This has been a really difficult list to put together this year as initially picking my best films from 2015 I had 17 in contention to make my top 10, which I think is very surprising but also pleasing to know that I actually enjoyed and liked a lot of films in 2015. It was rather difficult to narrow it down and I am sure this could have seen the films changed around depending on when I completed the list. Something which I am thinking having a running ranking system for 2016.
Didn’t manage to make the top 10 but were very close . . . Inside Out, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Lady in the Van, Suffragette, Ricki and the Flash, The Martian, The Lobster.
Worst Films of 2015
7 Films that surprised me in 2015
7 Films that disappointed me in 2015
So here we go my top 10 films of 2015 . . .
10. Spy – Review
I still haven’t got over how much I loved this film, honestly I am just as surprised as you are! But it really did have so much going for it and it was hilarious. I mean come on Jason Statham actually showing that he is willing to laugh at himself by playing a character who takes the mick out of well nearly all of his other films. Melissa McCarthy really back on form and showing why she keeps getting leading roles in different films, you cannot fault her as the unlikely Spy who comes into play from her office based role helping out the spies. I went into this one thinking I wasn’t going to like anything about it and I was very wrong, which was a nice thing really as it meant I enjoyed the film so much.
9. Bridge of Spies – Review
You really cannot go wrong with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg linking up to make a film can you? No. That’s the short answer they have such an incredible range of work behind them and Bridge of Spies is another fantastic film to add to their collection. It is very dialog heavy at times but if 2015 has taught me anything in terms of the type of films I enjoy more of now then that is certainly the type. If you have to listen to someone for the majority of a two hour plus film then Hanks is certainly the man for the job, he is charming and charismatic as the lawyer who manages to get himself involved in international business and the swapping of prisoners.
8. Danny Collins – Review
I will admit that I didn’t have this film on the list when I thought I had sorted it all out, but I just had to change my mind. I got lost in this film completely and I owe that to Al Pacino, come on he’s still as great as he ever has been and this is easily the best film he has been in by a long way I must add in recent years. Playing a washed up singer who is living on his past success and trying to reconnect with the son he abandoned as a child never wanting anything to do with him. So we have Pacino what can possible make it even better than that? Well Annette Bening of course. Why doesn’t she make more films?!?! They have great chemistry and bounce off each other so well. Let’s face it we all love a comeback story and someone who can change things at the right time. I feel though that this film was very under seen? As don’t really remember reading many reviews around the time I saw it at the cinema, but I certainly loved everything about it.
7. Wild – Review
I had high hopes for this one ahead of seeing it, I mean Witherspoon rarely disappoints and has had some very good roles in the past few years. This one would blow them all away though as she plays a woman who wants more than anything to find herself after a very messed up life (we see this in flashback form) and why this trek is the best thing for her to do right now. It is inspiring and grips you from the very first moment, some scenes are difficult to watch but others make you smile and warm your heart. I think its great to see this type of film with a female lead as well which really added to the experience in my opinion. It makes you evaluate your own life and wonder if anything could push you to head on a crazy adventure like this one.
6. Whiplash – Review
Now the buzz surrounding this film was very high last January and very rightly so, Simmons (deserved his Oscar) and Teller were fantastic together. The teacher/student duo at a music school, it shows the desire and passion required alongside the hard work that must be put in to be very successful. Simmons is a crazy teacher who uses very unorthodox methods to try and get the best out of each individual who is in his band, but he pushes it over the line at times. It’s a compelling watch and I am sure this film will be appreciated more in the future than it was at the time. As while it had good praise, I felt like the film was quickly in and out of cinemas in the UK with not enough time for that many people to actually see it.
5. Carol – Review
Now the hype around this film as it premiered at the London Film Festival in October really was massive and why was that the case? The performance from Cate Blanchett in the title role, she really did show exactly how good of an actress she is, engaging and haunting in her performance. Pretty good chemistry with Rooney Mara as well as the pair are involved in a forbidden intense love affair. It rightly has Oscar buzz surrounding it and is a thoroughly enjoyable film as well, as it really does build everything up in such a fantastic manner.
4. Brooklyn – Review
Now this film is something I never actually fancied seeing as I just thought it was all about the romance, but when I found out it was about moving to a new place and homesickness I decided that it actually sounded better than I first though. Luckily I went to see it as you can see it is in a very high position in my best films from 2015. Honestly it just has so many different things going for it and Saoirse Ronan has eventually started to win me over, her performance is top quality and I just love the way the film moves. It is hard to move to a new place and I think this film really does a great job in showing how traumatic it can all be and the romance side is a good addition but not all based around.
3. Steve Jobs – Review
The higher up I am getting the more amused I am that with some of the films I did not really want to see. The same can be said for this one, I had no intention of heading to see it as just didn’t look like my type of film. Luckily I was very wrong about that and was utterly consumed with this film, remember how I mentioned earlier about dialog heavy films? Well this is certainly one of those, but I was so engaged that I was really listening to what each character was saying. I loved it. I mean why did I have doubts? I have so many Apple products and purchased and iMac not long before seeing this film so the whole history of how I actually have that was right in front of me on the screen. Fassbender and Winslet were incredible from start to finish both spending the majority of the time on-screen as well as an unexpected good performance from Seth Rogan.
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Review
I have been well and truly awaken by the force. Yes sorry I went their, I had to as this film has massively gotten me into Star Wars, yes I had seen them before but I don’t think I had really seen them if that makes sense. But now I have and it is all thanks to this film, and I enjoyed it so much after becoming lost in a galaxy far far away. I cannot wait for the next film as this one really did set so many things in place. We have a really good new core and got the old characters and some old lines which linked it all together in such a great way. I don’t really know what else to say about this one that hasn’t already been said. If you had asked me at the start of the year that Star Wars would have made my top 10 of 2015 the answer would have been not at all. Always nice to be proven wrong and enter into another fandom!
1. Birdman – Review
The first film I saw in cinemas in 2015 still managed to stay as my best film of the year. I guess you could look at that and say it’s rather disappointing that the 65 other films I saw after it were not as good? Well that is the case in terms of this list but that does not mean they weren’t enjoyable. The Oscars Best Picture Winner and rightly so, the film is massively off the wall and times and on another level in my opinion. Michael Keaton getting his second chance and rebirth pretty much like the character in the film. I just found myself wrapped up in this film very tightly and holding my breath at times because of what was happening on-screen. They try to make it look like the film was done in one whole shot with no time changes? But I am not sure if that was actually true or not doesn’t make a massive difference to me. Oh I must mention the Times Square scene though, pure genius!
What films made your top 10 in 2015?
How many do we share?