1. 21 Jump Street
Indeed, it's been quite a year for Channing Tatum, and it all began with 21 Jump Street, a film that I had next to no hope for given that I assumed it would simply be another vacuous remake of a classic TV show, but imbued with as many shoehorned contemporary pop-culture references as possible. As it turns out, 21 Jump Street ended up being probably the funniest film of the year, a sly, uproarious comedy that smartly draws attention to how potentially unimaginative the film
could be, seemingly well-aware that it needs to do something special to hold our attention. By telling a sweetly crude tale of two former high school enemies (Jonah Hill and Tatum) who become partners in the police force and must infiltrate a school by posing as students to take down a drug ring, 21 Jump Street pays much more attention to its characters than one would reasonably expect, and their "bromance" is what sells a lot of the comedy. It's got trippy humour, self-referential jokes, and also some hilarious cameos from the series' stars - namely Johnny Depp in a devilishly deceptive appearance - such that it manages to run on full-steam for the entirety of its runtime. There's nary a dull second in this superb comedy, which has the highest hit-to-miss gag ratio of any film all year. Brilliant. Which films surprised you most this year? Let us know in the comments below.