Although the year is far from over, I have decided to compile my list of the top eight films that have come out this year. On top of that I have included the top three films that I am most excited for to come out during the winter of 2015. Included in this list is an artificial intelligent robot, a wire walker who defied the odds, and a mother willing to do anything for the sake of her son. Enjoy and see you at the movies.

"EX MACHINA"

Science fiction does not even begin to justify describing this directorial debut film by screenwriter Alex Garland. Highly inspired by French folktale, "Bluebeard", Garland takes on the infamous proposition, “I think, therefore I am” using an A.I. as its main subject. Newcomer Alicia Vikander shines as Ava, the creation of billionaire genius Nathan played by Oscar Isaac, but it is Caleb, played by Domhnall Gleeson, who is supposed to be the every (hu)man. Caleb wins a trip to stay in Nathan’s secluded house and take part in his Turing test in which he will observe Ava. The deeper Caleb gets involved with Ava, the more we realize that deception is around every corner in this fast-paced philosophical film. Garland, who also wrote " 28 Days Later," continues to mix horror and humor in one of the most well thought out films this year.

"Inside Out"

It is difficult to leave a Pixar movie not feeling some kind of emotion, but what happens when emotions are our main characters? We are given our hero, a young girl named Riley, but it is actually her emotions that run the show. Amy Poehler as Joy leads a group of emotions that make up Riley. When Joy and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) get lost from headquarters with Riley’s core memories, that’s when the emotions truly run high. Director Pete Doctor has done something that parents dream they could explain to their kids: that having feelings both happy and sad is perfectly normal. Some can argue that Riley is a typical teenager going through adolescence, while others may say it is depression, but the reality of the situation is that Doctor has given us a film that forces us to think a little bit deeper about what makes us whole. "Inside Out" becomes not just the family flick of the year, but also the perfect lesson on allowing ourselves to express how we feel.

"The Walk"

Robert Zemeckis has not only made a film about an extraordinary accomplishment, he has made a film dedicated to a city and the people who inhabit it. "The Walk" retells the story of French wire walker Philippe Petit, who walked the void between the Twin Towers in 1971. Petit’s walk across the towers is as visually stunning as it is nerve-racking, but it is Zemeckis’s tribute to New York City and the towers themselves that give the movie its soul. From the first shot to the breathtaking final image, we are allowed to see those towers come back to life. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit idolizes those towers and pays as much respect to them as one could have. Award season is often known for its darker and serious films. "The Walk" restores our faith in cinema: it takes us to extreme heights (literally), and makes us reminiscent for a time that was. On a personal note, I have to thank Zemeckis for allowing me to always be able to see those towers and all the wonderful memories that come with it.

"Bridge of Spies"

Well believe it or not, they do make them like they used to. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have yet another winner with "Bridge of Spies." With a tight and often quirky script from Joel and Ethan Coen, "Spies" plays like a classic thriller that we haven’t seen since films such as "Judgement at Nuremberg." Hanks is at the top of his game as insurance lawyer James Donovan, who must defend a Soviet spy during the height of the Cold War. Donovan must then travel to East Berlin to arrange a trade of captured spies with Russia and the United States, and it is at this moment where Spielberg hits this game into high gear. We aren’t watching a game of war that involves bullet, but rather words and deals. Spielberg knows exactly how to play it all out, creating a large scale of every proportion. "Bridge of Spies" is a movie that will last throughout the years and is a hopeful revival of classic cinema.

"The Martian"

Ridley Scott knows space; there is no question about that, but with "The Martian," he honors it. A love-letter to science, "The Martian" follows Matt Damon as Mark Watney, an astronaut who is left on Mars and presumed dead. When both he and NASA discover he is alive, it becomes a race to get him home alive. The film takes on the strengths of survival movies and adds science, disco music, and Matt Damon at the top of his game. With help from an excellent supporting cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, "The Martian" becomes not only one of the most exhilarating films this year, but another glimpse of positivity in an otherwise dark year of film. Scott demonstrates his skills with his usual striking visuals and grand scale finales, but it is Damon’s Watney who gives life to this surprisingly humorous attempt to get one man home, no matter the risks.

"Beasts of No Nation"

A film about a child soldier can often be a turn-off for many people, and "Beasts of No Nation" fits every characteristic that people fear. It is a difficult film to watch, but also one of the most beautifully portrayed and important films of the past decade. Starring unknown Abraham Attah as child turned soldier Agu and Idris Elba as his commander, "Beasts of No Nation" takes place during a civil war in an unnamed country in Africa. Directed by Cary Fukunaga, who helmed the director’s chair for season one of "True Detective," "Beasts" is a two-hour plus journey into the darkest part of man and how his evil can influence all that surrounds. To call it one of the best war films is to recognize that this is about a war we know so little about. It doesn’t play like a charitable ad asking for us to open our eyes to the problem, but rather to see if we even care that there is one. As Agu grows deeper into being a soldier, we don’t question his morals, but rather sit back and watch as each decision unfolds. "Beasts of No Nation" plays out as a beautiful nightmare, and like a nightmare even when we wake up from it, we wonder how long it will haunt us for.

"Steve Jobs"

There have been several films about the iconic founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. However, Danny Boyle’s "Steven Jobs" does not wish to hand walk us through his entire story, but rather break his film into three acts. With a script from Aaron Sorkin ("The Social Network", "West Wing"), we are put behind the scenes before three product launches starting in 1984 and ending with the release of the iMac in 1998. From the second the gun goes off we are launched into the middle of a conversation between Jobs (played to perfection by Michael Fassbender), his “work wife” Joanna (Kate Winslet), and engineer Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlberg). It only takes a few seconds to learn that this is not the Jobs we know. From hearing him swear at his employees to verbally threatening their security, we see a man holding onto every inch of power and not handing out a single dose of sympathy. Throughout the course of the three launches, we see Jobs interact with his start up partner Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen), his former girlfriend (Katherine Waterston), whom he shares a child with, although he denies it continuously. But it is whenever Jobs encounters former CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) that we see where the pain lies in Jobs: abandonment lives in him and for a man who strives on leaving people in the dust, we quickly see where he thinks he learned it from. All of this is a lot to take in, and with Sorkin’s ping-pong dialect and Boyle’s no holds back directing, we are given in my opinion the best film of the year. "Steve Jobs" is a new American classic, linking Jobs with such nefarious characters such as Howard Beale or even Foster Kane. The film does not ask for its sympathy, nor does it deserve it. Instead it pushes us in the front of a power-hungry man who has no problem throwing us out of the way, and Fassbender embodies this with a furious vengeance. Where "Steve Jobs" lacks in slowing down for the first hour and fifty minutes, it makes up for with its final moments ,where we finally get a chance to catch our breath and have some hope for Jobs . That is, if we haven’t already cursed him off.

"Room"

There is a scene in "Room" where five-year-old Jack sees a tree for the first time, and his eyes widen in amazement, while the audiences’ eyes fill up with tears. That is the type of film Lenny Abrahamson gives us with his non-traditional, feel-good kidnap movie. Brie Larson ("21 Jump Street," "Short Term 12") plays Ma, a woman who was kidnapped and eventually has her son Jack in a secluded shed known only to Jack as “Room.” Jack has never seen the outside world and believes that Room is the only place on this planet and the small glimpse of the outside world he sees is outer space. It is during these first forty minutes where we get to see how Jack has made Room his own world, with the help and love of his mother, who does all she can to protect him from both their captor and the cruel truth of Jack's upbringing. This is easily one of the most emotional films of the last few years, from scenes of Jack’s escape to him meeting a dog for the first time. Jacob Tremblay is a revelation as young Jack, but it is Brie Larson who once again proves she can inhabit every emotion and make you feel every ounce of pain she is feeling. She herself struggles with a life of freedom all while trying to take care of her son and be a regular mother to him. Abrahamson knows how to build up each scene with its own intensity without giving it an over the top feeling. This is the type of film that not only makes you appreciate your own world, but also long for the beauty of seeing it all over again through the eyes of a child.

"Spotlight"

Tom McCarthy’s film follows the true story of the Boston Globe team that uncovered a massive scandal of child molestations amongst the Catholic clergy and the massive groups that fought to cover it up. Not only has this received rave reviews and numerous awards already, it also features a cast of some of the best actors around, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams. "Spotlight" to me will be another conspiracy film with all the right ingredients.

"Joy"

Personally, I don't care for David O. Russell’s films, but the man does know how to write excellent characters. While his plots go from the extreme to often corny, "Joy" looks like the type of drama that O. Russell knows best. "Joy" stars Jennifer Lawrence as Joy, a woman who succeeds in becoming an inventor and matriarch of her family dynasty, which spans four generations. Just as he did with "The Fighter", O. Russell seems to base this film around family drama that makes and breaks people’s creativity. Other O. Russell alumni to appear include Bradley Cooper and Robert DiNiro.

"The Hateful Eight"

The last on my list is also one of the more unique films to come out, specifically for its presentation. Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film, "The Hateful Eight" tells the story of eight people who are trapped in a Wyoming Cabin during one of the worst blizzards a few years after the Civil War. Among these eight are bounty hunters, a murderer, and a sheriff, but when it becomes possible that there may be another murderer among them, tension and dialogue run high in a way that only Tarantino knows how to do. If that doesn’t seem like enough fun, Tarantino filmed this in ultra Panavision 70 (the same way "Ben-Hur" was filmed). This is Tarantino’s attempt at not only making this his wildest film yet, but also his most grandiose.