Top 10 Films of 2015
Honorable Mentions: The Good Dinosaur, Bridge Of Spies, McFarland USA, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, and Mad Max: Fury Road.
10. Joy
As I stated in my review I thought Joy was a pleasant surprise and it slipped into my Top 10 list as I really was intrigued by the film, it's messages and it's performances.
9. The Hateful Eight
I saw the The Hateful Eight yesterday and unfortunately it didn't quite snag the number 8 spot on my list, which would have been so ironic, but was very entertaining as one of my favorite films to come from Tarantino. It had gorgeous cinematorgraphy, great performances, interesting characters, a captivating mystery and some fantastic dialogue.
8. Inside Out
Inside Out is one of Pixar's best and showcased that Pixar can still make not only great animation but an ingenious original film based on an intriguing concept. I thought the idea of Inside Out was so interesting since the moment I hear about the film and can say the film delivered in spades. Inside Out not only had beautiful animation but a very heart touching story about emotions. Honestly this film deserves to be higher on my list but the film's above it had a greater entertainment value to them and appealed to me more.
7. The Martian
'The Martian' was a phenomenal space film that managed to successfully differentiate itself from two other recent films with a similar premise, Interstellar and Gravity. I really liked that The Martian had such a light tone and was filled with humor. The Martian was directed and written exceptionally well with gorgeous visuals, an entertaining story and a terrific cast.
6. Ant-Man
Ant-Man managed to bring a new spin on the superhero genre as one of Marvel's best origin stories yet! Ant-Man was a very fun heist film with great performances, epic small scale action, and some hilarious one liners and character moments.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron divided audiences with people either loving it or being disappointed and I can say I fell in the "I loved it" camp. This film was genuinely entertaining and every moment elicited a reaction from me as I was either smiling, laughing, or my jaw was agaped almost touching the floor as I watched in awe. It took everything I loved about The Avengers and brought it back for the sequel, and now that the team had been brought together, the film wasn't required to focus on that aspect but rather the fun interactions that were merely glanced upon in the original. There was big action spectacle, a great villain, hilarious gags that all culminated and felt like I was actually watching a comic book in front of me.
2. Creed
Creed was the seventh film in the Rocky franchise that managed to successfully recaptured the magic of Rocky. Every beat of the film has a familiarity to it yet feels fresh and new. It perfectly utilized the Rocky theme for an awesome training montage and some fantastic boxing scenes that captivated my attention and felt so real. It had great direction and some phenomenal Oscar worthy performances that make for one of the year's best films.
It should be no surprise that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is at the top of my list. I loved this film, and it has something that I believe is crucial to great films and that is a rewatchability factor. I have seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens four times and found more and more to enjoy with each viewing noticing small aspects that I missed upon initial viewings that make the film that much better. I liked the comedic relief present throughout, the amazing starfighter battles, lightsaber duels, and amazing performances. All of these things culminated to bring an amazing film and it was great to finally see the film I've been waiting for/wanting my entire life. And the fact that it was everything I wanted in an Episode VII and more just makes it that much better.
