40 Movies for 2015

[Spritedude]

Movies 72/40

Italic/bold - First time viewing
Yellow - Watched in theaters (in 2015)

Rio 2 - 7/10
Taken 3 - 5/10
American Sniper - 8/10
Foxcatcher - 8/10
The Theory of Everything - 9/10
Edge of Tomorrow - 9/10
Godzilla (2014) - 9/10
Guardians of The Galaxy - 9.5/10
Project Almanac - 5.5/10
Jupiter Ascending - 6.5/10
Kingsman: The Secret Service - 10/10
The Interview - 6.5/10
The Fluffy Movie - 7/10
Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse - 6/10
The Fugitive - 8/10
Super - 7.5/10
Chappie - 7.5/10
Southern Comfort (2001) - 7/10
The Raid 2 - 9/10
Run All Night - 6.5/10
Snowpiercer - 9/10
Insurgent - 7/10
Still Alice - 8/10
Monty Python and The Holy Grail - 8/10
The Gunman - 5/10
Oldboy - 7/10
Furious 7 - 7.5/10
Ex Machina - 8.5/10
Avengers: Age of Ultron - 8.5/10
X-Men: Days of Future Past - 8/10
Mad Max: Fury Road - 10/10
Tommorowland - 7.5/10
San Andreas - 6/10
Jurassic World - 9/10
Monsters University - 7.5/10
Life of Pi - 9/10
The Incredibles - 10/10
Terminator Genisys - 7/10
Ant-Man - 8/10
Pixels - 4.5/10
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - 8/10
Dredd - 9/10
Fantastic Four (2015) - 2/10
The Gift - 7.5/10
Zombieland - 8.5/10
American Ultra - 8/10
The Thing (1982) - 9/10
No Escape - 6.5/10
The Iron Giant - 10/10
The Perfect Guy - 5/10
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - 6.5/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl - 8.5/10
The Fly (1986) - 8/10
The Martian - 9/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -7.5/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 7/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 6.5/10
Sphere - 5/10
What Dreams May Come - 7/10
The Princess Bride - 8.5/10
Wild Wild West - 3.5/10
The Last Witch Hunter - 6/10
Sicario - 9/10
Ride Along - 4.5/10
Hot Fuzz - 7.5/10
Spectre - 7/10

Big Hero 6 - 9/10
I have no idea what took me so long to watch this, but I loved every bit of it. It reminded me a lot of my own superhero comic that I'm working on.

Reign of Fire - 6.5/10
Eh. Pretty standard survival of the apocalypse story. The CGI dragons were some of the best I've seen though. Also, bald Matthew McConaughey.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 - 8.5/10
I'm delighted at how downplayed and anticlimactic the final installment was. Like actual war, there is no heroic final stand, no mono y mono, and arguably no winning side, yet there still feels like a part to be played.

I Am Legend - 7.5/10
Still wish they had used the alternate ending, that definitely would've bumped my score up a bit. Otherwise a decent minimalistic apocalypse story, if you excuse the sub-par effects.

Spongebob the Movie: Sponge Out of Water - 6/10
Sigh. I remember a time when Spongebob was funny.

The Good Dinosaur - 8/10
I'll just quote my thoughts from the other thread: [spoiler]Just got finished watching it. I wouldn't say I was disappointed, cause I did enjoy it, I just reeeeally wanted to like it more than I did. It was about on par with Brave, not quite up to Pixar standards but definitely not Cars 2 bad. The plot was pretty simplistic and the moral was a bit straightforward. The dinosaur finding his way home story was already done lot better 20 years ago, by The Land Before Time.

The visuals on the other hand were some of the best I've seen in any 3D animated film. There were times when I swore they just filmed a real landscape and added the characters in, which I guess may not be a good thing for some people, but it fit surprisingly well and did make the "nature is the main antagonist" thing work a lot better. I really liked the character designs as well, even if Arlo and Spot were the only two with any real development.

Overall I'd recommend it, just don't expect another Inside Out this year.[/spoiler]

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 49/40

Master Ninja II (28 Nov) - 4/10. The exact same thing, but with different girls.
Project Moonbase (1 Dec) - 2/10. Standard lazy 50s sci-fi.
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (2 Dec) - 4/10. Kinda cool-looking world, but that's not Sinbad.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (4 Dec) - 7/10. Bittersweet ending to the trilogy.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 50/40

She's the Man (7 Dec) - 8/10.
The ending is marred by one of those sap-tastic music swells that strips all the sincerity out of a scene, but I like almost everything until that point. Also, this was before Channing Tatum learned how to act, which doesn't help.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 52/40

The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (14 Dec) - 7/10
The Toy (14 Dec) - 6/10

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 54/40

How the Grinch Stole Christmas [live] (18 Dec) - 7/10
Strange Magic (18 Dec) - 5/10. A lot works. A lot doesn't.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 55/40

Guardians of the Galaxy (19 Dec) - 8/10

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 57/40

Elf (20 Dec) - 8/10
The Muppet Christmas Carol (22 Dec) - 9/10

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Booyakasha]

ok usa

Movies 15/40-----------

Big Hero 6 - 01/01/15 - 10/10
The Birdman - 01/04/15 - 10+/10
The Grand Budapest Hotel - 01/21/15 - 10/10
Margot the Furnace - 03/12/15 - 7/10
The Book of Life - 05/26/15 - 6/10
Disney's Hercules - 05/31/15 - 7/10
Mortdecai - 06/01/15 - 9/10
Inside Out - 06/22/15 - 8/10
Khumba - 06/22/15 - 7.5/10
Home - 06/26/15 - 8/10
Turbo Kid - 09/30/15 - a million billion/10
Iron Girl - 10/27/15 - 3/10
Pixels - 11/17/15 - 1/10
SPECTRE - 11/18/15 - 9/10
LEGO DC Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom - 12/23/15 - 5/10

It was on the digital cable, and Maxy wanted to watch it whiles I was babysitting. Not really my thing, but I guess it was alright for a kids' movie. (Better than 'Teen Titans Go [Away Now Please]!' by a long damn chalk.)

Nice long-ass title. Nothing I like more than a movie that takes nearly as long to name as it does to watch.

[Bomby]

Last update here.
Dates are approximate.

50. Suspiria - (Dario Argento, 1977) - Classic horror, beginning to end. The suspense and usage of color are both top notch.
51. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage - (Dario Argento, 1970) - More film noir than horror, but it's about as intense as it gets.
52. * Kung Fu Hustle - (Stephen Chow, 2004) - September 16 - I love kung fu comedies. The over-the-top special effects make this one of the funniest ones.
53. * Toy Story 3 - (Lee Unkrich, 2010) - September 19 - ihatethismovieihatethismovieihatethismovieihatethismovie
54. * Scarface - (Brian De Palma, 1983) - September 19 - Bombastic and over-the-top in almost every way possible. This is what a cult movie looks like.
55. Inferno - (Dario Argento, 1980) - September 20 - Definitely not on the level of Suspiria and The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, but it's still stylistically on point. The acting is horrible though.
56. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple - (Hiroshi Inagaki, 1955) - September 30 - I liked it more than the first one. So many great setpieces.
57. * Scarface (Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, 1932) - October 1 - Stylistically, it's almost completely the opposite of its more well-known remake. Just as good, though.
58. Repulsion - (Roman Polanski, 1965) - October 9 - Psychological horror at its best.
59. Léon: The Professional - (Luc Besson, 1994) - I can see why it's so revered, because it's a good action movie. I wouldn't put it up there with the greats, though.
60. The Great Beauty - (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) - October 28 - Film school Bomby might have liked this. Not me now, though.
61. * Dawn of the Dead - (George A. Romero, 1978 ) - October 31 - Classic. Next.
62. A Girl Walks Home at Night - (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014) - November 4 - Has some of the most legitimately scary moments in horror movies that I've ever seen, but the end was kind of disappointing.
63. Knife in the Water (Roman Polanski, 1962) - November 4 - Starts out a bit on the boring side, but once it gets going, it's great.
64. Iris - (Albert Maysles, 2014) - November 11 - Not particularly memorable, but not bad either. Decent documentary about a fashion icon.
65. Cutie and the Boxer - (Zachary Heinzerling, 2013) - November 18 - Very interesting, if slightly melancholy portrait of a husband and wife who are both different kinds of artists.
66. * Peking Opera Blues - (Tsui Hark, 1986) - Noember 28 - This is the quintessential Hong Kong action movie of the '80s. I can't say enough good things about this movie.
67. King of Comedy - (Stephen Chow and Lee Lik-Chi, 1999) - December 2 - Funny, lightweight Lunar New Year film, if not a bit uneven.
68. Best of Enemies - (Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville, 2015) - December 11 - Engaging from the very first moment. I was actually unaware of the moment of culture in this film (Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley debating at the 1968 presidential primaries. Highly recommended for anyone interested in politics.
69. * Juice - (Ernest Dickerson, 1992) - December 12 - Hitchcockian thriller set in lower-class New York City. It's a great display of hip hop culture and turntablism as well. Tupac Shakur is phenomenal here.
70. 12 Monkeys - (Terry Gilliam, 1995) - December 16 - Okay, this definitely lives up to its reputation. I wouldn't put it among my favorite movies, but it's a great distillation of the uniqueness of '90s cinema.
71. * Mission: Impossible - (Brian De Palma, 1996) - December 17 - At one point as a kid, this was my favorite movie. It's very dated now, but not in a bad way. Instead of predicting the future, the technology was supposed to be advanced for its time, so it's not really laughable in that way. Still an enjoyable thriller. The scene where they lower Ethan Hunt into the CIA building to get the NOC list... classic.
72. * Woman in the Dunes - (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) - December 19 - Not quite as trippy as I remember it being, but still strange and haunting nonetheless.
73. Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan - (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1959) - December 19 - "Yotsuya Kaidan" (aka The Ghost of Yotsuya) is an old Japanese story that has been adapted numerous times. This is the most well-known version, and it's very good, but I saw a different version on film a few years ago that I remember enjoying more.
74. * Star Wars - (George Lucas, 1977 original cut) - December 22 - My sister decided to watch all of the Star Wars movies (prequels excluded), so I figured... why not join in? Plus, since I procured a high-quality, widescreen version of the original 1977 cut, I've been interested in watching it again. And... yeah, there's a lot of clunky dialogue, but once Han Solo appears it really kicks into high gear. Classic.
75. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - (J.J. Abrams, 2015) - December 23 - Not as good as the hype it's getting, but as good as it needed to be to get me interested in the next one. Further thoughts here.
76. * The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980, ed. 2004) - December 24 - Still the best of the Star Wars movies, even with the stupid special edition changes. It's known as being the "dark" one, but it still has the some of the funniest moments of the series. One of the best blockbusters of all time.
77. * Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983, ed. 2004) - December 25 - At another point as a kid, this was my favorite movie. The special edition of this is nigh-unbearable. Even looking past the changes, years later, I can now see how silly it is.
78. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - (Christopher McQuarrie, 2015) - December 25 - I'm going to have to watch it again to really decide where to place it in the M:I series, but like the rest, it was a great Hollywood blockbuster. I like that they actually called back to previous episodes in the series.
79. * Yotsuya Kaidan - (Kenji Misumi, 1959) - December 26 - The other version of #73 that came out in 1959 that I mentioned. I will still say I prefer this version, although in retrospect the other one is really just about as good. There is a big, big difference in the characterization of the main male character between the two, and really either way, the story comes to a satisfying end.
80. A Story of Water - (Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, made in 1958, first shown in 1961) - December 27 - It's really a shame Godard and Truffaut drifted apart in animosity, because they were great collaborators. Godard's radical experimentation and Truffaut's human touch both mesh together perfectly for these exquisite 12 minutes of cinema.
81. All the Boys Are Called Patrick - (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959) - December 27 - Another short film by two future stars of the French New Wave movement, this time directed solely by Godard, but written by Eric Rohmer. It's a rather light, breezy short, with a good sense of humor based coincidence. Charming and enjoyable.

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 59/40

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (28 Dec) - 8/10. On par with Return of the Jedi, quality-wise. :)
Spirited Away (28 Dec) - 8/10. Spirits are jerks.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[CaptHayfever]

Movies: 60/40

Chasing Amy (29 Dec) - 7/10

[spoiler=That over-40 list again:]
Bold = Theatrical
* = First viewing

Mockingjay pt 2 (20 Nov) - 8/10*
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (23 Nov) - 6/10*
Dogma (24 Nov) - 9/10
Master Ninja 1 (25 Nov) - 4/10*
Paper Towns (26 Nov) - 7/10*
Master Ninja II (28 Nov) - 4/10*
Project Moonbase (1 Dec) - 2/10*
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (2 Dec) - 4/10*
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (4 Dec) - 7/10*
She's the Man (7 Dec) - 8/10
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (14 Dec) - 7/10*
The Toy (14 Dec) - 6/10
How the Grinch Stole Christmas [live] (18 Dec) - 7/10
Strange Magic (18 Dec) - 5/10*
Guardians of the Galaxy (19 Dec) - 8/10
Elf (20 Dec) - 8/10
The Muppet Christmas Carol (22 Dec) - 9/10
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (28 Dec) - 8/10*
Spirited Away (28 Dec) - 8/10*
Chasing Amy (29 Dec) - 7/10[/spoiler]
And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Erniewan]

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - B+
Timecrimes - B+
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - B
Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies - B+
Whiplash - C+
Birdman - C+
John Wick - B
Gone Girl - A
Buried - B
TiMER - B
Lost in Translation - C-
Pacific Rim - B
The Theory of Everything - A
Steins; Gate - B+
Avengers: Age of Ultron - A
Ex Machina - A
Jurassic World - B+
Ant-Man - A
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - B
Solaris - C
Mad Max: Fury Road - A
The Imitation Game - A
About Time - A
Ghost in the Shell - B-
Cloud Atlas - B+
The Martian - A
Star Wars: Force Awakens - A+
Frequencies - B-
Parallels - C+
Circle - B+

Bold = Saw in theaters

That's 30 movies! I got past 40 movies last year, so I kinda reversed the trend, but that's okay (All were first viewings).
I didn't see any bad movies this year, which was great, although the ones that are around C are the ones I was kinda disappointed by.
My top movies of 2015 were: Star Wars, Mad Max, The Martian, and Ant Man!

[Bomby]

82. On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) - December 27 - Excellent. Deserving of its reputation and acclaim. Marlon Brando at his best.
83. * Grindhouse (Robert Rodriuez and Quentin Tarantino, 2007) - December 28 - So, so, so under-appreciated. Seeing it in the original theatrical version for the first time since its original release was a pleasure. I love a good double-feature, and this movie re-creates the experience well. Tarantino's Death Proof is a perfect example of brevity being better - in its shortened version here, it's entertaining and enjoyable, but the extended cut is unbearably long.
84. * Hard Boiled (John Woo, 1992) - December 29 - This **** is... ****' ridiculous. For my money, still the best "shoot 'em up" action film ever made.
85. Kung Fury (David Sandberg, 2015) - December 29 - Silly, but in a good and entertaining way. The concept could have made for a good full-length film, but considering where the plot itself went, it was probably better off as a short film.
86. * Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) - December 30 - Difficult choice between this and Porco Rosso for my favorite Miyazaki movie. Looking back on it, **** might be the best hero in all of cinema, not necessarily because of his personality, but because of the actions and choices he makes. Oh, yeah, and the movie itself is really good, too.