Top Ten Best Films of 2015
#5-2
#5: Beasts of No Nation
This movie, wow. The very first Netflix film, and it gets onto the top 10 of the year. When I saw that this film was directed by Cary Fukunaga, the man behind season 1 of True Detective, my confidence went up tenfold. When I saw the movie, it took days to leave my head. If Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a brutally realistic look at being a teenager, then Beasts of No Nation would have to be a brutally realistic look at child soldiers in Africa. Featuring an incredible performance from untrained actor Abraham Attah and what has got to be an Oscar nominated turn from Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation goes somewhere that many, many war films simply refuse to go. It holds nearly nothing back from the journey of the child soldier and what he is forced to do, while asking the question of whether there is any way back for these young men who are turned into vicious warriors. Beasts achieves all this while also being a technical marvel, with some impressive sequences and unforgettable cinematography, turning this film into Africa's Apocalypse Now. All-in-all, an incredible film that cements Cary Fukunaga's place as a director to watch out for.
#4: Jurassic World
Thank God this movie turned out awesome. But I couldn't have possibly expected it would turn out to be as awesome as it was. Jurassic World got right back to what we missed about Jurassic Park. It was a seemingly family-oriented film that took a vicious turn, but still somehow managed to be the type of film you can sit down and watch as a family. That is exactly what Jurassic Park is. It's the only place you can go to watch people getting ripped apart by bloodthirsty animals, yet still have the whole family smiling because of a beautiful score and an uplifting ending. Sure, Jurassic World had its issues, but when a film is this entertaining, we tend to put those issues on the backburner and just enjoy the ride, and what a ride this was.
#3: Creed
I was nervous about this movie. When I saw that Michael B. Jordan was cast as the lead, I was excited, but cautious. When I saw that Ryan Coogler, who directed Fruitvale Station, would be directing this, I was excited, but cautious. When I saw that Sylvester Stallone was back, I was excited, but cautious. When I saw the first trailer, I was excited, but cautious. I was nervous because I've been let down before by a new instalment in a franchise from the 70's that had a great cast, a great director and a great trailer (I'm looking at you, Prometheus). Luckily, Creed was not a repeat of that. Creed was a film that captured the magic of the original Rocky while also managing to cast its own spin and leave its own unique flavour in the film. The story was emotional, and the way it was executed did a great job of conveying that emotion. It was a hard-hitting film, and the camera work during the boxing matches was some of the best I've ever seen. Creed is a seventh entry in the Rocky franchise, and one so good that it is the best in the series since Rocky, and possibly even better. I don't even know yet. But the fact is, it's part of the discussion, which meant there was no way Creed wouldn't snag one of the higher spots on this list.
#2: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Holy shit, this movie was good. Kingsman was something I was particularly excited for leading up to its release. I'd seen some trailers that showed off a bar fight that looked pretty cool but, to me, made the movie look like another brainless action flick. When I finally sat down to watch it, I realised how incredibly wrong I was. This movie doesn't get anywhere near enough love! There is so much more to this movie than just its incredible action sequences, which includes my favourite sequence of the year. When I watched Ex Machina and thought Oscar Isaac dancing was the greatest thing ever, it didn't take long for me to remember the Church scene in Kingsman. That was ridiculous. Kingsman was a love letter to old spy films that did not give a single shit about the rules and, much like its protagonist, did whatever the hell it wanted. There's really only two ways these films go. Straight down the trash can or, in this case, to the upper echelon of my Best of 2015 list. If you haven't seen Kingsman yet, do yourself a favour and watch it right this second. It was the most fun I'd had watching a film in as long as I can remember. It's action-packed, smart, funny, filled with awesome references and has Colin Firth killing a heap of people. It also has Mark Hamill. Actually, y'know what, speaking of Mark Hamill…