Well looking through what came out this year and what I watched, I have managed to scrape together a paltry 7 films and, if I am honest, I could probably whittle it down further to maybe 4 films, if I wasn't so lazy and didn't have better things to do.
On many of the top 10 lists, I have seen, there are films I either didn't bother to watch or films I've never heard of. On one hand you could call this sheer laziness or lack of money (both of which would be partly true) but, in all honesty, it was lack of interest. I went to the cinema plenty last year and I also kept up with what was being released (as I normally do) but I can't say I was wowed by very much at all.
This was the year that the Marvel/Superhero cinema started to, finally, bore me ridged, wash over me or, in the case of Avengers: Age of Ultron, disappoint me in a way I haven't been since Spiderman 3. It was also a year where very little surprised me and what did, made it on to my list.
Were there films I wanted to see but didn't get round to seeing? yeah, of course. Was I bothered about those films enough to hunt them out, leave my cosy nest and pay exorbitant amounts to see them? Not really, no.
I saw lots of retro screenings this year and also watched plenty of old movies at home and every time I did I was reminded that invention, creativity, originality, weirdness, chance taking and, generally, story telling in a way I haven't seen it before are massively lacking in modern cinema. Even amongst the straight to video crowd.
I am also, if you didn't know by now and for full disclosure, someone who likes films to excite, amaze, entertain, weird me out, scare or make me think. I am not a film critic but rather a film fan. A fan of all things film can be. I also don't watch many foreign or highbrow indie films because, generally, they send me to sleep and I don't care. I am both, at the same time, craving something different and weird and demanding just pure, well done, simple, old fashioned entertainment.
Just because you have subtitles or someone stares out of a window while contemplating existence, doesn't make you a good film. I also have no patience for things that don't get to the point.
Which is hilarious when you look at all the pontificating I have just done.
GET ON WITH IT!!
Ok, so without further dribble from me, here are my top 7 movies of 2015,l in chronological order:
Run All Night - Neeson Season is hit and miss but this time round it was a hit and when it's a hit I want to celebrate that fact. Also I appreciate a well done, simple chase film featuring great actors and New York City.
Mad Max: Fury Road - If it wasn't for Tom Hardy stinking up the joint with his multiple, mumbled accents and his inability to play a character properly then this would've been the perfect movie.
I absolutely loved everything about this apart from Tom Hardy. Luckily Charlize Theron more than made up for it, as did the visuals, the action, the cinematography, the stunts, the score, the plot... everything. It was jaw dropping, visceral cinema at its best and, despite the lack of Mel Gibson (which really would've made this film absolutely incredible) it's still the best of the Mad Max franchise. Seriously. Go back and watch the original trilogy. It's really not that easy.
Tomorrowland - because it was a real surprise and the closest I've seen in modern cinema of a true 80s, action/adventure throwback. Hear us podcast on the film HERE
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation - because it was so so so so so much better than any Bond film has been in 2 decades.
Creed - because it made me cry and because it understood not just the legacy of those characters but the legacy of the man who created them, Sly Stallone.
Bone Tomahawk - between this and The Hateful Eight I am not sure, exactly, which Kurt Russell with a massive, cool-as-fuck moustache western I enjoyed more this year but I know that Bone Tomahawk was definitely the better film. Hear us podcast on the film HERE
Cop Car - Kevin Bacon in the performance of a life time. Also it was a small, indie film that didn't suck and, therefore, didn't get much publicity. If you didn't catch this then go back and watch it. It's the Coen Brothers with a dash of Stand By Me and Buster Keaton thrown in for good measure. Hear us podcast on the film HERE
Honourable mention goes out to The Martial Arts Kid. You can read my review HERE
I want to hear your opinion, please leave a comment below.
Thanks