Staff Picks Best And Worst Of 2014: Movies, Music, TV & More

After picking our favorite albums of 2014 Empty Lighthouse has decided to create a list of staff "Bests and Worsts" of 2014 picks, check it out below.

Anthony

Best Moment:

Ellen DeGeneres' record shattering selfie that broke Twitter has to be the entertainment best moment of 2014.

Although it happened early on it set the stage for what would be a joyous year full of celebrities, and us "normal" folk to do wonderful things in 2014

Worst Moment:

Robin Williams Death is something that is often hard for us to deal with and wrap our minds around, and when it comes so suddenly it can often make us realize just how fragile our own lives truly are.

Robin William's death was a tragedy in every meaning of the word and will stand out in 2014 as the worst moment in entertainment.

Best Show: House Of Cards

House Of Cards may very well be one the best shows to air in the past decade.

It chock full of scandal and drama and leaves the audience begging for more. This years season cemented the show's legacy and set Francis Underwood on a path that will surely come to a thrilling conclusion.

Dan

Best Of The Year/Favorite Moment of the Year:

The indisputable highlight of my year came when The Replacements tore down the house on the main stage at Seattle's Bumbershoot festival.

Though the 'Mats had been playing sporadic festival dates for over a year, the reunion shows had been hit or miss affairs.

In some cases, it was playing the wrong venue (Coachella) and in others, the band was hampered by lead singer Paul Westerberg's bad back.

At Bumbershoot, however, the band was in full force in front of a huge adoring crowd.

For an hour or so the band tore through its catalogue playing "hits" that never quite were to the people who thought they should be.

It was a crowning moment for a band that had always been more influential than successful and one of the rare times at a concert I just wanted to hug or high five every one in the venue.

If The Replacements never tour again this show, plus the band's Minnesota homecoming and stadium show in Queens served as a fine last act.

The band was so powerful, so in command, though that it left me eager for a new album, new tour, and world where The Replacements aren't just a beloved memory, but a band with a vibrant future.

Best Television Show:

Despite winning the Golden Globe as best comedy show last year, "Brooklyn Nine Nine" has never become a hit. The police comedy offers a refreshing mix of realism and absurdity as well as characters who are ridiculous but believable.

Andy Samberg is a stronger lead than one would expect from his Saturday Night Live days and he anchors the ensemble playing a flawed detective who's likeable despite being a bit of an arrogant jerk.

The rest of the cast could easily have overplayed their characters, but instead, thanks to a number of strong performances, all come off as human.

Brooklyn Nine Nine is in some ways a worthy successor to another workplace comedy, The Office. Perhaps its audience will grow over time as well,

Worst of the Year:

It's hard to pick a worst anything in a year that included Nicki Minaj's "Annaconda" and the Kim Kardashian "Break the Internet photo shoot, but Iggy Azelia's "Fancy" narrowly edges those two. It's not so much that the song is worse than Minaj's, but it seems more calculated - like it was built jointly by expensive producers and marketing executives conducting focus groups.

From its banal lyrics, to the tired rap/singing combo, this song illustrated the worst of pop music. It's catchy in a bad way, with an appeal that makes it both a self-involved tween's and your mom's favorite song.

Nicole

Best in Entertainment: Beyonce at the MTV VMA Awards

Beyonce performed for 16 minutes and was nothing short of amazing, proving again as she always does that she is the entertainer of our time. She performed a medley of her best songs, and I won't lie I shed my own tear as she culminated the performance by accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from her husband, Jay-Z and her daughter Blue Ivy.

Another great year for Beyonce, and undoubtedly more to come.

Worst in Entertainment: The Death of Robin Williams

When Robin Williams took his own life August 11th, it was a devastating blow to generations that grew up admiring the actor through his movies and comedy. The world's entertainment industry lost a soul who would inevitably continue to make people smile till his natural end.

It also was a painful reminder of the difficulties of life, as Williams tragically is believed to have taken his life as a result of suffering from Lewy Body Dementia, something he never allowed to be made public previously.

He will forever be immortalized in the movies we love him for, and his last film role in the third installment of the National Treasure series that will be released this month allows us to see him on the big screen one last time.

Best TV Show: John Oliver's Last Week Tonight

John Oliver's late-night weekly showed first aired April 14th and ran until November 9th, and not a single one of the 24 episodes in the season disappointed. Upon first watching, I had high hopes for Oliver as I knew of his affiliation with Jon Stewart's Daily Show, and I was also excited to see a similar show made for HBO. Even from the first brief half-hour long episode, I knew he had done it. He had and will continue to live up to the high expectations held for him because he is absolutely brilliant all the while being hilarious.

Oliver took on complex issues for the United States every episode, but made it easy to understand while laughing the entire time. My personal favorite episode is when Oliver, in the wake of a huge mega millions jackpot, discussed the scam that is the lottery.

Oliver hilariously pointed out that Americans, spending $68 billion a year, spent more on the lottery than movie tickets, the NFL, porn, and baseball, which prompted him to say "Americans spent more on the lottery than they do on America." He then goes to look at everything from state ads promoting the lottery, the people who spend the most, and the odds of actually winning anything at all.

It was extremely informative and eye-opening and that's usually how I feel when watching Oliver work. I'm excited for Oliver's next season with HBO, and am positive that there are many seasons for him to come.

Worst in TV: American Horror Story: Freak Show

American Horror Story serves a niche around Halloween. My friends and I love getting together on Wednesdays during October and watching the saga of AHS unfold, and this year was no different. The season started out promising, but as it continues on it becomes increasingly harder to watch. I have gone from looking forward to each week's episode to Wikipedia-ing the plot the next day because while I'm somewhat invested in finding out what happens, I'm not entertained enough to watch an entire hour of it.

While Jessica Lange is the one reoccurring saving grace of the show season after season, the characters in Freak Show are all hard to tolerate and I personally don't care what happens to any of them. This is bad news for a show that captivates viewers by killing characters off.

I don't think I'll be watching next year.

Jeff

I don't watch much television; in the age of Youtube, it seems like a relic from the 20th century. There was, however, one show that I consistently watched: The Legend of Korra.

Cartoons are tabooed as "childish." But The Legend of Korra is a show for all age groups; it has enough slapstick to keep kids interested, but it also has a great story and an engrossing world.

Both of which appeal to adults.

Samantha

Best Moment: The "How I Met Your Mother" Finale

I don't know about you and everyone else, but I was seriously quite pleased with the finale of the beautifully epic comedy series "How I Met Your Mother." From start to finish, the ninth season surrounding Robin and Barney's wedding was genius and hilarious, and I laughed and cried and it was magical. Yes, yes, Ted's wife totally dies and SURPRISE, he ends up with Robin, but like... let's be real.

Ted and Robin were always going to be a thing.

If Ted's (super cute and funny) wife didn't die, then it would have ended with Ted's inevitable midlife crisis, an awkward affair with Robin, a messy divorce and a relationship built on desperation and lies.

Now THAT would have been an ending worth watching all nine seasons for, amirite?

Worst Moment of the Year in Entertainment: Kim Kardashian Hollywood

The worst moment in entertainment--period--is Kim Kardashian doing anything, so when her mobile app game thing became wildly popular, I threw up in my mouth a little. The game is played by kids. You know, those impressionable small people who are having lots of fun virtually putting their moral obligations on the back burner to aspire to superstardom full of material wealth. (Remember when Kim Kardashian became famous because she made a sex tape with Ray J?) According to E! News (http://www.eonline.com/news/606342/kim-kardashian-app-character-named-no-2-most-influential-fictional-star-by-time-find-out-who-else-made-the-cut), her character was named "No.

2 Most Influential Fictional Star" by TIME Magazine... .... ......... -1,000 points for society.

Best TV Show of the Year: Orange Is The New Black, Season 2

I'm in love with how Netflix is redesigning the way we enjoy television. Gone are the days of cliffhanger hangovers! When Season 2 of Orange Is The New Black was released, I turned my cell phone off, ordered take out, and spent a weekend in bed, binge watching it. I have no regrets.

The show is fantastic, full of stellar performances, real character depth, and an addictive story line.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me fall head over heels for Natasha Lyonne (like I wasn't already...). I am waiting eagerly for Season 3.

Navi

Worst Moment: Death of Robin Williams

From "Mrs. Doubtfire" to "Dead Poets Society" Robin Williams literally gave everything he had in all of his roles and it showed through the final product. For me William's represented a time where I was enjoying the comedic effort put forth through quirky comedies. "Mrs.

Doubtfire" was such an iconic film for me because it really showed how dynamic of an actor Williams was. Comedy, sensitivity and a little craziness was all packed into one film.

When i think of "Mrs. Doubtfire," I think about one of my favorite childhood movies and a time where laughter was effortless and movies may have been a bit corny but we loved them with all of our heart anyway.

Best Moment: The Cast Of "Fast 7" Get Together For A Trailer Release

A red carpet release for a movie trailer? That's right, the cast of "Fast 7" got together with ET to create something special for gear heads, movie fans and fans of Paul Walker and his iconic character Brian O' Conner. If you're a fan of fast cars and over-the-top action like I am, chances are "The Fast and Furious" franchise is just as close to you as it is to me.

The passing of Paul Walker in 2013 hit fans hard because of his good nature as well as his devotion to a character and a lifestyle that is near and dear to their heart.

Walker and the rest of the cast brought out the car enthusiast and speed junkie in everyone and though it's going to be the last ride I'm sure I speak for many when I say we are thankful that Walker and his brothers were able to keep his spirit alive.

Best TV Show: "Arrow" & "The Flash"

The CW has a way of creating shows that reel you in. Im not the largest comic book fan in the world but I do have a large interest in superheroes and their origins. Given that The CW doesn't stray on the complete path of every adaption they do for a TV Show, they still managed to justice to "Arrow" and "The Flash." I was a huge fan of "Smallville" which prompted my interest in both of these shows.

I can appreciate what they do with these shows and I actually enjoy the characters, the villains and the storylines very much.

My hopes is that both of the shows continue to develop into even greater series than they are now.

Andy

Best Moment of 2014:

The best moment of the year in entertainment would have to be seeing first-hand my favorite rocker Billy Corgan tape an unscripted drama, involving an independent wrestling league, a stinky horse barn and a huge AMC film crew.

Did I mention it was 83 degrees inside said horse barn? Definitely the coolest and weirdest moment of the year. Unfortunately, AMC didn't pick up the pilot and Corgan has since split from the league.

Worst Moment of 2014:

The worst moment of the year in entertainment would have to be the U2 record release debacle. Millions of iTunes users woke up with a full, unheard U2 album on their phones.

The gall of this band to think that a brand new album would gain acceptance without a heads up or a warning.

Too bad that the album is actually a pretty good set of U2 material, but it was too late, nobody was interested in the tunes after they had their personal space violated by the boys from Dublin.

Best TV Show:

True Detective. The last time an on-screen detective duo had this much chemistry, it was called The X-Files. It will take a lot to match the intensity and depth of the first season of True Detective.