In case you missed Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3, here are the links. Since we are now post-Oscars, you’ll forgive us for any comments that now seem oblivious to the Oscars results, as this discussion took place during the week leading up to the ceremony.
Poster courtesy A24
Tony: My top ten of 2015:
- Inside Out
- Phoenix
- Ex Machina
- The Revenant
- Sicario
- The Hateful Eight
- The Martian
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- Carol
In case you missed Part 1 or Part 2, here are the links.
Tony: Speaking of del Toro, this is probably a great opportunity to delve into our favorite works from 2015’s top auteur filmmakers. We got movies from del Toro, Tarantino, Abrams, Iñárritu, Haynes, Mann, Baumbach, Sorrentino, Georgo Miller, and the list does indeed go on. I’ll stick a sock in it and pass the mic to you.
Zack: Real quick before you get to your commentary on the auteur cinema of 2015: Bone Tomahawk was so, so great in every mode I expected it not to be.
Oh, this is a big list for me. I’ll take this opportunity to just quickly list a handful of auteurs’ works that I had a real chance to savor.
Queen Of Earth/Anomalisa
In case you missed it, here is 2015 In Film: Part 1 from last week.
Zack: I will turn the reins to you at this point with a bit of a leading remark. Yes, I just mentioned The Force Awakens, and you’d alluded to it earlier. Franchises had quite an interesting 2015. Plenty of sequels, plenty of first entries, plenty of spinoffs. All to various outcomes. Let’s talk franchises: favorites, despised, anything.
Tony: Franchises? Woo boy. I don’t know where to start, so I guess I’ll declare that I’ve seen 12 such films so far from 2015. I’m leaving Inside Out, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Jupiter Ascending off the list at this point.
I’ll start by pointing out one I liked and one I didn’t. Mad Max: Fury Road clearly lived up to the hype. I covered it at length back when I saw it, but suffice it to say that this was the best action movie I saw in 2015. The story was compelling and left me interested in what might come next. If you set out to make a sequel or franchise film, the least you can do is leave the audience wanting more. Mad Max accomplished this.
Poster courtesy Warner Bros.
It’s time for the second annual “Year In Film” series. Starting today, I’m rolling out the first part of the conversation I had with my good friend Zack (@QuickFilmPile). When we spoke last year, he’d seen 150 movies from 2014. This year, he’s already over 200 movies from 2015. Zack may be drawing from a larger pool than I am, but that didn’t stop us from having a lively conversation about what we liked, disliked, and found unforgettable about 2015 in film. Enjoy! Also, stay tuned for the remaining installments of this series to follow in March!
“Joy” poster courtesy 20th Century Fox
Tony: It’s Oscars season, which means another year of movies is not more or less history. Every year has its gems and its many competing story lines. I think 2015’s box office resurgence makes it a year of contentment. I say “contentment” because while I’m not sure this was an all-time great year artistically, I do think there was plenty of goodness to go around. Noting the aforementioned box office resurgence, I don’t recall any major vacuums of quality throughout the year. I think both the studios and moviegoers were generally content. Good movies were seen. Good money was made. A good time had by all.
There were plenty of movies I really liked (maybe even loved) and this leads me to my next point: 2015 was a “Star Wars First” year. I love Star Wars and have a rich personal history with it. While my affection is genuine, my excitement is strictly Pavlovian. You could tell me The Phantom Menace was going o be re-released and I would be excited. I don’t apologize for that particular movie one bit, but it is still Star Wars. And 2015 actually saw the release of a really good Star Wars movie. My gut feeling is that there are a few others like me out there, which is going to make it difficult to see 2015 as anything other than “Star Wars First.” It will remain the $2 billion gorilla in the room. Read more…
The big question with every new Star Wars movie since the original has been, “will this live up to the hype?” The Force Awakens, the first entry of the famed space opera to open in the social media era* does not disappoint. Director J.J Abrams, the man behind LOST, and the last two Star Trek films, has just had his coronation.
Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.
Abrams accepted the massive responsibility of not only helming Disney’s newest and shiniest mega-franchise, but also assuaging any concerns that fans had after the prequel trilogy. Suffice it to say, J.J. done good. Read more…
A man stands at the head of a half-empty press room. The man describes a new telekinetic technique to the congregation. He recites a long list of possible health side-effects, as if the technique were a new prescription drug. There are approximately two dozen people in attendance, and most of them look bored. He wishes to demonstrate the technique in person, and asks for a volunteer.
A man with slick hair obliges, rising from his seat. He strides to the table and sits next to the first man. The first man begins straining and retching in a visual manifestation of his flowing mental juices. Both men begin to show signs of discomfort. Slowly, the expression on the volunteer’s face turns from pain to pleasure. He begins writhing, apparently near orgasm. The first man is now in great distress. His head explodes, spattering the table with blood, and shocking the stadium-seated onlookers to their senses. Read more…
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