Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.
Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.
Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.
Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.
Best Sci-Fi/Action Movie
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Godzilla
Interstellar
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Transformers: Age of Extinction
WINNER – Interstellar
F’ING SPACE, MAAAAN! These were the words that left my mouth when somebody asked how I felt about the best space movie released in the past decade. Christopher Nolan, deemed all-time taker of my movie dollars put a lot of time, money and, most importantly, vetted research into this epic tale. He took my love for science, which has been all but corporatized at this point, and reverted it back into love of the unknown and reawakened a quest for knowledge I haven’t felt since watching Beakman and Bill Nye as a kid. F’ing space, man. – Sherif
Second Place – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
There’s a stereotype for science fiction movies. Flying cars, futuristic weapons, space travel, sexy space aliens, you know all the criteria. Too often film makers (and fans) force us into thinking that a sci-fi flick needs elements that advance civilization and take us to new galaxies. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes breaks the sci-fi stereotype in most excellent fashion. Instead of a flick taking place among the stars Dawn shows audiences how society has fared since the events in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and as you might expect there is no space travel, but rather society has regressed to lifestyle closer to that of the stone age. And while humans suffer and struggle, the apes thrive! They’ve learned to communicate with one another as well as humans, they’ve structured their civilization, made rules, and have even developed morals. The chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and all other primates are on a rise synonymous with humanity’s ability to send humans to the moon. The movie as a whole was very well done and captivating, but it’s most endearing quality is its unique perspective on the genre. There’s something special about watching apes ride horses, wield firearms, protect human beings and build families. Dawn was a unique sci-fi experience and it should definitely not be missed! – Taylor
Third Place – Godzilla
Godzilla, the movie and the monster, really had the odds stacked against him (and it) when this reboot was announced. Most people found themselves asking why on Earth the monster was being reanimated yet again and why the hell they would want to see that. Freaking Matthew Broderick and Roland Emerich did their damnedest to destroy Godzilla’s good name in the 90’s, and they almost had him beat, until Gareth Edwards got his hands on the project and single-handedly saved the king of all monsters’ good name. Aaron Johnson (known mostly for the lead role in Kick-Ass) really stepped up as a tough yet sensitive soldier just trying to get home to his wife and son. Above all else, Godzilla once again proved that he was a force to be reckoned with. He looked like the good old monster we all know and love, and he came to the rescue and lived to tell the tale! The best aspect of Godzilla for me is that it was shot with so much suspense that it made monster movies scary again! It’s hard for any property to be remade or rebooted these days since most people instinctively hate them or claim that their mere existence is ruining their childhood, but Godzilla took a giant fire-breathing bite out of all the haters and for that, I love him. – Keriann
RUNNER UP – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Taken out of District Twelve and plopped into the revolution happening in District Thirteen and the rest of Panem, something was missing in my chest after I saw this film. While there were mixed reviews of the third installment of The Hunger Games franchise, I absolutely loved it. Did the third book need to be split into two movies? Probably not. Like Sherif said in his review of the film, splitting the last book of a series into two or more films has only and probably will only ever work for Harry Potter (sorry, Hobbit.) Regardless, I was deeply effected by this film and the social commentary in it. From police brutality to economic inequality, the themes in this movie really hit home for a lot of audience members this year. I can’t wait for the Part II in 2015. – Charlotte
RUNNER UP – Transformers: Age of Extinction
One word: Dinobots. While the plot of these movies has always been a bit on the lazy side, the lack of Shia Lebouf makes this movie worth seeing for that alone. This is a Michael Bay film, so the customary explosions in lieu of plot are to be expected and in this case, it really worked out well. Optimus Prime is an even bigger badass when he is mad at the humans and Mark Wahlberg was pretty decent by himself. John Goodman plays the voice of one of the Autobots and is able to almost single-handedly carry a large portion of the later story with his awesomeness. – Robert
Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.
Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.
Best Film of the Year
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
LEGO Movie
WINNER – Guardians of the Galaxy
If you ask me, the best films are the ones you have the most fun watching. The most fun I had in a movie theater all year long was when I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy. I knew the film would be good, but I was not expecting it to be AMAZING! There were so many things that the Marvel team did well! They cast an unexpected lead role that did a fantastic job (Chris Pratt). They nixed the formulaic “superhero” movie model, creating instead a thrilling space adventure. They worked in one of the best utilization of a soundtrack EVER. They gave us a foul mouthed, short tempered, talking Raccoon and his best friend, a talking tree! It was a film for everybody – honestly! GOTG appeals to children and their parents, hard core fan-boys and fan-girls, the elderly, people who hate movies, mermaids, your dog, that guy over there, everybody!! I’ll wrap this up with one of the most profound, insightful and inspiring quotes of the film – ahem – … “I am Groot.” – Taylor
Second Place – Interstellar
Chances are, if a movie can make me ugly cry, it will be one of my favorites. Interstellar was no exception, and yes, I did ugly cry when it was all over. From the obvious aspects like acting to the small details like sound editing, this film was not just a film; it was an experience. And best of all? Christopher Nolan and his brother, Johnathan Nolan, pulled off a futuristic/dystopian/space exploration/science-fiction film and wrapped it in the bow of the love a father has for his daughter. How beautiful. – Adrian
Third Place – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Before watching Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, my favorite animal was a Gorilla for its powerful nature, commanding presence and authority. Now, I struggle with having my favorite animal also being the source of my nightmares for the exact same reasons. This movie was absolutely excellent. Between the apes creating their own society and the humans struggling to find a way to continue living, a story was developed which not only left the movie part of my brain satisfied, but also wanting more. A lot of times, sequels to highly rated movies with attempt to pack too much story into the film, leaving nothing but poor storytelling and drawn out action for the 3rd film. However, this movie discovered the secret formula to having the perfect amount of content, action, and story while allowing the audience to hope for the “main event” in the new movies to come. I’m just saying, if chimpanzees riding horses, shooting AK-47s engaging in “guerrilla” warfare wasn’t even part of the actual war, just imagine how screwed the humans are in the next one. – Evan
RUNNER UP – LEGO Movie
If you haven’t watched this movie, stop whatever stupid thing you’re doing and watch it right now. I can’t even put to words how amazing this movie was. I didn’t catch it in theaters because, come on, a LEGO movie? Ugh. Stupid, right? Who would have figured that a movie based on plastic blocks would be the thing to tell a story more meaningful than anything Disney’s produced in more than a decade – to have a thoughtful analysis of a son’s relationship with his father, to challenge our notions of the structure of the universe, to make me cry at the end like no other kid’s movie has done that isn’t The Land Before Time, and to be funnier than any other kid’s movie I’ve seen since… well, I’ll have to get back to you on that. I can’t think of the last kid’s movie I saw that made me genuinely laugh. BUT OH MY GOD! LEGO! AGGH, GET IT! – JH
RUNNER UP – Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Despite the media circus that Jennifer Lawrence became this year, Mockingjay was void of all the distraction that plagued its star throughout the year. The first movie of the third and final Hunger Games book was well-paced and had a very powerful message. Much like the Harry Potter series, the content has matured even more so than the characters in the story have. It was a great reflection of current political turmoil in a police state, one that may be too real by the time the final iteration is released. – Sherif
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