top 10 films of 2015

Better late than never. Here are my Top 10 films of 2015. The jdbawards should be posted soon!

A look back at 2014. 



10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Giddy, corny and nimble, J.J. Abrams' Star Wars sequel was a nostalgic trip with some familiar faces and fresh leads.




9. Son of Saul

Plunges into the life of a member of the Sonderkommando in close-ups and his ambiguous quest to save a boy. The atrocities are blurred, out-of-focus or suggested aurally in the haunting sound mixing--which leaves an emotional bruising effect. Particularly astounding is that this is Hungarian director László Nemes's first film.



8. Tangerine

Shot on iPhones, we follow the lives of Sin-De-Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodrigue) and Alexandra (an excellent and affecting Mya Taylor) on a whirlwind of a Christmas Eve in L.A. The bold hilarity is rooted in pain.


7. Brooklyn

While it's definitely a feel-good, old-fashioned, gold-tinted coming-of-age tale. John Crowley's elegantly directed gem, based upon Colm Toibin's novel, taps into a profound ache of separation.


6. Timbuktu

A bitterly witty and devastating fable of a cattle herder and his family within a small city under occupation.  



5. Wild Tales

Damián Szifron's spirited and sharp Argentinean anthology film delves into issues of class and violence in the modern world with a keen eye, personal extremities and dark comedy.

4. Mistress America

Another Manhattan Valentine from Noah Baumbach, who teamed up with star Greta Gerwig on the sublime Frances Ha. Mistress America is not as arresting artistically but it's a warmer film, almost John Hughes-ish (with a Dean & Britta synth score) following the travails of a Columbia grad and a misfit dreamer.


3. The Big Short

Not a big fan of Adam McKay's slapstick bro comedies, I was surprised and disarmed by his absurdist tale of absurd institutions in an absurd world. Risky, tacky, sardonic and biting with dashes into genre-breaking, The Big Short is an entertaining, on-the-nose and weirdly lithe indignation of American greed.



2. It Follows



The best horror film of the year and one of the year's most entrancing films overall, It Follows creates its own atmosphere in the Detroit suburbs with its lush photography (by Mike Gioulakis) and its terrorized, emphatic victims. Disasterpiece's score kills.



1. Carol

This one hit me immediately with Carter Burwell's haunting Glass-lite score, Edward Lachmann's photography and all of Todd Haynes' breathtaking details; visually, it's a masterwork. But within all the period sets and Sandy Powell's beguiling dress-ups, lie extraordinary, intimate performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara playing a seemingly mismatched pair falling for one another in 50s New York.

And the best of the rest:

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, Far from the Madding Crowd, Amy, Phoenix, The Gift, Spy, Room, Spotlight, Diary of a Teenage Girl, The End of the Tour, Saint Laurent, Beasts of No Nation, The Revenant, Sicario, The Duke of Burgundy, Love & Mercy, Clouds of Sils Maria, Grandma, Goodnight Mommy, The Hateful Eight, Ricki & the Flash, Something, Anything, Maps to the Stars, Inside Out, Finders Keepers, White God, Bridge of Spies,Trainwreck, I'll See You in My Dreams, Girlhood, All Things Must Pass, Bluebird, While We're Young, Mad Max: Fury Road, Ex-Machina, Unfriended, Testament of Youth, Iris, '71, We Are Still Here, Eastern Boys, The Wolfpack, Approaching the Elephant, Going Clear, The Final Girls, Dope

justin lockwood's favorite entertainment of 2015

I found this to be a pretty tremendous year for pop culture, with many of the most anticipated releases proving worthy of the hype.  Here are my favorites in film, TV, and (first of all) music.

Rebel Heart - Madonna

I’d been waiting a decade for another truly great Madonna album.  American Life, Hard Candy, and MDNA all had their moments, but none were outstanding at the level of Ray of Light or Confessions on a Dance Floor.  With Rebel Heart, Madge finally stopped chasing other people’s trends and did her thing, across a satisfyingly diverse array of 19 (!) songs.  From the propulsive “Living for Love” (her best single since “Hung Up”) to the haunting “Ghosttown” to the awesomely sassy “Bitch I’m Madonna,” Rebel Heart proved the 57-year-old’s still got it.

"American Horror Story"

I’ve loved this show across uneven seasons, and this was a particularly good year for the franchise. "Hotel" took some time winning me over, but wound up being the darkest, most involving and consistently surprising entry since "Asylum" (my all-time favorite).  Lady Gaga is solid, though the ever-dependable Denis O’Hare steals the show and is utterly transcendent as Liz Taylor.  Looking back in the calendar year, the spotty Freak Show came to a hugely satisfying conclusion and provided a fitting coda (!) to Jessica Lange’s work on the series.

Jurassic World

My expectations were high for this sequel to one of my most beloved movies, and director Colin Trevorrow met them and then some.  Sure, the Romancing the Stone leads are a little shopworn, but who cares when the cast is so appealing, the concepts are interesting, and the action is so much fun?

"Scream Queens"

Speaking of fun, TV doesn’t get much more entertaining than this campy horror spoof starring Jamie Lee Curtis (bow down!) and the terrific Emma Roberts.  The show committed to its silliness and central mystery with razor sharp writing and a uniformly awesome ensemble, with Niecy Nash’s security guard and Glen Powell’s dopey frat boy among the standouts.

The Final Girls

A fitting companion piece of sorts to "Scream Queens," The Final Girls is a tremendously enjoyable love letter to 80s dead teenager flicks with real emotional heart.  It’s both hysterically funny and really, truly affecting.

"The Comeback"

I discovered Michael King’s cult favorite "The Comeback" just in time for its triumphant second season, which earned star Lisa Kudrow a well-deserved Emmy nod.  The meta premise seemed a little too high concept: Kudrow’s indomitable Valerie Cherish agrees to play a nasty version of herself, in an edgy series from the producer who tormented her on a would-be comeback vehicle years earlier.  But the season proved immensely affecting, funny, and honest, with a finale that broke with convention in an unexpected but all too appropriate way.

Krampus

Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘R Treat was my favorite horror film of the last decade, so I was intrigued to see his encore.  He returns to the holiday fold with a ferociously entertaining movie that balances frights and laughs with the same deftness as that cult classic.  A strong cast brings a dysfunctional family to life, and the story lurches through gags and creepy set pieces to arrive at a stunning denouement.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I wasn’t chomping at the bit like a hardcore fan, but even if I was I doubt I’d be disappointed in JJ Abrams’ assured addition to the Star Wars canon.  The wunderkind uses his knack for story, humor, and wow! visuals to return George Lucas’ saga to form after the lackluster prequels.  The new characters, notably Daisy Ridley’s plucky Rey and John Boyega’s arresting, conflicted Finn, somehow already feel as timeless as Luke, Han, and Leia.  The importance of the two leads’ race and gender, too, cannot be overstated.  After all, Star Wars is a saga for all of us.

-Justin Lockwood