With Christmas over and 2015 quickly coming to a close, I figured I would spend the next few posts going over the movies that were released this year. This was a huge year for movies. I would love to tell you that I’ve seen every movie this year, but that would be a lie. There were simply way too many for me to catch, either in theaters or on DVD. Remember, this is my personal list, so if I didn’t mention one that you thought should be on this list, I probably didn’t get to it. The movies released this year were mostly sequels, reboots and/or remakes. Doesn’t necessarily mean they were all bad, a good chunk of them were actually really good. But, a good chunk of these movies were also really, really bad. Now, understand, some of these movies may not necessarily be critical success, but the ones I found particularly entertaining. For this post, I’m going to go over what I thought were some of the best movies I’ve seen this year. Now: On to the BEST MOVIES OF 2015!!
10. 
Maggie is quite the surprise that I found earlier this year. There’s nothing particularly original about the film, but it’s not your typical zombie movie. It’s more of a drama with an emphasis on family and the consequences of the titular character being bitten by a zombie. Unlike most zombie movies, the transformation into a zombie isn’t immediate. It takes a couple of weeks according to the film. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the father of Abigail Breslin’s character. This is not an action-packed movie, but it is a very compelling experience, mainly due to the performances of Arnold and Abigail. The interaction between the two characters is simply wonderful, with Schwarzenegger delivering one of the best performances of his career. It’s not a perfect movie, but it is definitely a well-made film.
9.
Oddly enough, one of my favorite action movies of the year is a disaster picture. This movie opens with a bang and doesn’t let up. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the film is anchored by a strong performance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Scientific accuracy/inaccuracy aside, the idea of the San Andreas Fault setting off a chain reaction is actually rather spectacular. Buildings collapse, people falling out of buildings, and massive tidal waves. Yeah, it’s your standard run-of-the-mill disaster flick, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Awesome special effects, epic and cheesy music and a breakneck pace make for a decent hour and a half.
8.
Believe it or not, one of my favorite pictures of 2015 is a direct-to-video sequel. It’s also the latest entry into one of my favorite franchises, Tremors. The original film was something a classic when it came out back in 1990, and it managed to get 4 sequels and a television series. None of it was actually terrible. Tremors 5 takes us to Africa where the ravenous Graboids have resurfaced in a meaner capacity. For a DTV film, it’s got some pretty decent visual effects and CG. With wild performances by series staple, Michael Gross as Burt Gummer and Jamie Kennedy as Welker. It’s well shot and has a pretty decent sense of humor, while also being very intense and thrilling. Not bad for a DTV sequel, eh?
7. 
The original Jurassic Park remains one of the most revolutionary and visually spectacular films I’ve ever seen. You couldn’t tell where the animatronics ended and the CGI began. After two sub-par sequels, we finally get a worthy follow-up to Jurassic Park. With Jurassic World, we finally get to see an actual park open to the public. There’s a ton of CGI, but still….DINOSAURS!! Now, with any good sci-fi flick, we get scientists doing what they should never do, and that’s play God with things that were better left extinct. Typical….so typical. Jurassic World is a fun romp through an island with Chris Pratt in the lead. This guy could be the next action hero. It’s got problems, but it’s still a hefty blockbuster.
6. 
Of the superhero movies that were released this year, Ant-Man is easily the best one. It’s essentially a heist movie that happens to have a superhero. The writing is spot on, with some amazing performances by Paul Rudd, who plays Scott Lang, and Michael Douglas, who plays Dr. Hank Pym. I missed this one in theaters because I thought it looked kind of stupid. Boy, I’m glad I was wrong, because this film is really a great deal of fun. It’s got a sense of humor and some pretty impressive visual effects. One of the best things about this movie is that it’s not about saving the world. It’s a much smaller kind of superhero movie, and one that is really worth seeing.
5. 
This one’s a bit of a cheat, as The Green Inferno was technically finished back in 2013, but Eli Roth couldn’t find a distributor. The film was finally released towards the end of September. Wow. Let me tell you, this one is a brutal piece of cinema. The film is Eli Roth’s love letter to Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust, which was a very savage film itself. But Eli Roth, being Eli Roth, he decided to really jab the whole Social Justice Warrior thing right in the eye, with an inexperienced group of people heading into the Amazon to “protect” a local tribe from extinction. What they don’t know is that the tribe they want to protect are cannibals. What follows is a gruesome and gory spectacle that doesn’t slow down. If you’re a fan of Eli Roth, this one needs to be seen. It’s a horror movie, so it’s not going to be for everybody. I loved the hell out of it, though.
4. 
The Western is a particular favorite genre of mine. From The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly to Tombstone, the Western is one of the most well-known genres of both film and TV. Most Westerns are generally American-made. You don’t really see a European-made American Western that often, though. The Salvation is one of the most interesting and intense Westerns I’ve ever seen. That’s due in part to Mads Mikkelsen’s steel-eyed performance. Eva Green is also great, even though she doesn’t say a damn thing. It’s a revenge thriller set in the Old West as Mikkelson’s character is beset by tragedy is his family is brutally murdered. This film has some really great shots and scenery as it was shot on location in South Africa. This was one of my favorite movies of the year.
3. 
Martial arts movies are a particular specialty of mine. I tend to know which ones are good and which ones are bad. Redeemer is one of the good ones. Featuring a fairly solid performance by Marko Zaror, who also choreographed the film’s fight scenes, Redeemer is actually a very solid actioner with a message of sorts. Marko Zaror plays a former hitman who takes out criminals and the corrupt if they refuse to ask for forgiveness. Zaror is one of the most spectacular martial arts actors in the industry today. At 6’2″, he’s pretty damn big, but he moves like Jackie Chan. The movie gets pretty brutal at times, but it is pretty memorable.
2. 
Mad Max: Fury Road has been in development for over a decade, going through multiple incarnations. At one point, Mel Gibson was attached to reprise his role, but after his meltdown, the project was shelved. In the summer, Fury Road was finally released to critical acclaim. This is a very solid action film, featuring Tom Hardy as Max and the Charlize Theron as Furiosa. Theron pretty much steals the show. With an emphasis on practical effects and stunt-work, Fury Road is one of the most spectacular action films of the year. It’s also a worthy follow-up to Mel Gibson’s films. There’s definitely CGI involved, especially during the storm sequence, but it just adds to the experience. It’s nuts, plain and simple.
And my number one film of 2015 is….drum roll, please:
I’ll be honest with you, I was not expecting Star Wars to be as good as it was. I’ve already seen it twice, and I plan on seeing it again. This is the movie that the fans have been waiting for, and it was J.J. Abrams who delivered. Yeah, it follows the same story beats as the original film, but it also gives us something fresh. The new characters, Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren are some of the most compelling characters in the entire series. You follow that up with an incredible performance by Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and with some of the most incredible effects I’ve seen in Star Wars, and you have one of the best entries in the entire Star Wars Saga. With a great story, great characters and great action, The Force Awakens reminds me why I was a fan of Star Wars in the first place. Anybody who knows me, knows that this may have been pretty predictable, but it surprised the hell out of me. Not only is it a great movie, it is a great sequel. I can only hope that Rian Johnson can up the ante with Episode VIII. Yeah, The Force Awakens leaves questions to be answered, but these are the questions that you WANT answered. Hopefully, they will be.
Those are my picks for my favorite movies of 2015. Yeah, they fall heavy on the blockbuster side, but honestly, I had a hell of a lot of fun with these movies. These aren’t the only ones that I saw this year, but they are very good. My next post will be about the ones that AREN’T so good.