| Title |
Year |
Rating |
Rank |
Review |
| Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens | 2015 | 93 | 1 | - The truly brilliant thing that the film does is that it establishes an era of the canon that is squarely after Return of the Jedi. It doesn't start a new chapter so much as the next book, so to speak. And J.J. Abrams and the writers deserve all the credit in the world for that. |
| The Theory of Everything | 2014 | 93 | 1 | - For the truly talented actors and actresses, there comes a role and a performance that forever puts them on the map. For Mr. Redmayne, this is that film. |
| 12 Years a Slave | 2013 | 92 | 3 | - What makes '12 Years a Slave' stand out is its unwillingness to censore itself. While the characters are clearly shaded in either more darkness or light, no supposition is absolute. Thus, a brilliant level of honesty comes out. |
| Fury | 2014 | 92 | 3 | - Perhaps the best World War II film since 'Saving Private Ryan'. The battle sequences, however, in a class by themselves. |
| Spy | 2015 | 90 | 5 | - I find it hard to believe we'll see a funnier movie this year. |
| Neighbors | 2014 | 88 | 6 | - This is Andrew J. Cohen's and Brendon O'Brien's coming out party. Two men who have worked in the shadows of past great comedies and now have written an absolute winner of a gut buster themselves. |
| Selma | 2014 | 88 | 6 | - Very dark but very, very powerful! |
| The Big Short | 2015 | 88 | 6 | - Adam McKay's first 'serious' film is a palpable entry. |
| The Martian | 2015 | 88 | 6 | - It's rare that a cast of this level of notoriety is also so well used. 'The Martian', both in development and in execution, tells you it takes an army to truly save one man. |
| Fruitvale Station | 2013 | 86 | 10 | - Most moviegoers will get hung up on the criminality of the BART officers' action, but the real message here is you just never know when it's your time. |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | 2015 | 86 | 10 | - Stylistically, it's unlike anything you've seen before. |
| Whiplash | 2014 | 86 | 10 | - Together Damien Chazelle, J.K. Simmons, and Miles Teller have created a film here that redefines the word "intensity". |
| American Sniper | 2014 | 85 | 13 | - It's amazing how a story so visceral, gripping, and emotional can be ruined by one damn fake baby. |
| Butler, The (2013 F Whitaker by Lee Daniels) | 2013 | 85 | 13 | - It's a powerful story. Though, as with 'J. Edgar', 'The Butler' reminds us just how distracting poor makeup on miscast ensemble can be. |
| Begin Again | 2014 | 84 | 15 | - It's Indie (the music scene, anyway) without being pretentious, rebellious without being obstructive. |
| Creed | 2015 | 84 | 15 | - There are boxing sequences that have you dipping and diving with every punch, whether or not you are watching it in 3D. |
| Ex Machina | 2015 | 84 | 15 | - It's fascinating how such a seemingly simple story can evoke such complex themes. |
| Kill the Messenger | 2014 | 84 | 15 | - Though the title has very little (if anything) to do with the film, it is a compelling, intellectual thriller. Viewers who thought it was the B-Action movie it's poster art tries to sell it as will likely be disappointed. |
| Southpaw | 2015 | 84 | 15 | - Jake Gyllenhaal, as his character is in the ring, is the real star here with a truly dynamic performance! |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | 2015 | 83 | 20 | - An improvement over the first one. 'Age of Ultron' stays much truer to the comics. |
| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | 2014 | 83 | 20 | - Captivating, yes, but also painfully formulaic. I felt like I knew the story before it was told. |
| Jurassic World | 2015 | 83 | 20 | - Easily the best of the 'Jurassic Park' franchise since the original. |
| Minions | 2015 | 83 | 20 | - A cute, funny family flick. |
| Boyhood | 2014 | 82 | 24 | - Richard Linklater deserves all the credit in the world for his industry-changing work here. |
| A Million Ways to Die in the West | 2014 | 81 | 25 | - One of the funnier parodies in recent memory. |
| Love & Mercy | 2015 | 81 | 25 | - A dark but appreciable biopic. |
| The Great Dictator | 1940 | 81 | 25 | - Here's the thing: in a vacuum, 'The Great Dictator' is only good, not great. But what makes it special and remembered as such a remarkable film is the how brazen it is with its satire RIGHT as these very events are unfolding. This is not 'Catch 22' making light of World War II years after the fact, it's did it in the present, in the face of everything AS it went on. And THAT is what makes this film special. |
| Crash | 2004 | 80 | 28 | - A tough, raw story about the gaps in social statuses, racism, and the fears we admit to no one. |
| The Imitation Game | 2014 | 80 | 28 | - The tension of the moment is cut only by the film's inisistence on being both a biopic and a World War II era period piece. In truth, had it stuck to one, it probably would've gone a lot further. |
| Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | 2015 | 79 | 30 | - 'Rogue Nation' brings some new things to the table, but it's largely the same song just on a different album. |
| The One I Love | 2014 | 79 | 30 | - Apparently the Duplass brothers thought a whole bunch of people were going around thinking, "it's about time they turned 'Inception' into a rom-com." |
| Nightcrawler | 2014 | 78 | 32 | - 'Nightcrawler' essentially sets out to villify anyone and everyone associated with television news. And painting in such broad strokes will be off-putting to many. |
| Fantastic Four | 2015 | 77 | 33 | - It's a solid attempt to bring back the Fantastic Four franchise. The real question is did we need this film just eight years after the last one? |
| Someone Marry Barry | 2014 | 77 | 33 | - It's funny, yes, but very little about 'Someone Marry Barry' feels fresh. |
| Spectre | 2015 | 77 | 33 | - 'Spectre' marks the second straight time in the Daniel Craig era of the James Bond franchise that Bond is out only to be brought back in it for one more go 'round. At some point, we're going to have to accuse him of being the superspy who cried wolf. |
| Dope | 2015 | 76 | 36 | - Rick Famuyiwa is intent on mashing everything together here: stereotypes, genres, characters. The works. And while something new and refreshing, it's also a tad bit messy. |
| Inside Out | 2015 | 76 | 36 | - It's a cute little film for the family. |
| Space Jam | 1996 | 76 | 36 | - It's a whacky kids movie, but there's enough genuine adult laughs for it to be enjoyable for all who see it. |
| The Judge | 2014 | 76 | 36 | - It'd be a lot better if everything outside of the legal drama aspect of the story didn't feel so generic. |
| Pixels | 2015 | 75 | 40 | - It's unapologetically goofy, but the nostalgia 'Scott Pilgrim' captured for early millenials, 'Pixels' captures for the generation of video game lovers that came before them. |
| Ant-Man | 2015 | 74 | 41 | - The obvious obstacle for the film is getting over an obstacle that sounds a bit looney. Even Corey Stoll's character alludes to how silly 'Ant-Man' sounds. And while some comedy and SHIELD-tie in's coax it along, I'm not sure the silliness ever really goes away. |
| Out of the Furnace | 2013 | 74 | 41 | - A small town thriller with equally small "feel". |
| The Interview | 2014 | 74 | 41 | - The best thing that ever happened to 'The Interview' is it temporarily being killed. That generated a lot of buzz. Buzz that, on its own merits, 'The Interview' could've never created. |
| Hangover Part III, The | 2013 | 72 | 44 | - Is it less funny than the first two? Sure. Still, don't let the double standards of snobby critics prevent you from enjoying this admittedly forced conclusion to the franchise. |
| Lawless | 2012 | 72 | 44 | - Tom Hardy is quickly becoming one of my new favorite actors. Here, he is the absolute best thing about this film. |
| Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | 2015 | 72 | 44 | - What starts out as a sharp, funny take on the traditional high school film fades into a dull, depressing teen dramedy. |
| Maleficent | 2014 | 70 | 47 | - As long as Disney is rewriting it's own tales, how about changing the whole Mufasa getting trampled to death and scarring every child for life thing? |
| Wedding Ringer, The | 2015 | 68 | 48 | - Pure stupidity, but we all know there's a place for it at movie theaters. |
| Foxcatcher | 2014 | 65 | 49 | - Where the film would have you believe it's being meticulous, it's actually just dragging it's feet. The fact that Ruffalo, Tatum, and Carrell all turn in remarkable performances is wasted by the fact that you're constantly looking at your watch. |
| Let's Be Cops | 2014 | 65 | 49 | - The worst thing 'Let's Be Cops' does is grow a conscience and try to give us a moral to the story. You're silly, you're ridiculous. Just go with that. |
| In a World... | 2013 | 61 | 51 | - Mildly funny, mildly entertaining. |
| The Equalizer | 2014 | 59 | 52 | - Just another factory-issued action-thriller. |
| Before Midnight | 2013 | 57 | 53 | - Nine years from now, I'm sure we can look forward to yet another feature length two-person conversation that leaves us wholly unsatisfied. |
| Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The | 2014 | 56 | 54 | - The final half-hour or so is supposed to tie the film all-so-neatly into a prologue for 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. And in giving you that sense of nostalgia for the LOTR trilogy, you are reminded just how much inferior the 'Hobbit' movies are. |
| The Intern | 2015 | 56 | 54 | - The real frustration here is Robert DeNiro's character. He's an implausibly perfect shapeshifter. He goes from quiet loner, to weird intern, to popular intern, to the CEO's personal confidant, to pep talk sister soldier. He's literally everybody's saving grace. If he's that perfect, Jules Ostin (Hathaway) should hand thecompany over to him while simultaneously marrying him and kicking her old husband to the curb. Sheesh. |
| White House Down | 2013 | 56 | 54 | - Unlike 'Olympus Has Fallen', the first some-crazy-people-have-inexplicably-taken-the-White-House flick this year, 'White House Down' KNOWS its premise is just a tad bit preposterous. And so it has some fun with that. |
| Kingsman: The Secret Service | 2015 | 52 | 57 | - What ends up being a halfway decent reimagining of the British superspy flick for the first three quarters of its runtime eventually devolves into something needlessly explicit, offensive, and lude. Yes, the last quarter or so of 'Kingsman' is "zero f**ks given" filmmaking at its best (or worst). |
| Aloha | 2015 | 50 | 58 | - It's just a lot of touchy-feely stuff that you never quite grow to care about. |
| The Third Man | 1949 | 49 | 59 | - Underneath its steely cinematography and chilling score, there's just not a whole lot there. |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | 2015 | 47 | 60 | - Henry Cavill seems to play a pompous robot while Armie Hammer displays the emotional maturity of a manchild. It just doesn't W.O.R.K. |
| The Ridiculous 6 | 2015 | 45 | 61 | - Ridiculous is right. |
| Transformers: Age of Extinction | 2014 | 31 | 62 | - Written, directed, and acted almost entirely under the assumption that it had no shot of ever being taken seriously. |
