2015 In Film: Year in Review (Best Quotes, Performances, Scenes, Scores and Shots)
A review of the year 2015 in film (based on original theatrical release), ranked in order from best to worst.
Includes up to 10 of the Best Shots, Scenes, Quotes, and Scores of the year.
Includes up to 10 of the Best Shots, Scenes, Quotes, and Scores of the year.
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- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsTom HardyCharlize TheronNicholas HoultIn a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshipper and a drifter named Max.What a thrill ride. A non-stop chase movie that almost never stops disappointing. It is just *beep* insanity from one scene to the next. This movie is chock full of those so called "few great scenes" that great movies have. You literally can't believe what you're seeing.
I wish the film didn't have to be so teal and orange, if only because it's been done to death in recent years. And I also feel the climax didn't up the ante from the beginning of the movie. It climaxed early on and coasted at that level from there (it definitely doesn't go down so it's hard to find much fault there but still). The story could have used a few more touches as well. At lot has been made about the subtexts of the film, and while they're there, let's not get too carried away.
#3 Quote of the Year- "Witness me".
Nux and others proclaim this after they spray their mouths with chrome and before they think they may die, so that they get into Valhalla. A great example of the sparse dialogue that helps to get into the mindset of the characters; in this case a villain gone bad. Contrast the first time he says this with the heart breaking last time he does.
#1 Score of the Year- Junkie XL (whomever they are) hit all the appropriate notes here. Badass scene settings, action tempo with a recognizable beat, insane drum and guitar for the war band rig, and uplifting violins without sentiment that flows organically out of the preceding chaos.
#1 Scene of the Year- Any particular chase or fight or sequence in this movie could be chosen really. I'm particular to the pole cats myself. The beginning of the end, with those guys swinging down and grabbing people and flying away again. Fun to watch, unique, exhilarating. - DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HardyWill PoulterA frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.Breathtaking, thrilling, powerful, moving and absolutely transporting. It's easy to criticize elements of this movie, but the glory is in the whole package and the ways in which it moves you.
#2 Shot of the Year- There's a beautiful scene in which there's a dissolve that leads to the sun peeking through some clouds, that's beautiful and glorious and wrapped with meaning in equal measure. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsSamuel L. JacksonKurt RussellJennifer Jason LeighIn the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.Full of great dialogue, interesting characters and a genuine sense for style and rhythm. The 70mm is used to accentuate actor's faces and capture the full space of the sets, like a play area come roaring to life on a screen. It's not a great mystery by any stretch, though I'm not sure it's meant to be.
#1 Shot(s) of the Year- Anything shot by Robert Richardson in magnificent Ultra Panavision 70mm. That close up of the cross that starts the film. Close ups of faces. That shot of Sam Jackson on the poster that's actually much closer, in slow-mo with guns being drawn. Mwah.
#2 Score of the Year- Low key Ennio Morricone, but nonetheless affecting and memorable and creepy.
#4 Quote of the Year- "For justice delivered without dispassion, is always in danger of not being justice." - DirectorPete DocterRonnie Del CarmenStarsAmy PoehlerBill HaderLewis BlackAfter young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.Joyous and infectious, with a simple yet profound message that is almost revolutionary in the way its revealed and used. It changes the way you not only look at the world, but also at yourself.
#2 Scene of the Year- Bing Bong hopping off the magic sled, telling Joy to "Take her to the moon" is poignant and beautiful. It's a signature Pixar scene that works for all ages, but really it's most profound revelation is how Bing Bong had to die; not necessarily for Riley to grow up but so that she can begin to express herself as an adult. The makings of maturation, in the sub-conscious, the forming of child to adult below the surface in imperceptible ways, made visceral.
#9 Quote of the Year- "All these facts and opinions look the same. I can't tell them apart."
Just a wonderful throw away line that helps to establish the world, because it's true and funny.
#7 Quote of the Year- "Take her to the moon for me, okay?" That Bing Bong was really something wasn't he?
#4 Score of the Year- Michael Giacchino just nails his Pixar assignments, again and again. - DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsBrie LarsonJacob TremblaySean BridgersA little boy is held captive in a room with his mother since his birth, so he has never known the world outside.Profoundly moving and atypical for the kind of genre trap it could have been.
#4 Scene of the Year- The escape from the room is exactly as thrilling, intoxicating and wondrous as it needed to be. You truly see and feel the world through the boy's eyes. Jacob Tremblay is astounding. - DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsMaika MonroeKeir GilchristOlivia LuccardiA young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.A great old school premise with a terror focused execution. It seems to take place in a dream world, that could be at anytime (notice those old TV sets playing black and white films mixed with that clamshell smartphone device from a supposed future); it must be someone's half-remembered youth, maybe everyone's.
There is great tension and fun mythology at play in this. That it doesn't completely capitalize on its promises and some of its early triumphs is only somewhat disappointing. There's too much good here though to dwell too long on its shortcomings. It's mostly an anti-climactic finale and a general sense that poor character decisions seem to go on a bit too long that hold it back from classic status.
#3 Shot of the Year- The shot from the main poster for the film is even more stunning in the film itself. The lighting and composition; the car is gently lit, with Jay leaning out of the open car door picking at dandelions (or flowers, because she's just been de-flowered?) that are growing up between the cracks in the pavement. It's the calm before the storm and packed with meaning and beauty. The darkness everywhere, closing in, the small patch of light Jay lives in in the moment and the carefree almost childlike way she plays with the dandelions. Alas, it's not to last.
#3 Score of the Year- Disasterpeace (another composing group(?) that I've never heard of with one of the best scores of the year) had the troubling task of replicating 80's synth music without becoming too mired in the cliches, having to dig their own niche. They do so wonderfully here. They hit on the creepiness and other-worldliness that synths do so well, even the strange beauty and melancholy needed for the film's themes - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsEmily BluntJosh BrolinBenicio Del ToroAn idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.A simple, intense, focused thriller with much on its mind.
#6 Score of the Year- Johann Johannsson creates a reverberating almost jungle like beat to the hot wide expanse of the desert. - DirectorAlex GarlandStarsAlicia VikanderDomhnall GleesonOscar IsaacA young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.An intriguing and compelling A.I. film. The idea of artificial intelligence supplanting our own has been done to death in all its variations over the decades (mostly the evil). Ex Machina brings a closeness to it, a slow, more conversational aspect that's rather claustrophobic and personal.
The film does eventually fall into the conventional; the whole finale kind of falls apart in most ways even if it is masterfully executed. We are asked to feel sorry for a robot because it has to be tested and rebuilt and reprogrammed as if somehow that can be avoided and it's inhumane in some way. The story is designed around this, slightly, though the fact that it's never addressed is the main problem here (a fellow software engineer should at least recognize this, even if he is fallible to the A.I.'s charms.)
#9 Scene of the Year- There's a scene where Nathan is having a conversation with Caleb and he suddenly interrupts the serious path it's going down by breaking into a disco dance with his live-in servant Kyoko. It's so unexpected that it speaks volumes about his personality (and Caleb's, based on his reaction). It's also just funny and fun for the audience.
#5 Quote of the Year- "One day the A.I.s are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction."
Nathan (Oscar Isaac) sums up the film rather perfectly, with a terrifying thought. - DirectorDanny BoyleStarsMichael FassbenderKate WinsletSeth RogenSteve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.A compelling, powerfully written and acted film unjustly maligned for egregious reasons. The three act play style is maybe hampering but not when compared to the trite biopic route (*cough* Jobs *cough*). It works and just because it doesn't completely throw Jobs under the bus (at least in the end) doesn't mean it didn't do its Job.
#1 Quote of the Year- "Musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra."
In case anyone is wondering what is a CEO or director or any other sort of leaders does (or thinks they do). To understand Jobs, or at least what he represented, this is it right here. - DirectorBill PohladStarsJohn CusackPaul DanoElizabeth BanksIn the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.If you didn't have an appreciation for Brian Wilson, or The Beach Boys for that matter, before then this will do it for you.
#7 Scene of the Year- The Pet Sounds sessions. Genius, wonder, anxiety and art. It's pretty incredible to watch. - DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsTom CruiseRebecca FergusonJeremy RennerEthan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.Mad crazy without going too far into camp. Just a goddamn good action movie, even if it's not quite Ghost Protocol (to this viewer anyway).
#3 Scene of the Year- That plane scene, oh my. It's so visceral because it's so real. Bravo Mr. Cruise.
#6 Quote of the Year- "Sir, Hunt is the living manifestation of destiny - and he has made you his mission."
Nails it, these action movie heroes anyway. - DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleSteve CarellRyan GoslingIn 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsMia WasikowskaJessica ChastainTom HiddlestonIn the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers.A rapturous, beautiful, old-world Gothic romance. It's stunning to behold; Del Toro understands the power of fairy tale and fable more than almost anyone alive. He can conjure horror and beauty in equal measure, without every sacrificing his clarity of vision. He's one of the few modern filmmakers who actually understands CGI dissonance; he is able to use special and digital effects in a rhythmic way that never really separates the mind from the material.
It's too bad the plot isn't more original. It feels like a part of the Gothic canon but not necessarily an essential part of it; that is, if it had been made during Gothic's heyday we probably wouldn't consider it vital (at least from a literature perspective). It's defining features are it's visual beauty, it's creator's utmost passion and it's timely originality; there hasn't been anything quite like it in a long while.
#4 Shot of the Year- The castle in this film is an absolute sight to behold. It's not just beautiful in that old Gothic sense, it is its own beast in creation. Snow is allowed to fall through the cracks in its facade, a metaphor, a delight, a beauty. It carves it's own niche in the grand scheme of castles on film. - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMark RylanceAlan AldaDuring the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
- DirectorJohn CrowleyStarsSaoirse RonanEmory CohenDomhnall GleesonAn Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.#6 Scene of the Year- Beautifully captures an entire emotional history and defining sense of passion about the future.
#5 Shot of the Year- That final shot of Saoirse Ronan standing in front of the brick wall, for all the reason listed in my scene of the year blurb. - DirectorTodd HaynesStarsCate BlanchettRooney MaraSarah PaulsonAn aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York.#5 Score of the Year- Carter Burwell, lovingly crafted.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMatt DamonJessica ChastainKristen WiigAn astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.
- DirectorJoel EdgertonStarsJason BatemanRebecca HallJoel EdgertonA married couple, Simon and Robyn, run into Gordo, an old classmate. Things take a turn when Gordo begins to drop in unannounced at their house and inundates them with mysterious gifts.
- DirectorTed GeogheganStarsAndrew SensenigBarbara CramptonLarry FessendenIn the cold, wintery fields of New England, a lonely old house wakes up every thirty years - and demands a sacrifice.Some kind of Gothic slow-burn by way of Fulci demented mishmash of genres. Every time you think you can pigeonhole this film into a particular mindset, it switches on you. Like how it starts as a slow paced New England ghost story, with long shots of wilderness and snow and an older couple doing normal things and then suddenly people are being torn apart in the basement. It all leads to a gore soaked finale, that's quite striking.
Minor quibbles include the awful CGI embers added to the "creatures", took me out of the movie instantly and lessened their impact considerably. Also the story doesn't really twist and turn or dig deep enough. It's actually all pretty basic when you get right down to it.
#10 Scene of the Year- The entire ending is a non-stop splatterfest. It's chaos, but it's all practical and it lingers and delivers. Fulci-esque creativity but it's own beast in execution; it's not surreal and unsettling--it's chaos. - DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsBen StillerNaomi WattsAdam DriverA middle-aged couple's career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives.A funny and smart look at aging and mid-life. Interestingly a situational film, with comedic set pieces and throw away gags and familiar beats, but in the way good comedies are. By being intelligent and human at times too, looking at life through a self-deprecating filter as opposed to trying to wring laughs out of a fun-filled rag of premises.
#8 Quote of the Year- "For the first time in my life I've stopped thinking of myself as a child imitating an adult."
Josh (Ben Stiller) describes how he, and a lot of other adults, feel. - DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanSylvester StalloneTessa ThompsonThe former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
- DirectorPeter SohnStarsJeffrey WrightFrances McDormandMaleah Nipay-PadillaIn a world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsGreta GerwigLola KirkeShana DowdeswellA lonely college freshman's life is turned upside-down by her impetuous, adventurous stepsister-to-be.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsDaisy RidleyJohn BoyegaOscar IsaacAs a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace.#2 Quote of the Year- "Chewie, we're home."
It worked, didn't it?
#7 Score of the Year- John Williams does a good job here, though not great. It's very homage-esque, but Rey's theme is beautiful and stands out. That's the main reason this score is included here.