Looking Back at 2015 - Top 10 and More

I stopped providing individual movie reviews the past two years partly because of my lack of free time, but more so because of how uninspired I've been by films over the last few years. Each year has had some great films, but the drop off to mediocrity was pretty steep. After 2015, I'm inspired again. I'm not sure if I'll restart my individual reviews, but I'm once again very happy to present some of my favorite films of the year.

I saw more than 50 films released in the U.S. during 2015 and I think I could argue that at least half of them were very good, a drastic divergence from the recent past.

The Top 10 Films Release in 2015

1. The Revenant - Alejandro Inarritu has crafted the most outstanding work by a director in back to back years, following up last year's Birdman with one of the most visceral, gritty and intense films ever made. Inarritu now enters a short list of great directors working today and a must-watch filmmaker regardless of whatever endeavor he chooses to undertake next. DiCaprio and Hardy are also at the top of their games, pairing off against each other with brutally physical performances.

2. Spotlight - The best "journalism" film ever made; not a title to give out lightly. Tom McCarthy crafts a tight, gripping film on the Boston Globe's uncovering of the now infamous Catholic Church molestation scandal.

3. The Look of Silence - Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing certainly grabbed my attention when I first saw it a couple of years ago, but overall, I found Oppenheimer's approach somewhat gimmicky and forced at times. With his follow up documentary, The Look of Silence, the bleak and frightening truth of the Indonesian genocide is front and center stage as we follow Adi Rukun, who sits down with various death squad personnel decades after they murdered his brother.

4. Ex Machina - There are few directors throughout history who you can identify by seeing just a few moments of their films--masters like Hitchcock, Tarkovsky, and of course, Stanley Kubrick. What Alex Garland has created here is as Kubrickian as anything Stanley ever made. The atmosphere is the star from the beginning, though Oscar Isaac makes a strong case for me to add him to my must-watch actors list.

5. Best of Enemies - The second documentary to make my top 10 list is a profound look into the series of debates held between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley in 1968. What is most fascinating about being presented with those debates now, is that we see how similar political discourse has remained over the past 50 years. The issues then for the right and left almost mirror the issues we still see argued today.

6. The Martian - The premise of Andy Weir's novel and the wit of his principal character, Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon), was a virtual lock to be a great film in the hand's of the right director. Ridley Scott steps in and accomplishes exactly what is needed, applying just the right touches in all the right places to keep this blockbuster on track and seamlessly entertaining.

7. Clouds of Sils Maria - In a very Ingmar Bergman-like approach, filmmaker Olivier Assayas creates a wonderful blend of the surreal as he navigates a relationship between an aging actress and her personal assistant. Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart deliver memorable performances in a film that seeks to challenge its viewers.

8. The Hateful Eight - It's no surprise when Quentin Tarantino crafts one of the most entertaining films of the year. However, he is now starting to walk a line between brilliance and caricature, as The Hateful Eight is easily the most Tarantino-esque film he's made thus far. Also worth noting, Samuel L. Jackson delivers the best performance of his career as the brilliantly written Major Marquis Warren.

9. Steve Jobs - Along with Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender, for his performance as Steve Jobs, would be deserving of award recognition in any year. His portrayal of Jobs is a tour-de-force and Sorkin's script is a revelation.

10. Danny Collins - I could make fair arguments for virtually any of the films I list below in my honorable mentions to take this spot away from Danny Collins, but when it came to paring down the final list, I had a hard time throwing this film out. Al Pacino delivers a genuinely wonderful performance, sparking memories of old as we watch the old dog show he still has it. The film, while certainly flawed, has enough heart to qualify as a must-see film from 2015.

Honorable Mentions (listed alphabetically)

In addition to my top 10 this year, and in the spirit of just how enjoyable 2015 was for me, I'm going to list below some other very good films that missed out on my top 10 list. All of these, should you be interested in the subject matter, are very much worth viewing.

Beasts of No Nation
Brooklyn
Concussion
The End of the Tour
Entourage
Listen to Me Marlon
Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation
Phoenix
Room
Sicario
Soaked in Bleach
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom

Individual Accolades

Best Director:
1. Alejandro Inarritu, "The Revenant"
2. Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
3. Alex Garland, "Ex Machina"
4. Quentin Tarantino, "The Hateful Eight"
5. Ridley Scott, "The Martian"

Best Performance by an Actor:
1. Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
2. Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"
3. Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"
4. Al Pacino, "Danny Collins"
5. Christian Bale, "The Big Short"

Best Performance by an Actress:
1. Nina Hoss, "Phoenix"
2. Juliette Binoche, "Clouds of Sils Maria"
3. Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"
4. Brie Larson, "Room"
5. Kristen Stewart, "Clouds of Sils Maria"

Best Screenplay:
1. Aaron Sorkin, "Steve Jobs"
2. Quentin Tarantino, "The Hateful Eight"
3. Alex Garland, "Ex Machina"
4. Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
5. Olivier Assayas, "Clouds of Sils Maria"