Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Written by Steve Bielefield

Man, was 2014 a great year for movies. So many great films were released, as well as bad ones that we loved to make fun of. I unfortunately wasn’t able to see all of them (most regrettably, Nightcrawler and Birdman), but of those that I did, these are the best and the worst. So without further ado, here are the Worst and Best Movies of 2014.

Worst #5: Godzilla

I really wanted to like this movie. I love monster movies, and the cast and promise of big monster fights with amazing effects got me hooked. But rather than a fantastic crossover between the King of Monsters and Walter White, we got a movie about a bunch of puny humans where occasionally a monster pops in. This movie completely wastes any promise it had. Bryan Cranston is wasted, the focus of the story is misplaced, and Godzilla appears in only eight minutes of a two-hour-long movie bearing his name. That is wrong on so many levels. Granted, the times when Godzilla is on screen, it’s pretty awesome (which is why it’s at the least bad position on the list). But after seeing this movie I felt like I fell for a bait-and-switch.

Best #5: The LEGO Movie

Nostalgia is a key driving factor of many films made nowadays, but probably the best use of it has been with The LEGO Movie. Even if it’s essentially a long advertisement for LEGO, it’s still handled with intense care and love. This film was fun, creative, well-designed, well-written, and actually brought a nostalgic tear to my eye by the end. The comedic writing and timing also worked very well, not surprising coming from Phil Lord and Chris Miller (directors of the Jump Street movies). Seeing this film was just beautiful.

Worst #4: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I really liked the first Amazing Spider-Man. I thought it was a nice, back-to-basics outing for everyone’s favorite wall-crawler, and I was pumped for the sequel… until I saw it. To be fair, there are some things to like here; it probably has the best use of slow-motion filming I’ve yet seen, and the emotional moments were done very well. Unfortunately, the film is bogged down by the same problems of the last bad Spidey film, Spider-Man 3: an unfocused, over-complicated plot, too many villains, etc. While it’s a fun spectacle to look at, and not entirely terrible, the bad far outweighs the good on The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Best #4: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson’s films are always enjoyable. Fascinatingly stylistic camerawork, smart comedic writing, and quirky plots and characters are all staples of his films, and yet somehow he manages to avoid them all feeling similar. The Grand Budapest Hotel continues this trend. On top of all his normal tropes, Anderson also makes this a much more mature film and puts in some neat new tricks, including messing with the aspect ratio and such. The plot is well-written and interesting, and the characters are eccentric, funny, and lovable. It is, simply, another great Wes Anderson film.

Worst #3: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

The Paranormal Activity franchise baffles me. I have no idea how this became a franchise. Well, okay, I actually do know; it was popular and cheap to make, but that doesn’t mean it should be. The first two movies are actually very good and creative horror films, but since then it’s just gotten way more contrived, formulaic, and stupid. The most recent film, The Marked Ones, isn’t the worst in the series (that honor goes to the fourth entry), but it’s dumb, not scary, and actually quite boring (not to mention terribly written). It’s painfully clear that this series is being dragged on artificially, and needs to stop.

Best #3: Guardians of the Galaxy

This was probably the most fun (after The LEGO Movie) that I’ve had at a movie theater. There’s really not all that much to this movie; it’s actually a rather standard superhero flick, with not much that’s particularly special (it’s basically The Avengers in space). But you know what? That’s all it needs to be. It doesn’t fail to achieve what it strives for, and what it strives for is an incredibly fun space adventure with likable characters (particularly Groot) and action. It’s films like Guardians of the Galaxy that make me hopeful for the upcoming Star Wars movie.

Worst #2: Maleficent

Talk about disappointment. I couldn’t, in my entire life, begin to count the number of people who were extremely excited for this film. Then it came out, and the best part of it was watching the despair of my friends who realized it was terrible. The rather good acting is completely overshadowed by a ridiculous plot and downright abysmal writing. Making a story from the villain’s perspective is a very creative idea, but the concept may have to be put on hold after Maleficent. What an awful execution of a terrific idea.

Best #2: Interstellar

You all knew Interstellar would be on the list. Christopher Nolan’s latest outing is probably the smartest film of 2014, and the best part is that its proper use of quite accurate science doesn’t bog down the rest of the film or make it boring. Rather, it combines perfectly with the story (even the more fantastical elements) and takes you on a spectacular ride. The only thing keeping this film from perfection is Nolan’s self-indulgence slowing down the film a little bit. But the good doesn’t just outweigh the bad, it catapults the bad into orbit. It’s a transcendental thrill ride that you won’t soon forget.

Worst #1: Transformers: Age of Extinction and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yeah, I’m putting two movies in the very worst entry. What are you gonna do about it? These two movies weren’t just awful. They were downright offensive. They are offensive to peoples’ intelligence, offensive to fans of both franchises (before Michael Bay ruined them), and offensive to filmmaking in general. But you want to know what the worst part of both these movies is? They were also insanely successful. Heck, Transformers managed to break the $1 billion mark at the box office, and TMNT made almost $500 million. That scares me. If overblown, horribly written (and acted), CGI-heavy, pandering pieces of trash like these two movies are the future of filmmaking, then that’s a future I don’t want to be a part of.

Best #1: Gone Girl

Thankfully, David Fincher (and others) came along and helped me remember what great filmmaking is like. The writing is clever and suspenseful, the characters are each distinct and interesting, and all elements of filmmaking are combined perfectly to create a fantastic film. This a thrilling mystery that everyone can get hooked on. If you haven’t seen Gone Girl, I highly recommend you do. It’s a reminder of the amazing things that can be done with film.