Year in Movies: 2015

The Oscars are today.  For the first time in a long time, that sentence means little to me.  Not because of the "too white" boycott, but because I did not see many movies this year.  That being said, I still wanted to hand out fake awards to the best of the year from what I know.

First, the scores.  Overall the year was a bit...underwhelming.  There were some good ones, and one in particular was played over and over as I drove around the Midwest this summer.  But, at least there is enough to make this list:

Scores

Best Action: San Andreas (Andrew Lockington)

Best Family Movie: Inside Out (Michael Giacchino)

Best Drama: Bridge of Spies (Thomas Newman)

Best Science Fiction: Mad Max: Fury Road (Junkie XL)

Best Superhero:  Ant-Man (Christophe Beck)

Best Overall:  Bridge of Spies (Thomas Newman)

Track of the Year: Brothers in Arms (Mad Max: Fury Road, Junkie XL)

Composer of the Year: Michael Giachhino

San Andreas was a huge surprise, I finally listened to it a few weeks ago and was blown away.  Mad Max was my driving go-to score this summer.  Bridge of Spies was a great example of a composer (Newman) being inspired by another composer (John Williams), yet keeping it his own.  Other good scores not mentioned here: The Good Dinosaur, In the Heart of the Sea, Jurassic World, Kingsman, Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Now, for the movies.  Again, I did not see many this year (full list at the bottom), but there was enough to fill out the awards:

Movies

Motion Picture:  Ex Machina

Director:  George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Actor:  Matt Damon (The Martian)

Supporting Actor:  Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Actress:  Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Supporting Actress:  Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation)

Cinematography: Mad Max

Ensemble:  Ant-Man

Action Sequence:  The Cavern (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Funniest: Ant-Man

Most Emotional:  Inside Out

Must Watch:  Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Very Good:  Bridge of Spies, Inside Out, The Martian

Entertaining:  Ant-Man, Jurassic World, Spectre, The Good Dinosaur

Disappointing:  Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pitch Perfect 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Please Don't Waste Your Time:  Fantastic Four, Terminator Genisys

Ex Machina admittedly is not for everyone, nor is Mad Max.  The unfortunate thing for Spectre was, after a great opening scene, it seemed like a less interesting version of Rogue Nation.  Fantastic Four was one of the worst superhero movies I've seen, and Terminator was a ridiculous mess.  Thankfully I watched the former on a plane and the latter I rented for 99 cents, so I did not waste too much money on them.

And finally, some movies to hopefully look forward to in 2016:

10 Cloverfield Lane

Batman v Superman

The Jungle Book

Captain America: Civil War

Finding Dory

Independence Day Resurgence

The BFG

The Legend of Tarzan

Star Trek Beyond

Jasone Bourne

Suicide Squad

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Rogue One

Assassin's Creed

Passengers