Top 14 of 2014

I can't believe that another year has come and gone, and we're already into the fifteenth year of the new millennium. It was just one hundred years ago that World War I was still going on. Crazy, right?

I'll admit this year gave me some big disappointments. Movies I expected to love and didn't (X-Men: Days of Future Past). TV shows I've been waiting for but instantly fell flat (I still can't even talk about how much I hated the How I Met Your Mother series finale). However, there were some serious high notes as well, and I wanted to take a moment to highlight what I considered some of the best this year had to offer. (Side note: some of these are not new to 2014, just new to me.) So without further ado, I give you . . .

The Top 14 of '14:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

This one surprised me perhaps more than any other this year. The Marvel bar was set high with The Avengers (2012), but Guardians had no trouble keeping up. In fact, this movie set off quite the argument in my friend group as we tried to pick a favorite between these two superhero ensembles. All I can say is, game on Avengers 2. 

2. Awesome Mix - Vol. 1 (aka. Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack)

In some cases a soundtrack can enhance the film. In this case, the the soundtrack was the film. Amazing.

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I wasn't a huge fan of the first Captain America film (probably more to do with my aversion to movie portrayals of WWII and Nazis than anything else), so I didn't know what to expect from The Winter Soldier. But it really blew me away. Perhaps one of my favorite Marvel movies to date.  

4. Big Hero 6

I can say little more to describe this movie than it was simply heartwarming and fun. 

5. Edge of Tomorrow

As I understand it, this movie received mediocre reviews. I struggle to understand that, as it was my second favorite movie of the year after Guardians. The end was perhaps a little muddled, but I found it entertaining beyond measure. 

6. Heroes of Olympus: Blood of Olympus

My heart hurts a little to see this series come to a close, but it ended with a bang. Au revoir Percy Jackson and company. 

7. Selfie

Poorly named, but a fun concept. It didn't do well enough to make it past the first season (darn you ABC), but my husband and I got a real kick out of this Pygmalion/My Fair Lady adaptation. And a big thank you to Hulu for airing the entire season. 

8. All About That Bass

I don't know whether I love this song or hate it, but one thing's for sure. It's catchy as hell.

9. Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1)

I never know what to expect of these YA novel film adaptations (you could't pay me to sit through another one of the Divergent movies). But the third installment of the Hunger Games series was really great. And I'm looking foward to next winter's Mockingjay (Part 2). 

10. Friday Night Lights

This show aired it's final season in 2011, but it wasn't recently that I gave it a try (and by "gave it a try" I mean binge watching all five seasons via Netflix). Stay tuned for my review later this month, but it's one of the best series I've come across in a long time. 

11. Uptown Funk 

This goes down as my favorite song of the year. 

12. Serenity: Leaves on the Wind

I'm always hungry for more Firefly, and was thrilled to hear a new comic miniseries was on the way. I felt a bit skeptical when I hear it was being written by Zack Whedon rather than Joss, but it scored well in my book. It didn't quite meet the same level of perfection as the previous works, but was a good read nevertheless.   

13. Twelve Days of Pottermore 

More backstory into Harry Potter. Enough said. 

14. Godzilla 

Maybe it's the child within me, but I'll just never stop loving a good monster movie. And this new addition to the Godzilla franchise was a great throwback to some of the original movies. Definitely a crowd pleaser. 

Well, that completes my list of 2014 favorite. Are there any other TV shows, movies, books or songs you think should have made the list?