An interesting
turn of events has been occurring in the past few years. Like a perfect storm,
slowly developing into a deadly juggernaut, Disney is now reigning king as the
most successful movie studio in history. It all started with the deadly double knock
out of acquiring both Marvel and Star Wars! All of the sudden, boom, they’ve
made some of the most successful films ever, actually, scratch that, with The
Force Awakens, they’ve produced what will apparently turn into THE most
successful movie of all time. And it doesn’t look like they’ll be stopping any
time soon; audiences are devouring everything that Disney is producing! And
their slate of films for the coming years promises to keep them on top for the foreseeable
future. All other movie studios better shape up! In terms of commercial films, Disney
is gobbling you guys up like yesterdays leftovers! That’s right my friends, all
other studios are playing catch up to the house that Mickey built. This does
not mean that other studios aren’t producing quality stuff; it just means that
Disney is good at marketing. They also have the money to not only make the most
expensive films out there; they can also amass the most talented group of
filmmakers. It will be interesting to see other studios step it up. One thing
is for sure, they have very stiff competition! So anyways, here’s my list of
best and worst of 2015, I haven’t seen everything, so obviously, some really
good ones aren’t on this list yet. But of the ones that I have seen this past
year, these were the ones I loved and hated the most, enjoy! I’ve divided this
article into three parts, 'The Worst of the Year', the ones that were 'Not Bad But Not Great' and finally, 'The Best of the Year'. Let’s start off with the worst shall
we?
WORST OF 2015
Comments: Quite possibly the Fiasco of the year, Fantastic
Four was doomed from the get go thanks to all the shenanigans that were going
on behind the scenes. First off, this was a 20th Century Fox film
and nowadays, audiences only want their Marvel films to be made entirely by
Marvel, anything else gets suspected of
being crap. To make matters worse, Josh Trank, this films director, had a dark
tone in mind for this Fantastic Four film while the studio wanted something
lighter, as a result the studio took the film from Trank and did it their way.
As most film buffs know this is never ever a good thing on any production. Sure I've seen far worse films in my life time, but the
final results with this particular film are hard to ignore. It was too violent for kids but with dialog that was too silly for adults. The story felt choppy, like a rushed
job. The studio tried to cover the mess with a bunch of
visual effects in the films finale, but by then the damage had spread too far
and the resulting Fantastic Four movie we got was a huge messy thing, enjoyable
at times, but ultimately unable to deliver the truly satisfying Fantastic Four
film we all yearn for.
Quote: “We are not gods, just people. And we are stronger
together than we are apart.”
Insurgent (2015)
Comments: I halfway enjoyed the first one, which is why I
gave this second one a chance. But damn, this second one was just so boring, so
blah, that I didn’t even feel the need to write a review for it. There’s that
and then there’s the fact that this whole teenagers against the system
sub-genre has worn its welcome a long time ago. Please just stop making all
these movies, they all feel the same! To make matters worse, we have to see
good actors shaming themselves by appearing on these crappy movies and saying
this inane dialog. I mean, how sad is it to see Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet on
this thing?
Quote: “You can take the girl out of abnegation, but you can’t
take abnegation out of the girl.”
Comments: The Wachowski brothers downward spiral continues,
ever downward! So sad because at one point, these two directors were considered
cutting edge! Now they are considered makers of want to be science fiction
operas. Jupiter Ascending suffered from some really bad miscasting, mainly that
of Mila Kunis in the role of the worker bee who ends up becoming the Queen of
the Universe. Kunis isn’t a bad actress, I’ve seen her do good in films like
Black Swan (2010), but here, she just didn’t feel like a Queen, like someone who
would command an entire society. Her journey from janitor, to queen of the
galaxy was too quick. We never saw her go through a process, therefore it’s all
a bit hard to swallow, even for a science fiction film. To top things off, the
visual effects were too messy visually speaking. Will the Wachowski’s ever make
a comeback to good science fiction cinema?
Quote: “A dream is the only way any of this makes sense.”
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Comments: Here’s a movie I hate with all my heart, and
ladies, don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t mind sexy thrillers, but this
one is just a freaking fantasy. I mean, sure there are maybe one or two guys
out there in the world this film was made for. But for the 98% of out there,
this movie was made so our girlfriends would hate us. I mean, who can live up
to the standards set by the gazillionaire on this film? Basically, this movie was
made for the common woman out there to float on a nimbus cloud for two hours,
so then they can come down to the reality of the poor schmuck they have for a
boyfriend and think “why am I with this loser?” So yeah, this is a fantasy for
the ladies, I just hope they realize that in the real world, most of us poor
schmoes don’t have our own private helicopters or jet planes.
Quote: “I don’t make love. I fuck…HARD!”
John Wick (2015)
Comments: Here’s a film that didn’t impress me at all, yet a
lot of people seemed to like. Maybe I need to give it a re-watch? I mean, this is one by the numbers, been there
done that affair. There’s nothing original about it, nothing moves the movie
forward, and the so called “style”, I’m sorry I just didn’t see it. They killed
he’s dog and he has to kill every Russian he sees because of this? Wow.
Amazing. Please, shoot ME! I don’t mind stylish empty violence, but hey, I’d
like to see some actually trickery with the camera to keep things interesting,
not a cgi bullet ballad with no blood or gore. Where’s the real freaking
violence? This is so pg-13 it’s nauseating! They are actually making a sequel,
let’s hope they can inject some sense and meaning into the film this time
around, because this one was an empty shell, with no style, no guts and in my
book, no freaking glory.
Quote: “In a bar, I once saw him kill three men, with a
pencil. A fucking pencil!”
Maggie (2015)
Comments: Zombies and Arnold Schwarzenegger, sounds like a winning combination right? Well, yeah, unless you're talking about a film called Maggie (2015), then you're talking about a borefest. Man, I was expecting one thing and got another. I was expecting Arnold blowing up zombie heads, instead I got Arnie attempting a melodrama. I'm sorry, I tried liking this one but it was just too damn slow and not in a good way. I mean, I don't mind dramas, I don't even mind slow zombie movies, but this one was just so uneventful.
Quote: "Dad, you've protected me all your life. Now it's my turn to protect you. There is life with you not with me."
Comments: Pixels was a low blow to my nostalgia. It got me
by flashing all those old video game characters on the screen during its
trailer, but once I was in the theater I was like “what is this shit?” Adam
Sandler has totally lost my respect, I mean, what the hell man, you aren’t even
trying. You don’t care about making movies, or cinema, you just care about the
dough. So yeah, it’s safe to say that Sandler has completely lost my respect.
Simply having old video game characters in your film will not make it a good
film, you have to have a gripping story and least of all, a bit of sense. This
was a half assed effort from a crew that should’ve known better. I mean, come
on, this piece of crap came from the guy who wrote Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies
(1985)? Really?
Quote: “Pac Man’s a bad guy?”
American Ultra (2015)
Comments: Wow, what a waste of celluloid. First up, I went
into this film with high expectations because of the creative team behind it,
namely, writer Max Landis, a writer who has rarely let me down. I loved his
Victor Frankenstein (2015) and loved the hell out of Chronicle (2012). The
concept for this film was an interesting one, though not entirely original. We’ve
seen the secret agent who doesn’t know he’s a secret agent until he is
activated routine before in films like The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Salt
(2010). The original element on this film is that the oblivious secret agent is
a stoner who works in a convenience store. He has panic attacks whenever he
tries to leave the United States. He doesn’t have a whole lot of ambitions in
life, he’s happy with his contempt life. But his secret agent past is catching
up to him. Sadly, while that does sound like an interesting concept, the way it
is told is just so been there done that. Around the halfway point, this movie
felt so boring and un-original that to finish it was torture. The films only
saving grace? John Leguizamo as a cocaine snorting drug dealer.
Quote: “Something very weird is happening to me…I keep
killing people! There’s a chance I may be a robot!”
NOT BAD BUT NOT GREAT
Comments: Okay, of course this one was poised to get hatred
from people. It’s the remake of a beloved horror classic from the 80’s, but I
always give remakes the benefit of the doubt. This one didn’t totally
disappoint because it had decent visual effects and a couple of innovative
concepts, like sending a drone with a camera to the other side. But when
measured up against the awesomeness of the original, this one was missing some
gravitas, mainly; the horror element was brought down a couple of notches.
Suddenly this film was no longer scary; suddenly the spectacle is no longer
there. When you watch the original, you feel like the filmmakers wanted to wow
us. When you watch this remake, you’ll feel no such passion. Even the ’Freaky
Freelings’ are less charismatic this
time around. You feel the film is pretty much “by the numbers” and decidedly less
scary. Which sucks, I mean, what’s the point in making a horror film less
horrifying? You’re supposed to up the ante, not bring it down people!
Quote: “They’re here…”
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Comments: Of course I didn’t hate this one; it had Hulk
going up against Iron Man! But can I pin point what I didn’t like about this
film? I still can’t quite figure it out. I think it was the overdose of
computer generated effects. I think nothing feels real anymore, I know that what
we’re looking at was never filmed; it was rendered in a computer. People are no
longer wowed by a legion of evil robots because we know actors are fighting
against nothing, standing in front of a green screen. But there was something
else wasn’t it? Could it be that these stories are getting too big for their
own good? If you save the world on this one what do you save on the next one?
The Universe? And then what? God? Speaking of which…that is exactly what the
Avengers are going to be going up against soon, Thanos becomes a God, so my
assumptions aren’t that far from the truth! Here’s hoping they manage to make
these movies heartfelt and tangible, because effects for effects sake can have
a numbing effect. Goddamit, the trick is to make me care for what is happening!
Put some feeling and intensity into it or else my brain just registers it as an
empty spectacle as heartless as the robots in your movie.
Quote: “The city is flying and we’re fighting an army of
robots. And I have a bow and arrow.
Nothing makes sense.”
Comments: This franchise keeps jumping from production
company to production company ever since Linda Hamilton sold the rights to the
franchise with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Since then, each sequel
that has followed has been made by a different production company, the result
is a very uneven franchise, with each production company changing things just a
bit while retaining the franchises strongest selling point: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The filmmakers behind this one decided to wipe out everything that had been
done before in order to make a brand new mess of their own. The film went with
the current Hollywood formula of giving us a bit of the original with a bit of
the new, this is why we go back to 1984, and that fateful first try at
eliminating John Connor before he was born. Unfortunately, no sequel after
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992) has been able to surpass what Cameron did
with that film. It is my personal belief that only when the rights revert back
to Cameron and he himself directs a Terminator film, will we get a good Terminator
film.
Quote: “If we die tonight, mankind dies with us.”
PAN (2015)
Comments: What went wrong with this new take on Peter Pan? Well,
even though the film flopped at the box office in a huge way, I pretty much
enjoyed this one. I mean, we get the Pan, we get the flying pirate boats, we
get the pixie dust. Could it be that what people really missed was Captain
Hook? Truth be told, good old Captain Hook is a huge part of the Peter Pan
equation, and not giving him to us the way we know and love him, with his huge
mustache, his hook and his fear for giant crocodiles, well, that only leaves us
with half of the Pan equation. I think the film was entertaining, but without
Hook it was only half of what it could have been. And Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard,
just wasn’t Hook. I get that they wanted to eventually give us the full blown
version of Hook in future films of this planned franchise, but since this first
film flopped so hard, well, I guess we’ll never see it.
Quote: “I am going to tell you a story about a boy who would
never grow up.”
Comments: Krampus is Michael Dougherty applying the formula
he used on Trick R’ Treat (2007), but with Christmas. Basically the formula says if
you don’t celebrate the holiday, then you’re going to die! On this one we meet
a family that hates each other, so much so that one of the kids in the family
wishes they would all die! In comes Krampus, a demon who is basically the
reverse of Santa Claus. He doesn’t bring toys to little boys and girls, he
takes little boys and girls! So basically, everything that’s jolly and
beautiful and merry in X-Mas, gets turned spooky and horrifying. The whole film
takes place during a blizzard, which makes everything scarier. I mean, this
movie is extremely atmospheric which I loved. My only fault with the film is
that I wish it had been gorier, because I was expecting a full blown Christmas horror
film, and not a kiddie version of it.
Quote: “Saint Nicholas isn’t coming this year, instead, a
much darker ancient spirit. His name is Krampus.He and his helpers did not come
to give, but to take. He is the shadow of Saint Nicholas.”
Furious 7 (2015)
Comments: Well, what can I say, it was a brainless action film all the way. It had nifty action sequences, same as in the whole series, in a phrase, it was entertaining. This production was struck by tragedy because as we all know, Paul Walker died mid-production. This made the whole affair more sentimental, many an audience member shed a tear or at the very least got watery eyed. The film itself was fun, with action sequences getting more and more unrealistic as the franchise progresses, as I said in my review for it, I half way expect the crew to be sent into space for the next film. But apparently they wont go that far, I hear the next one takes place in Cuba. This franchise has become a guilty pleasure of mine, can't call them "good" films perse, but I can't deny I have a blast every time I go see them. This one was no exception.
Quote: "No matter where you are, whether its a quarter of a mile a way, or half a world away, you'll always be with me and you'll always be my brother. "
BEST FILMS OF 2015
Comments: When it comes to modern horror films, most of the
time the good ones don’t even get a big theatrical release. This is something
that doesn’t register with me because the horror that does get released
theatrically is just abysmally bad. It
Follows, though not a perfect horror film, is effectively creepy. It even manages to make scenes that take place
on a beach, during the day, scary. Kudos to first time director David Robert
Mitchell for knocking it out of the park early in his career, I hope he doesn’t
give up on making horror.
Quote: “Like I told you, all you can do is pass it on to
someone else.”
Comments: Chappie was like taking Robocop and Robocop 2 and
mixing it with Short Circuit (1986) and Short Circuit 2 (1987). Basically, a
scientist creates a robot that thinks on its own, against the wishes of the
robot manufacturing company he works for. When “Chappie” the robot becomes
sentient, he’s like a little baby, lost in the world and ready to be taken
advantage of. This one has Neil Blomkamp’s trademark skinny robots, which he
has been using since his first short films ‘Yellow’ and ‘Tempbot’. Though this
film has elements from the films I mentioned earlier, it also ends up going
into completely original territory, especially towards its final act. It even
gets existential, toying with themes of god and questioning our reasons for
living.
Quote: “Remember, no
matter what happens, you were made for good.”
Comments: Another amazing horror film from a new filmmaker,
Jennifer Kent. This film is all about a spooky children’s book that once you
read it, it gets in your head and doesn’t get out! A single mother must protect
her son from the creature called ‘The Babadook’. The scares creep up on you, it’s
a slow burner, but when it gets you it gets you! It is an extremely atmospheric
film. It brought to mind films like Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965), with its
female protagonist going nuts in her own home. Turn out the lights, snuggle in
your couch and don’t watch it alone!
Quote: “You can’t get rid of the Babadook.”
SPY (2015)
My introduction to Melissa McCarthy was this awful film she
made with Susan Sarandon called Tammy (2014). I started watching that one and
just couldn’t finish it. I was not impressed I tell ya. I was like this is the
big deal? Good word of mouth on Spy made me curious for it. I mean, how bad can
it be if everyone is praising it so much? Then I saw a scene in which Jude Law
accidentally kills a bad guy because he sneezes while pointing at him with a
gun and I laughed my ass off so I decided to give Spy the benefit of the doubt.
I’m glad I did, this movie had me laughing all the way through! It’s an excellent
James Bond spoof! I think McCarthy works best when in collaboration with
director Paul Feig. Spy was so funny that it made me want to check out another Paul
Feig/Melissa McCarthy collaboration called The Heat (2013). Also, I feel very
optimistic about Feig and McCarthy’s upcoming collaboration: Ghostbusters
(2016), something tells me that one is going to work out well.
Quote: “I drove a car off a freeway, on top of a train,
while it was on fire. Not the car, I
was on fire!”
Comments: This was not the most original film in the world;
actually, it did exactly what J.J. Abrams did with Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015), it gave us more of the same. I guess Hollywood’s new formula is “if it
ain’t broke don’t fix it”, basically, they are giving us more of what we loved
the first time out; they want to make the best out of our nostalgia for the
movies we grew up with, which is why like The Force Awakens, Jurassic Park
feels like a remake of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1992). But I guess this is
okay as long as it’s done in an entertaining manner. Audiences sure didn’t mind
because they made Jurassic World one of the biggest money makers of the year,
breaking all kinds of records, which then The Force Awakens went on to break.
This formula Hollywood is milking for all its work includes one interesting
clause, with every retread of an old action sequence we get new elements that open
the door for new sequels and so at least we finally get to see the park open
its doors to the public and we get a couple of new dinosaurs to look at. Also, Chris
Pratt showed us he has what it takes to be the next Indiana Jones.
Quote: “Maybe you should include that in the brochure…that
eventually one of these things will eat someone.”
Comments: Another great surprise that nobody went to see,
primarily because some genius over at 20th Century Fox decided to
release it close to the release of a little film called The Force Awakens and
so, guess who lost that little war? The Force Awakens was sucking money out of
people’s pockets months before it was even released, and so, none of that money
went to Victor Frankenstein, which died a quick death at the box office, a pity
because Victor Frankenstein was actually a really fun take on Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein. Of course we’ve seen Frankenstein’s tale told time and time
again, but this time the film focuses on telling the story from Igor’s point of
view. The filmmakers decided that Igor needed an update, so on this one, Igor
isn’t in “Yes, Master!” mode, he’s actually an important part of the
experiments that bring the dead back to life. This was a fast paced,
atmospheric film that you should give a chance to once it reaches home video.
Quote: “It’s alive!”
Comments: Guillermo del Toro movies are a gift from the
movie gods, so of course I was excited to see this, primarily because Guillermo
del Toro is a real horror film connoisseur. I’ve heard him wax poetic about
horror films, and the guy goes in deep. He’s one of the few directors out there
who has a true appreciation for horror. This isn’t just some director making a
horror film, this ghost story comes from a lover of the genre, and to top
things off, he’s one of the best genre directors out there. Not everyone who
makes a horror movie is a real, true blue, nitty gritty, horror buff. Del Toro
is! In line with this, Crimson Peak is an amalgamation of atmosphere and
situations gathered from a zillion horror films. The influences on this one are
many, among them Roger Corman’s The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) and Robert
Wise’s The Haunting (1963), so it’s old school, atmospheric scares, the kind
that slowly creep up on you. At heart it’s a tragic love story, but with
ghosts. Very gothic, very atmospheric, this is a beautiful film to look at with
an amazing color palette (a del Toro signature) and amazing, jaw dropping art
direction.
Quote: “Where I come from, ghosts are not be taken lightly.”
Comments: Here’s a movie that went down the toilet as soon
as it premiered. No one went to see it for whatever the reason. It became a
huge box office failure for director Brad Bird, a director who is usually
associated with successful family films like Ratatouille (2007) and The
Incredibles (2004). Tomorrowland’s downfall is a shame because not only is it
extremely fun, it also sends an extremely positive message. We live in a world
in which we are always being told that things suck, that things are bad and
that they are only going to get worse. What this movie proposes is that we stop
talking about how bad things are and that we start talking about how we can
improve them. It asks all those creative, intelligent minds out there to rise
up and make the world a better place. Tomorrowland sends this message out there
in a very entertaining and fun manner, with the aid of some excellent special
effects. This was one of the best surprises of the year; it’s the coolest movie
you never saw. What this film connoisseur proposes is that you give it a
chance. You might discover a film that touches your soul and brings a tear to
your eye.
Quote: “Dreamers need to stick together, it’s not
programming, it’s personal.”
Comments: Ex-Machine is Alex Garland’s first stab at
directing a feature film. Normally Garland is on the writing part of the
filmmaking equation. He’s responsible for the scripts for films like 28 Days
Later (2002) and Dredd (2012), but for Ex-Machina, he got behind the cameras. Sometimes
when a writers decides they want to direct a film, the results aren’t always
great, but not on this occasion. Ex-Machina was an excellent slice of science
fiction! It’s an intriguing film that will keep you on your toes. Oscar Isaac
plays the inventor behind a new form of cyborg, but before he puts it out on
the market he wants to test it, see how it reacts to questions, how it thinks.
The film goes into existential territory by asking questions like do we make
our own choices? Are we being watched all the time by an all powerful entity?
Are we masters of our own destiny? A psychological film every step of the way
that shows that Garland has talent for both directing and writing films.
Quote: “No matter how rich you get, shit goes wrong. You can’t
insulate yourself from it. I used to think it was death and taxes you couldn’t
avoid, but it’s actually death and shit.”
Comments: The big draw with Ant Man is that it isn’t one of
these huge storylines like in The Avengers (2012), where the fate of the entire
galaxy is in the balance, no; Ant-Man is a more personal story about a father trying
to redeem himself in the eyes of his daughter. This is a movie about a regular
Joe who discovers a way to miniaturize himself, so a smaller story goes
perfectly well with the films premise. Even with its smaller scaled story,
Ant-Man managed to be every bit as entertaining as some of Marvels bigger films.
The effects were amazing on this show.
Also, it gets unexpectedly surreal and trippy. Add to that a good
measure of humor via Paul Rudd and the excellent supporting cast and you got
yourselves a winner.
Quote: “Sorry I’m late, I was saving the world. You know how
that is.”
Comment: This was another surprise for me because to be
honest, I’d lost all interest in this series. Mission Impossible: Ghost
Protocol (2011) while entertaining, didn’t really say anything to me. It was
just mindless action, empty calories. But Rogue Nation impressed me because the
uped the ante in terms of stunts, which were performed by the ever surprising
Tom Cruise. The stunts are truly impressive on this one, blow your mind
impressive. Add to that an interesting plot line about the government wanting
to eliminate secret agents (which was strangely similar to Spectre (2015) by
the way) and you got yourselves a film with maximum entertainment value.
Quote: “Human nature…my weapon of choice.”
Comments: This one was a sweet surprise when I went to see
it in theaters. I went into this one blind, not knowing anything about it. I
came out with a smile on my face; my head exploded into a million colors out of
joy. This is a James Bond spoof done right, something along the lines of If
Looks Could Kill (1991), only, you know, a million times better! The action,
the effects, the pacing…all great! There’s this show stopping scene that
involves a massacre inside of a church, that’s just wow. You have to see it to
believe it. A movie with a bite, that has no problems criticizing the world we
live in.
Quote: “I’m a catholic whore, currently enjoying congress out
of wedlock with my black, Jewish boyfriend who works at a military abortion
clinic. So, hail Satan and have a lovely afternoon madam.”
Spectre (2015)
Comments: The reconstruction of what we knew as the James Bond universe continues with Spectre, a film that yet again smashes everything we've come to know about 007 and repackages it in an entertaining and intriguing way. This is the 24th Bond film and the 4th starring Daniel Craig in what is possibly one of the best Bonds to ever light up the silver screen. It looks like this might be the last time Craig plays the character, but with the success of his run, I seriously doubt it. Something I enjoyed about this particular Craig/Bond film, it regained its sense of humor, something that had been sorely missing from Craig's Bond films. Spectre is another solid entry in the Bond franchise, a franchise that is enjoying now, after so many years, some of its best moments.
Quote: "You are a kite, dancing in a hurricane Mr. Bond."
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Comments: A Tarantino film is always a gift from the movie
gods, so I was most anxious to see this, the eigth Tarantino film. For Tarantino, cinema is his religion, he breaths it, lives for it. I love seeing
anything he does because making a film is a sacred affair for him, each frame,
each line of dialog, meticulously chosen to perfection. At the core, is that
perfectly written and planned out script, which is why most Tarantino films are
so good. This time around he revisits the theme that reigns supreme over his
cinematic repertoire: racism. It is not as obvious as in previous films (like
say Django: Unchained) but yeah, with The Hateful Eight he once again touches upon mans discrepancies with their
skin color. This time around, the story is all about these eight people who get
trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere thanks to a raging blizzard. Who
wants to kill who and why? Tarantino effectively builds tension and brilliantly
develops characters. You’d think that a film that takes place almost entirely in a
cabin would be boring? Then think again. Tarantino will make you laugh and
cringe all in one swoop. This one is drenched in gore and blood so be ready for
that! Another winner from one of the best directors in cinema.
Quote: “But when John Ruth ‘The Hangman’ catches you….you
hang!”
Comments: So yeah, it was a real joy to see this one. Disney
and J.J. Abrams knew what they were doing when they made this nostalgia bullet
to the heart. By using A New Hope as the blueprint for this new adventure, they
managed to give us that old Star Wars we knew and loved. It was a shot of
familiarity that wiped clean the bad tasted left by Lucas’s overtly political prequels.
It was awesome seeing Han and Chewie back flying the Millenium Falcon. And it
was awesome to see so many interesting new characters populate the Star Wars
universe! Not only that, the new characters rocked the house! Kudos to Disney
for putting a woman and a black man in the leading roles! There was not a
single Jar-Jar Binks type character in sight! In addition to that, Disney and
J. J. Abrams went old school with this one by actually building sets and props
as opposed to having everything be computer generated and for that I applaud
these guys! This was a film that didn’t forget to be fun; it didn’t forget that
the simplicity of the originals was part of their success. These films are back
to being about good guys vs. bad guys and it’s a welcome return to form for the
Star Wars universe. This is without a doubt the film of the year, maybe not the best of the year (that slot was saved for the next film on my
list) but The Force Awakens was an event, an experience
that brought an entire generation and their kids back to movie theaters. The
force was strong with this film!
Quote: “The force is strong in my family. My father has it, I have it, my sister has it. You have that power too.”
Comments: I was expecting big things from Mad Max: Fury Road
(2015), but nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of awesomeness
that would be unleashed upon my retinas in that darkened theater. This movie is
a work of art. Every time I watch it and I have watched it many times since its
release, my eyes are glued to the screen. I love the dialog, the cars, the
performances, and of course the stunts! Real cars, real stunts! What I loved
about Mad Max: Fury Road, aside from the brilliance in storytelling and visual
flare is that computer generated images were used to enhance and not to take
over the film. George Miller proved with this one what we film buffs have
always known, that he is a true auteur. He understands the language of cinema,
knows how our minds and our eyes work and he uses that to his advantage as a
story teller. Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa was spot on casting and Tom
Hardy as Max? The icing on the cake! I loved the fact that they put the female
in a leading role! I loved that it was all about protecting the dignity and
liberty of women. This to me is the best made film of the year, it deserves to
win Academy Awards in cinematography, visual effects and hell, why not, I’d
nominate George Miller for director of the year. Mad Max: Fury Road is a
filmmaking feat that no other director could duplicate! Rarely does a director
leave his mark on a film the way Miller did with this one, my hats down to him
for making such a memorable film! Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) was “the movie of the year” but Mad
Max: Fury Road (2015) is the better picture, which is why I give it my number
one spot. If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? Go and
experience the madness!
Quote: “If I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die historic! On the
Fury Road!”
