**Careful as there may be spoilers for some of the films on this list**
Top 10 Movies of 2014
Honorable Mentions: The LEGO Movie, 22 Jump Street, The Maze Runner, The Judge, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.
10. How To Train Your Dragon 2'
I felt this film was deserving of it's spot on my top 10 because it was one of the animated movies that was fun and had a lot of heart in it. It was one of the few sequels released this year that was better than it's predecessor.
9. Fury
This film made it on the list because I enjoyed the performances from the ensemble cast and the interesting take on World War II that we haven't seen before. This film explored World War II through the perspectives of tank operators which we haven't seen before in a film. It also had some cool tank fight sequences and I think the director did a great job as well and I can't wait to see his take on the upcoming Suicide Squad film.
8. Interstellar
This film made my list mainly because it has a lot of heart due to the relationship between Cooper (Mathew McConahey) and his daughter Murphey. It probably had one of the most heart warming scenes of the year when they are reunited towards the end of the film. I also loved the visual effects in the film and wasn't too bothered by the crazy ending, which most people criticize.
7. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
This film made it on my list because it's the final journey to Middle-Earth and this film had the best action sequences out of The Hobbit trilogy and while the story may not have been as strong as Desolation of Smaug, the ensemble cast and visual effects were probably better than ever before.
6. Unbroken
This film slipped into my list at the last minute because I loved the story and journey of Louis Zamperini, where he rose from being a persecuted immigrant to a track star to an olympian to a soldier to then have to struggle with survival at sea to then be forced into a Japanese internment camp. I felt it was a very strong film and did this true story justice.
5. Big Hero 6
'Big Hero 6' made my list because it was very heartfelt, had engaging characters, and was a fun film. The reason this film beat The LEGO Movie is because I liked the strong underlying emotional arc for Hiro in the film which I don't think The LEGO Movie really had. It beat How To Train Your Dragon 2 because while I loved both film's emotional stories I thought this one was more fun and a more enjoyable cinematic experience. This film even had the power to make me cry in one scene which few of the films ranked beneath it were actually able to do.
4. X-Men Days of Future Past
This film is high on my list due to the amazing visual effects, outstanding ensemble cast, and intriguing storyline. This one film managed to resolve every issue with the scrambled continuity of the previous X-Men movies in one film, bring back all of the actors from the trilogy and the new actors and put them into one film and even provided the best scene of the year with a character everyone thought seemed ridiculous prior to seeing the film. I am talking about the Quicksilver scene, which was amazing!
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
The reason this film is so high on my list is because it was the most fun experience I had in a movie theater all year. I thought this was a great enjoyable cinematic experience that you can watch over and over again. I have seen this movie 8 times and I am still not tired of it. This film was able to make me feel a wide range of emotions from sadness in the beginning to excitement, joy, etc. This film was able to make a walking tree that can only say three words and a talking raccoon loveable. The only reason this film is beneath the next two is because I did feel that the villain Ronan the Accuser was very weak and underdeveloped but aside from that I see nothing else flawed with the film.
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
This film had an interesting storyline with a great message about finding home. Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell both gave amazing motion capture performances as the protagonist and antagonist Cesar and Koba. I loved this movie and it didn't make number one because while I will admit Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the better movie, my number 1 was more enjoyable to me.
1. Captain America The Winter Soldier
This film is my number one for many reasons. I felt this film no doubt has the best stunt work, and action scenes from any Marvel movie to date, it had some great performances, and was able to mix the political thriller and comic book movie genres with success. It also had one of the biggest plot twists that impacted the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe revealing that S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised by Hydra. In the epic climactic fight there is one very powerful scene that still makes me cry every time I watch it where Steve tells Bucky he is not going to fight him, Bucky then attakc him saying, "You're my mission" and Steve says, "Then finish it. 'Cause I'm with you to the end of the line". Overall, this is my favorite of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films narrowly beating The Avengers and I feel it earned it's spot on both of these lists because it has some very powerful underlying emotional scenes, some amazing action scenes and stunts, as well as an interesting narrative.
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