2014's Best 10 Movies

The year 2014 brought many movies forward thanks to the production studios that are taking risks as well as playing it safe. This year, as every year brought us an array of movies from big budget sequels ('Transformers: Age of Extinction', 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'), to reboot properties ('Godzilla' and 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'), the usual YA movies ('The Maze Runner', 'Divergent' and 'Mockingjay-Part 1') to even the small movies that are worthy of being recognized at the awards season ('Boyhood', 'The Theory of Everything' and 'The Imitation Game').
Therefore, seeing the vast pool of ingenuity, successes and failures here are Movie Freak 77's Best 10 Movies of the Year 2014:



10)Godzilla

'Godzilla'.

'Godzilla' has been one of the biggest success stories of Hollywood this year. Not only did it manage to successfully bring us a new take on the biggest and scariest monster people know, but also it managed to shatter the previous bad image this monster got from bad movies. The way director "Gareth Edwards" introduced the grand and suspense feeling to the movie and made audience on the edge of their seats the entire time is one of the success factors. Granted the human characters were a bit of a downer and many wanted more of "Bryan Cranston", still this film was rightly all about the 'Godzilla', even if it took him about an hour to show up. Still it was completely worth it.


9)Gone Girl/Boyhood:

'Boyhood' and 'Gone Girl'.

The reason 'Gone Girl' and 'Boyhood' were put within this list and in the same ranking was simply because each movie respectively brought something new to the table. The direction of "David Fincher" allowed both "Ben Affleck" and "Rosamund Pike" to shine in this thriller-suspense-psychological drama and each provided an Oscar-worthy performance. On the other hand, this great concept of shooting a movie within a time frame of 10 years, allowed the character-driven 'Boyhood' movie to shine brightest. With the cast of this movie bringing something new to the table and evolving their respective character, as they are also growing each year. Both will sure have a huge presence at the award season.

8)Interstellar

'Interstellar'.

'Interstellar' is probably the only movie on the list that is bound to make people ask each other whether this is truly worth the watch and even if it is good. Well personally, "Christopher Nolan" has managed to give us another film-making masterpiece to the table. Though there are some issues regarding the narrative of the movie, still one cannot watch and not admire the beauty of the entire thing and the way he brought a world, unknown to humanity, to life and make it feel so real. Also performances by "Mathew McConaughey", "Anne Hathaway", "Jessica Chastain", "McKenzie Foy" and "Michael Caine" also added to the movie and brought depth to the character, which was one of the criticized elements.

7)Captain America: The Winter Soldier

'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'.

What is now arguably one of the best Marvel Studio movies ever to be made, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' surprised many. First, bringing this comic book character into the genre of political/propaganda/thriller was just the ultimate recipe this character needed, all thanks to the brilliant directors "Anthony Russo" and "Joe Russo". Furthermore, (Spoiler Alert) the movie has now changed the foundations of the entire cinematic universe, which translated beautifully into the TV series 'Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D'. To add more, the performances provided by "Chris Evan", "Scarlett Johansson", "Samuel L. Jackson" and "Robert Redford" just added volume to the end product and made it that much enjoyable.


6)Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'.

Among all the movies within this list(and probably the entire year), 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' was the only sequel that completely blew people off-guard of how entertaining and very technincal a big budget movie can be. Aside from the brilliant story that actually was centered around the apes, the actors who played these animals using the motion-capture technology will be unfortunately sidelined from being praised, especially motion-capture guru "Andy Serkis", who along with remaining actors brought these apes to life; therefore, the essence of the entire plot.(Review Coming Soon).

5)Fury

'Fury'

How often do we get a drama movie, with brilliant action-set pieces, that actually shines due to all the pieces falling in the right place? That is exactly what happened with 'Fury'. This war-drama picture brought realism to the screen of the audiences, not holding down on what actually happens to a bunch of soldiers inside a tank during a period of war and misery. "Brad Pitt" as usual successfully lead the movie, "Logan Lerman" shattered his preconceived image and showed his true potential, while remaining cast like "Shia LaBeouf" gave a heartfelt performance. What is even more intresting is the story which explores deeply the five main characters while managing to move forward. 'Fury' broke the stereotype of war movies and should be surely watched.

4)X-Men: Days of Future Past

'X-Men: Days of Future Past'.

The 'X-Men' franchise has had its fair share of ups and downs and many were skeptic of whether it will be able to compete with Marvel Studio movies. Well 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' did the unthinkable: bringing an exciting reunion action picture while managing to going back to square one. Actors that played defining roles in this franchise such as "Patrick Stewart", "Ian McKellen", "Halle Berry" and "Hugh Jackman" joined forces alongside new faces of the franchise like "Jennifer Lawrence", "Michael Fassbender" and "James McAvoy" to provide us what could be arguably the best 'X-Men' movie. And with the return of 'X-Men' expert director "Bryan Singer", the franchise was able to undo all previous wrong-doing to start fresh with upcoming sequels.

3)How To Train Your Dragon 2

'How To Train Your Dragon 2'.

Back in 2010, 'How to Train Your Dragon' became an instant hit due to the incredible story, exciting characters and out of this world special effects. With its imminent sequel, the franchise just grew bigger and better. With this being one of my personal best franchises, director and writer "Dean DeBlois" improved upon every element from the first installment (which were already near perfection). 'How To Train Your Dragon 2' had special effects and 3-D that were breath-taking. The addition of new voice actors such as "Cate Blanchett" and "Kit Harrington" allowed expansion of characters and the story allowed the audience to further emmerse themselves in this beautiful world. Also the movie's score, which was composed by "John Powell" also added value to the movie.

2)The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies

'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'.

Finally, the last (presumably) Middle-Earth movie has arrived, a moment that every fan of this Tolkein world was excited for yet dreading. Sure, 'The Hobbit' franchise did not get the same reception that the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy get (unfair comparison), still fans were getting the movies and actually enjoying them. 'The Battle of the Five Armies' did deliver on what it promised its fans, which is bring these huge fights and the penultimate battle, whithin the actual hobbit stories, while still preserving what 'LOTR' has established and linking these two trilogies together. "Peter Jackson" took us on a spectacular final ride and for 'One Last Time' we took a Middle Earth ride that was completely worth it.

1)Guardians of the Galaxy

'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

Many were pessimistic and doubting Marvel Studios when it announced this particular project, that wasn't known as 'Iron Man' or 'Captain America'. But surely they forgot a small detail: Marvel Studios. With 'Guardians of theGalaxy', it was able to create a masterpiece that was able to take advantage of the entire items of experiences it was able to garner from its previous outings. Bringing the story of these five outlaws, who will eventually be able to work together to save the galaxy was one of the best films ever made. With "James Gunn"'s brilliant vision bringing this whole extension of a pre-existing universe, characters that are uniquely distinguish while also bringing a bit of the charm of the music's 80's, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is surely one of the best Marvel Studio pictures ever to be made and even one of the best movies ever.

Honorable Mentions:

'The Maze Runner'.

The Fault in Our Stars
The Maze Runner
The Hunger Games-Mockinjay Part 1
Edge of Tomorrow
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Begin Again

'Begin Again'.

Not Watched Yet:

Unbroken
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Into The Woods
Big Hero 6