Top 10 Films of 2015

2015 was an amazing year for films. There were familiar returns to beloved franchises like Star Wars and Mad Max. There were several inventive comedy films that broke the mold of what comedy can represent. There were amazing films from relatively new and unknown directors, films that proved that the next generation of film artists are capable and intelligent filmmakers.

Enough chit chat! You’re here for the list. I have what I believe to be an amazing selection of 10 films from 2015 that were moving, entertaining, and incredibly thought-provoking. First, a few additional categories though. Starting off with a list of films I was unable to see during the year of 2015 that I think deserve a mention due to how culturally relevant they’ve become and how well they were received by critics, but I was unable to see due to unavailability in close theatres or time constraints. I firmly believe several of these might have had a chance to make the top ten but I just didn’t get the time to see them.

Films I was unable to see: Room, Steve Jobs, Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, Carol, 45 Years, The Big Short, Anomalisa, Son of Saul, The Lobster, and Straight Outta Compton.

Of course, there also has to be a list of honorable mentions. I loved these films. They entertained me and moved me, but when I thought about it they just weren’t enough to make my list. Taking them off really was tough, but they still need to be mentioned.

Honorable Mentions: Creed, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Victoria, Dope, What We Do in the Shadows, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Love and Mercy, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, and Trainwreck.

Well, let’s get to the actual list, shall we. If you’re interested I’ve made a Spotify playlist of songs from the films selected for you to listen to while you read the list. You can find it embedded in the home page of the blog. Thank you very much!

10. Spy

Director: Paul Feig

Writer: Paul Feig

Cinematography: Robert D. Yeoman

Music: Theodore Shapiro

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Alisson Janney, Peter Serafinowicz, and Bobby Cannavale.

Synopsis: After all CIA agents are compromised by a crime syndicate, a talented analyst (Melissa McCarthy) is asked to go out into the field to do surveillance. She decides to abandon the boring job of surveilling her target and actually track down enemies. When she gets too entangled she must rely on the help of odd characters to help her stop a terrorist organization from launching a nuclear missile.

When it comes down to it, the number one reason that Spy is on this list is because it split my sides. Spy was one of those movies I couldn’t stop laughing at. I had a really fun time watching it, and it was intensely enjoyable. On top of its wonderful dialogue and humor it also has some fun fight scenes and action choreography that make it much more unique than your run-of-the-mill Paul Feig film. Melissa McCarthy’s performance is incredibly endearing, and the enjoyably goofy cast of characters make for a bright and enjoyable comedy experience, and certainly one of the best comedy films of the year.

9. It Follows

Director: David Robert Mitchell

Writer: David Robert Mitchell

Cinematography: Mike Gioulakis

Music: Disasterpeace

Starring: Maika Monroe, Lili Sepe, Keir Gilchrest, and Olivia Luccardi

Synopsis: A young girl (Maika Monroe) finds herself being haunted and pursued by a relentless spirit that can take the form of anyone and cannot be seen by anyone other than herself. She travels with her friends as they attempt to escape the creature and try to find out how to get rid of it.

It Follows is a brilliant horror film. Its imagery and premise is haunting. It isn’t a relentless onslaught of jump scares, it’s a perfectly paced horror film that keeps you in suspense the entire time. A fun homage to 80s horror with a well-created narrative, a beautifully haunting score, and plenty of scares, It Follows will certainly stick with you.

8. The Revenant

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Writer: Mark L. Smith and Alejandro González Iñárritu

Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki

Music: Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, and Forrest Goodluck

Synopsis: Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a hunter for a fur company that is exploring the area of the Louisiana Purchase with a group of fellow hunters and trappers. After their company is attacked by an Indian tribe they have to escape camp. During the retreat to base Glass is left by his men. He must trek across the Western mountains to exact revenge on the men who wronged him.

Filled with amazing cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki and wonderful performances The Revenant is an amazing film. The film exudes beauty and adds a sense of intensity with its incredibly riveting continuous shots, masterfully shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. The scenes of action are incredibly riveting and filmed brilliantly. DiCaprio’s performance is fantastic, as usual, and the character of Glass is a very compelling character that has been thrown into a situation of true desperation. His tale is incredibly captivating, and one of the best cinematic experiences of this year.

7. The Hateful Eight

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Cinematography: Robert Richardson

Music: Ennio Morricone

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, and Channing Tatum

Synopsis: Taking place during post-Civil War times, a group of characters are all trapped in a cottage together while a blizzard rages outside. Racial tensions and suspicions begin to take hold as people start believe that someone is not who they say they are.

Like Tarantino’s films usually are, this film is a dedicated and odd homage to films of old. Tarantino’s movies are creative stories filled with witty characters and hilarious dark humor, but this is all because his movies are rooted as well-constructed love stories to film. The Hateful Eight is no exception. Boasting amazing cinematography, beautiful scenery, hilarious dialogue, creative and fun characters, an interesting style, and a clever and suspenseful story all work to make The Hateful Eight another awesome addition that proves Tarantino is a master of this art form.

6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Director: J.J. Abrams

Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt

Cinematography: Daniel Mindel

Music: John Williams

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Lupita N’yongo, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, and Mark Hamill.

Synopsis: 30 years after The Battle of Endor, the Senate is once again the governing body of the galaxy. An operation dedicated to the beliefs of the Empire has surfaced, The First Order. The Resistance seeks to destroy The First Order before it can conquer the galaxy. Both factions are searching for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who has gone into hiding. A pilot of The Resistance, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) acquires a piece of information to Skywalker’s whereabouts, but sends the piece away with his droid when The First Order’s leader, Kylo Ren captures him. The droid, BB-8, makes its way to a junker named Rey (Daisy Ridley) who helps him reunite with the resistance.

Visually stunning and filled with great characters, The Force Awakens was a big crowd pleaser, and one of my favorite films of 2015. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Star Wars films, mostly the original trilogy. The Force Awakens renewed my love for the franchise and not only introduced an incredibly diverse cast of characters, but some of the most complex character development we have seen this year. The Force Awakens may have been derivative of A New Hope, but that doesn’t slow down how clever and fun it was to see an enjoyable, and entertaining Star Wars film.

5. Ex Machina

Director: Alex Garland

Writer: Alex Garland

Cinematography: Rob Hardy

Music: Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury

Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, and Sonoya Mizuno.

Synopsis: A brilliant tech programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) is selected in a contest to participate in an experiment that will determine if an A.I. has the ability to appear human. As he continues the experiment he questions if the A.I. is telling him the truth, or if she might be using his feelings for her to get what she wants.

A suspenseful and frightening film that explores themes of humanity and obsession with technology, even going so far as to comment on man’s penchant to create the things that will destroy them. Even without the interesting thematic elements though, Ex Machina is still impressive because of its cinematography, clever and poignant dialogue, and the incredible performances from the actors. Alicia Vikander is especially interesting in her portrayal of Ava, who delivers a performance that is both haunting and creepy but very endearing as well.

4. The Martian

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: Drew Goddard. Based on the book by Andy Weir.

Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski

Music: Harry Gregson-Williams

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Wong, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, and Sebastian Stan.

Synopsis: After their mission is threatened by a storm a team of astronauts stationed on Mars has to make an escape. As they are headed towards the return module the team’s botanist, Mark Watney (Matt Damon), is struck by a piece of debris and presumed dead. He is left on the planet and uses his knowledge of chemistry, mathematics, and botany in an attempt to survive and make contact with NASA so he can return home.

Subsequently praising the power of science, advocating for an increased interest in space exploration, and offering a thrilling narrative, The Martian is one of the most enjoyable films of this year. The cast is filled with well-known and talented actors who all do an incredible job portraying their characters. Matt Damon’s performance, as expected, is riveting, Mark Watney is incredibly likeable. He becomes you deeply care for and sympathize with and every moment of adversity he faces is a gut punch. The Martian is a brilliant return to form for talented director Ridley Scott and its incredible story is one of the best this year.

3. Sicario

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writer: Taylor Sheridan

Cinematography: Roger Deakins

Music: Jóhann Jóhannsson

Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Jon Bernthal, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya, and Benicio del Toro

Synopsis: An FBI agent (Emily Blunt) determined to take down a drug cartel based in Juarez is offered the opportunity from a government taskforce. She finds out that her position in the force might not be what it seems and that the men involved are more devious than she could have known.

Denis Villeneuve handles suspense in a beautiful and captivating way. The man filmed every shot of the movie without music to make sure Sicario was suspenseful and haunting without a score. The character’s motivations are intriguing, and the performances are wonderful. The film is filled with beautiful stylistic choices and is so fun to watch, but it also handles incredibly interesting themes and morals that make it one of the most interesting, thought-provoking, and suspenseful movies of the year.

2. Inside Out

Director: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen

Writer: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen, Megan LeFauve, and Josh Cooley

Cinematography: Pete Docter

Music: Michael Giacchino

Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, and Richard Kind.

Synopsis: After a surprise move from her home in Minnesota, Riley Anderson (Kaitlyn Dias) a young girl must deal with the emotions of the move. Her thoughts and worries are personified by characters in her head who represent her different emotions. When the leader of the emotions, Joy (Amy Poehler) is ejected from Headquarters with Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Joy and Sadness must find a way to return to Headquarters before Riley’s remaining emotions cause Riley to make a drastic mistake.

Pixar’s return to form has provided us with another masterpiece as good as Up, WALL-E, and the Toy Story films. The performances are incredibly nuanced, especially Richard Kind, Amy Poehler, and Phyllis Smith. There are plenty of scenes with uplifting humor, but what really captivates you is the emotion of the film. Riley’s troubles are universal and the intense emotion and care you feel for the characters of the film makes it incredibly enjoyable. With beautiful visuals and a captivating story, Inside Out isn’t just one of 2015’s greatest films, but one of Pixar’s as well.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

Director: George Miller

Writer: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nick Lathouris.

Cinematography: John Seale

Music: Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicolas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Hugh Keays-Byrne

Synopsis: The world has become a wasteland after nuclear war was sparked over a lack of resources such as water and gasoline. A lone survivor of the wasteland, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), is captured by a group of soldiers from a local warlord named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). After one of Joe’s head soldier Furiosa (Charlize Theron) escapes with precious cargo Joe sends his militia to chase her down. Max ends up helping Furiosa in an unending escape from a bloodthirsty gang of maniacs.

An amazing setting with crazy characters around every corner, Fury Road is the type of film that keeps you leaning forward in anticipation. Each shot is filled with beautiful, and crazy imagery. The world that director and writer, George Miller has come up with some of the most insane concepts in his time and Fury Road is filled with those crazy ideas. Motorcycle-riding, sharpshooting elderly women, a mechanical arm made from spare car parts, a twin-necked guitar with a flamethrower attached. This film is an amazing action movie special, filled with dazzling and amazing practical effects. An amazing story with an enjoyable and colorful cast of characters and some of the most breath-taking and beautiful action scenes I have ever seen. Mad Max: Fury Road is a brilliant film, the type of movie that all other action films should aspire to be and that’s why it is the number one film of the year.

There we have it! Ten amazing films! 2015 was a great year and I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for us. Let’s hope it can be just as exciting as last year. If you’re interested I’ll be posting a top ten list of 2015’s best seasons of television, and then after that I’ll have a list of the best video games of 2015. Thank you for reading this past year and I can’t wait for an exciting 2016!