The 14 Best Movies of 2015

I was looking forward to seeing a bunch of movies in 2015. I couldn't wait to see Spectre, The Avengers: The Age of Ultron, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and of course, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I even went so far as to avoid watching the trailers for those films so that the entire movie would be fresh when I went to the theater. Actually, I did watch the first teaser trailer for The Force Awakens, just to get an idea of what director J.J. Abrams had to offer because after those prequels and the little I saw of that bullshit "Star Wars Rebels" animated series, I wasn't gonna spend my money on anything force-related without some assurances.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be the year of the disappointing sequel. None of the year's big movie follow-ups were very good. Most of the sequels released in 2015 were inferior to their predecessors. Even the very few that were improvements weren't great. With the very special -- and surprising -- exception of Creed. That film and eight others comprise the cream of the crop of 2015 cinema. Here they are:





14. CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession

The founding members of N.W.A. weren't the only Compton natives to be immortalized on film in 2015. Former world-champion bodybuilder CT Fletcher tells his own story in this intimate documentary that explores his life and dedication to pumping iron.

13. Attack On Titan Part II

12. Gameplay: The Story of the Videogame Revolution

11. Kareem: Minority of One

10. Attack On Titan Part 1

9. Jurassic World

When the park finally opened, it was well worth the wait. The velociraptors, pteranadons and the almighty tyrannosaurus rex joined forces to deliver the Jurassic series its second billion-dollar hit.

8. Straight Outta Compton

7. Blackhat

6. The Force Awakens

The Force Awakens is technically a sequel, but c'mon, it's really a remix of the original trilogy. The filmmakers just replaced the original heroes with new people. There's: a cocky pilot (basically, the new Han Solo); a robot that communicates by beeping (basically, the new R2D2); a short and wise alien who's familiar with the Force (basically, the new Yoda); a young girl who lives on a desert planet and finds out that she has the Force (basically, the new Luke); the Resistance (basically, the Rebel Alliance); the monster on Solo's ship (basically, the new Sarlacc -- with tentacles and all); the "Starkiller Base" (basically, the Death Star); the bad guys are the First Order (basically, the Empire); Supreme Leader Snoke (basically, the new Emperor); and to top it all off Darth Vader's grandson is the main villain. He dresses in all black, wears a mask and wants to be the new Darth Vader. Finn better not turn out to be related to Lando Calrissian. The galaxy has got to be big enough for more than one African-American family. It's all the same old stuff in a new package with modern special effects. This is the third time that a planet-killing space station is featured in a Star Wars movie. Seriously.

Amidst all of the recycling, The Force Awakens does manage to pull off a couple of firsts. For one, this is the very first time that the Star Wars Cinematic Universe has admitted that women, such as Captain Phasma, can be evil too. Every last one of the villains in the previous movies were male. Second, this film also provides us with the novelty of seeing someone other than a bad guy pilot a TIE fighter (though Luke did fly an Imperial shuttle in Return of the Jedi).  

Even ignoring the remix aspect, there are things that shouldn't have been in this movie. It would've been better if Han Solo hadn't made an appearance at all. Some explanation of his unseen death would've been enough. And why not postpone Luke's introduction at least until the next movie, given that his discovery is the mission? R2D2's part in this story was just dumb -- and it got dumber when he met his double. Kylo Ren's true identity could've been pushed back too -- and for fuck's sake, he should've kept the mask on for the whole movie.

There was also way too much goofiness. For 34 years and counting, The Empire Strikes Back has been the consensus favorite Star Wars film for people who like a little substance with their space action. Since the filmmakers were copying anyway, why not copy the tone of that movie? It would've boosted Awakens from good to great. Parts of the movie are so corny that the teaser trailer just might be a case of false advertising.

While that first trailer was thankfully free of ridiculousness, it was also missing some of the great stuff that required the movie to be over 2 hours long. This thing has not one, not two, but four separate aerial dogfights. Plus, the CGI is so unobtrusive that it seems like they didn't even use any -- which is pretty much the point anyway.

Speculation abounds regarding the end of the movie, in which Rey meets Luke Skywalker -- presumably for the first time. Many have theorized that the two are somehow related, unbeknownst to Rey herself. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. If she's a Skywalker, then the fact that Leia sent her in the Millenium Falcon to find the Son of Vader and end the Resistance's long search is not too great a stretch. If she's not, the idea that Chewbacca, who's been one of Luke's comrades-in-arms and closest friends for 30 years (and brings news of another mutual friend's recent murder), would stay with the ship while this chick goes off to greet the fabled Jedi Master alone -- is nonsense of the first order.

Awakens received universal acclaim from the moment that it was released. Truthfully, Star Wars fans were hoping for a win in the wake of the prequel trilogy fiasco. So all that was required for the latest episode to be hailed as a success was that it not resemble those movies in any way. Reportedly, director J.J. Abrams was tasked with balancing the expectations of the original fans with the anticipation of the current generation. Attempting to please everyone is always problematic, which is undoubtedly the reason that Episode VII is somewhat of a mixed bag. Fortunately, Disney and Lucasfilm plan to unveil a new Star Wars film every single year for the forseeable future. So while Awakens is blessedly free of CGI characters and galactic senate meetings, I suspect that it will gradually depreciate in value as more and more quality installments make their way into theaters.

It's not the adult-friendly, dark journey of The Empire Strikes Back, but it's by far the best-looking film of of the year and definitely one of the most re-watchable.

5. Sicario

Sicario is one of the Spanish words for assassin. While Traffic presented the War on Drugs from various angles and perspectives, Sicario gives the POV of one FBI agent who gets caught up in it up to her eyeballs and may not make it back out. The movie also provides insight into the hazy legalities involved in fighting the "war".









4. Spotlight

3. The Age of Ultron

 

The Age of Ultron is a disappointing (but entertaining) follow-up to The Avengers in nearly every way, except for: Fury's thankfully diminished role, Captain America's much-improved uniform, and especially - the villain.
 
Though his origin was unnecessarily altered, Ultron made for an interesting adversary and owing to James Spader's extremely charismatic characterization, should enter the pantheon of cinematic automatons.

Although, I gotta say, I'm not sure his evil plan to drive mankind to extinction made much sense. If Ultron had succeeded in killing off billions of people by dropping the Sokovian capital city of Novi Grad from the upper atmosphere, wouldn't it have been much more difficult for him to function in the long term? Despite his best intentions though, Ultron did not tally up the highest body count. That honor belongs to the Hulk, who went on a rampage in an African city before ultimately being subdued by Iron Man and Veronica -- which is a name that's, thankfully, a hundred times more mature than "Hulkbuster armor". This isn't one of those movies in which the African-American dude is the first casualty, but having an Avenger kill off countless Africans, civilians included, and later saving the lives of an entire population of a European city sort of misses the point.

And why, why -- Why go back to the stupid-ass blue lasers from Captain America: The First Avenger? And right off the bat, at that? Fuck, man.

But hey, at least Cap had some great lines. Some of the best actually - even better than Iron Man's. They include:

"I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science invented was me."
"You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed - walk it off."
"What kinda monster would let a German scientist experiment on him to help his country." (Sarcastically referring to himself and the Maximoffs)

The depictions of the Scarlet Witch, and especially, Quicksilver, were much better than expected. Although, the idea that their superpowers were derived from "experiments" using Loki's stupid wizard staff is a reminder of how far these movies haven't progressed. I suppose Marvel felt compelled to maintain a certain consistency in regards to idiocy -- it lines up nicely with the first movie's illustration of the magic stick's ability to grant it's wielder mind-control powers. I realize that 20th Century Fox owns the exclusive rights to mutant powers, but couldn't the filmmakers have just left the origin of the twins' powers unsaid (We all know they're Magneto's kids)? Mystery is far superior to lameness. And, if one of them had to die, why couldn't Wanda have been the one left in the dirt? Personally, I prefer physical superpowers to magic. For one thing, they're easier to quantify. And the last thing this franchise needs is more ludicrousness. 

The Age of Ultron is by no means profound and to most people it's an entertaining distraction at best, but AI researchers would do well to view it as a cautionary tale.









2. Focus

My expectations were very low when I watched Focus. But it's not what it seems. The trailer gave me the impression that the film was one of those serious thriller/heist/con movies with a twist at the end. But it's not. It's actually a comedy. And that's the twist. Except you don't have to wait until the end. You'd never know from the posters either, but Focus is funny almost from the start. It's not forced comedy and Will Smith and company aren't trying too hard to get laughs -- it just is funny. The key is that the people and situations in Focus would be humorless in most movies, but in this case you get to see them for what they are -- just people and just life. Cool people do dumb shit sometimes. World-class con-men can make fools of themselves and trophy girlfriends can be petty and caring -- at the same damn time.









1. Creed

Creed passes the Ran test with flying colors: there are no African-American sidekicks; no black criminals; no black "clowns" mugging for the camera; the black people aren't all uneducated; and the black guy isn't the first, or only, one to get killed (Actually, nobody dies in this movie. The black guy, who was the only one to get killed in a previous Rocky movie -- Rocky IV -- is mentioned quite often, however). And yet, the film -- a big-budget, mainstream Hollywood film -- is filled with African-Americans. 

Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky V and Rocky Balboa all showcase the blue-collar and poor side of Philly -- but mostly Italian Philly. Creed features, even parades, African-American Philadelphia for the first time. But Creed's most significant departure from the rest of the series is something that shouldn't be such a big shift after all. The city is 44.1% African-American and the only black guys we've seen in the franchise up to this point are out-of-towners: Apollo Creed, his family and his team; Clubber Lang; Mason Dixon and his entourage; George Washington Duke; and Union Cane. For fuck's sake.

The black guy mentioned earlier, who was killed in Rocky IV, is former undefeated world heavyweight champion boxer Apollo Creed. And he practically haunts this film. It's even named after him. But its his son Adonis' story and how he copes with having a legendary father. The previous film, Rocky Balboa, touched on Rocky's son Robert's struggle to live in his famous father's shadow as well and its revealed in this movie that he surrendered to the pressure and moved, not only out of Philly, but out of the country. Rocky tells Adonis that Robert, Jr. now lives in Canada. Adonis however, takes the challenge head-on. He not only takes up his father's profession, he moves from Los Angeles to Philadelphia in order to solicit the Italian Stallion's training expertise. 
And in turn, when Rocky needs someone to lean on, it is Adonis, and not his only son, who supports him.

For the first time, Sylvester Stallone plays a supporting role in a Rocky movie -- and he was richly rewarded for it. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and won a Golden Globe for the same category. Creed's release date, November 25, 2015, is marks the fortieth anniversary of the date of the first scene in the original Rocky. How's that for coming full circle? 

Originally Posted 11/21/15

Updated 1/2/16

The Most Overrated Movies of 2015

16. The Hateful Eight

I don't trust Quentin Tarantino. I have a hunch that that mf set his last two movies during Slavery and Reconstruction just so he'd have an excuse to put the N-word in the script a bunch of times.
 
15. The Gift

14. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

13. Spectre

12. The Martian

11. Far from the Madding Crowd
10. Inside Out
9. Grandma
8. Carol

The novel on which Carol is based, The Price of Salt, may be a great read but this adaptation makes for a very slow and boring movie.
 
7. Chiraq

6. Trainwreck
5. While We're Young 

4. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

3. Welcome to Me
2. The Assassin
1. The Lady in the Van

- Ran

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