All the Movies I Saw in 2015

For the 4th straight year, I tweeted about All the Movies I Saw™ in the previous 365 days. As always, they’re listed in the order I saw them. 97 tweets for 97 movies. Counting by month, that’s 9, 12, 8, 9, 12, 8, 9, 4, 2, 4, 7, 13. Of these 97 movies, 38 were from 2015, 21 were from 2014 and the rest spanned from 1944 to 2013. 77 of these 97 I saw for the first time. I saw one movie twice in 2015, but as good as it was, I will only tweet once about Inside Out. How I Watched: 34 in theater, 47 on DVD/Blu-Ray, 12 streamed/DL’d, 4 on TV. What I Watched: 78 live action, 5 animated, 13 docs.

  • Seven Samurai (1954) … You know it’s great when at the end you realize you don’t really care it’s 60 years old, 3 hours long & in Japanese.
  • Demolition Man (1993) … Sly’s answer to Arnold’s Running Man: a sneaky strong allegory trapped in a candy-colored, pun-filled action flick.
  • Score: A Hockey Musical (2010) … The kind of movie that’s so bad you are tempted to think it’s good, but it’s so not good it hurts at times.
  • Jodorowsky’s Dune (2014) … An idea is nothing without execution, but don’t tell that to this doc, which tantalizes with what could’ve been.
  • Enemy (2013) … I’ve not a clue what it’s about, or even if it’s about anything, but it was an odd and creepy—and engrossing—head-scratcher.
  • In the Loop (2009) … In a post-Veep world, Iannucci’s earlier foray into political farce plays as a rough draft, but a fun one all the same.
  • Liberal Arts (2012) … Writer/director/star @JoshRadnor tackles growing up. Whether you’re 20-, 30- or 60-something, it doesn’t get easier.
  • The Past (2013) … Intimate, heartbreaking drama reminds us that hiding the truth to protect others only makes us all feel guilty in the end.
  • Up (2009) … My 2-year-old niece laughs at all Russell’s “uh-oh“s & Dug’s funny quirks; I am still forever floored by those first 6 minutes.
  • Tim’s Vermeer (2013) … Reminding us that technology and art have always been intertwined, Tim Jenison’s project/obsession oddly inspires.
  • Groundhog Day (1993) … This year found me wishing more than ever to be in Phil’s shoes, for the time to do & learn all I want from life.
  • Whiplash (2014) … The intensity ratchets with every scene, each one more shocking than the last. And yes, this movie is about jazz drumming.
  • 22 Jump Street (2014) … Meta sequel is in on the joke, yet the joke is still funny. Lord/Miller & Hill/Tatum both make terrific twosomes.
  • The Imitation Game (2014) … Strong acting from leads despite a flat, hokey script that actually ends with: “Today, we call them computers.”
  • Two Days, One Night (2014) … Cotillard underplays but still wows in a simple, relatable story of one difficult weekend told profoundly well.
  • Ratatouille (2007) … “You’ve never seen it? We’re watching it right now,” I said. 111 minutes later, I was nearly teary after Ego’s speech.
  • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) … Watching w/ my 2-year-old niece made me wonder: will she ever know what arcades were? I guess I’ll have to tell her.
  • Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) … Gutsy 2nd sequel to the unlikely trilogy largely abandons its schtick until the rollicking final 20 min.
  • Wet Hot American Summer (2001) … Had to introduce it to a newbie in prep for the TV show, which I hope is as at least 1/2 as odd/hilarious.
  • Lucy (2014) … Totally bonkers action starts in 1st min & doesn’t let up for next 88, which is good—otherwise you’d realize how stupid it is.
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) … Spock’s (and Nimoy’s) finest hour bolstered by a great villain, a strong mystery and great pacing.
  • Mary Poppins (1964) … Hadn’t seen it in years—decades, even—but the songs & Ms. Andrews are as magical as ever. Let’s go fly a kite, I say.
  • The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) … An unnecessary sequel to an unnecessary reboot that isn’t as cheesy as its predecessor but just as meh.
  • Get On Up (2014) … Chadwick Boseman is electric as James Brown, in a film too scattered to fully appreciate such a stellar performance.
  • I Hate Christian Laettner (2015) … Let us all remember when a nation gathered together to hate a college kid. I was not one of the haters.
  • Nightcrawler (2014) … In a Network for the modern age, Gyllenhaal is certifiably unsettling as the upwardly mobile, morally inept Lou Bloom.
  • The Wrecking Crew (2008) … The shoulda-been-famous studio musicians behind some of your favorite ’60s tunes deserved a better doc than this.
  • Listen Up Philip (2014) … Schwartzman excels at callous, singularly driven, self-righteous types, but this might be his most unlikeable yet.
  • Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) … Doc maker Gibney loves shining light in dark alleys; this is one of the darkest.
  • Furious Seven (2015) … Come for the INSANE action set pieces & silly expositional dialogue, stay for the tear-jerking Paul Walker tribute.
  • Foxcatcher (2014) … Carell’s DuPont & Miller’s Foxcatcher both lull you into a sense of safety before an attack that’s obvious in hindsight.
  • A Separation (2011) … The social customs & legal system of Iranian life seem so foreign, but the characters & motivations are anything but.
  • Blazing Saddles (1974) … Strange how a film of this ilk could seem as audacious now as it surely did then. Progress is slower than we think.
  • A Most Violent Year (2014) … Early ’80s NYC was a scary place—the tension builds so slowly that you almost don’t notice when it boils over.
  • The Central Park Five (2012) … In case you need another reminder that innocent young black males can’t catch a break w/police & prosecutors.
  • Modern Romance (1981) … Albert Brooks reminds us that the hardest part of being in a relationship is often reconciling with one’s own self.
  • Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) … Searingly intimate & often revealing portrait moves past the familiar w/ an autobiographical flair.
  • St. Vincent (2014) … A trifling comedy redeemed only by Bill Murray’s antics, especially in its best (and last) scene—as the credits roll.
  • Working Girl (1988) … Strip away the shoulder pads & rein in the big hair & this tale of corporate games(wo)manship is sadly still relevant.
  • Selma (2014) … A great story worth telling, surely, but the movie, marred by adequate-at-best direction, wasn’t as great (save the acting).
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) … Not as super as the 1st team-up, but now everyone has more to do, esp. the non-super Hawkeye & Black Widow.
  • New Jack City (1991) … 12-year-old me thought it exciting in its danger; 25 years later, it’s overwrought & cheesy. But mostly, it holds up.
  • Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) … Flimsy there-and-back-again story is nevertheless a strong framework for insanely gorgeous/inventive set pieces.
  • Bad Boys (2014) … Taking a closer look at the late-‘80s, early-‘90s Detroit Pistons, doc captures what made them so hatable (and exciting).
  • Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) … Little dialogue, musician star turns and a meandering, almost non-existent plot somehow make for compelling film.
  • Dreams Rewired (2015) … Experimental film nicely illustrates, via archival b&w footage, the techno-panic that’s plagued every generation.
  • Tomorrowland (2015) … Men in Black meets Wizard of Oz in this allegory about the power of ideas to actually change the world for the better.
  • The Primary Instinct (2015) … Heartfelt, funny doc captures storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky at his best w/ a monologue about the form itself.
  • All Things Must Pass (2015) … @ColinHanks’s loving portrait of Tower Records & its rag-tag clerks-turned-execs hits all the right notes.
  • Very Semi-Serious (2015) … A very semi-successful look at the New Yorker’s cartoon department through the eyes of its artists & editor.
  • Double Indemnity (1944) … One of those classics you know is good, then realize it’s truly great because it basically invented everything.
  • Inside Out (2015) … Despite obviously being about emotions, it’s amazing how watching this sublime story, your own emotions sneak up on you.
  • 7 Chinese Brothers (2015) … Small character piece tackles alcoholism w/o explicitly doing so; Schwartzman & his dog charm through & through.
  • Hot Girls Wanted (2015) … Distressing doc on the exploitative amateur porn scene reminded me why I found Spring Breakers so scarily real.
  • Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) … Elizabeth Olsen captivates in this slow burn psycho thriller exploring how cults draw in the lonely/lost.
  • Jurassic World (2015) … In a weird way, it reminded me why love Disneyland more than Disneyworld: smaller, more intimate, less contrived.
  • Ocean’s Eleven (2001) … Even after 10+ viewings I still marvel at how fast the story zips by—possibly to hide its flaws, which are only few.
  • In a World… (2013) … Noticed some of its cinematographic problems the 2nd time around, but the story is as fresh, funny and cute as ever.
  • While We’re Young (2015) … Aging hipster Noah Baumbach makes film about aging couple making friends w/ young hipsters. Surprise: it’s funny.
  • Force Majeure (2014) … A discomfiting comedy that loses some of its bite as it wears on, but still prompts “What would I do?” introspection.
  • Airplane! (1980) … It’s laugh-a-minute jokes now feel more like laugh-every-2, but at least we can guffaw at the of-its-era un-PC-ness.
  • A Deadly Adoption (2015) … This supposed-to-be-a-surprise Lifetime movie w/ Ferrell & Wiig, who play it hilariously straight, confusing all.
  • Ant-Man (2015) … Marvel’s getting so good at world-building & movie-making that it’s easy to forget how same-y its work is starting to feel.
  • Wild (2015) … Reese Witherspoon is almost always great, but has never been better than here as Cheryl Strayed, lost in the wild of her mind.
  • Robin Hood (1973) … I read this @FilmCritHULK essay http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/07/20/hulks-favorite-movies-disneys-robin-hood-1973 and scrapped whatever plans I had to watch this gem immediately.
  • Trainwreck (2015) … The endless cameos & outré jokes wear thin after awhile, but Schumer made me laugh… just not nearly as much as Lebron.
  • Ex Machina (2015) … Alex Garland’s claustrophobic, technological psychodrama keeps you guessing ‘til the end, keeps you thinking long after.
  • Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015) … Cruise is way too old for this—the running, the plane-dangling, etc—but it’s pretty entertaining.
  • What We Do in the Shadows (2014) … Ten minutes in, I said “This is funny, but I hope it goes somewhere.” It doesn’t. But it’s very funny.
  • The End of the Tour (2015) … Talky, not-quite road movie brings to life David Lipsky’s vibrant, vital chat w/ lit hero David Foster Wallace.
  • Sixteen Candles (1984) … The universality & laughs at the core endure, but mostly I was distracted by “this wouldn’t fly today” thoughts.
  • Begin Again (2013) … The two likable leads almost salvage this simplistic look at the record biz fused with yet another NY-is-magic story.
  • John Wick (2014) … It’s a fun, if cartoonish-yet-also-realistically-violent underworld, but there’s no substance to the style. Wears thin.
  • The Walk (2015) … JoGoL can’t excite like the real Philippe Petit, and the film suffers for it, but once the man hits the wire, it’s great.
  • The Martian (2015) … Small missteps (none in casting) can’t keep this from being the thrilling/predictable crowd-pleaser it was meant to be.
  • Back to the Future Part II (1989) … Watching on 10/21 added a meta layer that was always there, but now the future is past. Holds up though.
  • Back to the Future (1985) … As effortlessly charming & nostalgia-inducing–now that the ’80s are to us what the ’50s were to Marty—as ever.
  • Inherent Vice (2014) … Phoenix is funny as a Raoul Duke-meets-The Dude (by way of Marlowe) but the rest plays more like Incoherent Vice.
  • The Overnight (2015) … Bawdy & ballsy (in its exploitation of guys rather than ladies), yet it doesn’t shock as much as it clearly wants to.
  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) … If one can reconstruct the movie from the trailers that precede it, it’s not very original.
  • Spotlight (2015) … An absurdly well-acted love letter to a kind of earnest, exhaustive journalism that seems to be slipping away every year.
  • Digging for Fire (2015) … Swanberg squanders his star-filled cast in a talky-but-saying-little marital drama w/ merely sketched characters.
  • Room (2015) … Brie Larson & Jacob Tremblay are equally astonishing in the strangely not-harrowing tale of the captive lives of Ma & her son.
  • Star Wars (1977) … Watching a bootleg DVD of the theatrical cut makes plain what Lucas knew in ’97—the effects now look really, really old.
  • Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) … The 35-year-old FX are as creaky as AT-ATs, but the drama is as stellar as the world-building.
  • Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) … A+ set pieces can’t make up for clunky pacing & meh plotting in my childhood favorite of the trilogy.
  • Creed (2015) … Rebootquels should not be this good. MBJ & Coogler again make a formidable team, returning the franchise to its auteur roots.
  • Sicario (2015) … The war on drugs is a defeatist exercise, and this, which puts you in Blunt’s shoes, makes you feel that like a gut punch.
  • Laggies (2014) … I love Knightley & Rockwell, and love that Shelton sets & shoots her movies here, but I didn’t quite connect with this one.
  • Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) … A wordless delight filled with endless visual gags, character-based humor, and a surprisingly strong message.
  • Bridge of Spies (2015) … They who forget the past are doomed to repeat it & “they” surely need to see a period piece that’s sadly current.
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) … JJ stuffed all the best parts from the classics into a movie that’s not quite the sum of those parts.
  • Magic Mike XXL (2015) … Laughably (& laudably) earnest, the male stripper sequel is an ode to positive self-image, feminism & …dry humping.
  • A Christmas Story (1983) … This may have been the first year I questioned my allegiance to a movie that glorifies a gun as a must-have gift.
  • Carol (2015) … Exquisitely photographed, sumptuously crafted love story of the most bittersweet kind. Mara & Blanchett are equally alluring.
  • Spy (2015) … Action comedy smartly gives the action to McCarthy & the comedy to her co-stars, yet the mix of the two feels off throughout.
  • Comet (2014) … Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail’s debut feature shows a keen ear for dialogue & quirky eye for framing, elicits great acting.