2015 had lots of great movies, and several bad ones.  I have based this list, not on what I think will be Oscar contenders, but what excited and entertained me this year.

 

#10 – JURASSIC WORLD: Although this movie was further up on my list when doing the top 5 movies half way through the year, it's repeat viewings have proven to wear off my nostalgia for Jurassic Park and left little substance in this one. It's a fun film with lots to see, but won't stand the test of time.

 

#9 - SHAUN THE SHEEP: While Aardman's "Shaun the Sheep" TV series is aimed at young kids, this movie does a great job entertaining kids and adults alike. I felt the look of the characters wasn't quite as good as Wallace and Gromit features, but it was a very fun, simple adventure with some sharp humor.

 

#8 – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION: After not seeing most of the previous movies from the series I was pleasantly surprised by the characters and story, but more so by the action and stunt work!

 

#7 - THE PEANUTS MOVIE: Even though I am not a fan of ANY of Blue Sky's ICE AGE movies, and I hated having to sit through the self praising Scrat short before the film, I was very impressed by PEANUTS. The painstaking efforts made to keep it true to the comics I grew up on, and previous animated versions, were very apparent and appreciated. My older son completely related to Charlie Brown's troubles fitting in, and my younger son enjoyed the Snoopy and Woodstock comedic sequences.

 

#6 - ROOM: It was great to see such a well-acted and fascinating movie come from Canada. ROOM not only shows how far a mother can go to protect and ultimately save herself and her young son, but also continues the story to focus on the effects of years of captivity and abuse.  The struggles to recapture a normal life are felt by mother and son and also by affected family and friends. 

 

#5 - AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON: The first AVENGERS was a remarkable achievement in a movie series with multiple characters and stories, all coming together for an epic film. AGE OF ULTRON lacks the novelty of the first film, but has a decent story with many great moments. A highlight for me was the party scene with many supporting character appearances from each of the hero's individual films. Is it wring that I wanted a LOT more of that scene? It was fun!

 

#4 – MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.: I really enjoyed the cold war era "The Odd Couple meets James Bond" with an American and Russian Agent forced to work together to save the world from an evil threat. Turn up the soundtrack on this one!

 

#3 – ANT-MAN: OK Marvel, I'll bite…and I am glad I did. A fun, entertaining heist movie that surprised me. I even enjoyed Michael Douglas, who I normally cannot stand.

 

#2 – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD: A high octane, non stop car chase with great visuals, art design, characters and acting that reignites the franchise.

 

#1 - STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

Although heavily criticized for being too similar to A New Hope, The Force Awakens has some terrific new characters and acting and brings back great "real world visuals" and the fun that the prequels sorely lacked.

 

Biggest disappointments of 2015:

 

#3 – INSIDE OUT: While it was a decent movie, I found it very unrelatable and forced.  It feels more like a drawn out short, than a feature film.

 

#2 - PIXELS: Admittedly I knew it was going to disappoint when I saw Sandler and Kevin James in the trailer, but what a wasted opportunity!

 

#1 - TERMINATOR: GENISYS: Another unnecessary Terminator movie, but it had me intrigued. While I was temporarily blinded by the nostalgia used to lure me in, I soon got lost in a muddled plot that made no sense and overdid everything.