Review: Every Film Released in 2015 That I've Seen So Far

So I have been slacking when it comes to reviewing movies from this year that I've seen.  And I'm sorry, because I understand that this is literally the only blog/website that does movie reviews on the entire internet.  While I was watching movies, you were all refreshing and refreshing, dying to know what I thought about the latest movies, and I kept you waiting.  So as an apology for causing countless accounts aimlessly wandering around movie theaters looking for any sign of indication as to which movies are good and which movies are bad, I will now give a short review of every movie I've seen that was released this year, and I'll let you know how badly you should want to see it.  Because if there is anyone on this planet who knows exactly what you, ::insert random reader's name here::, likes, it's me.

In All Seriousness:

The Lazarus Effect (Director: David Gelb)

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger, Donald Glover

Even with the help of the usually great Olivia Wilde, The Lazarus Effect was a rough film to see first this year.  The premise interested me in the beginning, but not enough to keep me heavily invested until the end.  Filled with one horror movie cliche or rip-off after another, the film drowned in it's own unoriginality.  That and the fact that it relied way too heavily on jump scares and built very little suspense throughout.

Rating: 3/10

Should I watch this?: Only if you're forced to.

Furious 7 (Director: James Wan)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emannuel, Kurt Russell

With the Fast and Furious franchise, you pretty much get exactly what you'd expect.  Impossible car stunts, ridiculous action sequences, and one-liners from Tyrese Gibson.  It's kind of like the creators copy and pasted the previous film and then reworded it to make it their own (Sound familiar anyone who has ever written a paper for school ever?).  Having seen all of the films in the series, minus Fast Five (which is the best one apparently), I don't go into these movies with any hopes as to what they might do this time.  I kind of just go into them and then leave when it's over.  This movie was fun,  and it's touching tribute/bookend to Paul Walker and his character of Brian was nice.  But with that being said I only need to see this movie as many times as Iggy Azalea appears in it, once.

Rating: 6/10

Should I watch this?: If you're a fan of the series or would really like to see Ronda Rousey and Michelle Rodriguez fight.

Lost River (Director: Ryan Gosling)

Starring: Christina Hendricks, Iain De Caestecker, Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith, Ben Mendelsohn, Eva Mendes

For anyone who actually reads a lot about movies, film festivals, and other aspects of the industry, I don't need to tell you how this movie was initially received by critics.  For those (most of you) who don't read very in depth into the film industry, it was received poorly, very poorly.  Which is the wrong reception in my opinion.  The film is nowhere near perfect, and clearly takes a lot of influence from well-established directors (such as David Lynch, Terrence Malick, and Nicolas Winding Refn).  But I thought it was a really interesting debut film for Mr. Gosling with a few really good performances and a cool looking aesthetic.  I look forward to any future projects that Ryan Gosling chooses to direct.

Rating: 7/10

Should I watch this?: If you like weird movies with elements of horror, or you think you'd be interested in a David Lynch movie that was directed by an actor instead of David Lynch.

It Follows (David Robert Mitchell)

Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi

While The Lazarus Effect relies on jump scares, It Follows relies on suspense to bring it's horror, and boy is it scary.  Without giving anything away, I'll tell you that it's an interesting idea for a horror film that I haven't seen before, and it's executed very well.  The acting is pretty decent for a low-budget teen horror film with essentially all unknown actors.  This film does what I think the best horror films do, it pushes aside the need for excessive amounts of gore, and instead focuses on building suspense and releasing it in various scary ways.  Like The Babadook from last year, I believe that this will be a horror film we talk about years from now.

Rating: 8/10

Should I watch this?: If you like horror movies, it's a must.

Slow West (Director: John Maclean)

Starring: Kodi Smit-Mcphee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius

This is a classic case of a movie I was excited for not quite meeting my high expectations.  The presence of Michael Fassbender and Ben Mendelssohn (both actors I'm a big fan of) was the main cause for my excitement, throw in my love for the Western genre and you got a recipe for a movie made just for me.  However, I found it hard to really like any of the characters and therefore wasn't really interested in the story.  The film's finale however was really intense, it ended on a good note for sure.  And the lack of too many exhausted Western genre tropes was a big positive in my book.  I just wish I cared more about anything that happened in the movie.

Rating: 6.5/10

Should I watch this?: Yeah maybe.  Other people liked it more than me so maybe you will too.

The Tribe (Director: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky)

Starring: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova

A brilliant film that I'm not going to be able to recommend to many people.  It is essentially a gangster film set entirely at a boarding school for deaf teenagers.  The Tribe has many scenes that are tough to watch, and some that are really tough to watch.  And to cap that all off, there are zero words of spoken dialogue.  The film is told entirely through sign language, and there are no translations.  Unless you are fluent in sign language, you are basically figuring out what is going on through the action of the film.  This is a little easier than it sounds, but still can be a daunting task for the casual filmgoer.  However, it's a really great idea, and deserves the praise it has been getting.

Rating: 7.5/10

Should I watch this?: Only if all of what I said above sounds good to you.

Ex Machina (Director: Alex Garland)

Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander

Science fiction films, especially modern science fiction films, have the most room to be as creative as possible.  When that creativity is geared towards showing aspects of science that are seemingly achievable in the near future (ex: Her, this film), that's when I am the most interested in science fiction.  Although it's not here yet, the AI in Ex Machina is something that seems achievable with how quickly technology is advancing.  And the way the film treats this thought, and the uncertainty of what it would be like to achieve these scientific feats is really fascinating.  Also Oscar Isaac has been on a fantastic streak of films since Drive, and I'm excited to see what else he'll do in the future.

Rating: 8/10

Should I watch this?: Yes.  (Is this me telling you yes, or your computer?! Wooahhhh, mind games!)

Mad Max: Fury Road (Director: George Miller)

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult

I'm sure a lot of people are going to tell you, or have already told you that this movie is great.  Listen to them, because it is.  The energy is ramped up to 10 from frame one to the final frame.  It's exciting, it's fun, and has three lead actors in Hardy, Theron, and Hoult that all carry their own weight through out the film.  Visually pleasing, and still entertaining to those (me included) who haven't seen any of the other Mad Max films.

Rating: 8.5/10

Should I watch this?: If you have eyes and are physically able to watch it, then you should.

Love & Mercy (Director: Bill Pohlad)

Starring: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti

It's rare for a biopic to use two different actors to portray the same person.  It's executed to incredible success here, with both Paul Dano and John Cusack giving different but similarly terrific performances.  Both the actors and the screenwriter capture the genius and the nervousness of Brian Wilson.  Also, as a big fan of The Beach Boys, the amount of time put into showing the creation of some of their music was a real treat to watch.

Rating: 9/10

Should I watch this?: Highly recommend it to everyone, but it's a must-see for Beach Boys fans.

Pitch Perfect 2 (Director: Elizabeth Banks)

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Skylar Astin, Adam Devine, Ben Platt

The Bellas are back pitches!  (Please excuse me while I go waterboard myself for a few minutes for having just said that.)  I'm back.  Sorry to keep you waiting.  Anyway, I'm a fan of the first Pitch Perfect.  I was excited for Pitch Perfect 2.  I'm a fan of Pitch Perfect 2.  What can I say other than that they are fun movies.  The first one was definitely more original, and felt more put together.  This one was a little more of an attempt to rekindle what made the first one fun, but it still worked.  Just not as well.

Rating: 7/10

Should I watch this?: If you liked the first one, yes.  If you didn't like the first one, watch that one again.  If you still don't like the first one, I'm sorry but you shouldn't do everything I tell you to.

Inside Out (Director: Pete Docter)

Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Kaitlyn Dias, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Lane, Richard Kind

When I first heard the premise of Pixar making a film about the emotions inside one's brain, I had no idea what it was going to be like.  After seeing the film, my imagination was far exceeded by the brilliant imaginations of the people at Pixar.  The ideas at work in this film, and the adult themes that are found throughout are what will have the adults leaving the theater with a smile on their face.  The adorableness of the characters and the child-level themes that are found throughout are what will have the kids leaving with a smile on their face.  Only a Pixar film could have a character named Bing Bong, who is an elephant/cat/dolphin/cotton candy hybrid, and also have a reference to the movie Chinatown in the same film.  Not only is Inside Out a return to form for Pixar, which hasn't been at the top of their game for quite a few years, but it's also one of the better films that they have ever made.

Rating: 9/10
Should I watch this?: Yes.  All of you.  Why didn't you watch it on Friday when it came out?

Well those are all of the films from 2015 that I have seen so far.  If there are any that I missed and you think I should see, let me know in the comments.  Hopefully I'll get back to giving movies their own reviews in the near future, but who knows?  I'm so unpredictable, I could really do anything.