The Best & Worst Movies of 2014 So Far

Wide-release films

Below are the best-reviewed films released theatrically in nationwide release (in at least 600 theaters) between January 1 and June 30 of this year, ranked by Metascore.

#1 Major Film of 2014 So Far
The Grand Budapest Hotel 88

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It's Wes Anderson's highest-grossing and best-reviewed release to date. Spanning three different time periods (1985, 1968, 1932), the director's follow-up to Moonrise Kingdom stars Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave, a concierge at an isolated European hotel, and newcomer Tony Revolori as Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. Together, they get caught up in a battle for a family fortune and the theft and recovery of a priceless painting. Anderson's latest highly stylized world is inhabited by some returning players (Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson) and a few welcome rookies (Saoirse Ronan, F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law, and Tom Wilkinson).

Runner-Up
The LEGO Movie 82

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Far better than it had any right to be—and certainly far more than a feature-length commercial designed to sell more expensive toy bricks—The LEGO Movie is one of 2014's most pleasant surprises, a fun and funny film that was up until a week or so ago the year's highest-grossing film to date. The animated comedy comes from Phil Lord and Chris Miller, whose live-action 22 Jump Street is another of the year's best-reviewed major releases so far (see below). Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Channing Tatum, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, and Will Ferrell provide the voices.

And the rest ...

Film		Genre	Score	Streaming	DVD/Blu-ray
3	How to Train Your Dragon 2	Animation	77
4	X-Men: Days of Future Past	Action/Sci-fi	74
5	The Raid 2	Action	71
6	22 Jump Street	Action/Comedy	71
7	Edge of Tomorrow	Action/Sci-fi	71
8	Captain America: The Winter Soldier	Action/Sci-fi	70
9	The Fault in Our Stars	Drama	69
10	Bears	Documentary	68
11	Chef	Comedy	68
12	Neighbors	Comedy	68
13	Noah	Action-Adventure	68
14	The Rover	Thriller	64
15	About Last Night	Comedy/Drama	62

And the worst ...

Film		Genre	Score	Streaming	DVD/Blu-ray
57	Vampire Academy	Horror/Comedy	30
	Endless Love	Drama	30
59	Moms' Night Out	Comedy	25
60	Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return	Animation	25
61	The Legend of Hercules	Action-Adventure	22
62	A Haunted House 2	Horror/Comedy	17

Movies are ranked by Metascore prior to rounding. Only new films released between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014 and having at least 7 reviews from professional critics are eligible; re-releases are not included. The Metascore is a weighted average of scores from top professional critics, on a scale from 0 (bad) to 100 (good). Scores are from July 1, 2014.

Limited-release films

And here are the highest-scoring films receiving a limited (<600 theaters) theatrical release between January 1 and June 30, 2014.

Best-reviewed limited releases of 2014 (through June 30)

Film		Genre	Score	Streaming	DVD/Blu-ray
1	Big Men	Documentary	90
2	Ida	Foreign/Drama	89
3	We Are the Best!	Foreign/Drama	87
4	Particle Fever	Documentary	87
5	Ilo Ilo	Foreign/Drama	87
6	Manakamana	Documentary	86
7	Stand Clear of the Closing Doors	Drama	86
8	Ernest & Célestine	Animation	86
9	Manuscripts Don't Burn	Foreign/Drama	84
10	Snowpiercer	Sci-fi/Action	84
11	Burning Bush	Foreign/Drama	83
12	Gloria	Foreign/Drama	83
13	Elena	Documentary	82
14	Archipelago	Drama	82
15	Stranger by the Lake	Foreign/Thriller	82

And the worst ...

Film		Genre	Score	Streaming	DVD/Blu-ray
247	The Angriest Man in Brooklyn	Comedy/Drama	21
248	Cavemen	Comedy	19
249	Best Night Ever	Comedy	17
250	Authors Anonymous	Comedy	16
251	Don Peyote	Comedy/Drama	14

What do you think?

What are your favorite and least favorite movies of 2014 so far? Let us know in the comments section below.