Top 5 Best Films of 2014

  1. The Equalizer– A strong performance by Denzel overcomes a cliché plot and weak villain. Plenty of brutal action, once the slow-paced start of the film is over.

 

  1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Great effects work and mo-cap, but weak human characters and a flimsy plot.

 

  1. X-Men: Days of Future Past– Does a great job of mixing the cast of the original X-Men films and the prequels, while satisfyingly adapting one of comic’s best stories. The story loses steam late, but wraps up very nicely.

 

  1. Guardians of the Galaxy-Entertaining story, great job bringing the heroes to life and laugh out loud moments balanced by heart wrenching scenes. Poorly executed villains are the weakest link.

 

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier– Great story, characters and action sequences. An almost a flawless superhero film and a great film, period.

My Top 5 worst films of 2014

It takes a lot of work to be the best, but sometimes it’s harder to be the worst. I’m very selective about what films I see in theaters, so there are some horrible movies out there that won’t be on this list because I didn’t see them.

  1. Godzilla– Long, boring set-up featuring mostly uninteresting characters, before ending in a monster on monster battle that wasn’t worth the wait.

 

  1. Sex Tape– Despite a solid premise and the chemistry between the leads, the film has no idea what way to take things and the plot sputters around randomly.

 

  1. Let’s Be Cops– Very few laughs and only one character provides any solid comedy.

 

  1. Lucy– Dark comedy, nonsensical science and a trippy plot can’t be saved by Scarlett Johansson or Morgan Freeman

 

  1. Into the Storm– The tornados are great, but the remaining hour is filled with boring characters lugging video cameras with them everywhere they go.