Top 10 Films of 2015

2015 was full of some fantastic films and while there are still plenty of well-received flicks that I have yet to see, these are the ten that had the greatest impact on me last year.






10. The Hateful Eight

Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino's eighth film (or ninth, depending on whether or not you want to count both 'Kill Bill' volumes as separate movies) continues to prove that Tarantino can do no wrong. While it's not his best film (not even his best western), 'The Hateful Eight' is a tremendous display of Tarantino's strengths; a great cast of characters, witty dialogue, terrific suspense and 70's "grindhouse" era violence. Yet the movie goes down some dark territory even by the director's standards and ends up being not only his most nihilistic, but undoubtedly his most political and downbeat.

Best Moment: Daisy singing 'Jim Jones at Botany Bay'

Best Performance: Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue

9. What We Do in the Shadows

This vampire mockumentary from New Zealand done in the same style as 'This is Spinal Tap' or 'Best in Show' is a treat for fans of horror and comedy alike. I've viewed it multiple times over the year and with each viewing I find it funnier and funnier. Instantly quotable, extremely bloody, wonderfully dry, but with a welcome amount of heart in its final act.

Best Performance: Everyone's great, but Jermaine Clement as Vladislav (or "Vlad the Poker") gets the biggest laughs.

Best moment: The opening ten minutes is comedic gold and sets up the film's tone wonderfully.

8. Crimson Peak

Guillermo Del Toro's tribute to the victorian horror films and gothic romances is an emotional, disturbing and extremely cool venture into darkness. Horribly received at the box office, 'Crimson Peak' seems to be picking up a cult following, much like that of Del Toro's other films and I know that within time this fantastic ghostly drama will receive the credit it so well deserves.

Best Performance: Jessica Chastain as Lucille Sharp

Best Moment: The brutal death by sink.

7. Spotlight

Tom McCarthy's film about the unraveling of the catholic church's sex abuse scandal is riveting. This dark subject matter is no easy task to capture on film. However, with a talented cast and a smart script, 'Spotlight' proves to be an engaging newsroom drama, leaving a lasting impression that won't soon fade away.

Best Performance: I'm cheating, but the entire ensemble is incredible.

Best Moment:  Due to the film's controversial subject matter, it's hard to enthusiastically choose a "Best" moment. However, the most effective moment is when both Mark Ruffalo's character and Rachel McAdams' character are separately interviewing different victims of the church's abuse. Some of the best acting you'll see all year and a true gut punch of a sequence.

6. Star Wars-Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Ever since 'Disney' acquired 'Lucasfilm' in fall of 2012, I've been anxiously awaiting the seventh installment in the 'Star Wars' franchise. It got me into movies and the original trilogy remains to be the most important in my life. While extremely high expectations do dampen things and the new installment is far from perfect, 'The Force Awakens' reminded me why I love 'Star Wars'. It's a film for everyone. It's exciting, nostalgic, emotional, operatic. The old blends terrifically with the new and it paves way for an incredible future in a galaxy far, far away....

Best Performance: Adam Driver as Kylo Ren

Best Moment: The film is full of great 'Star Wars' moments, but the final scene (which I won't dare spoil) has to take the cake.

5. Ex Machina

Much like last year's sci-fi film, 'Under the Skin', 'Ex Machina' uses its genre to explore the human condition. It's beautiful to look at thanks to great cinematography and masterful direction by Alex Garland (writer of '28 Days Later'). However, what the movie excels at is building up the tension between only three character throughout the majority of the film. Domhnall Gleeson's timid Caleb, Oscar Isaac's frighteningly eccentric Nathan and Alicia Vikander's beautiful and manipulative Ava. The movie is cold and slow moving, but always keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat and when the twists come (and there are plenty) it's truly surprising and masterfully orchestrated.

Best Performance: Oscar Isaac as Nathan

Best Moment: That weird disco scene.

4. Sicario

Far more than just a drug cartel film, 'Sicario' is a movie in which the line between good and evil is consistently blurred and makes you question if there's any true advantage in trying to be the good guy in a time of horror. As Benicio Del Toro's character says to Emily Blunt, "You're not a wolf and this is a land of wolves now." Beautifully shot, great central performances and an honest look at the negative effects of America's overblown war on drugs.

Best Performance: Benicio Del Toro as Alejandro

Best Moment: The final confrontation between Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro. Incredible dialogue and insurmountable tension.

3. Creed

'Creed' (directed by Ryan Coogler) is the perfect example of how to reinvigorate a classic franchise while making it fresh for a new generation. The film is the perfect continuation of the 'Rocky' story with a wonderful premise that perfectly combines the old with the new in a fashion that fits the perimeters story and in no way feels like needless fan service. The fights are expertly put together, the music cues are operatic, and the relationship between the aging Rocky Balboa and his former foe turned ally's son, Adonis Creed is a joy to watch blossom. As a Rocky fan, this was a real treat.

Best Performance: Sylvester Stallone returning as the same lovable, yet simultaneously different Rocky.

Best Moment: The incredible pre-fight training montage that gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. The back and forth between Adonis' training and Rocky's fight of a very different kind is masterful.

2. Inside Out

After a somewhat rocky couple of years for the studio, PIXAR finally comes back at the top of their game with a story all about a young girl's emotions and their turmoil when change occurs. This may be PIXAR's most mature film, which is saying a lot. The themes are so powerful that they can resonate with any viewer. It's an emotional roller coaster full of laughs, tears, shock. But in the end, it's all about one little girl, and when Riley breaks down in her parents' arms, it's impossible not to shed a tear or two yourself. A animated work of genius.

Best Performance: Amy Poehler as Joy

Best Moment: The moment in which Joy falls apart while holding onto Riley's memories in her arms. Such beautiful facial animation combined with Amy Poehler's incredible voice work and Michael Giachinno's heartbreaking score. 

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller's return to the dystopian world of Max Rockatansky is the greatest major studio film in years. The action is raw and kinetic, giving you a physicality that you don't see in a modern day CG heavy blockbuster. Cars continuously smash into one another, our main villain's fleet is led by a truck carrying an electric guitar player with flames shooting out the neck of his instrument, and the villainous war boys spray silver chrome on their teeth before sacrificing themselves in the heat of battle. However, within all this incredible madness there is the relationship between Tom Hardy's Max and Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa (who's already become a feminist icon). While many may say 'Fury Road' is nothing more than a two hour chase movie, the connection between these two and Furiosa's devotion to getting a group of young women to safety has an immense amount of dramatic heft to it. It's a movie that makes you feel so much and in which you can't deny the passion of the people behind it. In a time where most of these kinds of movies feel like they've been put together by a committee, 'Fury Road' ends up being one of the most exciting and important films in years.

Best Performance: Charlize Theron as the incredibly badass Imperator Furiosa

Best Moment: The final chase sequence is one of the greatest action sequences ever conceived on film. 

Honorable Mentions

*The Martian

*The Revenant

*Beasts of No Nation

*Cinderella

*It Follows

List by:

Josh McCormack