10. The Peanuts Movie
This movie is by no means a masterpiece. The movie is incredibly boring, but what makes it work is how genuine it is. They could've easily just pulled a Garfield or Smurfs on this one (Celebrity voices, Pop cultural references and humor that'll be dated in five years) but instead, the creators of the movie try their best to make this film as sincere as possible, so that twenty years from now, this movie will still be contemporary (sort of). The parts with Snoopy are always the funniest (his Red Baron fantasy sequences kill me every time they play) And they have actual kids playing the Peanuts, instead of casting celebrities like Kevin Hart or George Lopez. As timeless as it is, however, you can tell some of the humor is very dated. Kids today aren't gonna understand the humor intended for the older Peanuts fans, but it's still pretty solid as a movie.
8. Tomorrowland
This movie is the underrated gem of 2015. I don't know what it is about this movie, but I just can't help liking this movie. The story is about Casey, a young dreamer who wants to change the world. Later, she discovers a pin that shows her a Utopian-like civilization. being the dreamer she is, she stops at nothing to find this mysterious place. I feel like if this if this movie was placed in January, it would've made more money that it did, and therefore, would qualify for a sequel. Too bad that never happened.
7. Unfriended
Less is more, and that couldn't be any more true for this movie, and boy, did it pay off. At first glance, this movie seems like the typical Ouija and The gallows crap, it's actually a very creative film. The whole movie takes place inside a girl's laptop, but the way they incorporate social media to forward the story is pretty damn creative.
6. The Revenant
If Leo doesn't win an Oscar with this, then we know he never will. In The Revenant (Based on true events), Leo brings his A-game as he plays Hugh Glass, an explorer hellbent on revenge against a former ally who killed his son and left him for dead in the wilderness. You know how Matt McConaughey won the Oscar last year for Dallas Buyers Club because he just fully committed to the role by transforming into the character mentally and physically? Leo does the same thing here, but in his own way.
5. Crimson Peak
This movie is beautiful beyond beautiful. Being a Guillermo Del Toro movie, of course it would be visually astonishing. This is your typical old fashioned ghost story. Young bride moves in with her husband only to discover that something is very, very off about the house. She does some snooping around to discover that the house is indeed haunted. It's typical, but the artistic choices they made for the movie are just mesmerizing. It's like Bram Stroker meets Fairy Tales, and speaking of Fairy Tale...
4. Cinderella
Disney's live action fairy tale remakes finally got it right with their newest film Cinderella, the reimagining of their beloved classic. The previous Disney remakes have all ranged from bad to mediocre. Cinderella, however, does something none of these remakes do. Stick to the original, and boy, does it pay off. There had to be some updates, of course, to make sure this film fits into our post-feminist world. Cinderella had to be more active and independent than her original version, They justify why the stepmother is the way she is, and they even explain why she is called Cinderella in a very clever way. Everything else is good too. The visuals, the costumes (Sandy Powell made them, obviously) the sets. It's not all CGI like the other live action Disney movies, they use real sets and locations. Now that Disney has proven their Live Action fairy tales can succeed critically, nothing won't stop them now.
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Boy howdy, did they up the ante with this film. The first Avengers movie was already a critically and commercially acclaimed film, so the bar was set pretty high for the sequel, but not only did it surpass the original, it also managed to set an even higher bar for Infinity Wars. All the avengers return, of course, and they also introduce new characters, such as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who I'm pretty sure were supposed to be in the X-Men. (And B.T.W, Elizabeth Olson is definitely the talented Olsen) But the real breakout star of the film is Ultron himself. He's Who knew robots were so charismatic. A Mystery Avenger shows up near the end of the film, but I don't really understand why. But all in all, this movie was fantastic.
2. Inside Out
Pixar finally got it's groove back with this movie. After Toy Story 3, they turned out some pretty mediocre films, Except for Cars 2, of course, which sucked. But as Disney Animation was turning out products better than their's, (Tangled, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen) they knew they had to up their game, and Inside Out was born, which is honestly one of the most original film to come out of Pixar in a long time. The story is simple. What does the inside of your head look like? Well, in Inside Out, we see the different emotions of an eleven year old girl named Riley struggling to work together as she moves to San Francisco. The emotions Joy and Sadness accidentally get sucked out of the control panel, and it's up to the other emotions (Fear, Disgust and Anger) to make sure Riley doesn't end up in danger. It's imaginative, heart felt and knows when it's appropriate for a sad scene, unlike that other Pixar film that came out this year.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2015 was a good year for Disney. They had just jumped off the heels of recent hits, such as Inside out, Avengers and Cinderella, (All of which are numbers 2,3, and 4 on this list) But this was the big one. Disney was given a huge responsibility when they announced that they were creating a seventh Star Wars movie. Fanboys everywhere gave a concerned glance when they found out the company responsible for Disney Princesses was adding to the Star Wars Saga. Disney had already proven itself worthy of creating action flicks, with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and an entire storage of Marvel films, but this was something bigger. Star Wars practically created the Space Opera genre. The original trilogy was so good, that George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars franchise himself, couldn't even give his own creation a decent follow up. The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith were all universally panned by critics and fans alike. Jar Jar Binks, anybody? Disney had a lot to prove.
I didn't really plan on seeing this movie, since I wasn't really a hardcore Star Wars fan, and the line for opening night was supposed to be long. However, I ended up seeing it, and ironically, on opening night, and my thoughts on it are this...Is it too late to join the Star Wars club? This is how you revive a popular franchise without botching it up, you hear me, Jurassic World? There are many things to like about this film, but the key element that really shine in this film is the presentation of the film itself. It somehow both a reboot and a sequel to the franchise. It's story elements heavily mirror A New Hope enough to be considered a reboot, but it still acknowledges the original, by setting the film thirty years after Return of the Jedi. I also liked the idea of there's another threat (The First Order) who wants to disturb peace in the galaxy once again, showing that nothing really ever ends happily ever after. Life goes on no matter what. The characters are also really fun. Kylo Ren is a great villain. Unlike Darth Maul, who was over hyped but rarely used in The Phantom Menace, Kylo Ren actually helps move the story forward. Rey was probably my favorite character in the whole film, and Finn was okay too. And just like the Cinderella movie, this film uses a lot of real filming locations rather than filming it on a green screen sound stage. They also use a lot of practical effects, rather than Jar-Jaring it up. I can't praise this movie enough.
Well, now that we've wrapped up 2015, let us all look forward to 2016 and the possibilities it may bring. Happy New Year, everybody!
6. The Revenant
If Leo doesn't win an Oscar with this, then we know he never will. In The Revenant (Based on true events), Leo brings his A-game as he plays Hugh Glass, an explorer hellbent on revenge against a former ally who killed his son and left him for dead in the wilderness. You know how Matt McConaughey won the Oscar last year for Dallas Buyers Club because he just fully committed to the role by transforming into the character mentally and physically? Leo does the same thing here, but in his own way.
5. Crimson Peak
This movie is beautiful beyond beautiful. Being a Guillermo Del Toro movie, of course it would be visually astonishing. This is your typical old fashioned ghost story. Young bride moves in with her husband only to discover that something is very, very off about the house. She does some snooping around to discover that the house is indeed haunted. It's typical, but the artistic choices they made for the movie are just mesmerizing. It's like Bram Stroker meets Fairy Tales, and speaking of Fairy Tale...
4. Cinderella
Disney's live action fairy tale remakes finally got it right with their newest film Cinderella, the reimagining of their beloved classic. The previous Disney remakes have all ranged from bad to mediocre. Cinderella, however, does something none of these remakes do. Stick to the original, and boy, does it pay off. There had to be some updates, of course, to make sure this film fits into our post-feminist world. Cinderella had to be more active and independent than her original version, They justify why the stepmother is the way she is, and they even explain why she is called Cinderella in a very clever way. Everything else is good too. The visuals, the costumes (Sandy Powell made them, obviously) the sets. It's not all CGI like the other live action Disney movies, they use real sets and locations. Now that Disney has proven their Live Action fairy tales can succeed critically, nothing won't stop them now.
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Boy howdy, did they up the ante with this film. The first Avengers movie was already a critically and commercially acclaimed film, so the bar was set pretty high for the sequel, but not only did it surpass the original, it also managed to set an even higher bar for Infinity Wars. All the avengers return, of course, and they also introduce new characters, such as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who I'm pretty sure were supposed to be in the X-Men. (And B.T.W, Elizabeth Olson is definitely the talented Olsen) But the real breakout star of the film is Ultron himself. He's Who knew robots were so charismatic. A Mystery Avenger shows up near the end of the film, but I don't really understand why. But all in all, this movie was fantastic.
2. Inside Out
Pixar finally got it's groove back with this movie. After Toy Story 3, they turned out some pretty mediocre films, Except for Cars 2, of course, which sucked. But as Disney Animation was turning out products better than their's, (Tangled, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen) they knew they had to up their game, and Inside Out was born, which is honestly one of the most original film to come out of Pixar in a long time. The story is simple. What does the inside of your head look like? Well, in Inside Out, we see the different emotions of an eleven year old girl named Riley struggling to work together as she moves to San Francisco. The emotions Joy and Sadness accidentally get sucked out of the control panel, and it's up to the other emotions (Fear, Disgust and Anger) to make sure Riley doesn't end up in danger. It's imaginative, heart felt and knows when it's appropriate for a sad scene, unlike that other Pixar film that came out this year.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2015 was a good year for Disney. They had just jumped off the heels of recent hits, such as Inside out, Avengers and Cinderella, (All of which are numbers 2,3, and 4 on this list) But this was the big one. Disney was given a huge responsibility when they announced that they were creating a seventh Star Wars movie. Fanboys everywhere gave a concerned glance when they found out the company responsible for Disney Princesses was adding to the Star Wars Saga. Disney had already proven itself worthy of creating action flicks, with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and an entire storage of Marvel films, but this was something bigger. Star Wars practically created the Space Opera genre. The original trilogy was so good, that George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars franchise himself, couldn't even give his own creation a decent follow up. The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith were all universally panned by critics and fans alike. Jar Jar Binks, anybody? Disney had a lot to prove.
I didn't really plan on seeing this movie, since I wasn't really a hardcore Star Wars fan, and the line for opening night was supposed to be long. However, I ended up seeing it, and ironically, on opening night, and my thoughts on it are this...Is it too late to join the Star Wars club? This is how you revive a popular franchise without botching it up, you hear me, Jurassic World? There are many things to like about this film, but the key element that really shine in this film is the presentation of the film itself. It somehow both a reboot and a sequel to the franchise. It's story elements heavily mirror A New Hope enough to be considered a reboot, but it still acknowledges the original, by setting the film thirty years after Return of the Jedi. I also liked the idea of there's another threat (The First Order) who wants to disturb peace in the galaxy once again, showing that nothing really ever ends happily ever after. Life goes on no matter what. The characters are also really fun. Kylo Ren is a great villain. Unlike Darth Maul, who was over hyped but rarely used in The Phantom Menace, Kylo Ren actually helps move the story forward. Rey was probably my favorite character in the whole film, and Finn was okay too. And just like the Cinderella movie, this film uses a lot of real filming locations rather than filming it on a green screen sound stage. They also use a lot of practical effects, rather than Jar-Jaring it up. I can't praise this movie enough.
Well, now that we've wrapped up 2015, let us all look forward to 2016 and the possibilities it may bring. Happy New Year, everybody!
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