I'm Rory Stewart and I grew up wanting to be a hero and I'm still fascinated by the ideas of heroism.

In my new series, I'm taking in the long sweep of history from Achilles to Zelensky and asking, what is a hero?

Simply doing your job, being a decent human being.

A true hero is someone who just kind of shines by their

own light and that light is to be recognized by others. The long history of heroism with me,

Rory Stewart. Listen on BBC Sounds. Welcome back to Kermode Uncut and the ongoing mid-term report for the film year so far 2014.

We've had my number 10 to number six best films of the year and my number

10 to number six worst films of the year. Here are number five to number one best of 2014 so

far. Straight in at number five, Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Really interesting

thing about that film when it opened in the UK, it wasn't immediately

a box office smash, but it climbed to the top of the UK box office, top ten, something very few movies do it. It did it on the strength of word of mouth, unlike a lot of Wes Anderson movies, which just have his core fans. This is something that appealed to a mainstream audience. Why? Well, partly because Ray Fines is really funny.

And when was the last time you heard a movie review that said

Ray Fines is a mainstream audience. Why? Well, partly because Ray Fines is really funny. And when was the last time you heard a movie review that said Ray Fines is a really, really funny performer? I love you. I love you. She was dynamite in the sack, by the way. It's a beautiful film to watch the size and shape of the frame changes all the way through the movie to illustrate the different periods of history. But more importantly, it has heart. It's engaging, it's genuinely comic, it has a wonderful score, but it has proper heart. It's

not a Wes Anderson film that makes you think he's looking at everything with a wry, ironic

smile. It's a film that it's possible to love and embrace wholeheartedly. Straight in at number

5. wholeheartedly, straight in at number five. And talking of films that everyone is able to love, in at number four, the runaway family

hit movie of the year, I'm talking of course about the Lego movie. Now believe me, no one was more surprised than me.

I went in to see the Lego movie with a total sense of trepidation.

And it was going to be a 3D film, you know, based on something which we all loved as kids. How good could it possibly be well? Of course, the clue was the fact that it came from the makers of Cloudy with the Chants of Meatballs, which is a genuinely sort of lynchy and surreal, wonderful family animation. But the Lego movie just blew me away. I saw it again and again and again and I cannot stop singing.

Everything is awesome and nor will you be able to

oh my gosh i love this song

oh no guys wait up Everything is awesome. Ah no, guys, win up.

...