without a face

Thanks in advance to the 2 or 3 people who might take the time to read this. I feel compelled to share my favorite films of 2015 now that we’re a few days into 2016. It’s just one man’s opinion and I must admit I didn’t see a lot of films in 2015 --still need to catch up on some of the year-end releases. Would also like to note that I feel television shows have been consistently impressing me a lot more than films for the last few years, but anyway... 

My criteria for a great movie: 

my attention was captivated for the duration of the movie, not once did I catch myself thinking ‘is this good? do i really like this?’

the actors in the film did a great job in portraying their characters, extra points if I have a hard time imagining any other actor playing their role 

the musical score was enjoyable (obviously) and a great fit for the movie

the movie itself gets extra brownie points if it was not actually a sequel or a prequel 

the plot itself (whether complicated or not) was easy to follow and extra brownie points if i couldn’t predict what was going to happen at any point in time

the dialogue in it was solid and it had minimal cheesiness

the cinematography seemed superior to a lot of stuff out there

5. Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens

    I was a fan of what J.J. Abrams did with the last two installments of Star Trek, yet I was still skeptical of what the end product would be (until I saw a couple of the trailers). While some people felt differently; my interest was peaked when seeing that a white woman and a black guy were going to be the main leads in the latest Star Wars installment. I didn’t choose to be born as a straight white male and I also can’t control that I’m guessing about 99.5% of the movies I’ve seen had straight white males as the main characters so (from a creative standpoint) I say it’s actually refreshing when the straight white male demographic isn’t the main focus in every freaking movie I see.  I just wanted it to be a good movie, that’s all...and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, I expected they were going to have some nods to the previous Star Wars films; you might as well pay homage when it’s a cultural phenomenon like Star Wars is, but the nods were done in good taste. The old & new talent did a great job with a script that was ultimately a big butt-kissing of Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, which is my only criticism of the flick itself. Yes, John Williams recycled some of his old compositions but why on Earth would you not?!

4. The Hateful 8

   I thought this story was executed very well. A man and a prisoner get stuck with a bunch of other shady characters in a cabin during a blizzard. The audience didn’t know who to trust. Tarantino is a movie lover himself and wants the viewer to have an awesome experience --which my enjoyment was accentuated by the film having an overture and an intermission like in the old days. The soundtrack was scored by the legendary Ennio Morricone, and I can’t help but feel privileged to have heard new music from him. Mr. Tarantino clearly is not afraid to portray racism in his movies (Django Unchained, for the main example), and while he may be a subject of controversy as a result of certain words or phrases he gives his characters to use, I can’t help but think that regardless of whatever his motives are; he’s inherently contributing to the dialogue of racism in America (which I find important). The Hateful 8 story is (probably unintentionally) reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs, which I ultimately did not mind at all..

3. Ex-Machina

   I had high expectations for this film going in and expectations were fulfilled. Oscar Isaac is one of my favorite newer actors out there. I feel he does a great job with every character he portrays, and he didn’t disappoint. The story is ultimately not unlike Frankenstein, which on a sidenote: There’s really not a lot of different stories you can tell, obviously...”Man VS Man” “Man VS Nature”, etc...The feel & score of this movie made me think of “Social Network”, and the leading lady was indeed spellbinding to watch. It was a long movie that left me wanting more (in a good way). The story itself even made me contemplate ethics, morals, and science...And any film that intellectually stimulates me like that is going to score major brownie points with me. I’ve only seen this film once and yet I can remember the impression it gave me. I want to savor it throughout multiple viewings.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road 

   I feel like I’m usually not impressed with action movies, but this was more than just your average run-of-the-mill action movie, though. This was high brow art executed by a master filmmaker and I’m not ashamed at how pretentious that probably seems to say. Charlize Theron convincingly plays a one-armed warrior-princess. There’s a harem of badass women who help escape the clutches of an old white straight male and his army. Tom Hardy plays Max and manages to be captivating without saying very much --it really felt like more of an ensemble film with bells & whistles than it felt like in previous Mad Max installments where you felt Mel Gibson’s character was the central figure. I’d have to listen to the score itself again but ultimately I remember it helped the film, although it was not necessarily memorable to me. There was very minimal cheese. It is very difficult to make a film. It is even more difficult to make a good film. To make a great film like this and to play any part in making it is what I would consider to be an opportunity of a lifetime. Some of the stunts pulled off in this movie I had never even seen or conceived of before. The fact that this movie managed to be captivating with so very little dialogue is a testament to all who were involved with making it.

1. Beasts Of No Nation

   The Netflix original movie directed by Mr. True Detective Season One himself, Cary Joji Fukunaga, is a film that makes an impact on anyone who sees it. I was a fan of his work on True Detective and realized after the fact that I had already enjoyed his slow-burner film “Sin Nombre”, which followed a young man who was part of the MS-13 gang. Needless to say, I feel Mr. Fukunaga had a great enough track record that I was confident I would enjoy this film. However, “enjoy” is not an appropriate word for my viewing experience. I was deeply moved by it. Child actor Abraham Attah displayed a transformation from a happy child into a child-soldier that no one would want to cross paths with, yet there’s clearly moral ambiguity at play, here. It’s not like Mr. Attah’s character had a lot of great options. What would you do if you were in his shoes? What could you do? His leader, expertly played by Idris Elba, is a charismatic man who offers a glimmer of hope to the child when he has nowhere else to turn. Mr. Elba manages to make his warlord character very human and less like a traditional evil villain; it’s not like we are watching Darth Vader take over Africa, for a silly example. This film managed to not be “preachy” yet feels like it should be required viewing for anyone who might dare think he or she has a rough life, and the score accentuated your sorrow for this poor child. There was no other film like this in 2015, nor has there been a film like it in many years (I can only think to compare it to City Of God and Apocalypse Now), and I’m skeptical there will be a lot like it in the future. Thus, Beasts Of No Nation is my favorite film of 2015.

Honorable Mentions: