Scruffy Nerfherder Presents: The Top 12 Best Disney Villains

By Andrew Braid

Ah Disney, one of the few true constants in my life. Ever since I was little you've been there for me, whether with all manner of VHS tapes or in your now-yearly slate of new films that I'd often get excited to see in theatres (and considering I was a 90s kid growing up in the middle of the Disney Renaissance, I'd say it was a great time to become a Disney fan). You've made me laugh, made me cry, occasionally made me cringe at dated, uncomfortable stereotypes... any which way, you're a major part of why I grew up to love film (and in particular animation) like I do today. Seeing as Disney Animation's latest film Big Hero 6 (their 54th official full-length feature) prepares to blast off into theatres on November 7, I'd say it's as convenient an excuse as any to write up a bunch of Disney articles over the next month or so leading up to its release. And what better way to start than with one of the most popular and hotly-debated questions among fans: Who are the greatest Disney villains ever?
Part of Disney's longstanding success can be attributed to giving their loveable heroes equally dastardly foes to face. Whether they're after money, power, a throne, revenge, or they're just flat-out crazy, the best of the best in Disney's stable of big bads manage to be frightening, imposing, funny, creepy, or even all of the above. In fact there's so many good ones that narrowing it down to merely a Top 10 just didn't prove possible for me. So let's look back through Disney films old and new to find the baddest of the bad guys and gals.

First, here are the ground rules:

-They must be the main villain of the movie. Sidekicks only qualify if their pairing with the main villain feels essential (ie. you can't seem to separate the two).

-This list only applies to theatrically-released, official-canon Disney Animation features

-However, Pixar Animation films are also eligible for this list (though don't expect a lot of them on here- Pixar's output is surprisingly lacking in exceptional villains)

-This list is all personal opinion (and for fun), so it's pretty likely that your own choices will vary at least somewhat, maybe even drastically.

Before we truly begin, a few honourable mentions:

The Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) 

Because you gotta respect the classics.

Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

Because this is a prime example of how to make a villain funny, but also still threatening.

Prince John and The Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood)

Because spoiled mommy's boy + shameless money-gouging scoundrel = comic gold.

Hades (Hercules)

Because he's easily the biggest saving grace in a flawed movie that could use a few more saving graces.

Lotso (Toy Story 3)

Because some of the best villains are the kinds who just "snapped" one day...

Hans (Frozen)

Because seriously, what a dick.

And now for the main event, the Top 12 Best Disney Villains, starting with...

#12: Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians)

Cruella: Anita, darling!
Anita: How are you?
Cruella: Miserable, darling, as usual, perfectly wretched!"

Why is this a Top 12 and not just a regular old Top 10? Because despite slipping out of initial Top 10 rankings when making this countdown, no one can deny this iconically heartless fur-lover her time in the spotlight. 101 Dalmatians is a pretty solid talking animals Disney movie on its own, but what makes it not just one of the classics but one of the most historically popular and enduring entries in Disney's animation canon is its villainess. Aside from being a garish, scathing parody of any rich high-ups in the fashion industry, Cruella proves she's a real-deal "DeVil" (ha!) as she organizes the kidnapping, murder and skinning of dozens of adorable puppies, all for the sake of a fur coat that she'd probably stop wearing after a month anyway once her next big thing comes along. When she wants something she will do anything (and I mean literally ANYTHING) to get it, especially if it means wreaking havoc through the roads like a madwoman. She spreads disgusting cigarette smoke and ill will to anyone she comes across, and she's only really happy when that happiness comes at the expense of other people's misery.
Her theme song says it all: if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will.

#11: Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)

Tremaine: "Now, let me see... There's the large carpet in the main hall- clean it! And the windows upstairs and down- wash them! Oh yes, and the tapestries and draperies..."
Cinderella: "But I just finished-"
Tremaine: "Do them again! And don't forget the garden. Then scrub the terrace, sweep the halls and the stairs, clean the chimneys. And of course there's the mending and the sewing and the laundry..."

What. A. Bitch.
Lady Tremaine is one of the more innately human of Disney's villains, namely in how simple her forms of cruelty are. She's not some all-powerful demon witch, but an ordinary 50 or 60-something woman who treats her unwanted yet oh-so-nice and pretty stepdaughter like garbage every chance she gets. She's not a woman of great power or standing (although it's obvious she wants to be and always tries to play the part), but what power she does have, namely that of control over Cinderella, she rules with an iron fist. Not only will she do everything she can to ensure our passive young heroine will never get her happily ever after, but she's the kind of sinister person who'll revel in building up Cinderella's hopes only to have them torn away from her. Her design is classic, with a glare that can pierce like daggers and an uppity smirk of self-satisfaction that still makes my skin shiver. She's the kind of villain we love to hate because she reminds us of our innate human capacity to be every bit as cruel, self-serving and spiteful as she is.
Seriously, what a bitch.

#10: Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)

Shere Khan: "Why should you run? Is it possible you don't know who I am?"
Mowgli: "I know you alright. You're Shere Khan."
Shre Khan: "Precisely. And you should know that everyone runs from Shere Khan."

Shere Khan's built up quite a notorious, fearsome reputation for himself across the jungle- from the wolves to the elephants his name incites panic-stricken fear.  And not only does Shere Khan himself know this, he revels in it, making it clear with the utmost calm and class that he is not to be f***ed with. Even as the hypnotizing snake Kaa (who's a fun villain in his own right) has Mowgli right in his clutches, he's left cowering in the face of Khan- he's just the kind of presence that you don't dare to ignore. A major part of the character's appeal is his voice, that of Oscar-winning actor George Sanders (most famous for playing Addison DeWitt in All About Eve), who captures the perfect balance of intimidating and sophisticated (my favourite moments happens during the scene pictured above, when he starts scratching Kaa with his claws in a hilariously casual, almost absentminded manner, as if he doesn't even know that he's doing it). He's one of the rare cases of a villain who not only has a serious ego, but proves with every moment he gets why that ego is warranted.

#9: Charles Muntz (Up)

"An old man taking his house to Paradise Falls... 
...and that's the best one yet. I can't wait to hear how it ends..."

One of only two Pixar villains to make it on this list (you can probably guess who the other one is), Charles Muntz really seems like anything but a villain at first. For the first half of the film we know him mostly as a brave, intrepid explorer and the inspirational idol for old Carl Fredricksen since he was a boy, and when we meet him again many years later he proves quite friendly and accommodating to his guests (even if his tracker dogs haven't made the best impression). But then we find out about his search for the lost bird (Kevin), the bird he's vowed to find and prove the existence of for decades now, and that's when any pretensions of hospitality start to crumble away and we see just how far down he's gone into his own personal Heart of Darkness-style descent into madness. This really gets to what makes Muntz stand out as a villain compared to so many others of the Disney/Pixar ilk: there was a time when he was in fact a good, decent man. He's been searching for so long in order to regain the reputation he lost, and has lost countless dogs trying to search an impossible maze, that part of you can't help but empathize with him. But it becomes clear soon enough that the good man that used to be Charles Muntz is long gone, with only an obsessed, paranoid, ruthless and murderous shell of a maniac remaining in his stead. The scene where he knocks down a row of pilot's helmets one by one is genuinely terrifying at any age, and coupled with Christopher Plummer's unhinged performance it makes abundantly clear that what Muntz may lack in youth he more than makes up for with merciless drive.

#8: Yzma and Kronk (The Emperor's New Groove)

Yzma: "Excellent. A few drops in his drink, and then I'll propose a toast, and he will be dead before dessert."
Kronk: "Which is a real shame, because it's gonna be delicious."

The Emperor's New Groove is a surprisingly great film in Disney's canon despite how decidedly un-Disney it feels (it shares much more in common with old-school screwball Looney Tunes comedy), and if you asked anyone what the key ingredient to that success must be, they'd undoubtedly have to give big credit to scheming advisor Yzma and her lovably doltish right-hand man Kronk. Voiced by the legendary Eartha Kitt and comic voice actor extraordinaire Patrick Warburton, these two easily steal every scene, showcasing an endlessly riotous rapport that feels downright timeless in its appeal. While Yzma is plenty good enough to stand as a villainess on her own merits of enthusiastic scheming and ego-centric lust for power (one only knows there's never enough great female comedy villains out there), the oh-so-loveable Kronk is like the perfect yang to her cunning yin, to the point where imagining the two apart just doesn't feel right. You know that Kronk is too nice and well-meaning a guy to be working for Yzma, but damn it he just seems to be having too much carefree fun with everything he does, whether he knows its evil or not. Together they make an unforgettable team that will leave you rolling in the aisles (and hopefully that's not because they poisoned your drink).

#7: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

"It's not right for a woman to read! Soon she starts getting ideas, and thinking..."

It hardly even needs to be said: no one brags, no one pursues, and no one utterly loves himself like Gaston. What makes Gaston unique is how in any other fairy tale-style story he's probably be the hero: a tall, muscled, good-looking hunter and town hero who's the best at everything. Well, except handling rejection: his constant, insistent pursuit of Belle's hand in marriage is based completely off his own shallowness and inflated ego that tells him he deserves the best and won't take no for an answer. To him Belle is just the prettiest face in a town with a handful of pretty faces to go around, and not a free-thinking woman whose intellect and kindness deserves to be appreciated and respected. But seeing how Gaston is a "hero" who's surrounded himself with yes-men, no one will stop him when he takes drastic and even despicable measures for the sake of his own selfish goals, including having her innocent father locked away if Belle doesn't submit to him. And yet, despite all that awful things Gaston is capable of, despite all the underlying darkness of his soul... he's just too much fun to watch for you to actually hate him. Instead of being disgusted by him you mostly find yourself too busy laughing in incredulous disbelief, saying to yourself "Is this guy for real?!" It certainly helps that he has a whole song devoted to how awesome he is, and you have to give the guy credit because man is it fun and catchy as all hell. The definition of conceited, Gaston is a perfect example of the Disney villain we love to hate.

#6: Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

"My dear, sweet child. That's what I do. It's what I live for, to help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself, poor souls with no one else to turn to..."

Inspired by the drag queen Divine (most famous for her starring turn in the go-for-broke John Waters film Pink Flamingos), Ursula is a Disney villain with a true diva attitude. While others may shame her and think her a hideous sea witch, Ursula shows real pride in herself and her body, and consequently loves to take advantage of all those "poor unfortunate souls" who can't just be happy with how they are. That desire to change yourself, to become beautiful and "perfect" to impress that special someone you're crushing over, is exactly the kind of anxiety and longing that Ursula preys upon to give herself more power, and when she sees her opportunity to get the favourite daughter of King Triton added to her collection she knows she's hit the jackpot. This leads into yet another classic among classic Disney villain tunes (yeah, there's a fair number of those), a number that embodies her character in a nutshell: seductive  in her promises, but barely even hiding her untrustworthiness. Unlike many other villains on this list Ursula often observes and spies from a distance, having her twin eels act as her eyes while she watches her plans unfold. But when the time for action beckons she's more than willing to get her own hands dirty, disguising herself as a beautiful maiden with a literally hypnotic voice if it means ensuring naive young Ariel fails to uphold her bargain (besides, this diva wouldn't dare let some skinny little tramp get her hands on the stud in the end). Unlike many other villains out there, Ursula's pride in herself is the kind you can't help but admire and respect, even if she devotes her life to swindling shallow impressionable fools out of their lives.

#5: Scar (The Lion King)

"Long live the king."

Scar always tends to rank pretty high among most people's lists of Disney villains, and there's plenty of good reasons why. For one, he deserves credit for being one of the few Disney villains whose big master plan, you know, actually succeeds: Mufasa dies, Simba vanishes without a trace, and he ascends to the throne for several years (even if he's later dethroned by Simba's return, he still pretty much got everything he wanted). But it takes more than mere accomplishments to make a villain great, and Scar's got plenty of conniving personality to spare. He's an expert manipulator that would fit right into a Shakespeare tragedy (well, aside from the whole "being a talking lion" part), calculating enough to toy with the emotions of others and convince them to doubt not just others but also themselves. He's got that equally upper-class and slimy voice (provided by the awesome Jeremy Irons) that makes his presence so amusingly sly yet decidedly uneasy. He has plenty of Nazi-marching hyenas to get dirty work done for him, but still proves deadly when forced to enter the fight himself. And then there's his big musical number "Be Prepared", which still handily ranks among the best villain numbers of any Disney film.
In a rare case for a Disney film, we actually get to see how the villain does once he's actually gained the power he's been after, and let's just say Scar's much better at usurping rulership than actually ruling. He leaves Pride Rock to darkness and ruin, uncaring towards anyone's needs but his own, childishly irresponsible in a position of power that requires accepting the far-reaching duties of a real adult. Nevertheless, Scar proves a formidable schemer, fighter and puppet-master that no denizen of Pride Rock should ever underestimate.

Not to mention how he made himself the animal kingdom's definition of fabulous.

#4: Syndrome (The Incredibles)

"You sly dog! You got me monologuing!"

Yep, you know once I said I was allowing Pixar villains on this list that Syndrome just HAD to pop up somewhere. As comic book supervillains go, Syndrome's origins are an interesting twist to say the least. An obsessed fanboy who grows up feeling bitter and rejected, he uses his amazing technological know-how to build himself a Bond-style evil lair in a deserted island volcano (he clearly took some notes from You Only Live Twice- as does much of the movie, come to think of it). While his rage and motivation comes from a childish and petty place, the severity and darkness of his actions and outlook make him a force to be reckoned with. This is a man who's already killed dozens of former superheroes before he even started courting Mr. Incredible to his island, a man whose second-in command Mirage is held hostage under threat of death and he doesn't even flinch. Combine that with a smirking smartass personality and an ingenious master plan that will render superheroes obsolete (you gotta admit, it's pretty cool), and you've got yourself a bad guy who stands among the best that comic books have to offer.

#3: Professor Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective)

"Oh, I love it when I'm nasty."

If there's any Disney villain out there who's not getting enough appreciation, it's Ratigan. The Moriarty to Basil of Baker Street's Sherlock, Ratigan is without a doubt the most gleefully, shamelessly fun villain of any Disney film to date. Sure he commits all manner of dastardly deeds and devious plots for the sake of power and settling a score with his oh-so-clever rival, but really he just does it because he just enjoys being evil. He's not just over-the-top, he's so over-the-top that he makes most Bond villains look toned down by comparison. He'll drown widows and orphans not because they did anything to him, but because he wanted another evil deed to boast about in his musical number (plus he was probably just bored that weekend). But what really makes him interesting and even scary beyond that "evil because WHEEEE!" motivation is how his huge ego conflicts with his self-image complex. He's a big hulking rat, a "lower" beast of a creature who goes to great lengths to hide what he really is behind fabulous suits and a classy sense of style. When characters like Basil point out what he really is ("no more than a rat") it drives Ratigan up the wall with rage, and you can see it clean on his face even when he tries his best to hide it. If there's one thing Ratigan can't stand it's having to face himself in a mirror, and by the time we reach the spectacular Big Ben clocktower climax he completely gives up any pretense and reveals the true savage beast lurking inside him all this time. Suddenly this comically overblown baddie becomes a genuinely frightening presence, and we realize that he never really needed that damn cat to threaten people with in the first place- in fact the cat seems less scary now.
Plus come on, he's voiced by Vincent f***ing Price. You have to rank him high for that alone.

#2: Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

"Well, quite a glittering assemblage King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and...
...oh, how quaint- even the rabble."

Before she became a revenge-seeking antihero-turned-mother figure played by Angelina Jolie, Maleficent was known as the "mistress of all evil", a powerful, spiteful sorceress who you really shouldn't forget to invite to your next baby shower (come on guys, it'll take like 2 minutes to write up the card and mail it off to... whatever her address is). Of all the Disney villains out there Maleficent's design is undoubtedly the most iconic and memorable: wicked yet elegant, gothic and graceful with a simple black/purple colour scheme and pale skin with a shade of green. Of all the classic-era villains she definitely stand out the most, both in terms of her immense power and intimidating veneer of calculating calm. She's more than strong enough to back up whatever threats she intends to make, and her sinister smile and cackling laugh can swiftly turn to furious rage if you don't say the right things around her. Her plan is simple yet diabolical (cursing a beautiful baby girl to die on the cusp of her reaching maturity), but once Prince Phillip starts gets involved she takes things to a whole new level of twisted irony, plotting to lock him away until he's but an old withered husk, then sending his broken spirit towards the beautiful woman he loves as a dying shell of his former self. You gotta admit, usually the old-school fairy tale villains didn't tend to show that level of creativity. Add in the fact that she turns into a badass dragon (a detail the live-action movie unfortunately flubbed up) and you've got a classic villainess who belongs on every list of the best baddies the Mouse House has to offer.

#1: Judge Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

"The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss. Yet even now it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me, or the fire."

Say what you will about The Hunchback of Notre Dame as an overall movie  (a risky, dark and complex story held back from classic status by its annoying Disney-mandated comic relief), but when it's good, it's freaking fantastic. And no part of the movie shines brighter than its villain, Judge Claude Frollo. He's got all the makings of a great Disney villain, from his twisted ruthlessness to voice actor Tony Jay's pitch-perfect performance, but Hunchback goes the extra mile and then some to create a deep, complex character whose layers make him all the more despicable. He is a deeply devout and religious man, but he's also a fanatic who uses said religious belief as an excuse for persecution and attempted genocide. He kills Quasimodo's mother, tries to drown him as a baby, and only saves him because the fear of doing ill will in the eyes of God for once makes him show mercy (and he soon decides to keep Quasi around mostly because he might grow up to "become of use" to him). He feels insane musical-assisted Catholic guilt over his lustful feelings for Esmerelda, and decides that the healthiest option is to burn her at the stake to destroy the temptation (because old-school Catholics are nutters that way). And that says nothing of how he treats our poor hero Quasimodo, acting as a mentally abusive parent who bullies him into fearing the outside world and keeping himself isolated and alone with no one to talk to (I can imagine Quasi and Queen Elsa could swap some stories if they ever crossed paths). The film posits the question in the opening scene of "who is the monster and who is the man", and it becomes evident quickly that Frollo more than lives up to being the former. No matter how much he tries to justify his action as God's will, it becomes obvious within minutes that he's really just committing his long, loooong list of awful misdeeds for his own twisted, selfish needs.
And if that doesn't make someone a monster, then I don't know what does.

What are your favourite Disney villains? Feel free to discuss and thanks for reading!

Scruffy Nerfherder Presents: The 10 Best Movies of Summer 2014

By Andrew Braid

Well, this long summer has finally drawn to an end, and if you're a Hollywood executive, the news wouldn't seem to be particularly bright from a financial perspective. While there were few outright flops, many big summer movies fell under box office analyst expectations, and only one movie (the crowned summer b.o. king Guardians of the Galaxy- who would have though a few months ago, right?) has grossed over $250 million domestic, compared to four last year and three in both 2012 and 2011. In particular July, usually the biggest and most integral month of the summer movie calendar, was utterly flaccid compared to previous years, with an utter lack of heavy hitters (the only real big movie that month being Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) resulting in a 30% decline from the previous year, the worst year-to-year decline recorded in decades. From this kind of perspective, it seems like this summer's movies were mostly pretty weak, lacklustre efforts, an unmemorable slate of films that's not worth talking about much, let alone sincerely looking back upon.

And that's where I'd have to call you out and say you're wrong.

Because if you're looking through a quality perspective we got some pretty awesome movies this summer. Sure, maybe the weren't all originals or groundbreaking masterpieces, but there were more than a few great times to go around in those comfy theatre seats and air-conditioned auditoriums. With most years I'll be lucky if the summer movie season can offer me enough genuinely great movies for a Top 5, but Summer 2014 was practically an embarrassment of riches by comparison, one that's going to make narrowing down my year-end Top 10 much more difficult than usual (hell, I might just end up saying "f*** it" and make it a Top 15 or 20- I guess we'll wait and see). So with the back-to-school season back in swing again, I thought it'd be a good time to look back and remember the good times we had at the movies this summer, the buttery cream of the popcorn crop that remind us why we all love Hollywood cinema in the first place (even with whatever bullshit they make us put up with next).

So here, in no particular order, are my picks for the 10 Best Movies of Summer 2014!

Neighbors

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

Written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien

An early smash hit back in May, the latest comedy from the ever-talented Seth Rogen (joined by writer/producer/director partner Evan Goldberg) takes a simple premise (a new family ends up moving in next door to a raucous fraternity house) and knocks it out of the park, adding another example as to why Rogen is, like it or not, a generation-defining comedian. The consistent stream of laughs are expectedly raunchy through and through, but what makes the comedy stick (and gives the film a surprisingly good level of heart) is how gosh-darn likable all these characters are, and how much you find yourself wanting these two sides to work it out (the characters may step a bit over the line on one or two occasions, but not in a way that makes you turn against anyone). Seth Rogen is in fine form as usual, but Rose Byre goes above and beyond the typical wife/mother role and genuinely kills it every chance she gets (it helps that she and Rogen have excellent chemistry playing a married couple). It's Zac Efron who really surprises though as frat leader Teddy, a fun and good-natured college guy who realizes that his life is never going to get any better than his current fratboy days, and will do whatever he has to if it means making that big party last as long as it can. Throw in some memorably kinetic party sequences and you're left with a comedy guaranteed to give you a great time, even if it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel.

Godzilla

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Screenplay by Max Borenstein; Story by David Callaham

While some were left feeling disappointed or cheated by the latest revival of Japan's world-famous King of the Monsters (likely due to the film's outstanding-yet-misleading marketing), Godzilla nonetheless brought back the old-school giant monster movie in an (appropriately) big way. Following inspiration as much from early Spielberg films like Jaws as it does the old-school Toho kaiji films, the film saves up on its huge-scale giant monster action, carefully and patiently building as we get to know the human cast who find themselves helpless in the face of these force-of-nature Goliaths. The film works to establish emotional connection to the action and destruction by framing it through a human perspective, lending the proceedings a massive sense of scale and a grounded level of plausibility- the viewer becomes part of the human crowds, awestruck and stunned in the face of such disaster around us. And when the film finally does reach its epic kaiju bout conclusion? Hoo boy does it deliver...
King of the Monsters indeed.

(For a full review of Godzilla, click here.)

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Directed by Bryan Singer

Screenplay by Simon Kinberg; Story by Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg and Matthew Vaughn

Arguably the most anticipated movie going into this summer, the seventh film in the X-Men movie franchise (though really the fifth, seeing how everyone hated The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, to the point where this film undoes anything that happened in the former and refuses to even acknowledge the latter) also proved to be the best so far. Despite being inspired by the famous 80s comic book storyline of its subtitle, Days of Future Past namely feels like a Terminator movie starring Wolverine and Charles Xavier, using the high-stakes drama of its post-apocalypse future scenes as a launching pad for a surprisingly fun 70s-set caper involving prison breaks, espionage and political assassination. It's tightly paced and never loses the viewer in its frequent intercutting of past and future, the action is the most impressive of any any X-Men film to date, and several characters in its ridiculously stuffed cast get at least some good moments to shine. It also proves quite effective as both a continuity clean-up and a major culminating story for Wolverine and Xavier. A more matured and noble Logan must come full circle and give his old mentor's past self the guidance his lost soul desperately needs, both for his own betterment and the sake of mutant-kind. An emotional talk between Xaviers past and future proves a standout sequence not just for this film but the entire franchise, and the much-talked about "Time in a Bottle" scene proves better than anything that everyone's pre-judgmental hate for Evan Peters' Quicksilver was dead wrong (if anything you're left wishing there was a lot more of him). What could easily have been a blatant fanservice movie ends up proving a top-tier comic book movie in its own right, offering compelling evidence that maybe it's not so bad if Fox holds onto those X-Men rights for a little while longer...

Edge of Tomorrow

Directed by Doug Liman

Screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth and John Henry Butterworth

If there's any real contender for this summer's Most Pleasant Surprise, it's gotta be this one. The trailers looked solid yet unspectacular, struggling to stand out in a sea of one mega-blockbuster after another. But as it turns out Edge of Tomorrow is not quite what it seems, infusing its sci-fi/action movie premise ("Groundhog Day, but with mech suits") with a darkly comedic edge and a Tom Cruise performance that deliberately (and oh-so-entertainingly) plays against the actor's usual "Badass McGoodguy" persona. The film mines a lot of pleasure from showing Cruise's William Cage die in battle over and over (and over) again, but in a way that gradually builds a compelling character arc- like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, Cage genuinely learns to be a better person through his repeating time loop (that and he learns how to kick some serious alien ass). Everything in Edge of Tomorrow is a pleasant surprise, from its great action scenes to period-piece regular Emily Blunt's "Full Metal Bitch" Rita Vrataski, who proves to be arguably the best female action hero in some time (definitely the best I've seen in anything out this year). While the ending may (possibly) have a hole or two in it, you're still left with a more than fulfilled feeling walking out of the theatre, with a little more hope in the Hollywood system. See, studios? Great things can come from taking a chance on an original blockbuster...
...That's actually based on a Japanese light novel (damn, so close!)

22 Jump Street

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Screenplay by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman; Story by Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall

With The Lego Movie and now 22 Jump Street, director duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller just had one hell of a year, and have officially proven they can do no wrong when it comes to making you laugh your ass off (no matter how unlikely or seemingly-bad the premise). The meta nature of the first film comes back in even greater force this time around, deliberately poking fun at the fact that this is an unnecessary sequel that's just a more expensive rehash of the first one ("Just do the same thing again, everyone's happy"). However, instead of forcing a reset on the character arcs of the original like so many other lazy sequels (comedy or otherwise), 22 Jump Street actually grows and deepens the partnership between Jonah Hill's Schmidt and Channing Tatum's Jenko, as Jenko gets an opportunity to rediscover his high school football passions and the undercover duo questions whether that first big assignment was just a fluke (because meta!). This genuine sense of growth and emotional connection for these inherently ridiculous characters is a big part of why the film delivers as the rare (almost unheard of) example of a comedy sequel that's actually as good as the original (despite blatantly acknowledging all the scenes that it just copy/pastes from the aforementioned first one). But namely it's Hill and Tatum's spectacular screen chemistry that carries the film once again, making us both laugh and genuinely feel for this pair of wannabe-cop doofuses to such an extent that you find yourself thinking "maybe those end credits jokes are right- I really could watch these two get into wacky hijinks forever!" Then again, as tempting as 22 Jump Street might make that seem, I hope they don't try to push their luck and actually make the walking punchline that is 23 Jump Street.

...Oh yeah, too late for that...

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois

Making a follow-up to a film as acclaimed and beloved as How to Train Your Dragon would be a monstrous challenge for anyone, but writer/director Dean DeBlois (now flying solo after working on the first film with Chris Sanders) steers the ship on this breathtaking, exhilarating and beautifully emotional sequel with an assured, confident hand that makes it look almost easy. Despite being a sequel meant as the middle chapter in a trilogy (the main influence being The Empire Strikes Back), How to Train Your Dragon 2 functions surprisingly well as a self-contained narrative in its own right, following Viking dragon rider Hiccup five years after the first film as an adult torn between the responsibilities of being a chief and the freedom of exploring and living amongst the dragons he's learned to befriend. Hiccup and Toothless are just as compelling and loveable as ever, but it's his father Stoick and long-lost mother Valka who steal the show with a reunion and subsequent musical moment that may very well rank as the two most beautiful, moving and truly romantic scenes of any film this year (animated or not). The action is thrilling, the animation gorgeous, the score marvellous- much like the first film you spend the duration as awed by its technical achievements as you are its alternately hilarious, touching and poignant story. It's a sequel that's every bit as great as its revered predecessor (in some ways even better), and will leave you impatiently anticipating How to Train Your Dragon 3 (now set for release in June 2017).
(For a full review of How to Train Your Dragon 2, click here.)

Snowpiercer

Directed by Bong Joon-ho

Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho and Kelly Masterson; Story by Bong Joon-ho

Nearly swept under the rug and tarnished in the editing room by its U.S. distributor The Weinstein Company (because Harvey Weinstein's just kind of evil that way- and he has an extensive track record to prove it), the latest film from Bong Joon-ho (Mother, The Host- NOT the one based on the Stephanie Meyer book) is a prime example of why studios don't know what they're talking about when they think they should meddle with greatness. Snowpiercer is so many things all at once, be it a chillingly bleak science fiction story, a darkly funny social class satire or an intense, suspenseful action-thriller, and yet it all gels together so seamlessly where so many other movies would fall apart. Like its massive train that barrels around a frozen world, the film is always charging full steam ahead with one plot surprise and inventive idea after another, grabbing you by the balls with its gripping sense of unpredictability. And yet it still demands to be seen more than merely once- then you'll get to see laid bare all the careful setup of its many moving parts and clever machinations, and gain a deeper understanding of the complex character relationships that populate its narrative. If you love not just sci-fi but any kind of film that dares to be this original and refreshing, then do yourself a favour and check it out through whatever digital rental or video-on-demand service you have available to you.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Directed by Matt Reeves

Written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

So yeah, between this, Edge of Tomorrow and Snowpiercer, 2014 has proven a great year for blockbuster science fiction. With Dawn the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise proves in spectacular fashion that it's anything but dated in the modern moviemaking landscape, following up the surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes with a bigger, bolder and achingly sombre sequel that builds off Rise's foundation and ends up outclassing it in every possible way. Dawn feels much closer to the old-school PotA films in feel with its more overt science fiction themes and its dark, pessimistic outlook, but given new emotional dimensions with its motion-capture cast of apes, a visual effects marvel if there ever was one. Andy Serkis once again commands the screen as ape leader Caesar, but this time he's got competition in the form of Toby Kebbel as the bitter, scarred former lab ape Koba. In a year of blockbusters lacking in memorable or noteworthy villains Koba stands mightily at the head of the pack, a genuinely sympathetic and astute character whose burning hatred for the humans who abused him drives him down a path of increasingly monstrous actions that only dooms what chance there was for the two sides to achieve peace. If Rise was the Batman Begins-esque reboot, then Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is The Dark Knight of this new Apes series,  a huge leap forward that's just as thoughtful, grim and morally complex as it is grippingly entertaining.

(For a full review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, click here.)

Boyhood

Written and Directed by Richard Linklater

Okay, let's get a few things straight about Boyhood. It is not some oh-so-perfect, flawless, "movie of the year/decade/century" (yes, the ads have actually used such a quote) masterpiece. At a huge 165 minutes the film is too long and unwieldy for its own good, with the final half-hour in particular mostly just dragging on and feeling its length. While the lead actor playing the titular boy at the film's core (Ellar Coltrane) gives a solid performance, Mason Jr. often feels like a cipher rather than a real fleshed-out character, and what we do get of a personality once he gets older mostly proves to be somewhat of a pretentious hipster asshole (but hey, to each his own if you like that kind of character, I suppose). The film struggles to find balance between slice-of-life realism and a more film-like narrative, with results that constantly shift back and forth from artful and compelling to forced and cliched. And then after over two and a half hours it all just stops with a smug, self-satisfied ending that chooses to needlessly spells out the film's message/conceit, as if it didn't trust its audience to realize for themselves "what it all means".
So yeah, it's far from perfect.
Having said all that, Boyhood is still plenty good enough to warrant seeing for yourself. The whole idea behind it (filming a whole film about a child growing up into adulthood with all the same actors over the course of 12 years) is a fascinating and truly daring experiment that at the very least demands the attention and respect of any devoted filmgoer. While the acting quality varies all over, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason Jr.'s parents both give excellent, possibly career-best performances that makes these people feel like real, flawed yet likable human beings (honestly, I kind of wish the movie were centred more around them). And when this messy, uneven behemoth actually works, it can be downright captivating to watch Richard Linklater make his on-the-fly filmmaking experiment unfold. For better or worse, it feels completely unlike anything you'll see all year, a sprawling yet intimate epic about growing up and living in the moment.
Oh wait, I mean, what if it's really the other way around? Like, the moments are just constant, man? Whoa, did I just blow your mind, dude? (seriously, screw that ending)

Guardians of the Galaxy

Directed by James Gunn

Screenplay by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman

If choosing the best movie of the summer (hell, maybe even the whole year) came down to which one was the most flat-out, unabashedly fun, then Guardians of the Galaxy would win hands-down. It's a film that both comfortably fits inside the successful Marvel Studios wheelhouse while also injecting its own subversively cheeky personality, all matched by director James Gunn's mix of reference-laden visual flair and groovy-as-groovy-gets soundtrack of 70s and 80s pop/rock hits. The cast absolutely kills it, with all five Guardians getting ample time to shine and show a delightful repartee with each other, whether it's the inseparable Rocket and Groot or Star Lord and Gamora's slowly sizzling romantic tension (and don't forget about Dave Bautista's Drax, easily the film's biggest surprise as he brings both straight-faced humour and angry pathos to what could easily have been yet another dumb brute character). In fact, seeing how the film has become such a box-office titan and beloved pop culture piece (it's currently still the #1 movie in theatres as I write this), recommending it seems almost redundant at this point.
So yeah, if you somehow haven't seen it already, just get it done and keep in the loop about what all that #Grooting business is about.
(For a full review of Guardians of the Galaxy, click here.)

What were your favourite movies this summer? Thanks for reading, and have a great fall!

S. Nerfherder Presents: The Top 10 Best Comic Book Movies of All Time

By Andrew Braid

Ever since the launch of the original X-Men in 2000, comic book movies have slowly but surely overtaken the pop culture landscape, breaking box office records and reshaping the whole industry as we know it. Now they're the safest bets Hollywood can make in a marketplace increasingly lacking in "safe bets". In conjunction with the opening of the latest instalment of the X-Men franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past (which is awesome, BTW), I figured now's as good a time as any to take my own stab at narrowing down the cream of the ever-growing crop. Seeing just how many new movies seem to be pulling out the "best superhero movie ever" quote in their advertising (Days of Future Past included), I think it's about time to sort out which movies truly deserve such hyperbolic proclamations.

Before we begin, some notes/disclaimers:

-This list is strictly limited to live-action, theatrically-released films based on either a comic book series or graphic novel (animated comic book movies warrant their own Top 10 in the future- there's plenty of good ones to go around)

-While there is no "one movie per series" rule, I have tried to make the list somewhat diverse anyway (as awesome as Batman is, the list would look kinda boring if he took up half the spots).

-This list (of course) only covers films that have come out so far, and I will be more than happy to update this post in the future for any upcoming comic book movies that prove worthy of a spot.

-And finally, this is all just my own personal opinion. Feel free to let me know what your favourites are if you like (there's so many other good movies that didn't get a spot here- makes me feel guilty)

Leading into the list, here is my list of Honourable Mentions:

Superman II [The Richard Donner Cut] (1981)

Batman (1989, Dir. Tim Burton)

Batman Returns (1992, Dir. Tim Burton)

Ghost World (2001, Dir. Terry Zwigoff)

X2: X-Men United (2003, Dir. Bryan Singer)

Sin City (2005, Dir. Rober Rodriguez and Frank Miller)
Batman Begins (2005, Dir. Christopher Nolan)

V for Vendetta (2006, Dir. James McTeague)

Superman Returns (2006, Dir. Bryan Singer)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008, Dir. Guillermo Del Toro)

Watchmen (2009, Dir. Zack Snyder)

X-Men: First Class (2011, Dir. Matthew Vaughn)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011, Dir. Joe Johnston)

Iron Man 3 (2013, Dir. Shane Black)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014, Dir. Bryan Singer) [Seriously, it's awesome, go see it]

And now, the Top 10 Best Comic Book Movies of All Time, starting with...

#10: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(2014, Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo)

If there's one character in their stable that Marvel has proven they understand more than any other, it's Captain America. After a rollicking retro origin story in Captain America: The First Avenger, Winter Soldier shows Steve Rogers' struggle to adapt to the modern world- a man displaced from time, a veteran displaced from war, uncertain of what his duty as a soldier even means anymore. However, just as Phil Coulson said once, it turns out people just might need a little old-fashioned. Winter Soldier does damn near everything right, smoothly transitioning from the first film's period adventure into a paranoia-laden action-thriller where no one can seem to be trusted and security is valued over freedom. The pacing is perfect, knowing exactly how to juggle all its characters so no one feels superfluous or under-utilized. The humour is spot-on, keeping things fun despite the heavier subject matter without overtaking the film. The Winter Soldier himself is cold and imposing, showing an utter relentlessness akin to a Terminator. The action scenes are terrific, carrying a real sense of hard-hitting impact whether its fistfights, shootouts, or chases (the two big faceoffs between Cap and Winter Soldier in particular burst with a flurry of tension and intensity). The twists and ramifications for the future of the Marvel Studios universe moving forward are huge, and yet they don't distract from the film's ability to stand on its own. It's the current gold standard for Marvel's solo movies to date, positioning Captain America as the optimistic, hopeful, example-setting hero of the big screen in a time where the world could really use one (it helps that he doesn't destroy half of Metropolis in the process).

#9: A History of Violence 
(2005, Directed by David Cronenberg)

Believe it or not, but this intense, powerful and surprisingly thoughtful thriller from David Cronenberg (Videodrome, Scanners, The Fly) was actually an adaptation of a graphic novel published by DC Comics (through their "mature readers" Vertigo imprint). Viggo Mortensen gives one of his best performances here as Tom Stall, a small town restaurant owner and family man who may or may not have had a violent past as a gangster in Philadelphia. Tom denies these accusations from a scarred gangster (played by a memorable and chilling Ed Harris) to his wife and children, but as tensions rise it becomes apparent that there may be more to Tom than he's telling anyone, and that violence may just be in his nature no matter how hard he denies it. The film builds to a thrilling climax and perhaps one of the most perfect final scenes I've ever seen. A lot of you may not have seen it, so I'll avoid saying much more, but out of Cronenberg's huge body of work one could easily argue for this being the best film he's ever made.

#8: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
(2010, Directed by Edgar Wright)

As we mourn the departure of Edgar Wright from Marvel's Ant Man, we can at least console ourselves by watching his first stab at making a comic book movie, the near-perfect film adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series. While some changes and concessions have to be made to condense the six-volume comics series into a 2-hour film, the spirit (and even much of the hilarious dialogue) of the comics is preserved, yet also injected with some fresh material of its own (my favourite being this bit, obviously). Michael Cera gives his best performance here, as his one-note "awkward nice guy" routine hides the jerkier aspects of Scott, making his rise to grow up and mature at the end all the more effective. He's surrounded by an amazing supporting cast, with Jason Schwartzman's "final boss" Gideon and Kieran Culkin as gay roommate Wallace in particular doing their best to steal the show. Filled with fantastic action scenes equally influenced by comic books, martial arts cinema and late 80s/early 90s gaming and paired with a killer soundtrack, this is a romantic comedy that's both riotously funny and surprisingly deep.

#7: Kick-Ass

(2010, Directed by Matthew Vaughn)

Whereas Scott Pilgrim vs. the World proves equal to its source material, Kick-Ass manages the amazing feat of surpassing it's source in nearly every way. Based on the first graphic novel in a trilogy by Mark Millar, Kick-Ass poses the question of what would happen if a geeky teenager in the real world decided to get himself a costume and become a superhero. The results spiral into a deliciously twisted blend of dark comedy, astute genre satire, kinetic and brutal action sequences, and even some surprisingly affecting drama. While the comics had most of these things too, it often pushed things too far and extreme (Hit-Girl snorting cocaine, anyone?), as if it was trying too hard to be shocking and provocative, and the series' gradually growing contempt for its protagonist causes many of the emotional beats to fall flat, particularly once the second book starts (why should I feel anything for this guy when I've just seen how much of a pathetic, unlikable asshole he is?). The film version works overtime to fix these issues, keeping the darkly funny and brutal tone of the book without seriously pushing it over the edge. More importantly though is how much more genuinely likable and endearing it makes its characters, whether it's Kick-Ass himself, the foul-mouthed fighter Hit-Girl, her ex-cop father Big Daddy (an offbeat, inspired and even bizarrely sweet Nicolas Cage performance), or the dorky and awkward would-be hero/villain Red Mist. Even the main villain, crime lord Frank D'Amico (still Mark Strong's best bad guy role to date), proves full of personality despite how dangerous and violent he is. Kick-Ass is a rare gem among comic book movies, a brilliantly entertaining action-comedy with a gleefully subversive bite. 

#6: The Avengers
(2012, Directed by Joss Whedon)

Do I really need to explain why The Avengers is on here? The fact it's from geek god Joss Whedon alone ought to justify its place on this list, not to mention the fact that it's a goddamn Avengers movie. Believe all the "holy crap they did it, they really did it, they actually pulled this off" reactions from comic book geeks across the globe: The Avengers is the real deal, a big-scale, supremely fun and ever-so satisfying work of nerd nirvana. The simplicity of its plot is more than made up for by its stellar cast, whip-smart and witty Whedon dialogue and shamelessly enjoyable action scenes, all building up to a huge climax that has practically become a standard-setter for popcorn blockbusters to come. It's really that simple: if you're a comic book fan, the odds of you not loving this movie are statistically insignificant.

#5: The Dark Knight Rises
(2012, Directed by Christopher Nolan)

Well, I guess here's where it really gets into the whole "personal opinion" territory. Whereas some felt that The Dark Knight Rises was a disappointment (at least relative to sky-high expectations because did you even see the movie it has to follow up?), I absolutely loved it. The story feels huge and carefully structured, and we watch in anticipation as Nolan's many pieces fall into place. Michael Caine proves once and for all why he's the best Alfred ever, as we see the character truly pushed past his breaking point for the first time (and it's utterly heartbreaking to watch). Bane is an intimidating and brutishly intelligent foe, and Tom Hardy's performance brings him to imposing life despite the challenge of acting with most of his face obscured (plus there's that famous Bane voice- admit it, you love it, don't you?). Anne Hathaway really turns out to be the film's real MVP as Selina Kyle, finally giving us a live-action Catwoman who feels truly in line with her comics counterpart: playful, manipulative and toeing the line between good and bad whenever it benefits her most. The IMAX-scale climax set in the snowy streets of Gotham is astounding, an all-out war on the streets for the city's future that results in a satisfying and definitive conclusion to the story that started in Batman Begins. Rises cements Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight saga among the greatest trilogies in cinema history, a truly epic finale to a series that changed the film landscape forever.

#4: The Rocketeer
(1991, Directed by Joe Johnston)

Yeah, now we're getting into super "personal opinion" territory. While The Rocketeer has been steadily developing a cult fanbase since its initial release back in the early 90s, it's still often overlooked by many. But holy hell does that deserve to change: The Rocketeer is a ridiculously charming, old-school styled comic book action movie, filled with heart, humour and unabashed fun. The 1930s period detail is fantastic, the cast is great (including a stunning Jennifer Connelly, a reliably cantankerous Alan Arkin and a delightfully villainous Timothy Dalton), and the effects work is top-notch in an era where practical effects were still the main go-to. It completely commits to the tone and feel of retro adventure serials (imagine Indiana Jones crossed with a superhero movie), instilled with just the right amount of patriotic cheese. This is the kind of movie where the hired gangsters turn against the villains they've been working with once they find out they're Nazis, saying (and I honestly quote):

"I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American."

Maybe it's just me, but it's hard not to love a movie with dialogue like that.

#3: Spider-Man 2
(2004, Directed by Sam Raimi)

The best of the original Sam Raimi trilogy and still easily the best Spider-Man movie to date, Spider-Man 2 improves on the fondly-remembered original in every regard, and still stands as a textbook example for how to make a great sequel. Peter Parker's life is at its most crushing and conflicted here, making him feel all the more relatable while also letting Tobey Maguire give some of the best scenes of his career (the two standouts being his heartbreaking pay phone confessional and when he tells Aunt May the truth behind Uncle Ben's death). Alfred Molina's Doc Ock is the best villain of the series, equal parts sympathetic and slyly menacing. The effects work is a huge step up from the first film, whether its Spidey's web-swinging acrobatics or Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms with minds of their own. The action scenes step up their game in a big way, especially in the fantastic extended train setpiece. Best of all is Raimi's distinct sense of humour, where goofiness and the crushing unfairness of reality are firmly in sync at every turn (resulting in the Best. Montage. Ever.) If you've ever wondered why so many people hate on Spider-Man 3 (even though it's actually an alright movie overall), the answer's simple: it's because this was the movie it had to follow up.

#2: Superman
(1978, Directed by Richard Donner)

While it's certainly not the first comic book movie ever made, the original Superman really was the film that started it all, the film that set the template for how to make a big-budget comic book movie back when such a thing didn't exist. Even now the result of a massive gamble by producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind (at the time it was the most expensive film yet made) still holds up sublimely well, a soaring epic comic book yarn that delivers a truly definitive vision of the Superman mythos. It's like getting five movies in one (in a good way): across 2 1/2 hours you get a mythic comic book fantasy, a big-scale disaster movie, a hilarious screwball comedy, an emotional coming-of-age character drama and a winning romance backed by screen chemistry that ignites fireworks at every turn. The huge star-studded cast is sublime, led by Christopher Reeve's pitch-perfect performance as both bumbling Clark Kent and pure-hearted do-gooder Superman. And who can forget John Williams' iconic score, alternately majestic, sweeping and thrilling at every turn? No one can deny the Superman Theme is still far and away the best anthem for any costumed hero who's ever graced the screen. When people say the old phrase "movie magic", Superman is exactly the kind of film they're referring to- there aren't really any other superhero films out there that you could call downright enchanting.

#1: The Dark Knight
(2008, Directed by Christopher Nolan)

I know, I know, real original top pick, right? Then again, could it really be anything else? The Dark Knight was a game-changer, and for good reason: it proved that comic book movies could transcend their own genre without betraying their origins the process. It's a movie that, even though it's the middle chapter of a trilogy, works completely as a standalone story, a sprawling and complex crime saga that just happens to star Batman. Its themes are powerful, questioning the nature of justice and order and whether or not people are inherently good or trustworthy. The action scenes are incredible to this day, striking just the right balance between CG and practical effects that the film's vision of Gotham retains a sense of gritty realism. Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as The Joker speaks for itself, a fully embodied and personified agent of chaos both darkly funny and outright terrifying. It is still the high benchmark for its genre, an influential masterpiece of modern Hollywood cinema that changed the landscape forever.
Also, the Bat-Bale voice is still hilarious/awesome. Admit it, you're doing it yourself right now, aren't you?

Thanks for reading, everyone! Tune in for new posts in the near-future!

2014 Predictions: The 10 Biggest Movies This Summer

By Andrew Braid

Hello everyone, sorry I've been away for some time! But I figured now would be a good time to pop back up, what with the advent of this year's summer movie season. It's well-known that this is the big one, the 4-month span from May to August where Hollywood makes the bulk of its money, pumping out the biggest tentpoles they can manage in hopes that they will reign supreme atop the big mountain of money, that their films will be the ones everyone talks about, that theirs will make waves across the country, and perhaps even the world.

So yeah, no pressure, Hollywood!

2014's slate has been viewed by many as an "also-ran", a less memorable year that everyone will bide their time through until 2015 where all the HUUUUGE stuff is coming out (Avengers: Age of Ultron, the final Hunger Games movie, the next James Bond movie, Fast and Furious 7, Jurassic World, and of course the much-fabled Star Wars Episode VII). Compared to all that... yeah, 2014 doesn't quite hold a candle by comparison. But that doesn't mean that we won't be in for some damn big movies while we wait for all that to roll around next year. 

But you might be wondering (or maybe just want a refresher): what are the biggest movies coming out this summer? Well I'm glad you asked (if you did indeed ask, I'll just assume you did)! This Top 10 will be my predictions for what will be the biggest movies coming out this summer. This will be based on domestic grosses only, although big overseas totals are likely for many of these film as well. So let's get started with my predictions, beginning with my #1 pick...

#1: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Release Date: June 13

Rated PG

In 3D

Is this a surprise? Well maybe it shouldn't be.
Think about it: the first film was already one of DreamWorks Animation's biggest hits, bringing in a big $217.6 million mainly thanks to its fantastic word of mouth. How to Train Your Dragon has a jaw-droppingly good 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has cultivated a big following of fans who absolutely LOVED the story of wimpy viking teen Hiccup and his dragon friend Toothless. The audience that drove the first film to a $217 million domestic total will undoubtedly come out for the second film in what will be an epic animated trilogy. Animated sequels often outgross the original film, especially if that first film got a lot of lasting audience love like Dragon did.
Case in point:

Toy Story (1995)- $191.7 million

Toy Story 2 (1999)- $245.8 million (+ 22%)
Toy Story 3 (2010)- $415 million (+ 40.7 %)

Shrek (2001)- $267.6 million

Shrek 2 (2004)- $441.2 million (+ 39.3%)

Despicable Me (2010)- $251.5 million

Despicable Me 2 (2013)- $368 million (+ 31.6%)

The only obstacles that could get in the way of this trend is failure to distinguish the sequel from the first one, something which Dragon 2 has handily avoided: the film is set 5 years after the first, with a cast that has grown up with its audience to go alongside the bigger scale and scope of the new film's story. The marketing, while having the habit of trying to make the film look more comedic and mainstream-appealing, has still effectively sold the message that this is a film that will definitely prove to be special like the first one, and set itself apart from the competition.
Speaking of competition, there basically is none: the only other animated film opening this summer is Planes: Fire and Rescue (and yes, it looks just as painful as the first one) on July 18. That sequel is to a critically-drubbed first film that was only modestly successful ($90.2 million), and Fire and Rescue would be lucky to match that. With no heavyweight animated films from Pixar, Disney or Illumination (aka the studio behind Despicable Me), How to Train Your Dragon 2 has this lucrative audience all to itself for over a month, spanning from mid-June to well past the big July 4th holiday weekend. And with a film likely to deliver in quality, expect legs to be stronger than most other summer box office contenders this year.

#2: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Release Date: June 27
Rated PG-13
In 3D and IMAX 3D




This is the one that many consider the "safe bet" for the summer box office crown, and it's not hard to see why: the Transformers series is hugely popular, basically proving to be a license to print money that won't wear out anytime soon. But while the series has been growing bigger and bigger overseas (BTW, Age of Extinction pretty much already has the race for biggest movie internationally in the bag), domestic audiences seem to be losing interest.

Transformers (2007)- $319.2 million ($390.5 million intl.)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)- $402.1 million ($434.2 million intl.)
(+ 20.6% domestic; + 10% overseas)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)- $352.4 million ($771.4 million intl.)
(- 12% domestic; + 43.7% overseas)

Franchise fatigue inevitably takes its toll around the fourth instalment of most series, resulting in significant declines in grosses and becoming the lowest-grossing entries to date (for example, Shrek Forever After declined 26% from Shrek the Third, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was off 22% from At World's End). While the entirely new cast might give things some zip (especially with Mark Wahlberg as the series' new human lead) and the addition of the Dinobots will definitely get a lot of fans interested, it's clear that the franchise already peaked domestically with the much-reviled Revenge of the Fallen. The wide sentiment of dislike for that film undoubtedly hurt Dark of the Moon, which wasn't received too much better by critics or audiences. While a big domestic gross is still a certainty, Age of Extinction will likely be the lowest-grossing entry of the series in North America.
Not that it matters to the film's producers, because they clearly made this one for the international markets, particularly China (the previous film grossed record numbers in that market, and this new one was partially shot in China).

#3: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Release Date: May 23
Rated PG-13
In 3D



While recent entries have been declining in grosses (with $146.4 million for X-Men: First Class and $132.5 million for last year's The Wolverine), the X-Men series seems primed for a resurgence with the latest film Days of Future Past. This one brings together the cast of the original X-Men trilogy with many of the returning cast from First Class (including beloved Oscar-winning superstar Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique), essentially doing whatever it can to bring back older fans who may have jumped ship after 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand (which is still the biggest domestic grosser in the series with $234.3 million). Of all the comic book movies coming out this summer, Days of Future Past definitely has the most hype, and has gained lots of attention ever since the credits tease for the movie attached to The Wolverine last summer. It also has strong scheduling for its opening weekend, debuting right on the Memorial Day holiday weekend, which is usually one of the biggest box office weekends of the year (last year's 4-day weekend brought in a record $307.5 million across all movies).
There are some obstacles that may stand in the way of Days of Future Past, though (and I don't just mean the recent allegations facing its director- I'm surprised that hasn't been causing more trouble for the film so far). The X-Men films have traditionally been pretty frontloaded at the box office, so the film will really have to make the most of that opening weekend. Plus it's still a considerable gamble to try to win back this much audience all in the span of one movie- just because bringing back the original cast worked for Fast and Furious doesn't necessarily guarantee a similar degree of success here (remember, back in 2009 no one was expecting that franchise to come back in such a big way). Still, a major resurgence for the series definitely seems to be in the cards, though there's a ceiling for how high it can go (probably not much more than $250 million +).

#4: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Release Date: May 2
Rated PG-13
In 3D and IMAX 3D



2012's The Amazing Spider-Man may have been the lowest-grossing Spider-Man film to date so far, but it still webbed up a strong $262 million, which was enough to get Sony to charge ahead with their already-greenlit sequel. Critical and audience reception was overall decent but kind of lukewarm for the reboot, which doesn't bode too well. However, Sony has been absolutely relentless in their marketing campaign for Amazing Spider-Man 2, effectively highlighting the new villains and colourful 3D superhero action. Whether the all-in marketing strategy is out of confidence or desperation remains to be seen (the studio hasn't been putting much effort into marketing the rest of their summer slate because they REALLY want/need ASM2 to be a hit), but the advance buzz has been solid, with many saying it's a big step up from the previous film, a fun way to kick off the summer movie season.
Speaking of which, that's ASM2's biggest asset: the prime summer kickoff opening on the first weekend of May. Competition will be light going in, and the movie will undoubtedly open big as it should appeal widely to comic book fans and mainstream audiences. The legs afterwards may be a problem: while its second weekend is more or less all-clear, it will soon after get engulfed by other major May blockbusters Godzilla and X-Men. This is basically what happened to the first ASM movie: while it held well in its second weekend, it completely cratered afterwards once The Dark Knight Rises opened. Overall I think this film appears more in line with what audiences want from a new Spider-Man film, and should at least come close to the grosses of the previous film.

#5: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Release Date: July 11
Rated PG-13
In 3D



2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a surprise smash when it came out, matching its great reviews with a $176.8 million gross that exceeded everyone's expectations. The film was well-received by audiences, and the upcoming sequel presents an exciting continuation of the story with a post-apocalyptic war between apes and humans. Recent screenings of footage at CinemaCon and WonderCon have received hugely positive response, and its release date in mid-July is great positioning. With a surprisingly weak July slate overall (it seems like mostly a lot of modest performers and likely big-budget flops such as Hercules and, unfortunately, Jupiter Ascending), expect Dawn to rule the box office for much of the month.

#6: Godzilla

Release Date: May 16
Rated PG-13
In 3D and IMAX 3D



Godzilla is definitely summer 2014's biggest wild card, one of the few non-sequel tentpoles that's rebooting a long-dormant series widely-known to the public but not all that widely seen outside of its home country Japan. The one prior attempt to make Godzilla into a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster was the widely-derided Roland Emmerich film from 1998, famously hyped within an inch of its life by studio Sony (which I'm suuure they've learned their lesson from), only to gross a comparatively disappointing $136.8 million (adjusted for inflation that's over $230 million, which is actually more than a lot of the movies on this list will probably make).
Seeing how that film was released 16 years ago and isn't really talked about much anymore, it's safe to say that this new Godzilla won't have to worry about any comparisons to that stinker. Trailers have generated a ton of hype and excitement, mixing jaw-dropping footage teasing the titular kaiju's size and carnage (in particular the memorable military skydiving scene) with a dark, foreboding and emotional tone that effectively hints at the film's human element. The film's mid-May release date is a double-edged sword: it has enough space from Amazing Spider-Man 2  to score a big opening weekend, but it will face a lot of competition the week after from X-Men (though the Memorial Day holiday could soften the blow somewhat). Still, expect this monster to leave a sizable footprint.

#7: Guardians of the Galaxy

Release Date: August 1
Rated PG-13
In 3D and IMAX 3D



The other big wild card this summer, Marvel Studio's latest has a potentially huge advantage in opening right at the beginning of August. August is always the weakest month of the summer movie season, lacking in any major tentpole blockbusters, so a normally-risky prospect like Guardians of the Galaxy could fill a big void for blockbuster entertainment. The obscurity of the source material could be a major roadblock, but the trailers so far has done a great job combatting this issue, effectively introducing the cast of characters and selling the offbeat tone of this space action comedy. The trailers have received a lot of attention and online hype, exciting the Marvel faithful who will undoubtedly turn up for this. Expanding to more mainstream audiences will be tougher, but a gross around the same level as the first Thor and Captain America movies ($181 million and $176.6 million respectively) seems like a reasonable expectation.

#8: Maleficent

Release Date: May 30
Rated PG
In 3D



Angelina Jolie, one of the biggest Hollywood stars in the world, playing Disney's most iconic villainess in a new live-action twist on the Sleeping Beauty tale, pulling heavily (and I mean heavily- just look at this trailer, for crying out loud) from the visual iconography of that Disney classic? Yep, seems like a safe bet this will make money.
To be serious though, even with a crowded Summer slate when it opens at the end of May, Maleficent should still see a solid audience turnout. The film should be appealing to family audiences who will have literally nothing else to go see at this time, and should stand out as a female-drive blockbuster in a month littered with male-dominated tentpoles. Two years ago Snow White and the Huntsman opened on this exact same weekend and played to a similar audience for a strong domestic tally of $155.3 million, which sounds about right for Maleficent.

#9: Neighbors

Release Date: May 9
Rated R



There's traditionally at least one or two big R-rated comedy hits each summer, and Neighbors seems poised to be one of them, maybe even the biggest one. The film's release date is the same slot where Bridesmaids launched to big legs and big success, and should play as strong counter-programming to the deluge of big-budget action movies. It helps that the film has already gotten advance buzz-building screenings (much like Bridesmaids), and the talk is that this one definitely delivers the laughs (it has an early Rotten Tomatoes score so far of 100%; it obviously won't stay that way, but it certainly bodes very well). Coupled with ample drawing power from Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, expect this one to be a solid early-summer hit.


#10: Tammy
Release Date: July 2
Rated R



Melissa McCarthy is on FIRE right now, and everyone knows it. Following her breakthrough role in the smash hit Bridesmaids, last year saw McCarthy's starpower tested as a lead with two comedy vehicles, and both Identity Thief ($134.5 million) and The Heat ($159.5 million) became smash hits. Whereas those two films had her teamed with co-stars like Jason Bateman and Sandra Bullock, Tammy is a pure solo vehicle through and through, a road trip comedy conceived by McCarthy herself. While the removal of the co-star safety net has made many give more conservative estimates to Tammy's potential, let's face it: Melissa McCarthy is the real deal, the latest bona fide comedy superstar that practically everyone is in love with. Expect the marketing to kick into high gear soon, and McCarthy's starpower mixed with the ever-reliable road trip comedy template to draw in sizable crowds. On top of all that, the film is primely positioned to open on the July 4th holiday weekend, where it can undoubtedly make a huge splash.


Other Potential Contenders:
Blended (May 23)
A Million Ways to Die in the West (May 30)
The Fault in Our Stars (June 6)
22 Jump Street (June 13)
Sex Tape (July 25)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (August 8)


Well that's my list! What do you think will be the biggest movies this summer? Talk amongst yourselves, and thanks for reading!