Top 15 Films of 2015

In what now seems like a new tradition (see: my 2013 and 2014 lists), I am posting my Top Favorite Films of 2015 List today, on Oscar Sunday.  These extra weeks allow me to catch up on 2015 releases, and since I'm not getting paid to write any of this, I say why not wait until I've seen a good amount of them before finishing a list.

As always though, even with all the extra time, I still haven't seen a boatload of things (especially Oscar nominees), including Carol, The Big Short, Spotlight, Son of Saul, Steve Jobs, Straight Outta Compton, Crimson Peak, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, The Assassin, Magic Mike XXL, Mustang, Macbeth, Krampus, Goodnight Mommy, The Forbidden Room, 45 Years, Brooklyn, Beasts of No Nation, or The Revenant.  So keep all that in mind..

Out of the 50 or so movies I did see from 2015, these were my favorites:

TOP 15 FILMS OF 2015

1.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Like most, I couldn't help but absolutely love this movie.  My expectations were high and they were met at every level.  The relentless momentum of this film is exhilarating, with a breathlessness that is warranted.  It has a great, simple plot structure and some deeper emotional moments and themes running throughout.

Tom Hardy as Max is amazing, tough and silent, and I love how the movie isn't afraid to have one of his best action moments offscreen.  His throwdown his Furiosa is fantastic too, as is Furiosa herself (Charlize Theron has an all-timer character here; she's so badass)...  So many great things in this movie:  the car designs, the car crashes, the tight editing and framing, the crisp visual action choreography, the set and art design, the eye popping color tones, "I live! I die! I live again!," The Doof Warrior, the guys on poles, Mother's Milk, that freaky tiny guy in the chair, the non-corny nods to the previous films, the spray paint, the religious symbolism of the steering wheel, and of course, Immortan Joe: Darth Vader of the wasteland.

Fury Road is an action masterpiece and a brilliant piece of pure cinema.  If you don't like it you're a crazy smig who eats schlanger!

2.

The Hateful Eight

Tarantino takes his "tension filled dialogue that explodes into violence" approach to filmmaking to it's squirm-inducing nihilistic end.  Cruel and uncomfortable, this is America at its ugliest and worst, paying for and reliving its sins of slavery and greed, and riding out on a positive ending built around bullshit and subterfuge.   The nihilism is so evident in this drawing room mystery that I can't help but think of another nihilistic film made by a filmmaker who was angry at the increasingly frustrating social and political nature of the times.  I'm speaking of course of the late Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left, a transgressive scream of a horror film made at a time in American history when things were boiling over with Vietnam, Kent State, racial tension, etc.

The comparison between Craven's and Tarantino's films is made implicit with the use of a song by David Hess (who starred in and provided the soundtrack for Last House), a track called "Now You're All Alone."  In Last House it is used in the lead up to poor Mari's execution and in Hateful Eight it creeps up in the scene where Joe Gage shoots helpless Charly.  Both scenes involve the murder of an innocent and invoke the mournful inevitableness of death, the cold approach of forever.

Tarnatino has never been accused of being a political filmmaker but with his last two films it would seem he has some things on his mind when it comes to the state of pain and divide within our nation.

3.

Creed

Something has happened to me over the last few years:  I've become a massive fan of the Rocky series!  I've always liked the movies, loved the first one as a classic, thought the rest were okay, but my love and interest in these movies has grown rapidly recently.  Maybe it's because I'm getting older?  Who knows.. What I can say is this:  Creed is a worthy continuation of the Rocky mythos and one of the very best in the series.  Great cast (Jordan, Thompson, Stallone are all fantastic), great story (it mirrors the OG Rocky but is also its own thing), some of the best boxing action every committed to celluloid (seriously, the single take fight is breathtaking!), some excellent emotional moments (the relationships between Adonis/Bianca and Adonis/Rocky are both played perfectly), some fist pumping YES! moments (when Bill Conti's theme music comes up for the first time: CHILLS!), this is a damn great film and a true winner.

4.

Tangerine

Engaging and very well made, all the more impressive as this was shot entirely on an iPhone5.  I love how the film just drops you into this world of these transwomen prostitutes, turning tricks, doing drugs and living life and it's all presented non-judgementally.  There's no broad statements or proclamations here either, instead it's just a funny, unique, very human and kinda sweet story that's a bit fucked up.  It's also a Christmas movie, so maybe buy Grandma a copy this year for the holidays.

5.

Bone Tomahawk

A really good western that descends into intense horror territory.  The dialogue and the characters are excellent, with Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins really breathing life into their roles (Patrick Wilson is okay, but honestly, inmyopinon, he was a bit outshined by the others).  The cinematography is excellent and the gore effects are incredible, this is a strong and assured debut film and as far as horror-cannibal-westerns go, it will be hard to beat.

6.

Anomalisa

Incredibly authentic portrait of middle-aged male depression and narcissism colliding in an Ohio hotel room, made all the more remarkable as it is entirely stop-motion animated, quite realistically so (there's full frontal nudity).  The film is sweet, sad, uniquely weird, and also very funny (there's a hilariously relatable sequence in the shower).

Charlie Kaufman proves that no matter the medium he is the master of telling idiosyncratic stories about depression, life, love, existence, etc.  He also proves that nothing good ever happens in hotel rooms.  Or Cincinnati.

7.

Phoenix

Absolutely fantastic, has a pulp premise (a disfigured concentration camp survivor, unrecognizable due to facial reconstruction surgery, returns to post-war Berlin looking for her husband) but everything plays out in subtle nuances and small, little character moments.  Strong performances throughout, especially from Nina Hoss, and the final scene in the film is among the very best ever, a marvelous moment that puts a perfect cap on a great film.

8.

The Duke of Burgundy

I didn't ultimately care for director Peter Strickland's previous film, Berberian Sound Studio, but in this film, a wonderful and fascinating story about lesbian love and sexual domination, I found the cinematography, the performances, and what was being said about love, romance, and relationships to all be remarkable, fascinating, stunning, and beautiful.
Pinastri, forever.

9.

Inside Out

Smart, unique, clever, fun, touching, rousing, engaging, one of Pixar's best films with some of their very best animation (the abstract thought sequence is fantastic).  If I have to sit through a few years of the company making sequels to their hit movies before I get to see something original and amazing like this, well, I guess I'll sit through Finding Dory and just wait then.  Wait and dream...

10.

It Follows

Spooky and well made, a modern horror classic.  The atmosphere and tension come from a very simple concept and story (also from the stellar soundtrack by Disasterpiece).  One of the things I love about this movie is how the kids all seem to behave in age appropriate ways, from how they interact with one another to the decisions they make when things start getting weird.  I've read complaints about how they just run from place to place trying to hide from/deal with this entity, but to me it all makes logical teenager-sense.  Even their ill-advised trip to the municipal pool at the end is the kind of half-baked idea that teens would come up with.  It all worked for me and I think it works for the world within this movie.

11.

Room

This is one of those "the less you know about it" kind of movies, so I'll keep it brief:  Brie Larson (who knocks this one out of the park) is a kidnapped young woman who is trapped in a room with her young son (also fantastic) who has never known anything but the inside of the room.  Claustrophobic and heartbreaking while also managing to be a tense thriller, the film ultimately finds epiphanies on parenthood, childhood, isolation, adaptation, and love.

12.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

The exploration of a young girl's sexuality and her coming of age.  Set in 70s San Francisco, with all the drugs, hippies, weirdos, big parks, flared pants, and needle drops that that implies, this is the story of a 15 year old girl, an artistic type named Minnie, who is dating her mother's boyfriend.

Frank and upfront, there's a realism coming through here (even with the moments augmented by animation) that I would imagine would make this a realistic and authentic portrayal of what it is like to grow up as a girl, emotionally speaking of course.  I mean, I hope most young girls aren't sleeping with older men, even if they do look like Alexander Skarsgård.

13.

Bridge of Spies

Solid, clean, classical American filmmaking.  This Spielberg guy knows what he's doing.  The contributions from the Coen Bros. in the script can be felt throughout, bubbling up in the plot mechanics, small character moments, and slight bits of humor.  Not one of Tom Hanks' funnier movies, but still a great thriller with an amazing (based on a true) story.

14.

The Look of Silence

Follow-up and companion film to The Act of Killing, which was my favorite film of 2013.  The Look of Silence isn't as artistically daring with recreations or its locations as its predecessor, but the story is every bit as amazing and powerful.  Following a military coup in Indonesian in the mid-60s there was a mass genocide of suspected communists and dissenters, most of them innocents.  Up to a million people were killed.  The men who perpetrated those crimes are still in power to this day.

While The Act of Killing focused on those men and getting them to discuss what they did, this film instead gives voice to the families of the victims, specifically that of a young optometrist who goes around interviewing some of these guys while giving them eye exams.  Their reactions to the realties of what they did is chilling and you start to have grave concerns for this optometrist's safety, as talking about these things in such a way is something that just isn't done.  It's quite a brave thing that's done here, the lifting of silence.  A remarkable two film series.

15.

What We Do in the Shadows

In general I'm not a huge fan of vampire movies, but this New Zealand comedy really takes the piss out of the bloodsuckers and makes good use of the lore, legends, and history of vamps.  Not much of a plot but what goings-ons there are here manage to be pretty funny with good gags, jokes, and likable performances (who doesn't like the werewolves?!).  One complaint: I would've liked there to be more Petyr.

_____________

the next ten:

-Ex Machina - A great small scale/big idea science fiction thriller, with impressive special effects and an interesting and intriguing story; it's like Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things by way of Spielberg's A.I.  Also, that Oscar Isaac dance scene is INCREDIBLE!

-Chi-Raq - A hot mess but fascinating and very enjoyable.  Will be interesting to see how Spike Lee's encapsulation of our current troubled racial climate ages over time.

-Sicario - Doesn't add much new to the drug cartel movie genre, but it does have great cinematography, performances, and a couple superb suspense sequences.

-The Tribe - Ukrainian arthouse film, told only in sign language.  Mesmerizing and meditative but also unflinchingly brutal and uncomfortable.  A difficult film to be sure, but worthwhile.

-Queen of Earth - Elizabeth Moss cries her eyes out in Alex Ross Perry's lake house version of Repulsion.

-Love & Mercy - Surprisingly solid biopic that avoids becoming run-of-the-mill with its artiness and use of montage.  Also, any chance I get to see Brian Wilson (even a fictionalized version) working in the studio recording Beach Boys magic, I'm going to take it.

-Ant-Man - Refreshing smaller scale Marvel superhero movie.  The Cure "Disintegration" moment might be my favorite joke of the year.

-We Are Still Here - Effective and spooky grieving parents/haunted house movie with a great soundtrack.

-Mistress America - 

"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 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."

"I think I have that too."

-The Martian - The funniest space movie since Space Jam!



____________________________________________________
Worst Movies I Mistakenly Thought Might Be Worth Watching:

-Cooties - Very disappointed in this weak zombie children horror comedy.  Don't get Cooties.

-Pound of Flesh - Van Damme has been making some great movies in recent years.  This is not one of them.

-Burying the Ex - I hate to rag on a Joe Dante movie, but this is a big *whiff*

-Jurassic World - The best part of this was, after the movie finished in the theater, some guy up in the balcony shouted out a displeased "booooo!"

-Slow West - The cartoonish "salt in the wound" scene made me fold my arms and shout "oh, c'mon!" at my TV.

-The Gift - A lot of people like this.  I'm not one of them.  It starts off with some promise, but descends into sub-mediocrity, like maybe just a step above "made for cable TV thriller."  Jason Bateman leans hard into his natural unlikability, but the other two leads offer me nothing.  Who am I supposed to be rooting for in this movie?  And the ending, the big reveal, well, no spoilers, but seems to me some tests could alleviate some questions about the gift, am I right?



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Well, there you go.  What do you think?
Agree?  Disagree?  What were your favorites of 2015?

RIP, Angus Scrimm

Another horror icon gone.

Angus Scrimm, best known as The Tall Man from the Phantasm films, has passed away.  He was 89.
Fangoria has a nice obit.

I guess it's not a total shock given his age, and it is comforting to know that, according to Phantasm director Don Coscarelli, he "passed surrounded by friends and loved ones," but still, it's sad he's gone.

:(

Scrimm starred in four Phantasm films (1979/88/94/98), with a fifth film, Phantasm: Ravager set for release later this year.  Also, there's a 4K restoration in the works of the first film, which is exciting.  Scrimm is a big part of why the original Phantasm works so well.  His strong screen presence and booming voice, he's a screen villain like no one else and when combined with the other nightmare imagery of the movie it makes quite the impression.

Here's a clip from an obscure horror film Scream Bloody Murder (1973), Scrimm's second credited screen role.  He's a bit stuffier and his character doesn't last long.  Neat movie though, worth the look.

Scrimm as Dr. Lyme in the very strange and weirdly entertaining Nic Cage film Deadfall (1993)

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005) from the Masters of Horror series.  Scrimm gets kooky.

An old school class act and forever an icon of the horror genre.
RIP
Angus Scrimm
1926-2016

RIP, Vilmos Zsigmond

Damn.  It's been a rough week for great cinematographers.  Back on the 27th of December, the great Haskell Wexler died (his work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,  and Bound for Glory being real standouts) and now news comes down today that the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond passed away on January 1st.
Zsigmond was 85.

Born in 1930 in Hungary, escaping after the 1956 Russian Invasion, Zsigmond came to America where he worked his way through low budget exploitation pictures (such as the excellent The Sadist [1963], which I wrote about HERE) before getting a break on his first high profile picture, McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) for director Robert Altman, which was quickly followed by Peter Fonda's The Hired Hand (also 1971).  Both films would announce the arrival of a true master cinematographer, with McCabe's beautiful gauzy and hazy imagery and the marvelous lighting work and stunning crossfades found in Hired Hand.

At this point, I'm just going to list some of the great films he's worked on.  You might not know the name Vilmos Zsigmond, but you've more than likely seen his work:

McCabe & Mrs. Miller
The Hired Hand
Images
Deliverance
The Long Goodbye
The Sugarland Express
Obsession
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Deer Hunter
The Rose
Heaven's Gate
Blow Out
Real Genius
The Witches of Eastwick
The Two Jakes
Maverick
The Crossing Guard
The Ghost and the Darkness
The Black Dahlia

Zsigmond worked with directors like Atlman, Fonda, Boorman, Spielberg, De Palma, Cimino, Rydell, Miller, Nicholson, Donner, Penn, and Allen.  He won an Oscar for his work on Close Encounters and was nominated for Deer Hunter, The River, and Black Dahlia.  He received a lifetime achievement award from The American Society of Cinematographers in 1999 and, more recently, one from The Cannes Film Festival in 2014.  I'm not overstating things here when I say that Vilmos Zsigmond was one of the greatest cinematographers in the history of cinema.

He lived a long life and produced some great work.  We can all hope to be so lucky.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

The Hired Hand (1971)

Images (1972)

Deliverance (1972)

The Long Goodbye (1973),
one of my all-time favorite movies, a lot of which has to do with the amazing cinematography work of Zsigmond.  I love it so much I posted two photos!

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Behind the scenes on The Deer Hunter

Heaven's Gate (1980)

Blow Out (1981)

The Two Jakes (1990)

The Crossing Guard (1995) 

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

Pictured here is Vilmos with long time friend, fellow Hungarian, and fellow cinematographer László Kovács.  The two of them studied film together in Budapest and escaped when the Russians came in.

They barely made it out with footage they shot of the invasion, footage which later was incorporated in Zsigmond's documentary Hungary Aflame.  The footage also appears in a doc detailing the friendship of Kovács and Zsigmond, No Subtitles Necessary: László and Vilmos (2008).

RIP
Vilmos Zsigmond
1930-2016

Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood

Released in 1988, Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood has a premise that involves a girl with psychic powers going up against the recently returned Voorhees (new blood, indeed).  It is often summarized by fans as being "Carrie vs. Jason," but that summary isn't really accurate, as the "VS" part of the movie is relegated to the final 10 minutes or so.  The rest of it is standard Friday fare, with a group of young people just looking to have a good time but instead getting murdered in various ways.

Until this week I had only seen Part VII of the Friday the 13th saga once, back about 20 years ago when I was watching the series for the first time.  In general I am much more familiar with the front half of the Friday franchise than with the back half, so this was fun revisiting a movie I hadn't seen since I was a teenager.  Unfortunately, this turns out to be my least favorite of the first seven Friday films.


The movie opens with a recap of Jason's history and a summary of the events of Part VI.  Basically it all serves to remind the viewer why Jason is chained to a big rock in the middle of Crystal Lake.  Notable in this opening is two things; the voiceover narration is provided by Walt Gorney, better known as Crazy Ralph from Friday Parts 1 and 2, and the recap montage uses footage from the Friday Part VI teaser trailer, specifically the shot of the graveyard and the tombstone exploding.

After the refresher and the credits roll, we get a scene set in the past, where a young girl named Tina witnesses her parents having an argument that leads to physical abuse.  This probably isn't something new to the family, as little Tina, upset and afraid, runs toward the lake and paddles out in a boat, her father running after her.

While on the water, and with her father standing on the dock, Tina's psychic telekinetic powers manifest and cause the dock to collapse into the lake, taking her father with it.  Little Tina is very sad and traumatized.


Flash forward 10 years later, much of which she spent in psychiatric care, and Tina (Lar Park-Lincoln) is now returning to that lake house, along with her mother (Susan Blu) and her psychiatrist Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) for further treatment.

Her recovery has come along nicely, but Tina foolishly goes down to the lake and accidentally raises Jason out of his watery prison (she does this psychically, trying to raise her father up for some reason).

Jason then goes on his mandatory murder spree (as is his wont) before Tina, in the finale, confronts him and does battle with Jason WITH HER MIND!

Note about the timeline:  The events with young Tina happened in 1989, with the rest of the movie taking place 10 years later (1999).  So at this point, Jason has been in the lake for a couple years, as the events from Friday Part VI took place in 1997.
Note about the note:  I know and realize that the filmmakers behind these films gave little to no thought towards the continuity between films, but I find it really interesting that most of the sequels take place in the future relative to the year each film was released.  For example, Friday Part VII was released in 1988 but, when following the timeline established, the events must take place in 1999.  Weird, right?

Anyway, Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood is not a great movie, but I do appreciate that it was trying something different with the franchise.  I think there should've been more focus on Tina and her abilities and I would've liked to see her do more battle with Jason.  The very end of the movie feels rushed and a bit like an anti-climax, which is unfortunate.

What really sinks this one is the multiple cuts and trimmed scenes that the MPAA ratings board demanded be removed from the film to secure an R rating.  These extra gore scenes are available in a really rough form on the DVD/Blu releases and a couple of them are really fantastic and would've really improved the film and made it more exciting and interesting.  As it is though, unfortunately, I have to say, even though it has the intrinsic "funness" associated with Friday the 13th movies, Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood is one of the weaker entries in the series.  However, I don't think I'll wait another 20 years before watching it again.

It's a birthday bash.

Notes:

Playing Jason for the first of what would be a record four times is stuntman/actor Kane Hodder.  This is perfect casting, seeing as how being underwater all those years really made Jason swell up to a Kane Hodder-like size.  It works!

Seriously though, Hodder puts in a solid performance as Jason, giving him a real hulking presence while remaining light on his feet (see: the part where he jumps through a window).  He also has this great scene where he's set on fire and at the time it was the longest onscreen burn ever done by an actor.  Very impressive.

Best kill in the movie is easily the sleeping bag kill.  In the version that was cut out, Jason gives her about six good wallops against that tree, which is great, but what we see in the final movie is just one good whack that kills her instantly.  It's less ridiculously brutal, but in its own way it still packs a punch.  It's one of the most iconic kills in the entire franchise.

As for the other kills in the movie, most of them are pretty standard stuff, which, once again, is a shame because some of the cut footage is really amazing, particularly this spectacular head crushing scene and the death of Dr. Crews, who gets a tree trimmer to the torso and his guts go everywhere.  These things are fine and all as they are in the finished movie, but they could've been so much more!

Also, there is a kill in the lake with a naked girl that is filmed partly beneath the water that is an obvious homage to the opening of Jaws.  I got nothing else to say about it; just something I noticed.

Jason's new look includes him wearing a chain, which is part punk rock, part hip-hop, and very chic.

During the finale when Tina is using her psychic powers against Jason she picks up a potted plant and throws it at him.  By itself this is uninteresting.  What does make it interesting/hilarious is that resting in the potted plant is the decapitated head of one of her friends.  Ha!

Tina's mom in this movie, Mrs. Shepard, played by Susan Blu, has some absolutely out of control 80s hair.  It's fantastic!  There are some really great mullets and things like that throughout the cast, but mom's hair is seriously the greatest thing.

Speaking of Mrs. Blu, her appearance here in Friday Part VII marks one of her rare onscreen roles, as she is mainly a voiceover actress, providing voices on Transformers, Jem, DuckTales and a slew of other things over the years.

Director John Carl Buechler is a special effects expert, having provided work for many Charles Band productions, like TerrorVision (1986), Dolls (1987), and Prison (1987), which is where he met Kane Hodder.  Buechler got the job because of his work on Troll (1986), which is strange if you've actually seen Troll.

Buechler also did some effects work on Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, which came out the same year as his Friday Part VII, a few months later actually, and did more than twice as well at the box office.

This marks the first time that Harry Manfredini was not the sole composer on a Friday movie.  Fred Mollin would provide most of the score and would go on to be the composer for Friday Part VIII and the Friday the 13th television series as well.

Lar Park -Lincoln was in House II: The Second Story in 1987 and she also had a reoccurring role on Knots Landing starting around the same time.  I think she makes for a really interesting final girl and to her credit she does attempt to do something a little different with her portrayal of psychic abilities (she's not just ripping off Sissy Spacek in Carrie).

Kevin Spirtas (credited as Kevin Blair) is Nick, the secondary protagonist and love interest to Tina.  He's likable enough but doesn't really do much in the movie.  Spirtas was also in the wonderfully cheap and cheesy The Hills Have Eyes 2 (1984) along with Kane Hodder and would go on to star in a couple Subspecies movies and would have a long 10 year stint on Days of our Lives.

Terry Kiser, who plays the jerk Dr. Crews, would go on to play the titular character in Weekend at Bernie's (1989) and it's 1993 sequel, which is fairly awesome and there is nothing else to say about it.

Final Thought:  Not terrible and not great.  I can say this about it though:  How many Part VII's of movie franchises are there out there?  Not many.  And Friday the 13th Part VII is one of them.

This poster from Ghana is freaking CRAZY!!

Read the rest of my Friday reviews:
Friday the 13th
Friday Part II
Friday Part III
The Final Chapter
A New Beginning
Jason Lives

Happy Friday the 13th!