I've come to the realization that talking about the movies I love and why I love them is much more fun than bashing on movies that most people already know are pretty bad. Plus, one of my main objectives for this blog is to shine a light on the movies I love so that whoever reads it can discover some titles they might've never heard of, or maybe reconsider their views on a movie they already saw.
One movie in particular that you'll see mentioned a couple of times on these lists matches that description of a movie that most people haven't seen that I want to shine a light on: The Lobster. Now, the reason most people haven't seen this movie is because it premieres in the U.S. in march(hopefully in Puerto Rico too). But ever since it made its world premiere last may at the Cannes Film Festival and I saw the film's trailer it became my most anticipated film of the year. After that, I waited and waited some more for the film's release date, but by year's end that date never came and I got so desperate that I searched through every corner of the internet until I finally was able to watch it. Because I loved the movie so much, I'm definitely going to see it in theaters whenever it premieres, so whoever feels compelled to watch it after reading these lists, you're welcome to come with me.
I'm still not sure if it qualifies for next year's Academy Awards(in which case I'll probably write about it again next year), or if it already missed its chance at any Oscar nominations since it received 7 British Independent Film Award nominations(and 1 win) this year, plus a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film alongside 5 other films that are 2015 Oscar nominees: 45 Years, Amy, Brooklyn, The Danish Girl, and Ex Machina. 4 of those other 5 movies make at least one appearance in my 8 Top 8 Lists, and one of those movies also joins The Lobster in my 10 Best Movies of 2015 list, which I'll be posting this week.
Of course, you can get a sense of which movies are in my Top 10 by the number of times they make an appearance on these lists. Pretty simple, right? The more I mention it, the more I loved it. On that note, here are my 8 Top 8 Lists for 2015. Enjoy!
*WARNING:SPOILERS*
I Best Performances of the Year
8) David Morse as "Mike Webster" in Concussion
The heart and soul of the film, even though he's only on screen for about 5 minutes. Fitting since Webster was the heart and soul of the offensive line of the 1970s Steelers championship teams. And just like Webster's presence on those teams, Morse automatically makes every movie he appears in better(I put him at #6 in my Top 25 "that guys" list two years ago), and this role is no exception. Here's hoping the Academy recognizes this great actor one day, but if it didn't happen for this role, which was also the best Physical Transformation of the Year for me, then that day might never come.
7) Alicia Vikander as "Ava" in Ex Machina
2015's breakout star makes my list, but not for her Oscar-nominated role in The Danish Girl(which is also great), but for playing an AI robot in this Sci-Fi gem. Her deep & sultry Swedish voice is perfect for the part(and in real life too), and she also pulls off the expressions and mannerisms of an artificial being who, more than anything else, wants to be real. It was like a perfect combination of Scarlett Johansson's performances in Her and Under the Skin.
6) Jason Segel as "David Foster Wallace" in The End of the Tour
This could be the most overlooked performance of the year, and that's a shame. Maybe the majority of people didn't consider it because they think of Segel as the lovable goofball from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You Man, How I Met Your Mother, and Freaks and Geeks, but in my mind that kind-hearted trait that all his characters share is what propels him to greatness here. There's an edge to Wallace that Segel presents perfectly. You don't know whether to love him or feel intimidated by him. This made it difficult for Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky(Jesse Eisenberg) to conduct his interview with him. But with every facial tick and mannerism, Segel brilliantly conveys Wallace's duality: that reticence whenever Lipsky turned on his tape recorder, but also his every-man appeal that made him approachable. Two scenes in particular stand out: the "social strategy" car discussion and the "heroin thing" discussion.
5) Jennifer Jason Leigh as "Daisy Domergue" in The Hateful Eight
Another of 2015's breakout stars was 54 year old Leigh, who after 30+ years of excellent, yet overlooked, supporting performances was finally just too terrific to ignore in this role and is now a first-time Oscar nominee. Leigh inhabited this character so fully that I could never take my eyes off Daisy Domergue, even though for the first half of the movie she's mostly lurking in the corner of the screen, away from the action. Then in the second half, after having mostly just taken a beating up to that point(with a brief guitar interlude), her manic brilliance chews up the 70mm scenery and Leigh makes sure that out of all these quirky characters, Daisy Domergue is the one you remember the most(more on that later).
4) Juliette Binoche as "Maria Enders" in Clouds of Sils Maria
From one veteran actress to another, but in a role-reversal sort of way, Binoche is now the one being snubbed by the Academy(after 2 previous nominations and 1 win) for her excellent work here. Speaking of role-reversal, Binoche plays a famous actress who signs up to play the older female role in a revival of the play that launched her career when she played the young female role 30 years earlier. Binoche's connection to the character was so strong that she was actually the one who pitched the idea of the film to the director. And that connection is evident every second she's on screen. We see Maria be strong in the public eye but struggle with insecurities about the role in private with her assistant Valentine(more on both later). In that sense, it's a bit similar to Michael Keaton's role last year in Birdman.
3) Brie Larson as "Ma" in Room
Larson gave what was, for me, the #1 Female Lead Performance of 2013 in Short Term 12, and 2 years later, even though she's #2 in that category, she actually moves up one spot in the Best Performances ranking. Even though it came two years too late, she is now a first-time Oscar nominee and is looking like the clear frontrunner to take home the prize at the Academy Awards. And she is absolutely deserving! This is a tremendously powerful performance, but done in such a naturalistic way that it never feels forced. This is essential here since the emotional impact comes from Ma's relationship with her son Jack(more on him in just a bit) and from their first moment together inside "Room" to their last, their bond feels 100% authentic(I should know since my oldest son is turning 5 this summer).
2) Charlotte Rampling as "Kate Mercer" in 45 Years
I know about raising an almost 5 year-old boy, but I have no idea what it's like to be in a 45 year-old marriage(I'm at 6 years and 2 months now, only 39 to go). But after seeing Mrs. Rampling's devastating performance in this film, I'm making sure there are no skeletons in the closet between my wife and I now, instead of waiting for them to pop up around year 45. Rampling completely nails this performance. It wouldn't appear that difficult, but to show that type of vulnerability at that age(she just turned 70) really qualifies as a fearless performance from the actor. So fearless as to include a passionate sex scene, but even more so in the quieter scenes, like when Kate finds some old photographs of her husband's past relationship in the attic, or when after that she has to dictate her anniversary party's music playlist over the phone, until finally the moment comes in the party when she has to dance with her husband in front of all their guests. In each of those scenes we never know exactly what she's thinking, but that's only because her face beautifully expresses a bevy of conflicted emotions.
1) Jacob Tremblay as "Jack" in Room
This performance broke me. I was crying like a baby the entire 2nd half of this film, primarily because that's when Tremblay completely takes over. But let's not forget about the first half inside "Room", up to the point of Jack's escape, where he's also brilliant. As I mentioned with Larson, the connection these 2 actors formed felt 100% authentic, but I'm giving bonus points to Tremblay for giving such a genuine performance when he was only 8 years old. Adding to the degree of difficulty was the fact that he had to convincingly portray a 5 year-old(nearly half his age) who's never experienced the real world. Where does an 8 year-old kid even begin to comprehend something like that?
7) Alicia Vikander as "Ava" in Ex Machina
2015's breakout star makes my list, but not for her Oscar-nominated role in The Danish Girl(which is also great), but for playing an AI robot in this Sci-Fi gem. Her deep & sultry Swedish voice is perfect for the part(and in real life too), and she also pulls off the expressions and mannerisms of an artificial being who, more than anything else, wants to be real. It was like a perfect combination of Scarlett Johansson's performances in Her and Under the Skin.
6) Jason Segel as "David Foster Wallace" in The End of the Tour
This could be the most overlooked performance of the year, and that's a shame. Maybe the majority of people didn't consider it because they think of Segel as the lovable goofball from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You Man, How I Met Your Mother, and Freaks and Geeks, but in my mind that kind-hearted trait that all his characters share is what propels him to greatness here. There's an edge to Wallace that Segel presents perfectly. You don't know whether to love him or feel intimidated by him. This made it difficult for Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky(Jesse Eisenberg) to conduct his interview with him. But with every facial tick and mannerism, Segel brilliantly conveys Wallace's duality: that reticence whenever Lipsky turned on his tape recorder, but also his every-man appeal that made him approachable. Two scenes in particular stand out: the "social strategy" car discussion and the "heroin thing" discussion.
5) Jennifer Jason Leigh as "Daisy Domergue" in The Hateful Eight
Another of 2015's breakout stars was 54 year old Leigh, who after 30+ years of excellent, yet overlooked, supporting performances was finally just too terrific to ignore in this role and is now a first-time Oscar nominee. Leigh inhabited this character so fully that I could never take my eyes off Daisy Domergue, even though for the first half of the movie she's mostly lurking in the corner of the screen, away from the action. Then in the second half, after having mostly just taken a beating up to that point(with a brief guitar interlude), her manic brilliance chews up the 70mm scenery and Leigh makes sure that out of all these quirky characters, Daisy Domergue is the one you remember the most(more on that later).
4) Juliette Binoche as "Maria Enders" in Clouds of Sils Maria
From one veteran actress to another, but in a role-reversal sort of way, Binoche is now the one being snubbed by the Academy(after 2 previous nominations and 1 win) for her excellent work here. Speaking of role-reversal, Binoche plays a famous actress who signs up to play the older female role in a revival of the play that launched her career when she played the young female role 30 years earlier. Binoche's connection to the character was so strong that she was actually the one who pitched the idea of the film to the director. And that connection is evident every second she's on screen. We see Maria be strong in the public eye but struggle with insecurities about the role in private with her assistant Valentine(more on both later). In that sense, it's a bit similar to Michael Keaton's role last year in Birdman.
3) Brie Larson as "Ma" in Room
Larson gave what was, for me, the #1 Female Lead Performance of 2013 in Short Term 12, and 2 years later, even though she's #2 in that category, she actually moves up one spot in the Best Performances ranking. Even though it came two years too late, she is now a first-time Oscar nominee and is looking like the clear frontrunner to take home the prize at the Academy Awards. And she is absolutely deserving! This is a tremendously powerful performance, but done in such a naturalistic way that it never feels forced. This is essential here since the emotional impact comes from Ma's relationship with her son Jack(more on him in just a bit) and from their first moment together inside "Room" to their last, their bond feels 100% authentic(I should know since my oldest son is turning 5 this summer).
2) Charlotte Rampling as "Kate Mercer" in 45 Years
I know about raising an almost 5 year-old boy, but I have no idea what it's like to be in a 45 year-old marriage(I'm at 6 years and 2 months now, only 39 to go). But after seeing Mrs. Rampling's devastating performance in this film, I'm making sure there are no skeletons in the closet between my wife and I now, instead of waiting for them to pop up around year 45. Rampling completely nails this performance. It wouldn't appear that difficult, but to show that type of vulnerability at that age(she just turned 70) really qualifies as a fearless performance from the actor. So fearless as to include a passionate sex scene, but even more so in the quieter scenes, like when Kate finds some old photographs of her husband's past relationship in the attic, or when after that she has to dictate her anniversary party's music playlist over the phone, until finally the moment comes in the party when she has to dance with her husband in front of all their guests. In each of those scenes we never know exactly what she's thinking, but that's only because her face beautifully expresses a bevy of conflicted emotions.
1) Jacob Tremblay as "Jack" in Room
This performance broke me. I was crying like a baby the entire 2nd half of this film, primarily because that's when Tremblay completely takes over. But let's not forget about the first half inside "Room", up to the point of Jack's escape, where he's also brilliant. As I mentioned with Larson, the connection these 2 actors formed felt 100% authentic, but I'm giving bonus points to Tremblay for giving such a genuine performance when he was only 8 years old. Adding to the degree of difficulty was the fact that he had to convincingly portray a 5 year-old(nearly half his age) who's never experienced the real world. Where does an 8 year-old kid even begin to comprehend something like that?
II Best Characters
8) "Vladislav", "Viago", and "Deacon", played by Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, and Jonny Brugh in What We Do in the Shadows
That's 2 straight years with vampires on this list, but unlike the more brooding and romantic "Adam" & "Eve" from 2014's Only Lovers Left Alive, these vampires are actually the funniest characters from any movie I saw in 2015. Some of their funniest moments include: "Deacon" complaining about having to clean the *bloody* dishes(get it?), "Viago" explaining how some of his clothes come from victims: "You might bite someone and then, you think, Ooh, those are some nice pants!", and last but not least, "Vladislav" explaining why they prefer to drink virgin blood: "I think of it like this, if you're going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more if you knew no one had fucked it." Hilarious!
7) "Eilis", played by Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
A young Irish immigrant fresh off the boat who's living in an all-girls home in 1950s Brooklyn. This is understandably a difficult situation for anyone, but "Eilis" handles it all with exceeding grace and maturity. Ronan, with her beautiful Irish accent, gives an excellent Oscar-nominated performance that keeps you connected to "Eilis" for the whole film. Eventually she meets a young Italian named "Tony"(Emory Cohen) and falls in love with him after a couple of movie dates and after meeting his family. After the sudden death of her sister back in Ireland, "Eilis" is forced to make a choice between her new life in Brooklyn or her old life back home, and just like with everything else up to that point, she handles the situation just right.
6) "Maria Enders" and "Valentine", played by Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria
The veteran actress and her assistant, who share an ambiguous and sort of symbiotic relationship. Who actually gains the most from the relationship? I'm not so sure. During the rehearsal scenes between "Maria" and "Valentine" there's always a sense that they're not actually rehearsing but talking about themselves(very Bergman-like). It's pretty clear that "Maria" is drawn to "Valentine", similar to how her character "Helena" is drawn to the alluring young "Sigrid", which was the role that made "Maria" famous in the first place. Then in the end, when both women are hiking up the mountain to get a glimpse of the movie's titular "clouds", "Valentine mysteriously disappears. No explanation. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that moment, kinda like with these characters, and I absolutely love it like that.
5) "Rey", played by Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
A hero for a new generation! Ridley, in her best Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean 1 impression, turns "Rey" into a complex and compelling new lead character in the Star Wars universe. From the moment we meet her scavenging in a sand-buried Star Destroyer and then sliding down the sand dune like a kid in her backyard, I was hooked. Then she gets even cuter when she puts on that X-Wing pilot helmet(maybe Luke's?) while sitting at the foot of the collapsed AT-AT. After that, she rescues BB-8, tells Finn to stop taking her by the hand, pilots the Millennium Falcon, bonds with Han Solo, is drawn to Luke's lightsaber in Maz Kanata's basement, Jedi-mind tricks a stormtrooper, fights Kylo Ren(more on that later), hugs Leia, and finally returns Luke's lightsaber to him. Why was she drawn to that lightsaber? Why is she able to learn the ways of the force so quickly? And what is her exact relationship to Luke, if any? All questions that will probably be answered in Episode VIII.
4) "Major Marquis Warren" and "Daisy Domergue", played by Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hateful Eight
I already talked a bit about what Leigh did to make "Daisy" so fascinating, but I also wanted to single out Jackson's "Major Warren". He opens the film sitting on top of three bodies in the middle of a snowy road just waiting for a ride. By the end, he's single-handedly responsible for 3 more deaths, plus 2 other deaths with the help of Walton Goggins' "Sheriff Mannix". So I guess I'm choosing these 2 characters because they're the most responsible for everyone in this movie winding up dead, "Major Warren" working on his own, and "Daisy Domergue" being the catalyst for the movie's entire chain of events.
3) "David", played by Colin Farrell in The Lobster
Recently divorced at the beginning of the film, "David" is now forced to stay at a hotel where single people have 45 days to find a partner or else they're turned into an animal of their choice. David chooses a lobster. After an unsuccessful attempt to seduce an extremely cold-hearted woman(more on that later), "David" has no choice but to escape from the hotel. Once outside, he encounters a group of loners in the woods where he meets and falls in love with a woman who is short-sighted, just like him. But when their forbidden relationship is discovered by the group's leader, she punishes the short-sighted woman by having her permanently blinded. "David" and the woman manage to escape to the city, where, in a restaurant, he takes a steak knife and goes to the bathroom to permanently blind himself as well ... just like a lobster.
2) "Joy" and "Sadness", voiced by Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith in Inside Out
I wrote about both in my Best of 2015(so far) rankings back in August, and 6 months later here they are again, this time together. Fitting since from the moment "Sadness" pops up in Headquarters to make newborn Riley cry, these two are inseparable. Once they're accidentally discarded from Headquarters, they have to work together to make their way back and restore Riley's emotional balance. Their funny back and forths turn them into another classic Pixar duo like Mike and Sully or Marlin and Dory. And just like those duos, the emotional(pun intended) connection "Joy" and "Sadness" form is a deep and poignant one. More importantly, these two characters will help young boys and girls to better understand and express their emotions by learning that it's ok to cry from time to time, because after that "Sadness" you might feel some "Joy".
1) "Michael Stone", voiced by David Thewlis in Anomalisa
A British, middle-aged, motivational speaker specializing on customer service relations, who is having trouble relating to people all around him because they all sound exactly the same. And he's also a stop-motion animated puppet. He arrives in Cincinnati for a one-day conference, and in his hotel he finally listens to a different voice in the hallway belonging to a woman named "Lisa". Of course, he's instantly attracted to her, but even after an intimate night between them in his room(more on that later), the next morning "Michael" appears to only notice Lisa's negative aspects and little by little she starts to sound like everybody else. Why does this happen to Michael, and why can't his connection to Lisa change it? In true Charlie Kaufman form, it's never quite clear, and that's why he's my favorite screenwriter working today, maybe of all time.
1) "Michael Stone", voiced by David Thewlis in Anomalisa
A British, middle-aged, motivational speaker specializing on customer service relations, who is having trouble relating to people all around him because they all sound exactly the same. And he's also a stop-motion animated puppet. He arrives in Cincinnati for a one-day conference, and in his hotel he finally listens to a different voice in the hallway belonging to a woman named "Lisa". Of course, he's instantly attracted to her, but even after an intimate night between them in his room(more on that later), the next morning "Michael" appears to only notice Lisa's negative aspects and little by little she starts to sound like everybody else. Why does this happen to Michael, and why can't his connection to Lisa change it? In true Charlie Kaufman form, it's never quite clear, and that's why he's my favorite screenwriter working today, maybe of all time.
III Best Quotes
8) Starting off with the best opening line I heard in any 2015 movie, from the sexually explicit coming of age indie The Diary of a Teenage Girl:
Minnie: "I had sex today ... Holy shit."
7) From an indie opening scene, to a Spielberg ending with Tom Hanks on a bridge that reminded me a bit of Saving Private Ryan. But instead of Hanks saying "Earn this.", in Bridge of Spies we get Hanks' James Donovan apologizing to Mark Rylance's "Rudolf Abel" before he crosses the bridge for not thinking of getting him a gift, to which "Abel" responds:
Rudolf Abel: "This is your gift. This is your gift."
6) Back to another indie, this time the transgender comedy Tangerine. "Sin-dee" and "Alexandra" are walking down the L.A. streets on Christmas Eve when "Alexandra" starts to reminisce about a sad moment from her childhood involving a Barney doll. That leads to this unscripted exchange:
Alexandra: "The world can be a cruel place."
Sin-dee: "Yes, it is cruel. God gave me a penis."
5) This exchange between Kingsman agent "Harry Hart"(Colin Firth) and his new protegé "Eggsy"(Taron Egerton) about becoming a spy in Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service:
Hart: "Did you see the film 'Trading Places'?"
Eggsy: "No."
Hart: "How about 'Nikita'? ... 'Pretty Woman'? ... All right, my point is that a lack of a silver spoon has set you on a certain path that you needn't stay on. If you're prepared to adapt and learn, you can transform."
Eggsy: "Oh, like in 'My Fair Lady'."
Hart: "You're full of surprises."
4) Two Noah Baumbach quotes about his specialty, young adults. First, from While We're Young, it's Ben Stiller's "Josh" talking to his wife "Cornelia"(Naomi Watts) about Adam Driver's "Jamie":
Josh: "He's not evil, he's just ... young."
Then, from Mistress America, it's Greta Gerwig's "Brooke" explaining her young adult sickness:
Brooke: "I think I'm sick, and I don't know if my ailment has a name. It's just me sitting and staring at the internet or the television for long periods of time, interspersed by trying to not do that and then lying about what I've been doing. And then I'll get so excited about something that the excitement overwhelms me and I can't sleep or do anything and I just am in love with everything but can't figure out how to make myself work in the world."
3) This emotional exchange in Creed between "Rocky"(Sylvester Stallone) and "Adonis"(Michael B. Jordan):
Adonis: "This shit for real?"
Rocky: "Doesn't matter. What you should be thinking about is that fight coming up. That's the only thing that should be on your mind, nothing else."
Adonis: "What you mean, don't think about this? When you starting treatment?"
Rocky: "I'm not doing no chemotherapy. No."
Adonis: "If you don't jump on this quick, you're gonna end up dying."
Rocky: "I know."
Adonis: "And you're all right with that?"
Rocky: "I am."
Adonis: "Man, you sound crazy, man. Give me the keys. I'll take you to the hospital right now."
Rocky: "I'm not crazy at all. If I could take everything that was good and put it into a bowl or something ... and say, 'Hey! Here, I'd like to buy one more day with my wife' ... I'd do it. I would die a happy man, right then."
2) Jack's(Jacob Tremblay) touching gesture for his Ma, with some help from his grandma(Joan Allen) in Room:
Jack: "Grandma."
Grandma: "Yes?"
Jack: "I need the scissors."
Grandma: "What for?"
Jack: "For cutting my hair."
Grandma: "You really want to do that?"
Jack: "I want to send it to Ma."
Grandma: "Why?"
Jack: "She needs my strong more than me."
1) #1 in August, and still #1 at the end of the year is "Alice Klieg's"(Kristen Wiig) stream of consciousness that opens her first live show after winning the lottery in Welcome to Me:
Alice: "This morning I woke up and there was a pubic hair on my pillow shaped like a question mark. And it really got me thinking of unanswered questions, like all the times in my life when I was supposed to feel something but I felt nothing and all the other times in my life where I wasn't supposed to feel anything but I felt too much and the people around me weren't really ready for all of my feelings."
IV Best Moments
8) "The ending" in Spotlight
"Robby Stewart"(Michael Keaton) and "Mike Rezendes"(Mark Ruffalo) arrive at the Boston Globe offices on the sunday that their investigative report is being printed, even though they have the day off. In the main office, everything is calm, but the receptionist tells them she's had to send some people down to Spotlight to help answer the phones. "Robby" and "Mike" immediately rush down and are informed by "Matty"(Brian D'Arcy James) that it's mostly victims calling reporting more cases. First "Mike" picks up a phone, then "Robby" enters his office, picks up the phone, answers "Spotlight", and the screen cuts to black, followed by a couple of ending titles revealing the global extent of the catholic church's cover-up. Perfect ending.
7) "Eazy E looks at the billboards" in Straight Outta Compton
This scene comes near the end of the film, when Dr. Dre's career is skyrocketing and Eazy E's is spiraling downward. And at this point, we, the viewers, know that Eazy E's AIDS diagnosis is gonna pop up at any moment. So we get "E" just cruising by himself at night when suddenly he spots a billboard for Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" album. It's at this moment that Jason Mitchell's excellent performance takes over. In E's face, we feel his jealousy, frustration, anger, but also a sense of pride and happiness at seeing his friend's success and remembering how it all started. In the end, it's really a tragic scene, without any dialogue, that presents the power of cinema when done right.
6) "Rachel's film" in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Speaking of the power of cinema, in this scene a film literally puts someone into a coma. But seriously, this is a beautiful scene where "Greg"(Thomas Mann) changes his Senior Prom plans in order to be with "Rachel"(Olivia Cooke) in the hospital and show her the movie he and "Earl"(RJ Cyler) made for her. You can see the joy in Rachel's face as the film starts and Greg lies down in the bed to watch it with her. But after about a minute, Rachel has trouble catching her breath and Greg rushes out to the hall to get help. We're left with Rachel, in her final conscious moments, receiving help from the nurses, but her eyes fully transfixed by the images in front of her. Great way to go if you ask me.
5) "The walk" in The Walk
The best use of 3D since Gravity! The box office numbers on this one were low, and that's a shame because Robert Zemeckis took Philippe Petit's unbelievable real life accomplishment and turned it into the "Magic of the Movies" moment of the year!
4) "Rescue in space" in The Martian
This is a classic Hollywood feel good ending that borrows from movies like Apollo 13, Cast Away, and more recently, Gravity. But when a formula is done right, I have absolutely no problem with that. The excitement, the drama, the humor, this ending had it all. It was a big reason why watching The Martian was the most fun I had in a movie theater last year.
3) "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in Anomalisa
A perfect moment of connection between two human-looking puppets, Jennifer Jason Leigh's voiceover performance as "Lisa" here couldn't be more different from her Daisy Domergue performance in The Hateful Eight, and I think she should've been Oscar-nominated for both. The scene is a bit humorous due to the song choice and the awkward pauses, but more importantly, the emotions feel completely genuine, which leads to one more moment between Lisa and Michael that I'll get to later.
This is a 2 part moment which begins when "Joy" falls in the memory dump with "Bing Bong". Sensing she's lost Riley forever, Joy begins to look at Riley's early childhood memories one by one, gets incredibly sad in the process, and gives them all a big hug. If you're a parent of young kids like I am, then you know why this scene is so powerful. I have that moment all the time where I hug my 2 boys and I wish they would stop growing up so fast. But back to the movie, from one of the memories, Joy realizes that it was "Sadness" who actually made Riley feel better. So she escapes from the dump, with an assist from Bing Bong(more on that later), finds Sadness, and gets back to Headquarters just in time to put Sadness in charge of the control panel. This causes Riley to change her mind about running away, and she returns home to her parents, where, in part 2 of this moment, Riley starts to cry uncontrollably in front of them when she talks of how much she misses Minnesota. Immediately her parents both give her a hug and that's when Sadness brings Joy to the control panel with her, which causes Riley to let out a smile while in her parents' arms. This results in a brand new core memory, where both "Joy" and "Sadness" are the central emotions.
1) "Jack's escape" in Room
An instantly iconic movie moment. What a performance by young Jacob Tremblay! This moment is inspiring, it's terrifying, suspenseful, but most of all, powerful. When Jack and Ma are finally reunited and they scream at each other through the car window, I couldn't have been more riveted. If you want to experience the power of cinema, this is the scene for you.
V Funniest Moments
8) "Drugs in the soup" in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
A classic movie misunderstanding where a couple of drugged-up high schoolers start hallucinating and blame their high on the soup their history teacher gave them for lunch, forgetting all about the cookies they'd gotten from the drug dealer in front of the school.
7) "Donut time" in Tangerine
I usually don't like this type of scene where all of the movie's plotlines converge in one wacky final discussion(cough*Crazy Stupid Love*cough), but in this case it worked for me. A very funny ending to one of the best comedies of the year.
6) "Killer sneeze" in Spy
Just when you think you've seen every imaginable death in a spy movie, we get this accidental killing by super-spy Jude Law, who complains to his assistant, Melissa McCarthy, that there was a ton of pollen in the room. Unfortunate for the bad guy, funny for us.
5) "BB-8 thumbs up" in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I had to get BB-8 in these lists somehow, so I chose this interaction with "Finn"(John Boyega), which got the biggest laughs in the theater on opening night.
4) "Hydrazine explosion" in The Martian
After "Mark Watney"(Matt Damon) realizes he's gonna have to "science the shit out of this", he starts to grow a potato farm in his Mars habitat station. But first he needs to create water with the help of some hydrazine rocket fuel. Unfortunately, Mark's calculations are off the mark(bad pun, I know), and on his first attempt to ignite the hydrazine ... BOOM! What could've been a scary scene in another movie is worked for laughs here when Mark appears in front of the camera with his hair charred kind of like Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons.
3) "Sci-Fi movie talk" in Clouds of Sils Maria
"Maria" and "Valentine"(Binoche and Stewart) go to see Jo Ann Ellis'(Chloe Grace Moritz) new space movie. Afterwards, they discuss the merits of the film and her performance. I dare you not to laugh, like Maria, at the dialogue in this scene.*Cut to the 1-minute mark in the clip*
2) "Midnight mass" in The Night Before
It starts with "Isaac"(Seth Rogen) talking to "Spencer" and his "pets" in the nativity scene outside the church, and then once he's spotted by his wife and her family, he has no choice but to join them inside, even though he's extremely high.
1) "I killed your brother" scene in The Lobster
Dark comedy at its best! David's(Colin Farrell) attempt to seduce the cold-hearted woman fails when she wakes him up in the middle of the night with a bloody knife in her hand after having killed his dog/brother(he had previously failed to find a mate at the hotel). Yes, it's cruel, but cruel can be funny sometimes. And in a satirical movie that asks key relationship questions like: how much are we willing to change who we are in order to be with somebody, how they answer that question for "David" couldn't be any funnier.
VI Best Fight Scenes
8) "Statham vs Diesel street fight" in Furious 7
7) "Jobs vs Sculley" in Steve Jobs
A verbal fight, not a fist fight, but nevertheless extremely intense. If only the rest of the movie were just as good.
6) "I-Rex vs T-Rex" in Jurassic World
5) "Max vs Furiosa" in Mad Max: Fury Road
4) "A Fight at the Opera" in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
3) "One-take boxing match" in Creed
2) "Leo vs the Bear" in The Revenant
1) "Rey & Finn vs Kylo Ren lightsaber battle" in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The entire movie builds up to this point, and man, does it deliver. When that lightsaber wooshes past Kylo Ren and into Rey's hand, I experienced one of the loudest collective cheers I've ever heard in a movie theater.
VII Best Death Scenes
8) "Lily's death" in The Danish Girl
7) "Ava kills Nathan" in Ex Machina
6) "Furiosa kills Immortan Joe" in Mad Max: Fury Road
Enjoy the awesomeness!
5) "Fitzgerald's death" in The Revenant
4) "Opening scene" in The Lobster
Who was that woman? Who did that donkey use to be? Why did that woman shoot that donkey/former human? This scene perfectly sets the tone for the whole movie.
3) "Kylo Ren kills Han Solo" in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Poor Chewbacca.
2) "Death for dinner" in Sicario
Benicio Del Toro's "Alejandro" gets his revenge, and then some, in this intense scene
1) "Bing Bong's sacrifice" in Inside Out
"Take her to the moon for me." How does Pixar keep doing it? This ranks right up there with Ellie's death in Up as their best ever. Although technically, since "Bing Bong"(Richard Kind) is only a figment of Riley's imagination then he's never actually alive, right? Well, it doesn't matter. Since he figuratively died inside Riley's head, then I'm putting him at #1 here, because this moment was just too perfect.
VIII Random Awards
1) Most "over the top" Death Scene
Tie between *Everyone* in The Hateful Eight, including my favorite movie stat of the year: This is the 3rd straight Tarantino movie where a character gets shot in the testicles(The guy's got issues)
and
The "Church Massacre" in Kingsman: The Secret Service
2) Best Action Set-Piece
3 way tie, all featuring cool quotes, between the "Sandstorm Chase"(even more awesomeness!) in Mad Max: Fury Road, with Nicholas Hoult's "Nux" excitedly proclaiming the film's tagline in the middle of it: "What a day! What a lovely day!"
and
The "Underwater Mission", immediately followed by a "Car/Motorcycle Chase" in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, in which, after the first part, but before the second, Simon Pegg's "Benji" asks Tom Cruise's "Ethan Hunt": "Are you okay to drive? A minute ago you were dead!"
and
The "Tunnel Scene" in Sicario, which puts you right in the action with what could be the best night vision cinematography I've ever seen. The scene ends with Benicio Del Toro's "Alejandro" being a bad ass again telling Emily Blunt's "Kate": "Don't ever point a weapon at me again." right after shooting her in the chest, twice.
3) Best Dance Scene
Another 3 way tie. First we have "Nathan"(Oscar Isaac) informing "Caleb"(Domhnall Gleeson) that he's gonna "tear up the fucking dance floor" with his mute robot partner in Ex Machina.
Then, we have Magic Mike XXL's "Big Dick Richie's"(Joe Manganiello) "Mini-mart Strip Dance" to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way", all to make the lady behind the counter smile. After grabbing a couple of items off the shelves during his dance, Richie reaches the counter and asks: "How much for the Cheetos and water?", and mission accomplished!
And finally, we have "Lainey"(Alison Brie) and "Jake"(Jason Sudeikis) arriving at a friend's kid's birthday party high on molly in Sleeping With Other People. After some awkward hellos, "Lainey" quickly assesses the disastrous situation with the kids and puts her natural teaching abilities to use, getting the kids together for an impromptu dance class. She instructs her friend to play track 7 in her workout mix, and gets in the zone with a little help from Bowie's "Modern Love".
4) Best Sex Scene
A 6 way tie(sound kinky), featuring a wide variety of sexual experiences.
First, again from Sleeping With Other People, we have "Jake" using a jar to teach "Lainey" the art of female masturbation.
Then, from I Smile Back, we have Sarah Silverman's "Laney" using her daughter's teddy bear to masturbate on the floor, in her daughter's room, while her daughter sleeps on the bed next to her.
Thirdly, we have "Carol"(Cate Blanchett) and "Therese's"(Rooney Mara) woman-on-woman sex scene that is the literal climax of Carol
After that, we have a man-and-woman, but in puppet form, sex scene between "Michael" and "Lisa" in Anomalisa that is the culmination of their intimate night in Michael's hotel room.
Followed by a real life man-and-woman sex scene, in old people form, between "Geoff"(Tom Courtenay) and "Kate"(Charlotte Rampling) in 45 Years
And finally, we have a man-and-woman-and-man-and-woman sex scene that ends a wild night between two married couples in The Overnight.
5) Best Cameos
Tie between the Nutcracker Ball cameos in The Night Before, featuring James Franco as himself as the mysterious dick pic guy that Seth Rogen's "Isaac's" got a crush on, and Miley Cyrus as herself as well, giving horrible relationship advice to Joseph Gordon Levitt's "Ethan", leading to a very funny "Wrecking Ball" performance.
and
Every celebrity personality that stops by to explain complicated financial terms in The Big Short. First among them is Margot Robbie in a bubble bath, which was, by far, the best scene in the film for me.
6) Best Character Intros
3 way tie between a new character and two familiar, vehicle related characters.
First, we have the opening scene in 99 Homes, which presents Michael Shannon's "Rick Carver", the ambitious-to-a-fault realtor(similar to Jake Gyllenhall's Lou Bloom from last year's Nightcrawler) who works with Terminator-like efficiency.
Followed by a Paul Walker scene from Furious 7, but not the goodbye that everyone was talking about, but his Minivan Intro which starts with a closeup of the hands on the wheel, then the eyes, then the foot on the accelerator, like in the first Fast and Furious movie, but this time when the shot cuts to the outside, we see a minivan move about 6 inches forward in front of the school where he's gonna pick up his kid.
And finally, we have the "Garbage will do" scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in which "Rey" and "Finn's" first option to escape Jakku gets blown up. That's when "Rey" turns around, decides that their only option is the first ship they ran by, and then the camera quickly pans right, and voila, it's the Millennium Falcon! This moment got the second loudest cheer in the theater, and from this point forward the film's nostalgia effect was in full force(see what I did there?)
7) Best Generational Gap Joke
"Rocky Balboa's" Cloud Confusion in Creed.
8) Best Kid being a Kid Scene
Tie between the opening montage in Inside Out, where "Joy" describes the other emotion's functions inside Riley's brain, and we see toddler Riley's corresponding actions, like jumping naked on the sofa after her bath(something my kids love to do), scoring her first hockey goal, drawing her imaginary friend "Bing Bong" on the walls, throwing a plate of broccoli on the floor, and then eating some after being amazed at her father's airplane move, not wanting to sit in the car seat, etc.
and
Every "first" that "Jack" experiences after he and Ma escape from "Room" in Room. Forget about DiCaprio crawling through the snow, give me Tremblay learning to climb the stairs, or getting his first hair cut, or petting a dog for the first time, or looking up at the sky for the first time, or, even better for a kid, experiencing the wonder of Legos for the first time.
I ended these lists last year talking about my favorite moment of the year, which also involved Legos, and this year the only difference is that my favorite moment also features my favorite performance from 2015. So if you haven't seen Room, hurry up and see it before the Oscars this Sunday. Better yet, go see all these movies.
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