As is my habit shortly following the Oscar nominations, here are my picks for best films of 2015. As always this comes with the provisos that, no, I didn't watch every movie that came out in 2015. Neither did you. We all do the best we can with what we have. That said, the biggest films I did not see this years were the Martian (I was in trial and just missed it, I'll get it when it's available on Netflix next month) and Star Wars (couldn't brave the nerds). I can't imagine anything else I missed would crack my top five (this includes you The Revenant). This year's list is a little more blockbuster friendly than most years. So it goes.
#1.
It was simply glorious. No two ways about it. A thousand ways to make this movie wrong, especially considering that it's a movie about infrastructure in terms of how it is told, and very few to make it right. Pixar nailed it and should get credit for doing so.
#2.
I think of Science Fiction movies as largely divided into "Movies about How" and "Movies about Why." Fundamentally, movies like Interstellar leave me cold because they are mostly interested in accurately portraying the way light bends around a gravity well or how you would sync a spinning object up with a stationary object. Whenever you read rapturous reviews about scientific accuracy, it's almost always a "how" movie.
Ex Machina is a why movie. The audience has to take it for a given that an artificial intelligence exists and the film is about the nature of being alive. It explores why consciousness matters and what it means to create life. In that sense, this is a physical version of "Her" which I also loved. But the physical allows it to be alternately terrifying, sexy, and fascinating.
#3.
What an acid-fueled nightmare of a film. I'm honestly shocked the members of Gwar weren't cast as siblings of Rictus Erectus.
#4.
I enjoyed it so much that I saw it twice the first week it was out. From a technical perspective it's a marvel. There's a full three minute boxing round captured entirely in a single shot that must have required balletic grace and coordination for everyone to get right. The sound design in a full theater is unimpeachable. The audience feels punches coming from each side in a way that leaves a real impact. The script hits all the Rocky beats but earns the emotional payout. The Madame has no connection to the franchise (her favorite character is Adrian because she thinks "You Can't Win!" is hilarious to scream) and damn near burst into tears during the final bout.
As an aside, this really should have been nominated for serious awards. While much gets made every year about minority representation in awards ceremony nominations, Creed should actually be the poster child for the type of film that will get nominated when films featuring black talent are truly evaluated equally with films that feature white talent. This is a movie with black stars (plus Stallone) and a black director that is not fundamentally about civil rights, slavery, or the 1960s and is produced at an absolute A+ level. To put it bluntly, there is no excuse for the Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by David O. Russell, to be seriously considered for the top prizes and for this not to be. When we have another Selma next year that demands nominations for black actors because it's "important" and "about civil rights" remember that we did it to ourselves for not letting people of color get recognized for any other type of film. #CreedForBestPicture
#5.
Just kidding. I love QT, but Jesus does he miss his longtime editor Sally Menke.
Yes I'm serious this time. The quick hit reasons.
#1. If you've never been to an opening night theater where the audience is 96% female (https://screenrant.com/magic-mike-xxl-96-percent-female-audience/) then you're missing out. That is a thing I've never seen before and probably will never see again.
#2. The Original Magic Mike is a better film. It's shot more interestingly. The story is more fleshed out. There were no points where I wondered "was this scripted, or is Channing Tatum just kind of winging it?" But it was a much more conservative film at core. Magic Mike Regular Size posits that there's a dark underbelly to male stripping and that these men aren't really happy. Magic Mike XXL forgets all of that and openly states that male stripping is sacred. The stripper's job is to listen to someone who doesn't feel listened to, give them permission to say what they want, and then give it to them. That's an incredibly healthy sex-positive message from a movie about dudes in thongs.
#3. They kept WWE wrestler Diesel around. Let's be honest. Diesel can't dance. He can barely move his arms over his head. But god is it funny to watch him try.
#4. Surprise R&B sex pot Donald Glover makes an appearance. Sometimes it's hard to remember that you miss someone who goes so far out of his way to do things that are outside his core competency.
#5. Female stripping is supposed to be sexy only. Male stripping is supposed to be absurd first and sexy second. This is what gives people permission to enjoy it without feeling like they're a pervert. No matter what Channing Tatum does, he's still fundamentally rolling around in his underwear and looking kind of silly. Laughing with him is the game. This is why the film can easily use several non-conventionally attractive women as the patrons in the film and the joke isn't about how fat the ladies are. They will still never be as ridiculous as the banana hammocks that everyone's putting singles into.
#6. The dancing. At core, how much you enjoy Magic Mike is determined by whether or not you can enjoy watching people who are very very good dancers do things that are ridiculous. This film features a version of the old Marx Brothers mirror scene, copied by Bugs Bunny, I love lucy and everyone else for the entire history of film. Of course, they're doing the mirror scene while taking off their clothes. The film is just plain fun. That's all there is to it.
#1.
It was simply glorious. No two ways about it. A thousand ways to make this movie wrong, especially considering that it's a movie about infrastructure in terms of how it is told, and very few to make it right. Pixar nailed it and should get credit for doing so.
#2.
I think of Science Fiction movies as largely divided into "Movies about How" and "Movies about Why." Fundamentally, movies like Interstellar leave me cold because they are mostly interested in accurately portraying the way light bends around a gravity well or how you would sync a spinning object up with a stationary object. Whenever you read rapturous reviews about scientific accuracy, it's almost always a "how" movie.
Ex Machina is a why movie. The audience has to take it for a given that an artificial intelligence exists and the film is about the nature of being alive. It explores why consciousness matters and what it means to create life. In that sense, this is a physical version of "Her" which I also loved. But the physical allows it to be alternately terrifying, sexy, and fascinating.
#3.
What an acid-fueled nightmare of a film. I'm honestly shocked the members of Gwar weren't cast as siblings of Rictus Erectus.
#4.
I enjoyed it so much that I saw it twice the first week it was out. From a technical perspective it's a marvel. There's a full three minute boxing round captured entirely in a single shot that must have required balletic grace and coordination for everyone to get right. The sound design in a full theater is unimpeachable. The audience feels punches coming from each side in a way that leaves a real impact. The script hits all the Rocky beats but earns the emotional payout. The Madame has no connection to the franchise (her favorite character is Adrian because she thinks "You Can't Win!" is hilarious to scream) and damn near burst into tears during the final bout.
As an aside, this really should have been nominated for serious awards. While much gets made every year about minority representation in awards ceremony nominations, Creed should actually be the poster child for the type of film that will get nominated when films featuring black talent are truly evaluated equally with films that feature white talent. This is a movie with black stars (plus Stallone) and a black director that is not fundamentally about civil rights, slavery, or the 1960s and is produced at an absolute A+ level. To put it bluntly, there is no excuse for the Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by David O. Russell, to be seriously considered for the top prizes and for this not to be. When we have another Selma next year that demands nominations for black actors because it's "important" and "about civil rights" remember that we did it to ourselves for not letting people of color get recognized for any other type of film. #CreedForBestPicture
#5.
Just kidding. I love QT, but Jesus does he miss his longtime editor Sally Menke.
Yes I'm serious this time. The quick hit reasons.
#1. If you've never been to an opening night theater where the audience is 96% female (https://screenrant.com/magic-mike-xxl-96-percent-female-audience/) then you're missing out. That is a thing I've never seen before and probably will never see again.
#2. The Original Magic Mike is a better film. It's shot more interestingly. The story is more fleshed out. There were no points where I wondered "was this scripted, or is Channing Tatum just kind of winging it?" But it was a much more conservative film at core. Magic Mike Regular Size posits that there's a dark underbelly to male stripping and that these men aren't really happy. Magic Mike XXL forgets all of that and openly states that male stripping is sacred. The stripper's job is to listen to someone who doesn't feel listened to, give them permission to say what they want, and then give it to them. That's an incredibly healthy sex-positive message from a movie about dudes in thongs.
#3. They kept WWE wrestler Diesel around. Let's be honest. Diesel can't dance. He can barely move his arms over his head. But god is it funny to watch him try.
#4. Surprise R&B sex pot Donald Glover makes an appearance. Sometimes it's hard to remember that you miss someone who goes so far out of his way to do things that are outside his core competency.
#5. Female stripping is supposed to be sexy only. Male stripping is supposed to be absurd first and sexy second. This is what gives people permission to enjoy it without feeling like they're a pervert. No matter what Channing Tatum does, he's still fundamentally rolling around in his underwear and looking kind of silly. Laughing with him is the game. This is why the film can easily use several non-conventionally attractive women as the patrons in the film and the joke isn't about how fat the ladies are. They will still never be as ridiculous as the banana hammocks that everyone's putting singles into.
#6. The dancing. At core, how much you enjoy Magic Mike is determined by whether or not you can enjoy watching people who are very very good dancers do things that are ridiculous. This film features a version of the old Marx Brothers mirror scene, copied by Bugs Bunny, I love lucy and everyone else for the entire history of film. Of course, they're doing the mirror scene while taking off their clothes. The film is just plain fun. That's all there is to it.
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