2015 was a banner year for Hollywood as Jurassic World and The Force Awakens have shattered previous box office records and were met with satisfaction from critics. It was also the year where sequels dominated the big screen. Now there were some original movies out that were getting critical acclaim but it was the sequels we were most excited to see. So now join me if you will in counting down my top 15 favorite films of 2015.
#15. The Walk
This film runs the gambit of being a heist movie, a bio-pic and a love letter to the World Trade Center. Joseph-Gordon Levitt is one of my favorite actors and he does a wonderful job of playing the tight rope walking daredevil Philippe Petit. The 3D for this movie is some of the most breathtaking 3D you will see in theaters and I'm glad I saw this movie in IMAX 3D. One standout performance is Charlotte Le Bon as she plays the girlfriend of Levitt's character. You feel for this character and what she is going through. Someone she loves is going to walk on a thin wire between two tall buildings with no net. It's a testament of trust when you see how calm she is given this information. But as a whole the film is a good watch and Levitt gives another good performance. But this will be one of many bio-pics on this list so be prepared.
#14. Avengers: Age of Ultron
What can I say, the Marvel movies are just fun. I love seeing the characters interact with each other and the action as well as character development is amped up for this movie. James Spader does a great job as Ultron, a robot computer that believes the only way to save humanity is by wiping it out. Does it live up to the hype as a sequel to the massively successful Marvel's The Avengers, in a way yes. We get more of what we want but we get some things that we did not need like the Romanoff twins and their oddly absent magnetic father (PLEASE FOX GIVE MARVEL X-MEN AND FANTASTIC FOUR!) and the Hulk/Black Widow romance. Now I like those things but when you get down to it, we got nothing new from this sequel but to follow up one of the biggest comic book movies of all time is a job very few could do and Joss Whedon gives it his all. For what we got, a surprisingly good sequel that gives us more knowledge of the characters and action, it makes my list
#13. The Hateful Eight
Being a Tarantino fan, I could not wait for this to come out and like most people I wanted to see it in 70mm, the way Tarantino wants it to be seen. And while I haven't seen its non 70mm counterpart, I can guess what got cut to see the difference. But as a whole The Hateful Eight is another enjoyable Tarantino film with sharp dialogue and interesting characters. That being said, the film kind of falls apart logic wise near the end but if you're willing to roll with it you should be fine. It is a Tarantino film so expect graphic violence and if that's not your thing I understand but you're missing out on an interesting movie. It's another Tarantino movie guaranteed to entertain you from beginning to end if you love the Tarantino style.
#12. Straight Outta Compton
Coming into this film having very little knowledge of N.W.A. or their music, I have to say this was a pretty good film. Now that being said you have to like rap and have a knowledge of rap's culture. It gives us a look at how the group came together, created their music and shows us their eventual break up and influences on future rap stars. It's a very interesting look at the rap genre, set during a time when rap was viewed as criminal. The performances in this movie our outstanding as you believe you are seeing the members of N.W.A. in their prime, going so far as to have Ice Cube's son playing a younger version of him. The movie can focus a little to much on Dr. Dre near the end but you get to know most of the group pretty well. These guys were not always gangsters and criminals, they were artists looking for a way out of the hood. Heck, Ice Cube has become one of America's beloved funny men as he gives good performances in his comedies. But getting back to the movie, it is an interesting look at one of America's most "dangerous" group in music and it also gives the audience insight to how rap works.
#11. Bridge of Spies
We got a lot of good bio-pics this year and I put this one over my #12 pick because I found this one to be a bit more interesting. Tom Hanks plays James Donovan who is a lawyer who must defend a supposed Russian Spy during the height of the Red Scare. He ends up having to negotiate a prisoner exchange involving two captured Americans, both stuck on different sides of the Iron Curtain, and his client. I like James Donavan as a person and as a negotiator as he has to get both the Soviets and Germans to work together in a way in order to make sure the Americans are set free. Donovan, having to defend an accused soviet even though soviet's are despised in America, says a lot about him both as a person and a character. It says that no matter if he is guilty of being a spy or not, he should be given a trial like a normal citizen and that says a lot in this day and age given all that is going on in the world of law. All in all, the movie gives us a look nat a side of the Cold War we have never seen, that being the politics behind both sides of the Iron Curtain.
#10. Steve Jobs
This movie sat for a long time in development hell given that actors like Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio were slated to play the Apple CEO but they ended up leaving the project. It was when Michael Fassbender decided to play Jobs was when the film could start production. With all the production problems it is amazing the film turned out as well as it did. It feels really good to have a good Steve Jobs movie after the catastrophe that was the Ashton Kutcher Jobs movie. Where in the Kutcher movie played up the "Jobs is a god amongst men" thing, Aaron Sorkin gave us a look at a side of Steve Jobs people haven't seen or choose to ignore. That being the arrogant side of Jobs, the side that almost lost him his daughter's love and actually did lose him his spot in the company he created. Steve Jobs is a terrible person throughout most of the movie as he bosses around his assistant and ignores the woman who is mothering his daughter, you just want to punch the man sometimes he's that horrible. But eventually Jobs arc from arrogant tech business man to the man we knew before he dies actually begins at the end of the movie after he thinks up the idea for the IPod after being annoyed by his daughter's Walkman. It really is a side of Jobs most people need to see in order to understand the man behind the tech giant Apple.
#9. The Martian
I did not read the novel this movie was based on so I was going in with a blank slate. What had me most concerned was Ridley Scott as a director. Now don't get me wrong he has done good work in the past but lately it has been hit and miss with the man. Thankfully, the movie really works with Ridley Scott. It's a Cast Away in space kind of story as Matt Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney who is stranded on the desert planet of Mars and its up to NASA and Watney's team of fellow astronauts to help him get off Mars and back to Earth. You some surprisingly good performances from Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara and especially Donald Glover. The effects used to make it look like Matt Damon is on Mars show how far Hollywood has come in the effects division. It's both a welcoming return for Ridley Scott and a confirmation that Matt Damon can carry a serious movie.
#8. Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation
Safe to say that Mission Impossible finally had a win over the James Bond franchise as I found this to be more entertaining than the lackluster but decent Spectre. The action in this movie felt a lot larger than the last Bond movie and we're given a lot more time with Simon Pegg's character and I can say it worked for the better. I will admit again, like #10, things can get complicated story wise near the end as there is a lot of double crossing near the end and it can get confusing for some people but all in all it's a fun ride.
#7. Ant Man
This movie probably caused the most fear in Marvel movie fans. For one, its original director Edgar Wright left the project due to creative differences, a trend that has been happening with Marvel movies recently, and when one of the most beloved comedy directors leaves your project, people will worry. Not only that, but the general public was not familiar with the Ant Man character and how do you bring a character like Ant Man to the screen. Again, Marvel proved the doubters wrong as the Peyton Reed directed movie proved to be another success story for Marvel. Paul Rudd is great as Scott Lang, the second Ant Man after Pym, and Michael Douglas and Evangaline Lilly do a great job as the Pym family who are going through some family drama. The scenes where we see the Ant Man suit are fun and entertaining, and the fight scenes in this movie are also very unique. It's up there with Guardians of the Galaxy as one of the more fun Marvel movies.
#6. Kingsman: The Secret Service
This was the real winner of the spy movie battle of 2015. This movie was just a blast from beginning to end, the fight scene in the church is stuff of legends and give that this came out around the time a lot of bad forgettable movies come out, this was a breath of fresh air.
#5. Spotlight
As drama's go this would be my pick for best picture as the story deals with a group of reporters lead by Michael Keaton that are trying to uncover a conspiracy in the catholic church dealing with priests accused of molesting children. The movie can get dark as this is a subject matter that is hard to make pleasant to sit through. The church is portrayed as this mafia kind of organization that does not want these records to be made public. Add on that the report will be coming after the events of 9/11 and your sitting their wondering how these reporters managed to pull this off. What makes the movie great is the reaction of the reporters as they go deep into the conspiracy. These people were raised in a catholic environment and to hear about the horrible things going on in the church must be a death blow to them. One reporter especially has a house for reformed priest living nearly a block away from him and his children. That is something scary.
#4. Sicario
Not going to lie, I was on the edge of my seat every time Benecio Del Torro was on screen. The man just had a presence to him in this movie that was down right frightening. I'm surprised he hasn't been nominated for any awards yet because this some of the scariest acting I have seen. You feel every time you see this man something bad will happen, and it usually does. The dinner scene especially is one you are just not ready for when it happens. This is probably scarier than most horror movies released in 2015.
#3. Inside Out
This is probably one of the best Disney films I have seen and its only been a few months since it came out. It does such a good job with a used premise that you feel like you're seeing it for the first time. The characters are great, the morals are unique for a Disney film and the humor is really good as well. There's not much else I can say about this, its a damn good Disney movie.
#2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The amount of hype behind this project was insurmountable. It was every where and let me tell you the hype was well worth it. After years of horrible prequels it feels good to have a likeable Star Wars product, and this had nothing to do George Lucas. It's a critic proof movie and it is one that fans and casual movie goers will love.
#1. Mad Max: Fury Road
There is a point in one's life where you get to be part of a moment that will change the business, Fury Road is that change. This movie will inspire directors of today and tomorrow on how to make an action movie. I will not be surprised if I see copiers of this style of filmmaking but it will never hold up to the people who were behind it. This is a sequel that took twenty years to make due to script issues and actors going crazy. But in that time a masterpiece was made and it is something everyone should see at least once in their life.
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