Your Best and Worst films in2015

[lucasisking]

We still have 6 weeks to go (and some little indie sci-fi film still to come) before the end of the year, but how has 2015 shaped up for you so far? Let’s hear your best & worst, your surprises and disappointments etc.

Here’s my Lucas Oscars (subject to amendment):

• Films of the year: Whiplash, Birdman, Ex Machina, Inside Out, The Martian
• Worst films: Minions, Human Centipede 3, Jupiter Ascending
• Surprises of the year: Kingsman: The Secret Service, MI: Rogue Nation, Big Hero 6, It Follows
• Best summer blockbuster: Mission Impossible: Rogue nation/ Inside Out
• Worst summer blockbuster: Terminator Genitals, Minions
• Women of the year: Rebecca Fergusson, Emily Blunt, Alicia Vikander, Lea Seydoux, Emma Stone
• Men of the Year: JK Simmons, Michael Keaton, Oscar Isaac, Michael Pena, Taron Edgerton
• Best return to form: Ridley Scott, The Jurassic Park Franchise
• Best direction: Sicario
• Best cinematography: The Martian, Sicario, Beasts of No Nation
• Best animated film: Inside Out
• Best action set piece: Hulk v Hulkbuster (Avengers), road chase (MI:5), Church scene (Kingsman), Nightclub scene (John Wick). Desert war (Mad Max)
• Best fight scene: Hulk v Hulkbuster, Statham v The Rock, Bond v Mr Hinks, Indominous Rex v
  Spoiler

  T-Rex
  , Arnie v Arnie
• Most disappointing villains: Ultron/ Blofeld
• The not-quite-as-bad-as-I-feared award: Chappie
• Business as usual award: Marvel Studios, The Fast & Furious Franchise

 

[cabanatuan]

I thought spectre would be on your worse film list lol

 

[systemsdead]

Another storming year for me that started off slow but looking back now delivered some world class titles.

Films of the year : Mommy,The Assassin,Li’l Quinquin,Love & Mercy,Tale Of Tales,Sicario,Youth,Heaven Knows What,Wild Tales,A Most Violent Year.

Surprises of the Year : Wild,White God,Faults,Spring,Lost River,Mr Holmes,Far FromThe Madding Crowd.

Documentary of the year : The Look Of Silence,Cobain Montage of Heck,Lost Soul:The Doomed Journey,Night will Fall,Meru.

Director : Xavier Dolan,Denis Villeneuve,Paolo Sorrentino

Cinematography : The Assassin,Tale Of Tales,Youth,Sicario.

Disappointments of the year : The Martian,Straight Outta Compton,Everest,Southpaw,The Falling,It Follows.

Fave horror of year : Spring,Hidden,The Gift,Shrew’s Nest,Headless.

Soundtrack Of The Year : Sicario,Far From Men,Heaven Knows What,Inherent Vice.

Worst films of 2015 : Unbroken,Blackhat,Insidious Chapter 3.

The above could change with the not seen yet : Son of Saul,Macbeth,The Forbidden Room,The Club,The Lobster,The Witch.

Favourite first time viewings this year : Mirror(1975),Throne Of Blood(1957),Contempt(1963),The Emigrants(1971),Ship Of Thesus(2012)Soy Cuba(1964),Fanny & Alexandra(1982),The Fifth Season(2012)

 

[cabanatuan]

Another storming year for me that started off slow but looking back now delivered some world class titles.

Films of the year : Mommy,The Assassin,Li’l Quinquin,Love & Mercy,Tale Of Tales,Sicario,Youth,Heaven Knows What,Wild Tales,A Most Violent Year.

Surprises of the Year : Wild,White God,Faults,Spring,Lost River,Mr Holmes,Far FromThe Madding Crowd.

Documentary of the year : The Look Of Silence,Cobain Montage of Heck,Lost Soul:The Doomed Journey,Night will Fall,Meru.

Director : Xavier Dolan,Denis Villeneuve,Paolo Sorrentino

Cinematography : The Assassin,Tale Of Tales,Youth,Sicario.

Disappointments of the year : The Martian,Straight Outta Compton,Everest,Southpaw,The Falling,It Follows.

Fave horror of year : Spring,Hidden,The Gift,Shrew’s Nest,Headless.

Soundtrack Of The Year : Sicario,Far From Men,Heaven Knows What,Inherent Vice.

Worst films of 2015 : Unbroken,Blackhat,Insidious Chapter 3.

The above could change with the not seen yet : Son of Saul,Macbeth,The Forbidden Room,The Club,The Lobster,The Witch.

Favourite first time viewings this year : Mirror(1975),Throne Of Blood(1957),Contempt(1963),The Emigrants(1971),Ship Of Thesus(2012)Soy Cuba(1964),Fanny & Alexandra(1982),The Fifth Season(2012)

Good list. Plenty on there not a typical Holywood commercial movie. Great stuff

 

[domtheone]

Quick summary using a few of the OP's categories

Best film - Ex Machina, Theory of Everything, Whiplash, The Martian, Sicario
Worst Film - Fantastic 4
Surprise of the year - Suite Francais
Best Summer Blockbuster - MI5
Worst Summer Blockbuster - Terminator Genisys/F4
Women of the year - Jessica Chastain
Man of the year - Oscar Isaac

 

[Smurfin]

IMHO it's been quite a good year.

Best Films - Sicario, The Martian, Theory of Everything, Ex Machina, Inside Out
Worst Film - Knock Knock (please kill me now)
Surprise - The Gift
Best Blockbuster - MI5
Biggest Disappointment - Spectre
Most Intense - Sicario No Escape
Best Action - John Wick
Not-as-bad-as-feared - Blackhat
Most Overrated - Mad Max Fury Road
The-one-I-STILL-haven't-got-round-to-watching - 2001
Most favourite "revisited" - Aliens

 

[Drax1]

Best Film : Whiplash, Good Kill, Mad Max - Fury Road (in that order)
Worst Film : Terminator 5
Best Foreign Film : Marshland
Best first time views(not released in 2015) : Bullhead, The Company Men, Paddington, Metro Manila, The Hunter, Searching For Sugarman, Promised Land
Worst first time views (not released in 2015) : Jonah Hex, The Mod Squad, Beyond A Reasonable Doubt, 88 Minutes, 21 and Over
Surprise Of the Year : Slow West
Expectation 'through the roof', but it just wasn't good enough : Avengers - Age of Ultron
Best Soundtrack : Good Kill, The Gambler (the film's only saving grace)
Most Disappointing Film : The Martian (book was waaaay better than the film, which had little tension, peril and too many jokes), Southpaw (should have been much better given the cast, and the script was far too predictable), John Wick
Did your 2015 most anticipated film deliver? : Here's hoping, it's not out until December 17th...

 

[raduv1]

Best film , Fury Road.
Worst Film , Jupitor Ascending.
Suprise , John Wick.
Return to Form , Jurassic Franchise.

a very special mention , two outstanding films for two outstanding minds of our time with A theory of Everything and The Imitation game that we both really enjoyed on BD.

Suprised with so many mentions of T5 as worst film , it's a bit Meh and dissapoints but JA was a grand disaster on all fronts for me.

 

[theprestige]

Another storming year for me that started off slow but looking back now delivered some world class titles.

For me it's been the other way round. The year started off uber hot (Whiplash) but got a bit cooler (Sicario)

But ultimately, it's been a decent year for film. The best for awhile, that's for sure.

Best Film: Whiplash blew me away. I watched this on a cheap, wet Monday afternoon, only about 10 other people were there. I was just glued frame for frame. As a editor myself, the level of craftsmanship in the cutting is just incredibly inspiring. If Memento made me fall in love with the way films were cut, Whiplash reminded me why I love what I do.

Runner up: Girlhood - Unusual coming of age tale that took me by surprise. I knew that Kermode liked it a lot, didn't think i'd like it as much.

Films that I haven't seen yet but I know are sh*t: Avengers 2, Iron Man 4, Captain American 6, The Gambler, Jupiter Ascending, Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, etc

Pleasantly surprising film: The Gift - Saw this without knowing anything about it and not even planning a cinema event. I found it subversive and surprisingly sensitive for what's essentially a bit a thriller.

Deserved more of an audience film: Catch Me Daddy - Fairly disturbing northern thriller with some of the most beautiful cinematography i've seen this year. Which brings me to....

Best cinematography: Catch Me Daddy Photography wise, it was between this and Inherent Vice, but ultimately, the gloomy cold tint photography of Yorkshire was a bit more atmospheric than Anderson's warm colour palettes.

Fittest bird of the year: Rachel McAdams - phwaor, she's got a right pair of thighs! Really, she's a proper babe now that she's actually embracing her naturally athletic and womanly frame. She's a decent actress too.

Will post more later.

 

[lucasisking]

Mine is a list of cinematic fast food*, as I usually get my blockbuster sugar fix at the cinema and then catch up on more substantial fare on Netflix and bluray the following year.

For example I've seen dozens of films this year from 2013/2014; and think those were two of the strongest years for film I can remember. Im still catching up (really want to see Enemy and Snowpiercer).


*not to denigrate the Hollywood blockbuster. For example I think Inside Out is a piece of filmmaking genius, possibly worth an Oscar.

 

[Drax1]

Mine is a list of cinematic fast food*, as I usually get my blockbuster sugar fix at the cinema and then catch up on more substantial fare on Netflix and bluray the following year.

For example I've seen dozens of films this year from 2013/2014; and think those were two of the strongest years for film I can remember. Im still catching up (really want to see Enemy and Snowpiercer).


*not to denigrate the Hollywood blockbuster. For example I think Inside Out is a piece of filmmaking genius, possibly worth an Oscar.

I managed to see more films this year than any previously, but based on the overall quality, I'm not sure if it was a good thing. There was a lot of mediocrity.
Anyway, it's (so far) 203, and breaks down as follows -
Bluray - 29
Cinema visits - 22
Freeview HD - 44
Amazon Instant (my first year streaming movies) -13
Dvd - 95

 

[Drax1]

Pleasantly surprising film: The Gift - Saw this without knowing anything about it and not even planning a cinema event. I found it subversive and surprisingly sensitive for what's essentially a bit a thriller.

Deserved more of an audience film: Catch Me Daddy - Fairly disturbing northern thriller with some of the most beautiful cinematography i've seen this year. Which brings me to....

Best cinematography: Catch Me Daddy Photography wise, it was between this and Inherent Vice, but ultimately, the gloomy cold tint photography of Yorkshire was a bit more atmospheric than Anderson's warm colour palettes.

I had already got The Gift on my to-do list, but will seek out Catch Me Daddy based on your recommendation.

 

[theprestige]

I had already got The Gift on my to-do list, but will seek out Catch Me Daddy based on your recommendation.

Well I hope you end up liking them as much as I did, mate. Specially Catch Me Daddy

 

[Casimir Harlow]

We still have 6 weeks to go (and some little indie sci-fi film still to come) before the end of the year, but how has 2015 shaped up for you so far? Let’s hear your best & worst, your surprises and disappointments etc.

Here’s my Lucas Oscars (subject to amendment):

• Films of the year: Whiplash, Birdman, Ex Machina, Inside Out, The Martian
• Worst films: Minions, Human Centipede 3, Jupiter Ascending
• Surprises of the year: Kingsman: The Secret Service, MI: Rogue Nation, Big Hero 6, It Follows
• Best summer blockbuster: Mission Impossible: Rogue nation/ Inside Out
• Worst summer blockbuster: Terminator Genitals, Minions
• Women of the year: Rebecca Fergusson, Emily Blunt, Alicia Vikander, Lea Seydoux, Emma Stone
• Men of the Year: JK Simmons, Michael Keaton, Oscar Isaac, Michael Pena, Taron Edgerton
• Best return to form: Ridley Scott, The Jurassic Park Franchise
• Best direction: Sicario
• Best cinematography: The Martian, Sicario, Beasts of No Nation
• Best animated film: Inside Out
• Best action set piece: Hulk v Hulkbuster (Avengers), road chase (MI:5), Church scene (Kingsman), Nightclub scene (John Wick). Desert war (Mad Max)
• Best fight scene: Hulk v Hulkbuster, Statham v The Rock, Bond v Mr Hinks, Indominous Rex v
  Spoiler

  T-Rex
  , Arnie v Arnie
• Most disappointing villains: Ultron/ Blofeld
• The not-quite-as-bad-as-I-feared award: Chappie
• Business as usual award: Marvel Studios, The Fast & Furious Franchise

Great list. Kinda annoyed you read my mind. Again.

Although I'd have probably snuck Max into my films of the year and Wick into my surprises, off the top of my head.

Can't believe you still haven't seen Snowpiercer, but I'm guessing if Weinstein had had his way, nobody would have.

 

[domtheone]

Have watched circa 153 films this year.

70 new ones and 83 re-watches

If i were to rate (which i have) all of them, nothing from this year gets in the top 20.

I'm not sure if that suggests this year was good, bad or indifferent.

It could equally mean that I'm stingy when it comes to marking new films and take a rose tinted glasses view of the older favourites.

It could also suggest i should spend more time watching new films and less time re-watching oldies.

 

[lucasisking]

I've worked out I've seen about 100 films for the first time this year. Dont know how many rewatches of other films but that would knock it up another 50% at least.

I really need to get out more.

The majority of the new watches have been from 2013-2015, and the majority of those- I have to say- have been above average or great.

Great:
Sicario
The Martian
Inside Out
MI: 5
Ex Machina
Mad Max Fury Road
Blue Ruin
Kajiki
Birdman
In Order of Disappearance
Gone Baby Gone
Kingsman
Big Hero 6
The Babadook
Whiplash
Begin Again
Under the Skin
Saving Mr Banks
Black Swan
Calvary
Locke
The Guest
Lone Survivor
Rush
Nightcrawler
X:Men Days of Future Past
Avengers 2
Joe
Mud
Dallas Buyers Club
12 Years a Slave
Wolf of Wall Street
Prisoners
Evil Dead
Nymphomaniac


Not bad:
John Wick
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Spectre
Life of Pi
American Sniper
Out of the furnace
American Hustle
Upstream Color
Adore
Fury
The Family
Beasts of No Nation
It Follows
You're Next
What We Do In The Shadows
Walk Among the Tombstones
The Equalizer
Grand Budapest Hotel
Before I Go To Sleep
Afflicted
The Raid 2
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Book of Life
The Sweeney
Sin City 2
Sabotage
Snitch
Byzantium
Lucy
Predestination
The Pianist
The Butterfly Effect

Meh 5/10
Hunger games 3
300 2
Kick Ass 2
Insidious 3
November Man
Non Stop
Jack Ryan
Taken 3
Night at the museum 3
Robocop 2014
The Machine
Homefront
Escape Plan
God Bless America
Expendables 3
The Purge
The Maze Runner
The Curious case of Benjamin Button
The Devils Rejects
Hercules

Terrible
Human Centipede series
Hobo with a shotgun (**** off)
Pompeii
Left behind
House of 1000 corpses
ABC of Death 2
Terminator Genisys
Minions
Jupiter Ascending

First time/ first proper watches of older films:

To Kill A Mockingbird
12 Angry Men
Chinatown
LA Confidential
The Big Lebowski
Vertigo
Its a Wonderful life
Rear Window
(all great)
Lawrence of Arabia - not bad
The Battle of Britain- meh

 

[Smurfin]

Oh Lucas, you had me with most of those films and then you lost me at Battle of Britain...I love it as it's a slice of my childhood [emoji2]

 

[lucasisking]

Oh Lucas, you had me with most of those films and then you lost me at Battle of Britain...I love it as it's a slice of my childhood [emoji2]

I liked it more than Red Tails. Does that help?

 

[Drax1]

Can't believe you still haven't seen Snowpiercer, but I'm guessing if Weinstein had had his way, nobody would have.

Snowpiercer (US)

I saw this a year or so ago, and for all it's weirdness, it's well worth a watch. Incredibly, it's still not out on UK dvd/blu...


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snowpiercer...F8&qid=1447320988&sr=1-2&keywords=snowpiercer

You can however, bag yourself a region B blu copy on the above link. The only slight niggle is that none of these import variants have English subtitles, and there are a few bits of Korean dialogue.

 

[lucasisking]

Is that region free? If so I'm tempted to blind-buy at that price.

 

[Drax1]

Is that region free? If so I'm tempted to blind-buy at that price.

It's region B. It's a Spanish bluray, but region B covers all of Europe. English is listed on laguages, so it should be fine. There's also an Italian bluray (region B as well), which is also listed as having English. Same sort of price too. Link below -


http://www.amazon.co.uk/snowpiercer...447323922&sr=1-4&keywords=snowpiercer+blu+ray

 

[Fillumgeek]

I didn't see much and spent more time than ever before, well in this forum.

Did I see Birdman this year, cannot remember but.....I liked it to a point. It was more a technological wonder than I was expecting, not the cleverest thing ever but fun.

Under the Skin, oh that was last year? As you were, very interesting adaptation of the book. Although the £30 million version might have been better.

Liked Mad Max, The Martian and Sicario.

I liked the Mission: Impossible Rouge (sic) nation - was it better than Bond? (hint; yes it was)

Avengers: Age of U was a meh, for me. Did presser for that and spoke to Joss Whedon so that was tick.

Argued too much about stupid Terminator: Genitals - I only went to see it so I could write about it to be honest. Waste of life-force.

Spectre - No Mr Bond, I expect you to...BE MUCH BETTER THAN Quantum of Solace.

The rest of 2015--------------well, we know what is coming, don't we................

 

[Smurfin]

Is that region free? If so I'm tempted to blind-buy at that price.

I wouldn't. Snowpiercer was an interesting if ultimately bat-sh*t stupid premise. I couldn't suspend my disbelief for this one unfortunately, despite its promise.

 

[Jim Di Griz]

I liked it more than Red Tails. Does that help?

But .....Lucas is king?? ;-)

 

[raduv1]

I managed to see more films this year than any previously, but based on the overall quality, I'm not sure if it was a good thing. There was a lot of mediocrity.
Anyway, it's (so far) 203, and breaks down as follows -
Bluray - 29
Cinema visits - 22
Freeview HD - 44
Amazon Instant (my first year streaming movies) -13
Dvd - 95

I'm impressed, if I ever counted I would then have to shoot myself just for doing so. respect.