Every
December, I gripe about the arbitrary nature of year-end rankings. It feels
pointless when there are so many promising candidates I still haven’t seen
(including “Carol,” “Amy” and several others). Plus, it seems silly to judge different
movies against each other, as if a sobering drama is somehow “better” than a
fun popcorn flick.
But
I still make a list every year, spending far too much time agonizing over what
to include or cut. That’s especially true in 2015, which was packed with fantastic
movies. So, as always, I present my Top 10 (and another 10 honorable mentions)
with the following disclaimer: don’t think of these as the absolute “best” films.
Instead, consider them stories that left such a lingering impression on me that
I want to share them with you fine readers.
I’m
also curious about your thoughts on the year in film. Feel free to e-mail
joshsewell81@gmail.com or find me on Twitter (@IAmJoshSewell) to talk about my picks
and share your own.
Stop
laughing, I’m serious. The enjoyable blend of “road trip,” “one last job” and
“let’s put on a show” tropes made for one of the most delightful, good-natured movies
I saw all year. The camaraderie between Channing Tatum and his co-stars is
terrific, and Jada Pinkett Smith delivers some of the best work of her career. I
dare you to watch Joe Manganiello’s character attempt to earn a smile from a
grumpy cashier without a big goofy grin of your own. It’s impossible.
Adam
McKay is best-known for directing absurdist comedies like Anchorman and Step
Brothers, but he also helmed one of 2015’s smartest, angriest films. With help
from a brilliant screenplay that constantly breaks the fourth wall to explain
complex ideas, he and his cast (including Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Steve
Carell and Ryan Gosling) manage to convey the tragedy of the global economy’s
2008 collapse in an entertaining way. That is, until the final act – when you
realize the guys you’ve been rooting for got ridiculously wealthy at taxpayers’
expense while average Americans’ lives were destroyed.
This
sci-fi adventure, which finds an astronaut (Matt Damon) trying to survive after
being stranded on Mars, is a marvel simply for daring to celebrate being smart.
The fact that it’s also tense, exhilarating and funny is a bonus. But when you factor
in a return to form for director Ridley Scott, Drew Goddard’s fantastic dialogue
(much of it taken straight from Andy Weir’s popular novel) and characters
played by the absolutely perfect actors for the roles… well, you get one of the
best movies of the year.
A young
Irish girl adjusting to life in 1950s America becomes must-see filmmaking
thanks to Nick Hornby’s screenplay, which quickly causes the audience to invest
in this (admittedly rose-colored) world full of fundamentally decent characters.
Director John Crowley keeps the direction low-key, focusing attention on the
actors’ performances and Yves Belanger’s gorgeous cinematography. Seriously,
every shot in this film could be a painting. I’m hoping Saoirse Ronan’s
wonderful work here (and eventual Best Actress nomination, fingers crossed) is
what finally makes her a household name.
2015
saw several iconic 1970s films get the sequel/reboot treatment, but Ryan
Coogler’s spinoff of the Rocky saga is by far the most emotionally affecting.
In shifting the focus to the illegitimate son (the magnetic Michael B. Jordan) of
Apollo Creed and making Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) his Mickey-esque
trainer, Coogler breathes new life into a decades-old franchise while also returning
to the original film’s authenticity. The movie’s most welcome surprise is Stallone’s
stunning, quietly devastating work as Rocky, worn down by loss in his twilight
years. I really want to see him take home that Best Supporting Actor statue.
Back
in May, I walked into this sci-fi thriller pouting because I wasn’t able to make
it to the Avengers: Age of Ultron screening. I walked out wild-eyed and exhilarated,
confident it would be on this list seven months later. Writer-director Alex
Garland crafts a dark tale that evokes Frankenstein and asks difficult questions
about the power of technology modern society’s deep-rooted misogyny. The ending
is a brilliant gut punch and marked the first of many times this year I would write
about the acting prowess of Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander.
Man, how great was 2015 for those three?
A
surprisingly hopeful movie considering its bleak subject matter, this drama
about a five-year-old boy (Jacob Tremblay in a stunning performance) who has
spent his entire life with his mother (Brie Larson, deserving of a Best Actress
Oscar) in a single cramped room could’ve been misery porn in the wrong hands.
Instead, Lenny Abrahamson’s direction and the central performances keep viewers
focused on the duo’s beautiful relationship as opposed to their horrific predicament.
Some complained that Room becomes a different movie after the first hour, but
the brutally tense transition between the two halves made me appreciate shift.
Even
at 70, George Miller maintains his youthful passion and energy for filmmaking.
After a too-long absence, he returned to his most iconic franchise and made one
of the greatest action movies of all time. Other movies are lucky to have a
single memorable stunt or car chase. Fury Road is packed wall-to-wall with
them, taking place in desert landscapes out of a madman’s nightmares. The
dialogue is sparse, but actors Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult
are able to convey entire paragraphs with facial expressions and body language.
I feel awful if you missed this on the big screen.
The
word “masterpiece” gets overused, but it certainly qualifies in the case of
Pixar’s look inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley. It might be the
best movie the beloved studio has ever made. The creative team, headed by co-directors
Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen, takes complex psychological concepts and simplifies
them through stunning animation and endearing characters that represent Riley’s
various personality traits. Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith deservedly reaped
most of the film’s critical praise, but the true MVP (and the reason your eyes
won’t stop leaking) is Richard Kind, who plays Riley’s childhood imaginary
friend Bing Bong.
Possibly
the greatest movie about journalism since All the President’s Men, this true
story about the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered decades of sexual and
spiritual abuse within the Catholic Church shows you can make a message movie
without being heavy-handed or moralizing. The screenplay (co-written by Josh
Singer and director Tom McCarthy) is packed with terrific dialogue, delivered by
incredible performers (including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams,
John Slattery, Liev Schreiber and Brian d’Arcy James) who excel at the less-is-more
style of acting. Ruffalo gets what is essentially the only “big speech” in the film,
but it feels earned because everything we’ve witnessed leads up to it. And, in
a shrewd move, the thing he’s fighting for turns out to be the wrong call. It’s
those kind choices that keep a movie full of familiar tropes from feeling tired
or cliché. It’s a heartbreaking story (particularly the end credits, which drew
gasps in my screening), but an important one told in compelling fashion.
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
Bridge of Spies
Finders Keepers
The
Hateful Eight
Love & Mercy
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Paddington
Sicario
Spy
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Steve Jobs
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