My tippity-top ten films of 2015
2015 started out
as the year predicted to break box office records. While the final tallies are
yet to come in thanks to the late start of a certain galaxy far, far away, it
seems undeniable to me that 2015 has had a bumper crop of big-budget and indie
classics. In fact, I’d argue it’s the best year we’ve had since 1999’s annus mirabilis. Here is my pick of the
top ten, in no particular order.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
You might have
heard about this one. The biggest film of the year is the most recent on this
list, but since seeing it last Thursday it’s only grown in my estimations.
Despite essentially being a mashup of the original trilogy, so few films since have
captured Star Wars’ sense of fun and adventure that it feels fresh all over
again. The old actors are great, the new ones feel perfect from the moment they
walk on screen, and you’ve probably already seen it three times by now anyway.
Inside Out
Featuring the
funniest line of the year (the one about facts and opinions being easily mixed
up) Inside Out fully deserves its
place among the A-team of Pixar’s output. Not content with being one of the
most visually inventive two hours of the year, Inside Out has also been commended for how well it portrays certainpsychological processes. That their latest film might help children in the
future to understand depression and other mental illnesses makes it the most
important work in Pixar’s already incredible filmography.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Sheer bat-shit
crazy fun from start to finish, Mad Max:
Fury Road took the good stuff from the action films of the 80s (physical
stunts, smooth cinematography and a bombastic soundtrack) while mostly
jettisoning the bad (the first glimpse of Immortan Joe’s wives is unnecessarily
leery). Still, at 70 years old director George Miller has delivered an action
film with the vigour of a first-time director with everything yet to prove.
Anything but ‘mediocre’.
Carol
It would form an
interesting ‘women doing it for themselves’ double-bill with Mad Max, Todd Haynes’ adaptation of a
Patricia Highsmith novel riffs on Brief
Encounter while retaining its own whoozey, claustrophobic tone. If there’s
any justice in the world Rooney Mara will walk away with all the acting awards
in early 2016.
Sicario
You know how it
is. You’re stuck in traffic and just want to get home. Then there’s the
druglord sat next to you, the machine gun bigger than your arm sat on lap, and
the very real possibility that the family in the car next to you might decide
to open fire at any second. Sicario was
an exercise in ratcheting up tension (see also Foxcatcher) that saw Benicio Del Toro playing someone other than
Benicio Del Toro for the first time in a while. And thanks to Roger Deakins’
peerless cinematography it was also one of the best looking films of the
year.
Whiplash
UK cinema-goers
can be divided into two camps this year. Those that understand ‘not my tempo’
for the chilling phrase that Oscar-winning JK Simmons turned it into. And those
that are yet to see the best film about musical obsession since Black Swan. Watch it, love it, hum Caravan for the rest of the day.
Ex Machina
Between them,
Domnhall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac had the market sown up for science fiction in
2015. Before they were at opposite ends of a galactic battle in Star Wars they were debating the nature
of humanity in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina.
Proper sci-fi is as much about casting a light on modern times as showing
spaceships flying around, and Ex Machine was
full of meaty topics while never getting bogged down in its philosophies. Plus,
in a year where Alicia Vikander was in roughly 83% of the films released, Ex Machina showcased her talents in the
best light.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
I could very
easily have gone for Mission Impossible:
Rogue Nation, but where M:I-5 was
an excellent spy thriller in the traditional mould, Kingsman gave audiences the fucked-up Matthew Vaughan version.
Exploding heads, Colin Firth behaving in a manner most unbecoming of Mr Darcy,
the very friendly Swedish Princess; Kingsman
was rude, violent and extremely funny.
Amy
An almost
constant presence in the British media means there can be few people unfamiliar
with Amy Winehouse’s story. Asif Kapadia uses the same style as Senna to create a documentary that
eschews talking heads in favour of using footage to portray real-life as big
screen spectacle. Where Senna became
a sporting thriller, Amy’s story
becomes a Shakespearean, complete with bad guys (Winehouse’s dad comes off
particularly poorly), great lyrics and a sense of inevitable tragedy. Yet the
film also stands as tribute to her immense talent, hinged around one of the
great soul singers of all time.
Crimson Peak
Horrendously
mis-marketed upon release, Crimson Peak was
one of 2015’s more significant box-office flops. Yet Guillermo Del Toro’s
beautiful gothic romance is an ornate toybox of a movie; the contents may not
surprise but the whole thing is crafted to perfection. After a number of
projects that have failed to come together, Crimson
Peak was the return to form that fans of Pan’s Labyrinth and The
Devil’s Backbone had been waiting for. Worth seeing for Jessica Chastain’s
scenery chewing alone.
Biggest disappointment: Spectre (with honourable mention for Chappie)
I loved Skyfall. So the same team should have
knocked SPECTRE out of the park. The
film worked for many, but for me it felt at least a couple of drafts away from
what it should have been. The attempts to tie all the Craig Bonds into one
conspiracy felt forced, the soap opera elements fell flat and the action (which
was arguably the area that Skyfall was
lacking) had little to distinguish it among a packed crowd. An odd stumble from
Sam Mendes.
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