Top 20 Movies of 2015

For 2015, unlike the previous years, I didn’t make a first-half and second-half lists for best movies of the year.  Instead, I decided that, starting with 2015 films, I would do something new for my annual movie lists.

Throughout the year, I would immediately write a short review after watching a movie – thus, I could present my two cents’ worth on that movie fresh.  That’s why, if you noticed, the amount of blog posts I wrote in 2015 is more than double than what I wrote in 2014.   It’s because I wrote a blog post for every movie I’ve watched in 2015.  (Click here for all the movies I’ve watched and reviewed in 2015.)

I would then only have to assemble a single list – a Top 20 list – once the year is over.   And I’m satisfied with this new arrangement.  Since my thoughts for all the movies I watched are already available, it’s much easier for me to weigh-in, pick, and rank the movies.

Moreover, for the first time, I feel that I’ve watched all the movies I wanted to watch in 2015, thus, I don’t think there’s a need to make a follow-up list in February (like what I did last year for 2014 movies).  I think this list is pretty much complete and final already.

So here are my picks for the top 20 movies of 2015, with excerpts from the respective reviews I wrote.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Revenant, Shaun the Sheep, Spring, Straight Outta Compton, Advantageous, White God, The Good Dinosaur, Heneral Luna 

20.) EX MACHINA

“Ex Machina is a superb, fresh, insightful, disturbing, and gripping science fiction psycho-thriller straight out of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror.”

'Boruto: Naruto the Movie' Renewed My Enthusiasm for the Franchise

It’s already 2016 (Jan. 1) as I write this review, but Boruto: Naruto the Movie is the last movie I’ve watched in 2015 – watched it during New Years’ Eve.  So this is still filed and reviewed as a 2015 movie – this should be the last one.

Coming into this movie, I was intrigued, but I wasn’t particularly excited about it.  I used to extremely adore the Naruto property, but I was much dismayed by its messy last arc that I was no longer as enthusiastic about it as much as I had been before.  So with Boruto (will just mention the movie as such for the rest of this article), yes, I was intrigued, but only to the extent of my desire to know more of the new post-time skip status quo that the manga’s epilogue and the mini-series Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Seventh Spring had introduced.

Tom Hardy and Tom Hardy Enthrall in 'Legend'

Legend is a film adaptation of The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson.  Based on real life events, the movie is about the rise and fall of the Kray Twins – who, at the peak of their notorious careers, had controled a large part of London’s criminal underworld.  Tom Hardy plays the roles of both Ronald "Ronnie" Kray and Reginald "Reggie" Kray.

I had been meaning to watch this movie for one reason alone: Tom Hardy’s double performance.  And just as I hoped, he knocked it out of the park.  He was almost as fantastic as Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany in distinctively and strongly portraying his respective characters, and in flawlessly conducting the interactions between them.  This aspect is easily the most thrilling part of this movie.

However, as a crime thriller, it’s not so thrilling at all.  Though it does have the ingredients to become a genuinely great one – most important of all is Hardy’s participation – the narrative isn’t able to use them in making something remarkable.

Legend just doesn’t live up to its name.  It’s an okay movie at best, but out of Hardy’s enthralling performance – performances – it has nothing notable to offer.

'Spotlight' Is My Bet For "Best Picture" in the 88th Academy Awards

Spotlight tells the true story of the “Spotlight” team – The Boston Globe’s prolific and renowned investigative reporting team – which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the work they had on exposing the wide-spread child abuse practices by pedophile Roman Catholic priests and the decades-long cover up done by the high levels of the Roman Catholic Church.  I’ve seen a few “based on a true story” movies lately, and Spotlight is by far the most realistic and relevant.

Spotlight is an absorbing, thought-provoking, fact-driven story that favorably displays investigative journalism without romanticizing it.  It’s also unflinching in delivering the lurid details of the scandal it is covering.  Others might deem this movie as an “attack” on faith, but it’s not.  It condemns the rotten system that allows such shockingly disgusting practice to thrive and go unpunished, but it doesn’t gratuitously disrespect any matters of faith.  The narrative unfolded in a consistently riveting and objective manner, as if it’s merely “reporting” what had happened.

Directed impeccably by Tom McCarthy, and with all-around stellar performances from its ensemble cast (Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and John Slattery), Spotlight is, hands down, the most fascinating drama that I’ve seen in 2015.  In fact, it’s my bet for next year’s Academy Awards.  I hope it wins “Best Picture”, at least.

Will Smith Carries 'Concussion' With His Magnetic Performance (and Nigerian Accent)

Based on a true story, Concussion stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after performing the autopsy of former NFL player Mike Webster.  The movie tells Omalu’s crusade in bringing awareness to CTE, the persecution he received from the National Football League – which tried to suppress his findings and discredit him – and his eventual vindication.  It’s an informative film that will have an impact on our perception of the sport of American Football.

Will Smith returns to form as a dramatic actor.  He proves in this movie that he still has the charm, screen presence, and acting chops that had made him an Academy Award nominee years ago.  His performance is definitely the best thing about this movie.

Concussion has a strong, intriguing message.  But at some point during the movie, it felt like that preaching this message has overtaken its desire to present a good story.  In my opinion, the message would have been more emphatic if the storytelling had been done more impressively.

There were a few times it started becoming tedious and almost lost me.  Thankfully, again, Will Smith is in this movie.  His magnetic portrayal of Dr. Omalu – complete with an endearing, believable Nigerian accent – is what primarily kept me glued on till the end.

It's Preferable to Watch the Anime Series First Before Watching 'Beyond the Boundary the Movie: I'll Be Here'

Beyond the Boundary the Movie: I’ll Be Here is a sequel to the anime series, Beyond the Boundary (Kyōkai no Kanata in Japanese).  The film is a two-part production.  The first part, Kako-hen (“The Past” in English), summarizes the events of the 12-episode series; and the second part, Mirai-hen (“The Future”), is an original, follow-up story to the series.

I haven’t watched the Beyond the Boundary anime series, so I wasn’t familiar what it’s all about.  But Kako-hen is supposed to help me with that.  Unfortunately, it’s not a movie retelling of the story of the anime series.  It was simply scenes from episodes spliced together.  Beyond the Boundary is a pretty complicated anime, and a badly edited abridgment won’t do an effective job in presenting the anime’s layers and appeal fully.  Thus, I had a hard time understanding and getting invested on its plot and characters.  Nonetheless, it gave me some idea of its premise.  But I didn’t really enjoy it.

The second part, Mirai-hen, is set a year after the end of the anime series.  As what I got from Kako-hen, the series had a happy ending.  But it’s later revealed in Mirai-hen that the “happy ending” wasn’t really quite that happy.

I liked Mirai-hen significantly better than Kako-hen, primarily because the narrative is more coherent since it’s a legitimate film and not a faux film consisting of a mosaic of the series’ episodes.  Thus, without being distracted and confused by bad editing, I was able to notice and appreciate Beyond the Boundary’s merits.

First of all, it’s visually appealing.   The way magic and action scenes are animated is strikingly beautiful.  The lighting and transition of colors are artistically executed.  If anything else, Beyond the Boundary is delicious to watch.

Second, the worldbuilding is charmingly complicated.  Beyond the Boundary’s world is that of secret dimensions, magic, demon creatures, and demon hunters.  And most satisfyingly, the narrative doesn’t spoon feed its audience too much to explain everything, but respects them enough to let them figure them out on their own by watching.

Third, the romance between the two main characters is interestingly complicated as well.  Yes, it gets too melodramatic for my tastes at times, but it develops quite satisfactorily in general.

And fourth, the movie has a thoughtful theme.  It begs the question, “Is it truly right to keep someone from knowing the truth in order to protect her from pain?”  The movie involves amnesia, and it’s a plot device that has been done to death.  However, I thought it was used wonderfully in this case.

I find Beyond the Boundary somewhat of original.  It has some elements that will delightfully surprise even avid anime fans who are already familiar with every anime trope out there.  That said, I can’t truly say that I get to love this anime.  Again, I haven’t watched the anime series, and I believe to truly savor Beyond the Boundary, watching the two-part movie alone – like I did – will never be enough.  By only watching Beyond the Boundary the Movie: I’ll Be Here, I’ve probably only scratched the surface of the anime’s true worth.

DiCaprio Captivates in 'The Revenant', a Gritty Tale About Revenge and Survival

This film adaptation of Michael Punke’s novel of the same name depicts Leonardo DiCaprio as the historical frontiersman Hugh Glass.  It’s a fictional account of a notable episode from Glass’ life, wherein he was abandoned to die by his expedition companions after being brutally mauled by a bear, of which he recovered from due to his tenacity and survival skills.  In the movie, he is primarily driven by vengeance, as his half-Native American son is murdered by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) before leaving him for dead in a shallow grave.

The Revenant is an adventure film, a revenge film, and a historical film all at the same time.  It’s a gripping drama that illustrates human nature’s visceral will for survival and moral depravity when exposed in a harsh, savage environment.  It has a long run-time and yet it’s so enthralling even at the slow parts that it never has a boring moment in it.

Moreover, it is a visually stunning movie.  The bear mauling scene alone is so amazingly realistic that it’s terrifyingly cringe-worthy.  The camera shots are beautiful, as it wonderfully captures the grandeur and grittiness of its backwoods setting.  Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu did a heluva job in giving a fitting cinematic look to the movie’s immersive and gritty script.

As usual, Leonardo DiCaprio is phenomenal in this movie.   He was thoroughly invested in his role, and he totally engages the audience to be invested on his character as well.  Unfortunately, he probably still won’t win an Oscar with this though.

In summary, The Revenant is another well-crafted movie from the competent hands of Iñárritu, and features another captivating performance from DiCaprio.  Indeed, it’s definitely worth checking out. 

'The Hateful Eight' Is Another Tarantino Masterwork

The Hateful Eight is intentionally introduced as “the 8^th film by Quentin Tarantino.”  But if you check his filmography, the movies he’s credited of being both director and writer of – meaning the project is fully his – are nine.  Now, which of those doesn’t count?  Are Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 counted as “one” movie?  Does the Death Proof segment in Grindhouse not count?  It’s confusing.

Set in Wyoming a few years after the Civil War, The Hateful Eight tells the story of eight strangers – nicknamed “The Bounty Hunter”, “The Hangman”, “The Prisoner”, “The Sheriff”, “The Mexican”, “The Little Man”, “The Cow Puncher”, and “The Confederate” – who find themselves stuck with each other in a stagecoach stopover due to a blizzard.

The movie is as well-written and well-directed as one would expect from a Quentin Tarantino film.  However, it isn’t quite there with his best films.  Personally, I believe Django Unchain was a far more better Western.  If I’m going to rank Tarantino’s films, The Hateful Eight will probably be second to the last (or third to the last, if Death Proof is included).  But that’s not really a bad thing, for all of Tarantino’s films are pretty good.  The Hateful Eight might not be as good as most of them, but it’s still a great movie on its own – definitely one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.

The first half of the movie consists of talk-heavy scenes.  But it’s never boring at all.  Tarantino is known to be one of the greatest writers of dialogue there are.  Thus, even when a scene only involves characters talking for a lengthy time, it’s still very captivating and entertaining.  The dialogue-driven scenes in the first half of The Hateful Eight thoroughly flesh out the characters – revealing their personalities and motivations – and brilliantly build the whodunit set-up for the rest of the movie.

Yep, The Hateful Eight is a Western, but it’s more of a whodunit mystery in a Western setting.  Yes, guns are fired in this movie, but not the kind of action-packed gunfights that Django Unchained has.  When this movie was first announced, based on its title, I was expecting it to be a Magnificent Seven with Tarantino’s touch; I presumed that it’s going to be about a ragtag band of misfits who loathed each other but are forced by a circumstance to band together.  It didn’t turn out like that – and I have a slight disappointment about it – but it’s still happens to be a very interesting tale nonetheless, plenty of twists and cool moments.  And it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t get violent and bloody – it does, of course.  This is a Tarantino film after all.

In summary, as an overall product – with the script, production, and incorporation of old-fashioned cinema techniques and elements – The Hateful Eight is a further testament that not only is Quentin Tarantino a master filmmaker, but a passionate scholar of the craft as well.

Miscellaneous musings – with SPOILERS:

• Early in the movie, Tim Roth’s character, “The Little Man”, reminded me of Christoph Waltz’s character in Django Unchained, Dr. King Schultz. For a while there, I even thought Roth was Waltz.
• Actually, this movie would have been more appropriately titled as “The Hateful Nine.”  Yes, the ninth man being O.B. Jackson, the Stagecoach Driver.  He was more than a supplementary character in the story.  In fact, he even outlasted one of the “Eight” for a couple of minutes – “The Confederate” died before O.B.  did.  O.B.’s exclusion kind of bugged me.
• I knew that Channing Tatum was cast in this movie, so I was a bit confused at first why he wasn’t part of the “Hateful Eight.”  But I realized that this movie doesn’t necessarily need to just have eight characters.  And I was right, Channing’s character turned up in the second half of the movie.  And the sudden appearance of his character was a nice twist.
• I was hoping that there would be an intense Mexican stand-off scene involving three or more parties.  But that didn’t happen.  When they point guns at each other, it’s either between two groups or just two individuals.
• I would love to see Leonardo DiCaprio back in a Tarantino film.  Maybe as the hero this time. 

Spielberg Crafts a Cerebral and Touching Cold War Drama in 'Bridge of Spies'

Bridge of Spies is a historical spy thriller based on the real-life Cold War incident wherein lawyer John B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) negotiated the exchange of Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) – an American spy plane pilot who got shot down and captured within Soviet territory – for Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) – a KGB agent caught, tried, convicted, and imprisoned by the US government.  The movie covers the events of Abel’s arrest; his trial, in which Donovan was assigned as his defense lawyer; how Donovan convinced the involved governments to agree on an exchange; and the carrying out of the exchange on Glienicke Bridge.

Steven Spielberg helmed Bridge of Spies, and that’s enough reason to watch it.  As usual, at the hands of Spielberg’s masterful direction, the movie flows with comfortable pacing and engaging narrative execution.  And he thoroughly brought out the best out of its competently written script – as to be expected from the Coen Brothers, who co-wrote this movie with Matt Charman.

I love the performances of Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance, and the characters they portray.  I don’t know how spot-on is the movie’s depiction of these men in comparison with their real-life counterparts, but I find Bridge of Spies’ versions of John B. Donovan and Rudolf Abel extremely likable.  I can’t help but admire Donovan’s resolve, integrity, confidence, and negotiation skills – he reminded me of Captain Picard.  Meanwhile, Abel is endearing for his dedication, calm tenacity, and amazing emotional control – reminding us the fact that if a particular negative emotion (e.g. worry, alarm, fear) can’t help in bettering a bad situation anyway, then there’s no use feeling it.

I really liked this movie.  However, I have to admit that I didn’t love it as much as the fun, romanticized spy movies – Kingsman and Mission Impossible – of 2015.  But though such is my personal preference, I nonetheless heartily welcome down-to-earth, cerebral spy movies like Bridge of Spies, and I wish Hollywood would make more of them.

In the end, Bridge of Spies succeeds in being sophisticated and touching as a drama, and stimulating and suspenseful as a thriller.  And Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have surely another classic under their belts with this movie.  Every award nomination it will receive is well-earned. 

'In the Heart of the Sea' Bored Me as Much as 'Moby-Dick'

I love classic literature.  There was even a period of my life in which I mostly read and collect classic literature.  But there is one of these novels that I admit I can’t seem to like at all: Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville.  It’s an iconic story and is considered a Great American Novel, but I really find the book itself to be boring.  I didn’t even finish it.  Either I’m not sophisticated enough to enjoy it, or it’s really a pretentious novel, as I believe it is.  I’d rather struggle through Shakespeare than read Moby-Dick (at least, with Shakespearean literature, it’s pretty rewarding once you finally grasp it).

In the Heart of the Sea is an adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick, which is about the real-life incident that inspired Melville to write Moby-Dick.  The movie tells the story of the crew of the whaling ship Essex as they undergo a horrific voyage for survival after their ship is sunk by a colossal, vengeful white sperm whale and are left adrift in the ocean.

I personally find In the Heart of the Sea as pretentious as Moby-Dick.  It aspires to be profound and epic, and it does have the potential to be so, but the execution felt really messy.  The characters are so dull and infuriating that I wished the whale killed them all.  And though there were moments and aspects that I liked – especially when the whales are around – these were quite few and weren’t stressed enough.  I was yawning all throughout this movie.

In the Heart of the Sea is a forgettable, insipid movie that fails in achieving the heights it was obviously aiming for. 

Second-Part of ‘Attack on Titan’ Live-Action Movie Is Garbage, Too

Part 1 was garbage.  Now, I was not expecting Part 2, Attack on Titan: End of the World, to be something tremendously better, but I was hoping it’s going to be a tad more tolerable since, being the second one, I knew already what I would be getting.

So how did I find it?

That sums it up.  Going more in-depth on how atrocious and godawful it is is just not worth it.    

(It isn’t as terrible as Fan4stic, though, I’ll give it that.)

‘Creed’ Sees Stallone Pass the Torch to Jordan

Set a couple of years after the events of 2006’s Rocky Balboa, the seventh Rocky movie, Creed serves as both a spin-off and a sequel (a sort of “Rocky VII”).  It follows Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), the illegitimate son of legendary boxer Apollo Creed, as he seeks to make a name for himself in professional boxing without riding on the reputation of his father.  To achieve his dreams, he moves to Philadelphia and solicits the tutelage of his father’s chief rival and close friend, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).  After receiving the opportunity to have a world championship bout, Donnie must learn to embrace, not only his father’s name, but the fact that he is indeed his father’s son.

This spin-off isn’t merely some opportunistic cash-grab project of banking on the nostalgic appeal and reputation of a famous movie property.  Purpose and thought are behind making this movie.  It has a legitimate story, and there’s serious effort put in its production.

If you love the Rocky movies, you will surely love Creed.  It’s always nice to see Rocky Balboa, one of the most iconic movie characters ever, on the big screen again, even if he’s relegated to a supporting role.  But as itself, Creed is a genuinely terrific film – one of the year’s best.  In fact, among all other Rocky films, it probably has the most depth since the first movie.  It’s a compelling drama fueled by the amazing performances of Stallone and Jordan.  This is definitely Stallone’s best in ages, and, by starring in this, Jordan can be forgiven of taking part in the tremendously godawful Fant4stic movie.

Creed is worthy to become as much of a classic as Rocky.  And I hope a few sequels will get made.  The movie is a perfect “passing of the torch” between Stallone and Jordan, and I would certainly love to see more of Adonis Creed carrying the legacy of Rocky Balboa on the big screen.

‘The Peanuts Movie’ Had Me Constantly Smiling in Delight

I love Peanuts.  It’s one of my most favorite comic strips ever.  I have been collecting its compilation paperbacks since I was a kid, and enjoy reading them till this day.  Thus, The Peanuts Movie had been significantly on my radar among 2015 movies.  It was something I was anxious about, since I would hate it to be bad.  Thankfully, this movie is extremely delightful.

The Peanuts Movie follows Charlie Brown’s pursuit to win the admiration of the new kid, the Little Red-Haired Girl, whom he develops a crush on.  Meanwhile, after stumbling on a discarded typewriter, Snoopy begins writing a novel, imagining himself as a World War I pilot named “The Flying Ace”, who is locked on a feud with his mortal nemesis, the Red Baron, while also attempting to win the heart of Fifi, a pretty poodle pilot.

The Peanuts Movie is a very well-made animated movie.  The animation style is beautiful and commendably appropriate.  The gags are clever and hilarious.  And the warm and charming script really hits the spot.

Most importantly, the movie totally nailed the essence and characteristics of Peanuts.  It richly references the themes, tropes, and sketches of the comic strips and classic cartoons.  The characters are perfectly depicted.  And it is indeed as thoughtful, tender, funny, and amiable as what Peanuts has been known and beloved for.

Now, I don’t mean to imply that The Peanuts Movie is all nostalgic appeal.  What I mean in the last paragraph is that Peanuts is timeless, and the movie has successfully captured its timelessness.

In many ways, The Peanuts Movie effectively encompasses what Peanuts is all about.  I won’t say that it’s the best Peanuts film – that would probably forever be A Charlie Brown Christmas – but it’s probably the best medium in comprehensively summing Peanuts up.

I had a wonderful time with The Peanuts Movie, and it had me constantly smiling all throughout.  Next to Inside Out, this is my most favorite animated feature this year.    

'Sicario' Tells a Fascinating Tale About the War on Drugs

Sicario is an action thriller about by-the-book FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) who is recruited by the mysterious government agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to join a covert task force, spearheaded by the grim and shady Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), that conducts questionable clandestine operations in the US-Mexico border for the sake of the escalating war on the drugs.  As Macer struggles with the ethics of the team’s methods, Alejandro and Graver are set on bringing down the brutal leader of a notorious Mexican drug cartel no matter what it takes.

Powered by the excellent performances of its cast – notably Blunt, del Toro, and Brolin – Sicario tells an immensely gripping and thought-provoking story. And the movie’s outstanding technical aspects – splendid cinematography, superb editing, and compelling direction – further enhance the draw of this movie.  It has no dull moments.  I was completely transfixed on it right from the opening till closing.

Sicario is an all-around fascinating movie.  It’s weighty and bracing in substance, and competent and engaging in form.  Now, I won’t be going more in depth than what I’ve written already, but let me assure you that Sicario is easily one of the best films of 2015.

'Barely Lethal' Is Enjoyable... Just Barely

After watching its trailer, I immediately knew that Barely Lethal isn’t going to be extraordinary.  It’s an insignificant movie destined to be forgotten.  And yet there was something about it that made me strangely want to see it.  And I did.

Barely Lethal tells the story of Agent 83 (Hailee Steinfeld), a teenage girl raised and trained to be an elite secret agent who goes AWOL so that she can live her dream of being a regular high schooler.  She adopts the identity of Megan Walsh and takes on the role of an exchange student from Canada.  With her understanding of teen culture limited to what she got from reading magazines like Teen World, and watching movies like Mean Girls and TV shows like Beverly Hills, 90210, Megan will discover that wading through the waters of a typical American high school setting is much more treacherous than the world of espionage.

The movie is exactly what was expected – unremarkable, predictable, and dumb.  But recognizing and accepting what it is, and not asking for more, I got to have enjoyment from it.  The script makes fun of teen movie clichés but succumbs to them at the same time.  I find that both a win and a fail – but amusing either way.

Barely Lethal is pretty vapid.  But it has enough to be an entertaining “popcorn flick.”  There are jokes that are genuinely funny, the characters are one-dimensional but likeable, the plot is mediocre but has streaks of wittiness, and the action is satisfactory.

It’s far from being an overlooked movie that needs to be checked out, but it’s definitely one of the better second-rate indie movies of 2015. 

As Expected, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Is the Best Movie of 2015

Finally, after a long time of waiting, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally upon us!

Ever since Disney acquired Lucasfilms and an Episode 7 was announced, I had been greatly looking forward to this movie.  In fact, understandably, this is the movie that I’ve been hyped the most of watching this 2015.  It is, like, the “Holy Grail” of movies.  And I’m quite sure I’m not the only one who feels this way.

As I expected, this movie indeed gets my nod for best movie of the year.  It’s the greatest movie theater experience I’ve had since 2012’s Avengers.  It’s truly pretty epic!

But to be honest, I’m “high” on this movie right now.  There’s always the chance that any objectivity for evaluation is being intensely compromised by my passionate geek fondness for Star Wars, that if I let my emotions settle down, I might find this movie not as great as I thought it is after watching it for the first time.  Many years ago, I was quite fond of Episode I and Episode II for a while, and thought of them as great movies, as if I was being obliged by my fandom for Star Wars to like them and consider them “great movies.”  But after some time, I finally fully realized that they weren’t as good as I had believed they were (btw, I actually consider Episode III a flawed but good movie).  So there’s probably a need for me to rewatch this movie a couple of times before I can be completely definite in what I think of it.  Nevertheless, that said, I’m utterly certain that I won’t be retracting my initial evaluation of recognizing it as “great movie.”  Even if I eventually find it lesser than my initial thought of it, it’s unlikely that the decline would be radically significant.

Thus, no matter what, I can confidently pick Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the best movie of 2015.  There’s no other movie this 2015 that I had more enjoyment with, and with the year almost ever, it’s extremely unlikely for me to encounter another movie that I might deem superior.

This movie deserves to be watched without knowing anything about it (but, of course, it’s preferable to have some familiarity with at least the original trilogy) so I won’t give too much detail about the plot in this review (however, I have some assorted spoiler-y thoughts in the miscellaneous musings below).  Here are some mild details which I think is safe to provide without really spoiling anything:

• The movie is set 30 years after Episode 6.
• The Rebel Alliance has become the Resistance, while the remnants of the Empire have become the First Order.  The two are at war.      
• The old characters are around, but the new trio of heroes are Ray, Finn, and Poe Dameron.
• Kylo Ren is the main villain. 
• BB-8 is adorable.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is immensely thrilling, fun, and spectacular.  As a film production, it’s very praiseworthy – kudos to J.J. Abrams for masterfully helming this movie.  There are a lot of beautiful shots; the cinematography is immaculate.  The visual effects are amazing, and so are the sound effects.  The score is stirring as expected.  The action scenes are exciting, while the dramatic scenes are powerful.  The pacing does not drag, but flows in a smooth and riveting manner.  The characters are terrific, and the performances by their respective actors are terrific as well.  Also, it has a healthy amount of humor, objectively making it the funniest Star Wars movie ever.

But though Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an overall awesome film, it isn’t perfect either.  There are some noticeable flaws, and I wasn’t as awestruck and mindblown as I wanted to be.  Furthermore, I feel that there are too many parallels with the original Star Wars movie (i.e. A New Hope).  But the negative points that I find in this film are very minimal.  They didn’t derail the movie for me.  This movie is so awesome that they didn’t matter.

All in all, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a glorious success in reviving the franchise for more big screen triumphs.  It’s an emotionally gratifying movie experience.  And with this strong start, the likelihood of another beloved epic Star Wars trilogy happening is very, very promising.

Episode 8 can’t come soon enough!

Miscellaneous musings (with SPOILERS!!!): 

• I WANT A BB-8 FOR CHRISTMAS!
• Why are there only X-Wing Starfighters?  Where are the Y-, A-, and B-Wings?
• One of the great things about this movie was its trailers.  They were very well-made.  It avoided the problem with movie trailers nowadays: the tendency to give a comprehensive narrative summary – basically spoiling the entire movie’s plot.  Many times, movies have been made predictable due to its trailers.  Thankfully, the trailers for The Force Awakens didn’t do that.  They didn’t show too much.   They offered just enough to get us pumped, but the movie was still wrapped in mystery – there were plenty of room left for surprises.  Indeed, less is more.  
• The best aspect of the “less is more” marketing is the absence of Luke Skywalker in the posters, promotional art, and trailers.  It adds much intrigue to the movie.  Now, Luke Skywalker is indeed in The Force Awakens.  But the way the character is used is probably my biggest disappointment in the movie.  He only appeared in the last minute!  This means it’s only right that he wasn’t in any of the marketing materials since he basically didn’t have any significant presence in the movie.  I was hoping that the reason he wasn’t included in the trailers and promo art is because he’s going to have a very shocking function in the movie.  But it turns out that the reason of his omission was a pragmatic one (since he didn’t participate in the movie’s main narrative anyway) instead of a set up for a delightful surprise.  We have to wait for Episode 8 before we can really see Luke in action once again.
• Maybe the purpose of Luke’s absence is to put the focus on Han Solo.  He has a big part in this movie – a sort of “guide” for the new characters.  And Harrison Ford was terrific.      
• You can see the death of Han Solo coming a mile away.
• I’m sad that Luke and Han never got to reunite with each other.
• The actors that played Rama and Mad Dog in The Raid have small roles here.  Disappointingly, they aren’t involved in some kickass hand-to-hand combat sequence. 
• I find some fascination for Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux.  I like the “fascist” tone of the character.  I hope he’ll turn out being a thoroughly fascinating villain in the future.    
• Captain Phasma is an overhyped character.  She really didn’t have anything to do in The Force Awakens.  Maybe she’ll have a bigger role in Episode 8?
• Kylo Ren is fantastic.  He isn’t a poor man’s Darth Vader at all.  He has layers that are distinctive.  He has an intimidating presence, but he is also vulnerable.  He’s not only a great villain, but a multi-faceted character as well. 
• I found Kylo Ren’s radio-ey voice a bit distracting at first.  But it grew on me.  I eventually found it appealing.   
• It was heavily hinted that Kylo Ren is going to have a heel-face turn in the future.  I feel that such happening’s eventual.  But I don’t mind if ever I’m wrong.  If something unexpected happens to this character, then that’s great.  But if he indeed returns to the side of good, I hope the execution of such development will be done creatively and rivetingly.   I love well-told heel-face or face-heel turns.
• Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron is the “cool guy” character.  He’s supposed to be the best pilot of the Resistance.  And, thus, he has this confidence in him, but not in an a-holey kind of manner.  He’s oozing with likability.  He deserves to have a bigger role in Episode 8; I know there’s more that can be done with this character.
• As a defecting Stormtrooper, John Boyega’s Finn is a unique character.  His origin and struggle give him a distinctive depth.  He’s the type of character that you’ll go all out rooting for.  In addition, Boyega’s great comedic timing makes Finn a charmingly funny character.      
• I love Daisy Ridley’s Rey.  She’s on her way of becoming one of my most favorite fictional female characters.  I love that a female character is serving as the “Luke Skywalker” of this new trilogy.  And I will even argue that her character arc in Force Awakens is better than Luke’s in A New Hope.  Can’t wait to see her have her Return of the Jedi moment – where she’ll finally be a complete Jedi Master.   
• Another nice touch in the trailers and movie posters was the fact that Finn was portrayed holding a lightsaber while Rey wasn’t.  The effect is that the attention of the question “Who could be the new Jedi in The Force Awakens?” is put on Finn.  Now, it doesn’t truly neutralize the “guessability” of Rey’s real identity, but it’s still a clever “red herring” that should have given the eventual revelation a sense of surprise.  Unfortunately, though there’s no image of Rey with a lightsaber in the posters and trailers, there was however a promo art released (leaked?) of one.  It was obscure, but it was out there.  When The Force Awakens was still months away, that promo art was what gave me the idea that Rey is the “Luke Skywalker” of this new trilogy.  A minor bummer since it would have been tremendously better if they never released (leaked?) such promo art.     
• Daisy Ridley and John Boyega have landed their dream roles and savored every second of it.  This is very apparent in their respective performances.  The Force Awakens gave them the opportunity to show what they are capable of, and they delivered.  The future is bright for these young actors. 
• Grand Admiral Thrawn – who first appeared in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy of novels – is arguably the best character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe (which had been officially declared as non-canon after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilms).  I’m still hoping that he’ll make a big screen appearance in Episode 8 (or 9).

'Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie' Has Badass Action, a Riveting Mystery Story, and a Fascinating Sci-Fi World

The original 90’s Ghost in the Shell movie is an anime as well as a science fiction classic.  I liked it a lot.  But, to be honest, I didn’t quite love it.  I watched it for the first time around at the same time as Armitage III, which has some similarities, and for some reason, Armitage III appealed to me much more (that’s one reason why Naomi Armitage is in my list for top 10 androids but Ghost in the Shell’s Motoko Kusanagi isn’t).  It’s been a long time since I’ve last seen Ghost in the Shell, and it’s very possible that I missed something (might need to re-watch it for a re-appraisal).  But this is simply my feelings about the franchise coming into Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie: I liked the original movie, but I’m not really an invested fan.  That’s why aside from the original movie, I’ve never watched any other Ghost in the Shell anime – series or film – until this new movie.

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (kind of a dumb, weird title) is a continuation of the Ghost in the Shell: Arise series – which is a re-imagination of the original 90’s anime.  As already mentioned, I haven’t watched that series.  Thankfully, there’s no need to be familiar with Arise to enjoy and understand this movie, which follows Major Motoko Kusanagi and her Section 9 squad conducting an investigation of the assassination of the Japanese prime minister.

I was completely absorbed on it from start to finish.  It has great production value.  Its futuristic setting and technologies are very fascinating.  The plot is riveting and full of intrigue.  The characters are all interesting.  And, most notably, the action scenes are exhilaratingly badass.

Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is not as groundbreaking as the classic 90’s anime movie, but at its own, it’s still pretty amazing.  And actually, I think I might have enjoyed it more than the original (but, again, I need to re-watch it to be really sure).

'Pan' Is Probably the Most Insane and Most Ridiculous Movie I've Seen This Year... And I Love It!

Pan is intended to be a prequel to the classic Peter Pan story.  It explores the origin of Peter (Levi Miller), and how he, who spent the first twelve years of his life in a London orphanage, first came to Neverland.  One night, during a World War 2 air raid, Peter and other orphans are kidnapped by pirates and brought to Neverland to be enslaved in the mines of the ruthless Captain Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman).  He escapes the mine with the aid of a rogue named James Hook (Garrett Hedlund), and then later meets the warrior-princess Tiger Lilly (Rooney Mara).  With the help of his newfound friends, Peter sets himself on the path of embracing his identity and destiny in order to free Neverland from Blackbeard’s tyranny once and for all.

First and foremost, let’s get out of the way the fact that Pan is an all-around horrendous mess of a movie.  It’s a gratuitous prequel story with a badly-written and lazy script.  It’s overstuffed with CGI.  The characters are outlandish but insipid.  And the dialogue is silly.

Having a prequel story that has Peter Pan and Captain Hook start off as friends is already madness by itself.  But it was only during the part where the pirates broke into a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” song number – I kid you not! – that I understood that this movie was going to be crazier and more ridiculous than I was expecting it to be.  Indeed, this movie turned out to be brimming with acid-trip insanity.  And I loved it!  Pan is extremely crazy and ridiculous that it’s hilarious and entertaining!   It succeeds in achieving “so bad, that it’s good” status.

Jackman as Blackbeard and Hedlund as Hook hammed it up delightfully.  I don’t know if this was their purpose all along, or it was accidental.  Either way, they were so ridiculous that I had a lot of fun watching them on screen.  Rooney Mara is a great actress (she was awesome as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and deserves better than this kind of stuff; she was really putting effort in her portrayal of Tiger Lilly.  But it actually makes every scene with Tiger Lilly and Hook interesting – with Hedlund being as campy as he can be while Mara plays it straight.  There’s something greatly amusing about it.

Again, Pan is an objectively awful movie.  Of course, considering that the mythology of Peter Pan is a wonderful piece of fantasy (most past movies and cartoons about it were quite good), l probably prefer if it had been cleverer and more creative, and more thought had been put on it.  But turning out as bad as it is, by embracing its campiness and insanity, I still had enjoyment from Pan. 

By Opting to Distance Itself from Its Ludicrous (but Fun) Source Material, 'Jem and the Holograms' Ends Up Being Insufferably Bland

This movie was released way back in October, so it has been around for some time now that I’m very much aware that it’s one the most awful movies of the year.  Heck, right from the start – based on the trailers – I knew this movie was going to be a trainwreck.  Still, I watched it, thinking that I might still have enjoyment from it by making fun of how terrible it is.

As an adaptation of a beloved property, this movie is as worse as Fant4stic.  Aside from character names, this movie has nothing similar with the 80’s animated series.  Rather, the movie is basically a fictionalized adaptation of the rise of Justin Bieber.  And, yep, it’s just as insufferable as that sounds.

Honestly, I’m not much of a fan of the original Jem cartoon, but I’ve watched enough episodes to know what it’s all about.  It’s actually pretty ludicrous.  However, its ludicrous elements are what made it fun and notable.  So to make a live-action movie adaptation work, there’s the need to embrace the ludicrousness of the source material.  But the movie didn’t.  Hence, it ended up being stale and generic instead.

If the movie opted of using the original premise – music company owner Jerrica Benton secretly maintaining the alter-ego of Jem, the lead singer of the band “Jem and the Holograms”, by the use of a holographic computer called “Synergy” – instead of the Bieber-ian premise – teen singer Jerrica Benton becoming viral in Youtube, whose popularity exponentially increases to become a pop culture icon in a short amount of time – they used in the movie, even if the script was bad, the movie would have turned out being a thousand times better than what was made.

I also tried to take it as if it’s an “original” movie, without its source material as benchmark.  But it also didn’t work for me that way.  It felt like a desperate rip-off of Pitch Perfect.   No matter how we look at it, Jem and the Holograms is an epic failure.  It’s dull, corny, and pretentious.  Its one good joke was already spoiled by the trailer.  There are a few minutes of some catchy music (e.g. “Youngblood”), but it’s not good enough to make its soundtrack a legitimate redeeming quality.  It’s so bland that it even sucks the fun of lampooning its awfulness.

Watching Jem and the Holograms reminded me of the 2001 live-action movie adaptation of Josie and the Pussycats.  It wasn’t a great movie, but it actually had enjoyable elements and personality.  It had self-aware humor, the musical performances were done much more believably, and Tara Reid was hilarious as the dumbass Melody.  That movie is much, much more entertaining than Jem and the Holograms.

Despite Not Having Much Depth, 'The Intern' Is a Wonderful Feel-Good Movie

The Intern tells the story of a 70-year old widower named Ben Whitaker (Robert De Niro) who finds himself bored of the monotony and inactivity of retirement, and thus, applies and gets accepted to a senior citizen internship program of a successful online fashion site.  Possessing a positive attitude, experienced wisdom, and amiable personality, Ben wins over the admiration and fondness of his workmates, especially the company’s young CEO, Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), who finds Ben’s friendship a welcome addition to her hectic life.

This movie has a likable cast, particularly De Niro and Hathaway – the two have wonderful screen chemistry.  But I especially liked De Niro’s performance the most.  His character, Ben, is the epitome of a nice guy.  He’s the kind that would make you say, “Hey, I would like to be like him when I turn 70.”  The movie’s most appealing aspect is definitely how Ben Whitaker brightens the lives of the people he encounters.

The Intern is a perfect example of a feel-good movie.  It doesn’t really need to be too profound and substantial.  It just needs to be charming, heartwarming, and funny enough to give its audience a good, cozy, and tranquil feeling.  And The Intern succeeds with this objective perfectly.