MY FAVORITE FILMS OF 2015

2015 will certainly be remembered as the year that the box-office tally reached an all-time high with thirty-eight billion dollars earned globally. That's a lot of cash but the fact is that milestone would never have happened if the films released were not up to snuff. There were many amazing and quite memorable films that came out over the past year. It was challenging but I have narrowed down my very favorites of the year. I see no need to limit my list to ten, in fact, I'm glad there was so many good films to choose from:

"STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS"

There is one simple reason why "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has quickly become the all-time global box-office champ; because it's good. Really good.  After the disappointment of the three prequels, J.J. Abrams was brought on board to send the (apparently) final three films of the series off on the right course. We see the welcome return of our favorite characters (Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Leia and Chewbacca) and introduced to some intriguing new faces (Finn (John Boyega), a former stormtrooper, a scavenger from Jakku named Rey (Daisy Ridley) and a robot called BB-8) while being sent on an exciting new adventure.

"CREED"

Ryan Coogler has done to the "Rocky" franchise exactly what J.J. Abrams did with "Star Wars"; he brought back the heart and soul of the original film with "Creed", the seventh film in the long-running franchise. Michael B. Jordan gives a masterful turn as Adonis Johnson, the illegitimate heir of the late boxing champ, Apollo Creed, who decides to leave his office job and follow in his father's profession as a boxer. He travels to Philadelphia with the goal to train with Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), his father's boxing rival and friend but he's not interested. Of course Adonis wins him over and soon they are working together to take on the current heavyweight champion. "Creed" took me by surprise as it managed to generate genuine emotions in-between the high-energy training and boxing sequences. And the biggest unexpected moment? That would be Mr. Stallone giving such a warm and moving performance that he actually brought me to tears.

"CAROL"

Lead by two heartfelt performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, "Carol" is a powerful and touching love story that is rarely shown on film. With a solid script by Phyllis Nagy and exquisite direction by Todd Haynes, Patricia Highsmith's provocative story of the romance between an upper class housewife (Blanchett) and a department store clerk (Mara) has been made in to a remarkably moving cinematic experience.

"EX MACHINA"

Novelist turned film maker, Alex Garland delivers the stylish sci-fi thriller, "Ex Machina" which poses the question "what does it mean to be human?". A billionaire CEO (Oscar Isaac) of a software company brings in one of his top programmers (Domhnall Gleeson) to test the latest invention. The goal is to see how close to human his female-looking android (Alicia Vikander) behaves. And it's very close which leads to some complicated and dangerous situations. A thoroughly smart and suspenseful entertainment.

"BROOKLYN"

"Brooklyn" tells the timely story of a young Irish girl (an astonishing Saoirse Ronan) immigrating to America to start a new life in the '50's. Living in a boarding house in the New York borough homesick and lonely, she meets a nice Italian boy (Emory Cohen) and they fall in love. A tragedy forces her back to Ireland and torn between the two countries. Director John Crowley, best known for his work in the theater, has made a lovely drama filled with tender romance and tragic heartbreak.

"ROOM"

When I first heard what "Room" was about, the story of a young woman (Brie Lawson) being held captive for years by a sexual predator and raising their five year old son (the amazing Jacob Tremblay) locked in a small room, I thought it would be just too unsettling to watch. While the film (expertly directed by Irish film maker, Lenny Abrahamson) is certainly harrowing, it is also a powerfully rewarding experience.  Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue (who also wrote the screenplay), "Room" is a poignant story of love and survival with Lawson and Tremblay each delivering exceptional performances.

"TANGERINE"

"Tangerine"" plays like a classic Hollywood screwball comedy except this involves the unusual tale of transsexual hookers searching for love and respect. Shot on an iPhone by writer/director Sean S. Baker, the film introduces Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor (both excellent) as best friends and fellow sex workers spending the day in search of a pimp/boyfriend that has done one of them wrong. "Tangerine" manages to be outrageously funny, delightfully deranged and completely original.

"THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL"

Writer/director Marielle Heller has made an impressive debut with "The Diary of a Teenage Girl", based on the graphic novel by Phoebe Gloeckner. Bel Powley plays Minnie, a fifteen year old aspiring artist living in 1970's San Francisco with her free-spirited mother (Kristen Wiig). After Minnie gets inappropriately close to her mother's sexy boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgård), she sets off on a journey of wild behavior and exploration, all documented on her audio diary. This edgy dramatic comedy is the rare coming-of-age tale told from a female point of view with brutal honesty and uncomfortable humor.

"DOPE"

"Dope"" is another excellent coming-of-age comedy-drama told from another rare point of view; an African-American teen. Writer/director Rick Famuyiwa ("The Wood", "Brown Sugar") tells the story of a 90's hip-hop obsessed Inglewood nerd (Shameik Moore) and his fellow outsider high school buddies (Tony Revolori and Kiersey Clemons) who get in the middle of a rival drug-dealing gang war. What is most appealing about this clever film is that it takes what we expect from a story set in the urban city and moves us in wild and hilariously unexpected directions.

"YOUTH"

I wasn't impressed with Paolo Sorrentino's Oscar-winning Best Foreign-Language Film, "The Great Beauty" but I really loved his follow-up, the English-language film, "Youth". Set in a tranquil Swiss spa, Michael Caine (in a breath-taking performance) stars as Fred Ballinger, a retired English conductor trying to be convinced by the Queen's emissary to conduct the Prince's favorite song (which Ballinger also wrote) for his birthday. He refuses for personal reasons and that is our basic plot. But what happens in between is absurd, thought-provoking, odd, emotional and completely enchanting. We are also treated to some outstanding work by Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Harvey Keitel (welcome back) and, in a brief but highly explosive appearance, Jane Fonda.

"AMY", "WHAT HAPPENED MISS SIMONE", "KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK", "JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE"

2015 was quite a year for documentaries and in particular, some great non-fiction films on influential musical artists were released. One of the biggest (and highest grossing) docs of the year was "Amy"" which looked at the meteoric rise and tragic fall of pop singer, Amy Winehouse. Netflix was behind director Liz Garbus' fascinating "What Happened, Miss Simone?" which examines the incredibly gifted but highly volatile Nina Simone. "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck" was made with the cooperation of Cobain's family (including his widow, Courtney Love) and uses unreleased recordings, artwork, photography and journals to creatively shed more light on the life of the '90's rock icon . Finally, "Janis: Little Girl Blue" is a long overdue documentary on Janis Joplin who, in her very short life, went from an awkward Texan teenager to become one of the most electrifying rock & blues singers in the world.





Honorable Mention: "5 Flights Up", "Ant Man", "The Big Short", "Bridge of Spies", "The End of The Tour", "Infinitely Polar Bear", "Me & Earl & The Dying Girl", "Spotlight", "Steve Jobs"", "Straight Outta Compton", "Trainwreck"", "Truth", "While We're Young"

AMY (2015)

Directed by Asif Kapadia



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. July 5, 2015 3:15PM



"Amy", a fascinating documentary by award-winning film maker, Asif Kapadia, examines the tragically short life of pop star, Amy Winehouse. It begins around 1998 with a fresh-faced and healthy-looking British teenager who loves jazz, knows she's got a great singing voice and looks to have a bright future ahead. By the time we reach the end of the film, thirteen years later, Winehouse has become a Grammy-winning, world famous vocalist but also deteriorated into a dead-eyed, gaunt and drug-addled figure before her untimely death due to alcohol poisoning at the age of twenty-seven. The director uses the extensive news footage that covers the singer's meteoric rise and just as rapid decline to shape this film but there are also words from Winehouse herself through previously unheard interviews. She was tough yet charming, witty, loved to have a laugh and wanted to have a singing career with integrity. But once fame entered the picture, Winehouse comes across far too vulnerable and unprepared for the unyielding pressures of the music business and the relentless media assault. It's understandable that she would want to find escape but her family support seemed blinded by her new-found success and the record company's motivation was simply keeping their product in motion. This left Winehouse with few options to help relieve herself of the constant stress.

Born in Southgate, North London, Winehouse was a working class girl and proud of it. With a mature, husky voice and a gift for songwriting, she performed with several jazz outfits before getting signed with 19 Management at nineteen. Her first album, "Frank" in 2003, a collection of jazz-pop tunes mostly co-written by Winehouse, brought her some attention and a small taste of fame in Britain. With the arrival of her follow-up, "Back To Black" four years later, Winehouse would reach international acclaim. This is also when signs of serious trouble first began to surface.

Around the time of "Back To Black", Winehouse began appearing with the look most associated with the singer, which was actually a nod to one of her idols, Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. Cleopatra-style, black-lined eyes, a messy, collapsed beehive and rail-thin arms covered in prison tattoos to complete her bad-girl image. It was also during this time she fell hard for Blake Fielder-Civil, a true bad boy. Their relationship was on and off (and he's credited with introducing her to hard drugs) but they married in 2007 and spent their brief union in a sometime violent, drug and alcohol-fueled haze. Winehouse soon reached the point where she couldn't perform at all, completely lost in substance abuse. There were several rehab interventions but none having a lasting impact.

Mr. Kapadia's decision to rely on archival footage and not show the faces of the people being interviewed does make the film feel static but what brings it to life is how the director uses the singer's music. When the songs are played, the heartfelt lyrics by Winehouse are displayed, clearly reflecting what she was feeling during some of the happy or more turbulent times in her life. Many of the important people in Winehouse's life including close childhood friends, parents, Mitch and Janis, record producers, Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson and the love of her life, Fielder-Civil all express their deep love for the singer but also their feeling of uncertainty and helplessness as they watched her unravel.

It could appear that Amy Winehouse might be just another rock & roll cliché, joining the list of talented but troubled artists whose lives came to an end at the exact same age. But we see that she was never interested in becoming rich or a household name, it was always about the music.

After seeing "Amy", I can understand why the family is now hostilely opposed to this documentary they once fully supported. For the director's vision brings in to sharp focus how they played a small yet striking role in the demise of this gifted, young artist. It would be unfair to let Winehouse off the hook for her own destructive behavior but as this troubled and unstable girl was continuously being shoved in to the spotlight, she was much too sensitive to handle the constant glare of stardom.

2015 SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW

Once it's time to put away all those heavy coats, gloves and sweaters, you know that summer is just around the corner. This movie season is certainly filled with plenty of the usual caped crime-stoppers, sequels and remakes but having learned lessons from the previous years, there are also other interesting options offered. You will see more female-driven comedies (Reese Witherspoon & Sofia Vergara in "Hot Pursuit" and Melissa McCarthy in "Spy" to name just two) and challenging indies (Michael Fassbender in the western, "Slow West", Jack Black and James Marsden getting very close in the wild bromance, "The D Train") to deliver some warm-weather cinematic alternatives.

Here is my small list of some of the upcoming summer flicks that I'm really looking forward to seeing.

All dates are subject to change:

"AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON"

Release date: May 1, 2015

The mother of all super-hero movies, "The Avengers" smashed box-office records by globally raking in over a billion dollars back in 2012. The inevitable sequel is here and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" has our band of heroes trying to once again save the world from complete destruction. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) creates an artificial intelligence device that is self-aware called Ultron (James Spader). It's purpose was for maintaining peace on the planet, however Ultron decides that Earth would be safer without humans. The Avengers (that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner returning in their respective roles) not only have to stop this machine but also have to deal with Ultron's allies, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and the Vision (Paul Bettany).



"WELCOME TO ME"

Release date: May 1, 2015

The very gifted Kristen Wiig is given the opportunity to combine her comedic skills and dramatic abilities in the quirky comedy "Welcome To Me". It tells the story of a woman (Wiig) with borderline personality disorder who is off her meds. After winning millions in the lottery, she decides she wants to become famous like Oprah and starts her own talk show. The actress surrounds herself with an impressive cast that includes James Marsden, Wes Bentley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Cusack and Tim Robbins.



"MAD MAX: FURY ROAD"

Release date: May 15, 2015

I will be the first to admit I'm truly suffering from remake/reboot fatigue. Now having said that, there are a few coming out this summer that have me slightly intrigued. One of them is "Mad Max: Fury Road". Thirty years after the first film, director and co-writer George Miller takes us back to the post-apocalyptic world of Max. Instead of Mel Gibson (thank goodness), we now have Tom Hardy in the role. This time, Max is being imprisoned by Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). He will earn his freedom by the hardened, Furiosa (Charlize Theron) in exchange for helping her escape across the desert with five women held captive by Joe.



"MADAME BOVARY"

Release date: June 12. 2015

After delivering a mesmerizing performance in 2011's "Jane Eyre", Aussie actress, Mia Wasikowska is tackling another literary classic. This time it's "Madame Bovary", the French novel about a young woman who marries a kind but uninteresting doctor (Henry Lloyd-Hughes). Bored and unhappy, she begins searching for fulfillment through extramarital affairs. Ezra Miller, Rhys Ifans and Paul Giamatti also star.



"JURASSIC WORLD"

Release date: June 12, 2015

"Jurassic World", the third sequel to "Jurassic Park", is set over twenty years later with a finally realized theme-park with live dinosaurs roaming the island. What could possibly go wrong? Bryce Dallas Howard is the profit-seeking operations manager and Chris Pratt (who brightened last summer with "Guardians of The Galaxy") is a lead member of the staff that studies these creatures. No surprise that these two don't see eye to eye.



"WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?"

Release date: June 24, 2015

"AMY"

Release date: July TBA

These two documentaries focuses on two of the most extraordinary voices in pop music. In "What Happened, Miss Simone?", director Liz Garbus uses interviews and extensive concert footage to explore the life of "The High Priestess of Soul", Nina Simone. Eccentric, demanding and complicated (although this is at least partially due to her being later diagnosed as bipolar), Simone was a masterful musician and unique vocalist who struggled to control her demons.



Another great talent that struggled to fight her demons throughout her short life is British pop singer, Amy Winehouse. Award-winning director, Asif Kapadia shaped "Amy" around having the late artist reveal herself in her own words though previously unseen interviews and performances. "Amy" has just been selected to be screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival.



"TRAINWRECK"

Release date: July 17, 2015

The busy Judd Apatow ("The 40 Year-Old Virgin", "Bridesmaids", HBO's "Girls") is back with his fifth film as a director and "Trainwreck" looks very promising. He has tapped hot comedian, Amy Schumer to star and write the script for this comedy loosely based on experiences in her own life. She plays a men's magazine writer who is seriously commitmentphobic until she meets a charming sports doctor (Bill Hader) that makes her reconsider her strong aversion to romance. The eclectic cast ranges from comedians (SNL's Vanessa Bayer, Collin Quinn), Oscar winners (the fabulous Tilda Swinton, Marisa Tomei), a pro wrestler (John Cena), rapper (Method Man) and basketball player (LeBron James).



"SOUTHPAW"

Release date: July 24, 2015

"Southpaw" is a gritty drama that stars an almost unrecognizable Jake Gyllenhaal as a hulking boxing champ with a beautiful wife (Rachel McAdams) and child. After his wife is tragically murdered, the boxer's career unravels with his erratic behaviour causes him to lose his daughter to child protection services. The only solution is for him to get back in the ring with the help of a new trainer (Forest Whitaker). Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day", "The Equalizer") directs.



"RICKI AND THE FLASH"

Release date : August 7, 2015

It wouldn't feel like summer without Meryl Streep and she's here in "Ricki and The Flash". Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of The Lambs") directs this dramedy (written by fellow Oscar-winner, Diablo Cody) about a wife and mother (Streep) who abandons her family to pursue her dream of a rock & roll career. Now, years later, she wants to reconnect with her adult children (Sebastian Stan and Streep's real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer) during their time of crisis but that will not be easy. Kevin Kline, six-time Tony winner, Audra McDonald and '80's rocker, Rick Springfield also star.