Cookie's Cinematic Countdown: 15 of the Best Films from 2015 - Part 3
Within a matter of days, 2015 will be over. Bidding farewell to a cinematic year filled with promise, both fulfilling and disappointing, the state of the film industry seems bigger, better, and poised to bring us so much more within 2016. As we start our journey into another brilliant year of films, we say goodbye to a year that took man to space, girls overcome by strange illness, and we were all immortalised on the fury road - shiny and chrome.
With that in mind, here is a list of my favourite movies of 2015. Did your favourite make the list?
(Honourable Mentions: Far From The Madding Crowd, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and X+Y plus many that I didn’t catch this year but will venture into over the next couple of months. If I included them all, it would be never ending.)
5 - Steve Jobs
This movie was a flop but definitely didn’t deserve to be. After all, it is a remarkable and unique biopic that is pulled together by the strength of its performances. All the praise deserves to go to Steve Jobs as Danny Boyle’s epic masterpiece helped by a theatrical script by Andy Sorkin. Employing Michael Fassbender as the titular technical wizard, this is an exploration of the almost manic man who helped carve technologies future. With a succinct script brimming with rhythmical dialogue that showed impressive three act writing and directing by the Boyle and Sorkin double team, Steve Jobs was a fascinating insight into Jobs’ background.
4 - Song of The Sea
Animation was certainly at a high this year and continues to Tomm Moore’s original feast of colourful imagination. Bringing the magic of hand-drawn animation by enveloping glorious sweeping techniques, Song of the Sea is a family film with spirit, heart, and a great moral compass within. Bringing to life the tales Selkies, humans who can turn into seals due to the magic of the sea, the story sees Ben try to save his sister Soirise from forces trying to use her powers for evil. With miraculous imagery that captivates the essence of a child and daring to be completely original, Moore’s Song of the Sea is beyond spectacular. I dare you to see the spirituous sequence of ghosts and legends and not gasp in tears and goosebumps.
3 - Ex Machina
Alex Garland’s journey to prominent director is a fascinating one that is centred in the enthralling thematic exploration of artificial intelligence - Ex Machina. With just three main actors in a singular space, the film sees Caleb - a young programmer - who is invited to stay at his elusive boss Nathan’s house. But quickly into his arrival, it’s clear that he is there for nefarious reasons as he meets robot Ava and falls quickly in love with her. At the centre, Oscar Isaac, Domnhall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander all weightily act their parts in a wondrous way that is framed by Garland’s imagery as well as the technical brilliance of bringing Ava to life.
2 - The Voices
Wildly underappreciated this year, and solidifying Ryan Reynolds return to the acting life - The Voices was an imaginative but heart-wrenching look at a lowly factory worker and his battle with schizophrenia. Director Marjane Satrapi and writer Michael R. Perry glorious flesh out this film that could’ve wavered into exploitation but happily marries black comedy and emotional depth. With Reynolds delivering his best performance to date, The Voices is a marriage of a life enhanced by colour due to the unhinged mind of Jerry. Despite being underseen, The Voices is still an off-kilter treat that should be seen by all (it’s on Netflix, by the way folks).
1 - Macbeth
There were few movies that had me on the edge of my seat this year, wrapped up in the imagery, and drenched in these undeniably strong performances. Directed by Justin Kurzel, Macbeth was a poetic piece that so impeccable transformed Shakespeare’s best play onto the big screen with the cinematic conception it deserves. With the outstanding Michael Fassbender in the role he was born for, manically grinning as he intricately dances into insanity following a murder he committed, and Marion Cotillard’s equally powerful performance as the torn Lady Macabeth, this is the years finest. With the likes of Sean Harris and Paddy Considine populating the supporting cast and visuals so outstanding, they burn a redolent cinematic landscape that dances wildly in your dreams, Macbeth is proof that film can be an high-end art form and a succulent translation of the Bard’s impressive text, Macbeth was a fiery beast of a film that sinks its teeth into your skin and will never let go.