Top Ten Best Films of 2015
#10-6
#10: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
A movie that I was semi-excited for, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl turned out to be the kind of teen drama that Paper Towns wishes it could be. It's real, with characters who have thoughts and emotions that real people have, without being placed in oddly specific and all round unthinkable positions that we today most likely will not find ourselves in. This film was incredibly unique with its characters without being so unique that we didn't relate to them, while also being depressingly realistic and brutally honest. The film was also riddled with fun references to cinematic classics, poking fun at various films through mocking titles. More importantly, it features strong performance and great chemistry between the two leads, Thomas Mann and Olivia Cooke. They are able to really sell the idea of a purely platonic friendship between this male and female teenage pair. This is the kinda film that thrives off of the awkwardness of being a teenager, and so as a teenager, I loved it, which is why Me and Earl and the Dying Girl snuck its way onto this list.
#9: Steve Jobs
I tend to go into every year with two movies that I'm most excited about. I have my blockbuster, popcorn flick that I get most amped for, and then I have my drama, the kind I expect to get to the Academy Awards. This year, that drama was Steve Jobs, and boy was it good. What stuck out to me most about this film was the performances. Not a single actor or actress in this film stuck a toe out of line, and I honestly could've gone two hours of Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet going back-and-forth, which is no surprise given it was written by the guy who did The Social Network. I have no doubt that Steve Jobs would've been much higher on this list if I felt like the story was being told for a reason or had some kind of message, aside from Steve Jobs was a bit of an asshole and didn't actually do all that much aside from be smart and have a kid he didn't really want. But with performances like these, who needs storyline. I take that back. Storyline is really important.
#8: Ex Machina
Speaking of the importance of storyline, holy shit! This movie blew me away. Right from the beginning, having Domnhall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac in the same movie had me, but after watching it, it was Alicia Vikander that really impressed me. Her performance as Ava, the AI, is the kind of performance that makes you look at someone and go "Okay, whatever you're in, I'll watch it". And this is so, so important in a film like Ex Machina. When you only have three performers interacting with each other throughout the entire film, the importance of their chemistry becomes increasingly clear. The great thing about Ex Machina is that each of the three leads are able to forge their own relationships and their own unique chemistry throughout the film, and each of these individual relationship unfold throughout the film in a way that allows the story to build in suspence. Ex Machina is a very Kubrickian film, a near cross between The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey. This movie was just so awesome, it had everything; great performances, great story, and a great meaning behind it. The film asks a lot of questions of the audience and, quite frankly, there's no easy way to answer them. It also provided me with what was nearly my favourite scene of the year; Oscar Isaac ripping up the dance floor. This movie had me on the edge of my seat, it was easily one of the most intense films I've ever seen, and it was something I couldn't wait to watch again in December when finalising this list.
#7: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
If you had've told me a year ago that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. made it onto my Top 10 of 2015, I would've cried. I would've said "Surely 2015 wasn't that bad, was it?" But somehow, this movie absolutely surprised me. It was so much fun, and I am desperately hoping they decide to do a sequel. This little spy flick from Guy Ritchie managed to beat out nearly every other spy flick this year, and there were a few. The chemistry between Armie Hammer, Henry Cavill and, surprise surprise, Alicia Vikander was extraordinary, and made for plenty of fun moments. I am so glad that my parents dragged me in to see The Man From U.N.C.L.E. when I wanted to see Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. For me, this film was 2015's version of Edge of Tomorrow, the kind of action film that is supposed to be terrible, but ends up being one of the best movies of the year.
#6: The Martian
You know, when I first left that cinema, I thought that The Martian was gonna be really high on this list, which I guess is a compliment to the second half of 2015. But a movie has to be pretty damn good to be sitting at six and have you feeling it should be higher. And there's no doubt about it, The Martian was pretty damn good. Matt Damon turned in a surprisingly joyful and comedic performance, keeping this also surprisingly joyful and comedic movie afloat while everyone else in the incredibly cast lineup took care of the serious stuff. It was great to see Ridley Scott drop another amazing movie and has reinvigorated my confidence in him going into the next Prometheus film, but for now he can bathe in the victory of The Martian, which turned out to be an emotional, funny, heartfelt and incredibly entertaining film, far from what it was expected to be.