The Best Movies of 2015: Top 15 Films of the Year

Domhnall Gleeson in Ex Machina
Domhnall Gleeson in ‘Ex Machina.’

Ex Machina (April 2015) starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, and Oscar Isaac
The Plot: Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test—charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated––and more deceptive––than the two men could have imagined.

Inside Out Fear, Joy, Disgust
Fear, Joy, and Disgust in ‘Inside Out’ (Photo © 2015 Disney•Pixar)

Inside Out (June 2015) featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, and Phyllis Smith
The Plot: Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

It Follows Movie Scene
A scene from ‘It Follows.’

It Follows (March 2015) starring Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, and Lili Sepe
The Plot: For 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe), the fall should be about school, boys and weekends at the lake. Yet, after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter she suddenly finds herself plagued by nightmarish visions; she can’t shake the sensation that someone, or something, is following her. As the threat closes in, Jay and her friends must somehow escape the horrors that are only a few steps behind.

Love and Mercy Paul Dano
Paul Dano stars in ‘Love & Mercy’ (Photo Credit: Roadside Attractions)

Love & Mercy (June 2015) starring Paul Dano and John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti, Jake Abel, Brett Davern, and Graham Rogers
The Plot: Love & Mercy presents an unconventional portrait of Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys. Set against the era defining catalog of Wilson’s music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost.

Tom Hardy in Mad Max Fury Road
Tom Hardy stars in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (Photo © Warner Bros)

Mad Max: Fury Road (May 2015) starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Nathan Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Abbey Lee
The Plot: Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max (Tom Hardy) believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa (Charlize Theron). They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.

The Martian Movie Cast Photo
Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, and Aksel Hennie in ‘The Martian’ (Photo © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)

The Martian (October 2015) starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Aksel Hennie, Kristen Wiig, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover
The Plot: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return.

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in ‘The Revenant’ (Photo by Kimberley French © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)

The Revenant (December 2015) starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter
The Plot: Inspired by true events, The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption.

Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson in Room
Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson star in ‘Room.’

Room (November 2015) starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen and William H. Macy
The Plot: Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and unexpectedly tender exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his Ma (Brie Larson) escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all–his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma.

Sicario with Emily Blunt and Victor Garber
Victor Garber and Emily Blunt star in ‘Sicario.’

Sicario (September 2015) starring Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, and Jon Bernthal
The Plot: In Mexico, SICARIO means hitman. In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is enlisted by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past (Benicio Del Toro), the team sets out on a clandestine journey forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive.

Spotlight Movie Cast
The cast of ‘Spotlight’ (Photo Courtesy of Open Road Films)

Spotlight (November 2015) starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Billy Crudup
The Plot: A group of Boston Globe reporters uncovers a shocking cover-up that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. Spotlight tells the true story of the Globe’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters who spent a year investigating allegations of abuse within the Catholic Church, ultimately revealing decades of deception at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal and government establishment and touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Directed by Academy Award-nominee Tom McCarthy, Spotlight is a tense investigative drama that tells the true story behind the scandal that shook the world.

What We Do in the Shadows Cast
The cast of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’

What We Do in the Shadows (February 2015) starring Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie Van Beek
The Plot: What We Do in the Shadows chronicles the adventures of four vampire roommates trying to get by in a modern world that’s not always hospitable to the undead. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi co-wrote, co-directed, and co-star in this hilarious send-up in which an endearingly unhip quartet of friends reveal to us or, rather, to the documentary crew that’s filming them, the details of their daily-make that nightly-routine. Ranging in age from 183 to 8,000, and in appearance from adorably youthful to Nosferatu-crusty, they squabble over household chores, struggle to keep up with the latest trends in technology and fashion, antagonize the local werewolves, cruise clubs for lovely ladies, and deal with the rigors of living on a very, very strict diet.

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2016 Best Movies – The Top 20

Also of Interest: 2015’s Top 10 Action Films / 2015’s Best Comedy Movies / 2015’s Best Actors