Top 10 Best Films of 2015

2015 was a good year for film. We got a slew of spy movies, a few great animated movies, and an awakening. Honorable Mentions include Selma, Kingsman, Room, and Whiplash. The last two were on many iterations of this list but unfortunately for them I had 10 other movies I enjoyed more.

10. The Martian

Perhaps a stretch too long, but nonetheless enjoyable as hell, The Martian is Ridley Scott's return to greatness. Matt Damon is alone on Mars as NASA tries to rescue him. I learned I could never survive on the red planet, but Jason Bourne can. This is why people go to the movies. It's pure entertainment along with great heart.

9. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

How is it that the fifth film in a franchise is the best? That's unheard of. So is hanging on the side of an airplane and holding your breath for six minutes. That is of course unless you're Tom Cruise. The most dedicated movie star on the planet puts his body on the line for the audience's entrainment. This is the best Mission yet because of Cruise's dedication and a great supporting cast and spectacular set pieces.

8. Bridge of Spies 

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks deliver a great cold war thriller. One man has the courage to stand up for the enemy and fight for what he believes in. That man was James Donovan and this movie was based on his story. Hanks is great as The insurance lawyer turned negotiator and Mark Rylance shines as the spy. Compelling and never faultering, Bridge of Spies is a great addition to Spielberg's ever impressive resume.

7. Creed 

In what might be the best addition in the Rocky franchise Rocky Balboa trains his greatest opponent's son. Michael B. Jordan is great in this movie but may be getting over looked because Sylvester Stallone delivers the best performance of his career. While following familiar steps as the first Rocky, Creed stands out by embracing its name and fighting for its place. A thunderous score flows through director Ryan Coogler's best film to date. Creed is a winner.

6. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

This movie came out of nowhere. I'd never seen a poster for it, a trailer for it, absolutely zero advertising. I'm glad I knew nothing going in because I loved each turn this movie took, each joke it told. I was moved after watching this touching love letter to film that follows no stereotypes one might expect. In a summer of dinosaurs and Avengers, Me And Earl And The Dying Girl was a gem that stood out.

5. Mad Max: Fury Road

70 year old director George Miller delivered the hardest hitting action thrill ride in recent years. This movie was an insane gasoline fire on wheels that shot at everything chasing it. Incredible stunt work, cinematography, and score fueled this film. Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron star in this truly amazing action movie. George Miller yelled "Witness" and boy did we witness.

4. Inside Out

If memory serves correct I saw this 5 times in theaters and I cried each time. Pixar is back to form with this emotional masterpiece. Dealing with the importance of sadness, and neglecting emotions, Inside Out also gave audiences laughs, albeit inbetween tears.

3. Steve Jobs

Michael Fassbender gave, in my opinion, the best performance of the year in this unconventional bio pic. This film was the definition of a three act film, as each act was set backstage at an important moment in Job's life. Jeff Daniels and Kate Winslet were equally incredible in this fascinating movie. Performances were at the center here and director Danny Boyle got the best out of everyone involved. This was my number 1 of the year until I saw the next two.
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Maybe Steve Jobs had better performances and maybe Bridge of Spies had better directon but only this movie was the best experience I've had at a theater since The Dark Knight. Seeing the opening crawl for this film was only something I could describe as a religious experience, especially as a film fan and a movie lover. J.J. Abrahms had the weight of the universe on his shoulders and he miraculously delivered a great movie. He introduced great new characters, great action, and more importantly a great new chapter to the Star Wars saga. BB8 was fun, Kylo Ren was a badass, Han Solo was a great shepard for the new characters. This movie against all odds overcame expectations and featured my favorite movie moment of this year.

1. Spotlight

The best movie of 2015 for me is hands down what I feel was it's most important movie. This is the story of the spotlight reporters who investigated the Boston church's cover up of priests molesting children. Director Tom McCarthy threw an incredible amount of information at the viewers and it never felt convoluted and you never got lost keeping track of it. He had an ensemble cast featuring Mark Ruffalo at his very best, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams. While Star Wars had the weight of fans across the world on it's shoulders, this movie had the weight of every victim of this scandal and the responsibility to tell this story right. This is an incredible harrowing movie that will shake you to your center.

Top 10 Worst of 2015

2015 was a pretty good year for film, none the less there were a few stinkers. Dishonorable mentions include Sinister 2, which I didn't really hate but wasn't a good movie.
10. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The final entry into The Hunger Games saga proved to be the weakest. This film was an incredibly slow burn with a very weak payoff. Not only did it bore me but it pissed me off as well. A conversation between Peeta and Katniss about the color orange is proof that Mockingjay should never have been split into 2 movies.
9.  Aloha

This Cameron Crowe flick had all the potential in the world. It had a great trailer, a solid director, and a cast that boasted the likes of Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, and Bill Murray. The cast was given a by the numbers script that never really went anywhere. This movie squandered all the talent in the world and failed to be moving.

8. Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowski siblings directed a one of the greatest sci-fi action films ever in The Matrix. That movie is awesome, what's less awesome is that that movie came out in 1999 and they haven't directed a good film since then. A miscast Mila Kunis and a not even trying Channing Tatum lead this awfuly convoluted film. I applaud the Wachowskis for trying to create something original but this was crap. 

7. The Fantastic Four

It wasn't that bad.  Josh Trank's battle with Fox resulted a mess of a movie. I had a morbid curiosity going into it, the same one has when slowing down near a car wreck to view the carnage. The first third of this movie, as lifeless as it was, wasn't terrible but it became clear when the battle between director and studio occurred. Things became disjointed and actors, particularly Miles Teller, began mailing it in. Add a third act with no weight to it and you get this waste of a movie.

6. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

Truth be told I don't remember much about this movie other than it being a complete waste of money. 

5. Unfinished Business

Unlike Spongebob I do remember this movie. I remember Dave Franco's name was Mike Pancake and Vince Vaughn wore makeup.  This comedy lacked any laughs and despite it trying, lacked any heart as well.  I remember feeling empty after watching it which isn't something I should have felt after watching a comedy.

4. Ladrones

Why is it that spanish comedies feel the need to be condescending to their audiences? They treat their viewers like complete morons and then deliver the most paint by numbers stories, Instructions Not Included did the same thing in 2013. If it's not broke then you don't fix it but this studio is in dire need of fixing it. 

3. Taken 3

I hated this movie. I really hated it. I hate it's shaky-cam style, I hate it being a ripoff of The Fugitive, I hate that Liam Neeson and Forrest Whittaker wasted their time on it. It's a stupid cash grab excuse for an action movie. The tag line says "It Ends Here". I sure hope so. 

2. The Gallows

A found footage horror movie set in a school at night has potential to work. You know, if you make it scary and hire good actors, a good filmmaker, someone who knows what they're doing. The Gallows had none of that.

1. While We're Young

Currently sitting at an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes is the only film I've ever walked out of. Similar to Mockingjay, this movie bored me and pissed me off. It came off as a pretentious hipster flick which made me leave 30 minutes early. As much as I loved Adam Driver in another film you might see on a different list, I hated him here. Ben Stiller was a bore, Amanda Seyfried had nothing to do, and Naiomi Watts just stood there. This movie angered me in a way no other ever had and for that it gets to be number 1.

Southpaw Review

   Originally developed as an Eminem vehicle, Jake Gyllenhaal takes the lead as Billy Hope, a boxer who struggles to get his life back together in and out of the ring after a death in the family. Training Day and Olympus Has Fallen Director Antoine Fuqua is behind the camera here. Southpaw features a script by first time writer Kurt Sutter and perhaps the final score composed by the late James Horner.

   Since the marketing team for this film wasn't concerned about spoilers I won't be either. The trailer did give away a large part of Southpaw's plot including every twist and turn it takes. The death of Rachel McAdam's character is an obvious one. The scene was not nearly as powerful as it should have been because it was prominently displayed in the marketing, as was the court taking away Billy Hope's daughter.  Like Billy Hope, this film had the deck stacked against it. It had no tricks up its sleeve to use, the only thing it had going for it was Jake Gyllenhaal's performance. Luckily, he delivered.

   I went into this film expecting a great performance by Jake Gyllenhaal and he is undeniably the strongest part of the movie. He's perfectly believable as a boxer as he captures all of the skill, anger, and mannerisms this role required. He can add this to his list of great performances. Rachel McAdams is fine in the film but she isn't in it long enough to say much more than that. Forest Whitaker plays the "Mickey" role in this film.  He's good in the movie and is given plenty to do and Forest carries it just fine. Other than Gyllenhaal himself I'd say the next strongest performance is Oona Lauerence who plays Billy Hope's daughter. The child actress carried her own in some very emotional scenes.

   Antoine Fuqua is a hit or miss director for me. Looking through his filmography I would say that 2007's Shooter was a boring movie and while I enjoyed the over the top violence in Olympus Has fallen, I thought The Equalizer was needlessly violent. His inspirations are clear in this film and those would be Eninem and the Rocky franchise. He's clearly a fan of the latter as the plot of this film is derived from that of Rocky III and Rocky V. Directors have multiple jobs on a feature and they include getting the best performance possible from his actors, making sure the story works, and seeing to it that it is his vision that we the audience see on the big screen. I don't believe he was firing on all cylinders on Southpaw. The biggest problem with this movie is Kurt Sutter's screenplay. Not only is it riddled with cliches, but it is also filled with plot holes, and worst of all it is predictable. The "villain" of the film is completely underdeveloped. The screenplay tries to beat you over the head with sadness in so many scenes that it ultimately ends up feeling redundant. 

   

   From a technical standpoint this was  a weak film for the most part. I wasn't crazy about the up close camera during most of the boxing scenes. In the third act of the film Fuqua employs a method that is meant to make the viewer feel like they are in the fight. To be honest it felt more like a first person video game than a movie when he did that. For the most part the boxing scenes, to their credit, felt very authentic. The pace of the film was another problem for me. This is a movie that feels much longer than it actually is. It starts off with such a fast pace that goes slow for such a long time that when it is time for the third act of the film, its jarring.  Academy Award winning composer James Horner wrote the score for this film, one of his final scores before his untimely death earlier this year. It represents Gyllenhaal's character as the songs reflect the mood of sadness, anger, and glory.   

   There are plenty of great sports films out there. The boxing genre in particular can boast such greats such as Rocky, Raging Bull, and The Fighter. Those movies are Oscar movies and Oscar movies all come out around Oscar season, which typically runs from November through to the Oscars. I believe The Weinstein Company, the studio behind the film, would have released this in that season and would have mostly likely pushed Gyllenhaal for best lead actor and pushed Whittaker for best supporting actor if they believed in the quality of this movie. I believe the studio saw this for what it was; a film with great performances and not much else. 

3/5

My Top 10 Best films of 2014

   2014 was such a good year for films that it was very difficult narrowing down the best to just 10. Movies that didn't make the cut: Noah, The Raid 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Boyhood, a film that I very much enjoyed the first time I saw it, but failed to grip me the second time.

10. Her

   Spike Jonze's story about a man who falls in love with an operating system is beautifully shot and wonderfully acted.  The film challenges what love is and what love can be.

9. How To Train Your Dragon 2

   While The Lego Movie was a blast of pure entertainment and Big Hero 6 was a fun time, when animation in 2014 comes to mind, one film stands out. How To Train Your Dragon 2 is The Empire Strikes Back of animated movies. This movie raises the stakes from the previous film in every way, delivering a dark entry into this series.  Toy Story better watch it's back because if the third Dragons movie is better than this installment,  then Woody and Buzz will have serious competition. 

8. Edge of Tomorrow

Possibly the funnest movie on this list, Edge of Tomorrow is a great sci-fi action movie. Despite other films having a similar premise, Edge of Tomorrow makes it feel fresh. Tom Cruise was great and Emily Blunt steals the show. This criminally under-viewed movie is everything a summer popcorn movie should be.

7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

   Marvel's take on the spy genre is their most socially conscious film to date. The Winter Soldier is filled with terrific action and manages to make a 74 year old character relevant to modern audiences. This is the best stand alone Marvel film since 2008's Iron Man.

6. Gone Girl

   David Fincher's mystery film is  about a wife gone missing and a husband blamed for her disappearance. Fincher gets Ben Affleck's strongest performance out of him and a career defining performance out of Rosamund Pike. This was a great film that really got the audience involved in story. This is a very well made film that you should check out if you missed it.

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

   The most emotional superhero film of the year takes on the themes of abandonment, identity, and friendship. The heart really overtakes the action in the film despite the standout moments such as the spectacular Quicksilver scene. Days of Future Past also manages erase the blunders that were X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

4. Nightcrawler

   The creepiest character study since American Psycho, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Louis Bloom, the most intense sociopath in 2014. Sporting nail-biting tension and unbelievable chase sequences, Nightcrawler is an instant classic.

   The last three films on this list could have been a tie for first.  I loved each of these so much that I have shifted around the number one spot more times than I can count. On this particular day, this is the order on which they land.

3. Dawn of The Planet of The Apes

   Caesar reigns as the leader of the apes after a virus has  wiped out most of humanity. Dawn of The Apes is a Shakespearean-like tale of a knight using a pawn in an attempt to topple a king. Koba is the best villain of the year, because like every character in the film, you can understand where he is coming from. Andy Serkis delivers one of the best performances of the year as Caesar. This is an epic that blows the previous entry out of the water. I cannot wait for the next time the apes are on screen.

2. Interstellar

   Christopher Nolan's space odyssey is a film about leaving a dying earth to find another planet to sustain the human race. In the heart of the film lies a father-daughter story.  Science vs. Love is the basis of the film. Interstellar is the most ambitious film of recent memory. It dares to take the audience to places we've never been and show us things nothing else has been able to. It is a visually immersive experience unlike any other.  This film wowed me with its visuals, intrigued me with its science and tugged on my heart. This is the only film of 2014 to make me cry. I have seen this film 5 times and have been moved every single time. I love this movie.

The best film of 2014 is...
1. Birdman

   Michael Keaton is back. Keaton stars as a movie star who got famous for playing a superhero in his early career, now struggling to stay prominent.  This film boasts an electric performance from Keaton and a brilliant Edward Norton. Emma Stone and Zack Galifianakis were terrific in this artful masterpiece that was shot in less than a month. Structured to look as though it is all one shot and sporting a score that is composed almost entirely of drums highlights the fact that Birdman is a film that takes risks. If even one of these risks didn't pay off then this film would have fallen on its face. Instead it soars to the top of my list.

My 10 Worst films of 2014

 

   2014 was an overall pretty good year for films. I didn't hate most of the movies on this list despite them being considerably weak compared to the rest of the year's releases.

10. Rio 2

   The weakest animated feature 2014 had to offer was Rio 2, a dull movie that fails to entertain.

9. 3 Days To Kill

   I suppose a joke about this movie not being a good way to kill time would be appropriate. McG's film about a dying spy feels like it is trying to capture the same magic as Taken. It succeeds if Taken was a really bland film that puts the viewer to sleep.

8. The Purge: Anarchy

   A great premise executd the wrong way. Makes for a decent Punisher story though.

7. Grudge Match

  What happens if you pit Raging Bull versus Rocky? A terrible comedy apparently. 

6. A Million Ways To Die In The West 

   Ingredients for making a bad western comedy: 

-include a stale lead performance

-make every joke a sex joke

-insert pointless love triangle. 

5. Ride Along

   Is anyone else tired of Kevin Hart yet? How long until we, as a society, stop laughing at his short jokes or angry Ice Cube?

4. Transcendence

   Sure, 5 was a bad comedy but at least it didn't bore me to tears as this movie did. This movie truly disappointed me.

3. Jersey Boys

   It's almost an achievement considering just how boring this movie is. On top of that it refused to end at an acceptable time. This movie just kept going and going at a slow pace and fails to make you care about any of the boys.

2. A Haunted House 2

   This is a movie that treats the audience as though they have the IQ of a candy necklace. Stupid jokes after stupid jokes somehow lead to a doll having a grudge against Marlon Wayans after he dumps it.

The absolute worst movie of 2014 is...

1 Transformers 4: Age of Extinction

   I hated this. I hated this so much. How can a film with giant robots fail to be entertaining?  I'll tell you.  This near 3 hour mess is filled with the same crap as the other 3 only with less plot and more over the top product placement.  Mark Wahlberg stopped in the middle of the movie and pulled out a Bud Light and drank it while practically winking at the camera. It gets better. Then the movie stops and showcases a "Romeo & Juliet" law that essentially says being a pedophile is okay. Then we get bombarded with incoherent cgi action, explosions, meaningless location changes, and gratuitous shots of women. It's the Michael Bay template of filmmaking, except I can't call this a film. I can't even call this a movie. This is an abomination.

LA Movie Review- Nightcrawler

Louis Bloom is a well-spoken, determined, smart individual who also happens to be a ferocious sociopath in need of a job. He finds one in recording accidents and selling the footage to a news station. After developing a taste for it, he travels the streets of L.A. with the intention of recording the most violent crimes the city has to offer. Dan Gilroy makes his directorial debut with this immensely electrifying thriller. Jake Gyllenhaal stars alongside Rene Russo and Bill Paxton.

Dan Gilroy makes a very impressive raw debut with this powerful story. He placed a heavy focus on realism which made for a gritty film. The tale he tells is a very dark, exciting one with just the right amount of satire to even things out. There is a sense of tension that grows as the movie goes on. You feel the sense of dread inside of you watching certain scenes because Dan Gilroy makes the movie feel so real. The story flows in a very engaging way by taking the audience on a ride The car chases in particular feel especially so because you have a beat on the danger of the situation. 

Jake Gyllenhaal is the reason to watch this film. His performance as the sociopath Louis Bloom is breathtaking. He captured the essence of a soulless human being in a way that I have not seen since Christian Bale in the cult classic, American Psycho. Both characters, Louis Bloom and Patrick Bateman, were driven by intense desire and greed. Gyllenhaal and Bale both portrayed absolutely insane men with nothing behind their eyes. 

Jake Gyllenhaal added many dimensions to the character, especially his eyes. Gyllenhaal’s eyes told a fascinating story. He allowed them to do most of the talking sometimes, including letting the audience know that he is just an empty vessel.  He goes to some very dark places in and always pulls it off. He showcases just how talented and powerful of an actor he truly is. Rene Russo has a supporting role as a television news director working with Bloom. She was a strong character in her own right and was a solid addition to the cast. Ruiz Ahmed played Louis Bloom’s intern, Rick. His purpose was to add to Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, so as a supporting actor he did his job.  Bill Paxton is an underrated actor. Bill Paxton is not in the film much, but he is great in everything he’s in.

Nightcrawler is a great character study in that of Louis Bloom. It is a fulfilling thriller and effective satire. Nightcrawler is a commentary on the current job market and the moral integrity of broadcast journalism. This film does so much right it’s hard to find anything wrong with it. It does however have some issues. The film felt like it was missing a scene between Jake Gyllenhaal’s character and Rene Russo’s character. Also, it felt like a few legal liberties were taken for the sake of the story. Despite this it has outstanding strengths. The direction was great, the score was engaging, and Jake Gyllenhaal was spark of insanity. Nightcrawler is a gripping thriller that kept me at the edge of my seat and I’m willing to bet it’ll do the same to you.

4.8/5

LA Movie Review- Chef

   A great chef decides to take his craft to the road to rekindle his creative spark. Joining him is his son who is in need of a father. Iron Man director Jon Favreau is a triple threat as he not only directs this movie, he also wrote it and stars in it. Starring alongside Favreau is Emjay Anthony as his son, Sofia Vergara as his ex-wife, Scarlett Johansson as his girlfriend, and  John Leguizamo, Robert Downey JR., and Dustin Hoffman in supporting roles.

   Jon Favreau is a hit or miss director for me. I really like what he did with the first Iron Man film, but I wasn't a fan of his work on Iron Man 2 or Cowboys vs Aliens. I think coming back with a smaller film was the right move for the director. Despite this being a smaller film, I imagine it must have been one of the tougher films Favereau has worked on. Wearing multiple hats while working on a movie is no easy task, but I imagine it must have fueled him creatively as it does to his character in the film. He has a good grasp on the direction of the film ad gets his message across. He also made a really good looking movie. Jon Favreau promised he would shoot the food in this movie like how Michael Bay shoots women in his movies. The food plays a big role in the movie and everything looks delicious. As good as everything looks, Faverau also cooks up a nice story about fathers and sons and what it means to express yourself. The characters are all handled well, and they serve the story nicely. 

Emjay Anthony and Jon Faverau

   Not only did Mr. Faverau do a fine job directing, but he is also a good actor in his own right. I really bought into his character in the movie. I bought into the character's struggles in his relationships, whether it be with his son, his ex-wife, or his co-workers and friends. If the child playing the chef's son was a bad actor then this movie would not have worked. Emjay Anthony works in this movie. His relationship with his father was the best part of the movie. This is also my favorite performance of John Leguizamo, who at times can be annoying, but not here. I personally would have liked to have seen more of Dustin Hoffman because he is good in the few scenes he has. Robert Downey Jr. is a lot of fun in the movie, and wasn't used any longer than he needed to be. 

   I like the style that this movie had. Everything from its look to the soundtrack added to the movie's own unique flavor. I thought the movie's portrayal of social media was effective. My one gripe with the movie is that it ends abruptly. A couple of character beats were going and then the movie ties them up as quickly as it could. It struck me as odd considering how up until that point the movie was really taking it's time. I would say Chef is a movie worth seeing at least once, but I don't feel a great need to ever revisit the film afterwards.

3.9/5