Ah, yes. My yearly roundup of everything I've seen. I've been much more on the ball this year than in previous years and I only have six movies left from this year on my watch list with "Son of Saul" being the only one I want to see before the Oscars air. In spite of how diligent I've been, I definitely feel like my relationship with award-nominated movies has changed this year in a fun, new way: apathy. I am done with watching things just because they were nominated for an award and I can tell you exactly when I reached this breaking point.
This year my movie watch list hit an all time high of 450 and I realized that life is way too short, especially when I also have a book read list of 220 (many of which I thankfully own) and a television watch list of about 9 completed shows and 5 currently airing potential watches (that seems short but television is a real time commitment). So, I went through the whole list and removed a ton of things that no longer seemed important or appealing and then binge watched every movie on my list that I could find on Netflix. Yes, it was exhausting and I really should never movie binge again.
In the middle of watching "The Aviator," a perfectly decent Scorsese film, it just occurred to me that I no longer want to bother with movies I don't care about. I don't care if the director is usually good; if they aren't one of my must-watch directors, I'm not bothering if it doesn't interest me. I don't care if it has a high Rotten Tomatoes rating; I'm not watching another sports movie. I don't care if I've seen the first two; if I wasn't too into it, I don't need to complete the trilogy. And I am going to need something more than "white guy struggles against adversary" if I'm going to watch the movie.
In this spirit, before talking about movies I saw, I'm going to list some movies I have not seen and don't really care to with explanations why. Maybe I'll watch them one day if they stand the test of time or someone I know recommends them but I'm not going to actively seek them out or put them on my list.
Movies I Don't Really Care About:
The Martian: My signother saw this movie and he has a much higher tolerance for not great space movies than I do and he said not to bother unless you really want to see lots of Matt Damon messing around in space. I've seen the clip with Sean Bean making a "Lord Of The Rings" reference and that's honestly all I need. I'd rather just watch "Moon" again.
The Big Short: I read the description of this once and was convinced I had already seen it. Maybe there hasn't been a movie like this before and I've just seen too many movies. Lots of white guys, I know that much.
Bridges Of Spies: Actually this one seems like the one I'm most likely to randomly watch one day because it's historical and about the Cold War. I'm just instinctually put off by the fact that Steven Spielberg directed it (I'm just done with his schmaltzy, emotional directing style) and the fact that it sounds like a James Patterson novel.
Steve Jobs: "white guy struggles against adversary". Also, Windows all the way.
Joy: David O. Russell is nothing special and every movie I have seen by him has been underwhelming ("Silver Linings Playbook" was the least underwhelming, "American Hustle" was two hours I'll never get back). I could not care less about this movie. Also why is Jennifer Lawrence always playing so much older than she is? And, as great as she is, she has done way better than this movie and probably doesn't deserve the Oscar nomination this time.
And now the proper list. You will notice that this year I saw a ridiculous amount of movies (and these are just from this year; I saw just as many if not more from previous years) so I will be very brief. As always, the order is partially nonsense and ones with plus signs are movies that weren't nominated for Oscars (usually films I saw earlier this year or movies nominated for other awards). I'm not starring movies for Best Picture this year because of my blatant disregard for the Academy and because my picks would obviously be the first four movies I listed below plus one of the first three + movies that I loved that the Academy ignored.
Previous Years: 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Movies I Loved:
Room: My second 5 star movie of the year.
Spotlight: Amazing story and cast. Minimal camera work.
Brooklyn: I felt a lot of things about everything about this movie.
Mad Max: Fury Road: Like getting punched in the face by God.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: I am a nerd but I can acknowledge the flaws.
Ex Machina: I love low-key cerebral sci-fi.
Tangerine+: I really liked it. Then I watched it again and fully realized its awesomeness.
What We Do In The Shadows+: My first 5 star movie and uncontested fav for a long time. Comedy does not get enough credit.
The Duke Of Burgandy+: An intelligent S&M movie with amazing sets and costumes? My life.
Girlhood+: Such good gender dissection. Love it more every time I think about it.
Mustang: Speaking of gender stuff.
Phoenix+: World War II noir with complicated relationship. Yes.
World Of Tomorrow: Liking the existential dread today?
Anomalisa: Didn't get the hype until about halfway through. Then I really got it.
Inside Out: The logic behind this movie is a thing of beauty.
Amy: Really honest documentary. Great sad double feature if you pair it with . . .
Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck+: Amazing journey into this man's mind.
Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison of Belief+: Needed to be done and done well.
The End Of The Tour+: Perhaps it's more a great story than a great story, well told but whatever, I love this.
Mistress America+: Hilarious and affected me on a level too personal for me to be unbiased.
Movies I Really Liked:
Carol: Only my second favorite lesbian love story of 2015 (see: "Duke Of Burgandy" above).
The Revenant: Beautiful direction, okay plot, a bit overly long.
The Hateful Eight: Not Tarantino's best but darn fun.
45 Years: I love character studies.
CInderella: Who would have thought this would be so well thought out?
Sicario: I wasn't as wowed as everyone else but this really is a good one.
Straight Outta Compton: Solid biopic brought down by very obvious rose tint.
When Marnie Was There: Studio Ghibli is here for your heartstrings.
Boy And The World: A really pleasent acid trip.
Crimson Peak+: My favorite not-amazing movie of the year. It has everything I like in it.
It Follows+: Every year produces one really solid horror film. Here you go.
Clouds Of Sils Maria+: Two characters in a room is everything I write in my own life.
Beasts Of No Nation+: Where's Idris Elba's nomination? Seriously.
Testament Of Youth+: I'm trash for anything World War I.
Dope+: More good teen movies, please. This was delightful.
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl+: Delightful teen movies, part 2.
99 Homes+: Good job making something kind of boring, interesting.
White God+: Puppies! And racism metaphors!
The Tribe+: Hardcore crime movie.
A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence+: What did I just watch? I liked it though.
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter+: Journey over destination. Reminded me of "The Big Sleep" in a weird, good way.
Goodnight Mommy+: Freaky thriller. Kind of predictable twist.
He Never Died+: Henry Rollins in the role he was meant to play.
The Last 5 Years+: Good adapation of a stage musical that I really like.
Trainwreak+: Funny and felt very real.
Diary Of A Teenage Girl+: Unrelatable to me. Smarter than you might notice. Sex is icky.
The Gift+: Somewhat unexpected psychological thriller.
Man From Reno+: Still not sure of the plot but it was captivating.
India's Daughter+: I'm not done crying yet.
Dior And I+: As a Dior fan, I was all about this.
The Wolfpack+: I'm a voyeur who likes seeing people liberated and discovering life.
Hot Girls Wanted+: While slanted, this one showed a new side to porn outside the pro.
Batkid Begins+: Warms the heart and then makes you a bit concerned.
Movies I Liked:
The Danish Girl: Beautiful visuals! So-so everything else.
Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2+: Still not sure the split was necessary.
Suffragette+: Pretty good historical film. I was engaged but not blown away.
Jimmy's Hall+: I think I expected this to be better but it was still fine.
'71+: Ditto, expected to be better but fine.
He Named Me Malala+: Best part: Malala googling guys she thinks are cute and denying it.
The Final Girls+: I got a lot of laughs. Sometimes I just need movies to be fun and this was.
The Night Before+: Ditto plus Michael Shannon.
The Overnight+: Not as many laughs. Mostly odd but engaging.
Unfriended+: Dead teen horror movie but I was really into how it was done.
Kingsman: The Secret Service+: Action movie with a cup of tea. Kind of silly but mostly fun.
Movies I Thought Were Okay:
To Write Love On Her Arms+: I actually thought this would suck. Not bad at all really.
Paper Towns+: Perfectly fine teen movie overshadowed by better teen movies.
Pitch Perfect 2+: I got some laughs but not very memorable aside from Flula Borg.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel+: They shouldn't have made a sequel.
Maps To The Stars+: Cronenberg, you gotta step it up. This was messy.
Movies I Thought Were Over-rated:
The Age Of Adaline+: Only overrated because this movie was really not good. I kept looking for a purpose and couldn't find one.
Movies I Didn't Like:
Jupiter Ascending+: Watched it on Bad Movie Night. Cool visuals though.
Hot Pursuit+: Saw at drive-in. Played 20 questions the whole time; it was so bad.
The Boy Next Door+: Watched knowing it was suck. It did. I was pleased.
Fifty Shades Of Grey+: Hey, still 100x better than the book. There was a screenwriter!
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