The Best Movie Moments of Summer 2015

The summer movie season of 2015 is essentially over. As has been the case over the past few years, I've experienced a mixture of transcendent moments and disappointed shrugs, and since the season is coming to a close, I wanted to wrap it up by listing every movie I saw this summer and sharing a favorite moment from it — and yes, I'm going to try to do this even for the bad movies I saw, because even though a film can be terrible, that doesn't mean it's entirely without merit. (I might regret this statement right around the time I try to come up with something nice to say about Entourage.)

Again, these are just from the movies I've personally seen this summer. There are plenty I simply haven't had time to check out yet, enough so that I may be able to make a similar list entirely comprised of moments from those films (and maybe I will, eventually). For the purposes of this article, summer begins in April with Furious 7, and I'll skip anything I saw at the Los Angeles Film Festival since those films have the chance of being released theatrically later on. With all of that being said, I'd love to hear some of your favorite moments from movies you've seen this summer in the comments below. Let's get to it.

Furious 7 (review): It's tough to pick a single moment from this amazing sequel, but if I had to choose just one, I think it'd be Dwayne Johnson flexing his way out of a cast in order to come to the aid of Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto. It's such a perfect encapsulation of the ridiculous testosterone-fueled attitude of this franchise, and the fact that he's doing it to save his friend incorporates some of the genuine affection this series has for its characters. #Family

Ex Machina (review): This one's easy: Oscar Isaac's out-of-nowhere dance sequence. It takes the audience by surprise so we nearly have the same reaction as Domhnall Gleeson's character (sheer shock), but it's such a funny moment — so far from the ratcheting tension that's been building to that point — that I couldn't help but laugh out loud in the theater.

True Story (review): I think the scene in which Jonah Hill and James Franco meet for the first time may be one of the few bright spots in this otherwise disappointing movie, if only because at that point I was still hoping the film could deliver on its potential. They both give solid performances, but Franco is the standout, fully committing to slipping into the mysterious skin of his character.

Avengers: Age of Ultron: While I didn't love this movie nearly as much as I hoped I would, the party sequence in Avengers Tower is perhaps one of the best things to come out of the entire MCU library so far. I loved the humor of the guys trying to lift Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and it served not only the purpose of being funny in the moment, but also setting up The Vision's triumphant moment later in the film when we (and the team) recognize that the character is "worthy" and can be trusted to fight alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Mad Max: Fury Road: This is another movie with so many cool moments that it's difficult to settle on just one. My favorite moment might be when Tom Hardy's Max hands the sniper rifle over to Charlize Theron's Furiosa and offers his shoulder as a base for her to fire, because he knows she's a better shot than he is and has no problem admitting it. But my favorite shot in the film has to be the one where Max swings by the camera in an arc on a pole in the foreground as the truck explodes behind him. Such an iconic image.

Pitch Perfect 2 (review): John Michael Higgins' sexist a cappella commentator had way more misses than hits with his one-liners, but he delivered what I thought was the funniest joke in the movie: after the Bellas deliver a showstopping performance, he says what you think is commentary about what he just witnessed, but he turns it around to be about himself: "Simple, raw, vulnerable, exposed...I've been called a lot of things, but let me add one more: I'm impressed."

Tomorrowland (review): The best moment of Tomorrowland is probably the first time young Frank follows Athena into Tomorrowland and sees the futuristic world. Director Brad Bird was able to give that moment a sense of wonder that I didn't think the rest of the film was able to live up to.

Aloha (review): Since I didn't like much about Cameron Crowe's latest film, I think the dance scene between Emma Stone and Bill Murray wins by default. At least this movie gave us that.

Entourage (review): Yikes...are there actually any good moments in the Entourage movie? Oh yeah! I actually remember one thing I legitimately enjoyed: the opening credits sequence. The opening credits for the HBO show whizzed around L.A., displaying the actors' names on various landmarks, but the much longer opening credits of the film takes it to the extreme, hitting nearly every famous L.A. hotspot and perfectly incorporating names with the font of the actual location. It's the best part of the movie, hands down.

Spy (review): Another easy choice here: while Melissa McCarthy is great in this movie (which seems atypical, considering her recent filmography), it's Jason Statham who steals the film, showcasing his comedic chops for the first time in hilarious ways. I think the best moment comes when he lists off his exploits to McCarthy's character, trying to prove himself as a badass. The things he lists — many of which sound like ad-libs in the best possible way — are like a reflection of everything his ultra-manly characters have done in the action and martial arts films in which he's starred thus far, but amped up to an even more insane degree. That scene had me cracking up.

Jurassic World (review): Much has been written about how Bryce Dallas Howard's character's assistant ended up with an unnecessarily violent death that she didn't seem to fit the crime of occasionally checking her phone and not being able to keep up with two kids who were actively trying to ditch her. But for me, the most visceral shot of the movie is when the camera is underwater and we see her dropped in by a pteranodon, completely surrounded by empty blue water on all sides and bubbles floating to the surface. We know that giant mosasaurus is lurking down there somewhere, and her fate has already been sealed. It may not be the appropriate death for that character — it would have better served Vincent D'Onofrio's baddie, for example — but it's still a hell of a movie moment.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl: This one is a bit of a cheat but I can't choose a favorite. I'm selecting all of Greg and Earl's short parody films as my collective favorite moment from this sad story of a couple of teen filmmakers and their dying friend. The pun-based short films like Senior Citizen Kane and My Dinner With Andre the Giant were my favorite parts.

Inside Out (review): It has to be Bing Bong's sacrifice. Utterly heartwrenching. So good.

Ted 2 (review): Another easy choice here: the F. Scott Fitzgerald joke. "Why did you just say "Eff Scott Fitzgerald? Who's Scott Fitzgerald? What'd he do to you?"

Big Game (review): The final hero shot of young Onni Tommila, who held his own against Samuel L. Jackson with ease in this throwback to big, dumb '90s action movies.

Terminator Genisys (review): Any time Arnold Schwarzenegger was on screen improved this mostly listless time travel film ten fold. He completely owns his character, and while some of his humor was a little cheesy, he was totally the best part of Genisys.

Self/Less (review): There's not much to like about this predictable retread of concepts we've seen tons of times before, so I suppose the one sequence that wins by default is the montage in which Ben Kingsley's character gets used to his new body (Ryan Reynolds). It's the one stylish moment in an otherwise forgettable film.

Ant-Man: As good as Paul Rudd is in the title role, my favorite moment was the Michael Pena "tip" scenes, in which he recounted in hilarious step-by-step fashion exactly how he heard about a score. To clarify, I liked the last one the best, specifically because of his off-handed mention of how he drinks rosé, which came out of nowhere and really made me laugh.

Trainwreck (review): I enjoyed too many moments to count in this one, so I'll just give props to Amy Schumer's dramatic scene after her dad's funeral. While some comedians successfully made the transition to dramatic actors (Tom Hanks and Robin Williams immediately come to mind), it's more rare that a single comedy asks its star to vacillate back and forth between the two, and Schumer convincingly pulled it off.

Mr. Holmes: It's a joy to see Sir Ian McKellan doing his thing these days, but I have to say my favorite moment of Mr. Holmes was seeing him portray a younger version of Sherlock Holmes in flashback. McKellan was so believable as the weathered, withering old man that I feared that was closer to his real life persona right now (the dude isn't getting any younger), but seeing him dramatically change his posture and play a version of the character nearly thirty years younger made me breathe a sign of relief.

Paper Towns (review): For me, the moment this movie saved itself is when Cara Delevingne's character reveals that she's more than just a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. It's the film's climactic scene, and her explanation for why she left her hometown proves that she's a well-rounded character with her own hopes and dreams, just trying to figure out her own path in life like everyone else. Sure, she was just a whimsical foil for the male lead, but the fact that she's also something more than that is what makes this film worthwhile.

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation: In a movie full of cool moments, my favorite had to be the plane sequence. The film has the confidence to open with that stunt, but I don't think anything gave me more of that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach than seeing Tom Cruise strapped to the side of a damn airplane that physically takes off. You can feel the reality practically burning through the screen.

A LEGO Brickumentary: Nothing too groundbreaking in this documentary, but I was blown away by an astonishing recreation of Rivendell from The Lord of the Rings that some lady built without the aid of any kind of pre-established LEGO set. Extremely impressive.

Fantastic Four (review): Not a lot works in this movie, but any time Michael B. Jordan flamed on as The Human Torch, at least those visual effects looked spectacular.

Cop Car (review): You can cut the tension with a knife in Jon Watts' newest film as two boys try to survive after stealing a police car from the wrong sheriff. My favorite moment, though, comes when Kevin Bacon realizes his car is missing and he starts running toward the nearby town. If you haven't seen the movie, you won't have any idea what I'm talking about, but his high stepping stride made my whole audience laugh.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl: Christopher Meloni teaching his daughters to shake hands by using a firm grip, staring the other person in the eyes, and thinking to themselves, "I'm better than you, you son of a bitch." Seems like a life lesson for us all.

There you have it. These little moments are a big part of the reason I love movies. Even in bad films, there's always something to like or learn from, and while this summer didn't necessarily blow me away in terms of overall quality (and again, there are tons of films I missed), it still gave me these memorable movie moments — and for that, I'm thankful. Let us know your favorite moments from this summer's films in the comments below.