2015 Books and Movies in Review
At the beginning of every year I publish a list of all the books and movies I have read during the past 12 months, and give a little micro-review about some of them. This year will probably by titled as “The Year I Finally Saw ‘The Terminator,’ ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ and ‘Total Recall.’” For some of the movies I also wrote some of my predictions for Academy Award nominations, which have since been announced.
* = Among my favorites
** = I had already seen it before I started keeping my list, but I re-watched for the first time since I began my list.
Best movie I saw this year:
Sicario
Honorable Mentions:
It Follows
Nymphomaniac Volumes I and II
Best book I read this year:
Men in Green Faces
Movies
Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer
Good documentary on a fascinating and unbalanced, and ultimately pitiful, individual.
Almost Famous
American Sniper*
Well-told, well acted, not sappy. But still some Hollywood elements, like the handling of the duel subplot between the two snipers.
Auschwitz: Inside The Nazi State*
Babadook, The*
Brilliant, sensitive and very scary horror film. Excellent writing, acting, directing, sound-mixing and cinematography.
Bernie*
Birth of the Living Dead*
Excellent and fun documentary about the groundbreaking horror film.
Bridge of Spies*
Good, but not great. Well acted and well made, but still felt like it was simplistic.
Burbs, The
Crimson Peak*
Beautiful, but not very scary. On some level it falls short. Predictions: Best Art Direction/Set Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Visual Effects.
Devil’s Advocate *
Entertaining, if not particularly profound, film. Pacino is an excellent Satan and is the reason the film is good and not ho-hum.
Everest*
Good acting and moving. Felt very documentary-like and real. Great Cinematography and Visual Effects
Ex Machina*
Beautiful production values, good acting. But script was lacking. Nothing new brought to the table.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Foxcatcher
Excellent performances but once was enough for me. Bleak and cold movie.
Ghost and the Darkness, The
Good Shepherd, The**
Detailed, but ultimately dull story. Meandering and rather boring.
Hateful Eight, The*
Not as violent as many of Tarantino’s other films, this one feels almost like a play. Brilliant performances all around, as usual. A commendable modern Western classic. The cinematography was done with the soul of a visual poet.
Hedi Schneider Steckt Fest
Horns*
Nice dark and macabre love story. Very fascinating.
Hunger Games, The: Mockingjay – Part Two
Ich Seh Ich Seh (Goodnight Mommy)
Imitation Game, The
Well acted story, but also not terribly originally told. Cumberbatch is good, but not his usual great.
In the Heart of the Sea
Insidious*
Surprisingly good and frightening.
Insidious: Chapter II *
It Follows*
Incredible, relentless, terrifying. Well-acted and well directed story and allegory about the loss of innocence. Possibly best movie of the year.
Jurassic World
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Krampus
Legend of Hell House, The
A good, albeit a non-scary adaption of a non-scary book. Good, but not great.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels*
Mad Max: Fury Road*
Amazing adrenaline rush. A real piece of art. Notable: Art Direction/Set Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Sound Editing.
Manhunter
Martian, The*
Well-made survivor film, hits a lot of human notes. Award predictions: Visual Effects, Sound Effects, Art Direction/Set Direction, Editing, and Best Actor (Damon)
Meru*
Inspiring to see people push themselves to excellency and beyond to achieve goals that seem to hang only on the fringes of possibility.
Missing, The**
Mr. Holmes
Well made and well acted, but rather forgettable, and kind of depressing.
Navy Seals*
Fun, but bad 80’s music.
Night Before, The
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue *
Very interesting look at the evolution of American horror films.
Nosferatu, eine symphonie des Grauens
Good, atmospheric German telling of Dracula
Nymphomaniac Volume I – Director’s Cut*
Raw and told with a jaded, troubled heart, but a real heart, nonetheless. Beautifully acted, directed and shot.
Nymphomaniac Volume II – Director’s Cut*
The conclusion to a remarkable, brave, dark, raw and human movie.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Ravenous
Boring. The whole thing was an uncomfortable experience, and not in an entertaining way. Bad soundtrack and just bizarre. Which sucks. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie for years.
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
Room 237
Entertaining, but a little disturbing in how obsessive it got.
Shakespeare in Love**
Good, sad ending, and well-made but still not deserving of Best Picture of the year.
Sicarcio*
A near-perfect film situated squarely in a heart of darkness. Lyrical, violent, bleak, and poetic. Easily one of the best films of the year. Everyone puts in a good performance, but in the end, the cinematography and very taunt direction are the stars in this ballad Predictions: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing, Actor (Del Torro), Cinematography, Original Score.
Silence of the Lambs, The*
Excellent, and surprisingly not as graphic as I had expected.
Sophie’s Choice*
Beautiful and extremely well acted. Streep embodies the character completely.
Specter*
A trifle too long, but one of the strongest entries in the 007 series. Predictions: Best Cinematography
Star Wars: The Force Awakens*
Although it doesn’t quite capture the magic of the originals, it is a solid entry, respectful, humorous in the right way and not vulgar in its special effects. Abrams has a brilliant eye, especially in the scene where the solar system is destroyed. Possible nominations: Visual Effects, Editing.
Stir of Echoes
Good ghost story and pretty believable main characters. But it could have been better.
Terminator, The*
Still holds up for the most part.
Total Recall
Fun and has re-watch value, but not exactly a classic.
Trip to the Moon, A
Interesting and fun little short and silent film. Good set pieces.
Unbroken
Good, not great. Cinematography was the best part of it.
Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter (Generation War)*
Not as good as bad of brothers, and not nearly as expansive (in fact, it is quite simplified), but still well told and recommendable.
Victoria
Excellent and daring cinematography and very natural acting. A slow burn.
Visit, The
Surprisingly spooky with good and disturbing scenes. Well-acted by everyone.
Water Diviner, The
Whiplash*
Amazing acting, inspiring about the drive to be the best.
Books:
Bear and the Dragon, The
by Tom Clancy
Takes a while to get moving but when it does, it goes at a break-neck pace.
Beyond Freedom: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj*
Edited by Maria Jory
Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
by Stephen King
Glossika Mass Sentence Method: German Fluency 1
by Mike Cambell and Christian Schmidt
Glossika Mass Sentence Method: German Fluency 2
by Mike Cambell and Christian Schmidt
Glossika Mass Sentence Method: German Fluency 3
by Mike Cambell and Christian Schmidt
Hell House
by Richard Matheson
How to Win Friends and Influence People*
by Dale Carnegie
Instant Self-Awareness (Talks on Ashtavakra Gita)*
by Swami Shantananda Puri
Jackdaws
by Ken Follet
Man in the High Castle, The
by Phillip K. Dick
OK. Meandered and ultimately the a world slip through its fingers.
Men in Green Faces*
by Gene Wentz and B. Abell Jurus
Fast-paced yet subtle, hard to believe this was not non-fiction
Only That: The Life and Teaching of Sailor Bob Adamson*
by Kalyani Lawry
Pelican Brief, The
by John Grisham
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer*
by Patrick Süskind
Very Good – Well paced and poetic in its telling.
Point Man*
by Chief James Watson and Kevin Dockery
Rainbow Six
by Tom Clancy
SOS Help for Emotions: Managing Anxiety, Anger, and Depression
by Lynn Clark
Sum of All Fears, The,
by Tom Clancy
Testament, The
by John Grisham
Very good: Well paced, exciting and ultimately touching
Why Can’t I Fall in Love? A 12-Step Program
by Shmuley Boteach
* = Among my favorites
** = I had already seen it before I started keeping my list, but I re-watched for the first time since I began my list.
Best movie I saw this year:
Sicario
Honorable Mentions:
It Follows
Nymphomaniac Volumes I and II
Best book I read this year:
Men in Green Faces
Movies
Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer
Good documentary on a fascinating and unbalanced, and ultimately pitiful, individual.
Almost Famous
American Sniper*
Well-told, well acted, not sappy. But still some Hollywood elements, like the handling of the duel subplot between the two snipers.
Auschwitz: Inside The Nazi State*
Babadook, The*
Brilliant, sensitive and very scary horror film. Excellent writing, acting, directing, sound-mixing and cinematography.
Bernie*
Birth of the Living Dead*
Excellent and fun documentary about the groundbreaking horror film.
Bridge of Spies*
Good, but not great. Well acted and well made, but still felt like it was simplistic.
Burbs, The
Crimson Peak*
Beautiful, but not very scary. On some level it falls short. Predictions: Best Art Direction/Set Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Visual Effects.
Devil’s Advocate *
Entertaining, if not particularly profound, film. Pacino is an excellent Satan and is the reason the film is good and not ho-hum.
Everest*
Good acting and moving. Felt very documentary-like and real. Great Cinematography and Visual Effects
Ex Machina*
Beautiful production values, good acting. But script was lacking. Nothing new brought to the table.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Foxcatcher
Excellent performances but once was enough for me. Bleak and cold movie.
Ghost and the Darkness, The
Good Shepherd, The**
Detailed, but ultimately dull story. Meandering and rather boring.
Hateful Eight, The*
Not as violent as many of Tarantino’s other films, this one feels almost like a play. Brilliant performances all around, as usual. A commendable modern Western classic. The cinematography was done with the soul of a visual poet.
Hedi Schneider Steckt Fest
Horns*
Nice dark and macabre love story. Very fascinating.
Hunger Games, The: Mockingjay – Part Two
Ich Seh Ich Seh (Goodnight Mommy)
Imitation Game, The
Well acted story, but also not terribly originally told. Cumberbatch is good, but not his usual great.
In the Heart of the Sea
Insidious*
Surprisingly good and frightening.
Insidious: Chapter II *
It Follows*
Incredible, relentless, terrifying. Well-acted and well directed story and allegory about the loss of innocence. Possibly best movie of the year.
Jurassic World
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Krampus
Legend of Hell House, The
A good, albeit a non-scary adaption of a non-scary book. Good, but not great.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels*
Mad Max: Fury Road*
Amazing adrenaline rush. A real piece of art. Notable: Art Direction/Set Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Sound Editing.
Manhunter
Martian, The*
Well-made survivor film, hits a lot of human notes. Award predictions: Visual Effects, Sound Effects, Art Direction/Set Direction, Editing, and Best Actor (Damon)
Meru*
Inspiring to see people push themselves to excellency and beyond to achieve goals that seem to hang only on the fringes of possibility.
Missing, The**
Mr. Holmes
Well made and well acted, but rather forgettable, and kind of depressing.
Navy Seals*
Fun, but bad 80’s music.
Night Before, The
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue *
Very interesting look at the evolution of American horror films.
Nosferatu, eine symphonie des Grauens
Good, atmospheric German telling of Dracula
Nymphomaniac Volume I – Director’s Cut*
Raw and told with a jaded, troubled heart, but a real heart, nonetheless. Beautifully acted, directed and shot.
Nymphomaniac Volume II – Director’s Cut*
The conclusion to a remarkable, brave, dark, raw and human movie.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Ravenous
Boring. The whole thing was an uncomfortable experience, and not in an entertaining way. Bad soundtrack and just bizarre. Which sucks. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie for years.
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
Room 237
Entertaining, but a little disturbing in how obsessive it got.
Shakespeare in Love**
Good, sad ending, and well-made but still not deserving of Best Picture of the year.
Sicarcio*
A near-perfect film situated squarely in a heart of darkness. Lyrical, violent, bleak, and poetic. Easily one of the best films of the year. Everyone puts in a good performance, but in the end, the cinematography and very taunt direction are the stars in this ballad Predictions: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing, Actor (Del Torro), Cinematography, Original Score.
Silence of the Lambs, The*
Excellent, and surprisingly not as graphic as I had expected.
Sophie’s Choice*
Beautiful and extremely well acted. Streep embodies the character completely.
Specter*
A trifle too long, but one of the strongest entries in the 007 series. Predictions: Best Cinematography
Star Wars: The Force Awakens*
Although it doesn’t quite capture the magic of the originals, it is a solid entry, respectful, humorous in the right way and not vulgar in its special effects. Abrams has a brilliant eye, especially in the scene where the solar system is destroyed. Possible nominations: Visual Effects, Editing.
Stir of Echoes
Good ghost story and pretty believable main characters. But it could have been better.
Terminator, The*
Still holds up for the most part.
Total Recall
Fun and has re-watch value, but not exactly a classic.
Trip to the Moon, A
Interesting and fun little short and silent film. Good set pieces.
Unbroken
Good, not great. Cinematography was the best part of it.
Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter (Generation War)*
Not as good as bad of brothers, and not nearly as expansive (in fact, it is quite simplified), but still well told and recommendable.
Victoria
Excellent and daring cinematography and very natural acting. A slow burn.
Visit, The
Surprisingly spooky with good and disturbing scenes. Well-acted by everyone.
Water Diviner, The
Whiplash*
Amazing acting, inspiring about the drive to be the best.
Books:
Bear and the Dragon, The
by Tom Clancy
Takes a while to get moving but when it does, it goes at a break-neck pace.
Beyond Freedom: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj*
Edited by Maria Jory
Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
by Stephen King
Glossika Mass Sentence Method: German Fluency 1
by Mike Cambell and Christian Schmidt
Glossika Mass Sentence Method: German Fluency 2
by Mike Cambell and Christian Schmidt
Glossika Mass Sentence Method: German Fluency 3
by Mike Cambell and Christian Schmidt
Hell House
by Richard Matheson
How to Win Friends and Influence People*
by Dale Carnegie
Instant Self-Awareness (Talks on Ashtavakra Gita)*
by Swami Shantananda Puri
Jackdaws
by Ken Follet
Man in the High Castle, The
by Phillip K. Dick
OK. Meandered and ultimately the a world slip through its fingers.
Men in Green Faces*
by Gene Wentz and B. Abell Jurus
Fast-paced yet subtle, hard to believe this was not non-fiction
Only That: The Life and Teaching of Sailor Bob Adamson*
by Kalyani Lawry
Pelican Brief, The
by John Grisham
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer*
by Patrick Süskind
Very Good – Well paced and poetic in its telling.
Point Man*
by Chief James Watson and Kevin Dockery
Rainbow Six
by Tom Clancy
SOS Help for Emotions: Managing Anxiety, Anger, and Depression
by Lynn Clark
Sum of All Fears, The,
by Tom Clancy
Testament, The
by John Grisham
Very good: Well paced, exciting and ultimately touching
Why Can’t I Fall in Love? A 12-Step Program
by Shmuley Boteach
posted by Tristan | 3:16 PM
|
0 comments
