Summer has gone and dusted, and along with it came a host of blockbuster movies, and while this summer was one of the lowest-grossing in years, it should not deter the fact that many of these films have been nothing short of excellent. Even with a few duds like Transformers and A Million Ways to Die in the West, we have been blessed with amazing sequels and entertaining original films.

For now, here's a list of my top 5 movies of the summer, and are ranked based on current preferences, regardless of the review score I gave when I reviewed them. Also do note that Captain America 2 isn't really a summer movie as it was released in way early in April, hence ineligible for this list.

Having liked enjoyed loved the theatrical version of 21 Jump Street, expectations were riding high going into the sequel of a reboot of a TV series (whew). But with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who also whelmed the excellent The Lego Movie earlier this year, 22 Jump Street became something few comedy sequels could do - besting its predecessor. Bigger action, bigger laughs that will surely get you in stitches for a long while, and the ever-present 'bromantic' chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum makes this sequel a worthy step-up. Hell, even some of the recycled gags from the last film feels fresh among all the newer gags. Can't forget the memorable credit sequence too!

Another 'sequel to which so happens to also be a reboot' on this list, Dawn ups the stakes and scales from Rise of the Planet of the Apes by introducing an all-out war between the apes community and the human survivors. Even with the change in the human cast (Bye bye James Franco! Hello Gary Oldman!), the heart and soul of this franchise reboot in Andy Serkis' Caesar is omnipresent in this emotionally-charged installment. If you thought Rise was good, Dawn will blow it out of the water. With the way sequels are being made nowadays, the best days of Hollywood are still ahead of them.

I debated as to whether Snowpiercer deserves to be on this list, (it came out in South Korea in August... last year!), but it is hard to ignore this theatrical masterpiece by Bong Joon-ho. Starring a mix of American (CHRIS EVANS!), British (JOHN HURT! TILDA SWINTON!) and Korean talents (SONG KANG-HO!), this post-apocalyptic film set on a seemingly unstoppable train mixes the right blend of action, thriller and science fiction, enough to get you on the edge of your seat and glued from the tail section all the way to the front of the train. Personally, it's placed among my favourite original films ever alongside Aliens and Back to the Future.

The movie that cements Marvel Studios as "the studio that can do no wrong", GOTG surprised pretty much everyone, from critics to casual moviegoers alike. The film's monster success must be credited to director James Gunn, for taking a largely obscure group of characters and making GOTG a fun superhero romp for all ages. Perfect casting, a humourous yet well-thought script, and a brilliant soundtrack to boot (AWESOME MIX VOL. 1!), GOTG shows that any good storytelling can trump any established franchises, regardless of how popular are the characters (looking at you, The Amazing Spiderman 2 and Trans4mers!). To gauge GOTG's success over the mainstream film audience, look at how a short phrase such as "I AM GROOT" can win the world over.

Any movie with Tom Cruise is enjoyable, even Knight & Day (there, I said it!), and it is his sci-fi movies that are of the more interesting lot. Based on a Japanese manga, Edge of Tomorrow sees Tom Cruise is strapped on an exo-suit in a video game-ish reality of living, dying and repeating the cycle again and again (Think Source Code with less trains and a whole lot more aliens). Accompanied by the ever-talented Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow is the underrated little gem of this summer, with the film offering plenty of clever and captivating moments throughout without ever getting boring or repetitive, even with many, many repeated sequences. If only more people watched it.

The number one spot was a toss-up between GOTG and X-Men: DOFP (goes to show how good are Marvel movies this year), but the seventh installment in the X-Men franchise slightly edges our space misfits out. A follow up the excellent X-Men: First Class, DOFP sees the return of director Bryan Singer and the original X-Men trilogy cast as they team up with the First Class gang to retcon X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins streamline the franchise with some time-travel magic. While time-travel in movies are usually tricky business, Bryan Singer makes it look like child's play without running into much continuity issues. Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence may be the obvious stars here, but every character from James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, to even Fan Bingbing and Peter Dinklage played an important part in this perfectly done ensemble film. For a franchise which hasbeen around for 14 years, DOPF has successfully rejuvenated the X-Men universe, and the next installment (X-Men: Apocalypse) can't come soon enough.