Decade Rewind: The Best Movies of 2015

Posted on by Kevin Wozniak

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As the 2010’s have officially come to an end, I will be looking back at each cinematic year to give a personal decade retrospective of the best movies and performances of each year.  I will break down my Top 10 movies of each year, along with my favorite performances from that year.  I will also be listing my favorite’s from each genre, like Best Animated Movie and Best Action Movie, as well as best of the technical aspects, like Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay.  This will all culminate into my picks for the best movies and performances of the decade.

*Rankings of movies and performances are numbered from 1-5, with 1 being the best movie/performance.

*Gifs for each category are not specifically of the “winners” of each category, just one of the nominees.

 

 

 

 

THE YEAR: 2015

2015 was a big year for me.  After great success with the One Sentence Reviews Facebook page, I wanted more out of film writing and was lucky enough to get a position writing film reviews for a local Chicago start-up.  Unfortunately, the start-up didn’t last too long and the website shut down.  But the success I had with that gave me a new motivation and that is when I launched Kevflix.  2015 was the incarnation of the website you read today.  It didn’t look like this and the writing was a little rougher and a little shorter, but it was up and the rest is really history.

As for the movies, 2015 had some truly great films.  What I liked best about 2015 is how it felt like a growing year for a lot of young filmmakers, actors, and franchises, but also a comeback and solid year for veterans.  Up-and-comers like Michael B. Jordan, Christopher Abbott, Daisy Ridley, Jason Mitchell, O’shea Jackson Jr., and Ryan Coogler had great years as did old-timers like Steven Spielberg, George Miller, and Sylvester Stallone.  I actually did a ranking list for all these categories in 2015, which you read here.  Some things changed, but most everything stuck.  Here are my picks for the best movies and performances of 2015.

 

 

 

BEST PICTURE

  1. CREED (Ryan Coogler)
  2. SPOTLIGHT (Tom McCarthy)
  3. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (George Miller)
  4. BRIDGE OF SPIES (Steven Spielberg)
  5. STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (F. Gary Gray)
  6. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION (Christopher McQuarrie)
  7. JAMES WHITE (Josh Mond)
  8. STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS (JJ Abrams)
  9. CAROL (Todd Haynes)
  10. AMY (Asif Kapadia)

 

 

BEST DIRECTOR

  1. George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
  2. Ryan Coogler, Creed
  3. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
  4. Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies 
  5. Todd Haynes, Carol

 

 

BEST ACTOR

  1. Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
  2. Christopher Abbott, James White  
  3. Michael B. Jordan, Creed
  4. Tom Hanks, Bridge of Spies
  5. Michael Caine, Youth 

 

 

BEST ACTRESS

  1. Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road 
  2. Cate Blanchett, Carol
  3. Brie Larson, Room
  4. Emily Blunt, Sicario
  5. Melissa McCarthy, Spy 

 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  1. Sylvester Stallone, Creed
  2. Michael Keaton, Spotlight
  3. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies 
  4. O’Shea Jackson Jr., Straight Outta Compton 
  5. Liev Schreiber, Spotlight  

 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  1. Alicia Vikander, Ex-Machina
  2. Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
  3. Olivia Cooke, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
  4. Rachel Weisz, Youth
  5. Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

 

 

 

 

OTHER BESTS OF 2015

 

BEST ANIMATED MOVIE – INSIDE OUT

  • Runner Up – The Peanuts Movie

BEST ACTION MOVIE – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

  • Runner Up – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation 

BEST COMEDY – SPY 

  • Runner Up – Trainwreck 

BEST HORROR MOVIE – THE NIGHTMARE

  • Runner Up – It Follows

BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE – ANT-MAN

  • Runner Up – Avengers: Age of Ultron 

BEST DOCUMENTARY – AMY

  • Runner Up – The Nightmare  

BEST MOVIE NOBODY SAW – JAMES WHITE  

  • Runner Up – The Wolfpack 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD 

  • Runner Up – Carol

BEST EDITING – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

  • Runner Up – Creed  

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS

  • Runner Up – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST SCORE – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

  • Runner Up – The Hateful Eight 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – SPOTLIGHT 

  • Runner Up – Bridge of Spies  

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – STEVE JOBS

  • Runner Up – Carol 

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for 2016!

 

 

 

Check out the best of 2010 right HERE.

Check out the best of 2011 right HERE.

Check out the best of 2012 right HERE.

Check out the best of 2013 right HERE.

Check out the best of 2014 right HERE.

 

 

 

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