Movies have always been such an integral part of my life. I've always loved going to the cinema every week to see a new film. I'm even forcing my girlfriend to sit through all the classic films that she didn't see growing up. With that being said, 2015 was an excellent year for movies. There were exceptional movies in every genre this year and I can't wait to share my five favorite movies (and reasoning) to anyone that's willing to go on this article.
Just an FYI, there are no plot spoilers or summaries below. If you really want to know a more in-depth plot of any of the movies, I suggest entering the name of the movie in this cool, new website called “Google”.
And without further ado, here are the five best movies of 2015.
5. "The Hateful Eight"
The best western of the year is hardly a surprise. I mean, it’s not like Tarantino makes bad movies. But this one is pretty impressive, especially for the man in question, simply for the fact that every minute of this three-hour movie was earned. Each of the eight hateful characters was entertaining and memorable, and for a movie with the potential to be the most masturbatory thing you’ll ever sit through anyway because it’s a Tarantino movie…it’s surprisingly not? Winks and nods are kept to a minimum in the service of the riveting story being told. And it’s simply fantastic.
4. "Son of Saul"
So, this was a fun time at the cinemas. That was sarcasm--- this was devastating. What a fantastic feature length debut of Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes. Undoubtedly the best cinematography of the year, with the shots in this one being both visually interesting and dramatically motivated (the Revenant, for all of it’s natural light glory, is at best one of those things). Géza Röhrig delivers one of my personal favorite leading performance of any movie this year; he never has to grunt or scream to deliver his desperation because it’s all there on his face. This is also, incidentally, probably one of the worst date movies of the year. It’s different, disturbing, demanding, and pretty damn brilliant.
3. "Victoria"
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OK, this movie is nuts. It’s a heist thriller drama that’s over two hours long and consists solely of one long camera take. For real this time, not cheated. That would be an achievement on it’s own; what luck then that it has the best performances of the year. This was probably the realest movie of the year; the usage of the one take “gimmick” proves astoundingly effective in taking advantage of the passage of time. You are there with the characters, through every second of the most wild 2 hours and 18 minutes of their lives. This was very under the radar, which is a shame because it’s absolutely astounding. It’s a damn ride that’s both cinematically impressive and dramatically captivating.
2. "Anomalisa"
This film is pretty perfect. Astoundingly so, in a way that you might miss out on appreciating if you don’t give it the thought it deserves. This is without a doubt the best animated movie I’ve seen all year, and with a few doubts, the best screenplay of the year. What Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson manage to do with probably the simplest storyline either has worked on is overwhelming, but they keep it to themselves. They let the viewer determine things most movies wouldn’t have the trust in the general IQ of the audience to allow. On a technical level, the facial animations have so much humanity in them that you will probably forget you are watching an animated film at some point during the perfectly brisk running time of 90 minutes. It contains a part of all of us in it somewhere within the humor and the emotion of the mundane. Yeah, this film’s pretty dope. It’d probably be my number one if a certain movie didn’t release during the first half of this year. Well, you know.
1. "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Try not to be too shocked, I don’t want to cause a panic here. This is a special movie, one that comes around maybe once ever decade or two. The one that reminds you what a movie can do. The one that makes you turn to your friends and scream in excitement. The one that’s more than just a fun time. The one in which everything that should have gone completely wrong goes brilliantly. That perfect one, the one you get excited to see not only for the brilliance of the movie, but also for the joy of sharing. The one you want to study if you’re an aspiring filmmaker because you want to make something that kind of approaches it. The one flowing with imagination, depth, detail, and heart. The one that’s the best damn film of the year.
