The Best 2014 Had to Offer… THE MOVIES!


What a year 2014 has been filmwise. We’ve seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe shaken up like never before, the culminating chapter in the Middle-Earth saga, wonderful literature adaptations, and even a spot of time travel. In addition to this we’ve also learned a bit about future projects, with STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS showcasing it’s first trailer, DC‘s plans for their own cinematic universe, as well as the title of the new James Bond film, SPECTRE. But what from 2014 has stood head and shoulders above the rest?

This is the question I placed to our marvellous STAFFERS and REVIEW TEAM, and here’s their responses.

Managing Editor HARRISON RAWDIN had this to say:

Let’s get this out of the way, despite already being a successful series in its own literary right I did not read any of the books prior to seeing this adaption. A buddy and I went into a showing all but blind to what we were in for, and let me just say that lead to some outstanding results. The heart and soul of the piece comes from the rather gifted and young actors that surprisingly anchored the feature in some bizarre semblance of reality. From the bold Dylan O’Brien (Thomas) to the steady Ki Hong Lee (Minho) there’s plenty to love, as children clash in a Lord of the Flies type situation with fiendish monsters and a mysterious organization to boot. Sure there are corny moments and goofy scenarios but in the end it impressed, and for that reason THE MAZE RUNNER gets to be my favorite movie from 2014.

Maze Runner

Honorable Mentions: JOHN WICK and THE LEGO MOVIE

CHARLES JOY had this to say:

While there were many films this year that struck an emotional chord, none did so with such gravity as Christopher Nolan‘s INTERSTELLAR. Caught between an explorative sci-fi disaster movie and a transcendent story of love, this 2hr 49min will leave you suspended somewhere between hope and despair. Only the events in your own life’s story will determine where you land on this feelings spectrum. It is this level of emotional connection to the audience, coupled with a strong effort towards scientific accuracy that brands this film across both heart and mind. And sure, many of the scientific concepts are farfetched, but that is where the “fiction” part of “Sci-Fi” comes in…Besides, if you combine just a little suspension of disbelief with the vast gap in what we as a species don’t know about time and space, you arrive at a happy medium of intellectual and emotional enjoyment.

Interstellar (2)

Honorable Mentions: TUSK and ROBOCOP

ERIC BRIDGES had this to say:

This year was a great year for fanboy and fangirl movies and while I loved most of them, my choice for movie of the year is X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The story is all about time travel, as the X-Men of the future send Wolverine back in time to stop the Sentential Program from being created, and destroying all mutant kind. It features, both, the original cast and the new cast coming together for the common good and let me tell you it is amazing. I know that it deviates from the original storyline, but it’s still fantastic and works. It fixes everything that Brett Ratner did with the third movie. Also, gay director, Bryan Singer, is back at the helm, who has more of a grasp on what the X-Men are actually about, compared with other directors. I think it is fantastic. That is my recommendation of the year!

X-Men DOFP

Honorable Mentions: THE BABADOOK and STARRY EYES

DANIEL ALAVREZ had this to say:

The last time America tried to do a film starring Japan’s premiere monster didn’t exactly come out as anything resembling good. That was over a decade ago, so the time was ripe for them to try again. After being announced four years prior, Legendary StudiosGODZILLA saw release back in May. Unlike it’s 98 cousin, this movie brought in quality storytelling and a Godzilla that actually resembled and acted like Godzilla. Could he have used more screen time? Yes. But overall the movie delivers. It has solid characters, an engaging story, and an excellent climatic fight. While it annoys me still that the first two fight scenes were just teases, when the creatures are on screen it is truly awe-inspiring, and that’s what a Godzilla movie should seek to do. Muto was an excellent antagonist monster, not some one-shot creature just to be there for Godzilla to destroy; it was involved nicely in the story. Some scenes are truly unforgettable, such as G’s big appearance at the airport and using his tail to knock the Muto into a building. Legendary and director Gareth Edwards have successfully brought the monster out of Japan!

Godzilla film

Honorable Mentions: DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and MALEFICENT

Finally we come to me, your FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD COMIC BOOK EDITOR:

For me this was a tough one, as having seen so many films over the last year, there are many that I could describe as Movie of the Year material. Despite this, there has been one film that for this fanboy has surpassed all others, and that’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Despite have had it’s own group of dedicated followers, both comic fans and moviegoers alike felt that Marvel was taking a risk adding the Guardians to their well established Cinematic Universe. This proved to be far from the case however, with the freshness and dynamic character development proving a hit for fans both old and new. This certainly proved to be the case for me, as though I’ve been a fan of the comics for a few years, the film blew my prior opinions out of the water. It wasn’t however just the script and acting that had me Hooked on a Feeling, as though Chris Pratt and company certainly were the highlight, the music, setting and teasers also made Guardians of the Galaxy one of (if not the best) comic book movies to date.

GotG1

Honorable Mentions: EDGE OF TOMORROW and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

So there you have it! That’s what we thought stood head and shoulders above rest from 2014. But what did you my fellow fanboys and fangirls think? Do you agree with these choices? Or should something else have made it onto this list? One thing that is for certain; if 2015 is anything like this year, then it’s going to be amazing.

Sound off with your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!

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