Thursday, January 7, 2016

Melissa Uhrin's Top 10 of 2015

by Melissa Uhrin
This past year was a busy one for me! I smashed my 2014 number of films watched (list to come soon-ish) and had the opportunity to see more than fifty of this year’s new releases. Hooray!? That had the potential to make for some difficult choices, but I opted for the most "me" route: what films entertained me the most? Here they are.

10. Inside Out
Feelings!!! All I could think throughout my first viewing was: HOLY SHIT I’M JOY. Irritatingly so, I am sure, but somehow Pixar has bottled me into a blue haired cartoon.

9. Listen to Me Marlon
This film has been beautifully pieced together using voice recordings by Marlon Brando himself, and gives us a personal glimpse at the legend. Sometimes speaking aloud brings about a self-awareness that an inner dialogue cannot quite match, and this film does just that. Brando on Brando.

8. Bone Tomahawk
This movie is great for so many reasons, and it deserves to be noted that it was the only movie (in I don’t even know how long) that made me cringe and look away for a whole minute. Violent, gritty, dusty and chock full of deliciousness (why do I sound like a cannibal?), I have a new appreciation for Westerns now. I guess any genre's way to my heart is to tie in horror.

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
As I was reading through reviews about this film, FRESH was the word that appeared in abundance. And fresh it is. And funny. And beautiful. The familiar story charmed the crap outta me and had me laughing, crying and wishing for more. Such a girl.

6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
What else can I say that hasn’t been said already? Tt’s fucking Star Wars done right.

5. Mad Max: Fury Road
Exhilarating action, explosive races, fights to the death and one hell of a guitarist strapped to the front of a massive vehicle had me drawn in from the very first beat and I did not relax in my seat until Tom Hardy disappeared into the crowd. Being completely ignorant with regards to vehicles (aside from the different colours...ugh, I give away so much of me in these articles), their size, modifications and giant vroom vroom vroom did not escape me. (Or did it?) Appreciation I have mildly developed. Tom Hardy, more I need. Yoda, I be not.

4. Turbo Kid
Hell yes. Action, a tinge of horror, and science-fiction complete in the perfect '80s style, no 2015 top ten list would be accurate without Turbo Kid’s inclusion. At least mine would be left lacking. Place me in a post-apocalyptic future and I can guarantee that comic book heroes would give me a continued desire to survive.

3. The Final Girls
I don’t know the last time, if ever, that I simultaneously boo-hoo’ed while laughing at a strip-show done specifically to entice a murderer. But I did, I loved it, and I haven’t fricken shut up about this film. Also, I too sing "Bette Davis Eyes" like a crazy person. And if anything, this movie has made it even more fun to do so.

2. The Revenant
I'm just coming off watching The Revenant and I still cannot wrap my head around the film's brutal beauty. Soul wrenchingly beautiful. My boyfriend Leo comes in hands down with my favourite performance of the year. Wow.

1. The Martian
“I’m gonna have to science the shit outta this.” Maybe it’s just because I watched this so damn recently, and that Matt Damon is so damn fantastic, but holy shit this movie has not left my damn thoughts. Damn damn damn. Science-y problem solving (I’m not even going to fact-check the realism, it’s a MOVIE, not a doc), the right amount of nerdy jokes which contributed to many laugh out loud moments and a Martian botanist make this my most favourite movie of the year. YAY!

Runners Up:

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
We Are Still Here
Southpaw
Twinsters

Favourite made for TV movie of the year: Naked Among Wolves

Did I take the cheater way out? Perhaps. I am not the best at qualifying and quantifying all the technical and artistic aspects of films and opted for what I know to be my best gauge: my FEEEEELINGS. And as the entire world watched Inside Out, we should all be a bit more aware of how we feel with our feelers. In a non-insect-y non-antennae way. Now on to 2016!!

7 comments:

  1. I know both Patrick and JB really disliked Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and listening to them talk about it on more than one occasion, including their worst of lists, really put me off seeing it. I may check it out based on your recommendation, but I'm still a little worried.

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    1. I quite enjoyed it as well. It is way over directed but it just depends if that bothers you or not. 'Weird' usually doesn't bother me, and weird it is.

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    2. It's so unabashedly twee and whimsical that all the seams begin to show and you feel patronized.

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    3. People like what they like, I know I've discovered that about myself many times when it comes to movies. I really enjoy listening to the podcast with Patrick and the various members of F This Movie. I have discovered that I don't always agree with a movie that is recommended by Patrick or another of the guests and sometimes find myself loving movies they outright dislike altogether(Jurassic World) Movies are to be enjoyed at the end of the day Jon. You never know what gems you'll discover on your own.

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  2. I love your inclusion of FINAL GIRLS.

    Every couple of years a slasher movie comes along that makes me go, "Fuck, I wish I wrote that!" FINAL GIRLS is one of those movies. So clever and probing and heartfelt. That striptease/farewell may be my favorite movie moment of the year. Also it proved a slasher movie can be done with a PG-13 without compromising story and set piece.

    Overall, great list. I'll be looking into ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL too given all the varied opinions among the F THIS MOVIE group.

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  4. Very respectable list. Has some of my picks as well! I'm really glad you liked Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, a lot of people have been trashing it recently. Very unjustified in my opinion.

    1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    2. Creed
    3. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
    4. Kingsman: The Secret Service
    5. Ex Machina
    6. Bone Tomahawk
    7. Sicario
    8. Turbo Kid
    9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
    10. The Hateful Eight

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