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.
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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