Thursday, December 31, 2015

My 2015 Movie Rankings


  1. Ex Machina
  2. Mad Max
  3. The Martian
  4. Brooklyn
  5. Room
  6. Inside Out
  7. Kingsman: The Secret Service
  8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  9. Sicario
  10. Creed
  11. A Most Violent Year
  12. Spotlight
  13. Straight Out of Compton
  14. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
  15. Phoenix
  16. Testament of Youth
  17. It Follows
  18. The Danish Girl
  19. Far From the Madding Crowd
  20. Steven Jobs
  21. Mistress America
  22. Trainwreck
  23. Selma
  24. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
  25. Ant-man
  26. Furious 7
  27. 99 Homes
  28. Foxcatcher
  29. Two Days, One Night
  30. Mr. Holmes
  31. Infinitely Polar Bear
  32. Diary of a Teenage Girl
  33. While We're Young
  34. Crimson Peak
  35. Suffragette
  36. Amy
  37. The End of the Tour
  38. The Gift
  39. Love & Mercy
  40. Dope
  41. Still Alice
  42. Spy
  43. Bridge of Spys
  44. The Night Before
  45. The Big Short
  46. Jurassic World
  47. Everest
  48. Pawn Sacrifice
  49. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2
  50. San Andreas
  51. The Good Dinosaur
  52. The Hateful Eight
  53. Joy
  54. Black Sea
  55. Pitch Perfect 2
  56. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
  57. Trumbo
  58. Paddington
  59. Shaun the Sheep
  60. Southpaw
  61. Paper Towns
  62. The Avengers: Age of Ultron
  63. Black Mass
  64. Big Eyes
  65. The Walk
  66. Focus
  67. Grandma
  68. Macbeth
  69. Inherent Vice
  70. Peanuts
  71. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
  72. Goosebumps
  73. Insurgent
  74. The Intern
  75. Sisters
  76. In The Heart of the Sea
  77. Spectre
  78. Penguins of Madagascar
  79. Ted 2
  80. Entourage
  81. Jupiter Ascending
  82. Into the Woods
  83. Aloha
  84. Chappie
  85. Tomorrowland
  86. American Sniper
  87. The Assassin
  88. Terminator: Genisys
  89. Fantastic Four
  90. Minions
  91. The Overnight

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review (spoiler free)

The Star Wars franchise "Awakens".  This franchise first came onto the scene thirty plus years ago and changed the movie industry and then the prequels came out and almost ruined everything the first three films had set up.  Luckily with the seventh film, "The Force Awakens", the magic is back!

What I enjoyed most about "The Force Awakens" is that it feels like a Star Wars film.  It's the story of an unexpected hero going on an adventure and meets various people along the way to fight against a big bad evil empire.  "The Force Awakens" has two very likable new leads in Rey and Finn.  The chemistry between these two is great from the start.  The banter between them is hilarious, sweet and touching at multiple times throughout the film.  I just wanted to see them both on the screen for the entire film.  We also get to see some old favorites from the original Star Wars films and it's great to see them again.

Another great part of "The Force Awakens" is the action.  It has non-stop, edge-of-your-seat, heart-pounding action.  The special effects are incredible and keep you in the film the entire time.  The practical effects give many of the characters new life and make you feel like you will see them walking down the street one day.

Even though I loved the characters and the action in "The Force Awakens", it wasn't a perfect film.  I felt like there were multiple plot holes and a lot of the things happen that just appear to move the story along with no real rhyme or reason.  There was also one scene that I felt could have been cut out completely.  The scene featured a lot of CGI creatures and contained characters who really didn't help progress the story.  This movie takes place 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi" and it would have been nice to get more information on what happened during those 30 years.

I thought "The Force Awakens" was a cinematic event that everyone needs to see.  It brings back the magic of the original Star Wars films and introduces us to new characters that you will care about and look forward to see how they progress through the next two films.  May 2017 can't get here soon enough!