As I sat down to finalize my top ten list of the year a few days ago, I found that both my number one and two choices were no brainers. In previous years I can remember struggling up until the very last minute on my top pick. In 2013 I almost flipped a coin to decide between “The Wolf Of Wall Street” and “Inside Llewyn Davis” (I picked “Wall Street,” though now I would have “Llewyn Davis” at number one no problem). Even last year it wasn’t apparent that “Whiplash” was going to take the top spot until the last minute (I stand by it. That movie just keeps getting better). This year I saw “Mad Max: Fury Road” in May and called it my favorite movie of the year at the time. Seven months later nothing has changed and I saw my second favorite movie back in September. At this point I feel extremely confident in my top two choices—I think they will remain in those spots two or twelve months from now and will be seen and talked about for years to come.
It’s the other eight I’m not so sure about.
This is not to say my other eight choices aren’t great but
that they could easily change. Hell, if I were to reopen this list even next
month I feel as though certain movies could drop off and others would take
their place, which makes any sort of ranking at this time pretty much
superfluous. At one point I considered leaving the remaining eight unranked but
that felt like a cowards way out and the only thing people like more than lists
are numerically ranked lists. 2015 was another superb year for movies and I know
I left off a number of great titles. In no particular order: “Room,” “The Man
From U.N.C.L.E, “Inside Out,” “The Revenant,” “Ex Machina,” “The End of the
Tour,” “What we do in the Shadows,” “Beasts of No Nation,” “Spy,” “Creed,” “Love
and Mercy,” “Spotlight,” “Steve Jobs” and “Bridge of Spies” are all fantastic films
that were in consideration. (In the case of “Spotlight,” it sat on my list for
quite some time and only very recently did it miss the final cut).
OK, enough talk, lets get on to the list.
10. The Overnight
(Patrick Brice)
Patrick
Brice’s criminally under seen swinger comedy (starring Adam Scott, Jason
Schwartzman, Taylor Schilling and Judith Godreche) is one of the few comedies
I’ve seen of late where I’ve been on edge practically the whole way through--
never being able to predict its twist and turns. Brice blends together
the right amount of sheer awkwardness and outrageousness. You’re made so
uncomfortable you want to seek refuge underneath your seat, while at the same
time you want to stick around to see just how crazy things can get. And yet,
through the various twists and turns, Brice ultimately crafts an endearing and
introspective drama/comedy about self-reinvigoration and coming out of your
shell. A lot of times comedies tend to
be bogged down in plot and exposition; “The Overnight” demonstrates that
creating a successful and substantial comedy can be as easy as bringing two
couples together for one crazy night.
9. Cartel Land (Matthew Heinman)
In the documentary “Cartel Land,” director Matthew Heinman
makes what may be the first nonfiction vigilante thriller. Set in Mexico, the
film follows a group of vigilantes as they go around freeing towns that are
under the iron grip of the drug cartel. Yet, the film goes deeper than the
simple notions of a vigilante thriller and as we find out things aren’t so
black and white. Heinman has balls of steel as he imbeds himself in the midst
of the chaos, capturing this messy conflict with startling immediacy. “Cartel
Land” is a thrilling piece of documentary filmmaking and provides a new,
fascinating perspective on the U.S/Mexican border drug war.
In some ways, “Magic Mike XXL” is the silly male stripper
movie we expected to get with Steven Soderbergh’s “Magic Mike” a few years ago.
The plot can best be summed up as: a group male strippers (led by Channing
Tatum) strip on their way to a stripping convention. That’s it. The stakes are
low. Even the most serious hiccups the gang encounters along the way are no big
deal. But with strippers this likable and attractive who cares about plot. Director
Gregory Jacobs wisely keeps the focus on the group of strippers as they goof
around with one another; their bromantic chemistry becomes infectious. They may
not be the most fleshed out characters but the bond they share feels true;
their friendly ribbings and antics are surprisingly endearing and the movie
never once slips into forced sentimentality.
“Magic Mike XXL” may not have the depth or dramatic kick of “Magic Mike”
but it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch and you just want to spend time with
the characters.
Alex
Ross Perry’s feature is a bizarre, chilling, mesmerizing portrait of one
woman’s (played by “Mad Men’s” Elizabeth Moss) psychological breakdown and the
degrading effect said breakdown has on her relationship with a lifelong friend
(Katherine Waterston). I went in to this movie knowing absolutely nothing and
it troubled me greatly. It’s a psychological horror movie about depression; through
the exceptional performances from Moss and Waterston, Keegan DeWitt’s eerie score, Sean Price
William’s dreamy cinematography and Perry’s elegant direction, “Queen of Earth”
brings deeply internalized feelings of panic, anxiety, alienation, sadness and
concern to the surface with unnerving, disturbing energy. The final disturbing
shot of Moss giggling madly gave me chills and is forever burned in the back of
my mind.
Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut “The Gift” can best be
described as a creepy stalker movie but it’s not the dumb creepy stalker movie
you think it is. It’s predictable yet not predictable, never going quite where
you expect it to go. I wouldn’t classify
it as horror but like the best horror movies it relies on subtlety—gradually
building suspense, just waiting to burst. The movie is cold and meticulously
constructed; it feels both mundane and menacing. It’s a slow burn up until the
final minutes but what a stressful slow burn! The picture engages you on a
deeper, psychological level; it stays just on the cusp of exploding into
over-the-top B horror. It sets up camp in your psyche and refuses to leave. Topping
things off are three knockout performances from Edgerton, Jason Bateman and
Rebecca Hall, three performances that have gone sadly unnoticed.
5. Son of Saul
(Laszlo Nemes)
Laszlo Nemes Holocaust movie “Son of Saul” hit me hard. I
left the theater feeling emotionally depleted; I sat on the bus on the way back
to my house in a daze and it took me a few hours to finally get back to my
normal self. I can’t remember the last time a movie had that kind of effect on
me. That’s really all that needs to be
said at this point (stay tuned for a full review in a few weeks on here). “Son
of Saul” is an immersive, uncomfortable and all around unforgettable
experience.
Delightful. Positively delightful. That’s how I felt walking
out of John Crowley’s period piece “Brooklyn,” about an Irish girl Ellis
(Saoirse Ronan) who immigrates to nineteen fifties Brooklyn. The picture is brimming
with humor and heart and I watched with a big grin on my face practically the
whole way through. Ronan is simply phenomenal, giving (in my view) the best
performance of her career so far; I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Even though
Ellis finds love (in the form of an Italian American played by Emory Cohen)
Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby wisely keep the focus on her character’s
personal journey, her coming of age in a strange new land and her decision
whether to stay or go back to Ireland. About twenty minutes in I already wanted
to watch “Brooklyn” again. That hardly ever happens to me.
David Robert Mitchell’s dreamy, beautiful, terrifying “It
Follows”—about a young woman who contracts a sexually transmitted demon—is
arguably the best horror film of the past few years. Like the best serious
horror films, “It Follows” relies on subtlety; tension quietly rumbles beneath
the surface, flaring up every so often in a scene of sheer horror, before dying
down to recharge. Mitchell lets most of the individual shots linger, allowing
the viewer to soak in the anxiety and ominousness even longer. On the whole,
Mitchell takes his time, letting each scene unfold gradually. A majority of
horror films go to great lengths to try and scare the audience. They employ
“jump scares”-- cheap, empty thrills that wear off immediately. It’s like
filmmakers are afraid of boring the audience. “It Follows” is free of such
cheap scares. It’s also refreshing to see a group of believable, likable
teenagers at the center, teenagers that aren't just sacks of meat waiting to be
killed off by the antagonist. As the heroine, up and comer Maika Monroe gives a
genuine, understated performance, among the best of the year.
2. Sicario (Denis
Villeneuve)
Denis Villeneuve’s abandon-all-hope-ye-who-enter crime feature
“Sicario” is simply sublime. Villeneuve and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan craft
an intimate, character driven neo-noir that takes us inside the U.S/Mexican border
drug war. “Sicario” certainly doesn’t shy away from gruesome violence but the
film is more focused on how said violence is just the outer layer of a complex,
utterly messy situation rife with corruption and shady doings on both sides of
the border. The thrill and intrigue of “Sicario” comes from the moral
complexity of the characters. The traditional notions of good and evil, just
and unjust, don’t apply anymore. Everyone has their own agenda and
self-manufactured definitions of right and wrong, definitions they can bend and
reshape as they please. Emily Blunt is in top form as an outsider F.B.I agent
who is brought into this crazy utterly messy world but Benicio Del Toro (as a
mysterious mercenary, who works on both sides of the border) is the standout
delivering one of 2015’s very best performances.
Additionally, the film is handsomely photographed by master
cinematographer Roger Deakins, while Johann Johannsson’s score is understated
and terrifying, highlighting the sense of dread and hopelessness pulsing
throughout. Though ultimately, it all comes back to Villeneuve’s graceful,
directorial hand. He moves the picture
along at a steady unhurried pace, usually stretching sequences out to create
maximum tension and paranoia.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
(George Miller)
I’m still a little shocked I loved George Miller’s end of
the world actioner “Mad Max: Fury” as much as I did. For one, I don’t consider
myself a fan of the “Mad Max” franchise; I’ve seen the first three only a few
times each. Also, due to various issues (ranging from lack of financing to
unsatisfactory weather conditions) it took more than a decade for this latest
installment to be completed. And the minute the first theatrical trailer
dropped the expectation level skyrocketed.
But none of that matters now because “Mad Max: Fury Road” is a supreme
achievement. I don’t like to throw around the word “masterpiece” when talking
about recent movies but I can confidently declare that it’s a masterpiece and
will be talked about years from now.
The picture is batshit insane and brilliant at the same
time, visually stunning (yes, I know that’s thrown around a lot but it really is!) and narratively rich. Miller foregoes
tedious plot exposition and simply drops us into the midst of the action,
pushing forward. He establishes the world and the mythos without over
explaining, gives us complex three-dimensional characters and does so without
heavy-handed dialogue. The film is predominantly visual storytelling-- Miller packs
so much Miller packs
so much activity, detail and depth into each and every scene, hell, each and
every shot (that’s only slightly hyperbolic). Now in his seventies, the
Australian director has somehow crafted the biggest, boldest, most exciting
blockbuster of the decade, perhaps even last decade, putting younger action
directors to shame. I’ve watched “Mad Max: Fury Road” more than any other film
this year and it never grows stale. Every time I sit down to watch it again it
grabs me and I can’t do anything else. When the credits roll I feel
electrically charged and revved up.
I
could go on but instead I’m going to leave it at this: I fucking love this
movie.
Well, that does it for me. See you all next year!
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