Cinemazlowski My Favorite Films of 2015

With 2015 finally past us, it's time to present my Top 10. Rather than picking the most pretentious movies possible like most critics, I try to pick the ten movies that I thought were the most entertaining and engrossing.

 

1.    "The Walk." Director Robert Zemeckis' breathtaking depiction of Phillippe Petit's death-defying high-wire walk between the World Trade Center towers was not only the most astounding movie of the year, but also the most sadly overlooked.  The use of 3D IMAX technology as Joseph Gordon-Levitt reenacted the dizzying walk made viewers feel they were right there with him, and combined with ace acting and a fantastic heist-style story structure, this was a movie that enthralled me from beginning to end. Rated PG, this is a wildly fun film for the whole family to enjoy.

 

2.    "Room." While "The Walk" took viewers on a soaring journey at the top of New York City, "Room" offered equally gasp-inducing moments of tension and uplift from a far more intimate setting. Brie Larson deserves to walk away with the Oscar this year for her performance as a young woman who was kidnapped and impregnated by her captor as a teen, then held with her son in a storage shed for years. When she decides enough is enough and she sends the boy out on their  one chance to escape, the resulting sequence has the most harrowing moments I've ever seen. The second half brings a different kind of power, as mother and son have to adjust to life in a normal world again. "Room" will make you thankful for every little blessing you have. Rated R largely for its disturbing first half, but the captor's sexual abuse of the mother is always implied offscreen, the foul language is rather minimal, and the second half's message is so inspiring that I highly recommend it for adults who think they can handle the subject matter.

 

3.    "Our Brand Is Crisis." Sandra Bullock plays a campaign strategist who will literally stop at nothing to help her candidate win.  After years of retirement due to burnout, she is lured to help a populist candidate in South America, only to find her former archrival Billy Bob Thornton is also on the scene running her opponent's campaign. The battle of wits and wills that ensues is unpredictable, funny and exciting. Make sure you find this on video, especially if you're a politics junkie. Rated R mostly for language and drunken behavior in a party scene, though Bullock shows her bare rear end in a comical context for a brief moment.

 

4.    "Brooklyn." This lovely period romance, about a young Irish woman who moves to Brooklyn in the 1950s in search of a better life, falls in love, and then has to decide what to do with the rest of her life when a family crisis forces her to return home is the most beautifully  shot and scored movie of the year. As a bonus, its Irish and Italian Catholic characters are portrayed in uniformly positive fashion, especially a helpful priest who propels the woman's life into a life-changing direction. Probably the most positive portrayal of Catholicism to come out of Hollywood in many years. Rated PG13 for one F word, one S word and a brief clothed sex scene, this is nonetheless great viewing for older teens and adults.

 

5.    "Inside/Out." Pixar pulled off another animated classic, this time tugging the heartstrings better than ever with the story of a little girl who's frustrated with having to move from her childhood home and wrestling with her emotions. The movie brings to life  Joy, Fear, Sadness, Disgust and Anger by making them all characters fighting for her attention in her mind, and winds up making every viewer consider how they handle their own lives. Totally brilliant and funny, but watch out for the tear-jerking moments. Rated PG and great for everyone.. .

 

6.    "Goosebumps." My favorite family movie of the year ("The Walk" was aimed at adult audiences but just happens to be clean), "Goosebumps" featured kid-favorite actor Jack Black as the real-life author R.L. Stine, who sold more than 40 million copies of humorous horror books aimed at kids with his "Goosebumps" series. In the movie, Stine has to lead his teen daughter and the teen boy who is interested in her on a mad-dash series of adventures when the boy and a friend accidentally unleash the monsters from his books into the real world of their small town. Funny, exciting, and occasionally slightly scary, this romp was nearly as much fun as the original "Ghostbusters," and still managed to pull it all off in a clean enough way to earn a PG rating.

 

7.    "Creed." Who doesn't love Rocky Balboa? Sylvester Stallone's most indelible creation maintains a fascinating hold on moviegoer's heart strings even 40 years and seven movies into his portrayal of the hardscrabble street fighter turned world champion. Writer-director Ryan Coogler found a fresh way to bring Rocky back to the screen, as he trains the son of his former archrival Apollo Creed while fighting his toughest battle yet: cancer. The result was a smash hit movie that will also likely bring Stallone an Oscar come February for his best performance yet in the role. Rated PG13 for boxing ring violence and a brief implied sex scene between the young fighter and his girlfriend that has no nudity.

 

8.    "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." This Sundance Film Festival sensation was expected to be the first big teen-movie breakout since the 1980s heyday of John Hughes, but like a few other great movies on this list, fate wasn't as kind as it should have been. This must-see heart-tugger featured a trio of terrific performances by young actors Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler and Olivia Cooke in the story of an awkward teen boy whose mom forces him to befriend a girl with cancer, only to find that they actually can have an immense impact on each other's lives. Surprise: a lot of it is funny, too. Rated PG13 for some language and a few quick sex-based jokes, but the movie itself spotlights a positive chaste friendship and has fantastic lessons that teens should learn.

 

9.    "Spy." By miles, the funniest movie of the year featured Melissa McCarthy playing a dowdy, overweight middle-aged woman who works a desk gig for the CIA as an assistant to a superspy. But when he's murdered while on assignment, the assistant becomes the new ace assassin extraordinaire. Writer-director Paul Feig fashioned a movie that was both gut-bustingly funny and featured excellent stunts and fights galore, giving McCarthy her best showcase yet. Can't wait to see what they do with the female "Ghostbusters" this summer. Rated R both for foul language and for its occasionally strong violence, it was still so goofy that it's hard to imagine any adult taking real offense.

 

10. "The Martian." Ridley Scott and Matt Damon teamed up for what might be the best movie of either of their careers. Damon's portrayal of an astronaut left for dead on Mars after a storm devastates his crew's rocket, and his battle of wits to survive while awaiting a rescue, was smart, exciting, witty and was an inventive twist on overcoming-odds clichés. Rated PG13 for brief strong language and the dangerous moments Damon is put through, it's basically fine for smart kids ages 10 and up and everyone else.