The Best Films of 2015

After seeing all the films nominated for Best Picture for the Academy Awards, I thought the time was right to present my best films of 2015.

The eight films nominated below are all terrific and nearly all of them are on my final list as well. Before proceeding, I want to address the Best Picture nominees that didn’t make my final list.

The biggest omission is The Revenant, which was never one of my 10 picks, despite being an extraordinary technical achievement. While the footage director Alejandro González Iñárritu captured filming in harsh wilderness location is astounding, the film left me cold. I felt myself simply waiting for Leonardo DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass to get revenge against Tom Hardy’s John Fitzgerald.

The Martian, which does make my list, is also a waiting game: Will Matt Damon get off Mars? But it was more involving because of the diversity of emotions on display. More simply put, The Revenant is a film I admired rather than enjoyed, and there were 10 other films that I enjoyed more.

As for the cutting of Bridge of Spies, it was a close call but I wanted to include Trainwreck on my list as too often end-of-year lists ignore comedies.

So now, my 10 favourite movies of 2015 in alphabetical order:

The Big Short

Director and co-writer Adam McKay has made a bold mix of docudrama, satire and economics lesson. The Big Short manages to make the 2008 financial crisis accessible and easily understood.

Brooklyn

Powered by an understated and sincere performance by Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn is an unapologetically sweet, straightforward love story about an Irish immigrant living in New York in the 1950s.

Ex Machina

A reclusive genius (Oscar Isaac) invites an employee (Domhnall Gleeson) of his tech company to test if the artificial intelligence (Alicia Vikander) he invented can pass for human. Ex Machina represents the best kind of sci-fi by offering a thought-provoking reflection of the society in which we live and where we are going.

Inside Out

Inside Out is one of Pixar Animation Studio’s most original and emotionally satisfying features.

In personifying the emotions of a pre-teen girl, the film hits upon truths about how we respond to the world that will strike a chord with both kids and adults.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Director George Miller’s audacious, wildly inventive return to the Mad Max universe has more excitement in a single minute than most Hollywood action films have in their whole run times.

The Martian

Director Ridley Scott’s forays into sci-fi (Alien and Blade Runner) are often dour and unrelenting but, anchored by a charismatic performance by Matt Damon, The Martian is a survival story that finds surprising moments of humour and humanity.

Room

Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay give nuanced, believable performances as a mother and her 5-year-old son living in captivity in a small shed. Room is non-exploitative of its potentially salacious premise, and is profoundly moving in an unexpected and honest ways.

Spotlight

Co-writer/director Tom McCarthy’s dramatisation of the Boston Globe’s investigation of a massive scandal of child molestation within the Catholic Church can stand tall next to All the President’s Men as one of the best films about journalism.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

A return to the glory days of Star Wars. A Star Wars film hasn’t been this fun, joyful, funny and dramatically interesting since 1983’s Return of the Jedi.

Trainwreck

Written and starring stand-up comedian Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow, Trainwreck was the best comedy of 2015 and also offered surprising moments of heart that ring true. Plus there’s the added bonus of Bill Hader as a romantic lead.

Honourable mentions: Steve Jobs is an excellent excuse to listen to Aaron Sorkin’s trademark intelligent dialogue; Ant-Man keeps the Marvel formula fresh by being quirky; Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation is full of thrilling action set pieces; Bridge of Spies finds humour and warmth in the cold war thanks to a sharp script by the Coen Brothers; The Duff is a quick-witted teen film powered by the effortlessly charming Mae Whitman.

Alec Kerr