10. When Marnie Was There – This is supposedly the last
movie that Studio Ghibli will be making since they are kind of closing down.
Even if this is the last movie, I have to admit it was a really good one. It is
not one of my favorites of theirs, but that is because there are so many
wonderful ones done by Studio Ghibli, if you haven’t checked out any of their
work before, I recommend getting started today, some of the great choices of
theirs is Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and The Secret
World of Arrietty, this is just a small handful of their work, one day I should
do a list of all their work and order them from best to least. Anyway, I had
the privilege of seeing this movie on the big screen in a theater in Salt Lake
City. While I enjoyed it when I saw it, it really started to go through my head
after I left the theater and stuck with me for days, I just kept thinking about the movie after I was done
seeing it. I would say that is a great sign for a very good movie. The
animation is just gorgeous, which is no surprise since Studio Ghibli is known
for producing beautifully animated movies. This is one of those that was worth
checking out, and I was so glad to catch in theaters.
9. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – I didn’t think too much
on this sequel when I first saw it, but each time I saw it afterwards, it
really grew on me and more I really liked it. Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt
in his fifth outing, this time to find the Syndicate. I would rank this as one
of the better adversaries that Ethan Hunt faced, however the best is still
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mission Impossible 3, honestly after that one I could
never picture Philip Seymour Hoffman as a good guy, which is why I was thrown
for a loop when he became a good guy in The Hunger Games series. Anyway,
getting off track, the villain really stood out in this one, and the main girl
was someone you weren’t always sure which side she was on until near the end.
You also get the best of the team in this one, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Remmer, and
Simon Pegg, who always seems to steal the show anytime he is on screen. This
was just a fun and smart movie during the summer.
8. Creed – I have a confession to make, I have not seen all
of the Rocky movies. In fact, before this movie, I had only seen the 6th
entry, Rocky Balboa. Not that I didn’t know anything about Rocky, as it was a
simple story, but I just never saw the movies, not even the original (I have
since corrected this mistake and watched the first one, not the other ones yet
however). I am seen enough of the old movies on TV to know about Rocky Balboa
and Apollo Creed, so I was familiar that they were good friends in the movie
and I knew that Apollo Creed died in the fourth movie. I knew the set up, I
knew enough of the characters, and that made watching this movie stand out. I
will spoil a part of the movie, so stop reading if you don’t want to know
anything about the movie if you haven’t seen it…..During the second half of the
movie, we learn that Rocky gets cancer. It really hit hard, while I never grew
up watching these movies, I knew who Rocky was, even when I was a little kid,
so not only was Rocky getting old, but Rocky was getting sick as well, and that
hit me hard, and I think many audience members as well. Anyway, Creed was a
great movie to watch, and a great story. It’s not anything new, but hey,
whatever isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
7. Bridge of Spies – The latest movie directed by Stephen
Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks (this might be their 4th
collaboration), this time Tom Hanks plays an insurance attorney who is hired to
defend a Soviet Spy during the Cold War. I saw the trailer a couple of times,
but never really focused on what was going to happen, so I was thrown for a
loop as the story progressed, when it started off by him defending the Soviet
Spy and then he goes to Russia to bring home one of their own and they use the
Soviet Spy as a means to exchange prisoners. A movie where no guns were fired
or anything of the matter, but yet during the second hard, the tense would
build and you could feel it and wondered how everything was going to be
resolved, and I didn’t know what was going to happen as I don’t study the
history books.
6. The Peanuts Movie – I am not one of those that watched
Charlie Brown specials growing up that much, or really read the comics, however I was
very familiar with Snoopy and the other characters. I really liked this movie
for the fun moments that I feel take a lot of the strong points of the
characters, and pays tribute. As well, it was honestly refreshing to sit
through a very clean movie, that didn’t have any of the trash or language that
tends to make it into movies these days, but the main reason this movie left a
strong impact with me was for the simple story, and the simple message it
presented at the end, in a world where we focus more on success instead of the
efforts, this movie focuses on the simple qualities that make a person great, and not necessarily the achievements one makes, this is something I feel is lacking in the world today, as the world is pushing for more success and not taking time to praise the efforts made or the other wonderful qualities that make a person great. That is why it earns it’s place on this
spot.
5. Ant Man – A movie that I liked more than what was suppose
to be the best movie of the summer (Avengers: Age of Ultron). Don’t get me
wrong, I still really liked Age of Ultron, I just liked Ant Man more. Ant Man,
like Guardians of the Galaxy last year, was a Marvel property that I wasn’t
very familiar with, so it was fun to see what they did with it, I especially
enjoyed how they used the humor in the movie, and the character interactions
and the parts they all played. There were so many cool gadgets, and so many
awesome worlds to explore, and the intriguing way that everything was used to
add uniqueness to the Marvel Universe, especially after adding another galaxy
in Guardians of the Galaxy, just when you thought the Marvel Universe couldn’t
get any bigger, they get smaller. There were so many things that just made this
a worthwhile time.
4. Mad Max: Fury Road – 30 years after Thunderdome, we are
graced with this sequel. Wow is the best word to describe the movie and the
experience of watching it. We live in a world where special effects are heavily
relied on computers, but this one goes back to the basics and uses practical
effects, and the effort is mind blowing. There is just an awesome look to the whole
movie. Not only is the visual look and effects awesome, but we have some really
cool and strong characters. Tom Hardy does a great job as Max, but Charlize
Theron does a wonderful job as Furiousa. I would have to say that this was one
of the best action movies I have seen in a long time. The only other Mad Max
movie I had seen up to this point was Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and I have to
say that this blew it completely out of the water.
3. The Martian – If you were alone on a planet for over a
year, how would you react? Would you sit in a corner or whatever and start
crying, or would you make the best out of the situation. Matt Damon chooses the
latter. For those that are worried of seeing a repeat of Cast Away, this movie
is anything but the same experience as that movie. (which is still a good
movie, don’t get me wrong, but not as strong as this) There are many movies
that receive praise that tend to push towards the really dark situations, and
pushes the characters in the darkest of the situation, and yet this movie more
focuses on the light side of a dark situation, and that’s what makes this movie
really stand out for me. Matt Damon is also not the only one in the picture,
there are several very talented cast members that help drive the story forward,
and help make this a fun ride that was worth going to the theater. Not only
that, but the landscapes of Mars are breathtaking, and no I will not join that
program where I would travel to Mars and live there the rest of my life,
watching this on Blu-Ray is good enough for me, or receiving HD pictures of
Mars will be plenty.
2. Inside Out – If there was one movie that I was ready to
buy another ticket and go back in and see right after the credits rolled, it
was Inside Out. A movie about emotions, I experienced a bunch of emotions
throughout the movie. I laughed so hard throughout many parts of the movie, and
I had not laughed that hard in a theater in a long time. There were also
moments that I almost cried. The entire world that was created for the movie
was very inventive, and I felt that the way things came out I could picture
going on in my mind. I feel that a lot of people could relate to this. The
importance of emotions like Sadness, despite how we want to fight them off, or
want to keep others from experiencing Sadness, but it becomes necessary to be
able to experience joy. Memories that fade after time because we choose not to
remember them (except mine, they always find a way to come back). The gum
commercial jingle that comes into the mind out of nowhere, and sometimes for no
reason except to mess with us. I feel the world that was created was a very
relatable one. Not only was this one of my top movies of the year, but this is
one of my favorite Pixar movies of all time.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – This was the most
anticipated movie of this year. After the prequel trilogy, there was many
concerns and doubts that did arise in this movie. As I was seeing the trailers
for this movie, the more I became excited to see it. This was actually the most
excited I have been for the release of a movie in a long time. I could say that
in some ways I was more excited for it than Star Wars Episode 1, even though I
was very cautious at the same time, as we have all been excited for a new Star
Wars movie and were disappointed with the Episode 1 when it came out, but this
stood out because there were many elements that stood out from the Original
Trilogy, the one that we all grew up with (before the….cough cough…. Permanent
Special Editions, which I hope one day George Lucas undoes that mistake). Not
only did it meet expectations, it exceeded them. There were so many things in
this movie that were worth talking about, and worth going back into the theater
to see again. One of the many things that was discussed was Rey and who is her
family (my bets are on Luke Skywalker, and no I am not placing money…..I’m
placing Republic Credits :p). Another thing that has started conversation was
the new character Snoke, the one who is pulling the strings, how did he rise to
power, some have even brought up that he could be Darth Plagus, if you don’t
know who Darth Plagus is, rewatch Revenge of the Sith and he is discussed by
Palpatine in the Opera House scene. Other questions raised like how did Maz
Kanada get a hold of Luke’s lightsaber, why did Luke really go into hiding.
This movie brought us so much that the prequels just could not, and no I am not
talking about how poorly the prequels were made in comparison to the Original
Trilogy, but because the prequels dealt with the past, there might have been a
couple of questions we had when watching the movie, or just a couple of things
worth discussing, but this movie had so much worth discussing after the credits
rolled. This movie also had a great balance between the Original Trilogy and
setting up new adventures for these new characters. This was the real Star Wars
movie we were hoping to get for a long time, and I couldn’t have been any
happier.
So there you have it, 2015, another year of good movies. Time to look for the next hits in 2016.
