Cinelinx's Summer Movie Awards Winners (2014)!

The winners in each category were chosen through a combination of our staff votes here on the site, the votes from your guys in the comments section and several people who voted via email!  All in all this provided an interesting perspective on how you guys felt during this Summer movie season.  For those of you wondering who won our blu-ray giveaway, we'll make contact with the winner shortly, and once we get confirmation from them, we'll announce who won in the next couple days (so be sure to check your emails or Facebooks!).

[I won't be recapping the description of the categories, so be sure to check out our nomination page for a full break down]

BEST CAMEO APPEARANCE: Howard the Duck in Guardians of the Galaxy

One of the most surprising and unexpected Marvel Comics characters to ever appaer on the big screen won this competition without even trying.  Honestly, I think we only got ONE vote for one of the other nominees, and I'm not entirely sure they typed it in correctly.  While word of his appearance leaked out ahead of time, Howard the Duck's cameo was no less excited to see.  

BEST ACTION SEQUENCE: Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Steve Rogers vs. Winter Solider Stree Fight

To be entirely honest, I'm kind of surprised at how many votes this one got, especially considering it was more low-key than some of the bigger spectacles of the other nominees.  That might be a big part of it's charm, however, as it felt gritty and real.  The fight was deftly handled, showing Captain America as being much more than a sheild and set up the Winter Solider as a credible threat.  Not to mention it looked really cool.  

STANDOUT ACTOR PERFORMANCE: Chris Pratt as Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy

My personal pick for this category had to go to Toby Kebbell in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but honestly, I can't argue with the ultimate winner either.  Many comic fans were outraged when Chris Pratt was announced to play Star Lord in the film, with many claiming he could never pull off the role (though those arguments seemed more about his appearance).  The final result, however, shut up all the detractors.  Chris Pratt played the cocky space rogue well, giving us some of that Han Solo charm, while also bringing his own flair to the role.  Try imagining some of the other actors people wanted instead the next time you watch the film, and I think you'll agree...he was perfect.  

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

As is normally the case with the Summer movie season, many of the blockbusters released featured a good helping of VFX work to bring their ideas to life.  While several movies presented some impressive visuals this Summer, the winner was fairly clear (to us and our readers), in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  The character animations are impressive, and oftentimes while watching, it's easy to forget that you're not looking at real apes.  The life-like qualities, coupled with the emotion behind the animations have earned this film the top spot for VFX this year.    

MOST MINDLESS: Transformers: Age of Extinction

This was a tough battle between Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (both of which produced by Michael Bay), but Age of Extinction managed to win the battle.  It's no surprise considering the Transformers franchise has essentially made it's name by providing mindless action sequences (which are exciting, don't get us wrong) and little else. 

MOST DISAPPOINTING: The Expendables 3

Let's be honest, no one really expected Expendables 3 to be a "good" movie.  None of the films in this series really have been.  What we did expect to see, was something highly entertaining and fun to watch, seeing some of our favorite action guys quip off one-liners and blow stuff up.  Somehow, this time around, they managed to zap all of the fun out of the Expendables and rob us of even the mindless entertainment factor.   

MOST SURPRISING: Edge of Tomorrow

No one was quite sure what to make of Edge of Tomorrow.  Parts of it looked entertaining, parts of it looked overly cliche, and generally it's still tough to swallow Tom Cruise as a sci-fi action hero.  When the film release though, it was to astounding critical acclaim.  Impressing both critics and audiences alike, Edge of Tomorrow was a shoe-in for the biggest (good) surprise fo the Summer. 

WORST FILM OF SUMMER (Tie!): Into the Storm & Sex Tape

With the good also comes the bad.  The Summer 2014 movie season featured it's fair share of stinkers, and apparently two of them were so bad, you guys couldn't decide which was worse.  Thus we have a tie between Into the Storm and Sex Tape.  I'll tell you now that Into the Storm is one of the worst films I've seen in a while, and the buzz on Sex Tape was bad enough to keep me away from it.  

BEST FILM OF SUMMER: Guardians of the Galaxy

While we had a couple different votes here and there for this category, it became obvious very quickly that Guardians of the Galaxy would come out on top.  I struggled when it came to this category and my personal vote, as I couldn't decide between Guardians or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  The fact is they're both incredible films, but I'm going to have to agree with the community on this one; Guardians is the winner.  While it may seem odd (and not normally true) to have the best film of the Summer land so close to the end of the season, it just goes to show that great movies can happen whenever.  

Well, dear readers with this, we say a fond farewell to the Summer Movie Season.  There's plenty of exciting things to come in the Fall and in 2015, but it's always tough to move away from one of the busiest times of the year.  

Which of these movies were your picks?  Tell us your thoughts on our Summer Movie Awards in the comments below!

-Jordan