2015 Movies!

[Gonzo14]

My wife and I have been on a movie binge. Here's my rankings of the ones I've seen

First Place: Jurassic World
Call me nostalgic, but I LOVED this movie! I think it's the best one since the original. It goes back to the original island, and even features the same T Rex (it has scars from the raptor attack at the end of JP). The new mutant dinosaur made for a decent "villain" for lack of a better term. To top it all off, I'm a huge fan of Chris Pratt.


Second Place: Inside Out
It is very difficult to dislike a Pixar movie, and this one goes right up there with my all time favorite Pixar movie (Finding Nemo). The story was fun, and the casting choices were perfect! (Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, and Mindy Kaling). It's got some sad moments as well as heartwarming ones. If you like Pixar, you'll love this movie! (also there's a new short about a singing volcano that I also liked a lot)


Third Place: Spy
I haven't enjoyed all of Melissa McCarthy's movies, but this one was good. She wasn't playing some rude, crude, unlikable person like she has in some other films. It's a great parody of the James Bond/spy type films. Decent amount of action and a lot of hilarity. Jason Statham steals the show in my opinion.


Fourth Place: Pitch Perfect 2
If you like the first one, you'll like the second one, that about sums it up. It's a copy cat sequel, but I don't mind because the jokes are funny and the songs are catchy. Anna Kendrick's inability to properly insult the rival team is a great running gag. The best moments come from Bumper and Fat Amy (Adam DeVine and Rebel Wilson).


Fifth Place: Tomorrowland
This one was ok. It had a fun story and it was very visually impressive, but honestly it didn't really do much for me. The acting was good and I enjoyed it, but I can't say I'll be rushing out to buy it when it comes out (but I WILL be buying Jurassic World and Inside Out for sure)

Any other thoughts on the movies of 2015?

 

[JJandJanice]

So this movie binge of you and your wife was fairly recent I take it, since all those films are still playing at most major theaters,.

As someone who works at a movie theater and therefore everyone just assumes and even expect you to be constantly up to date on movies, I must confess my movie watching is a bit behind.

With that said, I would have to say, so far, Inside Out is my favorite film of 2015. I, surprisingly, haven't seen Jurassic World yet, I plan to very soon though. But yeah, so far Inside Out is my favorite with a bullet. But other favorites of mine for 2015 so far would have to include Avengers: Age of Ultron, not the best but good. I honestly missed Mad Max Fury Road too, but honestly I've never seen the original ones either, it's on my "to watch" list.

I've enjoyed the two Kevin Hart comedies of "the Wedding Ringer" and "Get Hard" also starring Will Ferrell. I wouldn't call either fantastic, but they were good and funny.


I hate to say it but so far when it comes to 2015 and to be far I guess it's cause of what I tend to go see. So far what mainly comes to mind are movies that thought were disappointing ie I was thinking they were going to be better or movies I just thought flat out sucked.

Movies that were disappointing include the live action Cinderella from Disney. Quite honestly, I found myself bored and even a little annoyed at this film. I guess when it comes to this one I'm in the minority cause critics praised it and it did well overall. But I don't know, I could talk and rant about it for awhile though it definitely wasn't as bad as Maleficent. So far I'm really not liking this direction of turning animated classics into live action movies Disney is doing right now.

With that said, it's a shame an original live action Disney movie also failed in grabbing me as a movie goer and that movie being Tomorrowland. This one is FAR more disappointing than Cinderella was to me, because I was expecting so much more. The hype made it look fun and most of all, it had Brad Bird behind it. The same man who bought us the Incredibles, which I think most of us would agree was insanely good. I guess I found this movie ok overall, but considering the pedigree behind it, ok is disappointing to say the least.

Strange Magic was kind of interesting in how bad it was, I actually was looking forward to seeing this one, but after seeing it's not something I can tell people to go see. It was pretty bad, but I do have to say I loved the animation and art style of the film, which is really what drew me to the film in the first place. However I can kinda see this becoming something of a "cult classic" in the future.

Dreamwork's Home was ok, not great but ok. Guess that's all I can say about that.

And for movies I thought just SUCKED.

Jupiter Ascending. This was over blown and just flat out boring. That's something to take one of the most gorgeous women alive in Mila Kunis and make her about as uninteresting as paint drying. This is one of those movies I honestly get a little shocked when I meet someone who generally liked it and really tries to pass it off as good. And not in that "so bad it's good" kind of way either. I don't know I just thought it was horrible.

Unfriended was also god awful, but I guess this is more consider a 2014 release, but it was wide release in 2015. Still either way, it's bad. Same with the Loft, which was also pretty bad.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was a pointless and mean spirited squeal that didn't need to be made at all, and I actually did kind of liked the first one. This was garbage though, a very strong contender for worst film of the year.

Hot Pursuit starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofìa Veraga is also a strong contender in that category. The two lead actors had ZERO chemistry and the movie itself was just so not funny.

Well I ranted enough on my love for movies, .

 

[Gonzo14]

You reminded me of some I missed.

Yes The Wedding Ringer and Get Hard were both Hilarious! Especially Get Hard had amazing casting. Craig T. Nelson and Alison Brie were just as great as Ferrel and Hart. I was excited for both of them since I'm a huge fan of Kevin Hart's stand up as well.

The Duff with Mae Whitman was also pretty good. It's predictable and cheesy, but sometimes you just want to relax and watch that kind of movie. I also really enjoyed Ken Jeong, he can save pretty much any movie in my opinion.

The movies I missed that I was planning on catching in Redbox were Home and Paul Blart 2. I'm excited for Home because of Jim Parsons of course. I'm disappointed to hear that Paul Blart wasn't very good (at least in your opinion). That's one of those movies I was expecting to be similar to The Duff, predictable yet relaxing and enjoyable, so if I end up watching it, I'll post my opinion on it.

Ant Man, Mockingjay Part 2, Star Wars are on my upcoming "to watch" list.

 

[JJandJanice]

Well I do sincerely hope you enjoy Paul Blant 2 more than I did, .

As far as upcoming films I'm looking forward to in 2015. Ant man and Star Wars are definitely up there. I also looking forward to Minions though there is NO WAY it's going to top Inside Out for me. I'm STONGLY considering that as my honest to god favorite Pixar movie, it actually could top Up in my list.

Also I'm really REALLY hoping Adam Sandler's newest movie Pixels will be good. I know it wouldn't be a "best of the year" but man I'm honestly getting tried of seeing that dude in the worst of the year list of movies. Not that he doesn't deserve to be mind you, cause his movies usually suck, Jack and Jill, That's my Boy, Grown Ups 2, Blended all deserve their spots on worst lists (though to be honest I didn't think Blended was quite as bad as those other ones). Just PLEASE let Pixels be good. I know it's basically a rip off of a Futurama episode but at least that's a REALLY GOOD thing to rip off. But I'm definitely seeing that movie.

 

[Drtooth]

Also I'm really REALLY hoping Adam Sandler's newest movie Pixels will be good. I know it wouldn't be a "best of the year" but man I'm honestly getting tried of seeing that dude in the worst of the year list of movies. Not that he doesn't deserve to be mind you, cause his movies usually suck, Jack and Jill, That's my Boy, Grown Ups 2, Blended all deserve their spots on worst lists (though to be honest I didn't think Blended was quite as bad as those other ones). Just PLEASE let Pixels be good. I know it's basically a rip off of a Futurama episode but at least that's a REALLY GOOD thing to rip off. But I'm definitely seeing that movie.

I could go on a long thing about how Sandler was much better when he was younger and his movies were at least about a younger guy acting like an idiot weren't so...darn...awkward to watch. Best thing he's been in recently was Hotel Transylvania, and he was just a voice. Pixels I'm mixed about. I'll only see it if I have nothing else to do because I'd rather see Minions and Ant-Man. The thing is based on a decent enough short film. I'm not saying that was a complete knockoff of the Futurama episode, but somehow the movie manages to be (even though it plays out slightly different). Personally, if this does better than Wreck-It Ralph, I'll be disappointed. That movie did video games better, yet you didn't have to be a retro game fan to enjoy it. It had some deep personal stuff in it. I'm sure there's more to the plot to Pixels than the trailers let on, but it doesn't look like much.

Other than that, I've quite liked everything I've seen this year. I usually tend to go to films I know I'd like, sometimes go to one I complain the crap out of but wind up enjoying. So far I've seen Home (somehow it's one of the better things Dreamworks has done lately, but I haven't hated one of their movies at all), Spongebob (a great return to form for this overused character, and the 2-D animation looked beautiful in 3-D), Age of Ultron (arguably better than the first), Mad Max Fury Road (something I normally wouldn't see, but was pleasantly surprised with), Jurassic World (delightful and tongue in cheek), and Inside Out (I'll agree with the general consensus and say it's their best film in years). I'm dying to see Minions and Ant-Man, try to see Ted 2... but other than that, there's no other Summer films I need to see. Dope, I'd love to give a shot when it hits Netflix or something.

Fantastic Four just doesn't seem appealing. I haven't actually seen the first 2, but at least those seem to take Fantastic Four for what it is. An incredible if intentionally campy series of extremely cartoonish super hero antics. Grounding them in a dark hyper-reality to the point we are expected to believe a guy turns into a Rock Creature but the idea of Dr.Doom being a dangerous psycho dictator is a little too hard to swallow. In the era of Vladymire Putin, how the heck is that unbelievable? The most cartoonish, flamboyant, exaggerated portrayal of Dr. Doom is more subtle and subdued than actual Vlad Putin.

To say the least, I'm excited for Good Dinosaur, Peanuts, Hotel Transylvania 2, and of course Star Wars. Even those Geewunners who hate anything done to the franchise past 1983 are excited. Probably for things to complain about, I dunno.

 

[Gonzo14]

Adam Sandler movies are really hit and miss, some are classics and some are terrible. I have high hopes for Pixels though for a few reasons. First, I love Kevin James. King of Queens was hilarious, and I've really enjoyed most of his movies. Plus there's the added nostalgia of the classic video games. I'm really hoping that I can put Pixels on the "good" side of the Sandler Spectrum.

 

[mr3urious]

Pixels will hopefully contain a lot less crude, mean-spirited, lowest common denominator humor compared to previous Happy Madison films. This is the sort of film where it has no business of being in.

 

[Drtooth]

While I fail to see the appeal of Grown Ups (both 1 and 2), and especially hate how the second one was more appealing to mainstream filmgoers than the freaking amazing Pacific Rim, it really seems outside of that (and Hotel Transylvania) he's slowly slipping in relevance. Not to Jim Carrey box office poison levels (shame, since he was good in Burt Wonderstone, but the trailers made him out to be in it more than he was), but while his movies never really got great reviews, seems some of his later ones are getting the hate they deserve. Jack and Jill was a terrible concept with horrible execution, and Blended performed as well as most comedies last year (by which I mean, not good).

However, this appears (at least from the trailers, and those are rarely reliable) to not be one of those kids of movies. Adam is there for star power and the fact he's producing. It all depends on what the director, Chris Columbus will allow. Seems this could very well go either way.

 

[JJandJanice]

Adam Sandler movies are really hit and miss, some are classics and some are terrible. I have high hopes for Pixels though for a few reasons. First, I love Kevin James. King of Queens was hilarious, and I've really enjoyed most of his movies. Plus there's the added nostalgia of the classic video games. I'm really hoping that I can put Pixels on the "good" side of the Sandler Spectrum.

I honestly don't think I would consider any of Adam Sandler's movies as "classics," but perhaps that's just me.

And I don't think Pixels will do better than Wreck it Ralph, I really don't think it will.

 

[Drtooth]

You notice that they're just piling on movies in July? At least 3 or 4 movies on July 10th alone? Minions, the stupid horror movie, and that bit about Ben Kingsley dying and transferring into the body of Ryan Reynolds. I think there's one more. Anyway, nice to see Ant-Man trailers finally showing up on television. I was really worried about that one. June seemed a little more low key.