Joe's Top Ten List 2015

Well, here we are at this time of year again... (and sorry for the delay, but Trevor and I were hoping to catch Son of Saul just to see if our lists required last minute tweaking, but that was not allowed to happen due to the distributors)

This year I had no quirky topic for the movies that ended up on my list, rather I allowed myself to think about all movies that I had seen over the year and which were the movies that elicited  an intense emotional responses from me—movies that I would be able to see more than once.  So this year, my top ten list is composed of Movies that Touched My heart…a few of these movies actually moved me to tears (in particular my number one movie of the year). I don’t care if you judge me as a grown man blubbering…it was an AWESOME film and it is 100% my favorite film seen this year.

10. Room

Brie Larson shields Jacob Tremblay from the true horror of his situation.

 Brie Larson has been on both Trevor’s and my radar for the past couple of years as is evidenced on both of our top ten lists—and especially for Short Term 12. Nevertheless, in Room, directed by the multi-faceted Lenny Abrahamson, Brie has achieved what many actresses aspire to…and she’s done it rather quickly. She has proven to be a stand-out in the crowd of this newly emerging young generation of twenty-something actors. Granted, the haunting story written (and scripted) by Emma Donoghue, as well as the supporting set of actors (most notably Jacob Tremblay and Joan Allen) “supported her” in achieving this status in Room, but the underlying poise, talent, and joie de'vivre is all her own. In telling the story of a young girl, abducted, raped and locked up after becoming pregnant, Brie Larson pulls us into her world of care, deprivation, despair, pity, growth and re-emergence artfully. Even the most cynical person watching this movie will leave with a new appreciation for a mother’s love, and how far people will go to protect their children from harm—unconditionally. Only to be saved herself, in the end!

9. The Big Short

Ryan Gosling attempts to get Carrel's character on board with his gamble.

I never wanted to like this movie. I hate almost everything that Adam McKay has ever directed (Anchorman, Talladega Nights), but even I cannot deny the awesome genius of this film. It piqued my interest as a natural pragmatic. Based off the book by Michael Lewis, and scripted by both McKay and Charles Randolph, this movie is a powerhouse of espresso and Metallica all at once. Based around the collapse of the stock market and the shady underhandedness of bank securities and hedge-fund managers for the past 40 years, The Big Short inspires us to hope that not all people are blind to the goings-on of the “big boys” who manage our money. Christian Bale plays Dr. Burry who (while analyzing trends for the hedge-fund he was managing) stumbles onto one of the biggest scams of banking history when he realizes “numerically” how the housing bonds are (in a sense) robbing Peter to pay Paul at multiple levels of a grand Ponzi scheme for lending execs to stay wealthy. Ryan Gosling portrays Jared Vennett, an up-and-coming player who happens to catch a snippet about what Dr. Burry was trying to keep quiet as he “played the market” betting against housing. Vennett enlists hedge-fund guru Mark Baum’s (Steve Carell) help in securing his own claim to the market shares bet against the housing market. Just when all seems like Dr. Burry was incorrect in his assessment, the bubble bursts and vindication occurs—all to the detriment of the American people…as we all remember this bursting back in 2006-7.  Watch this behind the scenes portrayal of a grand scam of the American Banking system that we all had hope is over…but is it really?

8. Brooklyn

Saoirse and Emory allowing themselves to realize the joy of young love.

This was a movie that topped my list to see in the Christmas season, and it surely did not disappoint. I loved this film on multiple levels as it is perhaps the most true-portrayal of all of the auspices of family dynamics that I have seen in a long while. This film touches on love, responsibility, death, self-discovery, and defiance all from a young woman’s perspective while emigrating to the Unites States in the 1950’s. Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) moves to Brooklyn thanks to the gentle urging of her friend Rose (Fiona Glascott). She leaves her sister and mother behind to discover herself and face an adventure. While in Brooklyn she is placed into work at a local department store, and attends night classes at a community college to become a bookkeeper like her sister. In the midst of her self-discovery, she falls for an Italian immigrant’s son, Tony (Emory Cohen) who shows her what she truly needed to feel alive. And just when you think the film is all happy and one-dimensional, tragedy strikes and Eilis is forced to return to Ireland to face her past demons and deal with all levels of what not being honest to your family and yourself bring. John Crowley directed a masterpiece in this beautiful tale of love. The cinematography by Yves Belanger (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild) is as spot on in this film as it was in those top ten listed movies from last year. The script by Nick Hornby and Colm Toibin is so true-to-life, that you leave the theater wanting to do nothing more than kiss your wife, call your mother, and telling everyone you care about that you love them.

7. Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl

Mann, Cylers, and Cooke sitting on a stoop discussing college.

I have a big soft spot for all things Sundance, so this should not be a surprise for anyone who knows me that this Sundance Big Winner (Audience and Grand Jury) made my cut. I cried after this movie was done. Directed by relative new-comer, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, this is a VERY unique coming of age story of a young man, Greg (Thomas Mann), and his hilarious dry-witted side-kick, Earl (RJ Cyler) who make low-budget remakes of their favorite films. Greg goes through life sliding into the background of high school attempting to be the guy who fits into all cliques without really fitting into any clique. That all changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke) who has been diagnosed with cancer. What unfolds is a tongue-in-cheek romantic blundering that makes the viewer laugh and cry and remember what it’s like to be in high school all over again. Jesse Andrews wrote the book and the screenplay and did himself proud. The characters are realistic and remind me of the multitude of students I have taught over the past 15 years in my real-job as a high-school/community college instructor. I laughed until I cried…then I cried a little more when the time was right. I love originality and youthful direction.

6. Spotlight

The Spotlight crew discusses the legality of their story and the aftermath.

One of the most controversial, and most talked about movies of this post-season of films has been Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy. This ensemble cast is spot-on in their delivery and their acting prowess in this tell-the-truth film revolving around the Catholic Church scandal of the 90’s. Yes…that scandal that rocked the Vatican to its core.  The scandal centering around the multitudes of priests who were molesting young boys and girls for years. Josh Singer and McCarthy did a wonderfully masterful job detailing the story BEHIND the exposing of this story by the Boston Globe Spotlight News Crew—portrayed by Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James, and John Slattery. Marty Baron (Live Schreiber) is the new (Jewish) editor who barges into Boston from Florida and tells the crew to go after the Catholic priest story. This doesn’t set well at first as most of the reports are catholic, yet as the story unfolds, the lies, deception and disgust set in. Mike Rezendes (Ruffalo) is the legal investigator who gets to the heart of the legal deception quickly, allowing Robby (Keaton) and Sacha Pfeiffer (McAdams) to track down and talk with all of the big players in town (and the victims) that have been pulling the strings for well-over 40 years. As a Catholic myself, this film was gut-wrenching to watch and truly sickened me to my core. I left the theater 100% happy that many were held accountable, and then still disillusioned that many victims still did not have their vindication. I am glad that this SPOTLIGHT was illuminated on this subject to provide hope for those who were unable to speak out against these atrocities.

5. Beasts of No Nation

Attah and Elba in a heated exchange about the rules of warfare.

Many people do not seem to be on board with companies the likes of Amazon and Netflix producing movies direct to the internet—they feel that this cheapens “cinema.” Well from what I have been seeing from Hollywood the last few years, if this is cheapening cinema…BRING ME MORE!!  Beasts of No Nation, written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (co-written and based off of the book by Uzodinma Iweala), is nothing short of a mind-blowing experience about the torments and savagery occurring in many third world countries being fought over by dictators and war-lords alike. While the film does not specify a location, it could be realatable to many African nations under constant civil war. As their village as it is being ravaged by soldiers who kill all captured families claiming them traitors to the cause. Agu (Abraham Attah)’s father intervenes and in the melee he and his brother attempt to escape—well Agu manages to escape. As he wonders through the jungle in hiding, he is picked up by a rag-tag group of bush-fighters lead by the Commandant (Idris Elba). Agu is put through the ropes of survival and quickly realizes that he is no longer playing hide-and-seek, but he has to become a man at the age of 12 or perish in the struggle for existence. When all is said and done, if he ever reunites with civilization…will there be anything left to save? This movie is graphic and a true homage and amalgam to the ideals first proposed in Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness. A beautiful and haunting original story all its own, it provides a stark look into third world problems…one that was so vivid I have had many an introspective moment digesting what I was shown.

4. The Revenant

Tom Hardy attempts to silence Leo but for good.

What can I say, Alejandro Inarritu!!  I love his films. I love his direction. I love this man’s love of filming. Coupled with the stunning cinematography of Chivo (Emmanuel Lubezki), how could this movie NOT be on every top ten list of every film critic this year. I mean there’s almost nothing that hasn’t been said about this film…WOW.  That pretty much sums it up. Based on the novel by Michael Punke, scripted by Mark Smith and Inarritu, this is the awe-inspiring tale of Hugh Glass (Leo Dicaprio) and his body sacrificing, soul-crushing, hunt to find the man, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), who killed his son in cold blood. Killed his son who was attempting to stop the same man from killing him while he was injured. And--he had to watch his son die while incapacitated. While this movie is minimal on dialogue, what is lacks in verbalization, the cinematography and depth of feeling expressed in Leo’s eyes make up for it 200%. I went into this film with extremely high expectations, and (unlike with Avengers 2) I left the theater speechless and mind-racing that this may finally be Leo’s year for an Oscar! Hopefully anyway. And Chivo and Inarritu have perhaps the best chance to both get back-to-back Academy Awards that we have seen in a long while. Yes…the film is THAT good.

3. Ex Machina

Vikander and Gleeson in deep debate about what defines the feelings of life.

Written and directed by the prolific storyteller Alex Garland (writer for Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and Sunshine), Ex Machina­ takes its roots/name/theme from the Greek tragic event known as dues ex machina (or ‘god from the machine’) wherein an impossible task is suddenly made possible through extreme and sudden intervention of a new idea/plot/character. And if you think that just the title has depth….wait for the story-line. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a junior programmer for a company run by the enigmatic Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Caleb wins a contest to actually meet with the reclusive CEO at his mountain home; nevertheless, the meeting is not coincidence, rather he has been ‘selected’ to be a part of a Turing Test in determining whether Ava, a robot developed with artificial intelligence “AI,” (Alicia Vikander) can pass as human. The movie unfolds in a series of philosophical interplay and introspection regarding humanity, life, God, and love. What nobody could have imagined is just how life-like and self-preserving Ava would become. Original…beautiful…stunning visuals and a technical achievement of plot development, the movie will leave you more perplexed at the ending than it did at the beginning. And I am fine with that! The movie makes you question everything about everything that you think you may understand about life. Masterpiece.

2. Mad Max: Fury Road

Hardy swings between vehicles in this beautiful chase sequence.

I watched the original trilogy as a child, and loved the crazy hijinks centered on Mel Gibson’s Road Warrior. But NOTHING was to prepare me for the movie spectacular on visual effects that George Miller provided with his latest installment of the road warrior series, Mad Max: Fury Road. Early movies dealt with the world political issues of the day set into a dystopian future. When Miller and his co-writers, Brendan McCarthy and Mick Lathouris, sat down to make this latest movie a reality, they chose clean and potable water as the theme. Max (Tom Hardy) is captured and taken into the holding facility of a water overload, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Burne) to be used as a blood supply for his drug-hyped warriors on their delivery missions to the surrounding areas. As the latest mission heads out with Furiosa (Charlize Theron) in the lead tanker, Max find himself strapped to the front of a guard vehicle driven by Nux (Nicholas Hoult). The caravan heads out, only to soon realize Furiosa has an agenda of her own, and it’s not delivering water! What unfolds across the desert wasteland is as gorgeous a cinematic undertaking as I have seen in a long time. George Miller and cinematographer John Seale (Rain Man, The English Patient) blocked and shot this action film like all action films should be shot. Massive explosions, thunderous booms, and gore-galore. YET…George did not allow the action sequences to detract from storyline and plot progression. They were seamlessly interwoven and the culmination is nothing short of a magnum opus for the action movie genre. 

1. Inside Out

Imaginary friend Bing-Bong is reacquainted with Joy and Sadness.

The Pixar movie about feelings personified is the #1 movie of the year—in my humble opinion. Watching this movie, I laughed. I cried. I teared up. Then I laughed. I…well, you get the picture. Pete Doctor and Ronnie Del Carmen have managed to again direct a story that takes viewers back to their childhood—or for the younger generations, reminds them about the ‘Joy’s of growing up. Aided in screenplay development by Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley, the team turned a beautiful concept into a perfect animated feature (topped only by Pixar’s Toy Story and Up!).  Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias) is born, and the JOY of birth initiates a feeling of, well, Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler). She steadfastly steers Riley through her formative years, joined eventually by the full cast of feelings as Riley grows up [Anger (Lewis Black), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Fear (Bill Hader)]. Things go wildly awry when Riley is uprooted from her suburban Midwest hometown and is moved into downtown San Francisco. During an accidental mishap brought about by an unusual bout of Sadness, both Sadness and Joy are vanquished down the memory shoot into deep memory storage. The only problem is, with Joy away, how will Riley be able to cope with all of the changes the move has brought? While attempting to make it back to central processing before Riley does she and her family irreparable harm, Joy and Sadness come to a shocking realization about emotional swings and their central role in shaping all individuals. This moving hits personally on so many levels—growing up a Navy brat and moving to 16 different schools in 12 years, and my mother constantly joking that we all had ‘little men inside us working things out.’ I was transported to my childhood and fell in love with this movie within the first 10 minutes. Bravo, Pixar!! Bravo!!

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***HONORABLE MENTIONS: (films that ALMOST made my Top Ten up until the last week)

11. Star Wars: The Force Awakens for bringing the Star Wars franchise back to to its rightful glory atop the box office lists and for killing all of James Cameron's records.

12. It Follows for being an excellent and UNIQUE (see that Hollywood) horror film. It was really great and I know why Trevor has it on his list...it almost made my cut.

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Joe's Individual Awards-- (not my Oscar Predictions)

Best Film of the Year: Inside Out

Best Director: Alejandro Inarritu (The Revenant)

Best Actor: Leonardo Dicaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress: Soairse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor: Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Best Screenplay (original): Spotlight

Best Screenplay (adapted): Room