Herein are listed my favorite movies of 2014 (and 2013, where I just got to seeing them in 2014).\u00a0 I did see the third Hobbit movie this year.\u00a0 I am surprised at that, because I expected to see it on my wedding anniversary in January, like I did the first two.\u00a0 I’m not looking to avoid spoilers, because I assume that by the time anyone reads this it will have been several long units of time since he or she will have seen the movie in question.<\/p>\n
Captain America: The Winter Solider<\/strong><\/p>\n This was definitely one of the finest Marvel films to date.\u00a0 I remember seeing the trailer and thinking that it looked more like a Superman movie than Man of Steel<\/em>.\u00a0 It was definitely awesome, and it didn’t hurt that it shook up the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.<\/em> TV series, either.<\/p>\n Guardians of the Galaxy<\/strong><\/p>\n I was really, really surprised by how much I liked this movie.\u00a0 I wasn’t expecting much, but man was it just great.<\/p>\n How to Train Your Dragon 2<\/strong><\/p>\n The first How to Train Your Dragon<\/em> was a surprise to me in how good it was.\u00a0 This was a continuation of that goodness, with very little to dislike (if anything).\u00a0 I maintain that this and the Kung Fu Panda<\/em> franchises are Dreamworks’ best.<\/p>\n The LEGO Movie<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to being a good movie, it also inspired a How It Should Have Ended<\/em> video with Batman singing “Everything Is Batman.”\u00a0 That alone is enough for me.\u00a0 Also the “Lego Batman is Jelly” HISHE<\/em>.<\/p>\n X-Men: Days of Future Past<\/strong><\/p>\n I saw this twice at the theater.\u00a0 I was so looking forward to it that I went once by myself and then again with my wife two days later.\u00a0 I’m glad Bryan Singer is directing these again.<\/p>\n The Amazing Spider-Man 2<\/strong><\/p>\n This was my least favorite of the Spider-Man<\/em> films\u2014I even liked Spider-Man 3<\/em> more\u2014but I have a soft spot in my heart for (almost) anything Spidey.\u00a0 I think Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were great together, and the interactions between them with Peter and Gwen often reminded me of (500) Days of Summer<\/em>, director Marc Webb’s first feature film\u2014one of my all-time favorite movies.\u00a0 I thought that the entire Electro character and plot could have been excised with very little script change, and would have made the movie better for it.\u00a0 I also would have accepted a far less goofy interpretation of Max Dillon.<\/p>\n Batman: Assault on Arkham<\/strong><\/p>\n This was third of DC’s direct-to-DVD films in 2014, and from the trailer I saw and reviews I read I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.\u00a0 I generally enjoy most of DC’s animated stuff.<\/p>\n Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 The first Cloudy<\/em> was surprisingly enjoyable.\u00a0 The second was more of the same, though I wish Mr. T had again voiced the policeman.<\/p>\n Don Jon<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 This movie is definitely not for everyone, with its rather frank depiction of pornography addiction and its effect on normal relationships.\u00a0 I found it to be a great movie though, with a fantastic message.\u00a0 The cast is also pretty stellar, and it’s an impressive feat for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s first directorial effort.<\/p>\n Edge of Tomorrow<\/strong><\/p>\n I kept reading about how great this movie was, the surprise of the summer, etc.\u00a0 The trailers looked interesting, if not especially promising.\u00a0 I like Tom Cruise as an actor, and so I got it from Netflix when it hit Blu-ray.\u00a0 I enjoyed it quite a bit.<\/p>\n The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 Having a better expectation of what I was getting into after watching An Unexpected Journey<\/em>, I was able to enjoy The Desolation of Smaug<\/em> that much more.\u00a0 The extended edition improved on the film also, with each addition being welcome, except probably the stuff with the Master of Laketown.\u00a0 The Tauriel\/Kili love story was a bit silly.<\/p>\n The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/strong><\/p>\n This was easily my least favorite of the Hobbit<\/em> trilogy, and I really hope the inevitable extended edition makes up for that.\u00a0 The character moments were mostly pretty good, anything with Alfrid was invariably awful, and the battles went on far too long.\u00a0 Also, Dain’s dialogue seemed really out of place in Middle Earth.\u00a0 Really, most of the non-Tolkien dialogue seemed out of place, far more than in any of the other five Middle Earth films.\u00a0 I really think that two movies should have been enough for The Hobbit<\/em>, but it was apparently not meant to be.\u00a0 Still, I enjoyed it for what it was, I suppose.<\/p>\n The Hunger Games: Catching Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n These have been fun adaptations of the book series so far, and I hope the Mockingjay<\/em> installments keep up the trend.<\/p>\n Muppets Most Wanted<\/strong><\/p>\n This wasn’t as fun as 2011’s The Muppets<\/em>, but it was still quite enjoyable.\u00a0 Most things Muppets never get old.\u00a0 Bonus: Tina Fey.<\/p>\n RED 2<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 As with the first RED, I don’t remember the plot, just that I enjoyed it.<\/p>\n Snowpiercer<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 I was really excited to see this as I kept reading about how great it was, plus Chris Evans is pretty good in everything I’ve seen him in.\u00a0 I saw it once it came to Netflix streaming and I thought it was pretty interesting, though not up to the level of hype I had encountered.<\/p>\n 22 Jump Street<\/strong><\/p>\n I watched 21 Jump Street<\/em> for the first time earlier in 2014.\u00a0 It was really funny, and not just stupid funny.\u00a0 This was more of the same.<\/p>\n The Wind Rises<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 This is Hayao Miyazaki’s last film, and it was very enjoyable, as are most of his (and the other Studio Ghibli films I’ve seen).<\/p>\n Divergent<\/strong><\/p>\n The past several years have produced several young adult dystopian future novel adaptations.\u00a0 This one was okay, but it’s no Hunger Games<\/em>.<\/p>\n Godzilla<\/strong><\/p>\n This movie was well made and, I think, well received.\u00a0 It was just not my kind of movie.<\/p>\n Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit<\/strong><\/p>\n I like Chris Pine and Keira Knightley.\u00a0 They were great together.\u00a0 This just felt like a generic action\/spy thriller, and less like what I expect a Jack Ryan film to be (e.g. Patriot Games<\/em> and Clear and Present Danger<\/em>).<\/p>\n Noah<\/strong><\/p>\n I thought that this film was well made and perfectly serviceable, with a good cast.\u00a0 But meh.<\/p>\n Now You See Me<\/strong><\/p>\n From 2013.\u00a0 The cast was pretty good, though I really didn’t like Jesse Eisenberg in this one.\u00a0 Maybe it was just his character.<\/p>\n The Secret Life of Walter Mitty<\/strong><\/p>\n From the end of 2013.\u00a0 This movie was perfectly adequate, quite nice to look at in some spots. and occasionally imaginative.\u00a0 The ending felt pretty forced and unrealistic, though.<\/p>\n Transcendence<\/strong><\/p>\n Looked interesting, turned out meh.<\/p>\n Big Hero 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Dawn of the Planet of the Apes<\/strong><\/p>\n Dumb and Dumber To<\/strong><\/p>\n The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1<\/strong><\/p>\n Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Herein are listed my favorite movies of 2014 (and 2013, where I just got to seeing them in 2014).\u00a0 I did see the third Hobbit movie this year.\u00a0 I am surprised at that, because I expected to see it on my wedding anniversary in January, like I did the first two.\u00a0 I’m not looking to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grassmonk.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}– Other movies I enjoyed –<\/h3>\n
– Movies that made me say \u201cmeh\u201d –<\/h3>\n
– 2014 movies I haven\u2019t seen yet that I hope are good, or at least not terrible –<\/h3>\n