Fish and Cherries Productions

Ah, now this is what does it for me. Cleaning out the last of the bile from last year’s bad movies is well and good, but celebrating last year’s good movies lifts me up and gets me excited for the coming year. That said, this list makes me a little sad; there were so many good movies this year that I was actually heartbroken to have to leave some of them off. Of course, that winds up being a testament to how great this year was, so let’s dive right in.

You know the rules: it has to have come out in 2015 and I have to have done a Reel Snippet on it. Oh, and something I didn’t make clear on the Worst Of list: if you don’t remember what my original review was like on these, there are links to them embedded in the entry titles. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s count down Ronin’s Top 13 Best Movies of 2015!

#13: The Visit

If I went back in time about four years and told myself that I would rate an M. Night Shyamalan film higher than any of the Marvel movies of the same year, I would say that I’d gone crazy before asking how I let us get so fat. But it’s true; The Visit swept me off my feet and wowed me with some serious misdirection like I haven’t seen in years. On top of that, things were tight, made sense within the context of the story, and none of the wooden acting that has become a staple of the Shyamalan library reared its ugly head. Good on you, M. Night, you may have gotten your groove back. Don’t f*** it up.

#12: The Revenant

When I made last year’s list, a number of people lamented that Selma should have made the list. After I went and saw it… I had to agree. I was not going to make the same mistake this year, so I tried to be a bit more thorough with 2015’s movies. While I didn’t get a chance to see Carol or Anomalisa, I was at least able to attest to the brilliance and brutality of The Revenant. After so much work with Scorcese, it’s funny that the filmmaker that got Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar is the one who Sean Penn made a questionable green card joke about. Sometimes you never know who’s going to rock the boat.

#11: Kung Fury

Now this right here is what I look for in something that’s called stupid and fun. This YouTube gem from Kickstarter surprised all of us with how cleverly stupid it was, lampooning many 80s tropes and staples while actually having done enough research on the topic of ridicule to do it properly, rather than slapping the parody label on itself as an excuse for lazy writing and awful jokes *coughfamilyguycoughteentitansgocough*. It didn’t need anyone to defend it from being stupid because it embraced it and poured in so much marvelous effort. What else is there to say but… girl we need some, girl we need some ACTION!

#10: Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Remember how I said this was a bad year for people trying to make a quick buck off of nostalgia? Well, this film shows how much respecting a franchise’s past really pays off. Yes, I wish it was more original and less of a remake, but it was intelligent, held up under its own logic, and most importantly sparked discussion. That is what all of our action movies should aspire to be. Not much to say, but… Star Wars.

#9: Straight Outta Compton

On the other end of the spectrum, we have a film that played everything raw and harsh. It gave me an uncomfortable look at when racial tensions were high and tight before N.W.A. gave society a rough shiatsu massage and shook things up. I have to admit, I probably would have turned my nose up at this film in my youth because of my disdain for rap and hip hop in the 90s and early 2000s, but seeing it got me to reevaluate this and more of my prejudices. Looking at myself, man, it was haunting, but I rose back up… because of Straight Outta Compton!

#8: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

While Paper Towns was by no means a bad movie, I was surprised how Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was more of a John Green story than this year’s actual John Green movie. I had difficulty putting this film into a category when I first saw this and I still feel that way, but that’s what makes it so distinctive. It really casts a new light on the social loner archetype and paints a really interesting story. All in all, a jewel of a very odd shape and color.

#7: Sicario

You want a story where you find comfort during a conflict? Watch Star Wars. You want one that shoves your face in the ugly truth and makes you question why we fight and, ultimately, for what? No? Tough shit, watch Sicario anyway. The only grumbling I’ve heard about it is from my stepbrother who is tired of seeing Latinos being portrayed as drug runners and victims . While I see his point, I can’t deny the sheer honesty of this film and Juarez is the epicenter of a very bloody war that I think more people should be aware of. I can’t deny it: when a movie hits hard, I really feel it.

#6: The Martian

The filmmakers must have been playing baseball on the moon because they hit it so far out of the park with this movie that the ball went a gravitationally impossible distance. I predict, or at the very least hope, that this will be held in the same esteem as science fiction films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, E.T., Dr. Strangelove, and the first two Terminator and Aliens movies. Everything that I could possibly say about this film has already been said, so let’s just enjoy it and take a space walk together.

#5: The Walk

Or hey, how about a walk on a tightrope with a majestic view of New York City? Well, apparently this walk was enough to make a lot of viewers nauseous, which is a real shame. For me personally, this view had me curled up in my seat with sheer terror and anxiety because I honestly didn’t know what would happen to this absolutely charismatic man. History buffs obviously had the leg up on me for this, but even so, this movie was so immersive that I don’t think it would have mattered. And yet it never lost its whimsy and majesty. That, my friends, is the power of Robert Zemeckis.

#4: Room

Oh hai, excellent film that shares an unfortunate name with a hilariously terrible film. In all seriousness, though, if there was one film I was happy that I caught from 2015, it was this one. It’s absolutely refreshing to see a film that can say things without actually saying them, which has become more of a lost art nowadays. It’s a brilliant combination of hope, despair, melancholy, and joy and one that I’ll definitely get on video when it comes out.

#3: Ex Machina

Do I even need to say more about this movie? The title kinda speaks for itself. If you haven’t seen it, you should. I mean… JESUS!!!

#2: Spotlight

Called it! The film I said was going to be an Oscar frontrunner won Best Picture and Mark Ruffalo was nominated for Best Supporting Actor! Some might say it’s because the Oscar committees are predictable, but I say it’s because I know a stellar film when I see it. And make no mistake, Spotlight was absolutely stellar. It brought me to the edge of my seat like few movies have done before. Now this may have won Best Picture, but this is my list and I’ve got my own frontrunner.

Before we get to number one, here are some honorable mentions that I feel really bad didn’t make the list proper.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

Kingsman: The Secret Service

In a year where both Mission: Impossible and James Bond came out, this movie came from behind and swept the spy sweepstakes. Kind of ironic, since the movie is about an underdog coming from low beginnings to become one hell of a secret agent. This would have made the list had I not seen The Revenant.

When Marnie Was There

As heartbreaking as it was not to include this film, I was actually on the fence as whether it counted as a 2015 film, since it premiered in Japan in 2014. I guess I don’t have to worry about that decision.

Brooklyn

This made a lot of people’s Top Tens, which I can totally appreciate. I just saw a lot of movies that I thought were better.

The Peanuts Movie

I feel a little bad for comparing Meghan Trainor’s music to an earthworm because the song she wrote for this movie isn’t bad. But yeah, the Schultz is strong with this one.

Goosebumps

I wasn’t that into the Goosebumps books when they were coming out, but even I could tell how much love and respect the filmmakers had for the franchise and how much that was reflected in the quality of this film.

Crimson Peak

A lot of people may be wondering why I didn’t put this on the proper list instead of The Visit. I’d wonder how they could think I’d leave The Visit off the list. We’ll get many more good Guillermo del Toro horror films in the future. We may never get another good M. Night Shyamalan horror film again. Or a good Shyamalan film period.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

SCARLET WITCH! JAMES SPADER! VISION! FALCON’S ON THE AVENGERS NOW! AAGIGNDIFSDHGOISEJFSOEIJFSESLIFJ!!

Ant-Man
I may have been a little harsh on this movie, but I can’t deny the brilliance of the second half.

And now, without further ado…

#1: …

…a tie

I know, I know, but I honestly couldn’t decide between these two. They were both brilliant, but choosing between them is really an apples and oranges case. But enough waffling around, let’s get to it (even though you’ve probably guessed them by now).

#1 (tie): Inside Out

How fitting that a movie all about emotions plucks on all the right heartstrings. Another critic pointed out that Riley is great both as a character and a setting, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Both Riley’s journey and the journey through Riley are new and inventive, but also hit close to home because of how real and familiar they are. The visual metaphors here are spot on and some of the lessons it teaches are hard, but necessary and great as a means to gain peace with the voices in their own heads.

#1 (tie): Mad Max: Fury Road

Action movies used to carry a stigma of predictability since they all seem to follow a fairly set formula. Fury Road takes that formula and runs it over with a truck gunning 20,000 horsepower run on flaming diesel made of Judas Priest’s most frenetic shreds. On paper, it’s the simplest story ever: a chase movie. But combined with nuanced visual details, things conveyed with images rather than dialogue, clever writing, and the perfect use of quiet moments amidst the pumping adrenaline… well, you’ve got one of the best action films of all time. On top of that, it’s a film that really gets how to write women. Each of the female characters is nuanced and three-dimensional, driving the plot in their own way with arcs that can stand alone. And yes, Anita Sarkeesian, that does make the movie feminist.

So which of these number ones are the best? Which of them is crown ruler of 2015? I think that’s up to you. Each of them advances filmmaking and the portrayal of women on the silver screen, but like I said, it’s comparing apples and oranges and comes down to personal taste. Do you prefer the film with the traditional three act structure that has new and original concepts? Or do you take more to the simple and straightforward plotline that shows us the new directions we can take storytelling? Decide for yourself and here’s hoping for an amazing 2016.