The Best Reviewed Movies Of 2014: From Wild To The LEGO Movie

By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 24, 2014 7:00 pm EST

So we’ve looked at the best and worst movies of the year as rated by the largest sampling of moviegoers available publicly (IMDB). And as you know, the public opinion sometimes differs from that of professional film critics. As it should, film critics often see hundreds of new movies a year (a larger sampling of content) and have thus have a more discerning taste. So after the jump we will take a look at the best reviewed movies of 2014.

This list was compiled from Rotten Tomatoes and not Metacritic. Both sites have their advantages. Rotten Tomatoes includes a larger sample of reviews, while Metacritic features a smaller more-selected grouping of film critics. Rotten Tomatoes calculates critic scores using a positive or negative score for each review. One movie could be 100% fresh with all the critics giving the movie a 7/10 grade. Metacritic attempts to gauge the score of each critic’s review (not just a positive or negative, but a number 0 to 100) averaged together, giving you a better indication of what the response is to any given film, and not just a percentage of positive reviews. Honestly, I like how Metacritic calculates the numbers, but their refusal to incorporate a larger sample of film critics puts them behind Rotten Tomatoes in my mind.

Note: This list was compiled on the third week of December, these ratings and placements could change into January. The ranking also uses an adjusted score (that uses a weighted Bayesian formula) with a minimum of 40 reviews.

Runners Up

  1. 94% The Dog 49

  2. 94% The Dance of Reality 50

  3. 93% Child’s Pose 74

  4. 89% Locke 169

  5. 95% Particle Fever 44

  6. 93% Force Majeure 99

  7. 91% A Most Wanted Man 151

  8. 95% Two Days, One Night 60

  9. 94% Stranger by the Lake 84

  10. 94% Finding Vivian Maier 86

  11. 96% A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 45

  12. 96% Last Days in Vietnam 49

  13. 92% Wild 143

  14. 94% Pride 100

  15. 93% Frank 128 reviews

  16. 88% Gone Girl 249 reviews

  17. 92% How to Train Your Dragon 2 159

  18. 89% Captain America: The Winter Soldier 241

  19. 98% Manakamana 41

  20. 98% A Summer’s Tale 43

The Top 30 Reviewed Movies of 2014

  1. 20,000 Days on Earth 97% rating 67 reviews
  2. The Lunchbox 96% rating 94 reviews
  3. Ernest & Célestine 97% rating 75 reviews
  4. The Overnighters 98% rating 52 reviews
  5. The Rocket 98% rating

54 reviews 25. Mr. Turner 97% rating 78 reviews 24. Birdman 93% rating 172 reviews 23. Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow 90% rating 242 reviews 22. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me 98% rating 57 reviews 21. Love Is Strange 96% rating 104 reviews

The Top 20 Reviewed Movies of 2014

  1. Guardians of the Galaxy 90% rating 251 reviews
  2. Ida 96% rating 115 reviews
  3. Blue Ruin 96% rating 115 reviews
  4. Citizenfour 97%  rating 102 reviews
  5. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes 91%  rating

243 reviews 15. The Grand Budapest Hotel 92% rating 228 reviews14. We Are the Best! 97% rating 112 reviews 13. Snowpiercer 95% rating 165 reviews 12. X-Men: Days of Future Past 92% rating 237 reviews 11. The Missing Picture 99% rating 74 reviews

The Top 10 Reviewed Movies of 2014

  1. Jodorowsky’s Dune 98% rating 99 reviews
  2. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya 100% rating 56 reviews
  3. Starred Up 99% rating 90 reviews
  4. Nightcrawler 95% rating 192 reviews
  5. The Babadook 98% rating

124 reviews 5. Gloria 99% rating 110 reviews 4. Whiplash 96% rating 182 reviews 3. The LEGO Movie 96%  rating 201 reviews 2. Life Itself 98% rating 166 reviews

  1. Boyhood 99% rating 213 reviews

The Best Reviewed Movies Of 2014: From Wild To The LEGO Movie

By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 24, 2014 7:00 pm EST

So we’ve looked at the best and worst movies of the year as rated by the largest sampling of moviegoers available publicly (IMDB). And as you know, the public opinion sometimes differs from that of professional film critics. As it should, film critics often see hundreds of new movies a year (a larger sampling of content) and have thus have a more discerning taste. So after the jump we will take a look at the best reviewed movies of 2014.

This list was compiled from Rotten Tomatoes and not Metacritic. Both sites have their advantages. Rotten Tomatoes includes a larger sample of reviews, while Metacritic features a smaller more-selected grouping of film critics. Rotten Tomatoes calculates critic scores using a positive or negative score for each review. One movie could be 100% fresh with all the critics giving the movie a 7/10 grade. Metacritic attempts to gauge the score of each critic’s review (not just a positive or negative, but a number 0 to 100) averaged together, giving you a better indication of what the response is to any given film, and not just a percentage of positive reviews. Honestly, I like how Metacritic calculates the numbers, but their refusal to incorporate a larger sample of film critics puts them behind Rotten Tomatoes in my mind.

Note: This list was compiled on the third week of December, these ratings and placements could change into January. The ranking also uses an adjusted score (that uses a weighted Bayesian formula) with a minimum of 40 reviews.

This list was compiled from Rotten Tomatoes and not Metacritic. Both sites have their advantages. Rotten Tomatoes includes a larger sample of reviews, while Metacritic features a smaller more-selected grouping of film critics. Rotten Tomatoes calculates critic scores using a positive or negative score for each review. One movie could be 100% fresh with all the critics giving the movie a 7/10 grade. Metacritic attempts to gauge the score of each critic’s review (not just a positive or negative, but a number 0 to 100) averaged together, giving you a better indication of what the response is to any given film, and not just a percentage of positive reviews. Honestly, I like how Metacritic calculates the numbers, but their refusal to incorporate a larger sample of film critics puts them behind Rotten Tomatoes in my mind.

Note: This list was compiled on the third week of December, these ratings and placements could change into January. The ranking also uses an adjusted score (that uses a weighted Bayesian formula) with a minimum of 40 reviews.

Runners Up

  1. 94% The Dog 49

  2. 94% The Dance of Reality 50

  3. 93% Child’s Pose 74

  4. 89% Locke 169

  5. 95% Particle Fever 44

  6. 93% Force Majeure 99

  7. 91% A Most Wanted Man 151

  8. 95% Two Days, One Night 60

  9. 94% Stranger by the Lake 84

  10. 94% Finding Vivian Maier 86

  11. 96% A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 45

  12. 96% Last Days in Vietnam 49

  13. 92% Wild 143

  14. 94% Pride 100

  15. 93% Frank 128 reviews

  16. 88% Gone Girl 249 reviews

  17. 92% How to Train Your Dragon 2 159

  18. 89% Captain America: The Winter Soldier 241

  19. 98% Manakamana 41

  20. 98% A Summer’s Tale 43

  21. 94% The Dance of Reality 50

  22. 93% Child’s Pose 74

  23. 89% Locke 169

  24. 95% Particle Fever 44

  25. 93% Force Majeure 99

  26. 91% A Most Wanted Man 151

  27. 95% Two Days, One Night 60

  28. 94% Stranger by the Lake 84

  29. 94% Finding Vivian Maier 86

  30. 96% A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 45

  31. 96% Last Days in Vietnam 49

  32. 92% Wild 143

  33. 94% Pride 100

  34. 93% Frank 128 reviews

  35. 88% Gone Girl 249 reviews

  36. 92% How to Train Your Dragon 2 159

  37. 89% Captain America: The Winter Soldier 241

  38. 98% Manakamana 41

  39. 98% A Summer’s Tale 43

The Top 30 Reviewed Movies of 2014

  1. 20,000 Days on Earth 97% rating 67 reviews
  2. The Lunchbox 96% rating 94 reviews
  3. Ernest & Célestine 97% rating 75 reviews
  4. The Overnighters 98% rating 52 reviews
  5. The Rocket 98% rating

54 reviews 25. Mr. Turner 97% rating 78 reviews 24. Birdman 93% rating 172 reviews 23. Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow 90% rating 242 reviews 22. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me 98% rating 57 reviews 21. Love Is Strange 96% rating 104 reviews

97% rating

67 reviews

  1. The Lunchbox

96% rating

94 reviews

  1. Ernest & Célestine

75 reviews

  1. The Overnighters

98% rating

52 reviews

  1. The Rocket

54 reviews

  1. Mr. Turner

78 reviews

  1. Birdman

93% rating

172 reviews

  1. Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow

90% rating

242 reviews

  1. Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

57 reviews

  1. Love Is Strange

104 reviews

The Top 20 Reviewed Movies of 2014

  1. Guardians of the Galaxy 90% rating 251 reviews
  2. Ida 96% rating 115 reviews
  3. Blue Ruin 96% rating 115 reviews
  4. Citizenfour 97%  rating 102 reviews
  5. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes 91%  rating

243 reviews 15. The Grand Budapest Hotel 92% rating 228 reviews14. We Are the Best! 97% rating 112 reviews 13. Snowpiercer 95% rating 165 reviews 12. X-Men: Days of Future Past 92% rating 237 reviews 11. The Missing Picture 99% rating 74 reviews

251 reviews

  1. Ida

115 reviews

  1. Blue Ruin

96% rating

  1. Citizenfour

97%  rating

102 reviews

  1. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

91%  rating

243 reviews

  1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

92% rating

228 reviews14. We Are the Best!

112 reviews

  1. Snowpiercer

95% rating

165 reviews

  1. X-Men: Days of Future Past

237 reviews

  1. The Missing Picture

99% rating

74 reviews

The Top 10 Reviewed Movies of 2014

  1. Jodorowsky’s Dune 98% rating 99 reviews
  2. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya 100% rating 56 reviews
  3. Starred Up 99% rating 90 reviews
  4. Nightcrawler 95% rating 192 reviews
  5. The Babadook 98% rating

124 reviews 5. Gloria 99% rating 110 reviews 4. Whiplash 96% rating 182 reviews 3. The LEGO Movie 96%  rating 201 reviews 2. Life Itself 98% rating 166 reviews

  1. Boyhood 99% rating 213 reviews

99 reviews

  1. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

100% rating

56 reviews

  1. Starred Up

90 reviews

  1. Nightcrawler

192 reviews

  1. The Babadook

124 reviews

  1. Gloria

110 reviews

  1. Whiplash

182 reviews

  1. The LEGO Movie

96%  rating

201 reviews

  1. Life Itself

166 reviews

  1. Boyhood

213 reviews