The end of the year really snuck up on me this year! I’ve actually had end of the year posts started since January that I meant to just add to throughout the year and then have an easy time of it in December. I, uh, did not do that. So I quickly threw this together based on last year’s awards-style template but didn’t have time to make pretty graphics and stuff like I did in the past. Sorry!
Here’s a brief look at what I’ve been enjoying this year:
Favorite Side Characters
These supporting or bit roles stole the show!
BB-8 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – this little guy was just endlessly adorable and stole every scene he was in, which was a lot!
Tallulah Hope (Una Merkel) in Don’t Bet on Women (1931) – the spunky and sexually liberated best friend is a staple of Pre-Code comedy, and Tallulah Hope is one of the greatest ones I’ve ever seen.
The Stranger (Peter Lorre) in Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) – part intruder, part exaggeration of our hero’s imagination, and part stalker, Lorre’s role is almost silent but highly effective.
Guitar Hero in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – you wouldn’t think a desert warlord would need a guitar shredder with giant loudspeakers in his gang of war boys, but you’d think wrong; this guy is emblematic of Fury Road‘s unabashedly OTT aesthetic.
Rommel (Erich von Stroheim) in Five Graves to Cairo (1943) – pretty big coup on Billy Wilder’s part to get Erich von Stroheim in his second film, but it was worth it; he’s not quite as memorable as he was in Grand Illusion, but it’s pretty close.
Most Thought-Provoking
Androids, AI, moral gray areas, unusual cinematic approaches, interesting entries in a director’s filmography – for whatever reason, these films held my attention and kept me pondering for a long time after seeing them.
Her (2013)
Ex Machina (2015)
Winter Sleep (2014)
Nightcrawler (2014)
High and Low (1963)
La Notte (1961)
Fedora (1978)
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Most Glad to Finally Watch
Films that have been on either my List of Shame or are ones my peers can’t believe I haven’t seen.
High and Low (1963)
Serpico (1973)
The Rocketeer (1991)
Cool Runnings (1993)
A Corner in Wheat (1909)
Quantum of Solace (2008) – this one mostly because it almost re-completes Bond for me, heh
Best Looking
Great cinematography, great camera work, great art direction, great design choices – all those go here.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Her (2013)
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
The Informer (1935)
Mad Love (1935)
Winter Sleep (2014)
The Big Parade (1925)
Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
The Boxtrolls (2014)
Favorite Scenes
I’ll do some detail on these, just to clarify which scenes and why.
Colleen Moore telling her boyfriend off in Why Be Good? (1929) – after a whole movie of putting up with slimy guys at the club and her boyfriend’s dad who thinks she’s a loose woman, Colleen Moore finally lets loose on her boyfriend when he starts following his dad’s way of thinking, and it is awesome – my favorite scene in any movie this year, no question
The dream in Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) – a fever dream of Expressionist lighting and Freudian imagery that remains a large part of the reason this film is my favorite of the year
Microwave scene in American Hustle (2013) – Jennifer Lawrence just kills this scene involving a malfunctioning microwave
Opening of Crack-Up (1946) – noir films often have fantastic openings, and this is no exception, as a man crashes into a museum and starts busting stuff up for no reason; the rest of the movie struggles to live up to it (aside from a great sequence on a train), but this opening is an instant attention-getter
Falstaff’s rejection in Chimes at Midnight (1965) – if you’ve ready Shakespeare’s Henry IV and V plays, you know what happens to Prince Hal’s drinking buddy Falstaff once Hal becomes King Henry V, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful or moving, especially in Welles’ capable hands
Falling off the cliff in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) – there are a ton of great parts of this movie, of course, but the brief moment that made me laugh out loud and rewind the DVD is when M. Gustave is about to be stomped off a cliff when out of nowhere Zero comes and pushes the bad guy right over; the timing and editing is impeccable
Opening credits of The Blob (1958) – whoever knew The Blob came with its own sock hop theme song?
Through the woods in The Big Parade (1925) – when the boys finally get to actual war in The Big Parade, there’s a fantastic long sequence as they move through the woods toward the front lines – first empty forest, then passing the bodies of fallen comrades, then finally into gunfire and the German lines; it’s terrifying and brilliant
Opening of Forbidden (1932) – this was a frustrating movie overall in many ways, but the opening with librarian Barbara Stanwyck getting fed up and threatening to burn down the whole town (and you believe her, too) is an awesome start
The beard mafia in Where Danger Lives (1950) – at one point during their attempted escape, our lead couple ends up in a small town where Robert Mitchum is chastised for being clean-shaven during their annual beard festival or whatever – totally random and weird and great
Bureaucracy in Jupiter Ascending (2015) – I unabashedly loved Jupiter Ascending, but my favorite part was easily the section where they’re trying to get Jupiter recognized as queen and there are untold levels of hilarious bureaucracy to go through first
Lucy on the phone with her mom in Lucy (2014) – much of Lucy requires Scarlett Johansson to walk around in an emotionless daze, but that breaks down when she calls her mom as she realizes she’s losing her humanity and struggling with what that means; great stuff
Central discussion with wife in Winter Sleep (2014) – this film is mostly conversations between the main character and someone else, but the one that stood out is the one between him and his wife, which really brings home for the audience if not quite for him, the kind of prison his mostly benevolent rule over her has kept her in
Long-distance fast-speed running in Kung Fu Hustle (2004) – this is a ridiculous movie, and it’s really this scene that provides the litmus test of whether you’re on board or not; I totally was! It’s this scene.
Most Whackadoodle
Crazy plot twists, wacky characters, bizarre tone, whatever – these films are here because they struck me as being weird and (mostly) wonderful.
Shaolin Soccer/Kung Fu Hustle (2001/2004)
The Dancing Pig (1907) – if you haven’t seen this yet, here – take four minutes
Lucy (2014)
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Under the Skin (2013)
Mad Love (1935)
Where Danger Lives (1950)
Pale Flower (1964)
Life After Beth (2014)
The Furies (1950)
Safe in Hell (1932)
Most Fun
Awesome, funny, or just a great time at the movies.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Why Be Good? (1929)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Don’t Bet on Women (1931)
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
The Rocketeer (1991)
Lucy (2014)
American Hustle (2013)
Cool Runnings (1993)
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Most Memorable Actresses
Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Colleen Moore in Why Be Good? (1929)
Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle (2013)
Una Merkel in Don’t Bet on Women (1931)
Amy Adams in American Hustle (2013)
Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina (2015)
Scarlett Johansson in Her (2013)
Barbara Stanwyck in Clash by Night (1952)
Melisa Sözen in Winter Sleep (2014)
Barbara Stanwyck in The Furies (1950)
Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014)
Most Memorable Actors
Joaquin Phoenix in Her (2013)
Robert Mitchum in Where Danger Lives (1950)
John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler (2014)
Eddie Redmayne in Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Peter Lorre in Mad Love (1935)
Robert Ryan in Clash by Night (1952)
Bradley Cooper in American Hustle (2013)
Orson Welles in Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Toshiro Mifune in High and Low (1963)
Sydney Greenstreet in The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
Al Pacino in Serpico (1973)
Barry Sullivan in The Gangster (1947)
Favorite Films Seen in 2015
In the order in which I saw them:
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Don’t Bet on Women (1931)
Why Be Good? (1929)
Suspense (1913)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Tomorrow is Another Day (1951)
Where Danger Lives (1950)
Mad Love (1935)
Her (2013)
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
High and Low (1963)
Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia (1943)
The Big Parade (1925)
Winter Sleep (2014)
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
The Martian (2015)
Dan Heaton
Awesome job, Jandy. I really wish that I’d done something similar this year, though the number of movies I saw (below 100 if you remove the Disney shorts) would make it tough. I’m planning to get back on a roll this year, though maybe not on your level with the big project.
It’s great that you caught up with High and Low. That movie really surprised me, even with my high expectations of Kurosawa. I also loved the touch of having the guitar guy in Fury Road. Such a great touch in a movie filled with them! You mentioned The Blob but missed the biggest weird thing – Steve McQueen being in high school!
Jandy
I only made it to about 75 new-to-me films this year myself! Obviously if I complete the Challenge, I’ll have at least 104 new ones next year. :)
Steve McQueen was pretty unbelievable as a teenager. His parents were like “go to your room,” and I was like, really? You’re going to give Steve McQueen a curfew?