14) The Amazing Spider-Man 2
There will be many who argue that this film deserves to be lower on this list. But I had a lot of fun with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It was a bit disappointing and had a few too many tonal inconsistencies, goofy moments and crammed in subplots, but I still found it really enjoyable. The relationship between Peter and Gwen, portrayed by real-life couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, anchors the film in a fantastic way. The villains may have been shoddily done with Jamie Foxx's dopey Max Dillon performance being a particular distraction, but the action scenes were all fun to watch with a particularly tense climactic battle that reveals heavy consequences for Spider-Man. With the Spider-Man franchise in limbo right now it's unsure if we'll see this story continued or not with the potential of a second reboot allowing Spider-Man to interact in the Marvel Cinematic Universe creeping up. Personally speaking though, I'm not against Sony just continuing with The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and learning from their mistakes on this film to make a better threequel.
Best Part - Sequences of Spider-Man swinging through New York used 3D gloriously to its advantage.
Worst Part - Great actors are wasted on goofy roles with Jamie Foxx and Paul Giamatti never living up to their potential.
Award - Best on-screen couple.
13) Godzilla
This was a film I was initially extremely disappointed with. The film spends way too much time setting up and teasing the giant monsters to the extent where no matter how epic the climactic fight is, it feels like it could never live up to the expectations the film builds. Furthermore, it offers very little interesting content in replacement of the monsters, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character being rather two-dimensional. You can read more on my initial reaction here. But since then I've rewatched it a couple of times, and I enjoyed it a lot more since. The film still teases the monsters too much, and the characters still don't provide much interesting, but it's an incredibly fun ride. Just make sure you know what you're in for before watching it. As I said in my last piece, expectations can have a huge impact on how you enjoy a movie, so if you go into this expecting either an epic monster blockbuster with Godzilla fighting throughout the movie or a great story with effective characters, you'll probably end up disappointed. The end product, however, still remains an enjoyably effective one.
Best Part - The final fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs is astonishing.
Worst Part - Slow scenes focusing on Taylor-Johnson's dull character through off the pacing.
Award - Best score for Alexandre Desplat's bombastic score that creates an epic atmosphere reminiscent of classic monster movies.
12) Edge of Tomorrow
Trailers for Edge of Tomorrow convinced me to skip it in the cinema. It looked like the most generic sci-fi action film someone could create. But eventually I started to hear more and more people talking about how genuinely surprised they were by the quality of the film, and when it hit Video on Demand I decided to rent it and check it out for myself. This film was an absolute delight, and one of the funnest action films I've seen in a long time. It uses the concept of reliving the same day wonderfully, and the film is backed by the talent of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt who both fit the action hero roles brilliantly. If, like me, you are yet to see Edge of Tomorrow because the trailers convinced you it wouldn't be worth your time, then you should give it a rent and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Best Part - Early scenes of Tom Cruise reliving the same event to try and perfect his actions in a battle are amusing.
Worst Part - The third act slows down a little bit too much.
Award - Biggest surprise of the year.
11) How to Train Your Dragon 2
Why don't we see this side of Dreamworks much more often? The last time one of their films had this much heart was with Kung Fu Panda 2 or the first How to Train Your Dragon. This sequel sores among the heights of some of Pixar's greats, and while an animated sequel retaining the same heart and passion that the first did, it's not a feat we see nearly often enough these days. There are a lot of times where Dragon 2 hits you harder than you'd expect an animated family film about dragons would. But that's purely because the filmmakers here clearly have the passion for what they're working for, and you can tell. Beyond the wonderful story or the instantly lovable characters, the technicalities of the film are near faultless, with a particular highlight being scenes involving Hiccup and Toothless soaring through the skies that are shot with such beautiful cinematography you almost feel like you are there with them. How To Train Your Dragon 2 is easily one of the best family movies we've received in the last five years.
Best Part - Toothless is as adorable and lovable as he ever was, and utterly charming to watch.
Worst Part - I kinda missed the scenes from the first where Hiccup and Toothless gradually understood each other.
Award - Best animation (from a technical standpoint, not as a genre). The CG is purely breathtaking.
10) Interstellar
Interstellar won't be ranked among Christopher Nolan's greatest films, but it'll probably be remembered for the incredible visuals and masterful directing used in sequences involving the crew exploring different planets. But to me, the standout from the film that I'll remember from it will definitely be the relationship between Matthew McConaughey's Cooper and his daughter, Mackenzie Fox's Murph. Fox as Murph provides such an emotional anchor to the film, and you really feel for McConaughey throughout the film in a way I don't think you would if she wasn't so good. Some places are still actually showing Interstellar, and if you haven't already seen it on the big screen I'd recommend you do your best to rectify that. The space scenes are so breathtaking in the cinema that if you watched it later on Blu-ray or VOD, I'm not sure you'd get the same sense of awe. While Interstellar wasn't as spectacular I was hoping, that doesn't detract from the fact it's still a great movie.
Best Part - Mackenzie Fox as Murph and her scenes with McConaughey.
Worst Part - The resolution of the film.
Award - Best directing.
9) The Raid 2
If you're a fan of action movies in general, you owe it to yourself to watch both The Raid and The Raid 2. This film ramps up the intense, incredibly choreographed action that the first film offered and somehow raises it to even more insane levels. This film improves on everything that the first offered. Better and more varied fight scenes. More characters. A better and actually interesting story to go with that. It's utterly incredible. I feel like The Raid 2 might unfairly go under most people's radars just because it's a foreign film, but even if you've never been a fan of them you should definitely at least give this one the benefit of the doubt. Because violent stylistic action is an international language, after all.
Best Part - The fight scene depicted in the above picture is probably the best of the film.
Worst Part - The story was a bit generic and derivative from similar films.
Award - Best choreography.
8) 22 Jump Street
This has to be the strongest comedy sequel I've seen in a while. Rather than falling for what usually trips up most comedy sequels by covering the same ground as the first film (e.g The Hangover Part II), 22 Jump Street instead parodies this throughout, often making tongue in cheek references as to how their case and situation is exactly the same as the previous case, or how they now have a bigger budget joking that executives think it'll mean more quality. Beyond this though, the core of the film lies with the chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The odd couple proved in the first installment how well they work together, and 22 Jump Street only strengthens that argument as the bromance develops. This sequel is as hilarious as the first film while also managing to poke fun at itself and similar unnecessary Hollywood sequels, and is definitely one of the highlights of 2014.
Best Part - Ice Cube's dinner scene.
Worst Part - While they make a brief appearance, Dave Franco and Rob Riggle are missed as the antagonists from the first.
Award - Best comedy.
7) X-Men: Days of Future Past
The X-Men series unarguably had a bit of a derailing with 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand and 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. However, with the releases of X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine and now X-Men: Days of Future Past, the franchise is in the best state it's ever been, with sequels and spin-offs lined up in the near future that fans can genuinely get excited about. Days of Future Past wasn't crammed with a lot of mindless violence; it had the odd action set piece here and there, not not huge battles at every corner. Instead, it made a bold move to focus on the characters and the stories rather than the over the top fight scenes and mutant powers. It's a move that really benefited the film, in my opinion, In a summer with three other superhero films, Bryan Singer reminds us why we love the X-Men. It's not because of the costumes or the powers, but because of the wonderful, deep characters. For more on my thoughts on this film, check out my review here.
Best Part - The final scene when the audience, and Wolverine, realize the consequences of his actions in the past.
Worst Part - Magneto's actions in the third act of the film make little sense in context to the story.
Award - Best post-credits scene (En Sabah Nur!).
6) Birdman
Birdman is a masterfully made movie that investigates the idea of big budget blockbusters, particularly superhero films, and smaller independent projects. The casting of Michael Keaton is perfect, and creates this parallel to real life as his character discusses the problem with playing such a popular superhero in movies and how he's been struggling to escape that lifestyle, with Birdman obviously standing in for Keaton's Batman movies. There's a sequence where Keaton's character is listing off potential actors for his play, and being shot down when he realized they're all busy making superhero films, which once again can be seen in the casting with Keaton, the star of Batman and Batman Returns, being joined by Edward Norton (The Incredible Hulk) and Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man). The film is a technical achievement, with the entire thing looking like it was shot in one take. It gives the film a realistic vibe, like you're actually there with these characters. Here's hoping Birdman gets some attention from the Academy come February.
Best Part - The heavily advertised scene featuring Keaton walking down a street stalked by his Birdman persona.
Worst Part - Edward Norton's storyline is left somewhat unresolved by the end.
Award - Best Editing. So expertly done that it's impossible to notice.
5) Gone Girl
If you haven't yet seen Gone Girl, I'd recommend you avoid everything you can about it until you get your chance to see it. The best way to view this film is by knowing as little as you can about it. That being said, I'll give a very brief summary of the film. This is an incredibly well done film, based on an excellent story by Gillian Flynn, who adapts her own novel into the screenplay. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike give incredible performances in this film. It was very well directed by David Fincher. And it is definitely worth your time.
Best Part - The story as a whole, particularly in the second act.
Worst Part - The sound editing was a little bit dodgy in some earlier scenes.
Award - Best actress to Rosamund Pike.
4) Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is the best case scenario of a sheer fun time at the cinema. This film, with it's incredibly zany characters, it's wild, exhilarating action scenes or it's spot on hilarious comedy, is the most fun I had at the cinema this year. It has a couple of minor flaws, like the villains are a bit underutilized, but overall every time I've watched it (about seven times now), I've had an absolute blast. With it's nostalgic 70's soundtrack, stunning visuals and awesome cast, Guardians of the Galaxy will likely be remembered for years to come as one of the most purely fun films we've received in recent history. If you want to read more about my thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy, click here to see my full review.
Best Part - Groot is such an instantly lovable character and brightens up the entire film whenever he is dedicated screentime.
Worst Part - Lee Pace as Ronan is unfortunately rather bland, which sucks since both the actor and character could be much better.
Award - Best use of music.
3) The LEGO Movie
This film had way more heart and sincerity than I was expecting. Almost everybody expected this movie to be a shameless cash in that existed solely to advertise Lego products, and while it does technically still advertise them, there's no denying the film was heart and substance beyond that. The film is hilarious, and so fast paced that often on repeat viewings you'll find new jokes that you missed last time. The LEGO Movie was so much better than it had any right to be, and it makes for an extremely fun adventure for all ages.
Best Part - Will Ferrell as the villain, Lord Business, was a particularly fun aspect. Especially his mispronunciations of the relics.
Worst Part - There aren't any glaring faults, so I'll just say the worst part is that it may encourage you to rush out and spend a lot of money on Lego!
Award - Best original song.
2) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Besides The Avengers, I'd rank Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the greatest film Marvel Studios has put out. The idea of changing up the norm and focusing on a plot suitable for a political thriller really paid off, allowing the film to have both a compelling story while also weaving in popular elements from the comic books, such as the Winter Soldier himself, to create an impressive, gritty superhero adventure with a unique twist so that it can stand it's ground against the others. The action scenes are also impressively slick, with choreography similar to that of The Raid that always for some of the best fight scenes in a superhero film that we've seen in a while. The acting is also solid all around, particularly from Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. The film also has explosive consequences for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, giving the film a huge sense of importance within the Avengers mythos. Improving on every aspect that The First Avenger offered us, The Winter Soldier definitely deserves it's ranking among the top three films of 2014.
Best Part - Captain America fighting the Winter Soldier on the street in my favourite action sequence of the year.
Worst Part - Follows an annoying recent trend in Marvel movies of faking out on a character's supposed demise.
Award - Best action film.
1) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Holy shit, this is a fantastic movie. I loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and I was suitably excited for Dawn, but I never would have thought it would be this good. Exceeding the first in quality, and smashing the hype around it, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes provides us with the smartests blockbuster of the year. Similar to Fox's other big blockbuster this year, Days of Future Past, Dawn doesn't rely on huge action set pieces and dramatic over the top fights to get audiences in seats. Instead, it let's characters and story lead the way, as we follow and becoming invested in Caesar, returning from the previous film, and his struggle to maintain peace when his ape pack meet humans after their supposed extinction. Motion capture has already been used excellently in films, but here it's pushed even further as Andy Serkis delivers a phenomenal performance as Caesar, as well as a fantastic performance by Toby Kebbell as Koba. When action does occur in the movie, it's beautifully shot and extremely effective, not just glorifying the violence but showing the horrifying consequences it can have. Furthermore the film does a splendid job of balancing the apes and the humans. There isn't just a black and white morality in the film where one side is right and one is wrong. There are no purely evil characters in the film. Everyone has their motivations, and the majority of them are justifiable. All this in a movie about talking apes. The direction from Matt Reeves is fantastic, the acting is brilliant, Michael Giacchino's score is beautiful, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the greatest film of 2014.
Best Part - Hard to choose, so I'll say it's between the awesome battle about an hour in, or Caesar meeting his newborn son.
Worst Part - There's nothing really glaring to stand out as the worst part.
Award - Best film and Best Visual Effects.
That's all the films I saw in 2014, then. What are your thoughts on my list? What are the obvious ones that I need to see? What do you think I was too kind to or too critical to? What was your favourite of the year? Comment below and let me know. And if you want to know what I expect to top my list at the end of this year, click here to check out my most anticipated films of 2015!
