J’s Top 5 Summer Movies 2014

It’s the near end of Summer, and while most people were either working seasonal jobs or going to the beach with friends and family. 
Some of us went to the movies!  The summer movies were incredible this year and while we’ll have to wait another year for the new avengers to come, we still had plenty of other adventures to enjoy. 
I present to you all my Top-5 Summer blockbuster list, and I’ll explain why I put them in this particular order.  Some of you may or may not agree with me but that’s perfectly fine and now the list.

1)   Guardians of the Galaxy
The movie was action-packed, fun, and interesting while also presenting a look into the Cosmic Atmosphere in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. No character was too dramatic or unlikable.  The movie actually brings Phase 2 into a wider prospect that it just gets you pumped for what happens next regarding Age of Ultron next year.    Whether you were a fan of the Guardians in the Comics or the movie, it really doesn’t matter.  I am happy that Marvel took the time to make one of their less known properties into a blockbuster such as this.   Each member of the Guardians is a screw-up in some ways but awesome in others especially how they work together to put a stop to Ronan the Accuser and we even get to see Thanos show off a little bit. 
The soundtrack for this film is amazing too and you can purchase it for $10.00 (CD) or $8.00 (MP3) at Amazon
You know, do yourself a favor and go see this movie now.
2)   X-Men Days of Future Past
The X-Men Series is finally fixed because for the longest time none of us could get The Last Stand out of our heads and plenty of Wolverine Fans didn’t like X-Men Origins at all.   It became so bad and expensive that Fox decided to bring about First Class that introduces the X-Men and explain the friendship between Erik and Xavier.  This movie despite some of its flaws became very successful, but plenty of us are still fans of the Wolverine Era. So Fox managed to get it right by presenting Days of Future Past to bring together the casts from the original X-Trilogy and the First Class.
While dramatic in some spots, the movie explains the purpose of time travel, points out various reference points in the X-Men Canon, that humors and entertains us all which was missing in X3.  The only thing is that kinda bugged me was the fact that Wolverine’s claws weren’t metal in the past but meh the movie was too good to care.
Plus, The X-Men are getting a chance to battle Apocalypse in the upcoming sequel to this. 

  
3)   TMNT
Yep TMNT 2014 comes in 3rdbecause despite the hate thrown at it for the Turtle Designs, Michael Bay Involvement or whatever, the movie was pretty entertaining, and you know why? Because it did what it was supposed to do.
This is not a rehash of the same old mythos it is in fact a reimagining of the Turtles Mythos while making references to please those of us who loved the turtles from the 80s, and entertain the turtle fans of today.
The fight sequences were amazing, the motion capture while drastically different from the real suits of the 90s wasn’t bad.   They captured the Turtles’ personalities and character traits just right and the whole argument about Shredder …well…you do see the size of the Turtles right? Shredder being in the Mechanical suit makes a lot of sense in that regard.   The only gripe I have is that we didn’t get to spend too much time with the turtles but
             Hey, the sequel is coming in 2016 so never mind.
4)   The Amazing Spider-man 2
This movie has been more between a hit and miss in the news lately. Much like how fanboys really cares about comparing Marc Webb’s style to Sam Raimi’s.   I will say the movie has incredible features of Spider-man fighting to keep the city protected but it dwelled too much on the different villains coming together or Spider-man’s love life with Gwen.   It didn’t help that the trailer gave away really important aspects of the film, and in some regard plenty of scenes didn’t even make it into the theatrical cut.    I would’ve been fine if they just did the original thing and kept the focus between Spider-man and Electro while keeping the Rhino and Harry battles as a hidden subplot within the movie.   Electro to me was way underused in the film, whereas most would say he’s overpowered, I think we didn’t get to spend enough with him where Spidey would consider him a threat to the city (At least in the 2nd battle).   It felt like Spidey just saw him and said “Oh I have to stop him” rather than it having a solid connection like The Lizard and him in the first movie.   It felt more like the real villain was Harry than Electro and that was kinda annoying especially since they’re doing this whole “avengers” angle with the Sinister six.   
Despite its flaws, the movie was decent in following the angle set by the first one in 2012 with Peter’s parents,  Spidey becoming more of a hero, and following through with Great Power comes Great Responsibility.   It’s just next time I would like to see one villain for Spidey to stop with some clear goals.
5)  Hercules
Hercules at Number 5 because it is the one film so far that wasn’t a Superhero one, it made you take a look at the legend of Hercules and turn it upside down to where Hercules is currently a mercenary due to some misfortune from his past.   He leads a band of other helpers who aid in his confrontations of his labors.   This time though we lightly hear about the labors and he aids a king in fighting against an army of rebels but throughout the movie, you’re wondering if he’s really fighting on the right side or not because the King seems to have some ulterior motives in store for Hercules and his allies.   I liked this movie due to the adventures, the effects, and the change of pace from Superhero films but would you believe that this movie was directed by the same man who directed X3?  The irony is astounding.
Say what you will about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s acting but indeed he has improved since Journey 2.
Honorable Mention
Godzilla
Gareth Edward’s Rendition of Godzilla is honorably mentioned due to the fact that this movie was a miss for me. I liked Godzilla being on screen again the movie didn’t have the fight sequences I would’ve liked to enjoy with Godzilla battling the Motus.   Each time there was a fight, there was often a cutaway to a different scene.   I understand that he was trying to build this movie up as an event but damn,  enough with the Cloverfield stuff.   I liked the design of the monsters and even Godzilla in CGI wasn’t so bad (Mondo would disagree).   I would’ve liked to see when the military attacked Godzilla, Godzilla would’ve dispatched some whoop-ass like he did in the old days but apparently it may happen in the sequel that’s coming for it.
While it was good to see Godzilla on screen again, I wanted more of Godzilla vs. the Military in this movie.
Plus why did Godzilla’s roar sound like the Kraken from Clash of the Titans?

Published by

J.M.Brady

Greetings all, my name is J i'm an independent filmmaker and entrepreneur. This is a blog dedicated to informing and connecting with the fans of my work. I will be updating this blog everyday to keep in touch with those who have helped in my team's success. In addion to myself other members of J360 will be standing by to speak with you all as well. Until then feel free to ask questions,see some clips, and enjoy your stay at the J360 Blog.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.