Hello and welcome to part two of Movie Night's second annual yearly retrospective - sorry,
but I was only able to do that opening rhyme for the first video.
I'm your host, Jonathan Paula.
In part one, I shared my picks for the ten best movies of the year.
Tonight, I'll be awarding superlatives in nine special categories, and announcing the
three worst films of the year.
Let begin with the first superlative.
Comedy is one of the most subjective genres, but I'm awarding "Spy" the title of funniest
movie of the year.
Amy Schumer's work in "Trainwreck" was a very close second... but Paul Feig's excellent
send-up of espionage movies mixed hilarious slapstick with great parody moments.
Melissa McCarthy was wonderful as the bumbling hero - but the real highlight was Jason Statham
as a cocksure ally who's much dumber than he realizes.
With so many great examples - from that steadicam boxing fight in "Creed", to a winding walk
through Tom Hardy's club in "Legend", to the "Day Of The Dead" opening sequence in "SPECTRE"
- there were plenty of LONG-TAKES in 2015 cinema.
Even the less flashy ones, like a locked down conversation in "Me And Earl And The Dying
Girl" impressed.
But when it comes to the 'oner', this is Alejandro González Iñárritu's world - and we're just
living in it.
I thought it'd be hard to top his award-winning work on "Birdman", but there are huge swaths
of "The Revenant" photographed in a single take, or least - they're carefully designed
and edited to resemble one.
The obvious highlight is Leonardo DiCaprio's central fight with a giant grizzly bear.
This vicious attack is painful to watch, yet impossible to look away from - and it's all
done in a single, minutes-long fluid camera move.
Although I still had a fun time with it, "SPECTRE" is my pick for most DISAPPOINTING.
After the monumental success of the previous James Bond picture, and one of the largest
budgets in history, I was hoping for a more cohesive narrative and a better villain.
The action was pretty great, but many other components dragged on or fell flat.
I just hope this isn't Daniel Craig's final Bond movie.
The most SURPRISING film this year was "No Escape".
The last few Pierce Brosnan outings have been largely forgettable and 'straight to video',
and with Owen Wilson in the lead, I didn't expect much from this third-world thriller.
But I was genuinely frightened for the characters throughout their harrowing ordeal.
It didn't break enough new ground to make it onto my top-10 list, but for a simple chase
story it had unrelenting excitement.
Always a contentious category, but I felt the horror picture "It Follows" was 2015's
most OVERRATED.
A mysterious demon that manifests itself as creepy, slow-walking human constantly stalking
its victim- that can only be transferred by sexual intercourse?
An incredible premise, but ultimately I was more confused and amused during this 100-minute
picture than actually frightened or entertained.
Horror fans should definitely check this one out, but I didn't fall in love like many others
did.
With imaginative visuals, a moving soundtrack from Michael Giacchino, and awesome action
sequences, I was disappointed "Tomorrowland" didn't perform better - which is why it gets
my pick for most UNDERRATED film of the year.
While the ending needed some work, the premise and overall execution of this world-jumping
narrative was brilliantly realized - and I definitely had a fun time with it.
Junkie XL's gritty anthems were a perfect fit for "Mad Max", while Ludwig Göransson's
urban-score for "Creed" was equally impressive.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Michael Giacchino's impressive year.
Not only did he score Jurassic World, and the aforementioned Tomorrowland, he also kept
the haphazard "Jupiter Ascending" somewhat watchable - and really moved audiences with
his playful and emotional themes for "Inside Out".
But it was John Powell's surprising work on "Pan" that gets my pick for best soundtrack
of 2015.
This was by no means a great film, but its exciting and adventurous score - which blends
deep strings, flutes, and flighty leitmotifs made it a very enjoyable experience for sure.
And hearing the pirates and prisoners of Neverland sing-chant a grungy version of "Smells Like
Teen Spirit" was pretty cool as well.
A film not nearly enough people heard about, let alone saw is "The Final Girls" - which
gets my pick for most OVERLOOKED of 2015.
A tremendous blend of satire, emotion, and horror.
The extremely awesome premise - five teens are transported inside a classic slasher film-
combines some of the best elements of "Last Action Hero" with "Friday The 13th", and even
a bit of "Home Alone".
An extremely unique adventure, the bright visuals and solid acting from a familiar group
of smaller names make this a great time.
I strongly recommend seeking this one out.
As I've mentioned before, "Horror" is not one of my favorite genres, but of the films
I did see last year, "Unfriended" was the most effective.
The fast-paced story of high-schoolers being tormented by a mysterious supernatural force
is shown entirely via screencapture.
Besides some gimmicky jumpscare moments, this is a captivating melodrama with some apt lessons
on bullying.
But any movie that gets me nervous and frightened over something as simple a mouse click has
to get my pick for SCARIEST movie of the year.
And now for the WORST movies of the year.
I didn't even care for the first installment, but "The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" takes
'awful' to a whole other level - and is my pick for third WORST movie of the year.
The bearbones plot is just one long, dumb chase scene populated with stupid characters
and tired clichés.
The entire movie is a hurried mess of stolen ideas from better productions.
Trite dialog, bad acting, and a dumb concept sink this picture before it can get out of
its own way.
And perhaps most infuriatingly - it barely addresses any of the questions raised by its
predecessor, and concludes with another annoying cliffhanger tease.
Originally developed as "Twilight" fan fiction, the pathetic "Fifty Shades Of Grey" was the
second WORST movie of 2015.
Not only was the piss-poor dialogue delivered without any charm or enthusiasm, the boring
script practically insults its audience with an ignorant treatment of BDSM culture.
Despite its ample nudity, this watered-down experience is a tame and uninteresting waste
of time.
The only people who might enjoy this wreck are 12-year-olds who haven't discovered internet
porn yet.
Before I reveal my number one pick, some dishonorable mentions have to go to "Paul Blart: Mall Cop
2", "Superfast!", and "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" -- all of which exist in that pile of crap
category called, "Who actually asked for this?" -- but the absolute worst movie of the year
has to be Joshua Trank's "Fantastic Four" requel.
Studio meddling and hatched-job rewrites ruined any potential this second-rate franchise might
have had - but there's no excuse for the feckless acting, drab visuals, and clunky dialogue.
An unimaginative and lazy picture that foolishly omits the best part of an origin story - "Fant4stic"
is an unfortunate cinematic abortion - and the worst movie of 2015.
That concludes my annual retrospective - hopefully you enjoyed looking back at the best, worst,
and most interesting movies of 2015.
If you're interested in seeing what I thought about the other 65 or so new movies I watched
last year, check out my Letterboxd page for additional reviews and ratings.
That will do it for tonight's episode -- but next week I'll be doing a special on Quentin
Tarantino films, so leave your comment reviews below if you'd like to be involved.
And don't forget to check out this information icon to watch some related content.
Once again, my Jonathan Paula, thanks for watching and listening.
Until next time, have a good Movie Night!