Sven; Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014 was another good year for Marvel Studios as they enjoyed the success of two major movie releases. Both Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America 2 were hits with both critics and audiences, and while I really enjoyed them both Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my pick for my favorite film of 2014.
With this film Marvel Studios has successfully made a sequel to both Captain America: The First Avenger and to The Avengers, while also improving on both. The movie features an exciting story, good acting, solid directing, impressive action set pieces, and moments of humor, that all work together to form an all around excellent motion picture. The film also does an excellent job of adapting the winter soldier storyline from the comics and fitting it into the cinematic Marvel universe.
I am very excited to see if Marvel Studios can maintain the momentum they built during 2014 and carry it into 2015 with The Avengers 2: The Age of Ultron and Ant-Man.
5/5 Popcorn Buckets
Pick it up here; Digital (iOS) (Amazon), Physical
Steven; Fury
Fury is the harrowing story of a Sherman Tank crew during the final push by the Nazi forces. David Ayer’s thoughtful and meticulous preparation is what really sets this apart from other WWII movies. It’s an intense movie from the very beginning and doesn’t let up until the credits are rolling. Brad Pitt might be the big star on the bill, but it’s the crew as a whole that shines brightest in the film. The movie gives an extremely accurate depiction of life in combat. From life inside the tank to what a man is capable of in the heat of combat. Fury is as real as it gets, and it’s done so expertly and perfect. It’s definitely the best war film I’ve ever seen.
Rating: 5/5 Popcorn Buckets
Pick it up here; Digital (iOS) (Amazon), Physical
Mike; The Lego Movie
While it feels like this movie has already been around forever, The Lego Movie has become an instant classic this year. Everything about this movie is fun, it has a great cast, a fun sound, the visuals, and the story are great. I can’t wait for the sequels and spin-offs even though I don’t think they can be as good as the original was. If you haven’t seen this movie and immediately wanted to go buy more Legos, well…
Rating: 5.5/5 Popcorn Buckets
Pick it up here; Digital (iOS) (Amazon), Physical
Dav3: The Lego Movie
There is a lot that I have left to see of 2014 but I think Lego Movie takes the top spot for me. It was a fun movie (with a catchy as all heck theme song…admit it you’re humming it right now) but for me it was also the movie that had to potential to be awful but ended up being the complete opposite. Making a movie off of a toy franchise is not always a homerun (Battleship) but the vocal talent combined with the fantastic humor infused by the direction of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) made this appealing to all ages. Very quotable, with an ending that I admit caught me off guard and left me a little emotional.
Rating: 5/5 Popcorn Buckets
Honorable mentions: Interstellar, Into the Woods, Gone Girl, Boyhood (reviews to come in 2015!)
