For the second year in a row, our cousin-site Half Popped Reviews pushed aside all of the other award shows to bring you their categories and their winners… and by THEIR, I mean based on the opinions of their favorite reviewers… because that’s what they do – support their favorite movie reviewers.

No flashy hosts with questionable jokes and acceptance speeches, just a bunch of categories, each with a Runner Up and a Winner, with some of the reasons why reviewers voted that way.

FAVORITE COMEDY

Runner Up: 22 Jump Street
“I laughed from start to finish, from what my wife tells me. It took the idea of comedy sequels -and went meta-crazy throughout it. Well done and never a dull moment.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

Winner: The LEGO Movie
“You want a movie that will have you laughing to no end – The Lego Movie is your best bet. Not only does this film appeal to all ages, it has some really smart comedic writing throughout the entire thing. Here’s another reason why Chris Pratt is one of the best actors of the year – he now knows how to pick an unforgettable role and give an unforgettable performance.”
– Dave from Dave Examines Movies (@IamDWG)

FAVORITE THRILLER

Runner Up: Nightcrawler
“It heralded the arrival of a major director and features a great performance from Jake Gyllenhaal.”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)

Winner: Gone Girl
“Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, as we all know, but he has been putting out great work recently as well. Gone Girl is 2.5 hours that flies by with the level of intrigue, betrayal, and shenanigans that make the viewer want to watch it again and again.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

FAVORITE HORROR FLICK

Runner Up: Under The Skin

Winner: The Babadook
“One of the best horror films in a long time.  A truly frightening film with practical effects and a scary kid!”
– Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)
“This has been a terrible year for horror. Most of the mainstream stuff has been shit on shit. At least last year we still got The Conjuring. This year an indie title should take it. It has a lot of mental/psychological scares. It takes some kids drawing that isn’t scary on its own and makes it terrifying. It gives us characters to hate early on, only to root for them later. It teaches us that the scariest things can be ourselves.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

FAVORITE SCI-FI

Runner Up: The One I Love
“ This one will probably go to Snowpiercer, but The One I Love took a romantic comedy formula and added such a unique element to it that it amazed me. It showed that two TV actors can have serious chops when they need it and mess with morality enough to not even realize who to root for by the end.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

Winner: Interstellar
“Christopher Nolan challenged himself as a director and storyteller and us as the moviegoer with his ideas on space and time travel.”
– Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)
“I can’t think of another movie that incorporates SO much science into the plot, and this one does it marvelously. The fact that Neil Degrasse Tyson backed up a lot of the science involved, AND scientists have said that the visual representations of blackholes in this film were closer to reality than anything they had seen depicted, that goes a long way.”
– Me

FAVORITE DRAMA MOVIE

Runner Up: Locke

Winner: Boyhood

FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE

Runner Up: The Raid 2
“  If any other action movie wins this award, the people who voted never saw The Raid 2. This is probably one of the better action movies of the decade, let alone the year. It is long and entertaining and again, some of the best fights known to man.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

Winner: Edge Of Tomorrow
“The Cruiser delivered once again in this whip-smart sci-fi actioner.”
– Eric from The Movie Waffler (@theMovieWaffler)
“It made me forget how creepy Tom Cruise can be.”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)

BEST SEQUEL

Runner Up: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
“It improved on the original and featured another excellent performance from Andy Serkis.”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)

Winner: Captain America: Winter Soldier
“Guardians of the Galaxy is getting a lot of well deserved praise for being a unique movie, but Captain America: The Winter Soldier when it came out blew me the hell away. It is definitely my new number one favorite Marvel movie since 2007. It had everything I would want in the movie and be an extreme game changer. It ended up being a sort of Avengers 1.5 and it excelled at every level.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)
“It’s got a solid script, they found a smart balance between alluding to Steven Rogers a.k.a Captain America’s history and allowing the audience to totally jump aboard this movie without having seen the first one.Then I went back to watch The First Avenger and hated it. I think I only like superheroes in present day or the future.”
–  Le Anne of Tinsel & Tine (@tinseltine)

WORST SEQUEL

Runner Up: Amazing Spider-man 2
The opposing viewpoint: “Hugely enjoyable sequel that finally gave me the Spiderman of my childhood.”
– Eric from The Movie Waffler (@theMovieWaffler)

Winner: Transformers: Age of Extinction
“Please God, no more!”
– Eric from The Movie Waffler (@theMovieWaffler)

SUPER HERO OF THE YEAR

Runner Up: LEGO Movie Batman
“He stole just about every scene he was in, and they’re talking about making more movies just with his character. It was an amazing thing to watch.”
– Me

Winner: Starlord
“This was one of the hardest categories to date. 2014 was a big year for superheroes – you had Starlord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket, Wolverine, Professor X, Storm, Beast, Kitty Pryde, Magneto (technically a good guy in the sequel), Quicksilver, Captain America, Nick Fury, Black Widow, Falcon, Spider-Man, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had to think long and hard, but I ultimately came up with the most obvious answer – Starlord.Way to go man, you’re brilliant originality and love for classic hits make you unforgettable, epic, and hilarious at the same time. Keep doing what you do – because you’re the best at it.”
– Dave from Dave Examines Movies (@IamDWG)

BEST ADAPTATION

Runner Up: Guardians Of The Galaxy
“Proving that comic books can inspire good movies.”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)

Winner: Gone Girl
“I really underestimated Gone Girl.  Having been away from the big screen since his successes with The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher has done it yet again.  His latest film is a winding dramatic thriller full of intrigue, suspense, and endless mystery, especially for those who have not read the source material on which the film is based.”
– Sober Film Critic James Brown (@soberfilmcritic)

WORST ADAPTATION

Runner Up: Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Winner: Legend of Hercules
“Ruining a perfectly good legend”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)

MOST DISAPPOINTING MOVIE

Runner Up: Transcendence
“Wally Pfister is a wonderful cinematographer yet his directorial debut was extremely messy and disappointing. Plus, Johnny Depp was practically sleeping through his performance.”
– Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)
“Everyone always thinks of Johnny Depp as being very successful, but he’s had more than his fair share of total bombs at the box office and this may be his bombiest. I loved the concept of this movie full of seemingly plausible, brilliant scientific theories and possibilities, a Sci-Fi power couple, near apocalyptic, world changing implication… but it goes no where, nothing happens, even the locations and sets are boring. It’s a complete dud.”
– Le Anne of Tinsel & Tine (@tinseltine)

Winner: The Monuments Men
“The true life story is fascinating but completely wasted by Clooney in favour of an Oceans 11 knock-off.”
– Eric from The Movie Waffler (@theMovieWaffler)

“Great cast, I like Clooney as a director, WW2 historical movie, and damn it, the whole thing was just pitiful.  It is like I watched all of these great actors just take a nap for two hours. Only one scene in the whole movie made me feel anything, and that was when Bill Murray cried. The rest was just a dole. This was not the follow up to the Ocean’s trilogy like I had imagined.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

MOST SURPRISINGLY GOOD MOVIE

Runner Up: Chef
“There’s something that’s been lost at the box office in recent years, comedies with a soul.  As we’ve gone further down the rabbit hole of Frat Pack and Team Apatow comedies, we see wild, raunchy comedies arriving at the mainstream box office above all else.  Well, all I can say is thank the good Lord for independent cinema.  If we didn’t have it, we’d be missing great movies like Jon Favreau’s Chef.  When half the cast that ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a Modern Family star, and a living screen legend are relegated to a handful of theaters because they’re not blowing up stuff, there’s something seriously wrong.  You’ll laugh until you cry as the cast works their comedic magic in this flavorful concoction from Favreau.”
– Sober Film Critic James Brown (@soberfilmcritic)

Winner: Locke
“Look, if you told me I was about to watch a movie with a guy in  a car talking on his phone the entire film, I would have smacked you. But hey, Tom Hardy is a fantastic actor it turns out. He isn’t just some strong guy. He gives his all into his role, and I can’t believe I was fascinated with this film. One of the strongest drama movies of the year, for sure.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

BEST VISUALS

Runner Up: Grand Budapest Hotel
“A simply beautifully crafted movie with some of the most impressive production design ever seen on screen.”
– Eric from The Movie Waffler (@theMovieWaffler)
“ Wes Anderson’s films are always a visual feast for the eye. His collaborations with cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman is a big reason his films work so well.”
– Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)

Winner: Interstellar
“The visuals in Interstellar are unlike anything I’ve seen prior, and the final product is a cinematic spectacle that can only truly be appreciated on the big screen.  Giving his signature take on blockbuster filmmaking, Nolan aims to bring as much of the real world into these visuals as possible.  With this in mind, I must say that his trekking through Iceland and other exotic locations around the globe has paid off.  Marked by gorgeous cinematography, panoramic camera shots, and the genuine beauty of the world around us, Nolan takes us on an imaginative space ride to the 5th dimension.  As you soak in the rich visuals, it’s easy to see why Nolan is in a league of his own in terms of modern big budget filmmaking.”
– Sober Film Critic James Brown (@soberfilmcritic)
“This one shouldn’t be too hard to understand. If anything, people would still agree that Interstellar had some really astonishing visuals throughout the film. Call it flawed, call it imperfect, it still looked brilliant – and combined with the thought-out science of the thing really turned Interstellar into a spectacle”
– Dave from Dave Examines Movies (@IamDWG)

BEST DIRECTOR

Runner Up: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
“Of course. He gave us the best movie of the year. Cinemetography isn’t a category or else this movie would have one it too. He took a very very complicated movie, one that required a ton of ambition and he made it work. And given a lot of the humor being sight gags, it is even more miraculous that this comedy/drama film worked out. It took a talented cast and a man that could bring it all together to give us the best two hours of my life this year.”
– Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)

Winner: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
“His film is a crowning achievement and is one of the best films of the past decade.”
– Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)

BEST ACTRESS

Runner Up: Scarlett Johansson (Under The Skin)

Winner: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
“She completely blew me away and digs deep into the psychological problems of that character.”
– Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)

BEST ACTOR

Runner Up: Tom Hardy (Locke & The Drop)
“One role forced him to carry an entire film with just his facial expressions and tone of voice, whereas the other was an understated performance that really comes together in the end.”
– Me

Winner: Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler & Enemy)

BEST PICTURE

Runner Up: Under The Skin

Winner: Boyhood
“There are few films that open up a time capsule for moviegoers like Richard Linklater’s Boyhood.  It’s the rare movie that actually captures life itself in a film roll.  We don’t just watch a boy become a little wiser after a life lesson that lasts for a couple of hours.  We physically watch Ellar Coltrane’s Mason Jr. grow from a boy into a young man.  In childhood and adolescence, we watch him go through the experiences and life with which we’re all too familiar.  Through the Bush years and the age of Obama, we’re not only watching a boy’s life unfold but reliving our own vicariously through him and the other characters that age and grow as the movie progresses.    It’s the consummate coming-of-age flick and an incredibly enjoyable piece of cinema.”
– Sober Film Critic James Brown (@soberfilmcritic)
“an amazing film that stands as a tribute to the talent and determination of a true independent voice, Richard Linklater.”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)

And just when you thought that Best Picture was going to be the final award… we have one more, which is perhaps even more important.

MOST ENJOYABLE MOVIE

Runner Up: The LEGO Movie
“Because everything is awesome!”
– Just about everyone who voted for it

Winner: Guardians Of The Galaxy
“…an exuberant blast of pure escapism.”
– Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)
“Was this movie flawed? Yeah I guess you can say it was, but my god if it wasn’t one of the best movies I saw all year just for sheer enjoyability of the thing. I loved this movie so much more than I ever though possible, but Marvel really outdid themselves here – by being incredibly bold.”
– Dave from Dave Examines Movies (@IamDWG)

BONUS: MOST ANTICIPATED FOR 2015

Runner Up: Avengers – Age Of Ultron

Winner: Star Wars Episode VII

PARTICIPATING REVIEWERS

Dave from Dave Examines Movies (@IamDWG)
site: daveexaminesmovies.com

Whit’s Movie Reviews (@WhitsMovies)
site: whitsmovies.blogspot.com

Nick of Gorgon Reviews (@GorgonReviews)
site: GorgView.com
His nominee which fell short in the vote: Get On Up
“ I am not a huge James Brown fans, and kind of tired of these musical biographical films of great artists. But Get On Up gave us an entertaining movie in a new way. We didn’t get just straight to finish a story, it was told out of order and had fourth wall breaking moments. It had tremendous acting from Chadwick Boseman, which I am super stoked to be playing Black Panther now.  The only disappointing aspect of the movie is that he didn’t actually sing the music.”

Dion Wyn Hughes (@ThatMovieGuyUK)
site: thatmovieguy.co.uk

Eric from The Movie Waffler (@theMovieWaffler)
site: themoviewaffler.com
His nominees which fell short in the vote: The Guest
“Sometimes the most enjoyable movie of the year isn’t the best but this year The Guest was both hugely entertaining and impressive on every level.”

Mark Hobin (@Mark_Hobin)
site: fastfilmreviews.com

Sober Film Critic James Brown (@soberfilmcritic)
site: sobrietytestmoviereviews.com

Lisa Marie Bowman (@LisaMarieBowman)
site: unobtainium13.com

Paul from Paul’s Trip to the Movies (@PaulsMovieTrip)
site: paulstriptothemovies.com

Le Anne of Tinsel & Tine (@tinseltine)
site: tinseltine.com
Her nominees which fell short in the vote: Selma

and me, Rob of GuysFilmQuest
site: guysfilmquest.wordpress.com