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NeoGaf Movies of the Year 2015 Voting Thread - Voting Ends 2/24/16

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1. Mad Max: Fury Road: A masterpiece of kinetic filmmaking. Clock-like precision masquerading as a chaotic heavy metal orchestra about to come off the rails. Incredible stuntwork, production design, and cinematography. A pounding, rousing, and memorable score. Terrific performances. Amazing editing. This is a great movie. Not just a great blockbuster, not just a great action movie- it's a great movie, period, which is just about the highest compliment I can offer an action blockbuster.

2. Blackhat: While Michael Mann has fallen out of favor with... well, most everyone, nobody makes movies like this guy and I just can't shake the stannery, nor do I want to. Lively, gorgeous and ghostly uber-digital cinematography serve to present a stylized reality where characters, events, and environments are more concept/metaphor than believable plot device. It's the most obviously flawed entry in my top 10, but I can't name another movie I went back to as much in 2015, if only to swim in that moody, electric undercurrent of Mann's work which still hasn't waned.

3. Mistress America: I knew I'd enjoy this, didn't think I was going to love it. A genuinely hilarious rapid-fire screwball comedy with a lot of heart and a fantastic cast. So good.

4. Anomalisa: Stop-motion dedication to ennui and detachment. Beautiful animation, naturalistic and funny performances, low-key surreal atmosphere.

5. Victoria: Filmed entirely in one ~2h20m take, this is simply an engaging sensory experience. Somewhat stilted and kind of implausible, it still delivers as a thriller by lulling you into a trance through its music and visuals before using the camerawork to thrust you into increasingly claustrophobic and tense scenarios.

6. What We Do In The Shadows: Some of the best comedic timing in both the performances and editing of the last few years. SO MANY funny scenes and smart takes on awkward vampires trying to fit into today's society.

7. The Big Short: Manages to translate the hilariously convoluted, and inept actions leading up to and during the 2008 financial crisis into an economic and cultural time capsule that's witty, informative, and infuriating in equal doses. Adam McKay surprised me on this one showcasing some solid dramatic directorial chops (albeit, not without spicing up a potentially dry story through periodic 4th wall breaks). Very good ensemble with Carell and Bale stealing the show.

8. Carol: A beautiful and sensual snowglobe romance.

9. Spotlight: Very, very solid look at obsessive and tense investigative journalism that's occasionally but not consistently outstanding. Propels itself out of the Oscar bait pool through its subdued and laser focused presentation that lets you see the rage, disgust, embarrassment, and general ugliness through the cracks. Contender for most chilling pre-end credits insert of the year.

10. Inside Out: Pixar does Pixar. Yep, when they're on, they're still great. The only reason it's not a bit higher is because it lost a little something on a rewatch.

Might change before the deadline. Youth and Brooklyn are right on Inside Out and Spotlight's heels.
 
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. The Big Short
3. Inside Out
4. The Hateful Eight
5. The Revenant
6. The End of the Tour
7. Sicario
8. Macbeth
9. Ex Machina
10. The Martian

HM to Love & Mercy, Tangerine, Brooklyn, and Straight Outta Compton. My top ten was really hard to make this year, and all these movies are worth seeing.
 

Borgnine

MBA in pussy licensing and rights management
1. The Duke Of Burgundy
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Macbeth
4. Spotlight
5. The Big Short
6. The Hateful Eight
7. Anomalisa
8. Chi-Raq
9. Bone Tomahawk
10. Sicario
 
Okay probably not going to get a chance to see Creed or Revenant in cinemas thanks to my friends being workaholics :( so I think this is it. Tempted to buy one of those all-day cinema passes and marathon those two and the Big Short by myself, will see....

1. Max Max: Fury Road
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. The Hateful Eight
4. Ex Machina
5. Inside Out
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
7. Ant-Man
8. The Martian
9. Jurassic World
10. Spectre

Overall though there was a lot of films I really liked that I struggle to rank over one another. However nothing blew me away like Whiplash, Guardians of the Galaxy and Interstellar did the year before.
 

Ratrat

Member
1.
bOOQ8JX.jpg

I'll have to think on the rest.
 

tolkir

Member
Right now:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Beasts of No Nation
3. Sicario
4. Bridge of Spies
5. A Perfect Day
6. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
7. Inside Out
8. Straight Outta Compton
9. Fast & Furious 7
10. Ex Machina

I haven't seen yet:
- The Revenant
- Star Wars. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- The Hateful Eight
- Son of Saul
- Spotlight
- Creed
- Macbeth
- The Club
 

iuxion

Member
Favorites

1. Mad Max
2. The Peanuts Movie
3. Beasts of No Nation
4. Inside Out
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Biggest Disappointments

1. Trainwreck
2. The Hateful Eight

Still Need to See
1. Anamolisa
2. Sicario
3. The Martian
4. The Assassin
5. Bridge of Spies
6. Creed
7. Spotlight
 

JSR_Cube

Member
1. The Hateful Eight
2. The Big Short
3. The Revenant
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. The Martian
6. Ex Machina
7. The Lobster
8. Beasts of No Nation
9. What We Do in the Shadows
10. Creed

I've not seen a couple still.. Room, Carol, and the Danish Girl but I'm thinking that these will still be out of my top ten.
 

Kazaam

Member
1. No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman)

Probably the most ravishing experience I've ever had in a cinema. I had the huge luck and blessing of meeting Chantal Akerman, the extraordinary person and artist behind No Home Movie (and a monumental filmmaker that in my opinion is in many ways the mother of modern European Cinema), in August at the Locarno Film Festival where she premiered this film. Before the film she stood there on the stage, sad and fragile, barely managing to speak, overwhelmed with emotion, trying to explain to us almost like excusing herself, how much her (relationship with her) mother meant to her. Her mother died a year before and the film captures the last moments of their relationship. It is a film that seems to portray not only the mother and their relationship, but even more the vast emptiness left behind by her death, a void too big to be ever filled again. For Chantal Akerman, "mother" shared the same meaning with "home" and with her mother's disappearance so did the home, thus.. No Home Movie.
Less than 2 months after seeing this film and meeting her, I read the news, heartbroken that Chantal Akerman passed away. Sadly, after meeting her and seeing her film back in August, this news didn't shock me. Walking through the Ambika P3 Gallery in November, staring at the Chantal Akerman Now exhibition, I couldn't get out of my mind the image of that sad and fragile little lady who looked as if she drained all her life and energy in her last film. Looking back now, the ending of No Home Movie seems not only to speak about the emptiness left by a mother's death in the life of an artist, but also about the vast emptiness left in Cinema by the disappearance of the great Chantal Akerman.


2. The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-Hsien)

As a huge admirer of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's work (and Taiwanese Cinema in general with emphasis on the "holy trinity": Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Tsai Ming-Liang and Edward Yang) I was both extremely excited and extremely worried when I first heard the filmmaker will direct his first wuxia film. While I enjoyed recent (or lets call them modern) wuxia epics, none really went beyond or even matched the class of King Hu's filmography. Many have tried, but in my opinion none have succeeded and knowing the importance of King Hu in Taiwanese Cinema and his huge influence on Taiwanese directors (as we can clearly see in Tsai Ming-liang's Goodbye Dragon Inn or Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), I wanted to see if Hou Hsiao-Hsien's film would be up to the task. Were my expectations met? They were (more than) surpassed. There are Hu influences in the film and the same obsessiveness towards authenticity is there, but The Assassin's strengths lie in the differences to the point of being at the exact opposite of Hu's wuxia epics. The poetry and mundanity of an every day life of a character in a wuxia film and still keeping underneath all that calm surface, tremendous energy. A truly perfect film for which I cannot personally criticise, but only be hypnotised. A martial arts film without martial arts and to quote the director a love story without love. "Love is always with obstacles, love is not what we imagine. If love was easy, then there would be neither literature nor drama—nor cinema."
Also... some of the best cinematography out there.


3. Lost and Beautiful (Pietro Marcello)

Each year there is a film that takes me completely by surprise and makes me say "I've never seen anything like this before", and I've seen a lot of films. That's exactly how I felt in 2014 at Cannes Film Festival at the premiere of The Tribe. Surrounded by amazing films and amazing filmmakers, there it was, this film by a director I've never heard of before (funnily enough I had seen a short film by him before but it definitely didn't ring the bell at that time) that totally blew me away. Well, in 2015 the same thing happened with Lost and Beautiful (or Bella e perduta), a film by Pietro Marcello, a documentary director whose previous films I've enjoyed before, but did not prepare me for this amazing film. It combines documentary and fiction in a way I've never thought it was possible. I don't wanna say too much about it. Hell, I don't even think I would know how or what. It is such a beautiful and unique film that I think should definitely be experienced first hand. Unfortunately, out of all the films in this list, this will probably be the least advertised or shown anywhere… so I'm urging you, please go and watch this film if by any chance there's a screening around you (which unfortunately is HIGHLY UNLIKELY as the film was even taken out of theatres in its second week in Italy - it's origin country) or if you find it anywhere on the internet (don't worry, the director is known to support this practice, but obviously if there's any other alternative - cinema, dvd, bluray, etc. please support the film)!
- I don't know if I'm allowed to post links here as I would've liked to leave a link to a clip of the film, just to entice people a bit -


4. Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman)

Charlie Kaufman is one of the most interesting modern American filmmakers. He is known mainly as a writer that plays with bizarre ideas, turns conventions upside down and pokes fun at audience in unexpected ways; basically a writer that uses/hides behind gimmicks. Yet Charlie Kaufman is a very unique case because beyond all these gimmicks, he manages to reach and explore the complicated simplicity of human life (despite the intricate nature of his stories). If Charlie Kaufman would be anybody else but Charlie Kaufman, I think he would be just a gimmicky, uninteresting, trying-way-to-hard and full of recycled platitudes filmmaker (I'm looking at you Jonze). Back in 2008, Kaufman had his directorial debut with his absolutely brilliant but flawed Synecdoche, New York, an amazing film held back only by its overzealous editing. But since then, nothing.. just a few rumours here and there. Until Anomalisa came as Charlie Kaufman's second film… and what a beautiful film it is. A normal drama, especially by Kaufman standards, that follows Michael a business writer with a definite and serious ego and commitment problem (and a touch of self indulgence) and his relationship with the world (I don't wanna spoil too much). It is at times a gentle and at times a caustic examination of human connection and the need for it. Lisa and Michael getting to know one another in his hotel room is definitely one of my favourite scenes from any film of last year. Charlie Kaufman once again successfully dived in the mysterious core of what makes us human. An animation that was wittily named "the most human movie of the year".


5. Cemetery of Splendor (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

It is always difficult to properly pin down Apichatpong's cinema into words. Add to that the divisive reactions to his films and some political controversy and a lot of people might be put off from watching his filmography. However, the serene and mysterious worlds of his films always situated between dream and waking life can lure you and reveal powerful examinations of memory, past, human connections and relativity. So is the case with Cemetery of Splendor, his first proper feature film after his Palme d'Or winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. But with this new film I think the director reached a point where the calm and stillness blur the line even further (to the point of being indistinguishable) between spirits, deities, mysticism and ordinary reality. The film feels a bit like a follow-up to his 2006 film, Syndromes and a Century. A group of soldiers who are ordered to dig up a building site for the government fall ill with a mysterious sleeping sickness and they start being cared for at a temporary hospital. The film centres on Jenjira, a lonely volunteer at said hospital. Though his films seems to resemble the style of the monumental master-shot made famous by the likes of previously mentioned Hou Hsiou-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, Weerasethakul adds a certain openness and gentle serenity that strongly personalises his work. Cemetery of Splendor lacks some of the exhilaration of the director's greatest work, but it is a film of subtle beauty and humble love, humour and powerful but quiet emotion.


6. Carol (Todd Haynes)

When I went into the cinema to watch this film I was expecting Far from Heaven 2, another Douglas Sirk wanna-be 1950s melodrama. I've read The Price of Salt some time ago and it all sort of played out in my head already, seeing how Todd Haynes might steer the ship into that direction. The film however takes the expected style of Douglas Sirk and turns it unto its head, inverting the overbearing Sirkian paradigm. It achieves a sort of naturalism rarely seen in a film about that period, without the intention of being a cinema verite and raw powerhouse. In many ways the film works like a time machine, with a beautiful opening shot of extraordinary transportive quality, doing a spellbinding job in placing the audience into another era (more so than most bullshit attempts I see in modern Hollywood films). The cinematography is beautiful but bold and not at all academic as I initially thought.. and it did surprise me several times. It's Edward Hopper translated to film without overdoing it. Sometimes I felt like I was grabbing and leafing through a Life magazine from the 1950s. Powerful performances, yet restrained from both Blanchett and Mara. And the music, another unexpected and interesting take with a minimalist sound in the style of Philip Glass / Michael Nyman creating a strange and eerie sound for a 1950s
period.


7. Hard to be a God (Aleksei German)

In most trailers and posters I've seen, this film is advertised with the fact that it's "based on the acclaimed science fiction novel by the Strugatsky brothers", clarifying immediately who the Strugatsky brothers are, "authors of the source novel for Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker". Leaving aside the fact that if you know Tarkovsky's Stalker you most likely know who the Strugatsky brothers are and if you know the Strugatsky brothers you most likely know that one of their most famous novels is Hard to be a God.. I find it both funny and sad that an art house film from a late art house Russian director (not overly known, but enough) who passed away just before the film was finished needs to be pushed by this kind of faux-advertising to mainly art house viewers. Not to mention how misleading it is as the film is nothing and I mean NOTHING like Tarkovsky's Stalker (just random name-dropping when the film's own director has a huge value and importance in the Russian cinema). It is however one of the most astounding technical and cinematic achievements done in the past few years. It breathes a world like no other film does, but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. It's a bleak, apocalyptic, chaotic and disorienting film set in an archaic world portrayed by stunning cinematography that embraces the grotesque. It sometimes makes Bela Tarr feel like a light Sunday TV movie (in terms of bleakness, because in terms of artistry very few can match the great and amazing Bela Tarr). Definitely a film not recommended for kids or the faint hearted.


8. El Club (Pablo Larrain)


In the beginning of last year, Pablo Larrain's ("No") most recent film, El Club won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Reminding of Spotlight subject wise, but way different in tone and artistry, the film tells the dark tale of a secret house in a small Chilean beach town where disgraced Catholic priests are hidden from the eyes of the world. It is a film that sometimes breaks through it's dark comedy status and becomes simply a brutal view of well known situations that nobody seem to (want to) do anything about. It's about impunity and the fact that the Church believes its members can only be judged by God. In the words of the director, "it's not that the Church is afraid to admit to these things because of jail or that they'll get into Hell, it only fears the Press". Like an image and mass media paranoia. The director makes clear that he believes Vatican's PR department is right now as important as the Pope himself. Expressing his view that the Catholic Church is an almost impossible to separate attribute of daily life in South America, Pablo Larrain tries to trigger alarms even when the rest tell him it won't change anything. In fact there is a very important and often overlooked character in the film - the silent village, that never says anything as if too embarrassed to get involved. Maybe the silent village is us, and not only do we not ask for justice to be made, but we're not looking or want to know the truth either or think it simply won't change anything.


9. Mia Madre (Nanni Moretti)


I should've switched the last two films (Mia Madre and Right Now Wrong Then) for the sake of symmetry. Since the first film on my list is No Home Movie in which Chantal Akerman captures her mother's last moments and the inability to cope with her loss, here we have Nanni Moretti's last film which focuses on a film director struggling with a shoot while her mother dies in the hospital (Nanni Moretti's own mother died while he was working on Habemus Papam). The dangers of trying to transpose these things in a fiction film are those of self absorption and self indulgence. But Moretti's hand is soft and balanced. His structural principle is not about adding more and more pressure to his character pushing her (and the audience) to her breaking point. The director is a master of deflation, of diversion from your obvious-dramatic path.


10. Right Now, Wrong Then (Hong Sang Soo)


Right Now, Wrong Then won last year's big award at the Locarno Film Festival. I personally don't think it deserved it (obviously since I have in this very list a few films that were in the same competition as Hong Sang-soo's last film), but that doesn't mean it isn't a great film… and the director's time to win the big award was long overdue. In many ways his films remind me of Woody Allen's films… and one way is that they are different from each other, but at the same time they're extremely similar. And there's a saying that if you hate one Woody Allen film you most likely will hate all of them (at least this saying worked for Woody Allen's older films), which probably applies very well to Hong Sang-soo's recent filmography. This film is actually so familiar to Hong Sang-soo's opera that sometimes it feels like he plagiarises or satirises himself. Reminding of (actually of all his films, but mostly of) Our Sunhi, the film presents two variations of a romantic outcome between an artist and an acclaimed filmmaker (probably the most generic Hong Sang-soo description ever made). The film reminds me a bit of (a much better version of) Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda.


Special mention: Neon Bull (Gabriel Mascaro)
 

Divius

Member
Interesting list, Kazaam. Couple of those were on my radar but others I had never even heard of. Some of them look quite interesting, so thanks for bringing them to my attention :)
 

Kazaam

Member
Interesting list, Kazaam. Couple of those were on my radar but others I had never even heard of. Some of them look quite interesting, so thanks for bringing them to my attention :)

My pleasure! Always happy to bring awareness to some lesser known films and directors. It is a pity that some (like for example Lost and Beautiful) will most likely be buried distribution wise. Hopefully they'll at least emerge a few years later.
 

Parch

Member
1 The Martian
2 Mad Max
3 Ant Man
4 Avengers Age of Ultron
5 Kingsman
6 Star Wars VII
7 Bone Tomahawk
8 Furious 7
9 Terminator Genesis
10 Inside Out

Pretty much my popcorn flick list, but I also liked some of the oscar movies who have some really good acting and direction like Room, Danish Girl, Beasts of No Nation, Big Short, Sicario, and Bridge of Spies. My list of good oscar worthy movies would be significantly different from my list of most entertaining movies.
 

Strax

Member
Shocking not seeing Rams, the best non-english film of the year, on any lists

I'll post mine here on the 23rd :)

1. Inside Out
2. Spotlight
3. Rams
4. Victoria
5. Trumbo
6. Creed
7. Straight outta Compton
8. Focus
9. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
10. Spectre
 
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Ex Machina
3. Sicario
4. The Big Short
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
6. The Revenant

A lot of stuff still to see: Spotlight, Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, MacBeth and Anomalisa. A lot of stuff that I did see and liked a lot but don't feel comfortable putting on a best of list: Bridge of Spies, The Martian, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and 13 Hours.
 

Speevy

Banned
1) The Revenant
2) Mad Max Fury Road
3) Brooklyn
4) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5) Room
6) Sicario
7) Macbeth
8) Creed
9) The Martian
10) Ex Machina

This is the order I thought of them. They're not really ranked.
 
Just to get my vote in:

1. Queen of Earth
2. It Follows
3. Ex Machina
4. Anomalisa
5. Tangerine
6. End of the Tour
7. Sicario
8. Mistress America
9. Slow West
10. White God
 

Ikon

Member
1. The Martian
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Spectre
4. Ex Machina
5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
6. Blackhat
7. Avengers: Age of Ultron
8. Ant-Man
 

boingball

Member
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. The Martian
3. Beasts of No Nation
4. Ant-Man
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service
6. Sicario
7. Spy
8. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
9. What We Do in the Shadows
10. The Hateful Eight
 

Osahi

Member
1. Son of Saul (saul fia)
2. Inside out
3. Carol
4. Mad Max: fury road
5. Wild Tales (relatos sevajes)
6. Whiplash
7. The dissapearance of eleanor rigby
8. Turist
9. Amy
10. Star Wars The Force Awakens

All came out in 2015 in Belgium, except Carol which I saw in 2015 on the Ghent Film Fest
 

whoszed

Member
1. Mad Max Fury Road
The only movie I've rated 9/10 of this year's offerings on IMDb. A movie that knows exactly what it wants to do, and executes on it almost flawlessly.

2. Inside Out

A really smart movie, taking a concept that seems quite simple but using it in some really effective ways.

3. Jurassic World
I have no special affection for Jurassic Park and perhaps that is precisely why this movie surprised me.

4. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Kylo Ren and Snoke were duds. Other than that, a solid movie, if not eerily familiar.

5. Ex Machina
Bleak and hard to stomach, but fascinating.

6. Sicario
Too sparsely reaches the intensity of its pulsating soundtrack but the moments when it does are really something.

7. Slow West

It's a weird little trip, one worth taking if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. Absolutely beautiful, too. It has a serene atmosphere that is surprisingly hard to pull off without losing the viewer's attention.

8. Spy
Funniest movie of the year.

9. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Not sure I remember anything about this movie, except that I enjoyed it. And that there may have been a city floating in the sky? Or was that in another superhero movie, it's all a blur at this point.

10. The Martian
I kinda see why this was labeled as a comedy in the Golden Globes because there wasn't much in the way of drama. Expected more, but it was still okay.


Here are the movies I have not seen, some of which most likely would have ended up on this list: Bridge of Spies, Room, The Hateful Eight, Creed, The Revenant, Beasts of No Nation, Straight Outta Compton and a few others.
 

chaislip3

Member
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Creed
4. Sicario
5. Inside Out
6. Ex Machina
7. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
8. Straight Outta Compton
9. Spy
10. Ant-Man

I really need to see more of the Oscar nominated movies. I've been slacking on movie watching this year.
 
1.) Mad Max: Fury Road - There is not one single aspect of this film that I dislike, to me it was absolutely perfect.
2.) The Hateful Eight - Although not as bombastic as some of Tarantino's other works, The Hateful Eight was able to keep my eyes glued to the screen for the entire time, with the screenplay being easily one of his best.
3.) The Revenant - Breathtakingly beautiful and terribly brutal with an amazing performance by DiCaprio.
4.) Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom - An inspiring and beautifully shot documentary about one of history's most recent major historical events.
5.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens - While not perfect, Star Wars is back. J.J. Abrams was able todo the franchise justice by delivering a fun movie with an excellent cast.
 

Out 1

Member
1. No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman)

Probably the most ravishing experience I've ever had in a cinema. I had the huge luck and blessing of meeting Chantal Akerman, the extraordinary person and artist behind No Home Movie (and a monumental filmmaker that in my opinion is in many ways the mother of modern European Cinema), in August at the Locarno Film Festival where she premiered this film. Before the film she stood there on the stage, sad and fragile, barely managing to speak, overwhelmed with emotion, trying to explain to us almost like excusing herself, how much her (relationship with her) mother meant to her. Her mother died a year before and the film captures the last moments of their relationship. It is a film that seems to portray not only the mother and their relationship, but even more the vast emptiness left behind by her death, a void too big to be ever filled again. For Chantal Akerman, "mother" shared the same meaning with "home" and with her mother's disappearance so did the home, thus.. No Home Movie.
Less than 2 months after seeing this film and meeting her, I read the news, heartbroken that Chantal Akerman passed away. Sadly, after meeting her and seeing her film back in August, this news didn't shock me. Walking through the Ambika P3 Gallery in November, staring at the Chantal Akerman Now exhibition, I couldn't get out of my mind the image of that sad and fragile little lady who looked as if she drained all her life and energy in her last film. Looking back now, the ending of No Home Movie seems not only to speak about the emptiness left by a mother's death in the life of an artist, but also about the vast emptiness left in Cinema by the disappearance of the great Chantal Akerman.

Thank you for sharing this, Kazaam. Chantal Akerman was truly one of the greats. She will be dearly missed.

P.S. Gaffers in New York and LA have a chance to watch Pierrot le Fou in theaters. It's the film that made her interested in filmmaking.
 

Uzny

Member
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Creed
3. Sicario
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service
5. Shaun the Sheep Movie
6. Inside-Out
7. The Martian
8. Ex Machina
9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
10. It Follows

Still a lot to watch...
 

yuraya

Member
1. Ex Machina
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. The Revenant
4. Sicario
5. It Follows
6. The Big Short
7. Bone Tomahawk
8. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
9. The Gift
10. Run all Night

Overal a decent year for movies. The top three were incredible. Hard to choose the best but I felt Ex Machina was just really well made from start to finish.
 

Violet_0

Banned
1. Inside Out
2. Sicario
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Everest
5. Ex Machina
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
7. Anomalisa
8. The Martian
9. Hateful Eight
10. The Little Prince

I still want to see a couple of movies such as The Lobster or Macbeth, but I'll probably won't manage before the deadline. Ah well, this has been a fine year
 

deafmedal

Member
Favorites

1. Kingsman: The Secret Service
What a blast! My head almost exploded into a colorful swirl of happiness! Great cast, cool gadgets, wonderful action. Like other great superspy movies the villain was over-the-top just the right amount. The grace and style of the titular characters was on point and appreciated. Moved at a brisk pace but didn't feel rushed. It felt familiar and fresh, not an easy task. Really, my only gripe with the movie is the "fuck me in the ass" line from the princess. Felt forced and out of place but not enough to diminish everything else I enjoyed. Hope we get some more.​
2. The Hateful Eight
Caught the Roadshow presentation and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It felt like looking into a window and watching this scene slowly unfold, just a stop on the timeline for these characters. And boy are they characters! Tough decision placing it at number 2 but I have only seen it once, not sure how it will hold up at home on repeat viewings as I believe how I saw it played into how much I enjoyed it. SLJ in slot 1 and 2 with great performances in both! Goggins was the real stand out of the awesome cast, dude needs moar work :)
3. Ex Machina
Small cast, few environments yet still so full. I dig the subject matter and how it was presented even if there isn't much that is *new*. Somewhat predictable but my kind of movie. Loved the ending, and that dance scene though!​
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
Explosions! Car chases! Shoot-bangs! Fire tornados! My favorite actress! Guitar guy! Eternal shall it ride, shiny and chrome. Awesome flick- 'nuff said.​
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I love Star Wars and this movie feels like a proper Star Wars movie. First movie in a long time I saw twice in the theaters. Rey, Finn and Anakin 2.0 are perfect new characters. I should rank it higher but the hype and marketing blitz diminishes it ever so slightly. It feels like ANH Reborn but that doesn't detract too much from it since it was done so well. And, as a bonus, Luke kept his whiny mouth shut!​
6. The Martian
After Damon's turn in Interstellar (too similar, too soon?) I wasn't sure what to expect. Knowing next to nothing going in, I came out the other side glad that movies like this get made.​
7. Dope
Movies like this are my jam and boy was it buttery smooth.​
8. Inside Out
I love most Pixar movies. Like all the good ones, it tugged at my heartstrings. I wish someone would quit cutting onions while I watch these.​
9. Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation
Second best spy movie this past year- the weird Hubbard stan once again kept me glued in the seat wanting more.​
10. Bone Tomahawk
Part western, part horror and downright disturbing. Loved the cast but Snake's facial hair was better in H8ful.​


Honorable Mentions

Spectre, Project Almanac, Ant-Man, Sicario, Jurassic World, Jupiter Ascending, Everest

I found Spectre to be enjoyable if not a bit of a mess. Felt a bit more "Bond" than Craig's other entries but I'm ready for a new Bond. Project Almanac was a cute albeit silly time travel movie that I figured would be horrible- I liked it. Ant-Man was fun and funny. Sicario was good but something felt missing, enough not to elevate it. Jurassic World was what I expected but I wish more people died *mwuhaha*. Jupiter Ascending was a beautiful mess. Everest was a good "based on" movie that was gorgeous.

Disappointments
1. Vacation- I love the original, having seen it at least 50 times throughout the years. This was trash. Waste of money and time. Why?!
2. Straight Outta Compton- Not a bad movie and it sounded phenomenal but fell a bit flat for me after how much it was hyped. It is not I'm Bout It or Get Rich... levels though so hopefully a re-watch will elevate it's status for me.
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron- I will watch just about anything with that pretty lady but I was ho-hum on this one. Still like the first Captain America movie in this universe best.
Unless Guardians... counts, then that one.

Fav movies from previous years that I saw last year
1. Interstellar- Should have seen it on the big screen, big mistake :( Loved it.
2. John Wick- Poor puppy :(
3. Under the Skin- Creepy and haunting, that pretty lady's naked bits were NOT tantalizing in this setting ;P
4. Whiplash- Groovy and sounded terrific. Great performance by insurance guy.
5. As Above, So Below- Expected typical horror cheese, was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Not as good as The Decent, but had a similar feel.
 
1) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2) The Revenant
3) Ex Machina
4) Mad Max: Fury Road
5) Sicario
6) The Martian
7) Bridge of Spies
8) Kingsman: The Secret Service
9) Ant-Man
10) Avengers: Age of Ultron

I still need to see Hateful Eight and a few others.
 

Azalean

Banned
1. Kingsman: The Secret Service
2. Straight Outta Compton
3. Ant-Man
4. Ex Machina
5. Dope
6. The Revenant
7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
8. Furious 7
9. Mad Max Fury Road
10. Spectre
 
1. Son of Saul
2. The Revenant
3. Mad Max
4. Steve Jobs
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I didn't get to see many films from this year since I was digging through a lot of older stuff - not to mention I felt this year was pretty weak - so I'll do a Top 5.
 
1. The End Of The Tour
2. Mad Max Fury Road
3. Ex Machina
4. Wild Tales
5. The Martian
6. The Gift
7. Buzzard
8. It Follows
9. Amy
10. What We Do In Shadows

More people need to see Buzzard seems like it's right in GAFs wheelhouse.

Amy is the scariest found footage film ever made.
 
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Ex Machina
3. Sicario
4. Kinsgmen
5. The Martian
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
7. The Revenant
8. Inside Out
9. Spectre
10. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Honorable mention:

- Predestination: more should watch this, as far as time travel movies go it was VERY entertaining.
 

Ayumi

Member
This thread confuses me. Wasn't Interstellar and Gone Girl released in 2014 everywhere?

(I promise to post my list here when I'm home!)
 

Choomp

Banned
0. (the middle section of Tree of Life)
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. A Separation
3. Social Network
4. Grand Budapest Hotel
5. Before Midnight
6. Carol
7. 12 Years a Slave
8. A Prophet
9. the Tree of Life
10. Inside Llewyn Davis

Tree of Life is so fuccin good. Great list

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Inside Out
3. The Big Short
4. Spotlight
5. Creed

Didn't get to see most of what I wanted this year, but these were good enough to put on my list
 

denx

Member
1 - The Martian
2 - Kingsmen: The Secret Service
3 - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
4 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5 - The Hateful Eight
6 - Mad Max: Fury Road
7 - The Revenant
8 - Ant-Man

I go to the cinema to watch mostly blockbuster fare, the arthouse stuff I usually watch at home with a couple of exceptions.
 
1. Mad Max
2. The Big Short
3. The Revenant
4. Ex Machina
5. Straight Outta Compton
6. The Hateful Eight
7. Antman
8. Steve Jobs
9. Mission Impossible Rogue Nation
10. Kingsman
 

Thewonandonly

Junior Member
1. star wars: the force awakens

This movie is fucking incredible pardon my French. I have seen it 5 times in the theaters and I plan on going one more time. The characters are amazing and you fall in love with everyone. The old characters fit perfectly here and are not played out. They did Luke perfectly in this movie. This is just and incredible fun movie and I recomend it to anyone fan of Star Wars or not.

2. the revenant

It was tough between this and mad max but overall the revenant was a more beautiful film. The shots, even though some last long, are beautiful. This movie single handlely made me terrified of bears with the best animal attack scene ever. Then the Indians are fucking terififying and I never thought I would be scared if Indians. Also the acting was some of the best this year.

3. mad max fury road

I easily thought this was going to be my favorite movie of the year when I first saw it. It's incredible and every detail adds to the story. The action scenes are easily the best in a movie besides the raid(if you havnt seen the raid and like action go watch it now).

4. creed

WOW!!!! I have never seen a rocky and decided to just watch this because of the ratings and my god. This movie is fucking incredible and left me in tears for a lot of scenes. Every actor was incredible and the story wasn't just a repeat I think. I never would have though that I would like a boxing movie so much but I did.

5. kingsman the secret service

Again wow. I am not a big fan of spy films but this one was different enough for me the love it. It's funny all the way through and that church scene alone demands it a spot on my list.

6. inside out

This was easily the best animated film of the year. It was emotional funny and touching all at the same time. Not my favorite Pixar film but still amazing.

7. sicario

This movie had a great beginning and an amazing end. I did not see the ending coming and was in shock. This would be higher up if it didn't get a little confusing.

8. [beast of no nation

Jesus does this movie hit hard. It's starts off with you loving the kids and their simple Childesh ways. Then it changes and you feel like you had your soul ripped from you. Also the ending will hit you hard and had me balling like a baby.

9. what we do in the shadows

Wow this was super unexpected. Hilarious and propley the second base mocumentary besides district 9. Everything about this movie is funny and has had me laughing harder then I have ever laughed.

10. jurasic world

While sexist and not technically that good I had a fun time. That's the main thing about this film and why it's on the list is that it's fun.

Wow 2015 was a fantastic year for movies
 

Thewonandonly

Junior Member
1 Jurassic World

Dinosaurs, theme parks, prehistory, and exploration and one of the best brothers bond thing going on in movies combined it led to it being the most down to Earth, sincere, and delightfully stunning movies of 2015. I loved it immensely. Best franchise continued to be best franchise, only thing that could put it on a higher echelon than it already is, is if it had robotic dinosaurs like Transforms. Bring on the scientists able to create hybrid machine-dinosaurs in the future please.

T-rex v Indominus is one of the most epic moments in movies.

2 San Andreas

Disaster + great brother relationship and surviving against the odds, it was yet another movie right up my alley and one that delivered epic mindblowing visual effects. Whoever handled it did such a fantastic job. I was drooling from seeing the whole area ripple like a wave, and the wave, omg that wave! Unforgettable. Outside of the effects, Dwayne Johnson delivered a stunning performance, as well as his wife in this. Additionally both of the brothers were worth remembering. I probably connected the most with them. It reminded me of how Into the Storm managed to be a fantastic movie. By concentrating on a focused relationship of brothers in the face of disaster a movie can be improved ten-fold. This will go on my list with Into the Storm, as best disaster films ever. I loved the romance subplot going on in this movie too.

3 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Husbandorunner was back and better than ever, a mix of adventure, stunning science/medical breakthroughs and a glimpse of the outside world, it was one of the best boys joyrides ever. I can't wait for more, easily was the most intense movie I saw in theaters. It would be number one if the competition wasn't so fierce this year.

4 Mission Impossible Rouge Nation

Ethan Hunt is who I want to grow up to be, he is easily the most realistic and most want to be hero Ive ever looked up too. Cool gadgets, awesome comedy, and a plot that keeps the action coming it was a blast.

5 Point Break

I loved this one because it catered to all things Bro, Edgy, Cool, and Epic, litrally the things that I love in storytelling. The moments after they conquer some feat and are all bro-broing and excitedly screaming and hugging and everything, I was all shouting and stuff in the empty theater. The wavesurfing, the free climbing, and the other wild stunts around the world on the Ozaki Eight served as a reminder of the beauty of the world as well as the power and determination of the human mind. These guys were geniuses to be able to see Lines when no one else could. Each trial was nailbiting intense. I was on the edge of the seat the whole movie. I even still think of it as it is one of the more thought provoking and emotional movies this year.

6 The Divergent Series: Insurgent

Divergent Series is probably my second favorite of these that are along the more actiony type and probably third favorite of the YA type of movies (Twilight (1) Maze Runner (2)). Divergent took the born-and-placed into a specific job system to a good place in allowing people to at least have a chance at changing their future and it did good for it. The lead (Tris) is one that's easy to like and pretty headstrong and the people around her work well in assisting her as she strives to save others, survive, and thwart Jeanine's plot. Jeanine (Erudite) is pretty likeable too and reasonable (like most characters of her type in the field) and one that I actually kind of want to see succeed. Perhaps it is because of Jeanine and Tris and their struggle that this series resonates well with me and one that I hope gets even better than it already is in future offerings. The mental sequence

Tris went through is one of the most stunning scenes to see in movies in 2015.

7 Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland was a great movie for the ($3) I paid to see it in theaters. After watching I kind of regret that I didn't get to spend the full cost of admission on it as it was more than worth it. The future gadgetry, the pursuit of striving again against all odds and against what was prophesied showed the power of man to persever in all sorts of circumstances. I loved the journey as well as the message.

8 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

An awesome ending to a franchise that I had grown to like. It may not have been a "hunger games" but it was good. Turning the city into a "hunger games" type of areana with the power of the gamemakers helped to set this apart from other traditional overthrow the enemy type of plots. It was unique, it was exciting, and it was pretty malicious at times, though seeing characters struggle and succeed makes one feel good. I loved seeing everyone one last time, Snow, Katniss, Gale, Peeta, they were all fantastic. One thing I always loved in Hunger Games was the in universe TV-show, speeches, on the spot filming of Promotional Videos, and the visuals/graphics for showing the defeated and more. This attention to detail to expand such things into being real was very creative It was one of the more immersive movies because of this and one that was easily able to survive on both good writing, good spectacle, and good music. And in terms of romance, YES best choice. The writers did well.

9 Kingsman: The Secret Service

I love the kid become a spy type idea. Since other spy series wants to use senior citizens for its storyline there are few choices for the people who want a fresh take on things. Thankfully Kingsman is a fresh take on spys and one full of heart, passion, understanding, and dignity.

10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Kylo Ren puts this in top 10 of the year territory, could anything be better than him?
Sir just so you no I say this with a heavy heart but I think you have the shittest movie taste I have ever seen. San Andreas and point break *barfs*

Edit: whoops sorry for the doable post this thread is a little dead I see ;)
 
Honorable mention:

- Predestination: more should watch this, as far as time travel movies go it was VERY entertaining.

I was the opposite of this. I wasn't overly entertained and once you work out the "twist" in the first third of the movie it's doesn't have much else going for it. I enjoyed Daybreakers a lot more.
 
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