Come one, Come all
Welcome to my 10th annual Top Ten Best in Film
List (I always wanted to say that, annual lol)
But yes its true, who would have thought…10 years I’d still
find the amount of time to waste on writing this damn blog year after year for
the sole few of my closest woes. I
hope you’ve enjoyed reading my boring paragraphs and disapproving movie
selections as I have. This year I
truly intend to get back more into the swing of writing things so expect to see
more than just my once a year entry.
However now is not the time to delve into such
thoughts. This is…as always is…my
favorite time of year as a movie buff.
Award season and yours truly’s top ten favorites. This past year I noticeably took a seat
back in the amount of films I saw so I had to ramp it up the last couple
months. Thus why this is one of my
latest entries you’ve seen over the last few years. The award season left no disappointment however. 6 of the 10 flicks to make my list were
all released in the final month of the year, as usual when studios push their
best Oscar-contenders. That
doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of the always enjoyable “popcorn flicks” to
endure all year long. Mad Max in
particular took the world by storm and BRAVO to the ole boring Oscars for
finally recognizing such an amazing feat.
Ant Man didn’t turn out to be this summer’s Guardians and the summer
overall was a rather dull selection of films (please don’t talk to me about
Terminator I’m still depressed).
Once Fall season kicked off just about every film I saw was either
solid or really really good.
Sicario still leaves a chill in my bones even after a recent second
watch. Fassbender became the man
the myth and the apple legend in Jobs in a career defining performance. The Walk had to be one of the best
theatrical experiences I’ve had.
Best usage of 3d Imax technology this year by far and large. However this year HAS to belong to Leo
and his bear maul survival tale the Revenant (if the Oscars don’t give this man
his damn award I don’t know what I’ll do).
So without further ado, let us begin shall we…with the
almost-doesn’t-count list of honorees…
HONORABLE MENTIONS
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON – The biopic that took the world by
storm late summer breaking August records for an R rated flick. I wanted to fit this into my top10 but
the final act crammed too much history into a short time frame. Understandably since it already was
pushing 2 and half hours. I could have watched a 4 hour story on this
film. Well casted and very well
directed for the most part. A
history in time that changed music for many of us 80s babies raised on 90s
innovative hip-hop movement.
CREED – A very predictable and at times cliché boxing film
but was a very entertaining one.
Michael B. Jordan continues his on-screen dominance but here he takes a
back seat to Stallone’s late career stunning performance that just might get
him an Oscar.
STEVE JOBS – Any other year I would commend Michael Fassbender as
a shoo-in for best acting performance of the year. He is a stand out tour de force as Steve Jobs in a fastly
paced entertaining biopic on the man who brought us such revolutionary
technology we all use today.
THE MARTIAN –
Matt Damon single-handedly carries this surprisingly really well
directed film by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Alien, Body of Lies) who until
recently has seemed to have fallen off the director’s chair. A great cast
surrounds him as well from Jeff Daniels, Jessica Chastin and even Danny Glover
aka Childish Gambino. Equally
beautifully shot as well, the Martian immediately stands out as one of Scott’s
best work in the past decade.
NIGHT BEFORE/SPY – Had to chime in on the two funniest
comedies of 2015, BY FAR!!! Seth
Rogen, Joseph-Gorden-Levitt and Anthony Mackie absolutely kill it in the
hilarious laugh-out-rageously-loud dark comedy Night Before. If you’re into the Superbads, This is
the Ends and Knocked Ups of the world, no disappointment here. And as for the spy-bond-parody comedy
Spy, I was left highly impressed with how funny and well written it was. Easily Melissa McCarthy’s best flick to
date and even Jason Statham poking fun at his action-hero-persona was a scene
stealing sensation.
THE TOP 10
#10 ROOM
We kick off the countdown with the emotionally-brooding
drama Room about a mother who is held captive for six years by her rapist in a
small room where her son was born in and knows nothing of the outside world. It’s an incredible story that on paper
wont properly convey what an emotional-storm you’re about to embark on until
you see the performances from its main stars Brie Larson and newcomer
child-actor Jacob Trembley. Larson
in particular is simply breathtaking and would be my choice for best actress at
this year’s Oscars. Even for a
child, Trembley doesn’t overly annoy you to death as many young performances can
dilute itself in sometimes. Every
moment on screen you feel sorry this kid has no idea what’s outside the four
small walls he knows all his life.
It’s a profound and compelling drama that stays with you awhile after it
ends.
#9 THE WALK
Sadly forgotten by Oscar season and a case of bad marketing
on the studio’s part, The Walk was easily the best IMAX experience of 2015 and
perhaps one of the best usages of 3D to date. Not to judge a film by just its theatrical experience, the
Walk backs it up with a wonderful feel-good humane story that lately we don’t
get many of in this day and age of dark dramas. As always, Joseph Gordon Levitt revels as the man on the
wire who historically walked between the now infamous World Trade Towers back
in the 70s. He dons a stellar
French-accent as he plays Phillipe Petit who famously planned, snuck and
executed his amazing wire walk in the heart of New York City. What partially makes the Walk such a
beautiful movie is how the towers are used as a character in the film. Always being shown during Petit’s
narration of the story and purposely used often to remind us how daring and
gorgeous they were. Memories of
9/11 obviously play a part but are never beat over the head. We are instead reminded of a good
memory of them rather than another film and documentary reminding us otherwise
over the past decade and a half.
#8 THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Tarintino once again strikes inside my top 10 list for as
many movies as he’s done since my blog’s inception. Although he hasn’t had a film cross my top 5 since
Inglorious Basterds, and Django didn’t really blow me away on second watch, I
have a feeling Hateful 8 could very well end up being a better movie on
multiple watches. Many Tarintino
flicks are better viewed on second and third watches because of the vastness
behind most of his projects. He is
the epitome of an “art-ist” who refuses to conform to any Hollywood formality
yet always his films blow me away.
Hateful 8 is no exception, with one of the best ensembled castings of
the year from Kurt Russell’s resurgence , the long forgotten Jennifer Jason
Leigh’s disturbing but amazing performance, to Samuel Jackson whose arguably
better than he’s ever been on screen (this is the major snub that should have
been rewarded a best actor nom).
There’s no proper way to ever explain a Tarintino script, people will
complain about long conversation scenes as they always do, but the pay off in
the final hour is tremendous and shows all that led up to it was worth every
second of its 3 hour running time.
#7 LEGEND
The Tom Hardy tour-de-force continues. Ever since Inception and his role as
Bane in the Dark Knight Rises Hardy has raged on the Hollywood map and doesn’t
seem to have any intent on letting us up.
Legend just might be his best work as a performer. Playing not one but both of the
infamous Kray Twins, two gangster brothers that terrorized much of England in
the 60s, Hardy is lives up to the billing of the film’s title. How on earth he didn’t get an Oscar
nomination at the very least is beyond me. This year had so many terrific performances I admit, but
Hardy carries Legend the whole whole way.
One twin a more modest charismatic sociopath, the other as opposite as
charisma gets but as obvious a sociopath nevertheless. Hardy has to play almost polar opposite
characters in the same film showcases just how much of a terrific actor he
is. This man will have an Oscar in
his hand in no time or he very well might be the next Leo story we have to talk
about.
#6 SPOTLIGHT
These next six films are the real stars of the list. Each and every one of these movies were
very hard-pressed to rank and I had to rewatch almost every one of them at
least twice. This was the best
listing I could conjure from my feelings and opinions, starting with the
absolutely terrific biopic Spotlight.
By far the best ensembled casting of the year. Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Liev Shrieber, Rachel McAdams
and Mad Men’s John Slattery just flat out excel in their performances as the
oldest ongoing investigative journalist team in the country called the
Spotlight, who write for the Boston Globe. Based on a compelling true story about the Boston Catholic
Priests who raped and abused boys for decades, no one knew how deep this
particular rabbit hole went until they dug all the way to the bottom of the
dirt. What they found won them the
2003 Pulitzer Prize for public service and even more astounding just the
surreal level of deceit and lies that the church was able to get away with for
so long. Sheer mind blowing film
that truly deserves to be one of the year’s best periods.
#5 EX MACHINA
It’s been quite awhile since an original, refreshing sci-fi
story has really taken me on a ride the way Ex Machina did. One of the earliest films of the year
that I saw stayed with me throughout the season and still has left its mark in
my congested film brain. Oscar
Isaacs has shot up the ladder as one of my favorite breakout actors. Ever since his supporting role in
Drive, and last year’s A most Violent Year, this guy has steadily shown he is
going to be one of the bright new stars in Hollywood. This movie was no exception as the brilliant, eccentric “mad
scientist” who chooses one of his employees to move into his mansion and run an
experiment Turing test with an A.I. robot he’s been working on. Played elegantly by newcomer Alicia
Vikander, Ava knows she’s an A.I. but has the feelings and emotions of human
behavior that Nathan (Oscar Isaacs) wants to see interact with another human. The results needless to say take a turn
and the final twist is actually one of the better turns you won’t see
coming.
#4 THE BIG SHORT
Another one of the better ensemble castings of the year is
the ostentatious Adam McKay directed Big Short. Known mostly for his slapstick comedies like Anchorman,
McKay still brings a level of comedy into a story that has nothing funny about
it. The financial crisis of 2007
brought upon by a broken housing market that was doomed yet only a handful of
opportunistics saw coming. Shot at
a very “wolf of wall street” pace, the comedy/drama shows how a hedge fund
manager (an exceptional Christian Bale) took the time to actually read the fine
print that “only lawyers read” and notice the jigsaw that was the crumbling
housing market. He decides to
utilize his place in his company to make billions off the inevitable
crash. Against even his own
investors and father. The rest of
the terrific cast played by Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt also play
equal parts in taking advantage of the catastrophic event that lost many people
their money, homes and lives. The
Big Short does a lot of things really well, perhaps best of all is show how
America can truly be not only the land of opportunity…but also stupidity.
#3 SICARIO
Another dark venture into the grim world of the war on drugs,
particularly between Mexico and the U.S., Sicario holds no punches in this
excellent film. From the director
of Prisoners, another similarly dark themed drama, Denis Villeneuve not only
thrusts the audience into this gritty realm where law doesn’t exist but you
feel the lack of humanity the second the film crosses into Mexican
territory. Emily Blunt basically
plays the audiences’ eye as we are experiencing everything she does for the
first time. With every ounce of
conventional wisdom seemingly tossed aside she has to learn the world that
taught her everything she knows prior doesn’t exist where she is headed. Along side her for the ride is the
always solid Josh Brolin and the scene stealing terrific performance of Benicio
Del Toro (ROBBED FOR SUPPORTING NOM)!!!
Had to get that off my chest, sorry, but yes Sicario didn’t exactly get
a rousing support of award buzz.
Partially in my heart of hearts due to its very dark story which Oscars
or the Globes for that matter never really feel secure about recognizing. Don’t get it twisted, this film pushes
many envelopes, and the ending will leave a very cold chill in your spine. Gorgeously shot and a score that lulls
you into its tumultuous world, Sicario easily tops as one of the best films of
the year and has to be one of the better crime dramas to come out
recently.
#2 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
I honestly don’t know what more can be said of George
Miller’s classic re-creation that hasn’t already been said by critics, fans and
awe-struck movie goers all year long.
I mean hell; the fact it’s nominated for Best Picture and is second in
total nominations tells you all you really need to know. An absolute marvel of a picture to
watch. I been calling it the most
artistic action movie you will ever see.
A two-hour roller coaster ride that doesn’t let up until the final
credits. A perfectly casted duo in
Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy (there goes that man again) that play off one
another beautifully. They remind
me of a dynamic duo that knew what the other had to do to lift the other up,
for sporting references like Aikman/Irvin, Montana/Rice, Shaq/Kobe, Lebron/Wade
and now yes you got Furiousa/Max.
I was calling for a nomination for Charlize simply because she is great
in Mad Max. Hardy almost takes a
backseat to her story and that is alright. This is a sequel not a remake, and I love the fact that if
you hadn’t seen the originals then Mad Max comes off almost like a
Drive/Gosling type character where we know nothing about him other than the guy
has been through some serious shit.
The musical score also propels this already amazing film into another
stratosphere almost like we are watching a two-hour classical music piece. Instead of violins, flutes and a
symphony orchestra the maestro here is Miller and the instruments are the
amazing set pieces put before the audience that is quite honestly stuff we’ve
never seen done before. Miller has
stated he had Fury Road penned and scripted since the 90s but had to wait for
technology to catch up to his dream.
The wait to say the least paid off tremendously.
#1 THE REVENANT
A revenant is a visible
ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to
terrorize the living
The rampage that has been Alejandro Inarritu has not let up
for a moment since last year’s Birdman (last year’s Best Picture and #1 on my
list). And he seems firm on making
it back-to-back knockouts; so far he’s got my vote. The Revenant had a lot of hype for a non-superhero/sequel
film, due to the now infamous tales behind the making of the film. Inarritu’s insistence on shooting in
only natural lighting, to his actors working in real world frigid cold
conditions and even Dicaprio admitting to eating raw bison. As was hoped, the authenticity and
rawness is shown on screen and we only get to profit from all parties involved
going the extra mile. Dicaprio
particularly I mean what else can this man do? As if he hasn’t already shown
his worth as our generation’s best performer in front of the lens, The Revenant
has to be some of his finest work in just sheer commitment and virtuosity. The quiet anger he conveys almost half
of the film through darty bleak cold eyes is as riveting as it is eloquent yet
silent. Tom Hardy once again (for
the 3rd time on this list) pops up and delivers one hell of a
performance as the man who will make you definitely feel a certain type of way
about a mere character on a screen.
In one of the most gut wrenching scenes that doesn’t involve a bear-maul
attack, Hardy and DiCaprio show you to what depths as actors they can lure
themselves into and with almost no use of words. The climatic final showdown is one of the best-directed shots
of hand-to-hand combat you’ll ever witness. And the cinematography alone will leave you breathless, as
well as cold. I can ramble on and
on about Inarritu’s vision of man against man and our human natural resolve to
violence is something that will always be a part of our race. There’s something to be said of a
director like Inarritu to really push the boundaries of human nature and
showcase how much violence, no matter how hard we try to hide it, is in our
DNA. When it comes down to bare
bones, natural human survival is of the fittest.
