"The Best From Hollywood" will always be my broad statement to mean the film industry, and particularly the American Film Industry. It is what I have been a fan of my entire life; it is where I work now. No disrespect to the movies coming out of other nations, at all. (I get that we Americans make Bond Villains out of actors who do fine work in other places.) They just aren't what I study or follow, so I leave them to those who do.
Please also remember that my list is not merely a reflection of that industry. It is a reflection of myself within it. What has resonated with THIS PERSON this year? Professional critics may or may not like to pretend otherwise, but everything in this business, outside of "Could you see and hear what was happening on the screen?" is subjective. Honestly, I think that is why friends (or people without a lot of time) working in the same circles end up with the same movies on their lists. All. The. Time. I'm no doubt gonna have a few of the Must See Movies here, too, but I hope I will surprise you. A little.
As usual, there will be ten, but they will not be ranked. They will just be.
Bridge of Spies Watch here.
The story of an Insurance Lawyer, played by Tom Hanks, defending an accused and pretty much guilty (but nevertheless deserving of a fair trial) Soviet Spy, played by the great Mark Rylance, and the dividing of a nation. Well, not really. Everybody pretty much hated them. The story sure divided our family while we watched it, though. More than any movie had done in a long time. The Mrs. and I yelled at the screen and yelled at each other as we compared the social issues of 1957 to today, to then, and as we discussed vehemently whether Hanks was right to do what he was doing. Surprising me most pleasingly, I was identifying with Hanks, while my wife, a professional woman with two giant organizations at her feet, worried for Hank's at-home wife and her issues, played stoically well by Amy Ryan.
Home Watch here.
Yep, I'm already diverging from what ANYBODY else has on their top ten list, aren't I? I don't know why this little animated gem was overlooked this year, even in the animated category. (Well, of course I do. It's a road picture. The Academy has been there, done that.) I loved it. It made this guy blubbler at Toy Story 3 levels. And it has the SHUSHER, so . . . . Glad Mad! Best Day Ever!
Taken 3 Watch here.
I love "Take-you-down-I'm-Sexy-and-I-know-it-BOOM" movies. I watched this one as part of a triple feature with the other two, on a day in January when I really wanted to hit something. A nice touch with this film was that they added the Hitchcock "wrong-man" plot that the Master of Suspense used so often, but it was like: Imagine if the cops and bad guys had tried to pull that crap on Liam Neeson?
The Revenant Pre-order now.
From the release of the trailer, this movie surprised me. Oh, I don't mean the plot. Revenge movies are revenge movies. But The film it reminded me of, in so many ways and in so many areas of its artistry, was Never Cry Wolf from 1983. That's a good thing because I loved Never Cry Wolf. After that all things pretty much ended. It was its own thing. It was like other films in the way that Stagecoach was like Maverick because they both had stagecoaches in them. Those who have complained (or at least casually commented) that it was somehow magnificently shot and yet simple minded in its storytelling, are frankly wrong. The screenplay in this film was one of the most beautiful I have ever had a chance to watch. It was lovingly structured, strongly-built, took its time but did not feel boring, and what I found especially effective, was that even though this was essentially the story of two men, all of the side characters had depth and weight and were easy to identify with no matter how much screen time they had. I particularly identified with Domhnall Gleeson's Captain. Frankly he was my most identifiable character, even above DiCaprio's character, and he did not spend all his screen time telling me who he was, he simply Was. That is a very difficult task for a writer, which the screenwriters pulled off brilliantly.
The Martian Watch Here.
A movie about surviving by your wits in space. Essentially, Apollo 13 on Mars. Not true like the other film, but oh so possible. This one did a great job of making us believe in human ingenuity again. Did you know Matt Damon was in it?
Ant-Man Watch here.
I wasn't interested in this movie in the least when it was announced, nor when the trailer came out. Never cared for the character. Especially not in the comics. (What kind of sense am I making now?) I thought he was, well, stupid. And so was the concept. This film from Marvel studios, a study in basic plot points right down the line (Misunderstood hero making mistakes, check. Estranged family, check. Rich benefactor, check. Crazy estranged family member of rich benefactor, check.) soars and sails and SINGS on its actors and the help given them by the writer and director alone. The sole direction (I imagine)? Have fun!
Creed Pre-Order Here.
I haven't seen it, yet. (Give me three days.) It came and went too fast in my area. I have it on my list as a representative of sheer filmmaking prowess by Ryan Coogler. He did something that Sylvester Stallone did almost 40 years before, in a day when people thought film people couldn't do that anymore. And Stallone got the Oscar nom out of it. Go figure.
Mission Impossible - Rouge Nation Watch here.
Action movies are supposed to be fun, and this movie was fun.
Maze Runner: Scorch Trials Watch here.
What can I say? I'm a fan. Not everything is supposed to me a Very Important Movie. And it can still turn out better than most of the VIM's out there. Even more than SPECTRE??? Well, no. Maybe not. But then this is MY list of the best films to watch from 2015. And I had consistently more fun in this film than that. So maybe yes. So perhaps you'll have to see both. Which is why people make lists. (SmileyFaceEmoticon)
The Walk Watch here.
Watch it with all the lights off, and as close to the 55' (or better) screen as you comfortably can.
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So that's the list according to some guy who runs a production company in Tulare County, California. I love the movies. I love stories.
I hope you enjoyed a few this year as well.
