The Killer Snark Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I'd intended to start this thread a month ago, but was wise in holding it off until the start of the current year, which has allowed me to fit in the new Star Wars film. 2015 was not as good a year for films in general as '14 and '13 were (and there's still highly rated films from last year that I've not seen yet), but there's still been a bunch of crackers on display. Here is my list of favourites out of everything I've seen: The Duke of Burgundy - In my opinion, the best film of the year, and by a considerable distance. A cinematographically gorgeous, sumptuously soundtracked dissection of the sado-masochistic relationship of a pair of lesbian entomologists. Recalls the arty sexploitation of both Borowcyck and the best Jess Franco films, as well as the earlier work of Peter Greenaway. Brilliantly scripted and acted. A joy. And manages to be profoundly erotic despite its absence of either nudity or sexual profanity. Mad Max: Fury Road - An overwhelming experience in the cinema, though actually not as effective over repeated viewings, but still the best action movie of the last few years. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Rey's over-adeptness at everything without training, the too easy destruction of yet another Death Star, and a sense of deja vu prevent it from being a great movie. They don't prevent it from being a very enjoyable one. Better than all of Lucas' prequels except for the criminally underrated Revenge of the Sith, it was quite wonderful. Avengers: Age of Ultron - Better than the first film in the franchise, but trumped on the exhilaration front only, in action-based movie terms, by the two entries above. Mission Impossible:Rogue Nation - An identical scenario. Still Alice - A beautifully acted family drama that was actually the first movie I saw during 2015 I liked as much as the better films to have come out at the end of the previous year. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya - A magical Studio Ghibli film actually released before 2015 in Japan, but which acted as a nice reminder of how great Ghibli are after the masturbatory and excessively boring The Wind Rises the previous year. Inside Out - An absolute joy, and actually improves on repeated viewing. Possibly Pixar's best film to date, and the only Disney produced film from the last ten years I liked as much was the grossly underestimated Wreck It Ralph. Song of the Sea - Another beautifully constructed, and visually gorgeous, animated film, this time from the people who previously made The Book of Kells. The New Girlfriend - And here was the finest foreign language film I saw all year. Touching, funny, sexy, beautiful chemistry between the lead actors, and recomended to everyone. Turbokid - A wonderfully bonkers, gore-filled and insanely imaginative film that very few beyond exploitation fans will have heard of. It near enough just went straight to BluRay and DVD. But this loving tribute to '80s sci-fi straight to video films was far better than a good deal of more publicised and thus more widely acclaimed productions of last year. EX Machina - I'm editing in to include a film I can't believe I missed originally from the list. Beautifully written and paced, weird, erotic, and proving that Alicia Vikander is among our most talented actresses in addition to owning a beautiful face. Sicario - Everyone I personally know I recommended this to were weirdly unimpressed by it. I myself loved it. This was a similar situation when I recommended Birdman to my friends and family last year. Macbeth - Unusually, for a cinematic Shakespeare adaptation, everyone involved appears to have been tutored in actually getting the metre right. Too much of the time with Shakespeare, modern actors do not pause at the end of enjambed lines, for the sake of metre, ignore obvious demotions and promotions of stresses, and completely miss extra syllables in words extended to fit the metre. For that alone, I recommend it, although I'm less wild about some of the scenes cut out of the play for the sake of only maintaining its darker qualities. But it's roundly excellently acted, and as bloody as period audiences would have desired Macbeth to be performed in Shakespeare's time. Shelter - Late edited in. Love - Late edited in too. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - As above. KInsgsman - Ditto. The Martian - The same. Crimson Peak - " " I'm going to add to this list as I either watch more movies I missed the first time round, or remember others which should be here. In the meantime, discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gronzag Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Star Wars and Avengers were both huge disappointments for me. Mad Max was the only great movie this year and i pray to god that they make at least one sequel, with more Mad Max in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebla Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 From what I saw:Mad Max: Fury Road- Best movie of the Year and arguably the best action movie of all-time. Also a great, big middle finger to CGI.Star Wars: The Force Awakes- It exorcised so many of the demons of the prequels. It is pretty much everything I hoped it would be. I felt the awe that I felt as kid watching it.The Martian- Greatly acted and extremely gripping. Since Interstellar I've wanted more movies like that. This one delivered.Kingsman: The Secret Service- A wicked subversive spy film. As great as the action was, and that church scene was horrifically awesome, it's the way they poke fun at Bond film tropes that get me. And yes, I'm including the princess scene!Spy- Another spy spoof and yet different but as good. This was the surprise of the year for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionAhaiReborn Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I didn't see many movies in 2015, but of the ones I saw the ones I really liked were:Fury RoadInside OutIt Follows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 In descending order of observed greatness Mad Max Fury Road - brilliant visual storytelling and worldbuilding.Birdman - mainly for the direction if I'm honestSong of the Sea - one of the most beautiful animate tales in a long timeStar Wars TFA - not just not bad but rather good!Stations of the Cross - dark german film about religion using clever framing deviceEx Machina - syfy without aliens and explosions - great acting all around and disturbingKingsman - I haven't seen last year's bond but I doubt it will be anywhere near as fun. Insane throughout.Inside out - a really clever concept with several surprises and a deep message.The Martian - best pro-science film I may have ever seen. Best film Scott has done in over a decade.What we do in the shadows - hilarious mockuentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danse Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 In order of preference:Star Wars, TFAAvengers AoUKingsmen Inside OutJurassic WorldHateful EightTrainwreckJupiter Ascending (for mind numbing senselessness alone) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kindly Old Man Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Pretty disappointing year for movies. I think only Mad Max was really an all-time great. Other than that, I really likedEx MachinaSlow WestWhat We Do in the ShadowsThe Hateful 8Overall, TV was definitely >> movies this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Killer Snark Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 What We Do in the Shadows I've yet to watch. I'll tell you what I'm glad no-one included is the grossly overrated Carol, which as well as being shot with excessive artificial grain to the point where it's the visual equivalent of listening to a radio with a broken aerial, was a meandering, paceless bore. Well enough acted, but I suspect the film's liberal agenda was the reason it found favour among liberal critics, who should have held their praise back for the likewise progressive-friendly The Danish Girl this January, which has actually deserved its good reviews because it is a very good film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Tiger Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Creed, Inside Out, Ex Machina, Star Wars, Fury Road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Killer Snark Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Creed is a 2016 film if you live in the UK, so I've not seen it yet. I know it's had a lot of really good reviews, but I'm put off a bit by Stallone in the trailer, who seems to be talking through a mouthful of mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Creed is a 2016 film if you live in the UK, so I've not seen it yet. I know it's had a lot of really good reviews, but I'm put off a bit by Stallone in the trailer, who seems to be talking through a mouthful of mud.Have you never seen a Stallone film before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Tiger Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Creed is a 2016 film if you live in the UK, so I've not seen it yet. I know it's had a lot of really good reviews, but I'm put off a bit by Stallone in the trailer, who seems to be talking through a mouthful of mud.Yes, but most people dont live in the UK, so it counts as a 2015 film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Have you never seen a Stallone film before?Damn it, you beat me to the punch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Tiger Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Anyway, Stallone really shows he can act in this film.Damn it, you beat me to the punch Ooooh, I see what you did thuurrrr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 1. The Hateful Eight2. Sicario3. Mad Max: Fury Road4. Ex Machina 5. Star Wars: Force AwakensSeeing The Revenant today. Others I saw were Spotlight, Beasts of No Nation, and Kingsman Secret Service. Still want to see Macbeth and The Martian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooog Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 1. Spotlight2. Ex Machina3. Mad Max4. The Revenant5. The Martian6. Force Awakens7. Sicario8. Inside Out9. The Lobster10. The Gift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cas Stark Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I can't understand why people loved Fury Road. It had, literally, no plot. If you hadn't seen Mad Max and the Road Warrior you would have no idea what was going on at any time. Yes it was beautifully shot. But a 2 hour car chase with no plot, hardly any dialog, no characterization of anyone. I don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Arthur Hightower Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I didn't see many last year, to be honest I don't watch that many films at all. I watched Kingsmen a couple of days ago though, I saw the trailer before it came out and didn't think much of it, but I saw a top ten list recently and decided to download it on impulse.It was the most entertained by a film I have been for a long time, the Church fight scene alone was enough, I think I had to watch it 3 times in a row just to try and take everything in.My only criticisms would be the Princess scene at them end, and the amount of profanity; I'm not even remotely offended by swearing, but when someone says fuck every 5 seconds it gets to be a bit over the top.Did anyone else like Samuel L Jackson's lisp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nictarion Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 The Revenant Mad Max Fury Road Star Wars The Force Awakens Hateful 8 Ex Machina What We Do In the Shadows Beasts of No NationI still need to see a handful of movies from last year. Especially Sicario, which from everything I've heard will probably make it onto my list. As of now those are my favorites from last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Tiger Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I didn't see many last year, to be honest I don't watch that many films at all. I watched Kingsmen a couple of days ago though, I saw the trailer before it came out and didn't think much of it, but I saw a top ten list recently and decided to download it on impulse.It was the most entertained by a film I have been for a long time, the Church fight scene alone was enough, I think I had to watch it 3 times in a row just to try and take everything in.My only criticisms would be the Princess scene at them end, and the amount of profanity; I'm not even remotely offended by swearing, but when someone says fuck every 5 seconds it gets to be a bit over the top.Did anyone else like Samuel L Jackson's lisp?I did, also his overall nerdiness was quite entertaining, especially the irony that he hated killing. I didn't have a problem with the princess scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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