Monday, January 4, 2016

F This Movie! - Our Favorite Movies of 2015

Patrick, Doug and JB share their lists of the movies they loved most in 2015.



Download this episode here. (149.7 MB)

Subscribe to F This Movie! in iTunes.

Listen to F This Movie! on Stitcher.

69 comments:

  1. The Christopher Nolan of Podcasts although this was actually a fun 3 hours! Thanks, guys!

    I guess I'll go ahead and post my top ten as there isn't going to be a dedicated thread.

    #1. Queen of Earth - the most intense and terrifying film I saw all year. It's almost in my top ten of all time but only time will tell with re-watches. An emotional "horror" about a crumbling friendship that stuck with me for weeks after seeing it. Incredible performances all around including the writing and direction by Alex Ross Perry who channels Polanski and DePalma with class.

    #2. Comet - I loved everything about it. It's raw and real and almost flawlessly written.

    #3. Hellions - Reading reviews about this shows that a lot of people don't like it. I don't know why and knowing Bruce McDonald's work, there is much more going on in this film than people think. He's a very smart director and he knows what statements he is intentionally making both in context of the premise and regarding the Horror genre.

    #4. The Midnight Swim - This is at times a quiet, haunting and emotional film where the performances really shine. I believed the three actresses were actually sisters throughout the film. First feature from director Sarah Adina Smith and she handles it beautifully. I bought in right away and it paid off as a ghost story, family drama and even fantasy with it's mythology.

    #5. We Are Still Here - Classic, old school vibe and story, perfectly shot and acted. Tense, suspenseful, gripping and I liked the effects. There was a point in this movie where I thought I was seeing things happening in the background that upon the second watch I found I was imagining them.

    #6. Mad Max: Fury Road -Most fun I had watching an action film all year. What else is there to say?

    #7. Horsehead - Minus the awful dub-step music that is used out of place in the film at times, I am still a sucker for style and this movie oozes it. It's surreal and asks for you to pay attention but to me, it was an awesome debut from first time director Romain Basset. I can't blame the guy for bashing us over the head with all of his influences in his debut; it's his debut!

    #8. Bone Tomahawk - This was the most surprising to me. I generally don't like the Western genre but this grabbed my attention from the jump. The performances, direction, pacing, score and ultimate finale blew me away.

    #9. The World of Kanako - The most relentless and intense film I saw this year. I wrote on an open thread "It's flashy and in your face but that's part of the point of the movie and at the same time, paying homage to revenge/crime films...but it's also modern in a somewhat frantic, A.D.D kind of way. "Kanako" is not an easy film to watch, both in structure and content, but, damn, is it effective."

    #10. Lost After Dark - To me this was a really smart "throwback" Horror film in a year plagued by non-stop, so-called "throwback" Horror films. Maybe I'm giving the filmmakers too much credit, but I really believe they intentionally made a mediocre Horror film, perfectly representing the mass of mediocre 80's Horror films that exist. I hate the "missing reel" but not enough to knock it out of my top 10.

    Here's my honorable mention:

    The Forbidden Room - Guy Maddin returns with a bold experiment in film manipulation utilizing numerous styles of film and technique. The story is about as surreal as he has done since "Tales of the Gimli Hospital". I was floored by this assault on the senses and it's so well crafted it must have been painstaking to make.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How did Elizabeth Moss not win ALL the awards in ALL the categories there are for Queen of Earth!?

      Delete
    2. Right? She certainly deserves it. And Alex Ross Perry deserves a writing nomination as well. At this point, that guy should be a household name.

      Delete
    3. wow i saw over 130 films from 2015 this year and of your top ten i only saw queen of earth and mad max (i also saw the forbidden room)! guess i have quite a few to put on the watch list.

      Delete
    4. GD, the other 8 would probably end up on your "worst of" like 4 of my favs from last year did!

      Delete
    5. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    6. Btw, super late and not that anyone cares but for the record, here are the films that round out my top 20:

      Everly - Salma Hyek as John McClane? Yep.

      Lost River - I really liked it. I know, I'm in the minority.

      One and Two - I thought this was great. No one really talked about this during the year and I feel that it deserves praise..

      Monsters, Dark Continent - Totally unexpected. First half is a war film with monsters then the film transforms into a meditative, ambient observance of human worth.

      From the Dark - Really well done creature film with a strong female hero that you don't see coming (well, now you do.)

      These Final Hours - Apocalyptic film, brutal at times but has a ton a heart.

      Exile: The Sunderland Experiment - Super micro budget and SUPER ambitious. Very strange, interesting story about a cult with some alien shit. I loved this film.

      White God - Beautifully shot, amazing what they were able to do with those dogs, and, freaking heartbreaking.

      Wyrmwood - My favorite Zombie movie of the year and I'm sick of that sub-genre. I had so much fun with this though.

      He Never Died - As I wrote on a weekend thread "Supernatural John Wick with Asperger's." I think I laughed more at this film than any other this year. It's brutal at times but darkly funny. Rollins is ridiculously good.

      Five best new to me:
      Foxfur (2012 Dir. Damon Packard)
      Hawkeye a.k.a karate Cop (1988 Dir. George Chung)
      The taking of Beverly hills (1991 Dir. Sidney J. Furie)
      Things (1989 Dir. Andrew Jordan)
      Night of Terror (1986 Dir. Felix Girard)

      Delete
    7. Yeah, that's 21, my fault. Oh well.

      Delete
  2. I suspected the high ranking for The Hateful Eight on Patrick's list, but I'm surprised Mad Max Fury Road was only as high as if was. Anyway, on the subject of the former, I loved The Hateful Eight. The only thing that held it back for me was the fact that I enjoyed the character interactions of the first half more than the "shit goes crazy" second half. It's super solid all around, however.

    And now, my top 10.

    10.)Mad Max Fury Road
    9.)The Gift
    8.)Sicario
    7.)The Hateful Eight
    6.)Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    5.)Creed
    4.)Spotlight
    3.)Love & Mercy
    2.)The Martian
    1.)Inside Out

    Honorable Mentions:
    Straight Outta Compton
    It Follows
    Kingsmen: The Secret Service
    Ex Machina
    Trainwreck

    I Wish I had seen:
    The Revenant
    Room

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also, I matched Patrick on #4 and Doug on #2! Go me?

      Delete
    2. You didn't miss much with Room, aside from a spectacular performance by the little boy in it. It was interesting in watching how these two people conditioned themselves to cope with what amounts to a prison sentence, and there is an amazing scene midway through the movie that I won't spoil. But ultimately the movie as a whole was pretty forgettable once the credits roll, mostly due to it's inconsistent second half.

      I would be surprised to see it on a Best Of list here, despite the award nominations being lauded upon it.

      Delete
    3. I'm sure I'll still catch up to Room at some point. The apparently excellent performances by Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay have me intrigued enough to seek it out, even I don't love the movie as a whole. We'll see!

      Delete
  3. For the record....The Intern, good. The Internship, bad. Great show yo!

    ReplyDelete
  4. *clicks "here"*
    *sees 163 minute runtime*
    *cries tears of joy*

    ReplyDelete
  5. Highly enjoyable gentlemen! But I wish Riske would start coming on this end of the year show. 4 too much? Meh. Worth it.

    1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    2. Creed
    3. Mission Impossible 5
    4. Bridge of Spies
    5. Bone Tomahawk
    6. Inside Out
    7. Turbo Kid
    8. Spotlight
    9. The Hateful Eight
    10. Kingsman: The Secret Service

    Big time honorable mention shout out to The End of the Tour, Ex Machina, The Gift, Spring and Tales of Halloween.

    Great year for movies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree I think Adam should get squeezed into the top ten show too. He sits through all the shitty movies so we dont have to throughout the year. He deserves it. I also forgot about Spring that's a great movie in my Honorable mentions for sure.

      Delete
    2. I'm in the longer Roadshow version of this episode.

      Delete
    3. Oh is it in 70 mm? That's exciting

      Delete
    4. The roadshow version never came to Missouri!!! Curse limited releases.

      Delete
  6. My Top of 2015 List

    1. Mad Max: Fury Road

    2. The Revenant

    3. Sicario

    4. Amy

    5. Spotlight

    6. Son of Saul

    7. Brooklyn

    8. Phoenix

    9. Carol

    10. Anomalisa

    Fingers crossed we don't see Star Wars: The Force is Xeroxed on any of these lists ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honorable mentions that didn't make the cut: The Martian, Ex-Machina, Timbuktu, Girlhood, Black Mass (I liked it, stop), Wild Tales, 99 Homes

      Delete
  7. Hi There. My first comment on the fhtismovie site.

    I'd like to comment on Inside Out.

    I saw this movie with my four year-old niece. It was her first theater experience and since I love movies, I really wanted the movie to be good and her to enjoy the experience. Long story short... the film was good but she didn't enjoy it.

    She was laughing throughout the trailers for Pets and Angry Birds. But once the film started, nothing. After 30 minutes I asked her if she understood what it was about. She said yes.

    But after the clown woke up, she asked if we could leave which we did. Overall I liked the film but It was maybe a bit too emotional and I wish she would have had a better first time theater experience.

    Anyway. Love the podcast guys !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome! That's a shame, it was an enjoyable movie but perhaps conceptually a bit out of your niece's reach just yet. Maybe try again with The Secret Life of Pets coming out in the summer, where the humor seems to be a bit more physical and accessible to all

      Delete
  8. My favorite 10 & 2 songs are "8675309/JB" and "25 or 6 to 4".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really loved their covers of 409 by the Beach Boys and Eighteen by Alice Cooper, even though they were a little simplistic compared to their usual fare.

      Delete
  9. Haven't seen Spotlight, Room, Carol, Anomalisa, Bridge Of Spies or The Revenant yet.

    10. Tangerine
    9. Force Awakens
    8. Predestination
    7. Kingsman The Secret Service
    6. What We Do In The Shadows
    5. Hateful Eight
    4. End Of The Tour
    3. Bone Tomahawk
    2. Inside Out
    1. Mad Max Fury Road

    Honorable mentions
    Phoenix, Amy, Ex Machina

    Underrated
    Ant-Man, Crimson Peak, The Gift

    Overrated
    Sicario, The Visit, Krampus, Creed (only a little bit)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It Follows also on my overrated list

      Delete
    2. I didn't...laugh..at What We Do In The Shadows, which kind of makes me cry because I was hoping it would be my favorite. I'm told I saw it with the wrong crowd.

      Delete
  10. I just wanted to say that it wasn't until I saw the poster pic above that I realized what The Road Chip was. I've heard it bashed all over the site but never took the time to look it up. Even when I saw that it was a chipmunk movie, it took a good five minutes for me to comprehend the pun. That's when you know you have a strong movie title. Only the most intelligent can decipher its clever meaning.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My Top 10 of 2015:
    01 Assassination Classroom
    02 Comet
    03 Anomalisa
    04 Queen of Earth
    05 Mad Max: Fury Road
    06 Hellions
    07 Faults
    08 Tag (dir. Sion Sono)
    09 The Green Inferno
    10 American Ultra

    However, there is a lot more to my movie year than trying to keep up with new releases, and I had a great movie year, overall, better than usual. Here's the 10 best movies I saw this year that weren't from 2015:

    01 Eega (2012) - Amazing Tamil action-comedy about a man getting revenge for his own murder after being reincarnated as a housefly. It's got a big-budget, and not only takes its insane premise completely seriously, it turns it into a great movie. I was cheering during parts of this.

    02 Zombies: The Beginning (2007) - The mighty Bruno Mattei's final movie is a SOV, near shot-for-shot remake of Aliens, and it never cops to it. This is one of the ballsiest, most fun bad movies I've ever seen.

    03 Dawn of an Evil Millenium (1988) - Damon Packard is a one-of-a-kind genius, and his first film, a 20-minute long trailer for a movie that doesn't exist, is the most unique, manic thing he's made.

    04 Final Score (1988) - Chris Mitchum + Indonesia = One of the craziest action movies ever. Go in blind, be amazed.

    05 Gamera: Super Monster (1980) - The final installment in the original run of Gamera movies throws all pretense at dignity out the window. It's a compilation of every fight from every one of the previous seven films in the series, with a flimsy framing device about sexy female aliens protecting a little boy. Possibly the best giant monster movie ever made.

    06 Sorority House Massacre II (1990) - No movie has ever committed as sincerely to being exactly what it was supposed be as this one has. There isn't a moment of it that isn't hilariously gratuitous. You'll feel yourself getting dumber while watching it, in the best way possible.

    07 The Color Wheel (2011) - This was the year I discovered Alex Ross Perry, who will become one of the most important people in the film business. This, the last of his movies I watched and the least polished, hit me the hardest. The man is supernaturally gifted when it comes to knowing exactly how to make a great movie, and this one nearly gave me a heart attack.

    08 All That Jazz (1979) - I saw this very early in the year, and it stuck with me all the way through. This is dark, dark stuff from one of America's most singular talents.

    09 Deadly Lessons aka The Legend of Simon Conjurer (2006/2014) - Shades of Neil Breen's filmmaking color this, where Jon Voight, in a fat suit and heavy latex makeup, gives a bizarre, over-the-top performance as a candy-addicted psychologist trying to frame a near-messianic elementary school teacher for a child's murder, while the teacher tries to simultaneously rehabilitate ten addicts of various stripes (sex addicts, overeaters, rage-a-holics) using magic.

    10 Female Convict Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973) - I watched all six movies in this series' original run early this year, and though this entry might not be its most stylish, it is the one that begins with the heroine severing a police officer's arm and then running across the city with it handcuffed to her wrist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A few critical disasters on that list, just goes to show how subjective the film-going experience truly is. Thanks for listing Faults, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed that movie and it's subverting of expectations.

      Delete
    2. Assassination Classroom was freakin insane.

      Delete
  12. 10. Steve Jobs
    9. The Peanuts Movie
    8. Creed
    7. Bridge of Spies
    6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    5. Mad Max: Fury Road
    4. Straight Outta Compton
    3. Best of Enemies
    2. What We Do in the Shadows
    1. The Revenant

    ReplyDelete
  13. This was such a pleasant episode. For what it's worth, here's my top ten:

    10. What We Do in the Shadows
    9. 99 Homes
    8. It Follows
    7. Ex Machina
    6. The Voices
    5. Steve Jobs
    4. Sicario
    3. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
    2. Kingman: The Secret Service
    1. Mad Max: Fury Road

    And here are 5 awesome movies that almost made the cut: The Hateful Eight, The Revenant, The Green Inferno, Black Sea, Predestination.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This year has been a lot of “I liked it, but…” movies. Movies that were a hell of a lot of fun, but were flawed enough to fall short of true greatness. These include Avengers, Jurassic World, Ex Machina, Spring, Krampus, and, yes, Star Wars.

    My top five:
    5. Ant-Man. No, really. I thought it was okay the first time I saw it, but then I watched the Blu-ray and was impressed with how tightly constructed and high-energy it is. Just a good time at the movies.
    4. Inside out. Did the city of San Francisco ever respond to the pizza comment?
    3. Mad Max Fury Road. For all the great characters in this, the one I liked the most was Nux. He believed he was destined for greatness, only to have that belief shattered in front of him. Something I think a lot of us can relate to.
    2. The Hateful Eight. The dialogue might not be as stylized as other Tarantino scripts, but it’s exactly what it needs to draw us in with these characters and their crazy situation.
    1. It Follows. The movie I’ve thought about the most since seeing it, and the Blu-ray I’ve watched the most. It indeed is a movie that stays with you. Follows you, even.

    Worst of the year: The new Terminator. Just ugh.

    Best old movie I saw first time this year: 1987’s Prom Night 2: Hello Mary Lou (during #ScaryMovieMonth). It’s not just an ‘80s horror movie, it’s EVERY ‘80s horror movie crammed into 100 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'd like to give a shout out to Patrick for another year of excellence, and for giving us all a heads up on great movies we may miss otherwise. And he didn't even have to watch Cool World this year, that's progress. Now on to the list:

    Didn't quite make it: The Man From UNCLE, Trainwreck, Krampus and Slow West.

    10. The Gift - Very smartly written and willing to go places most thrillers aren't. It's great to see a thriller that's not about good guys vs. bad guys. Edgerton is great as a sad, pathetic creep and Bateman is even better as himself.

    9. Bone Tomahawk - Banality and open space have never been so tense. I was a bigger fan of the first 2 acts than the third, but solid all-around.

    8. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - Great performances by the ensemble cast, especially Rebecca Furgeson, with great stunts and wondefully inventive action setpieces make up for a rather weak plot and mediocre script. The mission to watch this one again won't be impossible (gunshot).

    7. Faults - One of the smallest movies I saw all year, definitely the smallest in scope, but something I couldn't stop thinking about. Oh, and it all revolves around 2 brilliant central performances.

    6. The Hateful Eight - Tarantino does it again. As does Samuel L.

    5. What We Do in the Shadows - A bright spot in a field of bad comedies this year. I usually don't like horror comedies, but this knocked it out of the park, and made me reconsider every sandwich I'll ever eat again.

    4. We Are Still Here - Atmospheric with an original, creepy creature design, it's one hammy performance away from being great (Sorry Lisa Marie)

    3. Mad Max: Fury Road - Easily the best cinematic experience of the year. Maybe one of the brightest, most colorful and vibrant action movies I've ever seen.

    2. It Follows - Wonderfully unsettling, greatly conceived, with possibly my favorite original score of the year.

    1. Ex Machina - No movie lit up my brain more than this. Brilliantly crafted, tightly scripted. I'm so glad there's still a place for movies like this.

    And while we're here, might as well get these awards out of the way:

    Most Disappointing: SPECTRE - Why? Just why?
    Worst: Circle - It's on Netflix, and is like 12 Angry Men written by someone who's never interacted with other humans.

    ReplyDelete
  16. 10. The Gift
    9. What We Do In the Shadows
    8. The Visit
    7. Tales of Halloween
    6. Kingsman: The Secret Service
    5. Krampus
    4. It Follows
    3. Inside Out
    2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    1. Mad Max: Fury Road

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'll just do a top 4. The movies I 300% adore that are a cut above the other, like, 12 other movies fighting for a spot on the list.

    4.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens - I adore the original trilogy. They're perfectly crafted adventure films mixing in every cinematic influence I like and actually having ideas and themes on their mind past the basic good/evil conflict. A New Hope is probably my favorite movie ever. It's a trilogy that inspired me to pursue filmmaking as a career and continues to influence me. The Force Awakens… doesn't reach that level of adoration from me, but it's wonderful all the same. The new characters are great, seeing the old characters again was moving, and having that world and aesthetic come back after 30 years fills the Star Wars-shaped hole in the theater that nothing's been able to fill since RotJ. I'm ridiculously excited for episodes VIII and IX.

    3.) Mad Max: Fury Road - This is the best action movie in a long time. This movie's great in simple ways and it's great qualities have been talked about to death, but I want to echo all the praise towards it's visual storytelling. Small things like the milking machines or Furiosa's claw hand speak volumes. They don't provide definitive answers as to their backstory but they perfectly explain where they are right now and the types of things that could've gotten them there, which conveys the setting better than any exposition-dump ever could. Also, The Doof Warrior is the best thing ever.

    2.) World of Tomorrow - Don Hertzfeldt's only gotten more and more interesting as time goes on. He started with comedies and now makes dramas, but he's carried his distinct touch throughout all of his films. His wicked sense of humor, his stick figures, his perspectives of non-conformity and existential dread. World of Tomorrow, his newest film, is about a little girl, Emily, and a distant clone from the far future, Emily 4. Emily 4 needs something from Emily and takes her on a tour of the future. It's only 17 minutes long but it's more packed with ideas and speculation and emotions than most all other sci-fi films. I think I've watched it at least once a week since it's release, because it's sticking with me in weird ways and making me thin about things like our self-inflicted abusive relationship with technology and how that could eventually connect to our inevitable death. It's one of Hertzfeldt's best works. An absolute must-see.

    1.) The Hateful Eight - I hope this is a signifier for the quality that Quentin Tarantino's future films are going to lean towards. In toning down his indulgences and crafting the film around his strengths, he's made one of the best films of his career and the most grounded film he's ever made. None of the soundtrack is out of place, none of the violence is without purpose, and all the words are chosen for effect rather than style. He's made a film about people who lie to gain dominance, and on a bigger level, about how we lie about our country's deeper flaws to seem more civilized. It's thought-provoking, funny, moving, scary, and always entertaining. I've only seen it once and I'm only now just barely able to explain my thoughts on it, three or four days after seeing it. Like all the best films, it completely blindsided me and left me shaken. It's a film that deserves our admiration.

    2015 was a bad year for my personal life (as have all of the past few years) but it's things like my friends and the movies and this site that help me keep up, that help me stay invested. You're all wonderful. I hope 2016 is a good year :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, that was a whole lot of podcast to love. Absolutely the show I look forward to the most, I love having the three of you on a single episode, riffing off of one another and trying your hardest to drive JB crazy.

    I'm not ready to do my top 10 list yet, having only seen 27 of this year's movies and only loving six of them, but your lists give me new things to move up on my queue (I haven't seen a whopping 14 of those movies).

    Really forward to this coming week and seeing what the other contributors choose to highlight for their top 10 lists.

    Also, Patrick mentioned in an aside that The Hateful Eight might deserve its own podcast. I think that might be an F This Movie first give a movie a written review and also a podcast discussion, but really it's only fitting since there are two versions being seen, right?

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have still a few I need to see that would of made the list possibly but from what ive seen

    10 Tales of Halloween
    9 Krampus
    8 Last shift
    7 The Gift
    6 We are still Here
    5 It Follows
    4 What we do in the Shadows
    3 Mad Max
    2 Deathgasm
    1 Turbo Kid

    With honourables going to The Nightmare, The Visit, The Lady in the Car with the glasses and a gun, The final girls, Hellions and Knock knock

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had 7 of the same in a different order! Great men something something...

      Delete
    2. Sorry, just six. Never mind about that great men thing...

      Delete
  20. I'm looking at a lot of lists on here and I'm not seeing any SPOTLIGHT, everyone should see that movie. While the movie is very traditional on the surface and lacks directorial flash, the dialogue is excellent and the performances are top notch. As I made my way through a ton of screeners in December, only Spotlight left me fully moved. I loved the movie from beginning to end, I wished it were longer, but I feel they ended it in a good place.

    My Top 10:
    1. Spotlight - should win Best Picture, the film makes journalists look like superheroes and makes me wish I was a part of what's happening on screen.
    2. The Hateful Eight - characters, dialogue, tension, better on the second viewing, and it's largely original, it might be Tarantino's masterpiece if you think about it.
    3. Trainwreck - made me laugh the hardest and also cry at times, Amy Schumer will probably never top this one, Apatow's presence is a bit of an issue, but doesn't ruin it for me, strong script helped. Colin Quinn was great, might have been my favorite part of the movie.
    4. The End of the Tour - depth, there's so much more to their conversation than what lies on the surface. loved the dynamic between the two main characters, Jason Segel was amazing. Made me go out and buy Infinite Jest to see what the fuss was all about, loved it.
    5. The Revenant - Just beautiful, there were times that I forgot I was watching Leo, I thought he embodied the character well. Innaritu could win Best Director again, the opening scene especially stood out to me as being completely insane and impressive. I really think it's Leo's year to win an Oscar, kind of like Julianne Moore was given one last year.
    6. Trumbo - I'm a sucker for films that have to do with the history of Hollywood, I thought Cranston was tremendously entertaining and was aided by the strong supporting cast.
    7. Inside Out - Might be my favorite Pixar film, tremendously clever concept. They know how to push your emotional buttons.
    8. Straight Outta Compton - Left the theater feeling energized, it was so well done. I'm not even the biggest NWA fan since it was a bit before my time, but I knew their story well going in. It was just so much damn fun, I didn't want it to end.
    9. Love & Mercy - Paul Dano was so good, the rest of the cast as well. It was a story that I wasn't really aware of, actually pretty shocking at times. Great music, great acting, great storytelling.
    10. Joy - I can see why this one is getting mixed reviews, maybe O. Russell could have done it better, maybe he focused on the wrong parts of the story, maybe he chose style over substance at times, all valid points. I'm not saying it's perfect, it's not better than Silver Linings Playbook and is not O. Russell's best work, but I enjoyed my experience at the movies that night. I didn't have high expectations going in and it surprised me. Jennifer Lawrence does it for me, I could watch her in just about any role at this point.

    Films I still haven't seen that could possibly make the list: Bridge of Spies, Chi-Raq, Carol, The Martian, Bone Tomahawk, Turbo Kid, a few others.

    Honorable Mentions (2015 was a fantastic year for movies, very tough making a Top 10): Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, Creed, Black Mass, The Big Short, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, The Gift, Steve Jobs (Number 11 on my list: loved the format, glad they didn't make it into a greatest hits kind of biopic, showed a side of Jobs that is much more interesting than we're used to hearing, I love Sorkin's writing), Sicario, Pawn Sacrifice (Number 12, my favorite chess movie ever), Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

    The crap I wasn't lucky enough to avoid: Rikki and the Flash, Furious 7, Jurassic World, Man from U.N.C.L.E., American Ultra, The Gallows, Ted 2, 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown, Fantastic Four

    It was fine: Avengers: Age of Ultron, It Follows

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I enjoyed Pawn Sacrifice simply because Bobby Fischer has always captivated me, but Tobey Maguire was completely miscast and it made it hard for me to truly connect with the film. Imagine what Fischer's doppleganger Nic Cage may have done in that role, had he embraced it with the depth and craftsmanship he brought to his leads in Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas.

      But alas, my favorite chess movie will have to remain merely Searching for Bobby Fischer.

      Delete
  21. Everyone always talks about the pool scene with negativity, whether they like the movie or not. I really liked it the first time and still think it's a really cool concept. It's very Nancy pulling Freddy out of her dream feel to me. They are kids, coming up with kid plans, and that IS a very kid plan without any adults helping them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i didn't know people didn't like the pool scene! that was my favorite part.

      Delete
    2. The only thing about th scene that bothered me was how miraculously well-maintained the pool was for being in a deserted building.

      Delete
  22. My Top 10:

    10. Deathgasm
    9. The Night Before
    8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    7. Magic Mike XXL
    6. The Martian
    5. Kingsman: The Secret Service
    4. Inside Out
    3. Creed
    2. What We Do in the Shadows
    1. Mad Max Fury Road

    ReplyDelete
  23. Fun fact about The Hateful Eight: the Ennio Morricone score actually IS a horror score. Most of the music you hear in The Hateful Eight is from an unused score Morricone did for John Carpenter's The Thing. If I remember correctly, he only did about 20 minutes of original music for The Hateful Eight.

    ReplyDelete
  24. My top 10 as of right now (there are so many 2015 releases that I have not seen yet!)

    10. Phoenix
    9. Ex Machina
    8. Girlhood
    7. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    6. Sicario
    5. The Duke of Burgundy
    4. Brooklyn
    3. Mad Max Fury Road
    2. It Follows
    1. Spotlight

    ReplyDelete
  25. BEST:

    10. In Jackson Heights
    09. Bitter Lake
    08. World of Tomorrow
    07. Furious 7
    06. The Thoughts That Once We Had
    05. Mad Max: Fury Road
    04. Blackhat
    03. Clouds of Sils Maria
    02. Chi-Raq
    01. Two Days, One Night (didn't come out theatrically here until Feb so I'm counting it, Academy be damned)

    HM: Knock Knock, She's Funny That Way, Wild Canaries, Ex Machina, Mistress America, Cobain: Montage of Heck, Creed, Ned Rifle, The Look of Silence

    WORST:

    10. Coming Home
    09. Liar's Dice
    08. Chronic-Con Episode 420 - A New Dope
    07. Zombeavers
    06. Jurassic World
    05. Diary of a Teenage Girl
    04. Southpaw
    03. Queen & Country
    02. Lost River
    01. Black Mass

    DM: Accidental Love, A Very Murray Christmas, The Tribe, Everly, American Ultra, Green Inferno, Faults, Timbuktu, Kumiko The Treasure Hunter, Tu Dors Nicole, Avengers: Age of Ultron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally agree on Southpaw. If that wasn't the most paint-by-numbers boxer looking for redemption movie ever concocted, well, I don't know what is. Kurt Sutter is just an awful, hackneyed writer. Skip it and watch Tom Hardy's much superior Warrior. And my condolences for having suffered through Lost River.

      Delete
  26. My Favourite Movies 10 of 2015:
    10. Bridge of Spies
    9. Amy
    8. It Follows
    7. Carol
    6. Far From the Madding Crowd
    5. Mad Max: Fury Road
    4. Magic Mike XXL (yes, I know...)
    3. Sicario
    2. Kingsman: The Secret Service
    1. Inside Out

    Movies I love but I saw in 2014 because they were released earlier in Australia (and as a result of my obsessiveness, they can't be placed on my 2015 list):
    Predestination (Aug 14),
    What We Do in the Shadows (Sep 14),
    Paddington (Dec 14)

    Possible additions to my list, but aren’t released until 2016 here:
    The Hateful Eight, Room, Spotlight, Anomalisa, Brooklyn

    Overrated: Jurassic World - but whatever, you like what you like... case in point...
    Underrated:
    Unfriended, Tomorrowland, The Last 5 Years, The Night Before.
    Ugly: Aloha, Pan, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great show guys - insightful and hilarious as always and I copied down your lists because I've got a lot of great 2015 movies still to watch, notably: The Hateful Eight, Spotlight, Carol, The Revenant, The Martian and Victoria (that one sounds amazing).

    My Top 10 of only about 25 2015 movies I saw this year:

    10. Ex Machina
    9. Sicario
    8. What We Do in the Shadows
    7. Creed
    6. Turbo Kid
    5. The End of the Tour
    4. Bone Tomahawk
    3. Inside Out
    2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    1. Mad Max: Fury Road

    Honorable Mentions: Tangerine, The Wolfpack, It Follows, Spring

    Great year for movies!

    ReplyDelete
  28. My list so far

    There are still some things I have yet to see from this year that I think could probably bump the last few titles off of my list. As of the new year this is what I have.

    10. The Gift
    This movie creeped me out in a way that I didn't think it would. Jason Bateman gives a very interesting and enjoyable performance that I really liked too.

    09. Sicario
    I really like parts of this film. I want to see this again because I'm not sure the film as a whole worked on me as well as parts of it did, but what I liked I really liked.

    08. Ant-Man
    I might regret putting this on my list in a year or so, but I just really enjoyed myself with this movie. It hit the beats of action and comedy that I wanted it to hit, and I just had fun.

    07. Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation
    While I have said before that this movie does not come close to Ghost Protes for me, I still really liked the things it did. I wasn't too thrilled with part of the plot, but the way they staged the movie was very impressive and fun to watch.

    06. Bridge of Spies
    It's just a good movie. I love the story, the setting, the cast, and the cinematography. It just works.

    05. The Martian
    I was surprised with how pleasant this is to watch at times. Its very suspenseful while also being funny and interesting. I didn't think I would leave the theater as satisfied as I was by this.

    04. Star Wars The Force Awakens
    This was exactly the Star Wars sequel I wanted to see. great new characters. Even better use of the old characters. Fun action, and good subtle sequel building.

    03. The Hateful Eight
    This is where the list gets difficult. My #3 #2 and #1 could easily swap around depending on which one I'm currently watching. The Hateful Eight was not what I expected when I saw it, but it knows exactly what it should be. Such a rich atmosphere, and incredible characters. I really don't think I have to say more. i also wish every movie was as fun to see in the theater as the roadshow.

    02. Inside Out
    Pixar directed another sucker punch right to my feels. The heart of this movie works on my like it was made just for me. I did not expect the premise to work as well as it did, but wow does it work for me.

    01. Mad Max: Fury road
    Ditto to everything JB said about this movie. Its so jaw-dropping awesome. My expectations going in were blown through the roof by what I saw on the screen. I don't think I need to say any more.


    Horrible mentions:

    What the hell happened with Spectre?

    I liked parts of what Jurassic World was doing, but that got waaaaay over hyped.

    Glad I don't have to be dragged to another Hunger Games movie.

    Who else is not in any way excited for Captain America 3?

    Movie I hate to admit that I really liked: Furious 7

    ReplyDelete
  29. Great podcast, as always.

    10. The Big Short
    9. Crimson Peak
    8. It Follows
    7. Ex Machina
    6. Spotlight
    5. Sicario
    4. Mad Max: Fury Road
    3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    2. Bone Tomahawk
    1. The Hateful Eight

    ReplyDelete
  30. As usual here in Germany, a lot of possible Top 10 candidates haven´t opened here yet, so Hateful Eight, Spotlight, Big Short, Revenant and more may pop up here next year.
    Only counting films I saw on the big screen, these are my Top 10 for 2015

    10 - The visit
    9 - Bridge of spies
    8 - The Martian
    7 - Fury
    6 - Kingsman - The secret service
    5 - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
    4 - John Wick
    3 - Star Wars - The force awakens
    2 - Sicario
    1 - Mad Max Fury Road

    My biggest disappointments 2015 were Spectre (WTF), Jupiter Ascending (maybe better suited as a TV miniseries), Terminator Genisys (can we finally leave this franchise alone, please) and Exodus (laughably unconvincing on most levels).
    And at the very bottom of my list there´s the aggressively bad Chappie.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Haven't had a chance to listen to the show yet, but the almost-3-hour runtime has me excited! Anyway, here's my list, because why the hells not:

    Worst:

    Vacation

    Honorable Mentions in no particular order:

    The Gift
    Krampus
    Spring
    Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation
    Straight Out of Compton
    Turbo Kid
    What We Do In the Shadows
    Magic Mike XXL
    Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    We Are Still Here

    Top 10:

    10. Bone Tomahawk
    9. Sicario
    8. Chi-Raq
    7. Ex Machina
    6. Mad Max: Fury Road
    5. Spotlight
    4. It Follows
    3. Love & Mercy
    2. The Hateful Eight
    1. Creed

    ReplyDelete
  32. Didn't see enough movies this year to warrant a top 10 list :( but hopefully I'll see more 2015 movies in the upcoming weeks.

    One point about The Hateful Eight. It is a fantastic film. I think criticisms like "it's too long" or "nothing happens" are completely off the mark. It has very deliberate, successful pacing; amazing cinematography (got to see it in 70mm, so glad I did); superb performances all around; and witty dialogue. His quality and caliber of filmmaking should be used as an example for all.

    (big but incoming) BUUUUUT...

    I'd really like to figure out what Tarantino's intentions are regarding the "n" word. As we've seen in the past, Tarantino loves the "n" word; I can't think of a film of his where characters refrain from its use. Django Unchained is the only movie of his, IMO, where the use of the word makes at least some sense given the setting. I even feel like it's out of place in The Hateful Eight, especially since Tarantino's characters specifically draw attention to the word (unlike any other film of his) with Ruth's and Domergue's short exchange in the beginning when they meet Warren.

    So why does he use the word? Is it to make a statement that nothing should be off-limits in film? Is it to make his characters seem despicable? Bad-ass? Is it a commentary on our reaction to words even in the face of buckets and buckets of blood and gore pouring and seeping throughout his films? I'd really like for him to give an actual, unironic, genuine explanation for the word's use instead of hiding behind statements like "it's a word that people actually used in that era" (regarding Django). Realism is kind of a silly defense given the nature of Tarantino's films.

    If he really wants to make a statement about such a divisive, provocative, passion-stoking issue in America as race relations--if he really wants to demonstrate a thought-out opinion on the state of American prejudice--if he really wants to express solidarity with the plight of the African-American--then he should be frank and explicit. I feel like he does owe the movie-going public a direct explanation, perhaps in an interview or something, that goes beyond his usual evasions. Otherwise he comes off like a child who just learned a new bad word, except he never grows out of it. I do think there should be a discussion about the word and about racism. Django was the closest Tarantino came to making a meaningful statement, and in that regard Hateful seems like a step backwards.

    (Needless to say, my enjoyment of The Hateful Eight was detracted by the use of the "n" word. But otherwise it is almost masterful. In fact I think the supreme quality of the film is what prompts me to speak up about the racial insensitivity.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw Hateful Eight two weeks ago now and I'm still waiting for something to happen

      Delete
  33. So the blu-ray of Far From the Madding Crowding is $5.99 at Best Buy this week. I'm going to buy it and if it's not good, JB owes me $6!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Patrick, you thought The Revenant might be something you regret having on your list a year later. It's almost a year later ... how are you feeling about The Revenant nowadays?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was just thinking about this the other day and actually re-read my review, which I rarely do. I stand by what I wrote, but it's not a movie I've thought about at all since last year. There's no way I would put it on my Top 10 if making my list now, just as I predicted, but I'm not embarrassed it was there or anything since that's what I was feeling at the time.

      Delete