Every Movie I’ve Seen in 2015 From Worst to Best

To be honest, 2015 wasn’t a great year for movies. Yes, the box office broke records but that doesn’t necessarily mean people were really leaving the theater satisfied. And I could see where a new “Jurassic,” “Avengers,” James Bond, “Star Wars,” “Terminator,” and two separate Pixar films may look like an embarassment of riches. But I kept hungering for more all year long. This is the first year I struggled to fill up a “Top Twenty” best of the year list, and also the first year I didn’t even see 100 movies which speaks to the selection more than anything else could. In 2014, my top 5 were “Interstellar,” “Life Itself,” “Whiplash,” “Birdman,” and “Boyhood” and I’m willing to bet that any of those could have been the best film of this year, but there were still a few pleasant surprises.

As always, if the film has the same grade, I use a tiebreaker to decide which is technically better. Starting with the Worst and working our way to the beginning…

The Worst of the Year: Fast and Furious 7…Yep, somebody had to say it. This movie is so braindead it’s almost embarrassing—-like a helicopter full of terrorists shooting up downtown L.A. and Homeland Security doesn’t show up, leaving their sole opposition to be Vin Diesel’s crew of drag racers—-and there’s something ghoulish about using Paul Walker’s death (from speeding) to promote a film about illegal racing to young boys.

Dog Shit Runner-Up: Taken 3…I hate to see the franchise end on such a low note. If you want to see Liam Neeson kicking ass in 2015, try “Run All Night” instead.

89. Hot Pursuit: D-

88. San Andreas: D

87. Avengers 2: D+

86. Chappie: C-

85. Get Hard: C-…Aggressively charmless.

84. The Seventh Son: C-

83. Unfinished Business: C-

82. The Loft: C-

81. The Cobbler: C

80. Jurassic World: C

79. The Gunman: C

78. The Water Diviner: C

77. Home: C

76: Black Mass: C

75. Insurgent: C

 

74. Pan: C…Not quite as bad as you might think, but also not remotely good

73. 50 Shades of Grey: C

72. The Entourage Movie: C

71. Dope: C

70. Time Out of Mind: C…Although Richard Gere is terrific in it

69. Minions: C

68. Our Brand is Crisis: C

67. Jupiter Ascending: C+

66. Southpaw: C+…Although Jake Gyllenhaal is great in a cliched role

65. The Ridiculous Six: C+…People may think I’ve lost my mind giving it this high a grade, but Sandler is at least getting back to his more joyful roots.

64. Tangerine: C+…An interesting experiment that just promises better things from the director in the future

63. Hunger Games 4: C+…The most joyless installment yet.

62. Mission Impossible 5: C+…The most forgettable installment yet.

61. Zipper: C+

60. Mississippi Grind: C+

59. Blackhat: C+…Even a bad Michael Mann movie is worth watching

58. The Longest Ride: B-

57. Pitch Perfect 2: B-

56. Monkey Kingdom: B-

55. Aloha: B-…The year’s most unfairly despised movie

54. Ex Machina: B-…The year’s most unfairly praised movie

 

53. Far From the Maddening Crowd: B-

52. Burnt: B-

51. Run All Night: B-

50. End of the Tour: B-…For me, a disappointment

49. 5 to 7: B-…Not bad, before the sell-out ending

48. Cinderella: B-

47. Spectre: B-…Craig’s least satisfying Bond film

46. Bridge of Spies: B-

45. No Escape: B-…Does a good job of putting you inside chaos

44. Winter on Fire: B

43. The Runner: B

42. MacFarland USA: B

41. The Hunting Ground: B…An important issue, and worthy doc

40. Spy: B

39. Crimson peak: B…But Jessica Chastain is great in it

38. The Kingsman: B

37. Carol: B…It just didn’t grab me as I hoped it would, but still a well-made movie

36. Paddington Bear: B

35. Tomorrowland: B…Sometimes the message means more than the movie

34. Trainwreck: B

33. Star Wars 7: B

33. 5 Flights Up: B…Most positive portrayal of an interracial couple this year with the possible exception of “Focus.”

31. Chi-Raq: B…An exciting return to form for Spike Lee

30. Slow West: B

29. The Hateful Eight: B

28. The Martian: B+

27. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: B+…A charmer

26. Peanuts: B+…An appealingly low-key movie

25. Brooklyn: B+

24. Tell Spring Not to Come This Year: B+

23. Going Clear: B+…The Scientology doc that has received deserved praise, but there aren’t even 100,000 Scientologists, so it always feels like a moot point picking on a small cult while the big ones get away with much more.

22. The Gift: B+…A very well-made creeper that will stay with you for days afterwards.

21. The Big Short: B+…A movie I wanted to enjoy more than I did.

The Top Twenty 

20. [Tie] Focus…A movie I enjoyed more than I thought I would…Concussion…A good year for Will Smith, this football-cover-up movie deserves to be seen by anyone with a son who plays the game.

19. Truth…Sure, I’m including this so highly mostly because I’m just tired of seeing the George W. Bush rehabiliation that’s been going on recently.

18. Everest…One of only two movies this year where the 3D ticket price was well worth it. I’m not sure this will play as well at home.

17. In the Heart of the Sea…The second film where the 3D price was worth it. This shamefully ignored whaling film isn’t perfect, but it does contain one of the best scenes of the year: when they meet “Moby” and he destroys their boat for his trouble.

16. Black or White…A Kevin Costner heart-tugger that doesn’t take easy-outs.

15. Creed…Very sharp and surprisingly good. Watch out for a wow-inducing, mid-film boxing match that looks like it’s shot in one fluid take.

14. Red Army… I know nothing of hockey, but I do know a great documentary about the villainized Russian hockey team (and real people on that team) that is just as much about Cold War tensions as the game itself.

13. Mad Max: Fury Road…Yes, the action sequences are amazing, and the movie does deserve (almost) every bit of praise it’s gotten.

12. What We Do In the Shadows…A nearly perfect mockumentary about vampires with a terrific visual style that looks like an oil painting that’s been at a yard sale too long.

11. [Honorable Mention] The Green Prince…This movie actually came out in 2014, but this “you can’t believe your ears” story of a Palestinian informant for Israel is worth seeking out. Still, it felt wrong to include it in the top 10 since it technically didn’t come out this year.

10. The Good Dinosaur…Sure, it was destined to live in the shadow of “Inside Out” this year, but this is actually Pixar’s second best film in years and a truly gorgeous one to look at. A straightforward, simple survival tale that sneaks up on you.

9. Steve Jobs…Perfectly gets at writer Aaron Sorkin’s favorite theme: can you be a good person and a great person, and what is greatness in an age of mediocrity? I can’t think of a better recent example of a subject and writer being so well paired. It helps that Fassbender is there to make the words fly, and his scenes with Jeff Daniels are electric. It’s the kind-of mental/verbal duel I wish “End of the Tour” would have been.

8. Beasts of No Nation…Idris Elba is terrific (and a best supporting actor nominee for sure) as a shockingly pragmatic and rational rebel leader who uses child soldiers–and is he really worse than any of his hypocritical but more respectable bosses?–and the movie has a couple of loosely structured “battle” sequences that are just realistic enough to be mesmerizing.

7. Joy…I’m surprised this hasn’t received better reviews. To me, it’s David O. Russell’s best film yet on what has become his pet theme: the absurdity and desperation of trying to make it in America.

6. Sicario…A movie that has been all but forgotten in the Oscar race, but has stayed with me a lot longer than some of the stronger contenders. The technicals—cinematography, editing, and a terrifically tense score—are all superb, as is Benicio Del Toro as a shady border operative you only hope is on the right side.

The Real Deal: The Top Five

5. Inside Out…There’s a reason this is Pixar’s biggest critical (and commercial hit) in years: it really is that good. By taking thoughts we’ve all had—-that our emotions may be independent and our memories may be malleable—-it makes the insular mind of a young girl seem like the most universal place in the world. And once Joy and Sadness go deep into the fun house, the movie becomes a carnival of surprises, the best being an imaginary friend who steals the show.

4. Room…In a way, a strange companion piece to Inside Out in that we’re seeing a grown woman (who hasn’t left a single room since she was a teen) burst out of her own prison, this one more literal. Impossible not to be moved by this movie.

3. Merchants of Doubt…The most important documentary of the year. The biggest obstacle to our national conversation is that we don’t even use the same set of facts anymore, as people search for merchant-academics that will give them the answer they want (everything from climate crisis isn’t happening to flame retardants are necessary). “Merchants” shows how even reality is for sell.

 

 

1/2. [Tie] The Revenant and Spotlight…Two films that really have nothing in common except being excellent. “Spotlight” continues with the best trend of 2015 Fall films: truth. Whether it’s taking on the NFL (Concussion) or the president (Truth) or even the way “facts” are massaged to create doubt where there isn’t any (Merchants of Doubt), the search for truth has been at the heart of many of 2015’s best. And “Spotlight”—-about the Catholic Church’s shameful sex abuse cover-up—-is the best of the bunch. Even the reporters themselves are questioned, wondering why they didn’t take the allegations seriously sooner. The disturbing truth is that they didn’t want to believe it. As Stanley Tucci says about willful blindness “If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to abuse one.”

And The Revenant gets at a different kind of truth: it’s the most cinematic experience I had at a theater this year. I can’t imagine watching this movie at home, and it really does practically beg (or demand) to be seen in a theater, from the mesmerizing opening raid slaughter to a horrifying bear attack that you can’t look away from. The Revenant’s never-before-seen landscapes and the snowy chases around them are as close to pure moviemaking as you’ll get this year.