2015 has been shaky from the start but then the summer kick things into high gear and delivered some fantastic movies ranging from indie films to animated films to even the summer blockbusters. This has been a great year for the movies. I usually have an easy time selecting my favorite movies of 2015 but out of all the years I had to make a Top 10 list of 2015, this has been the toughest. There were 34 movies to choose from this year and they had all different range and I believe variety is the best way to describe the movies in 2015: the best of the best. So, without further ado, let's get on with it:
You Tube link: Caro the Movie Critic: The Best Movies of 2015
Honorable Mentions:
Anomalisa
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Creed
It Follows
Love & Mercy
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Steve Jobs
Straight Outta Compton
10. Brooklyn
This is a rich period drama that features not only a love triangle between Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen and Downhill Gleeson but also a two-way coming-of-age drama of whether she feels at home in either the United States or Ireland. This is an uplifting movie that features some strong performances and a restrained and light-hearted story by director John Crowley that is exceptional to watch.
9. Ex Machina
8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I had to watch it twice to maybe find out if maybe this is a prestigious movie. The second time around it was despite the one thing regarding the plot that bothered me. Director J.J. Abrams has successfully resurrected another franchise with such tenacity and joy that it was a pleasure to watch the third best Star Wars film ever. Nevertheless, the movie flows well and is paced well to engage our audience to enjoy another adventures with older characters and newly fresh characters.
7. Sicario
I did not love Prisoners as much as a lot of people but this movie is a hair-raising and tense thriller that does not keep your eyes off the screen for a minute. It's unpredictable. Director Denis Villeneuve creates some great tension between a doppleganger, who is basically our point-of-view for the movie, and some drug lords in Mexico, who are the sicario or hitmen in the movie. With the help of cinematographer Roger Deakins, he and Villeneuve capture the scumminess of a part of Mexico that you want to avoid. Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and a fantastic Benicio Del Toro are all brilliant.
6. The Martian
I was surprisedly taken away by Ridley Scott's latest science fiction film as it is both dramatically engaging and funny as the movie examines the importance of science, math and technology to help a man get out of Mars but also with the help from people of Earth. This is also one of the best movies regarding survival and teamwork that gets you involved in the journey and you hope for Matt Damon to get home. He headlines a great ensemble cast who consists of Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Sean Bean and other people. This is the best movie on Mars by a mile.
5. The Revenant
This movie will not be out until January for most of the population but I had the chance to see this exhilarating and brutal movie about surviving in the frontier in the 1930s and getting revenge on a person who killed his son. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inñaritu with the help of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki captures the hell-hole of a time in which you wonder that you are blessed with such homemade goods because these people had to really survive. Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of the best performances of his career which was demanding and challenging especially acting silently from his facial expression capturing his struggle for survival. He may win the Oscar. Tom Hardy is also equally matched in a ferocious role. Don't miss this experience.
4. Room
This is a devastating outlook of a mother and son spending the majority of their lives trapped in a room with no outside air to breathe in or look at. It is a profound small-scale thriller that is unforgettable and heartbreaking which captures and evokes vulnerable and enjoyable motherhood in many angles. Brie Larson gives one of the best performances of the year who tries anything as a mother to make sure his son has the best time of his life and Jacob Tremblay gives one of the best performances by a child ever.
3. Inside Out
Pixar, with the help of director of Pete Doctor, returns to form with an imaginative and original story that will help child psychologists understand and connect with their childish patients. It is a colorful blend of humor and emotion that raises to another level of storytelling that is complex. And, I'll admit once that I cried in one scene but it's not a scene in which it was expected. Plus, it is a great balance between certain jokes that will get children and adults alike to love this movie. The voice-work by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black and Mindy Kaling is outstanding in which you believe that are certain characters.
2. Spotlight
This is an excellent film regarding investigative journalism and is in a league with All The President's Men that is another great film about journalism with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. It is a confidently and competency made film by director Tom McCarthy showing another behind-the-scenes movie of journalism and reporting behind the 2002 expose of the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal. There is suspense in some scenes between a few people that it does not desensitize the subject. It goes all in. Plus, it is an impeccably-acted cast from Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Rachel McAdams, Billy Crudup, Stanley Tucci and John Slattery. This is an awards-caliber movie not to miss.
AND THE BEST MOVIE OF 2015 IS....
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
Why is this the best movie of the year in my opinion? It is because director George Miller, creator of the Mad Max Trilogy, has re-defined the hard-core, R-rated action genre with fantastic visuals, breathtaking cinematography, a great score by Junkie XL and the best action sequences of the year, which is basically the whole movie. I still cannot figure out how most of the stunt work was done with people getting rammed into other trucks and getting flown in the fiery sandstorm in the air. It is a crazy reboot and/or sequel that entertains us from beginning to end that is the rarest of birds these days. Tom Hardy is quite bizarrely fine in his role taking over the iconic role from Mel Gibson and Charlize Theron displays another strong feminine action character that is one for the history books for action movies. This is probably the best action movie of the decade. We'll see, we got 4 years to go.
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