Top Films of 2015: 10-1
The first weeks of 2016 dawn upon us leaving the success or failures of 2015 swiftly in the past, a year in which I have well and truly have had to wait until the last week of the year in order to fully decide my top ten favourite films thanks to the late, late release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the continuation of the famous saga which, unless turned out to be absolute an absolute drag, was inevitably going to end up being one of my favourite films of the year. With this in mind, the final list has finally been completed and the best 2015, in terms of movie magic, has had to offer begins with...
10. Wild Tales
Deliciously dark yet uproariously hilarious, Damian Szifron's anthology of revenge leans heavy on the use of black horror and dry wit whilst not shying away from the ridiculousness of primal human nature in society today. I mean come one, almost everyone on the planet has had a barmy with a traffic warden and it is situations like these that are turned well and truly on their head and portrayed with a pulpy style reminiscent of the best comic violence auteurs like Tarantino and even Sam Raimi. Check it out now.
9. Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller's completely off-the-chain, ludicrous and wholly spectacular revamp of the famous cult classic Mad Max franchise in which a baby-faced Mel Gibson has been replaced with the stern English chops of Tom Hardy has ultimately in retrospect thwarted all previous expectations of its' critical sustainability due in part to it's simply mind-blowing stunt work and artistic tendencies with John Seale's cinematography being a standout performance. Sight & Sound voted it the third best film of the year but for me it sneaks just in at ninth.
8. The Gift
Oh Blumhouse Productions, how you make me weep with both resentment and sheer admiration on a rather annoyingly regular basis. How can a production company resort to releasing such turgid disgraces to horror such as any of the Sinister, Insidious sequels but then also create films like The Gift, a cleverly scripted and brilliantly acted chiller thriller written, directed and starring Joel Edgerton which brought about one of the most horrific jump scares I can recall in recent memory. If there ever was a blueprint for heading in the right direction for Blumhouse then The Gift is it. Please abide by such. Please.
7. Birdman
Preposterous and simply bewildering on first glance, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's satirical glance on the state of Hollywood and the trials and tribulations of actors and actresses in general definitely takes some warming to and ultimately becomes a better film with each and every watch. Winning the Oscar for best film in 2015 was met with a whole lotta skepticism by many but in a strange, roundabout sort of way, by allowing the Oscar ceremony to fully embrace a film that basically sticks it's two fingers up at the current climate of Hollywood is rather comedic in itself.
Birdman works, it just takes some time to fully understand why.
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
"Every generations has a story" claimed Disney and boy were they spot on. From the minute John Williams' famous Star Wars overture blasts on to the screen within The Force Awakens, you know you are in safe hands, yet J.J Abrams' continuation of the famous saga does more than settle for returning back into the saddle again after the peril of the prequels and instead introduces a new set of heroes for a new wave of Star Wars fans in the form of Rey and Finn whilst incorporating a complex, evil, and wholly interesting villain in the form of Kylo Ren. Simply marvelous. P.S, who else got a remote controlled BB-8 for Xmas?
5. Spectre
There is something rather strange and fundamentally patriotic about my undeniable love for the James Bond series, a series in which its' peak was arguably tipped by the release of Skyfall back in 2012 and a film that SPECTRE had a barrel load to live up to, yet after the dust has settled and feelings have finally settled down, it seems there isn't much point in comparing the two with both strangely enough being completely different movies even if being molded by the same franchise. SPECTRE has strangely had some bad press by many, particularly across the sea in the US of A, but for me it continues the success of Skyfall and allows the beauty of Bond to continue well into the future.
4. Macbeth
Shakespeare meets Kill List with a hint of 300. What more do you want? After the dark and desperate display of directing in Snowtown, Justin Kurzel attempts to go full throttle darkness with the latest desperation of the famous tragedy starring the wonderful Michael Fassbender and the equally majestic Marillon Cotillard in the roles of Lord and Lady Macbeth respectively. It may not be for everyone, granted, but for the Wheatley-love that resides within me, Macbeth is the closest thing to a all-out cinematic blackout in terms of tone I have seen since Wheatley's own masterpiece, Kill List.
3. Sicario
With the sequel to Blade Runner in the hands of Sicario director Denis Villeneuve, I can safely say my original feelings of utter horror and sheer doubtfulness have well and truly been grounded due to the continuation of Villeneuve's remarkable career so far. Continuing his success story of Incendies, Prisoners and Enemy, is Sicario, Villeneuve's white-knuckle thriller focusing on the dodgy dealings of the US Government around the Mexican border and the Cartel. Two set pieces particularly set the tone for the film with the tensest traffic jam ever and a venture into a dark and dangerous tunnel, combining in a film so engrossing it's hard to not talk about it after every watch.
2. Inside Out/Song of the Sea
A bit of cheating here but it was simply impossible to decide which was better out of the two best animated features of the past few years or so, if not ever, with Disney's Inside Out sharing a wide range of similarities with Song of the Sea, a beautifully crafted animation based around Irish folklore and featuring some of the best use of music that has been heard this year. What do both movies have in common I hear you scream, well a wide range of imagination for starters as well as a sheer amount of attention to detail and scenes that are guaranteed to pull tightly at the heart-strings. Who says these films are for kids? If so, class me a child and I will wear it with pride if animated films continue to be this rich and rewarding.
1. Whiplash
If you are a regular visitor of Black Ribbon, you will no doubt be aware of my sheer admiration for Whiplash, Damien Chazelle's simply masterful and dramatic exploration of desire, admiration, willingness and eagerness in the world of music, helmed terrifically by the most deserved Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor in recent years in the form of J.K. Simmons as Terrence Fletcher, the menacing and simply terrifying musical teacher who obviously takes his educational standpoint from that of Drill Sergeant Hartman in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. If you haven't had the chance to check it out yet, please do, and you will witness the best film of 2015. Trust me.
