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Cookie's Cinematic Countdown: 15 of the Best Films from 2015

28/12/2015 08:22

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.)

15 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

There are a lot of issues with the latest Star Wars episode but they are small niggles that, if you looked back at the prior series, were problems that still existed. However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a superb treat for fans even if it did pay a little bit too much lip service to them. The story of a space epic that burned brilliant with a happy combination of old and new brought great generations in. The real reason it makes this list is the atmosphere within cinemas - the unison of families and people happily in glee over a film event again. It has been pure gold to watch and it helps that John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Daisy Ridley are spectacular as our new heroes.

14 - A Most Violent Year

Speaking of Oscar Isaac (and there might be quite a bit of that as Isaac has caused a stir over the past year with the amount of greatness he is in), he appears as the lead in excellent thriller A Most Violent Year. Skimmed out of the award season despite his utterly honest and trembling performance, Isaac leads an absorbing tense film alongside the exquisite Jessica Chastain as a business man rocked by both the police enforcers and the corruption of New York threatening his business. J.C. Chander’s delicate script handles a powerful character arc and two outstanding lead actors who were snubbed so unfairly during this year’s round of awards.

13 - John Wick

Woefully shown in the UK roughly six months after it aired in the US, John Wick promised so much and delivered it with a roundhouse kick to the face of awesome. Resurging Keanu Reeves career in the best way, John Wick told the story of a hitman seeking vengeance in the most guttural ways possible as he attacks the criminal underbelly of New York. With epic action sequences, well placed comedy, and some emotional scenes too, this was an action movie that towered over the rest (until May, at least) that taught the world that the last thing they should do is murder another man’s dog.

12 - The Martian

Ridley Scott has had years of terribly and misguided movies that it seemed his career was sorely flat-lining. However, adapting Andy Weir’s incredible book for the big screen this year showed him to be back in true form. With Matt Damon as the lead, the tale of one man’s plight, stranded on the inhabitable Mars was heavily laden with a humanistic nature that was witty and executed well by Damon’s award nominated performance. Damon will certainly be a dark horse come award season; his captivating journey as Mark Whatney was superb because he delivered an excellent humanity.

11- The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen within the film industry and this year was filled with many including Dope and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. But none more so than Marielle Heller’s excellent indie flick based on Phoebe Gloekner’s novel. Propelling Bel Powley into prominence, The Diary of a Teenage Girl revolves around a young artist who is having an affair with her mother’s boyfriend. Spell-binding, captivating and with this original voice that runs throughout, The Diary of a Teenage Girl was a rambunctious lesser seen film that should’ve been one of the most. Make sure you catch it when it comes out on DVD in January.