2015 Movie Ranking: #20 to #11

All right, we have hit the top 20 and we are nearing the end of this epic ranking. Here are some movies that I really, really liked... yet were not quite enough to crack the top 10.

#20

I have never been a huge fan of Neill Blomkamp and his movies. So I came into Chappie with low expectations. I am a fan of the genre however. Machines created with artificial intelligence who become sentient and start to grow as individuals. Data was my favorite Star Trek character, after all.

This movie is about a damaged law enforcement robot scheduled for disposal. A doctor who is working on an experimental AI program claims the robot off the scrap heap and implants him with the AI. The robot becomes alive and sentient, acting like a child and not really sure what to make of what is going on around him. He is named Chappie.

Unfortunately, Chappie falls into the hands of violent criminals who raise him for their evil purposes. He is torn between his creator and the life of crime he has been brought into. Chappie is not a bad robot, and you can't help but feel sympathy for him and his situation.

And that is what makes the movie go for me. Chappie is just so darned adorable and relatable a character. I had fears that this movie would be kind of like Robocop or something cold hearted like that. But no, the movie definitely has a lot of heart and tugs at your emotions, while also being pretty exciting and action packed at the same time.

I was a big fan. Finally, I was able to enjoy a Blomkamp movie the way everyone else seems to. Weird, because this is one of his least popular movies, but it is probably my favorite of his.

#19

I've seen this movie a bunch of times before, but never as part of a sequence. I had finished watching the Original Series. I watched all the old movies. And then I watched this as a transition into the Next Generation.

Although people like to knock this movie, I can't quite figure out why. It does so many things right. It brings closure to the Original Series characters. The acting is great, the action is perfect. I even like the whole story line with Sauron and the Nexus. There are also emotional moments too, like Picard's family dying. Data discovering his cat is alive after the ship goes down. Yes, that legitimately brought a tear to my eye.

Speaking of Data, his emotion chip added a new dimension to TNG that was long overdue. We have basically explored every facet of Data's personality on the show, so it was time for something different. He provided a lot of comic relief as he struggled with his emotions, and that kept the movie light in tone with all the fighting and dying going on in the background.

To me, this is definitely top 4 or 5 as far as Star Trek movies, and by far the best one I watched in 2015.

#18

Well, I watched all of the Hunger Games movies in 2015, except for the original one, and this film stands as my favorite of the bunch. I didn't like Catching Fire much when I first saw it. I think it was because I had read the book and had a certain expectation in my mind for how the film was supposed to be. But upon subsequent rewatching, I find that I really like the movie.

It sets up the end game of the story in a very clear and succint way. It tells of the corruption of the Capitol. The unfairness of the games. The unease in the Districts. The first movie dealt mainly with the Games themselves. This film deals with the game behind the Games.

It takes a while to actually get all the tributes into the arena, but when they do the action is fast paced and there is never a dull moment. I do like how they set up the "clock" based arena and all the obstacles each section of the clock entails. This was probably a very hard movie to bring to life, but the film makers did a fantastic job in my opinion.

I didn't watch the first Hunger Games in 2015, so I can't really offer a definitive opinion on which is better, the original or the sequel. But they are both much better than either Mockingjay part and stand fairly equal in quality and enjoyability for me.

#17

I have seen my fair share of slasher movies in my lifetime, but nothing quite compares to the original Friday the 13th. Some teens, a campground, some stabbings. If this movie was made today, I would probably say something about having seen this kind of movie a thousand times before. But I have to take into account that this movie is a pioneer in the genre.

And despite the fact that it is old, it is actually very well made. It doesn't show its age and definitely withstands the test of time. I like Jason's backstory, and how we don't really know who is killing people until the end of the movie when we find out that it is really his mom. She has flipped her wig because the camp counselors allowed her son to drown, and now she wants to make sure the place goes out of commission forever.

And the mystery deepens at the VERY end when it is shown that Jason is really alive after all. I am kind of excited to watch more movies in the series just to see where they go with all this. I'm sure it devolves into stupidity at some point, but there is no denying this first one is quite awesome.

#16

I really had no idea what to expect coming into this. I new the main character was an original Lego character who was a construction worked. I thought the movie would be quirky and funny, but boring and too little kid oriented.

Boy was I wrong. This movie is pretty amazing. Visually, it is stellar. There is action, there is lots of comedy. I personally don't care for "Everything is Awesome" but at least there was only that one music montage scene in the beginning of the movie.

What makes the movie work for me is the diversity of its characters. It was a joy seeing Batman, Gandalf, Han Solo, all kinds of different characters from different franchises working together in this movie. The story of the movie was actually pretty fun too. I figured it out early in the movie that it was a kid playing with Legos and this was all in his head, but the way the dad figures into the story and how protective he is of his Lego collection was actually quite genious. 

Really fun movie. And I actually watched it twice last year and it was better the second time around. Two thumbs up from me!

#15

I had seen this movie once in the past, and if I recall correctly I liked it then as well. This is one of those kind of movies that just really appeals to me, for several reasons. First of all, I like dragons. I like what this movie does with the mythology of dragons and all the different types of them. Also, the movie is just flat out beautiful. Great effects, great scenery. Of course the dragons look amazing.

Another reason would be because although this appears like it would be a kids movie on the surface, it appeals to adults as well. It's not brimming with stupid, childish jokes. Yeah, there is humor, but nothing so silly it makes you roll your eyes. The characters don't spontaneously burst out into song. Anyone can watch this and have a good time. 

The characters are all pretty well fleshed out, they have their own unique quirks and personalities. Even the dragons have personalities. And I find that Hiccup is a very relatable character.

This is just a great example of everything coming together in an animated film in just the right way. I'm sure a lot of adults came in just expecting to tolerate this movie, but instead came out of it really liking it. And I am one of those people.

#14

I was a pretty big fan of the book Gone Girl, so I was a little nervous to see how the movie would turn out. I am not a huge Ben Affleck fan, but I didn't mind him here. He fit the part of Nick Dunne perfectly.

Who really steals the show is his wife Amy. I have heard all kinds of thing about her performance, and I must say that in no way was her performance over-hyped. She is a star and really makes this movie go. 

As far as book to movie adaptations go, this is one of my all time favorites. Nothing too major is left out. Although the movie is long, it never feels long at any time. I had a great time watching it and totally want to see it again. I think it would rank higher if I had watched it later in the year. Instead, it was one of the first movies I watched in early January and by the time I got around to writing this at the end of the year I had forgotten exactly how good it really was.

#13

Here is a perfect example of a movie that above and beyond exceeded all my wildest expectations. A family get together in a mansion. Some killers show up and try to kill everyone one by one. Sound familiar?

But this is totally not the Strangers or anything of that nature. This movie is FUN, and it has some really big twists and surprising moments. The cast is pretty entertaining and not your typical group of people in a movie of this nature. I found that I liked almost everyone in their own unique way. They all bring something different to the table.

The killings are a lot of fun, the movie keeps you on edge. But it is the twist when you find out *spoilers* that one of the family members has set this up so he gets the family money that really made me be like oh snap. 

This was a super clever movie, and it didn't fall into the trap that a lot of these type of movies do where they take themselves too seriously or become too predictable. This was a ton of fun and just a blast to watch.

#12

This used to be my movie when I was a kid. I loved the Ninja Turtles, I loved their movies, and this was definitely the best one in my mind. I was a little worried when I first started watching this that maybe it is a movie I have seen too many times to enjoy anymore.

But this was totally not the case. It had been so long since I had seen this movie, I instantly felt right at home watching this. All the jokes, all the fights, just the feel of the movie made me feel comfortable and brought me to that warm fuzzy place inside.

I loved the movie when I was a kid. I still love it now. This movie is awesome.

Go ninja, go ninja, go!

#11

I actually got this movie from the library as a joke. My wife told me that a friend of hers once picked this up at the store and was like "oh this looks good," And then when she read the description she was like "no, that sounds awful!!" So I got it as a joke so I could show it to her and tell her that it looked good. I didn't actually intend to watch it.

But I did, and it turns out I really liked it. It is set during the Holocaust and is shown from the perspective of a little boy and his Nazi family who live on the edge of a concentration camp. He doesn't really know what is going on. He sees the Jews in the camp and thinks they are just lower class citizens who all wear the same kind of striped pajamas. He befriends a boy on the other side of the fence and the two go through some ups and downs together.

What I really liked was the big ending. *spoilers*

The boy digs under the fence to join his friend as the Russian invasion is coming in. In a panic, the Nazis bring all the prisoners to a gas chamber and kill them. Not knowing the boy is not a Jew, he is killed as well. His family discovers what has happened to him, and there is a big emotional moment before the movie ends. As soon as that kid crawled under the fence I knew what was going to happen and I was like noooooo! Don't do it!

But I liked the movie a lot. It sparked an interest in the Holocaust for me. I gave the Pianist a shot and didn't like it much. I had planned to watch a few other Holocaust movies but never got around to them. Whenever a movie sparks an interest in a particular subject like that for me, you know it has to be good. Usually I just move on.

But not here.

The top ten in random order:

Unbroken

Mad Max: Fury Road

These Final Hours

The Theory of Everything

Wild

The Imposter

Life of Pi

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Boyhood

Jurassic World