My Filmyear: 2015

Top 10 Films 2015
2015 is already behind us, but as always it means I always take a moment to look back. At my movie and blog related goals, the best an worst movies of the year and of course my personal top 10.

The statistics

At the beginning of the year I set myself a goal to watch at least 300 movies. I more than did that. 2015 actually was the year I watched the most films ever, a staggering 373 (a number which actually would be a bit higher if some documentaries I have seen were available on IMDB). If you convert that number of movies into time it means that I watched a total of 44335 minutes, which comes down to almost 739 hours or 30,8 days non-stop movie watching, with an average of one movie every 0.98 day.

Goals

As always I set myself a couple of goals at the start of they year, the question is how far I came in realising them.

Film related goals

Watch at least 300 movies: As the stats show, I managed to do that..
2015 Blind Spot Series
2015 Blind Spot series: I picked out thirteen movies to watch and ended up watching 12 of them (Dangerous Liasons I have not seen). I also didn’t manage to write reviews for all of them, but on average the quality of them was quite high. The only movies which I wasn’t a huge fan of were 10 Things I Hate About You, Nashville and The Right Stuff.

Blog related goals

Continue my “lost cinemas of Rotterdam” series: Although I actually did do them for the dutch version of my blog I didn’t come around to translating them. As the cinematic history of Rotterdam is big it means there are still some cinemas I have not done, so I’m planning to continue next year.

Do at least three interviews. I came short here. I talked to director Tyler Measom about his documentary An Honest Liar. Billy Corben talked about his movie Dawg Fight.o

To finally make my personal top 100. This was a list I started on, but never finished. I finally managed to so and the complete list can be found through the links below:
[cgview tags=top-100 size=medium lightbox=0]

– Although I haven’t written about it there was another thing which I managed to reach this past year, which was writing my 1000th review. Quite an achievement I enjoyed making a reality.

My Filmviews tens

BB8
When it came to movies I watched I though it was an amazing year, which actually meant I gave five movies a perfect score:
Kung Fury
Inside Out
The Look of Silence
Victoria (review will be up at a later time)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Worst movies

Bespreking Theodore Rex
Unfortunately not all movies I saw managed to impress. There was quite a big number which didn’t capture me or really disappointed. The following movies scored a 3 or less:

Aloha
Black Angel
Dracula Untold
Focus
Pixels
Tracers
With This Ring
Barely Lethal
Hotel Transylvania 2
De Masters
Savage Killers
Thy Father’s Chair
Tokarev
Theodore Rex

Top 10

And now it’s time for the most important moment. Which were my ten favourite movies the past year? I have to admit that I found it extremely difficult this past year only picking ten titles. Knowing that there are couple of movies which appear on other lists which I have not seen yet, I realise it could have been even more difficult. After much consideration I finally picked these titles:

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10. Me, Earl and the Dying Girl

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Me and Earl and the Dying Girl[/mlprx]
Yes, this movie does contain many typical independent movie ingredients, but if you are not bothered by that than this is a movie that has many highs and lows, not only when it comes to story, but also for the true movie lover. Werner Herzog is regularly shown or referenced and the parodies on classic movies made my heart beat just a little faster.

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9. Ex Machina[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Ex Machina[/mlprx]
2015 turned out to be a great year for science fiction and this is the first example of that in this list. Artificial intelligence is quickly developing and I can imagine us experiencing the first example of it in our lifetime. Last year Her already showed a possible implementation of that, this year Ex Machina did the samen, from a slightly different angle. With great roles from Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson and of course Oscar Isaac it is an unforgettable movie.

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8. The Martian

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie The Martian[/mlprx]
Ridley Scott showed that he still is a master when it comes to science fiction role in another movie where Matt Damon needed to be saved (something Damon seems to have specialised in). A beautiful films which not only convincingly shows how someone would be able to survive on Mars, but also what the human race is capable of. With a tense story and a lot of humor this is a great movie which was just as enjoyable during its second watch.

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7. Mad Max: Fury Road

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Mad Max[/mlprx]
It doesn’t happen often that I see movies in the cinema a second time, but for Mad Max I made an exception (I actually saw it three times). The director who also was responsible for Happy Feet and Babe showed that he hadn’t forgotten his roots and although he’s 70, he can still make one of the best action movies that came out during the last couple of years.

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6. Sicario

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Sicario[/mlprx]
I’ve slowly become a huge fan of Denis Villeneuve’s work as a director (Incendies, Prisoners, Enemy) and this was a movie I was very much looking forward to. And what a movie it is! From all the movies in this list, this is the one with the most tense scene around, set at a border crossing. Masterfully shot, with amazing acting and a story which shows the issues related to the drugs trade. Villeneuve proves again that he’s one of the best directors around.

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5. The Look of Silence

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Bespreking The Look of Silence[/mlprx]
I’ve seen a lot of great documentaries this year, but there was one which stood out to me and that was this one. After The Act of Killing, in which the focus was on the atrocities which occurred in Indonesia a couple of decades ago, director Joshua Oppenheimer now shows how a family of one of the victims deals with it. It makes you realise what humans are capable of doing, even if that’s sometimes difficult to hear/watch.

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4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Star Wars The Force Awakens[/mlprx]
As I’m not a Star Wars fan I wasn’t really planning on seeing this film anytime soon and was thinking of seeing it somewhere in January when it was a bit quieter. When I received an invitation for the premiere though I couldn’t say no and don’t regret it. This is the first Star Wars movie which actually made me feel something and if the next one manages to do so too I might consider myself a bit of a fan.

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3. Kung Fury

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Kung Fury[/mlprx]
Yeah, you can have a lot of criticism about this movie. The humor is often stupid, it’s eighties styling could be called gimmicky, but one thing is clear: I enjoyed the hell out of these free 30 minutes of entertainment on Youtube. Thanks to its short length and easy acces I’ve already seen it for times and it made me smile just as much. So I’m not even embarrassed to include this movie in my top 10 in such a high spot.

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2. Inside Out

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Recensie Inside Out[/mlprx]
Two Pixar movies were released this year and I wasn’t expecting to like the movie about emotions as much as I did. As a father so much in this movie was recognisable to me and at the same time so much was right about this movie that I already knew after seeing it this would end up very high in this list. With this film Pixar shows it is still capable of making a masterpiece.

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1. Victoria

[/mlprx][mlprx effect=”fadeInRight” delay=”450″]Review Victoria[/mlprx]
My number one movie is one which I haven’t heard too many people talk about and which I happened to hear about through a podcast. But I’m extremely happy I did! Victoria is the most impressive thing I saw in 2015. Because how is it possible to make a movie, without any tricks, which consists of a single two hour take in which so much happens which just feel natural? A movie which you should watch without knowing as little as possible, as it will add to your enjoyment of this real time journey through a night in Berlin.

What was you film year like and what were your favourites?

17 thoughts on “My Filmyear: 2015

  1. I’ve been waiting for your thoughts on the past movie year. Some great and inspired choices. Our lists share three movies and I’m glad to read that you love them too. There are also a couple I have yet to see.

    And 373 movies? My gosh that is impressive (or troubling depending on how you look at it *wink*)! No seriously, well done! I didn’t get near that number mainly because my movie watching hit a lull in the summer months.

    Anyway, loved the post and here’s hoping you have a Great New Year!

    • Hey, nice list. Four of your choices made my list too. I haven’t heard of your number one choice, but now i’ll look into it. 373 films is an impressive tally. I saw 250 and I was happy with that. It’s the first time I have ever recorded a list of everything I have seen. I found it worthwhile as the thoughts I had about each film stayed with me whenever I glanced down the list. I wish I’d done it every year now.
      https://darrenmoverley81.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/the-top-10-films-of-2015/

      • Thanks Darren 🙂 Definitely try to check Victoria out, hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

        Yeah, it is nice keeping track of it. What do you use to do so? Personally I use IMDB + whatiwatch.net, but know a lot of people use Letterboxd too. Have been keeping track per year since 2010 myself.

    • Yeah, normally I write it before the end of the year, but it’s here now 🙂

      Yeah, that number is huge and not troubling at all if you understand how I get around to watching them. I travel a couple of hours per day by train for work, so this allows me to see at least a movie a day. Then reaching that number is not that hard 😉

      Thanks, wish you all the best for this new year as well!

  2. Great top 10. I’m still wrapping mine up but we have six films in common. I’ve been meaning to watch Victoria, it sounds interesting and seems great. Pixels and Barely Lethal are some of my worst films as well.

    Also congratulations on the 1000th review!

  3. Congrats on beating even your lofty goals of seeing 300 movies, well done! Glad we share a few films on our top 10, I haven’t seen The Look of Silence but The Act of Killing made my top 10 last year, as you probably guess, the subject matter is close to my heart. I want to see Victoria as well given the unusual filmmaking style, sounds like it’s a good one and not just a gimmick.

    • Thanks Ruth! Surprised you haven’t seen The Look of Silence yet, you should chef it out (as I’m sure you will). Go check out Victoria, definitely not a gimmick and a very unique experience you don’t want to miss.

  4. I literally shouted holy shit to your accomplishment. 373 movies!! That’s so exciting for someone who managed to watch forty and barely makes a dent in her Netflix watchlist. lol Truly, congratulations! Love your list for Top 10, The Martian and Mad Max were two of my top faves. Thanks for having Victoria as number one; I meant to try to see that this year but it’s such a small movie I completely forgot.

    • Hahaha…I do watch a lot of movies while travelling to work by train, so that explains that number. I still have more than enough time to spend on my family (they hardly notice the amount of movie watching I do). All comes down to good time management 😉

      Nice to see you like my top 10 and hope you’ll check out Victoria soon.

  5. Victoria is a great accomplishment and I was glued to the screen. Isn’t my #1, but is in my top 10 of the year. Curious to see what the director and actress do next.

    • Yeah, amazing wasn’t it! I was so shocked when the movie went in an unexpected way and how that all played out. Definitely want to see what they will be doing next .

  6. Good choices for your top ten. Not sure how you find the time to watch that many films though. My target is 120 and I think that may be ambitious.

    I’ve never heard of Victoria either but will be on the look-out after your recommendation.

    • Thanks Ben, as I’ve explained to others I find the time while travelling to and from work, which allows me to watch at least one movie a day (on workdays that is)…add a couple of cinema visits to that and the number goes up quite quickly 🙂

      Hope you’ll enjoy Victoria!

  7. You really kept yourself busy in 2015…I mean…more than a movie per day is a truly incredible achievement I could never hope to match. I barely even surpassed the 100 mark. It was kind of a crazy year for me though, with some personal issues, a move, and a new job…so I don’t feel so bad.
    Anyhow, enjoyed reading through your personal Top 100, and I was glad to see that our lists would probably intersect on at least 15 films. Considering all of the films out there, I think that’s a pretty impressive number of matches.
    As for your 2015 top 10, I also enjoyed “Me and Earl and The Dying Girl” but not nearly as much as you did. I found it a bit too hip (or of an indie vibe) like you point out, though I really enjoyed the references to past classics.
    If I ever get to make the list for 2015, I will probably end up with both Mad Max and The Martian in my top 10 too. I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up loving Sicario seeing how much I’ve enjoyed the work of Villeneuve in the past. It’s on my bucket list and hopefully I’ll get to it this month.
    Thanks for sharing!

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