By Brett Blake The beginning of a new year - for me, at least - always brings with it ruminations about the year that has just left us, and with that comes lists. Now, I know that list-making (particularly as it relates to movies) is an inherently subjective thing of little real value or importance beyond placing the favorites of the year into some kind of broader context, but it also does offer one an excuse to add an additional voice to the “Best Movies of the Year” conversation. As always, I’m not so egotistical as to assume that just because I really enjoyed a movie that it must be one of the greatest of the year, so the list that follows here is not so much a list of the year’s best movies, but a list of my favorite movies of the year. It includes a wide spectrum of offerings, from the biggest of big blockbusters, to the indiest of indies, with virtually every genre represented (including horror, science fiction, historical drama, character study, and western), and this was not a conscious calculation on my part; I didn’t labor over this list to find ways to insert specific films to meet some kind of quota or achieve some sort of “balance” or agenda. These are simply the 15 films of 2015 that I enjoyed the most. It’s also worth noting that 2015 was a spectacular year for cinema. The number of good-to-great movies is staggering, and while it may fall short of the number of instant masterpieces that years like 2007 and 2012 offered us, the consistency of quality this past year was striking. With that preamble out of the way, let me start with a couple of smaller lists to get us in the mood. The 4 Worst Films of 2015 - THE GALLOWS - TAKEN 3 - UNFRIENDED - FANTASTIC FOUR The 7 Most Underrated/Under-Appreciated Films of 2015 - SPRING - ‘71 - THE WALK - SPECTRE - BONE TOMAHAWK - THE GIFT - THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. And now, on with the show! My Favorite 15 Films of 2015 15. KRAMPUS (Michael Dougherty) - A quirky Christmas horror film with a playful edge, and featuring some fantastic creature design and effects. 14. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (George Miller) - FURY ROAD is a remarkably-directed and staged film, with some of the most impressive action you will ever see. 13. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi) - 2015’s most hilarious movie, one that manages to both respect and poke fun at vampire lore. 12. ANT-MAN (Peyton Reed) - Just a blast, the movie turns what could have been a joke of a character into a hero worth rooting for. 11. SICARIO (Denis Villeneuve) - A deeply eerie and intense look at the drug war, it contains Emily Blunt’s finest performance ever. 10. CREED (Ryan Coogler) In only his second time in the director’s chair Ryan Coogler has established himself a major cinematic voice. CREED seamlessly works as a continuation of the ROCKY franchise (and satisfies any expectations one might have on that level) while also feeling wholly fresh and contemporary. Coogler’s staging of the movie’s sequences - both the boxing stuff and the character beats - is consistently excellent and engaging, and he draws out two of the best performances of the year from Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. 09. THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Quentin Tarantino) This is not Quentin Tarantino’s best film. It is probably not among even his best three or four films. And I’m still not even fully sure yet to what degree I actually liked it! But I know this: no other movie this year has stuck with me quite like this one, with its ferocious, deeply uncomfortable commentary, blistering violence, and indelible characters superbly acted by all of the performers. It is a powerful cinematic experience - an event film in every sense - and though it is not without flaws, it once again demonstrates that Tarantino is one of the most singular and exciting directors working today. 08. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION (Christopher McQuarrie) This, the fifth - and best - entry in the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise, is just a smashing entertainment, a rip-roaring espionage adventure that proves a popcorn blockbuster doesn’t have to be dumb, can have solid plotting and great character work, and can be crafted and executed at a very high level. Tom Cruise again demonstrates that he’s one of the most dedicated actors working, and Rebecca Ferguson, through her performance, emerges as one of the breakout actors of 2015. In a year that featured many spy-themed movies (some of them quite good), this one outclassed them all. 07. EX MACHINA (Alex Garland) EX MACHINA is, without question, the most thought-provoking movie of 2015. It takes the issue of artificial intelligence, which has been handled many times over in the world of film, and manages to spin new angles and themes out of it. It poses some difficult questions, but wraps them in a psychological thriller/mystery structure that works incredibly well. The movie also gives Alicia Vikander the spotlight, with which she proves that she’s one of the most talented young actresses in the industry, giving a powerfully subtle (if such a thing is possible) performance. 06. IT FOLLOWS (David Robert Mitchell) In any otherwise fairly lackluster year for the horror genre, IT FOLLOWS stands tall as a frighteningly effective tone-poem/mood piece that takes the conventions of the genre and manages to both fulfill and twist them. It’s a terrifically stylish, well-made work of cinema (indeed, it’s one of the most artful scary movies in years), and it achieves what often appears to be an impossible task: it makes a group of teen protagonists (anchored by Maika Monroe’s very sympathetic performance) into normal and believable people. Also, the sequences centering around the titular “It” are perhaps the most chilling of the year. 05. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (J.J. Abrams) STAR WARS has returned in a big way with THE FORCE AWAKENS, an infectiously entertaining and propulsive ride that sets up a new cast of likable and interesting heroes and a profoundly complex new villain. The plot has its issues (not a ton of new narrative ground is broken), but on a tonal level, it’s the best possible version of this story we could have gotten, and despite its (very few) shortcomings, it’s an incredible amount of fun. It also features top-flight visual effects (which have weight and grit to them) and the best film score of the year courtesy of the legendary John Williams. 04. BRIDGE OF SPIES (Steven Spielberg) A film starring one of my favorite actors (Tom Hanks), written by some of my favorite writers (the Coen Brothers), and directed by my all-time favorite director (Steven Spielberg) was pretty much guaranteed to find a spot on this list somewhere, and here it is! This is good, old-fashioned dramatic stuff that showcases Spielberg’s total mastery of cinematic language, so much so that his direction here feels effortless in a way that is striking. He guides us through this fantastic and engrossing true story with style, but never so much that it ever takes the focus off the movie’s true center: the performances of Hanks and Mark Rylance. 03. STEVE JOBS (Danny Boyle) STEVE JOBS is simply a perfect marriage of actor and material. Michael Fassbender delivers the performance of his life as Jobs, and Aaron Sorkin contributes the best screenplay of the year, one crammed full of legitimately amazing dialogue and strong - and unflinching - characterizations. Director Boyle takes a backseat to the writing and performances, but he takes a narrative structure that could feel stagey in the wrong hands and makes it visually compelling and engaging at all points. The score from Daniel Pemberton is also one of the high points of the year in movie music. 02. THE MARTIAN (Ridley Scott) Ridley Scott returns to the scene with a vengeance, giving us one of the very best movies he’s ever made. This is science fiction as it should be: thoughtful and cerebral, yes, but also focused on mankind’s place in the universe with a grounded sense of emotion. Matt Damon is as good here as he’s been in any film, and he takes a very relatable - and funny! - approach to his character’s plight. Technically, the film is unimpeachable, with great cinematography, production design, editing, visual effects, and sound work. THE MARTIAN is pretty much the total package when it comes to mass entertainment. 01. INSIDE OUT (Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen) This is very nearly a perfect film, perhaps Pixar’s very best and most thematically mature. It is a movie that has something for everyone, young or old, with marvelous characters, a warm sense of humor, and a delightful and heartfelt score from Michael Giacchino.. It is so deeply in touch with the human condition that I found it to be the most emotional movie-going experience I’ve had in a long time. There are weighty and serious issues at play here, but they’re handled deftly by the filmmakers with a lightness of touch that makes the movie a true joy to sit through. Movies - animated or not - don’t get much better than this.
Key Films I Haven’t Seen Yet - THE REVENANT, JOY, THE DANISH GIRL, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, TRUMBO, MACBETH, THE BIG SHORT, ANOMALISA, ROOM, THE PEANUTS MOVIE
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