2015's best movie moments

Herald online·

23 Dec, 2015 06:00 AM5 mins to read

[object HTMLTextAreaElement]

It's been a big year for movies, one of the biggest ever. Then again, it seems like that every year. Dominic Corry definitely say it every year. Here are some of the movies, moments and performances I found to be the most memorable.

2015's Coolest Villain: Immortan Joe

Hugh Keays-Byrne's diseased dictator makes even Kylo Ren look cuddly.

2015's Best Comedy Sidekick: Michael Pena in Ant-Man

Pena's semi-reformed crook Luis drives many of Ant-Man's best moments, and serves as a reminder of how much superhero films can benefit when they place an emphasis on character, and of Pena's still under-exploited gifts as a comic actor.

Special mention to T.I. who was also pretty hilarious as Dave, the comedy sidekick's sidekick.

2015's Second Best Comedy Sidekick: Jason Statham in Spy

Statham has displayed comedic chops before (in both Crank films), but Paul Feig brought a certain joy out of the actor in Spy. Not since In The Loop has big-screen swearing been so awesome.

2015's Most Unexpectedly Engaging Cheesefest: The Age of Adaline

Blake Lively demonstrated heretofore unseen chops in this time-spanning romantic drama that somehow managed to out-class its Nicholas Sparks-derived brethren. Also the kid who played young Harrison Ford in this film should totally play the Han Solo in the upcoming prequel focussing on the smuggler's younger days.

2015's Biggest Cinematic Punching Bag: Adam Sandler

With Pixels and The Ridiculous 6, Sandler caught a lot of heat this year. But he doing exactly what he's done from the get-go - his films have always been fitfully amusing sophomoric idiot-fests. His audience simply grew up and channelled their shame into vitriol for his current output, which is no better or worse than his earlier "celebrated" work.

2015's Most Discomforting Act of Cinematic Violence: The World's Worst Wet Willy from Sicario

When Benicio Del Toro's no-nonsense mystery man is improvising an enhanced interrogation of Jon Bernthal's small-town corrupt cop in the back of a car, his licks his finger and shoves it so far into Bernthal's ear that I squirmed in my seat for the rest of the movie.

2015's Least Civic-Minded Hero: Dwayne Johnson's Ray Gaines in San Andreas

After the biggest earthquake ever, a helicoptor rescue pilot like Gaines would have a lot to do. But he abandons his duties to save his family. So selfish.

2015's Coolest Action Set Piece: The underwater heist in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

The M:I series is the most consistent action franchise ever - there's not a dud among them. The latest one opened big with its infamous cargo plane gambit, but kept bringing the action gravy with a heart-stopping burglary and one of the best motorbike chases in cinema history.

2015's Most Memorable Set Piece From An Otherwise Unmemorable Film: The boat chase in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Something interesting was happening in this overlooked exercise in 60s cool, I just can't quite work out what it was. This mid-film sequence definitely caught my attention: while Armie Hammer dukes it out with bad guys on a motorboat by the docks, Henry Cavill sits in the cab of a truck and enjoys wine and cheese. Then he drives the truck onto the bad guys' boat. It's an extraordinarly elegant sequence that is worth seeing the film for alone.

2015's Most Unexpectedly Awesome Brand Extension: Creed

Some people (okay, me) intitially snickered at the idea of a Rocky spin-off focusing on Apollo Creed's son, but the film ended up as one of the year's weightiest dramas, and outclassed Southpaw on every front.

2015's Most Unexpectedly Lame Brand Extension: Tomorrowland

I got caught up in the fervour of watching this film, which I was massively anticipating. Every time I've thought about it since, it has lessened in my eyes. Among many other problems, the film accuses humanity of inviting our own doom by making apocalyptic movies. But those movies are almost always cautionary tales. Nobody wants 2012 to really happen. Anyway.

2015's Most Beautiful Title Sequence: Marshland

This Spanish serial killer thriller opens with insanely beautiful shots of the titular areas, which take on a degree of surreality from a bird's eye view.

2015's Most Reliably Funny Medium: Animated movies

Shaun the Sheep and Minions each contained about 10 times as many genuine laughs as the year's best live-action comedies. Inside Out was hilarious. Even Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out Of Water was amazing. Up your game, humans.

2015's Greatest Cinematic Heroes: The entire cast of The Ground We Won

The quiet heroism displayed by the subjects of Chris Pryor and Miriam Smith's amazing doco is as beautiful as the movie's stunning cinematography.

Best 2015 Film That Bypassed Theatres: Coherence

This stellar indie sci-fi thriller shows just how much production value a small film can gain from big ideas explored intelligently. It explores what happens when a passing comet affects a dinner party in reality-bending ways. Now out on DVD, it's a must for fans of Primer or Timecrimes.

2015's Coolest Cinematic Moment: When BB-8 gives Finn the 'thumbs-up' in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I never felt The Force as strong as I did during this cute little exchange.

2015's Coolest Character: Mad Max: Fury Road's Coma the Doof Warrior

Rocking a flame-throwing electric guitar on the front of a giant speaker truck (the ''Doof Mobile'') in the middle of a high-speed metal-crunching grind-fest, Coma generated fist-pumping elation in every viewer with a heartbeat.