10 Most Shockingly Brilliant Movie Moments In 2014

7. Paddington

Making films about talking bears doesn't generally go down all that well. Even Disney suffered something of a disappointment when Brother Bear came out in their uncharacteristically boring period, despite having scored big wins with Robin Hood and The Jungle Book. Even worse, reinventing classic children's properties hadn't really worked for Hollywood in critical terms: the Smurfs had been roundly criticised, Yogi Bear was a joke and Garfield made everyone realise that Bill Murray actually is fallible. So the idea that Paddington - a tender little idea protected by layers of nostalgia - might be a viable big screen star was a little difficult to take. Even with a pitch perfect cast - initially including Colin Firth as the titular Peruvian bear - it failed to really grip mainstream imaginations, particularly as director Paul King's only other project had been the understated, under-seen Bunny And The Bull. But wouldn't you know it; they only went and pulled it off. Currently, the film sits on 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, which it completely earned by enchanting its audience, charming them with humour and a touching little story, and impressing with brilliant animation. The fact that it could end up as 2014's highest critically rated film is astonishing. But the fact that it probably deserves it is even more so.