Journal: 2015 in Film

[StevePulaski]

Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen in Steve Jobs.

My Favorite Films of 2015:

1. 99 Homes: The most underrated, unseen, and under-appreciated film of the year is also the most significant film about the housing market and the effects of the global financial crisis alongside The Big Short. 99 Homes came out in the beginning of the year with no buzz, a slight marketing campaign, and two actors that are on the teetering edge of household names and still cannot bring people into theaters based on their names alone. In addition, being that this is a film about a man, his mother, and his son being evicted from their home and the man subsequently going to work for the same man who evicted him, this pessimistic story is probably the story of many people post-2008, so it's understandable as to why a couple wouldn't want to make their Saturday night at the movies revolve around this particular film. Nonetheless, this is an intense and incredibly acted film, with tour-de-force performances by both Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, my favorite actor working today who wins Best Actor at the Oscars this year, in my mind, for one of the most menacing performances of the decade.

My review of 99 Homes, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4936/99-homes

2. A Girl Like Her: It wasn't until I had dinner with a friend one day, and was recommending her some of the year's best films, that I saw a commonality with my first three picks and that is they were all films that entered theaters under the radar and bombed for one reason or another because of circumstances beyond their control. A Girl Like Her should've been a huge hit, judging by its premise alone, but after receiving a modest 1,000 theaters opening weekend, it quickly lost them to Furious 7, which opened a week later. The film opens with a young teenage girl taking enough pills to put herself into a coma after experiencing relentless bullying from a fellow classmate. While she lies in the hospital with her condition uncertain, we, the audience, watch all the footage her and her close friend managed to capture of the bullying occurring, thanks to small, discrete cameras placed on her blouse and glasses in efforts to document the continuing harassment. Halfway through this film, you think of the young woman doing the bullying as a contemptible monster, but it isn't until you see her side of the story at the end that you at least get her human side on display. Films concerning bullying usually never get this level-headed, nor as honest or as well-acted as this one either.

My review of A Girl Like Her, influxmagazine.com/a-girl-like-her-review/

3. Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs is a symphonic blend of biting dialog and character interest, Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs also found itself lost in the shuffle of what was a busy fall season for adult dramas, in addition to being victim of apathy amongst potential audience members with the ubiquity of Steve Jobs information following his death. Nonetheless, that doesn't disregard the sheer magnitude of this film as a truly immersing work of dramatic entertainment that details Jobs' characteristics and personality through three of the biggest and most revolutionary press conferences he ever gave in his life.

My review of Steve Jobs, thebaconation.com/review/steve-jobs-2015/

4. Road Hard: Adam Carolla's Road Hard is a wonderful testament to the idea of being "functionally lonely," as I call it, or starving for something more, in addition to being a hilarious dark comedy. Somewhat based on Corolla's life following The Man Show, his breakout program with Jimmy Kimmel, who went on to be a successful late night talk show host, while Carolla became a less popular name, this is a film full of humor and pain, blended so elegantly that you might not obtain it all on the first watch.

My review of Road Hard, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4630/road-hard?page=1&scrollTo=26059

5. Spotlight: Spotlight is the first film on my list so far that is a great, important film that people are actually going to see. This shouldn't change in coming months, as it's still the film with the highest odds to win Best Picture at the Oscars this year, and is damn worthy for that title. This is a film that shows the layered and tireless side of investigative journalism, including the interviewing process and the pursuit of leads and stories in a way that's energetic and lively. Boasting an ensemble cast and seriously emotional scenes that aren't played for cheap pathos, it's one of the most airtight examinations of the press and its public duty that I've yet to see.

My review of Spotlight, thebaconation.com/review/spotlight-2015/

6. Irrational Man: In present-day, Woody Allen has fallen greatly from the mainstream light, entering another one of his cycles where the ordeal between him and his daughter circumvents into the news cycle just because - it doesn't have any new developments or new voices, it just finds a way back into the public eye. As a result, Allen's, who's personal life I know nothing about, along with Bill Cosby's, Roman Polanski's, and so forth, latest movies suffer, and after no one saw Magic in the Moonlight, a terrific film, in 2014, nobody saw Irrational Man this year, either. Again, Allen brings out the best in a quirky pairing of actors, this time Joaquin Phoenix, who plays a drunk philosophy professor, and Emma Stone, who plays an optimistic student intent on picking his mind for everything it's worth. Uproariously funny and delightfully acted, it also becomes a mystery about self-worth and personal validation in true Woody Allen fashion.

My review of Irrational Man, influxmagazine.com/irrational-man-review/

7. Love & Mercy: Biopics have such a negative connotation in America - likely why David O. Russell's new film Joy is doing everything it can with its trailers to hide the fact that it's about Joy Mangano, the queen of QVC - that it's almost as if, going forward, directors will have to find new and more abstract ways to tell otherwise conventional stories. By juxtaposing different time periods, focusing on mental states rather than physical states, and including the music and the aura of an era, director Bill Pohland makes Love & Mercy, a film about Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, an uncommonly effective experience by way of its emotional powerhouse and remarkable character actors - everyone from John Cusack to Paul Giamatti is Oscar-worthy here.

My review of Love & Mercy, influxmagazine.com/love-mercy-review/

8. The Hunting Ground: Kirby Dick - one of the new muckraking journalists/documentarians working today - takes his trademark investigative camera lens to college campuses with The Hunting Ground, a documentary exposing the way colleges today help coverup or sit idly by while rampant sexual assaults and rapes occur under their watch. There are many reasons to love this film, but my ultimate reason is the way it exposes the biggest lie ever perpetuated on college campuses, even more-so than the idea that "college guarantees you a good job" - fraternities and sororities. Dick shows these cutely named havens as nothing more than what they are - dens of raping, drugging, drinking, and unscathed reputations thanks to the financial backing from legacy families. It's wonderful to see these organizations exposed, but it's also nice to see a thoughtful documentary on the athletic powerhouses that also prevent many of these rape cases from seeing the light of day, or worse, blame the victim rather than the rapist.

My review of The Hunting Ground, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4913/hunting-ground-2015

9. Straight Outta Compton: A close second for the best biopic of the year is Straight Outta Compton, which leaves the average audience member "stompin'" as they walk out of the theater after having seen an engrossing and uncommonly entertaining two and a half hour film. Buoyed by strong performances from a wealth of talented newcomers and N.W.A. music from the early years of their inception, it's hard to find a film this long that's consistently entertaining, as well as an emotional rollercoaster involving high highs, low lows, and commentary about systemic racism and police brutality sprinkled in that couldn't have been more timely if it tried.

My review of Straight Outta Compton:, www.rocknreelreviews.com/review/straight-outta-compton/

10. By the Sea: Few films have made me think for so long upon seeing them as much as Angelina Jolie Pitt's latest film, By the Sea. On the surface, no pun intended, and judging by the trailer, this looks like a film that's a self-parody of independent films and the French New Wave. As a whole, however, this is a sad, mellow, and meditative contemplation on marriage and the possible inevitability of all relationships. It's more than Brad and Angelina Jolie Pitt wallowing in misery, and that's all one can hope for after seeing the trailer.

My review of By the Sea, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4992/sea-2015

Honorable Mentions: Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Chi-Raq.

[StevePulaski]

Joe Dirt 2: A Beautiful Loser.

My Least Favorite Films of 2015:

1. Mortdecai: "The storyline here is enough to drive you mad, not because it's confusing, but it's restless and often interrupted by a legion of weakly-written supporting roles from the likes of great actors like Olivia Munn and Ewan McGregor."

My review of Mortdecai, influxmagazine.com/mortdecai-review/

2. Get Hard: "When Will Ferrell's straight-laced character was reading off numerous insults he concocted himself, and one of them was "I will punch you right in the f***," I knew what kind of comedy was on my hands, and I wanted to wash them thoroughly with soap and water."

My review of Get Hard, influxmagazine.com/get-hard-review/

3. Superfast! "Superfast! is the third film of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's, the men formerly responsible for theatrical atrocities like Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Meet the Spartans, to be released on video-on-demand and very few theaters across the United States rather than having them premiere on over two-thousand nationwide theaters."

My review of Superfast!, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4665/superfast?page=1&scrollTo=26096

4. Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser: "Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser is a seriously pathetic comedy, desperate to have its viewers recall the "nostalgia" from the original film by recycling jokes from not only its screenplay but other David Spade films such as Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. Combine this with a two minute long session of construction workers and a bimbo farting on Joe Dirt, pixelated glasses appearing over Dirt's eyes in one scene with the caption "THUG LIFE" as if it's an internet meme, cinematography you'd swear was out of a low-rent TV commercial, and a release on the seldom-mentioned, widely dismissed video service Crackle, and you have a sorry excuse for a sequel and a film."

My review of Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4800/joe-dirt-2-beautiful-loser?page=1&scrollTo=26241

5. Ferrell Takes the Field: "The only thing I can think of, as I said, is that Will Ferrell's ego has swollen considerably, to the point where he feels he should etch himself in places and events where he doesn't really belong."

My review of Ferrell Takes the Field, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4901/ferrell-takes-field

6. The Ridiculous 6: "The Ridiculous 6 is an atrocious film, but atrocious in an unsurprising way, frankly. It's a satire on American Westerns, which, in the present, need to look to Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West as some kind of contemporary benchmark of quality, something that says a lot in itself. The film is a tireless array of physical sight gags and grossout comedy helmed by some huge names in the industry ostensibly doing their best to be the most insufferable screen presences of the year."

My review of The Ridiculous 6, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4998/ridiculous-6

7. Little Boy: "The film's tagline is "Believe the impossible," which is fitting because that's the only way one will receive much enjoyment from this film. Watching a seven-year-old stand before an enormous mountain and eventually come to move it through his faith may be a cute idea in theory, but to watch it happen, in a film that desperately wants you to believe what cannot be done regardless of how much faith a person has among countless other manipulative filmmaking strategies, makes for a desperately cloying moviegoing experience."

My review of Little Boy, influxmagazine.com/little-boy-review/

8. War Room: "Alex and Stephen Kendrick's new film War Room is the worst kind of Christian film in that it starts out very promising only to retract into terribly overwrought melodrama, so desperately unconvincing it should ask for its own forgiveness. For every positive attribute it bears, there's a crippling negative that sacrifices its believability as a film and in its impact as a parable. It's the kind of film that seems specially made for the Kendrick brothers' megachurch to inspire nothing other than obnoxious "hallelujahs," empty ideas of hope, and undeserved emotional reactions."

My review of War Room, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4868/war-room-2015

9. A Very Murray Christmas: "What's the takeaway from this project? By the end of it, the characters don't seem to learn anything they didn't already know, the glacially paced musical numbers have mostly faded from the mind, there's not a single quotable line in the film, and Murray's attitude has made the audience exhale comfortably knowing that this special doesn't even last an hour."

My review of A Very Murray Christmas, stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/4997/murray-christmas

10. Paper Town: A film that reminds us that taking advantage of other people's kindness and manipulating them for personal gain is okay if we're simply trying to find ourselves and our own happiness.

My review of Paper Towns, influxmagazine.com/paper-towns-review/

My Top Five Decent Films of 2015:

1. The Wedding Ringer: An unfairly bashed comedy, thanks to the roly-poly image of Josh Gad and the usual obnoxiousness of Kevin Hart, but a film that truly explores what it's like to be lonely and without a lot of friends come time for a life-changing event you just can't experience alone. Consistently funny and worthy of a second look.

2. The Martian: A good, not great, drama that unfortunately puts too much of its narrative weight on the reliance of flash-forwards and montages. Had this been taken in a route that wasn't glitz with a nine figure budget (before you laugh, check out the Geoff Marslett film Mars), this would've been a more meditative look at the story.

3. The Big Short: One of the best films that is still so condescending to its viewer, The Big Short is a truly bold and interesting film about the 2007-08 global financial crisis that destroyed millions of families' financial safety net and living situations. I'm sure you never thought you'd be laughing at it almost ten years later (comedy = tragedy + time, remember).

4. The Overnight: Another well-done, neo-mumblecore film starring four characters in one location learning to come to grips with their reality (and age) as they drink the night away and find out more about each other than they probably needed to know.

5. Ricki and the Flash: A reminder that if we're going to request that Hollywood make more adult dramas, we're also going to need to see them when they come out, the box office dud "Ricki and the Flash" is a solidly acted drama, proving that Meryl Streep can work wonders out of any role and that a good drama can be made even with nostalgia as its backbone.

My Top Five Underseen Films of 2015:

1. Creep: A truly haunting and unsettling film in every sense of the word, Creep fearlessly blends black comedy with terror and suspense and features a tour-de-force performance by Mark Duplass, one of the finest leading actors working today.

2. Manglehorn: A strong performance by Al Pacino, David Gordon Green's Manglehorn is a beautiful film about overcoming the loss of a loved one by way of consistently powering through your work and livelihood, despite constantly having a heavy heart. A great film to balance out Green's scale with the mediocre Our Brand is Crisis this year, as well.

3. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: Going Clear - a documentary on Scientology and the checkered life of its founder L. Ron Hubbard - is a beautiful piece of muckraking journalism, in the style of Kirby Dick's The Hunting Ground. However, unlike the straight-forward greatness of that film, this film is more concerned with driving home the reason why man decides to fall prey to cults and why individuals even give something like Scientology a second look. It's more than a documentary to expose a gigantic brand; it's a film that shows how/why it's able to exist and be perpetuated on the lives of the innocent.

4. Queen of Earth: Queen of Earth, Alex Ross Perry's haunting work of low-budget greatness, is a piece that's truly visceral and as haunting as any film I've seen this year thanks to an immaculate performance by Elisabeth Ross and beautiful slowburn tension.

5. The Diary of a Teenage Girl: The Diary of a Teenage Girl is the coming of age film for girls that boys seem to get every year; if it makes you uncomfortable and a bit squirmy about the sexuality of girls, good, it's doing it's job.