2015 has been a great year for films. At the end of 2014, I was so excited for the year ahead, mainly due to the films that were being released. A year later, I haven't been left disappointed. I think that the majority of my favourite films have been released this year. So, before 2015 comes to its inevitable end, here are my top 10 favourite films of this year.
10. Into The Woods
I am a huge fan of musicals, especially the film adaptations, so I was very excited about seeing this. It features several of my favourite actors (Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Corden and Johnny Depp) and combines some of my favourite fairy tale stories: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood and Jack & The Beanstalk. The majority of the film is set in the woods and each character has their own personal reason for being in the woods. For example, the Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are both in the woods looking for four items for the Witch (Meryl Steep): a cow as white as milk; a cape as red as blood; hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. Soon, the Baker and his wife soon learn that this task is harder than they thought and they only have three days to complete it. This film is full of recognisable characters and fun songs and it has since become one of my favourite musicals.
9. Spy
I am a huge fan of comedies and I loved Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig's previous film they made together, The Heat, so I knew I was going to enjoy this film. McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a desk-bound CIA agent who is forced to go out onto the field for the first time and has no idea what to do which makes this film so funny. Susan is a really likable character as she works hard at her job and is desperate to go out on the field. There are plenty of slapstick moments when Susan is fighting with the bad guys and features some of my favourite actors including: Jude Law; Miranda Hart; Alison Janney and Rose Byrne. With great characters and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, this is one of the best comedies I've ever seen.
Director Matthew Vaughn returns to the action/comedy genre with Kingsman, starring Colin Firth as Harry Hart, a veteran Kingsman agent who teaches young Eggsy (Taron Egerton) how to become an agent like him. The villain is Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) who is a billionaire philanthropist who speaks with a lisp and can't stand violence, despite his plan being full of violence. Vaughn had previously directed one of my favourite comedies, Kick-Ass, so I was very much looking forward to this one. It didn't disappoint and kept me laughing the whole way through. The fact that Firth did most of his own stunts impressed me and newcomer, Taron Egerton, was really likable as Eggsy. This is probably one of Vaughn's best films and the fact he is making a sequel makes me very happy.
7. Paper Towns
Based on John Green's best-selling novel of the same name, the film focuses on Quentin (Nat Wolff) and his relationship with Margo (Cara Delevingne), his neighbour, who he has a crush on. The two were friends as children but, when they started high school, they drifted apart and, whilst Margo became a part of the popular crowd, Quentin became a part of the nerd crowd with his two friends, Ben and Radar. Despite the two not speaking since they were children, Quentin is shocked to discover Margo climbing through his bedroom window one night. She tells him that she has just caught her boyfriend cheating on her and she wants revenge. The two spend a crazy night going over to her ex-boyfriends house and creating havoc. The two are happy, at first, but Quentin is surprised when he learns that Margo has gone missing. Now, he and his friends spend the majority of the film trying to find Margo and discover what happened to her. I loved the book so I was very excited about the film and it didn't disappoint. Like the book, the story is told from Quentin's point of view. This film is full of comedy elements but, like John Green's previous film The Fault In Our Stars, has dramatic and tense moments.
6. Spectre
I became a fan of the James Bond franchise when I first watched Casino Royale in my Film Studies class when I was 16. I'd never been interested in any of the films until I watched Casino Royale and I was surprised at how good it was. The film's narrative focuses a lot on the game of poker and, since I had never played a game of poker before, I was worried I wasn't going to understand it. However, I did and since then I've been an avid watcher of the previous Bond films and definitely think they've gotten better. This is true with Spectre. I loved Skyfall and thought it was the best out of the whole franchise until I saw this. Daniel Craig returns, in his fourth film as the iconic spy and he's just as good as when he made his first appearance in Casino Royale. This film has all the ingredients to make a great Bond film: brilliant action sequences; an evil villain; an attractive 'Bond Girl' and an amazing theme song sung by one of the biggest singers. I would have to say that James Bond is the reason I enjoy action-packed films. Definitely up there with Casino Royale and Skyfall as one of the best Bond films.
5. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
It's hard to believe that it's almost been 20 years since the first Mission: Impossible film was released. Back then, nobody, not even Tom Cruise, had predicted that it would be the successful film franchise it is now. Like with the Bond films, I didn't show any interest in any of the M:I films until recently. When I found out about the fifth film, I knew I had to give the previous four films a watch. I enjoyed them all and I was ready for the fifth one. It didn't disappoint and I definitely think that it's one of the best in the franchise. Tom Cruise is better than ever as agent Ethan Hunt. In the previous film, Ghost Protocol, Cruise performed a breath-taking stunt when he climbed the outside of the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. This time, he's taking the stunt to a whole new level when the film opens with him jumping on the outside of a plane whilst it takes off. This was one of my favourite sequences in the film as it shows Cruise at his adrenline-filled best.
4. Inside Out
I've always loved Disney/Pixar films as, not only is the animation amazing, they always come up with a creative story to entertain both children and adults. The majority of Disney/Pixar films have an emotional aspect to them and always manage to make me cry. Now, they've released a film about emotions themselves. The film focuses on 11-year-old Riley, who has recently moved house and school, and her emotions: Joy; Sadness; Anger; Fear and Disgust. Joy is the 'main' emotion and she narrates the story in the beginning when we watch a sequence of Riley growing up. This is a great way of introducing the main character and her emotions. Like most children, Riley isn't happy with the new house/new school situation and finds herself feeling sad, thanks to Sadness taking control in her mind. Joy tries to take control of Riley's emotion and make her feel happier but this only leads to her and Sadness being sent through a tube inside Riley's mind and now the two must work together to get to the main control room. I can definitely say that this is Disney/Pixar's best animated feature ever since they released Toy Story 20 years ago. The story is unique, the characters are relatable (there's a funny scene when Riley is sat having dinner with her parents and we see inside their minds) and there's something for the whole family to enjoy.
3. Everest
Before I watched Everest, I think I underestimated how dramatic it was going to be. It's based on a true story about Rob Hall who, along with a team of adventurers, tries to climb Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. This is set in 1996, a year before I was born, so I hadn't heard of this story before. I didn't know if the group of climbers were going to reach the top. The actual climb doesn't start until about 20-30 minutes in the film but that's okay as the beginning is spent introducing us to the climbers. We see their personality and how determined they are to reach the top of Everest but no one is more determined than Rob Hall (Jason Clarke). He warns his fellow climbers of how freezing the temperature is going to be and how their bodies are going to be 'literally dying'. Despite these claims, he and the other climbers still attempt the strenuous journey up the mountain. When the majority of the climbers reached the top of the mountain, I felt relived, however, I soon learned that this was only part of their journey and that things were about to get worse when a storm hits and optimistic Rob tries his hardest to try and get everyone down the mountain. There was tense from the beginning of the climb until the credits rolled. This is truly one of the most dramatic and saddest films I've watched this year but with great performances from the actors and stomach-churning cinematography, this is one of my favourite films of 2015.
2. The Martian
Matt Damon gives a truly epic performance as astronaut, Mark Watney, who has been left behind on Mars after a storm hits and must learn how to live there whilst the team at NASA figure out a plan to save him before he starves to death. The reason why Watney is a likable character is because he's optimistic and makes the most of his situation. He knows he could easily die but that doesn't get him down. Through video blogs, we see his updates on Mars and we learn how he manages to survive. This is why we, as an audience, want him to survive and make it back home. His fellow astronauts aren't aware of him still being alive as they thought he died. Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) made the decision of leaving him behind and is left guilt-ridden when NASA informs her of his situation. Now NASA, Commander Lewis and the other group of astronauts must make the tough decision of extending their trip or leaving Watney behind. Watney, himself, isn't aware of this as he is unable to communicate with NASA and doesn't know if he's going to be saved or not. This is what creates most of the tension in the film. This is directed by Ridley Scott (best known for the Alien trilogy) who manages to create another brilliant sci-fi adventure. This is based on the book by Andy Weir which I definitely want to read now I've seen the film.
Almost four years ago, I had just begun reading the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy and had just watched the film adaptation. The first film shows us a future, set in America which is now known as Panem, where people must fight to the death for food and money for their home. Every year, a boy and girl, between the ages of 12 and 18, are picked from 12 Districs to perform in the Hunger Games. The film is set during the 74th year of the Hunger Games and, when her younger sister, Prim, is chosen to fight, Katniss volunteers to take her place and must train and try and survive the violent Games. She gives an outstanding performance which is one of the reasons why I think this is one of the best YA (Young Adult) franchises of all time, alongside the Harry Potter franchise. Katniss is likable because she saved Prim's life by volunteering to take her place. Despite having impressive skills with a bow and arrow, Katniss doesn't think she'll survive yet by the end of the Games, she has managed to start an uprising when she and, her fellow tribute, Peeta try and rebel against the rule of there being one Victor. The two are stopped and are declared the very first Victors of District 12. In the second film, Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta must act as the 'star-crossed lovers' of District 12 whilst a rebellion begins to form in the other Districts. They think they are safe from the Games until President Snow announces that the tributes will be the Victors from the previous Games, much to their horror. In the 75th Games, Katniss is determined to keep Peeta alive but things go badly wrong when, at the end of the Games, she is saved by the rebellion and he is kidnapped by the Capitol. In Mockingjay Part 1, Katniss begins to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and must perform in a series of videos as the Mockingjay, which is the symbol of the rebellion. This film showed how strong Katniss really is and how much she is willing to put an end to the Hunger Games. Unfortunately, when Peeta is finally rescued from the Capitol, his mind has been hijacked and he tries to, unsuccessfully, kill Katniss. Now, in the thrilling conclusion to the franchise, she must join a team of soldiers and rebellions to take down President Snow and put an end to the Games. The director, Francis Lawrence, has described this as the most violent out of all the other films and he's not wrong. People become badly injured and there are many deaths, two of which brought me to tears. I had read the books and I would have to say that this film is the best adaptation of the four. It contains the majority of the book and the only parts that were left out were only minor. The reason why this is my favourite film of 2015 is because I've been eagerly waiting this conclusion and it didn't disappoint. It's full of action, violence, emotional scenes and brilliant performances from every actor involved.
So those were my 10 favourite films of 2015.
The reason why the latest Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, isn't on here is because I haven't watched it yet and I probably won't watch it until next week which will be 2016 so it'll most likely be on my top films of 2016 list.
Thank you so much for reading my blogs, it really does mean a lot.
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