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Was 2014 Any Good?

The Top 10 Films Of 2014
2014 - An End of Year Review by Nathan Brooks

2014 is sooooo last year.
2014 was a great year for movies, so good in fact that my worst list would be made up of only two films, Age of Extinction at number two and Nativity 3 at number one. If I did make a top 10 worst list, It'd be made up mostly of the films that just weren't good enough to make this list, which really says something. Admittedly, I'm not a serious critic by any means, I just like writing reviews about things I've seen or played, so I haven't gone to see every film possible, meaning I've probably stayed away from the truly horrific stuff put out this year. So yeah, if a film isn't on this list, it probably means I didn't see it. Anyway, with that out of the way, lets start the countdown of the Top 10 Films of 2014.

Number 10 - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Why did they call this 'The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay? I mean, there's no Hunger Games 
in it.

Of course it didn't need to be split up into two parts, it's only one book, but I think we can forgive it for that, because Peter Jackson split the Hobbit into three movies, so in comparison, Mockinjay's pretty tame. To be honest, I think the best thing about this movie is the way it reminds you how awesome the second part is going to be, because coming from somebody who's read the book, it's going to get a lot better. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, may not be the best of the Hunger Games, but it's a good movie nonetheless. 

Number 9 - How To Train Your Dragon 2
Awwww,  Hiccups all grown up.
Back in the days of Toy Story and Shrek, when CGI animated films were not easy to make, only very talented filmmakers ever tried to tackle them. Now, they're about the easiest movies to produce, which is why the majority of them suck, really, really badly. How To Train Your Dragon 2, on the other hand, does not. This film is proof that some animated movie makers still put effort into making a good film, and this is a good film. Better than the first one? Maybe, but the first one was excellent as well, so that's a tough call to make. Whatever the case, How To Train Your Dragon 2 takes a worthy spot in the Hall of Well Made Animated Films. That does exist, right?

Number 8 - Edge of Tomorrow
Just because your movie sounds like
a romantic novel, doesn't mean you
have to have any romance in it
Or is it Live Die Repeat? I'm confused. Anyway, confusing titles aside, Edge of Tomorrow is one of the best action movies I've ever seen.  It's a very intelligent film, although admittedly a little confusing as well. Kind of like a very big budget episode of Doctor Who, with Tom Cruise instead of the Doctor. Also with a lot more violence. The only real problem I have with this film is the really forced and really unnecessary 'romance' between the main leads, which is something that movies need to stop doing. Other than that fairly minor nitpick, this is a very entertaining and very intelligent action film that definitely deserves a spot on this list.

Number 7 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Did you just say Hail Hydra?
The first Captain America was okay. I mean, it was early days for Marvel Studios, they were just beginning to figure out how to make a good movie. The second Captain America on the other hand was awesome. Great action, great story, huge plot twist to the entire MCU and it also managed to turn Agents of Shield from a pretty good show, to a really good show. Captain America 2 is Marvel's first film on this list and it certainly isn't the last.

Number 6 - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
So many Dwarves, so little
 ti- OH NOT AGAIN
The Hobbit trilogy is like Marmite; some like it, some hate it. I personally quite like it. Yes it isn't as good as the Lord of the Rings, but there's no such thing as a fantasy movie that's as good as the Lord of the Rings. What there is such thing as is a fantasy movie that's still pretty good. The third and final Hobbit is proof that action can be interesting, because considering that's what the majority of this film is, it kind of had to be. So, Michael Bay, this is how you make an action movie, okay? Good.

Number 5 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
STOP MONKEYING AROUND!
Who knew you could get so much emotion out of a bunch of Apes? I certainly didn't, but somehow the makers of the second film in the recent Apes reboot managed to get it done anyway. A lot of this is helped by the excellent performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar. At least, if you can stop yourself from imagining how stupid he must've looked whilst filming. 

 Number 4 - Interstellar
Fourth? Only fourth?!
The sad thing is, I did write a review for this one, but somehow it just disappeared, with the only trace being a Google Plus post that takes you nowhere. To sum up the now lost review, Interstellar is very impressive. It's also very overwhelming, but in a good way. The music is really loud, but I didn't find that it bothered me and I'm sure Nolan has a very good reason for why he did it, I just don't know what it is. Everything else about this film is very impressive, if a bit confusing. If you can handle the Weeping Angels in Doctor Who though, you should be able to handle Interstellar. 

 Number 3 - X-Men: Days of Future Past
Aaaaaaaabs
After the failure that was X-Men 3, as well as a couple of mediocre Wolverine movies, Days of Future Past finally brings X-Men back to the high standards of quality of the first two movies, and it does it incredibly well. I was also glad to see a lot of First Class in this movie, which was easily one of my favourite X-Men films (before this one, obviously). It will certainly take a lot of effort to make Apocalypse this good. 
Number 2 - The Lego Movie
Second? Awesome!
EVERYTHING IS AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME! Erm... sorry about that. Anyway, the Lego Movie surprised everybody with how absolutely amazing it was, as most of them expected it to be awful. I expected something pretty good, however, as Lego have proved before that they can make good things that aren't just toys. Like, for example, they're video games. Despite that, though, I was still surprised. I was expecting a fairly entertaining film and I was very pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be one of the best movies of the year. A great story, a great cast, loads of excellent jokes and amazing animation, everything about the Lego Movie is certainly awesome. 

Number 1 - Guardians of the Galaxy
Seriously though, who actually are the
Guardians of the Galaxy? I mean, I've
never heard of them.
Here they are again, Marvel Studios once more proving that they can make anything into an amazing movie. Guardians of the Galaxy was the most enjoyable film I've ever watched and yet I and pretty much everybody else, hadn't a clue who any of these people were. Marvel Studios can pull off anything, including creating an excellent character who only ever speaks five words in the entire movie. How Marvel made a film out of bunch of nobodies into possibly their best movie ever, I have no idea, but Marvel are on a roll and Avengers 2 looks like it's going to be outstanding. 

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