Here are the movies that came in at #29 – #20 on my complete movie list for 2015. Wow, I’m actually going to finish this list sooner than December. I’m sooooo proud of myself smh.
29. Insidious: Chapter 3
This was another positive chapter added to the ‘Insidious’ franchise. Although it wasn’t better than the first two movies in the franchise (which isn’t a bad thing because I feel those two movies are great), it still was one of the better horror movies to be released lately. Leigh Whannell’s directorial debut looked like this wasn’t his first foray into directing. He clearly has been taking notes watching his partner-in-crime, James Wan, direct the movies they have worked on together in the past. The movie brought its share of good scare moments and was entertaining throughout but I feel that its story was let down by the underwhelming 3rd act. The buildup was fun and I expected more to come from how it was all resolved. Also, this movie hates crippled people because the crippled girl in the flick was just getting disrespected by the demon that was going after her. He was basically just toying with her by throwing her out of the bed knowing she can’t get up and whatnot.
28. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse 
Before this movie came out, I would have never guessed I would have it this high on the list but I guess that’s why you watch movies. It didn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to zombie movies but it was still funny and fun to watch. The characters aren’t ones that you’ll remember but it doesn’t stop the fact that while you’re watching them, your entertained from start to finish.
27. The Night Before
This was a very funny movie but that is expected when Seth Rogen is starring in it. Rogen might have put on his funniest performance in this one too just fyi but that’s still hard to say because he has so many funny roles under his belt. The rest of the cast also brought the laughs including Jillian Bell, who I felt was still under used and needed some more screen time to benefit the movie. The cameos, from Tracy Morgan narrating to Michael Shannon to James Franco, also added to the humor when they would pop up in the movie. One thing that bothered me about the movie was that Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s character, Isaac, was made to be the focal point but his story wasn’t strong enough to not be overshadowed by the other moving parts that were surrounding it.
26. Spectre
This James Bond installment might not be better than ‘Skyfall’ but it’s definitely up there, if not better, when it comes to the cinematography. It’s a great looking film that really brings an epic scale to the table and it doesn’t short change you when it comes to the action either. My big problem, though, with the movie is the way Christoph Waltz is used. His character, Blofeld, is supposed to be one of the more famous villains from previous Bond stories so you would expect that combination to produce something memorable but that’s not what we get. We just get an OK villain that doesn’t standout amongst the pack unlike what Javier Bardem‘s Silva did in ‘Skyfall’. It’s also sad that this is looking like Daniel Craig‘s final turn as the popular character. He killed it as 007 and definitely is my favorite Bond (but I haven’t seen many Bond movies so my opinion on this matter really doesn’t hold much weight).
25. The Stanford Prison Experiment
I never heard of the infamous Stanford prison experiment before seeing this movie but this movie made me get out a do my research like it was a recent event. Based on my findings, this movie did a great job recreating the vibe and a lot of the acts that occurred during the experiment. The movie is a riveting watch, especially if you went in clueless about what you were about to see like I did, because it’s insane to see how an experiment can go from being a study to basically being the exact opposite. And it made that switch soooo fast. I’m watching the movie and I’m seeing the “prisoners” go from knowing that their apart of an experiment, to thinking this experiment is getting a little out of control to things going haywire all in one day. And that just threw me off because I would have guessed that I just watched a few days’ work take place and not just ONE day. Then the whole experiment only lasted six days when it was supposed to last two weeks but when I saw all of what happened, it felt like something that lasted two weeks or more. Especially when you see how the “prisoners” became so mentally affected. The movie is just a great reminder that this experiment made a loud statement about how people act according to the way the world says they should act. If you are below someone on the pecking order then you don’t really have any right to not listen to your superiors…or something like that. Michael Angarano ends the movie with a great quote that is kind of scary when you think about it but it sums up the message from the movie very well. All in all, the movie was great but kind of dragged towards the end. But I have to ask; I know this movie took place in 1971 and money was different back then but is $15 a day for two weeks really worth being a mock prisoner? NOPE! And why didn’t the participants want to be guards initially? That clearly seems like the easiest position to be in but what do I know.
24. Pitch Perfect 2
I was thoroughly impressed with this one. I liked the first one but I’m not in love with it like a lot of its fans are. So I wasn’t expecting this one to be better. I was actually expecting it to be worse. But I was wrong. It started out on a very funny note thanks to John Michael Higgins and his racist and sexist comments. His jokes weren’t anything groundbreaking or original, they were just funny and he continued it through the rest of his scenes in the movie. The rest of the cast, for the most part, took turns adding to humor in the movie, including Keegan-Michael Key but excluding Anna Kendrick. I’m a fan on Kendrick’s but her attempts to be funny in this one were just misfiring left and right. I don’t know if she was too confident or not confident at all in her jokes but they were just not clicking. That whole lesbian shtick she was doing just wasn’t funny and kind of felt painful to watch. The movie had some other misfires too. The story would add some elements that you would guess would have an effect in the story down the line or take longer to develop but that didn’t happen. If you add a new member through a loophole when you’re not allowed to add another member, you think that would come up later. Or what about relationships that end in an embarrassing manner just for the dumpee to quickly change her mind; I wouldn’t expect that element to be resolved that fast. Also, what about the movie being revolved around a competition and then when it’s over, you don’t show or even acknowledge who won that said competition. You just nonchalantly show it on a picture? You think that would play out a little different. I’m just thinking out loud. That ‘Flashlight’ song at the end of the movie is dope when it’s performed the way it was performed at the end of the movie; Better than that ‘Cups’ song crap.
23. Insurgent
Read my review here.
22. Room
This is a great movie that is basically split up into two parts; in room and out of room. That being apart of the movie kept the intrigue level and suspense going because something big was always going on in the lives on the characters and we got to watch how they responded. That paved the way for Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay to put on great performances as Ma and Jack, respectively. Even though Larson won an Oscar for her performance, Tremblay’s stood out more to me. At first Jack was another super annoying kid to me but when you think about how his situation would be to a child so young, that kid would definitely probably respond the way Jack did. Tremblay also was able to show some tough range of emotions throughout the movie so his performance definitely should be applauded as well. Lastly, I just want to throw out there that the script was definitely up there as one of the brightest spots on the movie as well.
21. The Diary of a Teenage Girl 
This was a very interesting flick. From the get go I knew I was going to watch something crazy. Then it moved forward slightly and yep I was sure I was watching something crazy. But movies with crazy, controversial topics are usually the best, right? Here, you got a movie about a 15 year old girl having an affair with her mom’s boyfriend and that experience just leads her down a potentially destructive, free spirited life style. I just kept watching the movie like I can’t believe this dude is involved with a 15 year old and barely shows that what he’s doing might be a problem but anyways. Just the way the movie chronicled her “deflowering” to what all happened afterwards that helped her find herself was done in a realistic way. Bel Powley did a great job playing the role of Missy and was able to show all the strong ever changing emotions a young girl like her character would go through in her situation.
20. Sicario
Read my review here.
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(Photo Credit: Youtube; http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/scout/scoutsguide0005.jpg ; http://www.nziff.co.nz/2015/auckland/the-diary-of-a-teenage-girl/)
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