Best Films of 2015
POSTED BY: JEWELSTAITEFAN
UPDATED: Thursday, March 24, 2016 14:34
VIEWED: 9192
PAGE 4 of 6
This is off topic, but wanted to mention that for those who liked Ex_Machina, you should check out the new show Humans on AMC (in the States that is, it's from the UK, maybe ITV or another. Probably not BBC or else it would be on BBC-America).
Best new show I've seen since Orphan Black.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.
That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.
Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.
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Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.
Terminator: Genysis
I have recently gotten better luck on DVD than the cinema.
Last Jan/Feb I stumbled into a large crowd coming out of a flick on an off day, weekday, late at night. I looked and saw it was The Loft. Had not heard of it, not seen ads or trailers. Looked it up online, synopsis plus Rachael Taylor, Isabel Lucas, Karl Urban, and wanted to see it - went back to theater and it was gone, never found it in bargain theaters, seemed to wait forever for it to get to DVD, then all library free copies were checked out, all rentals checked out, redbox kept being out, etc.
Finally got to see it. I had conjured it would be much like Peter Berg's Very Bad Things, but it was much better. A whodunnit or whydunnit more like Usual Suspects, Color of Night, part of me thinks Sin City. If it was listed as a 2015 film, it would be on my list of best for the year.
Another was Survivor with Milla Jovovich. Not listed a release date for cinema, just DVD in 2015. Much better than most of what I've seen in a while. I must add it to the list of best.
Survivor. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3247714/
Also, not to keep out the women, should we include the beyond chick flick and straight to mommyporn entry 50 Shades of Grey? Anybody think it is capable of being best of?
I have heard good things about Maggie, but never saw it in theater. Has anybody?
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Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
So far it has been:
Ex-Machina,
Woman in Gold
Predestination.
Blackhat,
Kingsman,
Jupiter Ascending
Taken 3.
Mad Max.
Terminator: Genysis
Survivor (Milla Jovovich)
SGG adds Minions. http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=36&tid=59908
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No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.
SGG
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.
That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.
Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.
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You know, I don't think I've seen UHF (at least, I don't remember, getting old) and I've only seen bits and pieces of Buckaroo (I admire Peter Weller), but one of my all-time favorite comedies is Raising Arizona, which I believe is a Coen Brothers gem (next to Fargo).
You're right about the characters and storylines making sense within the context of the film, as crazy and whacked out as they appear to be. It completely tells the truth about each of their realities, as depicted within the story. Love that film, I'm chuckling right now just thinking about it. ;-)
What you say in regards to manipulation is so true, and one of the things that drives me crazy as well. It's one of the reasons why I was so mixed about Terminator: Genisys. I applauded the writers attempt to incorporate the original storyline (Cameron kept it simple, but the story drove the action). With T:G it seemed the characters were introduced so as to set up key phrases made popular by the original, as well as some of the action.
(To me, T2 was the best of all both in writing and storyline).
But there were elements that I liked about it. One of the things that makes sense to me is to continue the logical aspects and follow up of the original storyline. They did some of that, but the chemistry between the 2 leads was lacking. I was thoroughly unconvinced about the 'John Conner becoming a cyborg' storyline, are you kidding me!?
Gotta Go, but more to come later.
SGG
Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I know some will find this hard to believe, but I love UHF. Another wild and crazy film that is high on my list is Buckaroo Banzai. And the Coen's second film Raising Arizona. The positive factor is that every seemingly crazy, nonsensical thing about them is that they actually do make sense within the context of how the story and characters have been established.
Where I draw the line is when characters and situations are manipulated in a non-logical way just to get to a particular scenario even when that contradicts the premise that has already been established, or worse, just to get to a particular visual special effect. Jupiter Ascending was nothing but visual set-pieces wrapped around a flimsy and cliched story. And from what I've been reading, Jurassic World is full of stupid people doing stupid things, or even supposedly smart people doing stupid things. I'm with SGG, it's the story that matters, and even though Firefly and Serenity had great FX, it was the story and the strength of the characters that made it special.
I'm on a limited budget now, so I'm not going to the theater for every remake, reboot, prequel, reimagining etc. that comes along. I'm tired of that crap and want more original stories, even if they draw from previous similar films in the way that Ex_Machina did. Or when everything I read about them is positive, which has not been the case for much except for Fury Road, which I haven't seen yet, but is likely to be at the discount theater soon. I'm not big on action for action's sake, or FX that doesn't enhance the story, so the list of films that normally catch my attention is usually very short.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.
That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.
Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.
No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.
SGG
You discovered Ebert to be the fraudulent idiot, or the visionary?
I lost all respect for him with his Kick-Ass spoilers.
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Visionary. But, like all of us, he made the occasional mistake. Ace Ventura comes to mind. I, for one, valued his approach and input regarding cinema. He more often than not pointed me in the right direction when it came to recommending a film.
From your statement, I'm guessing you disagree.
SGG
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
I understand what you're saying. I think that people, at times, think they know what they like and watch a film accordingly. There are those that know and those that really don't care as long as they're entertained. There's nothing wrong with that, movies, since the beginning, were meant as entertainment.
That bellweather, very important. That film that you measure all other against.
Just to be clear about my meaning: I meant the bellweather was a measure of the person, the critic, the opinion holder. Very few films can be used as that gauge, that standard, that winnower or culler to discern the two types of critic. I did not mean the bellweather was to measure other films against. Sorry if I was not clear.
No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.
SGG
You discovered Ebert to be the fraudulent idiot, or the visionary?
I lost all respect for him with his Kick-Ass spoilers.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
No problem. Obviously I believe a film can be a bellweather - such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey or Casablanca (to name a few).
For me, that critic was Roger Ebert.
SGG
You discovered Ebert to be the fraudulent idiot, or the visionary?
I lost all respect for him with his Kick-Ass spoilers.
Visionary. But, like all of us, he made the occasional mistake. Ace Ventura comes to mind. I, for one, valued his approach and input regarding cinema. He more often than not pointed me in the right direction when it came to recommending a film.
From your statement, I'm guessing you disagree.
SGG
What did he opine of Ace Ventura?
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Quote:Roger Ebert gave Ace Ventura Pet Detective his lowest rating. www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ace-ventura-pet-detective-1994
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
What did he opine of Ace Ventura?
But, and there is a big butt, Ebert wrote an interview that starts:
“It's a touchy situation. You describe a guy's movie as one of the worst of the year, and then it grosses $200 million and makes him into Hollywood's flavor of the month. You say it wasn't funny, and the audiences can't stop laughing. Now you're supposed to walk into a room and interview the guy. Hey, let's hope he has a sense of humor.
"So answer me this," I said, trying to look petinent. "How did I miss the point of 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'?" www.rogerebert.com/interviews/jim-carrey-laughs-in-face-of-success
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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