2015: Best Year in Movies Ever?

[Oky]

So now that the year has ended, it is time to look back and think of all the good things that happened. And, boy, was it a good year for movies! There were several blockbusters that shattered box office records in 2015 and were praised by movie goers and critics alike! But there were also plenty of people that were unimpressed by these movies, especially after the hype for them had died down. Not only that, but the most successful movies were all sequels/remakes of older movies. So do these films deserve all the praise and money they received or are they just overhyped, unoriginal trash? Well, let me share my thoughts on some of the movies I've seen this year in the order in which they were released. Don't worry, I'll keep it spoiler-free.

Kingsman: The Secret Service - The year started with a bang with this spy action comedy based on a comic! As the movie likes to point out itself, this is not a traditional spy movie. There are lots of ultra-violent, super-fun, stylish action scenes and lots of great humor which make for a unique, enjoyable flick.

Chappie - Did you like that part in Short Circuit 2 where Johnny 5 joins a gang? Well, then you will probably like this movie, too, because that's the entire movie. I was honestly expecting a bit more from this one, but the lovable protagonist made it enjoyable enough.

Cinderella - This is the second film in the long line of live-action remakes of Disney classics which seem to exist only to make money. Admittedly, it was a fairly close adaption of the animated version and expanded on the story a little bit, but it was not much more than that and actually managed to make the titular character even less interesting somehow. While Maleficent was worse, at least it tried to tell the story from a different perspective. This was basically the same movie, just in live-action.

Furious 7 - This is the seventh entry in a franchise about heists in souped-up cars with lots of over-the-top action. It was pretty good, but it probably would have only been just another decent entry in the series if it wasn't for that heartbreaking tribute to Paul Walker at the end.

Avengers: Age of Ultron - The highly anticipated sequel to Marvel's Avengers gave us exactly what we wanted: More of the Avengers fighting bad guys, working off of each other, and just hanging out together, plus a cool new villain and more heroes to join their team. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more to it than that. Much like in the first one, the story was very basic and didn't make a lot of sense sometimes, and there wasn't much new in this film. It was just kind of more of the same, which is fine since that's what we expected, but it could have been better.

Mad Max: Fury Road - I saw the fourth installment in the Mad Max series a few weeks after everyone had been touting it as the "greatest action film in years" and while I did enjoy it, I felt that it was a bit overhyped. It was basically just one big car chase with very little story. Which is fine for an action movie of course, I was just expecting a little more based on the rave reviews. The action and visuals were fantastic, though, so I can't complain.

Tomorrowland - Being a fan of Brad Bird's previous works, I was very excited for this one. It had a lot of promise, but it ended up being disappointing. While it does have some nice moments, it was just too corny and too all over the place.

Terminator Genisys - I didn't hate this one as much as many other people did. I thought it was at least better than Salvation, although that's not saying much. It definitely has its flaws. Aside from Arnold who was a delight to see again, every character seemed miscast, the story was a mess, and some of the effects were pretty bad, but it had some decent humor and action. I think they just need to put this franchise to rest.

Minions - It's usually never a good idea to make a film centered around the comic relief of a movie, and this is no exception. While the minions are still adorable and hilarious, they're not really interesting enough to carry a movie, so while this film was amusing, it wasn't nearly as good as the Despicable Me films.

Jurassic World - Being the highest grossing movie of the year and the third highest of all time, you'd think this movie was one of the best produced, best written, and best acted films ever, right? Well, it's not. It's just Jurassic Park again, but with fake CG dinosaurs, less interesting characters, and a stupid plot. Sure, it was better than Jurassic Park 3, and if you just want to see Chris Pratt and some dinosaurs, you'll probably like it fine, but it is not so good that it deserves being this successful. The only thing that makes it worth watching is the climax which is admittedly pretty awesome.

Inside Out - This was easily my favorite movie of the year and one of (if not the) best Pixar films! It's one of the most original and most brilliant films I've ever seen. People often like to compare it to other things like Osmosis Jones or Herman's Head, but this is the first film that does the concept of showing the inside of the mind right and really shows the importance of certain emotions and of growing up. It has lots of funny moments as well as sad moments and the usual excellent Pixar animation. Just a wonderful film.

Ant-Man - Much like Guardians of the Galaxy, this could have easily been a flop, but the talented people at Marvel turned one of the most laughable superheroes into a fun, fresh mix of a superhero and a heist movie. It doesn't take itself too seriously and does some fun new things with the shrinking concept. The story is basically the same as Iron Man and the villain is fairly forgettable, but that's the case with most Marvel villains. Is it the best Marvel movie? No, but it's a lot more entertaining than you'd expect.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - I loved Ghost Protocol which was directed by Brad Bird, and this one was just as good! Simon Pegg is hilarious as always, Tom Cruise continues impress us with his insane stunts, and Rebecca Ferguson makes for a great female lead. There are lots of great, heart-pounding action scenes and interesting plot twists as you would expect from a good M:I film. It's probably my second favorite of the year.

The Marian - One of the most entertaining and most realistic space movies I've seen in a long time. I didn't really like Nolan's Interstellar since it was more fiction than science, and while Gravity was suspenseful, it didn't have much of a plot. Based on a book, this one was a lot more of an old-fashioned, realistic story about a man trying to survive on Mars while NASA tries to "bring him home". It has a lot of good humor as well as suspense.

Spectre - Wow, there sure were a lot of spy movies this year! This is the fourth Bond film starring Daniel Craig and while it may not be as good as Skyfall or Casino Royale, it was still a fun 007 flick that was a lot more reminiscent of the classic Bond films in its tone. Christoph Waltz was great as always and considering that this was the first Bond film not based on one of Ian Fleming's stories, the plot was pretty good.

The Peanuts Movie - I was never a huge fan of the Peanuts. I never read the comics and the old animated specials were all kind of boring to me. But this movie was very enjoyable. It had a bit more energy and a very interesting CG animated style that mimicked the old animation style. The story is nothing special as it's just about Charlie Brown having a crush on the new girl and trying to muster up the courage to talk to her while Snoopy is being Snoopy. It's very quaint and charming in its simplicity and has a lot of humorous moments. If I had to describe the movie in one word, it would be cute.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 - The final installment in the series of movies based on one of the most successful young adult novels is a bit slow, especially in the beginning, but ultimately serves as a satisfying conclusion to the series. I really wish they wouldn't have split this book into two parts, but oh well.

The Good Dinosaur - It's no secret that I'm a huge Pixar fan, so I was very excited that this was the first year that we got two Pixar films in one year! But not even I can deny that The Good Dinosaur was disappointing, especially coming out so shortly after Inside Out. It's every "dinosaur gets lost" and "a boy and his dog" story you've ever seen and they hardly do anything with the premise of the meteor missing the Earth. Plus the stylized dinos don't seem to fit into the photo-realistic environments (which were gorgeous!). It's not a bad movie, it's just nothing special.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The most anticipated movie since Phantom Menace has finally been released, and I am happy to say that it is much better than Episode I! However, it is not without its flaws. Many complain that it's too similar to A New Hope, but it's still a fun movie and makes the next two films promising.

The Hateful Eight - The year ends with Quentin Tarantino's second Western and it's as great as I had hoped it would be! Of course it has his signature amount of gore, but it's very intense with lots of great lines from Samuel L. Jackson. I think I still like Django Unchained better, but this was just as good.

There were plenty other movies that had very good reviews, but these are just some that I have seen.

So was it a great year for movies? Yes, there were definitely a lot of entertaining films to watch. However, it is also true that many of them were not very original. A lot of them are the 4th, 5th, or even 7th installment in their respective franchises and more or less just repeat the plot from the original in order to capitalize on nostalgia. This is a clear sign that Hollywood is trying more and more to play it safe, and seeing how successful these sequels/remakes have been this year, I don't see this trend dying anytime soon. However, just because something doesn't have an original plot doesn't mean it's bad. As movies like Fury Road, The Force Awakens, and Ant-Man have shown, you can still make a very entertaining movie even with an old formula if you put some effort into it. And entertainment is what movies are all about.

So what do you think? What were your favorite movies of 2015 and what do you think about all these sequels/remakes?

[LEGODalekbuster523]

I don't think it's fair to say Jurassic World is just Jurassic Park again. Yes, it contains the same warning of messing with DNA but I would argue it's more about the power of commercialism and how corrupt it can be. Plus the film was very entertaining to watch with possibly one of the best lead actors at the moment in Chris Pratt.

[Im a brickmaster.]

Dude, you can't say a movie were 5 creatures operate someone's brain is better then a movie were a bunch of people run around on an island being chased by dino's!

[VBBN]

Agreed that this was a great year for movies, but I couldn't disagree with you more on your ruling of Jurassic World.

My top ten of 2015 in order (with one being favorite):

1. Star Wars The Force Awakens

2. Mad max: Fury Road (It wasn't necessarily my favorite, but it's a damn cinematic masterpiece from a filmmaking perspective.)

3. Jurassic World

4. Ant-Man

5. Kingsman The Secret Service

6. The Martian

7. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

8. Avengers Age of Ultron (I'm a huge fan of the MCU, but I gotta rate this one lower on my list because 'Age of Setups for future MCU movies" would be a more accurate title. Throughout the whole movie I was just thinking 'Oh hey look a reference to Infinity Wars/Black Panther/Civil War...I'm sitting here watching this movie because it's out but really my excitement is toward the movies this one is building up to.)

9. Furious 7

10. Spectre

As a honorable mention, one movie that wasn't on your list as it was a B-list movie is MI-5 (no, not mission impossible.) It's pretty much just another Mission Impossible/James Bond/etc kind of movie, but I thought it did a good job at keeping you guessing as to whose side one of the characters was on and the angles they were playing.

[xboxtravis7992]

I agree that Jurassic World wasn't that good. It was fun, but there are to many "What Idiot Though That Was A Good Idea!!" moments during the film to make it worthwhile. Chris Pratt seemed to be the only character with half a functional brain in the whole film. I'd rate Jurassic World rather low.

Star Wars was fun,a good start to a new trilogy. The Martian was great. Inside Out was also excellent. Let's see what 2016 brings now!

[Oky]

Dude, you can't say a movie were 5 creatures operate someone's brain is better then a movie were a bunch of people run around on an island being chased by dino's!

Umm, have you even seen Inside Out? It's much more than just a movie about creatures controlling your brain. It's a very clever visualization of the emotional state of a young girl who is going through a tough time in her life. It's a movie about the importance of sadness and how we have to give up certain parts of our personality in order to grow up. It's a very profound message that you don't really see in other movies and it's a film that helps kids (and even adults) understand their emotions and cope with difficult situations that they might be going through themselves. Not to mention the great jokes and brilliant animation which features contrasting styles for the Inside world and the Outside world. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest checking it out.

Jurassic World on the other hand is really just another movie about people running from dinosaurs with the same old warning about not playing god. If you enjoyed it, that's fine, but don't compare it to a masterpiece like Inside Out.

I don't think it's fair to say Jurassic World is just Jurassic Park again. Yes, it contains the same warning of messing with DNA but I would argue it's more about the power of commercialism and how corrupt it can be. Plus the film was very entertaining to watch with possibly one of the best lead actors at the moment in Chris Pratt.

Aside from all the product placement, I didn't see much about commercialism in the movie. I guess you could argue that it's about how corporations will do anything to open a profitable theme park, but to think that even the most greedy corporation would be stupid enough to open a Jurassic theme park after the events in the last three movies and engineer an even more dangerous dinosaur is insulting to anyone with a brain. Chris Pratt was just about the only likable character because he was the only one with any goddamn sense, except for that nerdy guy in the control room who kept pointing out the movie's flaws. And don't get me started on Claire and that cliche military villain. I could go on about how stupid the movie was, but it's a tired argument at this point.

That said, I did enjoy the film for what it was - a silly movie about people running from dinosaurs - but it wasn't much beyond that.

As a honorable mention, one movie that wasn't on your list as it was a B-list movie is MI-5 (no, not mission impossible.) It's pretty much just another Mission Impossible/James Bond/etc kind of movie, but I thought it did a good job at keeping you guessing as to whose side one of the characters was on and the angles they were playing.

Interesting. You're right, I dismissed that movie because it seemed like a B-movie that seemed to shamelessly cash in on the popularity of Mission: Impossible and all the other spy movies that came out that year, but I might have to check it out on Netflix sometime.

[Oky]

I agree that Jurassic World wasn't that good. It was fun, but there are to many "What Idiot Though That Was A Good Idea!!" moments during the film to make it worthwhile. Chris Pratt seemed to be the only character with half a functional brain in the whole film. I'd rate Jurassic World rather low.

Star Wars was fun,a good start to a new trilogy. The Martian was great. Inside Out was also excellent. Let's see what 2016 brings now!

Exactly.

Yeah, let's hope 2016 will be good as well, although I doubt that it will beat 2015. The only films I'm looking forward to so far are Kung Fu Panda 3, Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia, and The Secret Life of Pets. I wish I could be excited for BvS, Suicide Squad, TMNT2, and X-Men: Apocalypse, but based on their trailers, I just can't. There are several other movies that could be good, though, depending on how they turn out, such as Finding Dory, The Jungle Book, Star Trek Beyond, Ghostbusters, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Beasts, Moana, Rogue One, etc. They are all promising, so let's hope they'll be good.

[LiLmeFromDaFuture]

What! You don't like minions mistaking the queen for a cockroach? I thought that was most hilarious

Though at times you can get lost or frustrated wondering what the minions are saying when the narrator is not around.

I didn't like TFA so much for a number of reasons: uninteresting characters (*cough* Phasma being one), particular moments that had the potential for action scenes, and that cliffhanger I sat through wishing "please don't end this way, it can't be all they're giving us now after waiting so long," etc.

Kylo Ren unmasks himself his first movie…

I don't really care how young he is. Revealing his face so early on in this new trilogy lessen his appearance as an effectively intimidating villain!

Weak!

Uninteresting!

Has lost my respect

He'll never amount to a true Dark Lord as Vader before him

I guess he's new to this …

Spoiler of the universe: REVEAL AT YOUR OWN RISK OF BEING SPOILED!!!

Supreme Leader Snook is actually…

not a fish…

He's Jar Jar Binks.

Someones' new year's resolution for 2016

Finally see Star Wars the Force Awakens!

[LEGODalekbuster523]

Aside from all the product placement, I didn't see much about commercialism in the movie.

You're missing the point entirely. That's why the product placement was there: it was to show how commercialism and corporate greed can quickly lead to disaster and chaos.

but to think that even the most greedy corporation would be stupid enough to open a Jurassic theme park after the events in the last three movies and engineer an even more dangerous dinosaur is insulting to anyone with a brain.

I don't believe it is, considering how much money could be made from a park featuring genetically engineered dinosaurs. Zoos still have lions and tigers and they are very dangerous creatures. Nobody would pay just to see a triceratops but if there was a T-Rex and Indominus Rex, a lot of interest would be generated.

Chris Pratt was just about the only likable character because he was the only one with any goddamn sense, except for that nerdy guy in the control room who kept pointing out the movie's flaws. And don't get me started on Claire and that cliche military villain.

Life isn't full of likeable people, though. Life is full of good, bad and idiots.

[Im a brickmaster.]

Umm, have you even seen Inside Out? It's much more than just a movie about creatures controlling your brain. It's a very clever visualization of the emotional state of a young girl who is going through a tough time in her life. It's a movie about the importance of sadness and how we have to give up certain parts of our personality in order to grow up. It's a very profound message that you don't really see in other movies and it's a film that helps kids (and even adults) understand their emotions and cope with difficult situations that they might be going through themselves. Not to mention the great jokes and brilliant animation which features contrasting styles for the Inside world and the Outside world. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest checking it out.

Jurassic World on the other hand is really just another movie about people running from dinosaurs with the same old warning about not playing god. If you enjoyed it, that's fine, but don't compare it to a masterpiece like Inside Out.

My point is more stop and think about what we're "arguing" about.

My 15 year old sister saw Inside out and said it was cute. That's it. I was kinda surprised actually. So basically let's not got on a high horse and beat anyone over the head with what we think are masterpieces! No hard feelings Oky

[Tariq j]

I agree Oky, Las year was a strong year in movies.

In no particular order here are my personal favourites:

1. Spectre

2. Star Wars

3. The Man from U.N.C.L.E

4. The Martian

5. Inside Out

6. The Peanuts Movie

7. Furious 7

8. Avenges Age of Ultron

9. Ant Man

10. Kingsman Sectre Service

I also think a very notable mention should go to Shaun the Sheep, I thoroughly enjoyed that movie, the comedy was good as was the story.

[Bricky Dee Williams]

I do agree with Oky, this year was a fantastic year for moviegoers, fans, and the Box Office alike. I loved films like Furious 7, Kingsman:TSS, Avengers: AoU, Jurassic World, Ant-mNa, Mockingjay: Part II, and Star Wars: TFA. Those were just the films I've already seen. I enjoyed every one of them, from the Jurassic reboot/sequel to the end of Marvel's Phase 2. I believe next year could be better, with Batman v Suoerman, Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Suicide Squad, Doctor Straneg, Finding Dory, The Jungle Book, Independence Day: Resurgence, not Ghostbusters , and many more! We live in a great time. Not to mention all of the Lego sets produced on the films this past year! Personally my favorite was SW: TFA, given Mr. Abramms film's feeling of completion and total commitment to the original trilogy and preceding saga. However, others like Jurassic World and Avengers were fantastic in their own ways, whether it was nostalgia or fandom and the fun thrills they gave viewers, plus the amazing special effect, also found in many other films last year, such as Star Wars.

[Oky]

My point is more stop and think about what we're "arguing" about.

My 15 year old sister saw Inside out and said it was cute. That's it. I was kinda surprised actually. So basically let's not got on a high horse and beat anyone over the head with what we think are masterpieces! No hard feelings Oky

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound aggressive. I just don't think it's fair for you to compare the two movies if you haven't seen (one of) them. Don't judge Inside Out just by your sister's account. It is a coming-of-age story, so she may have been too young to understand some of the deeper meanings of the film. Go see it for yourself and build your own opinion so we can have a meaningful discussion about it. I assure you you won't be disappointed.

I also think a very notable mention should go to Shaun the Sheep, I thoroughly enjoyed that movie, the comedy was good as was the story.

That's still on my to-watch list. I quite enjoyed the TV series, just like everything Aardman makes, and I'm glad to hear it is getting such good reviews, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I also have to make some honorable mentions for smaller movies that I didn't talk about:

The Gift - A very intense thriller with one heck of an ending. It keeps you guessing until the end and the way your perception of the characters changes as the movie goes along is great. It has a very interesting message.

Ex Machina - The story may be simple and not very new, but the performances, the setting, and the plot twists make this a very intense sci-fi thriller. In fact, this film disturbed me on kind of a deep level. Even though I've seen this type of scenario before, it made me look at robots and humanity very differently than I had up to that point.

The Walk - I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would. Usually biopics like this tend to be kind of boring and you'd think that a film about one moment where a guy walks on a high wire couldn't fill an entire movie, but they pulled it off very well as the movie is more about the planning and the preparation for the titular walk which makes it similar to a heist movie. It had a lot more humor and suspense than I expected and everybody delivered a very enjoyable performance. I also liked the fact that they didn't dwell on the twin towers' fate much. There is only one indirect reference to 9/11 at the very end and it actually makes for a nice bitter sweet ending to an enjoyable movie.

[Sam892]

This year was a bery kind off in the middle year for me. While there were two amazing films ( Mad Max and Kingsman ) everything else was just pretty good. Avengers was ok, as was furious 7, chappie, jurrassic world, MI5, ect. Spectre was a huge let down with extremely bizarre unnecessary twists. Antman was pretty good but was predictable. All in all just safe 4 star films, with the exception of Mad Max there was no 5 star amazing blockbusters. Star Wars was amazing but it was so safe and predictable it didn't quite make 5 stars for me. Hateful eight and Creed are just about to be released here so I hope they are amazing.

To be honest this seemed to be the year of flops and let downs Hitman, Fantastic Four, Terminator, Pixels..... It was the year of reboots, and sequels with such uninspired storys.

2016 looks pretty hopeful kicking off with Deadpool.

[Immo]

It was a good year. Never saw many movies as I like to do it in cinemas and money was scarce.

Of all the movies you mentioned, I really loved Kingsman for it's witty and absurd mood.

Avengers? Well, I started to sleep as I was on a night marathon with 1st Avengers and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Don't really remember much of this flick.

But all of this matters not, as 2015 was a year of The Force Awakens. Great, great movie. TONS of old Star Wars style and mood, wonderful practical special effects, really good acting and great, lovable new characters.

As for the "problems" - yeah, it resembled A New Hope. In about 20%; the rest of it was a different story. When someone says it's "A New Hope 2.0", he forgot, that Return of the Jedi was "ANH 2.0", if this whole "destroy the superweapon" mess is to be blamed. The rest of it is a classic Campbell's "Hero's Journey". Not to mention the fact, that a person viewing ANH and TFA for the first time in his life would probably consider TFA a better movie.

Some minor details were the things that bugged me more than the whole story thing, but they aren't big enough to be mentioned.

P.S. Also, in 2015 I saw Lego: the Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time and those two are just awesome.

[Artanis I]

Judging by the topic title and the movies mentioned I expected to have a completely different opinion. But all of the movies I've seen on that list you pretty much said how I felt about them, except for Avengers. I'm so over the "this sudden new enemy is bigger than anything we've ever seen before" & "let's pulverise an entire city" scenarios, so any redeeming qualities did not redeem. But the other 7 I've seen I pretty much agree.