My Top 5 Movies Of 2014

Hey there fellow Otaku & Metal Heads!

With Christmas rapidly coming towards us, I wanted to pump out one last post. Like the title says, these are the five movies of 2014 that I thought were the best out of everything else that was released. This also might be the strangest “Top 5 Movies” post anyone has ever put up on the internet. I won’t delay things any further, so here are what I consider to be my top 5 movies of 2014. Enjoy!

5) The Boxtrolls

Far in a way one of the darker kids movies to have been released this year, The Boxtrolls was released to theaters on September 26, 2014 to wide praise, and rightly so. The creators of this movie were also the creators of ParaNorman, which was an equally big hit just two years prior. The Boxtrolls has that movie’s look, feel, charm, and overall fun nature. Sadly, I didn’t like this movie as much as ParaNorman: don’t get me wrong, The Boxtrolls is not a bad movie. Far from it, this happens to be one of the best kids films released in 2014! What I didn’t like was that this movie was somewhat darker than ParaNorman. The mood of the film had a grimmer nature than it’s 2012 predecessor, and there were far more scarier moments involved. At one point, there’s a scene where it looks like the trolls in question were mercilessly crushed by the villains of the film. Despite this, I cannot hate The Boxtrolls. I had a lot of fun watching the movie, and I’d be more than willing to watch it again on DVD if the circumstances were right.

4) Big Hero 6

Perhaps the most recent movie to appear on this list, Big Hero 6 was released to the United States on November 7, 2014, but was first shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 23, 2014. Loosely adapted from the comic of the same, Big Hero 6 is in a world on it’s own. Taking place in the fictional city of San Fransokyo (My only “Quasi-Gripe” of the film), Big Hero 6 is one of the most colorful films I’ve seen this year. The world that’s made for this feature has familiar elements of both San Francisco & Tokyo (Hence the combined name), but when put together it is easily one of the most funky & enchanting places to observe. Couple with the interesting & quirky characters, not to mention a story that both kids & adults can easily get into, and you have a movie that’s perfect for all ages.

3) Transformers: Age Of Extinction

Yeah yeah, I know what most of you are probably gonna say: “Booo, Michael Bay sucks! Transformers movies are a piece of shit! Booo!”. To which I say......you’re not necessarily wrong.

I for one, do not think that this franchise is the be-all-end-all series of movies that the hardcore fans say/think it is. Each of these movies have some series, especially the highly reviled Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Age Of Extinction, however, is a little different. Premiering in Hong Kong on June 19, 2014, the movie was fully released in China and the United States just a few days later on June 27th. Despite the criticism directed towards the film, the movie raked in 1 billion dollars worldwide, and a 5th movie is scheduled to be released in 2016. Looking back, this is easily the most improved of the Transformers films. Gone was Shia LaBeouf and any of the previous human actors/characters, and instead were replaced with an entire new set of actors/characters, headlined by the far more charismatic Mark Wahlberg. He brings much more action star credibility that Shia ever did in the first 3 movies combined, and is far more likable than any one that was in any of the previous films. Other charismatic actors appear in Age Of Extinction as well, such as Kelsey Grammar & Stanley Tucci, and were actually considered to be some of the positive aspects of the movie. On top of that, the whole movie felt darker & grittier than any of the others, almost to the point where it looked like Michael Bay realized he goofed up, and decided to take things a little more seriously. If you’re still hanging onto this franchise, and want something a little bit different, Age Of Extinction will satisfy any cravings you have.

2) Fury

Perhaps the most grim & powerful movie I’ve seen not just in 2014, but in all of my movie going experience, Fury was put in theaters on October 17, 2014 and received high praise. With a budget of 68 million dollars, the film raked in far more money. 154.2 million dollars, to be exact. The movie actually had a lot going for it: it was one of only a few World War 2 movies to focus exclusively on tank warfare. Most focus exclusively on the infantry, air force, or navy, so a movie that centers around tanks is a rarity. There were actual tanks brought in as well, not to mention the fact that it showcased the only German Tiger tank (Tiger 131) that is still functioning today. The violence in this movie is absolutely brutal: there are men lit on fire, limbs ripped off because of explosions & gunfire, and headshots so bloody you’d swear that they were real. Coupled with a ragtag yet perfect cast (Brad Pitt as the lead, and Shia LaBeouf is surprisingly believable in his role as a grizzled tank operator), and Fury is the most authentic modern World War 2 movie to date.

1) The Lego Movie

If you don’t love legos, you have no soul. There’s no way of saying it softly: if you didn’t enjoy playing with legos when you were a child, then you simply had no childhood. Even if you’re an adult, and legos still don’t make you smile, you are beyond all hope & redemption!

With that said, The Lego Movie is not only my favorite movie of the year, but has raised the bar for all kids movies. Released on February 7, 2014, The Lego Movie has some of the best things going for it: an animation style that mixed traditional CGI with stop-motion, high quality voice acting, humor that will have you laughing out loud, and a message that is both sincere & profound. Not only that, but the movie had a 60 million dollar budget, and brought in 468 million in profit (257 million in North America, and 210 million in other territories). An awful kids movie wouldn’t generate a fourth of this immense profit.

Simply put: watch this movie. Seriously, go find this!

So these were my top 5 movies of 2014. I hope you liked it, and Happy Holidays! See you in 2015!