2015 in Retrospect: TWC's Top 5 Films of the Year

It's been five days into 2016 and what better way to start the day than by reflecting on the year that just left.

2015 was an incredible year in the film industry. So many great titles were released, whether it be indie films, Oscar-bait or blockbusters. Moviegoers were basically spoilt for choices this year. In fact, some of them will only be widely released in 2016 (I already have The Revenant and Macbeth on my list, among others), which gives a fantastic reason to look forward to the new year.

2015 was also the year where we saw great deal of revivals, sequels, comebacks, with most of them being very decent movies. Whether or not it's a death to creativity is still up for debate. But hey, as long as the movie's good, who's complaining really? 

Nonetheless, here are my Top 5 movies of 2015.

5. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL

It never made it to Malaysian cinemas, but Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a refreshing entry into the teen-cancer flick category. Based on a novel of the same name, Earl is an unconventional story in a genre that's near reaching its saturation point. It's funny, witty but as all cancer flicks are, painfully heartbreaking.

I gave it: 8/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 83% ; IMDB: 7.8/10


4. WHIPLASH

 
 Whiplash opens with a shot of Miles Teller's Andrew banging away with his mad drum skills. Not long later, he's recruited into distinguished jazz band by the sadistic and psychopathic Terence Fletcher (played by a very talented J.K Simmons). It's a dizzying ride and at the end of it, it's one that will have you at the edge of your seats.

Technically, Whiplash is a 2014 film but since it's Malaysian release was in March 2015, I'm gonna cheat a little.

I gave it: 9/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 94% ; IMDB: 8.5/10


3. SICARIO


Right down to its background music and camerawork, Sicario is Intense, with a necessary capital I. then again, most films of this genre are usually thrilling, but Sicario ups its game. It's one of those films that uses all the elements of a film—sound, sight, dialogue, camera—in such an effective manner that you'd find yourself at the edge of your seats, clutching at your heart the whole time. It's only when the credit starts to roll do you realise that you've been holding your breath this entire time.

I gave it: 9/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 93% ; IMDB: 7.9/10


2. THE MARTIAN


Another film that was adapted from a book. The Martian had a pretty decent fan-base before the movie came out, but in the hands of Ridley Scott, the movie version propelled the story to a whole other level.It maintains the lightheartedness of the book but really brings all the characters to life. I often stand by my belief that books are usually much, much better than movies, but with The Martian, I think they complement each other perfectly. The movie is a fantastic complement, companion to the book, and vice-versa.

I gave it: 10/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 93% ; IMDB: 8.2/10


1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

 
Oh my god this moviee. Trust me, I can fangirl about Fury Road all day e'ry day. It was a close battle between this and The Martian, but personally, Fury Road gets a slight upper-hand when it comes to being my favourite movie of 2015, if not of all time. This is hands-down the best action film I've ever watched. It's chaotic yet still makes perfect sense. It's amazing how you can still keep track of everything that's happening on screen. Everyone who has only watched the trailer would tell me, "Why would I watch that, it's a MESS!" Oh but what a beautiful, orderly mess it is.

So why does Fury Road take the crown? While The Martian is smart, classy and hilarious; Fury Road is like a roller-coaster ride: it's fun, heart-pumping, an adrenaline-shot. At the end of it, you just want to go on it again and again and again.

(Maybe it's because I've read The Martian's book before, and I went into Fury Road not knowing anything. The lack of any expectations really enhances the experience.)

(Also, Tom Hardy helps too. :3)

I gave it: 10/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 97% ; IMDB: 8.2/10

HONOURABLE MENTIONS (because 2015 was too good of a year for film):

KINGSMAN


Kingsman defies its genre (notice the running theme in this post?). It's a spy movie, but not really, in a sense that it doesn't go down the same ol' tropes in all Bond movies. You think that the villain is just gonna let the hero stand there while he prattles on about his grand plans to world domination? Nah, this is not that kind of movie. Kingsman is a spy movie, a comedic take on a genre that's usually more sombre. Spy of the same year does the same thing, but that's a comedy first and foremost. Kingsman is classier, and it can still pass off as a spy movie.

While like the Bond movies are sometimes made fun of because of how serious they take themselves, this movie understands that sentiment perfectly well. Which is why it never took itself seriously.

And that, let me tell you, is where all the fun is.

I gave it: 8/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 74% ; IMDB: 7.8/10


STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 


I can't possible end this post without even mentioning the most anticipated movie if the year, the comeback of one of the greatest movie franchises of all time. Breaking records in box-office history, Star Wars: The Force Awakens definitely deserves some kind on this list.

Even so, the greatest thing about this movie isn't the hype, it isn't it's comeback, but the fact that it was good. It met the high expectations that a lot of people had towards it. While in a way it's Episode IV all over again, just with new faces, SW:TFA was nostalgia to the old fans, and a brilliant introduction to new ones. At its core, it was/is a good film that in my personal opinion, was worth the hype.

I gave it: 8/10 ; Rotten Tomatoes: 94% ; IMDB: 8.6/10


And here's to 2016, hopefully just as good of a year for movies as 2015 was.

---

✌️ Like TWC's Facebook and follow my Twitter to keep up with updates.