Cinematic summer 2015 is essentially coming to a close. Kids are back in school and the multiplexes are getting ready for fall fare that usually brings us the Oscar contenders and what are considered the best movies of the year.
So, it’s time for The Movie Mensch to look back at the hotter season that was and present our top 11 summer movies of 2015.
That’s plenty of variety and something for everyone on this list, including a couple of music biopics (Love & Mercy and Straight Outta Compton), a couple of espionage flicks (Spy and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation), as well as a present that arrived in the form of Joel Edgerton’s writing and directing debut (The Gift).
Before summer 2015 began, we were calling for this summer to rank among the best summer movie seasons ever. Time will tell whether that is the case, but all told — it was a pretty darn good.
So sit back, and prepare to count down our top 11 movies of 2015.
11. Spy
Melissa McCarthy is a talent, we all know that. But of late she has been playing characters that play to her strengths without challenging her. Her Bridesmaids and The Heat director Paul Feig knows exactly how to write her a character that stretches her wings and also allows her to push the funny beyond what we’ve seen of her before.
That is exactly what we got in Spy, a comedy-espionage action flick that found McCarthy leaving her CIA desk job and heading out into the field. Hilarity arrived in many forms, and here’s hoping that the film that clearly ended with hopes of a sequel gets that wish granted.
10. Trainwreck
Speaking of female comedy greatness, Amy Schumer announced herself to the world with her big screen comedy debut in Trainwreck. There’s plenty of Schumer’s brash comedy stylings throughout, but with the film directed by Judd Apatow, there was enough softened edges to bring in the rom-com crowd and leave everybody happy.
What else we adored about Trainwreck is it showed that one of our faves, Bill Hader, can be a romantic comedy leading man. Oh, and also, LeBron James, you have a bright Hollywood future ahead of you if your day job fails to inspire you.
9. The Gift
We’ve loved Joel Edgerton’s work on screen for years. So it was with utter delight that we went in to screen his writer-director debut The Gift. Edgerton also stars (with Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) as an old high school acquaintance of Bateman’s who runs into him and his wife (Hall) when they move to Los Angeles and seemingly pushes himself into their life. When things get uncomfortable for Bateman, he lets Edgerton know to back off. Then… the thriller gifts just keep on coming.
The Gift is a suspenseful ride that keeps you guessing until the film’s final moments. It is a fantastic debut for an auteur in the making with Edgerton and sure hope he gets a chance to pen and helm another film sooner than later.
8. Love & Mercy
It was a risky move to have two actors play Beach Boys founder and creative leader Brian Wilson for the biopic Love & Mercy. Paul Dano would portray him as a younger fellow and John Cusack would tackle the musician’s later years while he found lifelong romance with Elizabeth Banks’ Melinda Ledbetter. But in Bill Pohlad’s Love & Mercy it works like magic.
The way Pohlad, Dano and Cusack join forces to capture a study in mental illness meets creative genius is utterly astounding. The soundtrack, of course, is fantastic, but it is the performances of all those involved (even Paul Giamatti as Wilson’s longtime manager) that truly hit the high notes.
7. The End of the Tour
It won’t happen, but Jason Segel deserves an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of author David Foster Wallace. In End of the Tour, Jesse Eisenberg portrays Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, who was tasked with joining Wallace on waning days of his book tour for his blockbuster hit Infinite Jest.
The script gave us what was about the best dialogue you will hear on the big screen this entire summer and it was delivered by two actors at the top of their game — particularly Segel. The former How I Met Your Mother star finds levels of emotional depth that had should result in a much vaster career for Segel than the comedies for which he had been previously known. Two writers sitting around talking about the virtues of writing has never been so electric and visually stimulating for an audience.
6. Straight Outta Compton
Between what N.W.A. did on its own with its landmark debut album Straight Outta Compton and then what individual members, such as Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E, did with their solo careers, a biopic of the legendary group could have been muddled in history. Instead, F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton moves like the rapid fire raps of its subjects.
The other miracle of the film is the casting. It is nothing short of brilliance. O’Shea Jackson is not only a spitting image of his father, Ice Cube, but also has his mannerisms down as well as his demeanor and emotional fortitude. Then, there’s Jason Mitchell, who gives a career announcement performance as Eazy-E. There’s a lot of ground to cover in this biopic, but all those involved have outdone themselves in this pitch perfect portrayal of the original Boyz n The Hood.
5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Tom Cruise and his Mission Impossible series keeps getting better with age. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is the best of the franchise and it has so many cover-your-mouth-with-your-hands moments of suspense, theaters should probably have offered oxygen masks to audiences upon entry! Cruise doing his own stunts is nothing new, but what is headline grabbing is that the scope of what he does has only increased in terms of risk, power and panache.
What’s equally as explosive as the action on screen is the performance of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation co-star Rebecca Ferguson. Is she an ally? Is she an enemy? Who exactly is she? What is so bloody fantastic is the way Ferguson plays her Ilsa Faust, we never know until the film’s final moments.
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation also used its supporting players — Alec Baldwin, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames — with levels of brilliance. And we would be remiss not to mention the fact that it also had more comedic moments than any of the previous films combined. That also made the suspense all the more electrifying.
4. Inside Out
Pixar does it again, but dare we say, manages to up the ante emotionally with their latest animated gem, Inside Out. What a brilliant idea for an animated movie! Pixar takes us inside the emotional control room of an eleven-year-old girl named Riley as she moves from her beloved Minnesota to the unknown streets of San Francisco with her family. You’ll sense a theme here on our top 11 movies of summer and that’s how important casting is and with Inside Out, that proves again to be a huge element in a film’s success.
Amy Poehler could not be more perfect as Joy, Phyllis Smith embodies Sadness better than anyone, Lewis Black is Anger in real life AND on screen, Bill Hader channels Fear like a pro and Mindy Kaling could not be more impeccable as Disgust. Collectively they give layers upon layers to Riley’s journey through pre-teen hood that will warm your heart, bring tears to your eyes and lift you up in ways that remind us why we adore the movies in the first place.
3. Jurassic World
Going back to the world of Jurassic Park after two decades could have been a risky endeavor. Instead, it turned into the highest grossing movie of the summer, and most likely, the year (until Star Wars’ receipts are counted well in 2016).
Jurassic World picked up the action years into the successful running of the park that has reintroduced dinosaurs to the landscape on an island off of Costa Rica. Attendance is through the roof and park leader Bryce Dallas Howards is always looking for ways to increase tickets sales and the wow factor. She and the Jurassic World scientists have truly outdone themselves — they have created a whole new dinosaur. As park dino expert Chris Pratt says, “That’s probably not such a good idea.” In fact, it is not as she breaks out of her captivity and turns the popular park into an all-you-can-eat buffet of humans and dinosaurs alike.
The thrills abound around every corner and director Colin Trevorrow does an astounding piece of work with his first big-time feature after a career in indie film. Jurassic World is a worthy addition to the franchise and dare we say, is right up there with the first film on many levels. I know it’s hard to believe, but a sequel has already been green lit and we suspect that it too will land on a future summer’s best movies’ list!
2. Shaun the Sheep
Aardman Animation has crafted a true charmer with Shaun the Sheep that is downright revolutionary when looking back on it. It is a stop motion, claymation animated movie that contains practically no dialogue more than grunts and physical gestures. Shaun the Sheep is tired of the way his days are going. For decades, The Farmer has awakened and gone through the farm’s list of chores by rote to the point where everyone on the farm’s existence has become complacently boring.
One day, with the help of his herd, he finds a way to help The Farmer sleep in and they take the “day off.” One problem, the sheep dog meddles, and next thing you know, The Farmer’s camper is careening with breathtaking speed into the big city. When he hits his head upon finally stopping, he can’t remember who he is or where he is from. Shaun decides to head into the big city and rescue him, if he can only find him!
Shaun the Sheep has more heart and humor than any film this summer and we certainly hope that the Academy remembers this instant classic when they’re handing out Best Animated Feature nominations next January. It is the purest definition of cinematic joy that exists.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller took his sweet time making his fourth Mad Max movie and boy-oh-boy was it worth the wait. Mad Max: Fury Road packs a punch in so many ways, it’s hard to know where to start with the praise. Above all else, it’s a feminist triumph in that Charlize Theron’s Furiosa is a heroine for modern times that patiently waited her time to rise up and when she does embark on her freedom journey, it is with a power that is explosive emotionally, physically and cinematically.
Don’t get us wrong, Mad Max: Fury Road is still very much a Mad Max movie. First of all, Tom Hardy could not have been a better choice to step into the dusty boots of Mel Gibson. Secondly, the action sequences and road warriorness of it all is as explosive as any of the previous installments combined. But, in the end, the story of Max finding his heart and helping a group of women escape tyranny and find a potential paradise is what makes the film the best movie of the summer.
In fact, Mad Max: Fury Road is so good, it is not even close.