In the end, I had to make some incredibly hard decisions, including a coin flip between three movies for the last spot.
Here is my Top 10 of 2014:
#10: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The lucky winner of the coin flip. But in the end, I'm pleased with this being in the 10th spot. For all its worth, Amazing Spider-Man 2, despite garnering a generally mixed reception from many people (including my friends), gets major points for incorporating multiple amazing villains, and going against superhero movie basics by having an emotionally-charged though applause-worthy twist at the end. This can also take credit as the first superhero movie to ever make my Top 10 list for any year. Great acting. Great visual effects. And a well-done story. Bravo! Here's to hoping Sony doesn't quit on this franchise just yet.
#9: Maleficent
Its not the greatest fairy tale or live-action fairy tale Disney has ever done, but Maleficent was still a riveting, thrilling, and incredibly interesting retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The visual effects, production design, and costume design are all worthy of Oscar nominations, while Angelina Jolie's performance is absolutely one of the most memorable of this year. Looking forward to more classic tale re-imaginings from Disney (hence Cinderella made my Top 10-anticipated for 2015).
#8: The Hundred-Foot Journey
An interesting, but definitely worthy choice for this list. Fantastic food and scenery, an appealing cast (including the always fabulous Helen Mirren, who, by no surprise, got a Golden Globe nomination for this movie), and a very charming and textured story made The Hundred-Foot Journey an overall superb dish (of sorts). Definitely worthy of more awards season attention, but I said the same thing about Saving Mr. Banks last year (and the Academy didn't listen).
#7: Dolphin Tale 2
The first movie landed at #2 on my list for 2011, so it comes as little surprise this ends up on my list for 2014. That's because Dolphin Tale 2 came amazingly close to the original movie's charm, wonder and old-school whimsy. It may not carry the same emotional punch, but the wholesome feel and simple, sweet story made for an extremely satisfactory experience.
#6: The LEGO Movie
The most creative movie of the year is definitely an understatement. The LEGO Movie ended up as one of the year's biggest surprises because of its genius script, incredibly witty and hilarious sense of humor, and an absolutely fantastic final act. As far as any animated movies not from Disney or Pixar is concerned, this is certainly one of the very best. And I can't wait for the sequel, Ninjago and The LEGO Batman Movie!
#5: God's Not Dead
The only movie I have seen in theaters twice this year. God's Not Dead proved to live up to its promise in being a cleverly-written, smartly-paced and well-done skeptic-convincing drama. Not just fantastic for its message, well-done debates and inclusion of the Newsboys and other celebrity cameos, but also for some solid performances from the cast as well.
#4: Big Hero 6
(Review coming later this week). Surprisingly winding up as the year's best animated movie, Big Hero 6 turned out to be also the biggest surprise of 2014. The animated superhero flick turned out to be more twisted and surprisingly more emotional than I expected, with an uncalled-for twist towards the end. Altogether, not quite Frozen, but in line with some of Pixar's best films such as WALL-E and The Incredibles.
#3: Heaven is for Real
Living up to my expectations, Heaven is for Real may have drawn mixed response from other Christians (simply because, like other Hollywood productions depicting Christianity, it lacks a lot in saying how we get to Heaven), but it's well-written screenplay, terrific acting and strong moral values make it something genuinely special. Randall Wallace is 2-for-2 from me so far (Heaven is actually in line with Wallace's last memorable flick, Secretariat), and the overall book-to-screen transition worked out in an even more emotionally satisfying way than I ever thought it would have been.
#2: Muppets Most Wanted
While it overall fell short of the previous movie (which landed at #3 on my 2011 list), Muppets Most Wanted still boasted the most fun I had at the movies all year. This one had memorable songs (the best musical of 2014 surprisingly), a terrific mix of modern pop-culture references and classic Muppet humor, a very fun story, and some great celebrity performances (and clever cameos). Overall, I still believe Kermit and gang are one of the best movie franchises working right now (fingers crossed Disney continues with another movie).
#1: The Giver
I swapped the Top 3 out time and time again, but eventually awarded my coveted top spot to this truly fantastic adaptation. The Giver not only benefited from a refreshingly clean and wholesome screenplay, but successfully delivering the thought-provoking and interesting questions and scenarios from Lois Lowery's groundbreaking book. Its' not very often I run into a sci-fi movie that works so well, not just in visual grandeur (the black-and-white cinematography works great) and terrific acting, but in delivering in terms of a positive, cautionary, and uplifting message.
The two losers in the coin toss that ended up just outside the cut:
Into the Woods
This is a major surprise, considering this was my most-anticipated movie of 2014 (review coming by the end of this week). There was a dark, somewhat upsetting ending (last 45 minutes is completely different than the last) and some mature themes, but the music and actors are absolutely fantastic (Meryl Streep is worthy of an Oscar nomination, and I own the soundtrack), and the overall result has more real-world insight than any fairy tale, in my opinion, has ever delivered.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Marvel continues to up its ante. Winter Soldier ranks as one of the best superhero movies yet. Thought-provoking, exciting, and filled with some heart-racing intense action (not to mention it smartly touches on the political thriller genre). Despite being generally different from its predecessor, it actually works better than the first one.
Honorable Mentions
The Wind Rises
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies*
Mom's Night Out*
Alone Yet Not Alone
Left Behind
Belle
Annie*
How To Train Your Dragon 2
*-review coming soon
