The Best of 2014 (So Far)

We're over halfway through the year, so I think now is a good enough time to come up with a top 10 list for the first half of the year... however, I'm a somewhat lazy fucker, so I only wrote stuff for the top five. Even though that's how I usually do this, so... this is awkward.

I'm going to keep this relatively brief, so let's get to it.

#10: X-Men: Days of Future Past
#9: Neighbors
#8: Edge of Tomorrow
#7: Godzilla
#6: The Grand Budapest Hotel

#5: Chef
Although Chef isn't quite the highest rated of all the films I've seen thus far, it's still high up in terms of pure entertainment. Yeah, the story could've used a bit of worked, but Chef is one of the few films in which I could easily say, "I want to watch this non-stop for hours." The characters are instantly likable and the food looks so good.

#4: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I didn't like the first Captain America film, so thankfully, this one made up for it. The story led the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe to a completely new place that is sure to change things up in the future. The film also plays out somewhat like a political thriller, full of twists and turns, which is a rare quality for any superhero film. It also has Robert Redford as a bad guy, so, you know... kinda has to be good.

#3 How to Train Your Dragon 2
Dreamworks shocked everyone with the first How to Train Your Dragon film. I think this is partially because Dreamworks had a shitty streak for a while. Thankfully, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is just as exciting and entertaining as the first, which I did not see coming. The animation itself is gorgeous, the character development is strong, and it does a great job of building the world around the main village of Berk. It's one not to be missed.

#2 The Lego Movie
I did not expect to enjoy this movie. At all. I went into it with the mentality of "this is just 100 minutes of product placement" which, I suppose, isn't incorrect... but there's so much more to the film than I was expecting. The voice cast is excellent and the animation is first class. It should also be noted that the film has a surprisingly sweet and positive message for younger AND older viewers. Definitely an Oscar contender for this year.

#1: The Raid 2
The third sequel on the top 5, The Raid 2 was a massive expansion of 2011's The Raid: Redemption. Jumping off immediately from the first film, The Raid 2 is a combination of hardboiled gangster film and even harder-boiled martial arts action. Everything about the production is top notch. At no point does the story drag -- if anything, it feels a wee bit short at two and a half hours. But that might just be because I just wanted more. Thankfully, a third (and most likely, final) Raid film is in the works.

That was pretty short, right? Whew. Now go back to whatever you were doing, and props to you if you actually read the descriptions that I worked so very hard on! You readers are pretty swell. Here's a prize that I am sure only a small few of you people will appreciate.