NAMELESS AND FAMELESS

Top Ten Best Films of 2015

A List by Adam Scullin

 

2015 was a very interesting year in movies. Coming into it, expectations were high and midway through the year, things weren't looking good. Several promising movies crashed and burned and didn't light up on screen as expected, although the first half of the year certainly had it's gems. However, it really wasn't until June that 2015 really started to hit it's stride. Some of the biggest titles of the year exceeded expectations, while others went the other way.

 

This is a list of the 10 films that I personally felt were the best. This doesn't mean that they are the very best movies of the year, merely the ones that I enjoyed the most. This means that some films higher on the list may have been given reviews with lower scores than films that are lower, or potentially not even on the list. This list is subjective. It is a personal list which means you may agree or you may disagree, but there are no right answers. That being said, this provides an awesome opportunity for discussion. So, make sure you jump onto Facebook and comment on this post, letting us know what you liked and didn't like about our list!

 

But before I jump into it, I would like to say that, living in Australia, quite a few major films (particularly of the Drama category) don't get down here before the New Year. While I managed to see The Revenant, Steve Jobs and The Big Short, films such as The Hateful Eight, Spotlight and Room simply didn't get here in time. But, of those that I did see, let's roll through some honourable mentions!

 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Bridge of Spies
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year I went to Berlin and I saw Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall and heard first-hand accounts of what they went through. Maybe that is why this story resonated with me so much, or maybe it is because Spielberg and Hanks together is pure movie magic. Chuck in a fantastic performance by Mark Rylance and Bridge of Spies only narowly misses out on the Top Ten. 

 

 

 

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A genuine surprise to me, Mission Impossible seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. It is very rare that franchises can reach a fifth installment and continue to improve, yet with Rogue Nation they have done just that. Tom Cruise is as good as ever as Ethan Hunt, and Rebecca Feguson's turn as a kickass British agent Ilsa Faust certainly didn't hurt this movie. One of several spy films released this year, Mission Impossible did well to stand out, but wasn't able to stand out enough.

 

Southpaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had really high hopes for Southpaw. I was lucky to not see this film during its initial release, when critics slammed it for being a routine boxing film. By the time I saw it, my hype had been killed and expectations lower. But Southpaw received a very unfair treatment. An extremely entertaining boxing film with a top-notch performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, Southpaw has plenty of heart to go with the hard hitting boxing, and although it does play out like a routine sports film, it does so without getting boring or rehashed.

 

Sicario
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denis Villeneuve is without a doubt one of the most exciting directors out there today. After dropping Prisoners in 2013, I was hooked by his slow-burn style of directing, and that was ever present in Sicario. Mix that in with a (hopefully) Oscar-nominated performance from Benicio Del Toro, and suddenly you have a visually enchanting film let down only by a story that didn't pack enough punch for me. That being said, the key moments were handled with care and provided to be extremely effective, but no less is to be expected in the hands of Villeneuve.

 

With all that out of the way, let's get into the list! Follow the link on the right to continue.