Top Five Movies of 2015

by: Anthony Zangrillo

 

As an owner of motionpictureclubs.com, I have the opportunity to see a lot of movies each year. The following is my Top Five movies from this year’s strong outing at the theaters! Make sure you get a chance to see these films before they fall into your backlog abyss. (Author’s Note: I have not seen some films that came out towards the very end of 2015, so I may update the list after watching The Revenant)

 

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Black Mass

Johnny Depp wows audiences with his portrayal of the small time gangster, who starts a crime empire in the streets of Boston with a little help from the FBI. The film really tackles the irony in Whitey’s informant position, while constantly keeping audiences in a state of amusing terror.

 

Jurassic World

Nostalgia fueled the interest in this reboot/sequel, which introduced the imposing Indominous Rex, while transforming the raptors and the T-Rex into “the good guys.” Colin Trevorrow, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard bring enough realism to this dangerous theme park to bring back the old Jurassic Park mojo.

 

Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller directs a symphony of practical effects to further immerse audiences in his mad world. Tom Hardy fully captures the reluctant hero theme of Max, letting audiences live vicariously through his misadventures. Charlize Theron also shines as the lead female protagonist. Finally, how can anyone forget about the Doof Warrior and his flaming guitar.

 

Spotlight

Sporting a star-studded cast of Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Liev Schrieber, Spotlight explores the Boston Globe’s coverage of the sex scandals within the Catholic Churches of Boston. As the conspiracy unravels, audiences will be shocked at the great lengths that the Church took to cover up this chain of awful events. Following unintimidated reporters that grew up within the Church adds another layer of complexity to the story. My favorite scenes involved Ruffalo and the eccentric lawyer (Stanley Tucci) bringing a class action suit against the church. When Ruffalo’s character discovers the sinuous trail of the Church’s sinister cover-up, Ruffalo flexes some of his more dramatic acting muscles. While some of the detective elements may drag for viewers, overall, this is a movie everyone should see (preferably before attending your next mass on Sunday).

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

J.J. Abrams takes over the Star Wars franchise in A New Hope for A New Generation. While the film mimics its predecessors to its own detriment, when the movie establishes its own footing within the universe, it reaches the heights of the original trilogy. Furthermore, J. J. has laid the groundwork for an intriguing trilogy populated with diverse stories and complex characters.

 

Top Five:

 

5. Hateful Eight

 

Quentin Tarantino’s Eighth Film revisits the western genre to depict a minimalist, self-contained story, focused on character interactions rather than over the top violence. While certain elements essential to Tarantino’s style emanate throughout the entire film, most of the pulp action takes a back seat for a more subdued first half. This creative decision greatly enhances the story of the film, resulting in a composite of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Django Unchained. Every single character is interesting and mysterious constantly keeping audiences guessing about the true intentions of all of the on screen portrayals. While the actual twist may disappoint some viewers, the narrative devices still make the film a Tarantino classic.  My favorite parts involved the opening scenes between Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell. These dialogue intensive sequences immersed me in Tarantino’s world, as questions began to whirl in my head, surrounding these two complex characters.

 

4. Creed

 

When I first heard of this film, I liked the idea of continuing the storied franchise of the Rocky series, but disregarded it as another derivative of the tried and true underdog boxing tale. Yet somehow, director Ryan Coogler seamlessly mixes the classic elements of the franchise with this new film’s own unique voice to craft a boxing masterpiece. So many times Coogler takes something familiar to Rocky fans and provides just enough of a twist to keep audiences enthralled in Mr. Hollywood’s trials. Michael B. Jordan fully redeems himself for his less than super Fantastic Four role. Jordan takes audiences on an emotional journey originating from a very complex background. While the love story in the film feels a little forced, the real surprise of this movie is Sylvester Stallone’s performance. Sly brings a new dynamic to the legendary Rocky. Watching Rocky shuffle through life as all his friends and family have left him behind is rather depressing. As the Creed offspring shows up in Rocky’s hometown, Rocky gets a wake-up-call, faces his own dilemmas, and joins Team Creed. My favorite scene takes place before the final round of the main event match. In its penultimate phase, the film takes a creative approach in summarizing all the events of Creed’s life, while preparing audiences to fully understand why Creed has chosen a boxing career.

 

3. The Martian

 

The highly anticipated film adaptation of the popular book soared into outer space this year. Matt Damon brings an interesting balance of carefree optimism and solemn terror to the botanist/astronaut/space pirate Mark Watney. Surprisingly, Ridley Scott directed one of the funniest blockbusters of the year. The opening scene is a visual extravaganza as Scott portrays a severe dust storm on the surface of Mars. The simple stranded alive premise becomes intriguingly fascinating as the movie progresses. With a will to survive, Watney utilizes every tool at his disposal to make his way back home. Jeff Daniels, Chitwetel Ejofor, Kriten Wiig, and Sean Bean provide an interesting storyline from NASA’s perspective. Unfortunately, some of Watney’s fellow astronauts that left him behind don’t receive enough screen time, but Jessica Chastain puts in a good performance as the guilt-ridden captain. The ending is somewhat unbelievable, but audiences will suspend disbelief after the cavalier performance of Damon.

 

2. Bridge of Spies

Steven Spielberg engineers a suspenseful legal thriller that morphs into a high stakes prisoner exchange between countries during the Cold War. With Tom Hanks as the brave James Donovan, Spielberg crafted an exciting true story without resorting to unbelievable theatrics. Every scene has a basis of truth from disgruntled citizens attacking Donovan’s home, an astonishing military jet crash, and the hostile conditions present in East Germany. Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance have great chemistry, and audiences will miss Rylance when he drops out of the film for an extended period of time. Furthermore, elements of Spielberg’s cinematic tricks run through the film. Undoubtedly, there is a rhyming poetry that elevates Donovan’s hero tale. The power combo of Spielberg and Hanks unleash another great entry in their storied partnership. While biased as a law student myself, my favorite scene involved the bulldog negotiator establishing himself as a master of his trade in an insurance settlement negotiation. The real strength of this film involves its ability to humanize the reluctant spy in the tradition of Spielberg films.

 

1. The Big Short

The comedy/drama/documentary that chronicles the reason for the fall of the global economy in 2008 is both extremely entertaining and informative. Adam McKay directs this sardonic film, featuring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and Brad Pitt. Every one of our protagonists bring their own unique perspective to the crisis, helping audiences understand their decision to bet against the market’s success.  It’s weird to find audiences rooting for the impending global crisis, in order for our protagonists to succeed in their risky endeavor. While Pitt and other characters show their frustration with the economy at the time, McKay smartly blends real life pictures of struggling families to keep the stakes of the doomsday bet ever present. Carell shines as the eccentric Mark Baum. At first, it appears that the architect Michael Burry (Christian Bale) is our main protagonist but it is obvious that the true subject of this film is Baum. Carell dominates every one of his scenes, slowly peeling back each layer of the complex character. Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) easily aides the audience through the story with helpful narration that simplifies some of the more “complex” business terms (with the help of a few celebrity cameos). My favorite scene may involve Baum’s attempt to keep his cool, while conversing with one of the awful architects of the synthetic CDOs (don’t worry the movie will explain what that means with the aid of the game Jenga).

 

What were your favorite movies this year? Let us know in the comments!