Well ladies and gentlemen it's that time of the year where I reflect on the of 2015 in movies and we see what films were just simply amazing and films that will be remembered for the rest of time. Out of the 168 films I've seen this year, these films have the honor of being continually praised . With that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 favorite films of 2015 and the reasons why I loved each film and why they are on my list. So without further ado...
10. Sicario
This was just an absolutely breath-taking film. It has Oscar-caliber performances from amazing and talented actors such as Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro. It takes a really hardcore look at the Mexican drug cartel and it doesn't pull any punches what soever. The film is violent in every way possible and it makes the film feel real. The cinematography from Roger Deakins is just beautiful and if it weren't for Emmanuel Lubezki and The Revenant then he would easily win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. This is a film where I could see a sequel to and it's one I would look forward to especially if director Denis Villeneuve comes back.
9. It Follows
This was one of the strangest films I have ever seen I absolutely loved it. One thing that gets me in horror films is that the fact you can't see the thing haunting which is just terrifying because you don't know when or where it will attack you. This film scared me in just about every scene and I couldn't be happier that there is a film. This film joins a select group of films from this decade that could be considered great horror films in 10 to 15 years.
8. Ex-Machina
This was one of the more surprising films of year. It's a thrilling sci-fi film that dives into a numerous amount of topics and it has one of the best breakout performances of the year in Alicia Vikander who is just an absolute star in this film. Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Issac are in the film as well and they feed off of each well and this film is just mind-blowing from beginning to end. Speaking of the end, the ending of this film is one of the best endings I have ever seen and this is a film everyone should see.
7. The Peanuts Movie
This was one of the best animated films of the year and it had such an amazing and heartfelt story. It kept with the traditional animation of the tv specials that air every year and it even has a few sprinkles of each holiday special within the film. The story is one that we've never really seen with Charlie Brown and it did a great job of blending the scenes in Charlie's life with the events of Snoopy as the Flying Ace which were the best scenes of the film by far. I hesitant at first because I thought this was going to be a more modern film and it was far from it and I really loved this film.
6. Straight Outta Compton
This was a brilliant and spectacular film. I wasn't a huge fan of N.W.A. going into the film although I had heard several of their songs, but I was really interested in knowing more about them and this film helped. It was a fantastic music bio-pic that hit the really big spots of the group's career and it showed that these guys had true emotion behind everything they did. Now while the film does tail off in the third act due to trying to show too many unnecessary events, but the first two acts were good enough for the film to be considered one of the best of the year. The performances in the film are pretty great especially the one from Jason Mitchell who played Easy-E and as of now he does have an outside shot to be nominated for an Academy Award although unlikely, it was one of my favorite performances of the year.
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service
2015 was the year of the spy film as 5 such films came out this year and for me this was my favorite one of the bunch. It had a lot of great humor and most of came from an unlikely source in Academy Award winning actor Colin Firth who really stepped out his comfort zone as was able to be both an action star and a comedy star. This was a great breakout role for Taron Egerton who will be a star in the very near future. I really liked the mythology they built in this film and I'm looking forward to seeing where the sequel takes the story. I just hope there is a scene that's just as cool as the church scene was in this movie because after watching that scene I can never listen to Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd the same way ever again.
4. Creed
I'm a huge fan of boxing films and that's mostly attributed to the Rocky franchise and what they've done in cinema history. This was an absolutely perfect film that mirrored the original Rocky film is so many yet different ways. Michael B. Jordan gives a stellar performance playing Adonis Creed the son of Apollo Creed and he really takes and makes the character his own. The real surprise is Sylvester Stallone who easily gives the best performance of his life and he may be the current frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor at The Oscars and it would be somewhat fitting that 40 years after he was nominated for playing Rocky Balboa in the Best Picture winning Rocky in 1976, he gets nominated for playing the same role which would be a spectacular achievement in itself.
3. Inside Out
Much like the great Pixar films, this film has a lot of heart, emotion and one of the best stories ever told by Pixar. It hits you every way possible and it will actually stick with kids for a long time as they grow up and whenever they do something, they can blame it on one of the emotions in their head. The voice cast for this film is absolutely spectacular and the real standout is Lewis Black as Anger which if you know Lewis Black's style of comedy then you know this was the perfect role for him. The film just connects with you and it will stay with you after you watch the film. It is one of the best animated films of the year and it's a film that states that Pixar is still the king of animation.
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
This was the most difficult decision I had to make when coming up with this list. I loved this film just as much as the first film on the list and it basically came down to a flip of a coin. Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the more gorgeous films you will ever see and the fact that most of the film was done using practical effects and when the effects are so good that you can't tell what is what whether it be practical or the use of CGI (not counting the tornado scene). While it may not have a strong story, the action makes up for it and it is heart-pounding from beginning to end where you can barely take a breath during the film. It's a film that many didn't think would get made due to all of the production problems it went through, but I'm glad they were able to make the film because it was just nothing but non-stop fun.
1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
10. Sicario
This was just an absolutely breath-taking film. It has Oscar-caliber performances from amazing and talented actors such as Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro. It takes a really hardcore look at the Mexican drug cartel and it doesn't pull any punches what soever. The film is violent in every way possible and it makes the film feel real. The cinematography from Roger Deakins is just beautiful and if it weren't for Emmanuel Lubezki and The Revenant then he would easily win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. This is a film where I could see a sequel to and it's one I would look forward to especially if director Denis Villeneuve comes back.
9. It Follows
This was one of the strangest films I have ever seen I absolutely loved it. One thing that gets me in horror films is that the fact you can't see the thing haunting which is just terrifying because you don't know when or where it will attack you. This film scared me in just about every scene and I couldn't be happier that there is a film. This film joins a select group of films from this decade that could be considered great horror films in 10 to 15 years.
8. Ex-Machina
This was one of the more surprising films of year. It's a thrilling sci-fi film that dives into a numerous amount of topics and it has one of the best breakout performances of the year in Alicia Vikander who is just an absolute star in this film. Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Issac are in the film as well and they feed off of each well and this film is just mind-blowing from beginning to end. Speaking of the end, the ending of this film is one of the best endings I have ever seen and this is a film everyone should see.
7. The Peanuts Movie
This was one of the best animated films of the year and it had such an amazing and heartfelt story. It kept with the traditional animation of the tv specials that air every year and it even has a few sprinkles of each holiday special within the film. The story is one that we've never really seen with Charlie Brown and it did a great job of blending the scenes in Charlie's life with the events of Snoopy as the Flying Ace which were the best scenes of the film by far. I hesitant at first because I thought this was going to be a more modern film and it was far from it and I really loved this film.
6. Straight Outta Compton
This was a brilliant and spectacular film. I wasn't a huge fan of N.W.A. going into the film although I had heard several of their songs, but I was really interested in knowing more about them and this film helped. It was a fantastic music bio-pic that hit the really big spots of the group's career and it showed that these guys had true emotion behind everything they did. Now while the film does tail off in the third act due to trying to show too many unnecessary events, but the first two acts were good enough for the film to be considered one of the best of the year. The performances in the film are pretty great especially the one from Jason Mitchell who played Easy-E and as of now he does have an outside shot to be nominated for an Academy Award although unlikely, it was one of my favorite performances of the year.
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service
2015 was the year of the spy film as 5 such films came out this year and for me this was my favorite one of the bunch. It had a lot of great humor and most of came from an unlikely source in Academy Award winning actor Colin Firth who really stepped out his comfort zone as was able to be both an action star and a comedy star. This was a great breakout role for Taron Egerton who will be a star in the very near future. I really liked the mythology they built in this film and I'm looking forward to seeing where the sequel takes the story. I just hope there is a scene that's just as cool as the church scene was in this movie because after watching that scene I can never listen to Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd the same way ever again.
4. Creed
I'm a huge fan of boxing films and that's mostly attributed to the Rocky franchise and what they've done in cinema history. This was an absolutely perfect film that mirrored the original Rocky film is so many yet different ways. Michael B. Jordan gives a stellar performance playing Adonis Creed the son of Apollo Creed and he really takes and makes the character his own. The real surprise is Sylvester Stallone who easily gives the best performance of his life and he may be the current frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor at The Oscars and it would be somewhat fitting that 40 years after he was nominated for playing Rocky Balboa in the Best Picture winning Rocky in 1976, he gets nominated for playing the same role which would be a spectacular achievement in itself.
3. Inside Out
Much like the great Pixar films, this film has a lot of heart, emotion and one of the best stories ever told by Pixar. It hits you every way possible and it will actually stick with kids for a long time as they grow up and whenever they do something, they can blame it on one of the emotions in their head. The voice cast for this film is absolutely spectacular and the real standout is Lewis Black as Anger which if you know Lewis Black's style of comedy then you know this was the perfect role for him. The film just connects with you and it will stay with you after you watch the film. It is one of the best animated films of the year and it's a film that states that Pixar is still the king of animation.
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
This was the most difficult decision I had to make when coming up with this list. I loved this film just as much as the first film on the list and it basically came down to a flip of a coin. Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the more gorgeous films you will ever see and the fact that most of the film was done using practical effects and when the effects are so good that you can't tell what is what whether it be practical or the use of CGI (not counting the tornado scene). While it may not have a strong story, the action makes up for it and it is heart-pounding from beginning to end where you can barely take a breath during the film. It's a film that many didn't think would get made due to all of the production problems it went through, but I'm glad they were able to make the film because it was just nothing but non-stop fun.
1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
As I mentioned with Mad Max: Fury Road, deciding between those two was virtually a coin flip. I was leaning towards this, but I just had to let fate decide the outcome. This is not only one of the best films of the year, but one of the best films in the Star Wars franchise. I personally after 4 viewings (I plan to see it more), I would put it 3rd behind Episodes 5 and 4 respectively. The film was everything I wanted it to be and it's was the prequel films should've been. The film has bits and pieces of each original trilogy film and they all flow so well together. BB-8 and Kylo Ren are two of my new favorite characters and I'm excited to see what the rest of the trilogy has in store for all of these characters. This is a film that I've been waiting for for 3 years, when Disney announced the purchase of Lucasfilm and said they would make more Star Wars films. This film made me feel every emotion possible and I'm glad to say that Star Wars is back for good.
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of my list and what were some of your favorite movies of 2015? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
Jonah Sparks
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