A Definitive Ranking of Summer 2014 Movies

1. Guardians of the Galaxy: This is the perfect summer movie. It has action, laughs, heart, space, more action on top of that, and not to mention a star-making performance by Chris Pratt as Peter Quill. The premise seems ridiculous (I mean really, a talking raccoon and a walking tree?), but it was done knowing so and with so much love, there is no stopping it. There is a reason that this has become the biggest movie of the year, and that is because it is one of the best superhero movies that have come out in recent years. And if you do not agree, just watch dancing baby Groot and you will come around.
2. The Fault in Our Stars: A movie that perfectly portrays my all time favorite book. There could have been a lot wrong with the movie, but those behind this cinematic treasure did not shy away from the hard parts of the source material. Equal parts funny, heart wrenching, honest, and hopeful, this is one movie that will stay in the minds and hearts of movie goers, and readers, for infinity (as long as that is).
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past: This movie contains all the mutant action that made it's predecessors so successful and adds a human element that makes this the best X-Men film to date. This is one that should not be missed by anyone.
4. Begin Again: Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo star as an infectious music-creating team in this film about, what else, beginning again. The story is real and human and is not weighed down by the music surrounding it. Instead of becoming a corny film, this film is raised to greatness by music that surrounds the narrative.
5. 22 Jump Street: While this movie follows the same story as its predecessor, it does this in a way that the creators know what they are doing. And with the best end credit scene of any movie of the year, this will go down as a comedy classic.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2: With just as much web slinging fun as the first film of the rebooted series, with a few added villains to sweeten the pot, this Spider-Man is another worthy addition to the Spidey brand. It's a shame that there were so many lackluster reviews, as this is, by far, not the worst of the films (looking at you, Spiderman 3). The charm and heartache of the two leads only adds to the evidence that a reboot of the series was not done too soon.
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Much better than the first of the Captain America series, this film leads to a fun and surprising twist that is sure to set up the Avengers sequel very nicely. Also, it does not hurt that this movie matched the brilliance of The Avengers.
8. Neighbors: This comedy does not shy away from the raunchiness that has made Seth Rogen so famous, and adding a surprisingly hilarious Zac Efron to the mix only added to the gut-bustingly funny addition to the summer movie season.
9. Godzilla: This movie only suffered in the rankings due to the stellar reviews and Bryan Cranston making believe this was going to be the best movie of the season, which it was not. Do not get me wrong, it was highly entertaining to watch, it just was not as good as it was made out to be.