Top 10 of 2015

Well here it is, my top 10 of 2015 when it comes to movies. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would have been, considering it went from 38 to 15 quite easily. The ordering though, especially after five, could honestly change its order but I liked those 5 more than most other films this year.

1. Ex Machina: This movie, I didn't catch it till almost December but it was always one that I wish I had caught in theaters back in March I believe. It was beautifully shot and just as captivating as the story went on, I could say the plot was simple and have been done before, but it still didn't take away from the thrill and the enjoyment I had from my viewings of it.

2. Mad Max Fury Road: This movie is what action movies wish they could be, it was smart, beautiful, and heart pounding all the way till it's last frame. Such a great film and a great continuation of the already amazing Mad Max franchise.

3. The Martian: This movie was the complete package to be honest, it had great comedy, great drama, great science, some could say it science the shit out of itself. It was an enjoyable film that I didn't actually expect to be as great as it was considering Ridley Scott's recent films being okay at best.

4. The Hateful Eight: Quentin Tarantino does it again, His writing and direction have only gotten better over the years and this is one of my favorites from him. Especially when he can make a three hour film with a simple enough plot of people stuck in a shelter during a blizzard just as entertaining as either of the other three films before it on the list.

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service: I sadly didn't catch this in theaters, I ended up seeing Fifty Shades of Grey with some friends that weekend, but when it came out on DVD I got it off redbox and actually ended up watching it three or so times, I enjoyed it that much, and I can't wait to see what the sequel has in store.

6. Krampus: This is of of my all time favorite Christmas movies, probably Die Hard and Nightmare Before Christmas top it, but I had such a blast watching this and enjoying the comedy and the horror mixing together in front of me.

7. Star Wars The Force Awakens: I just can't believe that a movie 32-10 years, depending on your thoughts of the prequels, in the making could live up to the hype the way it did. I thought this was the perfect movie to get you to go out to the theater and see this in the biggest and loudest theater in your area. It also is great that a blockbuster like this didn't force you to turn your brain off to enjoy it.

8. The Big Short: Funny, smart, and enjoyable, can see this getting a lot of award recognition but I don't know if it will pull through with wins, considering the Revenant is getting released next weekend and is looking to be a lot better of a film than this was, still, this movie kept me entertained and especially with something as dry of a subject as wall street and business. This can easily be compared to Wolf of Wall Street, but Wolf did it better I think, but not by much.

9. Inside Out: Disney and Pixar did it again, quite an enjoyable film and smartly handled the subject of depression and growing up in a way that kids can understand, especially as they grow up and watch it repeatedly, as I remember doing with most Disney films growing up.

10. Trainwreck: This honestly was probably my favorite comedy to come out this year. If this doesn't win the best comedy category at the golden globes it better lose to The Martian or The Big Short, which honestly it probably will because they moved those into that category just because they ran out of space in the straight up drama category. But still, this movie made me laugh the hardest and not even in a crude way, for the most part, there's actual feelings and characters in this movie, it wasn't like Ted 2 or Vacation where it was just throwing people into crazy situations for some hit and miss laughs, it does get dark for a bit, and it's believable. That's why it's in my top ten.

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Director: J.J. Abrams

Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams

Stars: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver

Synopsis:

Set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, we meet up with old and new characters as the story continues.

Review:

Now, I’m saying this now to be clear, there are SPOILERS in this review, I left the synopis as plain as I could to try and not let too much be known. Turn away now from this section if you haven’t seen the film yet!

Now that that’s out of the way, Star Wars, what much is there to say about the series in general that hasn’t been said before, now, I originally was going to write reviews of the other six films, but because I had computer problems, and so many people have already torn those films apart, I figured I’d just sum up my thoughts here. My order of the films, without The Force Awakens, would have to go, from best to worse, Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope, Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith, Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones. And my new order would have to be now, Empire, The Force Awakens, A New Hope…. That’s right, this movie, to me at least, is just as good as the older ones. Now, are there flaws? Is this the best film ever? Would have I wanted anything done differently? Yes, No, Maybe.

Yes, there are flaws, and the more you think about it the more there are. This certainly isn’t the best movie ever, but it is quite the spectacle that hasn’t been done in quite some time, possibly not since Empire. And if anything, I’d probably want to have something… new, out of all the stuff I’d want done differently, it would have to be just that, something different. But I do see why it is done the way it is and why the story does what it does, it’s because we needed to have our trust earned again, especially since most fans don’t really like the prequels. This movie set things up for the future and allowed us to know that, for the most part, the people working on these new films get what it is that we want and know how to tell some pretty great stories in the Star Wars universe.

So, was it perfect? No, but it did live up to the Hype and left me wanting more, and that’s all I could have asked for honestly.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Recommendation: Go see it in IMAX as soon as you can, or at the very least in theaters, this is the movie you’ve been waiting to see at a theater for quite some time that actually doesn’t require you to turn your brain off to enjoy.