Joey Paur’s 15 Favorite Movies of 2015
2015 was a year of wonderfully amazing movies. This is the second year in a row for me where there were so many great films that I couldn’t contain my list to only ten films, so I came up with a list of 15, which was still kind of difficult to do!
There’s a good mix of movies on my list, featuring different genres ranging from big budget films to smaller indie movies. Interestingly enough, there are no Marvel films that made my list this year. This is the first time since 2008 when Iron Man was released that's been the case! I enjoyed both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, but there were a lot of better films that were released this year.
I believe that these are all must-see movies, so if you haven’t seen any of them, please take the time to do so. They will not disappoint. As you'll see, I have lots of different tastes in movies, not just the geeky stuff!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Of course this movie is going to make my list! It’s freakin’ Star Wars and it turned out to be everything I hoped it would! I’m so happy that J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm delivered a film that the fans have been waiting 30 years to see. He pulled it off beautifully, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I’m so excited for the future of Star Wars! Here's our review.
Mad Max: Fury Road
This was the most fun that I had at the movies all year. It was a non-stop action-packed adrenaline rush of complete badassery! It was awesome to see that director George Miller has still got it, and I hope we don’t have to wait so long before we see another movie from him again. I can wait to see what he does next! Here's our review.
The Hateful Eight
In my opinion, this is the best film that Quentin Tarantino has made yet. He’s matured so much as a filmmaker over the years, and this is easily the best western I’ve seen since Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. The Hateful Eight is destined to be a classic. Here's our review.
The Big Short
I wasn’t expecting much from this film when I first went to see it. In fact, I wasn’t even interested until someone recommended it to me. It ended up being one of the best movies of the year. I was shocked by how good it was, and how it affected me on an emotional level. It was such an infuriating film to watch because of the subject matter of how greedy Wall Street is and the lengths people would go to ruin people's lives so they could get richer. Here's our review.
The Witch
It always seems like there’s one film that I see at Sundance at the beginning of the year that sticks with me to the end. This year that film for me was the supernatural horror thriller The Witch. This movie delivered an incredible, insane, and creepy story that just kicked my ass. I had never seen a period genre film like this before, and it sucked me right in and didn’t let go. Here's our review.
The Walk
If you missed The Walk while it was playing in IMAX 3D, you really missed out on something incredibly special. Robert Zemeckis made one of his best films in years, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was charming as hell. I’ve been a fan of the story surrounding Philippe Petit for a long time, but seeing his story told in this way was an exhilarating experience not to be missed. Here's our review.
The Revenant
Holy crap! This movie was just a freakin’ hardcore manly man movie. I enjoyed watching every bit of Hugh Glass’s insane journey of survival and revenge. I absolutely loved this film and it was one of the most beautifully shot movies I saw this year. Then there’s Leonardo DiCaprio, who gave one of his greatest performances yet. I’d like to see him take home the award for Best Actor at the Oscars for his role in this. Here's our review.
Creed
It may have basically been a retelling of the first Rocky movie, but it was done in a way that made a lasting impression. Michael B. Jordan gave one of the best and most intense performances in his career in the movie and it was awesome to see Sylvester Stallone give another powerful performance, which is something I haven’t seen in a while. I loved how this movie turned out! Here's our review.
Bone Tomahawk
This was a surprisingly brutal western with such a unique insanity to it. It had some of the most colorful characters in it, and the villains they were up against were absolutely terrifying. There were some pretty gut-wrenching scenes in this thing! This is one of those films that not a lot of people went out to see this year, so if you haven’t seen it, you really need to check it out. Here's our review.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
This movie simply blew me away with its action-packed badassery. If you hadn’t seen the movie yet and I was taking you to see it, I would say to you, “We're all gonna have so much fucking fun we're gonna need plastic surgery to remove our goddamn smiles! You'll be whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of your assholes!” - Chevy Chase, Vacation. Here's our review.
Krampus
This the most entertaining horror film of the year, and it also happened to be a Christmas movie. This is one of those movies that will be a classic. I know for myself, it’s been added to my list of films to watch every Christmas. I had such a fun time watching this movie, and I can’t wait to see what Michael Dougherty gives us next! Here's our review.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
This was such a quick-witted action-packed spy thriller and was the most underrated movie of the year! Not a lot of people went out and saw it, which is a shame because it was so damn good! Due to its poor box office performance, though, I doubt we’ll see a sequel, which is a bloody shame. The movie was just too cool for its own good.
Spotlight
Spotlight was such a powerful and inspiring film. I love writing for a geek website about geeky things, but this movie made me wish I was involved with investigative journalism that plays a part in making the world a better place. The subject matter of this movie was heavy, and the performances of the actors in it were astounding. Here's our review.
Brooklyn
I reluctantly went into this movie not know much about it. All I really knew was that it had a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and I had already seen everything else that was out in theaters at the time. Boy oh boy, it was was just a simply wonderful film that told a heartwarming story that involved fantastic characters. I adore this film! Here's our review.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
What a comedic emotional rollercoaster this movie was! This is one of those little indie films that just wowed me in every way. It was hilarious, dramatic, and heartwarming all at the same time. I especially enjoy the characters in the film and their awkward relationships with each other. Here's our review.