It’s funny how this works. When asked what my favorite films of the year are, I’m always pressed for titles. Turns out, it’s forest-for-the-trees kind of stuff. I get so wrapped in my next review that most films -once published- are out of my brain. Luckily, I take notes. And, as usual, I had to pare down my list of favorites as I had no trouble identifying a slew of wonderful films in 2015.
Honorable mentions:
Creed
Straight Outta Compton
Beasts of No Nation
Chi-Raq
While none of these films made my top-10, I’m letting you know right now that any of them could hav
e been nominated for Best Picture without any issue. It would have cost the Academy nothing. Instead, white movie fans all over were way-too-quick to apologize for the racial bias of the nominating committee. The Academy put Brooklyn, a conflict-challenged film reflecting the joy of immigration to the United States (whaaaaa?!?!), on the Best Picture honor roll while snubbing these guys? You deserve pain.
As paranoid films go, this was a gem. If a thriller is done well, politics don’t matter. Of course, when it isn’t, that’s about all that matters.
When I see this title, I imagine a darkened stage suddenly illuminated in one small section to reveal … a Catholic priest molesting a child. Couldn’t be 
more appropriate.
Dunno if you’d call this a guilty pleasure, but I loved that bear. What with Ted 2, The Revenant, and Infinitely Polar, it’s been a pretty good year for bears, huh?
One day, Greta Gerwig will get her due. One day.
My favorite documentary of the year. Want to enjoy a documentary? Screw Amy. See this.
The TOP TEN
10. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Problem with teen life
Is that it b
ites even when
You don’t have cancer
Title equals plot
You’ve messed up the marquee, Sven
Oops! Ran out of syll-
New Zealand vampires
Are a far cry from sparkly
Well that’s a relief
7. Concussion
The NFL hides
Evidence of brain trauma
This makes my head hurt
6. Steve Jobs
Sometimes, an 
apt word
Doesn’t quite fit. For instance:
Megalomani-
5. Ex Machina
When we finally
Reach “Robot Overlord” stage
I hope they’re pretty
4. The Revenant
The West was cruel
But this film taught me 
one thing:
Don’t fight with a bear
Don’t you hate it when
The world economy fails
And we don’t know why
2. Inside Out
There’s no room for more
Within this personal zoo
M
y head is too full
1. The Martian
Ask not how many times
We rescued Matt Damon. Ask
Where we save him next
