Chasmmi's Top Rundown of 2015 from worst to best - Time to release 7th up to 4th, I predict 2 yays, 1 huh? and 1 $%@! from the viewing public :D

[chasmmi]

Pictures are back...

 

25th

Spoiler

 

Jurassic World

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 85-90/100

Actual Score - 90/100

 

There is a lot of division over this film. Some consider it the best film of the year, others find it could ol' harmless popcorn fun, others believe it to be a travesty of cinema. For me, I think it swings between good and awesome depending on the scene.

 

I love the original Jurassic Park, it may well be in my top 10 or 20 films of all time. I liked Lost World (it has some stupid scenes, but come on, that Raptor scene in the long grass shot from above was perhaps better than any single shot from the first film). Jurassic Park 3 was silly fun and I would have accepted Jurassic World being the same.

 

But there was more to the film than that. It went through with the concept that the original sequels seemed scared to try (actually having people in the park), it had the right amount of nostalgia nods and scenes that were also used in a pretty good way. The final fight is pretty epic also which leaves you leaving the cinema on quite the adrenaline high.

 

I don't think the film was $600M good, but it was a surprisingly great film that I will happily watch again in future.   

 

 

 

[chasmmi]

24th

 

Spoiler

 

Project Almanac

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 65-70/100

Actual Score - 91/100

 

Well here was a film that surprised me. I only saw it because I was in a cinema feeling like watching a film and it was either this or The Cobbler. I had no idea what the story was about at all so I was going in blind and it turned out that this was a really good film.

 

Sure it is found footage, but it does the concept in a way that is tolerable and makes sense. The whole thing feels like it was thought out by somebody who gives a damn and wanted to make a film that was better than something forgettable to dump in January.

 

The thing that impressed me most though was the Time travel. Time travel can be so hit and miss in cinema depending on if the film respects their own rules or not. Examples in the past would be films like The Lake House which made me want to punch my own brain, Classics like Back to the Future and Terminator which are just awesome and the film with arguably the best grasp of its own time travel concept I have ever seen: Frequency (such an underated film).

 

For me, there were moments when this film came close to Frequency levels of respecting its own time travel rules (their reasoning for not needing to spend time doing animal test trials for example) and I really enjoyed that aspect of the film. The film only starts to fall apart right at the very end when it struggles to bring all of the butterflies together for a clean ending. If it had stuck the ending, this film could have been truly great.   

 

 

[Ethan Hunt]

23 minutes ago, chasmmi said:

Pictures are back..

 

Yay!

[chasmmi]

23rd

 

Spoiler

 

Freaks of Nature

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 50-55/100

Actual Score - 91/100

 

Another surprise for me (I am running out of unexpected entries now, only about 5 or 6 left in the top 22), this film was another that was also much better than it had any right to be. The premise is ridiculous but brilliant: Zombies, vampires and humans live together in uneasy peace, but then the aliens come. Who cannot like that idea!?

 

This film is silly, but so much fun and nicely put together. There isn't a lot to it and it wasn't aiming for Oscars, but it is really worth a shot if you can find it  

 

 

[chasmmi]

22nd

 

Spoiler

 

Spotlight

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 90-95/100

Actual Score - 91/100

 

This is a great story that was important to tell and insanely acted. It would be up there for one of the best ensemble casts of any film last year. However, it personally didn't quite have the impact that I was expecting considering the source story.

 

It is far better than say a Monuments Men (which ruined a fantastic story) but below a King's Speech or Imitation Game in my head. I admit of course that this is where subjectivity comes into play a lot,

 

 

[chasmmi]

21st

 

Spoiler

 

End of the Tour

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 80-85/100

Actual Score - 91/100

 

Two films in a row where the acting is phenomenal. Jason Segal and Eisenberg (to a lesser extent) are brilliant in this and it really did a good job of opening up through these two main characters essentially just chatting for 90 minutes.

 

It's a film that isn't for everybody, but if the plot interests you then it is really worth the time to find. Shame Segal wasn't remembered come awards time.

 

 

[chasmmi]

20th

 

 

Spoiler

 

Fast 7

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 60-55/100

Actual Score - 92/100

 

One of the best superhero films of last year. Yes this is obviously a superhero film otherwise people would have gone died in this film and well... they didn't ergo: Superheroes.

 

This was the first FATF film I'd seen since number 2 back when it thought it was a serious franchise. Now it is silly and it embraces the silliness. The Rock is epic in this with the over the topness of things and hey that final 10 minutes is worth 10 points on its own.

 

 

[chasmmi]

19th

.

Spoiler

 

The Voices

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 70-75/100

Actual Score - 92/100

 

I like Ryan Reynolds and I did so before it was cool!! This film is a dark comedy with emphasis on the dark. It is not for everyone but for me this was pretty amazing. Reynolds is so good as the guy with voices in his head, I mean animals and the scenes where we get a glimpse into his real life as opposed to his imagined ones are stark and in some ways hard to watch.

 

If you like dark and uncomfortable with a minor loss of taste, I really recommend this.

 

[chasmmi]

18th

 

Spoiler

 

Ex Machina

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 85-90/100

Actual Score - 92/100

 

More great acting, but this is truly great acting from the three main/only actors in the film. Vikander should have got an Oscar for this, the other two could have been in the conversations also. It's an idea that is not new, but it is done in a way that is refreshing and truly keeps you guessing as to how things will end.

 

Personally I think the ending just missed the mark as far as true greatness is concerned. However it is still a great film that everyone here knows is great so I will stop here  

 

 

[chasmmi]

17th

 

Spoiler

 

Focus

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 80-85/100

Actual Score - 92/100

 

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of Will Smith be it Fresh Prince of Bel Air, DJ JAzzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, Independence Day, Men in Black, hell even Wild Wild West.

 

So I really like this film, Will Smith is back to being the cool character that audiences used to enjoy. Margot Robbie is great in her role and there was a lot of genuine fun to be had both with the cons and untwining the plot. It reminded me a little of Matchstick men which I also liked a lot and just overall it was a lot more fun than cinema trips in February usually entail.  

 

 

[chasmmi]

16th

 

Spoiler

 

Pixels

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 85-90/100

Actual Score - 93/100

 

This was a film where me and the world seemed to be at odds from the beginning. I always liked the concept, was a big fan of the trailer, okay maybe Sandler could have been replaced with a better choice, but I was also open to him pulling this off and I think he did.

 

I really liked this film, the use of the games was imaginative and the scenes were well played and it was more than generic Sandler fayre (even if that can also sometimes be good). Yes there are silly concepts in this but it is a film about 80's video games destroying the world, if Kevin James becoming PResident is the ting that doesn't make sense to you ... well yeah its silly but PacMan is also eating Cars in New York so tomayto tomahto.

 

I like this film and will enjoy it next time a see it too, that is all that matters for me

 

 

[Ethan Hunt]

Glad to see Focus up this high.

[chasmmi]

15th

 

Spoiler

 

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 90-95/100

Actual Score - 93/100

 

I'm not a Marvel fanboy, I'm a fun fanboy and comic book films from any studio have the potential to be great fun in my mind (and every now and again become great in other ways too.

 

Now when I hate a comic book film (Dark Knight Rises, ASM2, Man of Steel, Spiderman 3, Xmen Last Stand), I really 'worst film of the year' level hate it, but those instances are pretty rare. I tolerated Fantastic Four, I liked Green Lantern, really liked Iron Man 2 and 3 and will probably place BVS higher next year than most non-DC worshippers.

 

So therefore something like AOU was always going to either end up top 15 or bottom 5 in my own personal world and seeing as I really had great fun watching it, top 15 it was. I liked the story, I thought Ultron was a good villain, the main avengers all had decent sub-stories within the film and hey even Hakweye was great.

 

Thor-tub Time Machine 2 and the disappointing lack of Seoul-destruction aside, this film put few feet wrong in my books. Could have been better certainly but still I film I could watch 3-5 times a year without complaint.  

 

[chasmmi]

14th

 

Spoiler

 

Mission Impossible 5

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 65-70/100

Actual Score - 94/100

 

Like FATF earlier in the list, the MI franchise is one where I watched the first film, hated it with a fiery passion, and then happily refused to watch another one.

 

However, each instalment brought me a little closer to giving it a second chance. Number 2 had John Woo, he's pretty cool but nope, not interested. 3 got good reviews but not good enough to sway my head. 4 had the Dubai thing that looked impressive and again had good reviews, but stubbornness prevailed. However 5 was so positively received that mixed with my much more regular cinema-going habits of 2014 onwards meant I kinda had to give it a try.

 

Yeah it's pretty awesome isn't it? The set pieces are great to watch (Cruise actually doing them will always make those stand out), the side characters are actually characters as opposed to Ex Machinas on legs or things to rescue (even if all of them need rescuing at some point ), and I really liked the use of Nessum Dorma.

 

Overal a really good fun film and one of the best spy films of 2015  

 

 

 

[chasmmi]

I'm disappointed with the next poster art  I couldn't get it right and its just a whole bunch of orange and blue spray paint.

[Infernus]

14 minutes ago, chasmmi said:

I'm disappointed with the next poster art  I couldn't get it right and its just a whole bunch of orange and blue spray paint.

Just post the poster and let us take a guess at the film.

 

The ones since FF7 have been really great btw 

Edited May 15, 2016 by Infernus

[Ethan Hunt]

16 minutes ago, chasmmi said:

14th

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Mission Impossible 5

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 65-70/100

Actual Score - 94/100

 

Like FATF earlier in the list, the MI franchise is one where I watched the first film, hated it with a fiery passion, and then happily refused to watch another one.

 

However, each instalment brought me a little closer to giving it a second chance. Number 2 had John Woo, he's pretty cool but nope, not interested. 3 got good reviews but not good enough to sway my head. 4 had the Dubai thing that looked impressive and again had good reviews, but stubbornness prevailed. However 5 was so positively received that mixed with my much more regular cinema-going habits of 2014 onwards meant I kinda had to give it a try.

 

Yeah it's pretty awesome isn't it? The set pieces are great to watch (Cruise actually doing them will always make those stand out), the side characters are actually characters as opposed to Ex Machinas on legs or things to rescue (even if all of them need rescuing at some point ), and I really liked the use of Nessum Dorma.

 

Overal a really good fun film and one of the best spy films of 2015  

 

 

 

Does that mean you still have not seen Ghost Protocol? I would advise you change that one

 

[chasmmi]

12 minutes ago, Infernus said:

Just post the poster and let us take a guess at the film.

 

The ones since FF7 have been really great btw 

 

Sure why not...

 

[Infernus]

Mad Max?

Edited May 15, 2016 by Infernus

[chasmmi]

13th

 

 

Spoiler

 

Mad Max: Fury Road

Anticipated /Expected Score - About 80-85/100

Actual Score - 95/100

 

I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, it looked like nothing more than a 90 minute car chase in the desert and as it turned out, the film was actually a car chase for 90 minutes in the desert.

 

It felt like this film was shown somewhere about 9 years before its cinematic release and thus had people raving about it for decades before anyone could really see it. Turns out they were right though, this film has more depth than a glorified car chase should ever have. Furiosa is great in this and the film does such a nice job of avoiding all of the cinematic clichés that I despise seeing on screen.

 

THis film was entertainment in a bottle and had more weight behind it than one would ever have expected. One of the nicest unsurprising surprises of last year.