds of consumers," Sehdev says.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Worst Corporate Logo Changes Of 2014

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The New Year represents a fresh start. And some of us may need it more than others.

Here are 28 high-profile people (and teams) whose careers or reputations took a big hit in 2014. Many are likely to bounce back — while others may never recover. 

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice

The Baltimore Ravens running back was charged with assaulting his then-fiancé Janay Palmer in February, but the news didn't initially gain traction in the media. 

That changed in September, when the NFL announced it would suspend Rice for a measly two games, prompting critics to point out that the league seemed to take marijuana use and college recruiting violations more seriously than domestic violence.

The story got even bigger when TMZ released the full security camera video of Rice punching Palmer, who by then had become his wife, in an elevator at Revel Casino in Atlantic Casino. Afterward, the camera showed him dragging her out of the elevator. 

The Baltimore Ravens cut Rice from the team, and the NFL suspended him indefinitely. Although though Rice won the appeal of his indefinite suspension in November, it is unlikely that an NFL team will add him to its roster any time soon.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel

In November, Hagel resigned as US Secretary of Defense under pressure from President Obama. As it turns out, Hagel "just wasn't up to the job," a senior defense official concisely summarized.

Although Hagel was reportedly chosen for the position in order to reorganize the armed forces and cut defense spending, he ended up needing to focus on other projects, including combating the rise of ISIS and the spread of Ebola.

'7th Heaven' actor Stephen Collins

This October a recording from a confidential marriage therapy session in 2012 was made public in which the "7th Heaven" actor admitted to molesting underage girls.

In December, 67-year-old Collins released a statement to People magazine in which he admits to inappropriate sexual contact with three female minors. In that statement he said: "Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since."

ABC's hit show "Shark Tank" has made its six investors some of the most recognizable businesspeople in North America.

As 2015 approaches, offering the chance to start fresh and tackle new projects, we asked the Sharks about their goals for the New Year.

Mark Cuban plans on playing more basketball.

The owner of the Dallas Mavericks says he wants to "get back on the court playing pickup three times a week."

Barbara Corcoran wants to make time for friends.

"I'm going to make sure I see one friend every week," she says. "See them — not text, not email. I've turned them into friendships of texting. My closest friends — and I only have like five close friends in my life — I don't see them nearly like I used to. So I'm going to pre-schedule one date with one friend every week."

Daymond John plans on hitting the slopes.

"New Year's Day is when I like to reset my 10 goals. Let me think of a fun one..." he says. "I'd like to start to snowboard more. I'd like to try to start to do the half pipe."

In five years, Bethany Mota has become a bona fde Youtube superstar whose channel amassed more than 7.8 million subscribers.

We caught up with Mota at the IGNITION 2014 event and we asked her to share some of her favorite fellow "YouTubers."

Produced by Graham Flanagan

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Jake Gyllenhaal's creepy latest movie "Nightcrawler" opened in theaters last month, and has already raked in over $38 million at the box office on just a $8.5 million production budget.

In the film, Gyllenhaal appears gaunt and as a much slimmer version of his usually more buff self.

For the majority of this year, Gyllenhaal was sporting a much leaner look while he shot "Nightcrawler.""Nightcrawler," in which Gyllenhaal both stars and is a producer, is the story of a career-hungry young man who stumbles upon the underground world of L.A. freelance crime photojournalism.

Gyllenhaal spent three months in pre-production brainstorming with screenwriter and first-time director Dan Gilroy on the appearance of his character, Lou.

“I knew that [Lou] was literally and figuratively hungry,” Gyllenhaal told Us Weekly, adding that he got into character by transitioning into a "mode where I was always a bit hungry." 

In order to drop 30 pounds from his 180-pound frame, Gyllenhaal told Variety: “I would try to eat as few calories as possible. I knew if I was hungry that I was in the right spot. Physically, it showed itself, but chemically and mentally, I think it was even a more fascinating journey. It became a struggle for me.”"He'd have a bowl of luxury chewing (gum) and they were, like, really elaborately flavored, to trick his brain into thinking he was having a meal," Gyllenhaal's co-star Riz Ahmed told The Canadian Press at the Toronto Film Festival this week. "So he was on his exercise bike having chewing gum and, like, almond tea with one calorie."

He also said Gyllenhaal was aware and apologetic about his sometimes-sour demeanor, "So he was like: 'Sorry I'm grumpy, I haven't eaten."'

On some nights during shooting, Gyllenhaal told Variety he wouldn’t eat at all, or he’d only take small bites of meat, crackers, or kale salad. To stay lean and fit, he would run 15 miles from his house to the film's set.

“There was a general sense that he was a coyote,” Gyllenhaal says. “I just wanted to live that way.”

Gilroy adds: “When you watch the film and see the angularity of his face, the hollow cheeks, the way that his eyes become prominent — it’s such a haunting look for a night shoot.”Gyllenhaal's co-star and Gilroy's wife, Rene Russo, told E! Online, "It's incredible what he put his body through. I actually was worried."

But this isn't Gyllenhaal's first physical transformation for a film.

In 2010, the Oscar nominee added major muscle to his physique for "Prince of Persia." The actor told UsWeekly at the time that he would eat six small meals loaded with protein, carbs, and fats.

Gyllenhaal, however, says there was no special diet to shed pounds for "Nightcrawler." 

"I just love this movie," he said. "That’s how I did it. There really was no technique."

Watch the "Nightcrawler" trailer below. Gyllenhaal's performance is being called "stunning":

SEE ALSO: Jake Gyllenhaal Goes Psycho In His Dark New Movie 'Nightcrawler'

MORE: Here's How Chris Pratt Got Ripped For Marvel's 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

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Apple has decided to join other streaming sites in its decision to release The Interview on iTunes in the U.S. and Canada today at 1pm EST. iTunes will also let you rent ($5.99) or buy ($14.99) the film, reports Re/Code.

The decision comes several days after other services began streaming the controversial movie. 

On December 24th, The New York Times reported,

According to people briefed on the matter, Sony had in recent days asked the White House for help in lining up a single technology partner — Apple, which operates iTunes — but the tech company was not interested, at least not on a speedy time table. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

It is unclear what the reasoning is behind this change of plan.

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Sony announced Sunday night that "The Interview" was downloaded or rented online more than 2 million times, generating over $15 million in sales.

After initially pulling the movie from theaters, Sony decided to release it online instead. "The Interview" premiered December 24 on YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video, and Sony's own site, SeeTheInterview.com.

On Sunday, Apple made the movie available for rent or purchase on iTunes.

"The Interview" costs $14.99 to own or $5.99 to rent.

A source familiar with the movie's online sales told Business Insider the "vast majority" of rentals and downloads came from Google Play and YouTube.

The movie was also shown in a little over 300 independent movie theaters in the US. The major movie theater chains have refused to show it. It's generated about $3 million in estimated sales at the box office so far.

A week earlier, Sony canceled the Christmas Day premiere of "The Interview" after five of the top theater chains declined to show the movie following threats by a hacker group called Guardians of Peace (GOP). Sony gave no indication the movie would be released at all until President Obama called Sony's decision a "mistake."

Keep in mind this doesn't mean "The Interview" is a success. It cost an estimated $100 million to make, including marketing costs.

Meanwhile, "The Interview" was pirated an estimated 1.5 million times in its first two days, according to Torrent Freak.

Here's the full announcement from Sony:

Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced the total number of online rentals and purchases for The Interview through the first four days of the holiday weekend.

Through Saturday, December 27, including all of its online distribution platforms, The Interview has been rented or purchased online more than 2 million times.  Total consumer spending through Saturday for The Interview online is over $15 million.

In addition to the strong turnout for its limited theatrical release over the holiday weekend, after only four days, The Interview already ranks as Sony Pictures #1 online film of all time.

The Interview was made available online across the United States at 10AM PST on Christmas Eve to rent in HD on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and the dedicated website www.seetheinterview.com at a price of $5.99. The film was also available for purchase in HD for $14.99.  Online distribution was expanded to Canada through Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video starting later that afternoon.

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The most pirated movies of the year were some of 2013's biggest movies.

Variety rounded up the 20 most-pirated movies from Jan. 1 to Dec. 23, 2014 via piracy-tracking firm Excipio.

While the list includes some of this year's hits including "Captain America: The Winter Solider" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past," last year's "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Frozen" were the two largest illegal downloads of the year.

Here's the top 10 via Variety. You can view the full list here.

1. “The Wolf of Wall Street”: 30.035 million (Paramount, Dec. 25, 2013)
2. “Frozen”: 29.919 million (Disney, Nov. 27, 2013)
3. “RoboCop”*: 29.879 million (MGM, Feb. 12, 2014; and Orion, July 17, 1987)
4. “Gravity”: 29.357 million (Warner Bros., Oct. 4, 2013)
5. “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”: 27.627 million (Warner Bros., Dec. 13, 2013)
6. “Thor: The Dark World”: 25.749 million (Disney/Marvel, Nov. 8, 2013)
7. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”: 25.628 million (Disney/Marvel, April 4, 2014)
8. “The Legend of Hercules”: 25.137 million (Summit, Jan. 10, 2014)
9. “X-Men: Days of Future Past”: 24.380 million (20th Century Fox, May 23, 2014)
10. “12 Years a Slave”: 23.653 million (Fox Searchlight, Oct. 18, 2013)

SEE ALSO: The best-reviewed movies of the year

AND: The highest-grossing movies of 2014

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Sony announced Sunday that "The Interview" was purchased or rented online over 2 million times since it premiered Dec. 24.

It also generated over $15 million in revenue from those online sales.

But while Sony trumpeted the release as its most successful online movie ever, "The Interview" has also been pirated a lot.

According to Torrent Freak, which tracks downloads from file-sharing sites, "The Interview" was pirated about 1.5 million times in the first two days.

Part of the reason could be because Sony made it way too easy to download a version of the movie that didn't have any piracy safeguards.

As The Verge and others reported, if you rented "The Interview" for $5.99 from Sony's site SeeTheInterview.com, you could share the URL and anyone could stream it without paying extra.

And viewers could simply right-click on the video to save a version without privacy safeguards called DRM. Those files were quickly added to file-sharing sites.

"The Interview" was also shown in a little over 300 independent theaters in the US, and brought in about $3 million in box office sales. All together, "The Interview" generated about $18 million in sales in its first weekend.

That doesn't make the movie a success though. The major theater chains still refuse to show "The Interview" following threats from a hacker group called Guardians of Peace (GOP), which the FBI says has ties to North Korea. ("The Interview" portrays the assassination of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.)

The movie cost about $45 million to make, and some have estimated the total cost to Sony was about $100 million if you factor in marketing and other expenses.

SEE ALSO: I watched "The Interview" and it's easy to see why the hackers hate it so much

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If you follow stock-market punditry obsessively like we do, you'll quickly notice something.

A handful of analysts speak English. But the vast majority don't.

Rather, they speak a language unique to the investment business.

This language consists of market phrases that sound intelligent but don't mean anything.

The phrases don't sound like they don't mean anything, of course. On the contrary, they sound like they mean a lot. In fact, they make the speaker sound as wise as Warren Buffett (who, to his great credit, never speaks this way). 

Most of these phrases have another key benefit, which is useful in the investment business: They never commit the speaker to any specific recommendation or prediction. In other words, no matter what happens, the analyst can always be "right" and never be "wrong" — because they didn't actually say anything.

So if you want to sound smart about investing without really saying anything, read on.

"The easy money has been made."

When to use it: Any time a market or stock has already gone up a lot.

Why it's smart-sounding: It implies wise, prudent caution. It implies that you bought or recommended the stock a long time ago, before the easy money was made (and are therefore smart). It suggests that there might be further upside, but that there might be future downside, because the stock is "due for a correction" (another smart-sounding meaningless phrase that you can use all the time). It does not commit you to any specific recommendation or prediction. It protects you from all possible outcomes: If the stock drops, you can say, "As I said ... " If the stock goes up, you can say "As I said ... "

Why it's meaningless: It's a statement about the obvious. It's a description of what has happened, not what will happen. It requires no special insight or power of analysis. It tells you nothing that you don't already know. Also, it's not true: The money that has been made was likely in no way "easy." Buying stocks that are rising steadily is a lot "easier" than buying stocks that the market has left for dead (because everyone thinks you're stupid to buy stocks that no one else wants to buy.)

"I'm cautiously optimistic."

A classic. Can be used in almost all circumstances and market conditions.

When to use it: Pretty much anytime.

Why it's smart-sounding: It implies wise, prudent caution, but also a sunny outlook, which most people like. (Nobody likes a bear, especially in a bull market.) It sounds more reasonable than saying, for example, "The stock is a screaming buy and will go straight up from here." It protects the speaker against all possible outcomes. If the market drops, the speaker can say, "As you know, I was cautious ... " If the market goes up, the speaker can say, "As you know, I was optimistic ... "

Why it's meaningless: It's too general to mean anything. It can accurately describe any market outcome in history, merely by adjusting the unspecified time frame. (If you were "cautiously optimistic" in 1929, you were "cautious," which was good, and you were also optimistic, which was also good. Eventually, the market recovered!)

"It's a stockpicker's market."

Another classic. Sounds smart but is completely meaningless.

When to use it: Especially useful in bear markets or flat markets, but can be used anytime.

Why it's smart-sounding: It suggests that the current market environment is different from other market environments and therefore requires special skill to navigate. It implies that the speaker has this skill. It suggests that, if you're talented enough to be a "stockpicker," you can coin money right now — while everyone else drifts sideways or loses their shirts. 

Why it's meaningless: If you pick stocks for a living (or for your personal account), all markets are "stockpickers' markets." In all markets, traders are trying to buy winners and sell dogs, and in all markets only half of these traders succeed. (It's a different half each time, of course — and most of the "winnings" of the winners are wiped out by transaction costs and taxes, but that's a different story). It is no easier (or harder) to win the stockpicking game in a flat or bear market than in a bull market, and if you try, you'll almost certainly do worse than if you had just bought an index fund.