No, of course it isn’t spoiler free!
I just finished seeing my first movie of 2016, Point Break. Granted it was released in December of 2015, I waited until just now to see it. It was a severe cross between The Fast & The Furious and Italian Job. But it made me think back to how huge of a year 2015 was for movies; particularly reboots, like Point Break. Once I got to thinking about it, I realized it might have been the best year for movies since I was born. I narrowed down my list to the films that I truly enjoyed and wound up with 24 films. Then I spent a bit more time determining which movies ended up in my top 10 for 2015.
10: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
The Maze Runner trilogy reminds me a lot of the Divergent trilogy, which reminds me a lot of the Hunger Games trilogy. I’ve only ever read the Hunger Games trilogy of books, but when it comes to the movies, none of the movies could compare to the Maze Runner films (sorry Jennifer Lawrence, I still love you). Scorch Trials was a lot like Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It made me angry for the characters. And when a movie can tug at my heartstrings it’s doing something right. It had all the different elements from comedy, to drama to action. It could have easily landed higher on this list.
9: Bridge of Spies
I realized the Berlin Wall makes this list twice… and this one was for a far more dramatic reason. As he tends to do, Tom Hanks absolutely dazzled in his role as James Donovan, the lawyer recruited by the CIA to oversee a hostage exchange in the height of the Cold War. The movie did a great job of putting you into the era, especially for my having never experienced that era. For as great as Hanks was though, the shining star that made this movie was the performance of Mark Rylance as Russian spy Rudolf Abel. If I had it my way, he’d be an Oscar winner.
8. Jurassic World
Talk about reboots. Aside from Star Wars, there was no movie I anticipated more than this one. And one thing I learned from 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt is wildly enjoyable. He didn’t disappoint in this reboot of the great films that I grew up watching. CGI continues to improve and it definitely adds to the aura of this movie. I was a little disappointed in the amount of slapstick humor in the film, until I re-watched Jurassic Park and realized that the whole point of the franchise is to not take itself too seriously, and Jurassic World does a good job of being an enjoyable and picking up where Jurassic Park III left off.
7. Ant-Man
Two Marvel films came out this year, and I was only excited for one of them. I thought Ant-Man looked like the most ridiculous movie of the year and that it would be the beginning of the end of Marvel movies. Instead, it was easily more enjoyable to me than the second Avengers film. It felt like a unique tale that really separated itself from the genre that Marvel films have created, and Paul Rudd does a terrific job filling the lead. But ever since his emergence in the movie Shooter, Michael Peña has been one of my favorite actors. Between this and The Martian, I definitely saw the best of him this year.
6. Furious 7
I think about three months ago this movie was my number one. I idolized Paul Walker growing up. Ever since I saw the original Fast & Furious movie, I wanted to be Brian Spilner, the typical white boy. My infatuation for the franchise even led me to buy a Japanese sports car when I turned 16. Watching one of my favorite Hollywood figures die was absolutely devastating, but there was no better send off to one of the industry’s greats than what Furious 7 did. It was entertaining, somehow managed to be even more ridiculously improbable than the previous one and absolutely took you through a roller coaster of emotions. I don’t think I’ve felt as emotional at the end of a movie since Marley & Me.
5. American Sniper
I wanted this movie to be higher. It is easily one of the top 5 war movies of all time (if you can even call it that). The movie follows the life of the most prolific sniper in American military history, Chris Kyle. The thing that disappointed me was that the movie took several liberties with the book and took away from the heart wrenching true story of Chris Kyle. To this day I have never seen somebody portray a real-life person better than Bradley Cooper portrayed Chris Kyle. His stepped into his shoes and time and again throughout the film I felt like I was watching Chris Kyle play himself. Bradley Cooper got absolutely robbed by the Academy. He was the best actor in the best role of 2015 and there is nothing that was even within the realm of comparison. Despite the controversies that surround the legacy of Chris Kyle, this story did wonders for depicting a real American hero while also not shying away from the realities of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the psychological consequences of war. This was one of three films that I gave a 10/10 rating to in 2015.
*For the record, the expanded release of American Sniper was in January of 2015, which is why I’m counting it as a 2015 film.
4. Creed
Not everybody is going to agree with my choices, and that’s fine. Because my choices are just that. Mine. Creed was an absolutely dazzling film. No matter when or where I’m exercising, Eye of the Tiger is always on my workout list. I’m convinced that it’s only because of the montage from the original Rocky film. You can say what you want about the sequels, but Creed starts anew, and does so with a bang. The Rocky franchise has always set the precedence for boxing movies, and we haven’t had a good boxing movie since Real Steel… and that wasn’t even human boxing.
There are two men who deserve Oscar nominations for their work in Creed. Michael B. Jordan embraces the role of Adonis Creed in stunning fashion. From the moment we first see him winning a fight in a bar in Mexico to the highly predictable finale, Jordan commands the screen with an emotional and believable performance. Meanwhile the seemingly ageless Sylvester Stallone turns in a role that tops even Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies for performance by a supporting actor. Stallone isn’t young and spry enough to return to the ring for another go, but he brings emotion and heart to the mentorship role he takes on within the film. He does a terrific job of playing the walking heartbreak role and in a year full of reboots, Stallone helps Creed to become perhaps the best of them all.
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I’ve never anticipated a film more in my entire life than I did this one. And the one thing I’ve learned about immense anticipation is that it leads to disappointment, which leads to a lot of other things and then eventually the dark side. The first time I saw this movie I focused a little too much on the issues I had with it (I don’t care how you shape it up or sell it to me, killing Han Solo is unacceptable). When I walked out of the theatre the first time I saw it I decided I’d rather see Jar Jar Binks in every single future Star Wars movie than to see Han Solo die again. The second time I saw the movie, I quickly recanted my statement.
The Force Awakens was good in so many ways. It was a perfectly cast film, it was a terrific fan service and most importantly, it felt like the originals. I’m one of the die hard Star Wars fans that doesn’t hate the prequel films, but there is something about the bar scene in Mos Eisley and the Sarlacc Pit that makes the original trilogies classic. When I saw a random desert creature give BB-8 the stare down at night when he was rolling through, I knew this film was in touch with its predecessors. John Boyega does a tremendous job as Finn. He truly plays the role of every common person, were they to be transported into the world of Star Wars. For the first time, Star Wars gives us a character that we truly can relate to on boring old earth and Boyega plays it to the tee. Daisy Ridley has replaced Jennifer Lawrence as the heartthrob of America and quickly becomes the greatest female protagonist of any movie in recent memory. Overall, this film does not disappoint, after all, just look at the box office records. My only complaint is that Kylo Ren needs to keep his mask on a lot more than he did.
2. The Martian
I picked up a copy of The Martian at a bookstore in the airport on my way out of town for a weekend in Disneyland. It was like reading a book in another language. The science and space jargon made me really worried for what the film might be like, but the most flawless cast I’ve ever seen brings this generation’s Outcast to life in such a way that even the classics like 2001 A Space Odyssey mean absolutely nothing now.
The film is, perhaps surprisingly, scientifically plausible… once it gets past the completely improbable storm that forces the crew to abandon the planet and strand Mark Watney on Mars. The supporting cast does a tremendous job, and there wasn’t a single second when my emotions weren’t being tugged. I was either laughing or biting my nails from the opening scene to the end credits. Having been unable to struggle my way through the book in a single weekend I went into the film with no forewarning about the outcome, and I believed several times that Mark Watney was either destined to die, or try to kill and hijack the Hermes when they came to rescue him, a la his character in Interstellar.
One thing about movies that really drags me in is their ability to produce lines that I’ll be repeating for a good long while. Whether I’m telling my friends that “Rich Parnell is a steely eyed missile man,” or I’m having a stressful day and just have to sit back, sigh and utter a “F**k you, Mars” the film provides an endless amount of slapstick moments and hilarious pop culture references. It’s not hard to call this Matt Damon’s best performance as an actor; an impressive nod for a man who has starred in films like Good Will Hunting, The Departed and Saving Private Ryan. Ultimately… Mark Watney… space pirate.
1. The Man From U.N.C.L.E
Of all the reboots that took center stage in 2015, none was more complete, more unique and more enjoyable than The Man From U.N.C.L.E. I’ve always been a sucker for spy movies, and in a year where I was immensely disappointed by a couple spy flicks (Spectre and Kingsman) The Man From U.N.C.L.E not only exceeded my expectations but it quickly became one of my favorite movies of all time. I had only ever seen Armie Hammer in the Social Network and Henry Cavill in Superman. Both of them were phenomenal. The onscreen chemistry between the two leads was palpable and drove the humor and the drama in an unprecedented way.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E finds the perfect line between action, drama and comedy. Nothing shows this better than the continual opening car chase. With Henry Cavill and Alicia Vikander escaping from Armie Hammer, the movie sets the tone for the dramatic and yet comedic adventure that you’re taken on. It was a tough year for movies to find their own original feel and set themselves apart from others, but no movie accomplishes this the way that The Man From U.N.C.L.E does. If you haven’t seen it, you absolutely MUST.
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