Top 10: Best Movies I Watched for My 2015 Challenge

I had a lot of fun with my movie challenge this year and I’m definitely going to start one in 2016. But first I’m going to share my ten favorite movies that I watched for my challenge. Please note them, because if you haven’t seen them yet, you must. Also check my honorable mentions, the movies that almost made my top 10 list.

10. Sicario

After “Enemy” and “Prisoners” I had high expectations for “Sicario”. And director Denis Villeneuve did it! “Sicario” is a terrific thriller, with Emily Blunt as the big star. She is amazing in this film.

 

9. My Neighbor Totoro

I love the movies by Hayao Miyazak. “Spirited Away” was already amazing, but “My Neighbor Totoro” I liked even more. Such a great animation, especially if you look at it with a creative and artistic perspective like me.

 

 

8. 12 Angry Men

A movie set in only one location and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire runtime. This a movie like no other, the don’t make ‘em like this anymore.

 

 

7. Short Term 12

A movie that felt so realistic and honest. I could feel it through my entire body. It’s not a movie for the people who want spectacle, but a small Indie film that touches you and makes you feel.

 

 

6. The Guard

“Hot Fuzz” meets “In Bruges”, what a great crime comedy “The Guard” is. And I loved Brendan Gleeson in this film. He could finally show what he’s made off. His unconventional character, who you should actually dislike, is really hard to hate.

 

 

5. Birdman

Unfolding across two hours of backstage theater drama that play as a single take, it’s an almost impossibly complex technical achievement. And then Michael Keaton’s big comeback as actor Riggan, who once played a superhero and is now aiming for something higher. A cinematographic masterpiece.

 

 

4. Enemy

“Enemy” was a complete mind fuck. What sounded like a standard thriller, is anything but that. The movies leaves you with a lot of questions and chills all over your body. And that final scene scared the bejesus out of me.

 

 

3. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

This movie was great for us movie lovers, because of all the pop culture references. But this is also a movie that comes straight from the heart and ends up in our hearts as well. Such an honest, real film that grabbed me and touched me.

 

 

2. Psycho

An instant classic that I was pretty ashamed of never seeing before 2015. And I can now understand why it’s such an amazing film. What a great horror film by mastermind Alfred Hitchcock. Movies like this are underappreciated nowadays. Not by movie nerds like me by the way.

 

 

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

When I saw “Mad Max: Fury Road” in theaters it totally took my breath away. More than 30 years after leaving Max in the wasteland, George Miller returns to his signature series. I didn’t expect much at first and I left the theater overwhelmed. “Mad Max: Fury Road” is an incredible cinematic experience. A ride everyone has to take at least once in their life.

 

 

Honorable Mentions: Frozen, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Big Hero 6, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Take Shelter, St. Vincent, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Deux Jours, Une Nuit, Mud, Jurassic World, Inside Out, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Gosford Park, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Funny Games, The Drop, The Conjuring, The Evil Dead, The Martian, Moon, The Lobster, Ex Machina

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (September 2015)

Another great month for my challenge! It was kind of hard ot make a top 5, because I saw some really awesome films this month. Here is the top five.

5. The Drop

A movie that didn’t get much attention when it came out. It should’ve, because it’s a very good film. Great, solid performances by Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Matthias Schoenaerts and James Gandolfini.

 

 

4. The Conjuring

I was very brave, I watched this film alone. I didn’t sleep for a week, but I did see one of the best horror films of the decade. “The Conjuring” had some clichés, but if they are done well I’m fine with it. Good horror movie!

 

 

3. My Neighbor Totoro

Hayao Miyazaki is a true artist. I already liked “Spirited Away” a whole lot, but I loved “My Neighbor Totoro”. A movie that just makes me happy!

 

 

2. 12 Angry Men

How can a movie set in only one room be interesting the entire runtime? Well “12 Angry Men”, that’s how! Great film.

 

 

1.The Guard

A mix of “In Bruges” and “Hot Fuzz”. And I love those two movies, so it’s no surprise that I loved “The Guard” as well. Finally the movie that we wanted to see Brendan Gleeson shine in. Fantastically funny!

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Saving Mr. Banks, Drinking Buddies, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Funny Games

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 115: The Guard

Director: John Michael McDonagh

Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Comedy

Runtime: 96 minutes

Year: 2011

Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Mark Strong, Rory Keenan, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene, Katarine Cas, Pat Shortt, Darren Healy, Laurence Kinlan, Gary Lydon, Ronan Collins, Dermot Healy, Dominick Hewitt, Sharon Kearney, Michael Og Lane, Conor Moloney, Giedrius Nagys, Mark O’Halloran, Wale Ojo, Eamonn Olwill, David Pearse, Gary Robinson, Owen Sharpe

Description: An unorthodox Irish policeman (Brendan Gleeson) with a confrontational personality is partnered with an up-tight F.B.I. agent (Don Cheadle) to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.

Review: Brendan Gleeson is a late bloomer. It wasn’t until he was 34 that he got his first movie role. For years Gleeson has been the supporting actor, with movies like “Braveheart”, “Michael Collins”, “Gangs of New York” and “Cold Mountain”. And he was also in the “Harry Potter” series. It was director Martin McDonagh that thought Gleeson could carry a film and he give him one of the leads in “In Bruges”. McDonagh’s brother John Michael McDonagh got Gleeson for “The Guard”, a crime comedy like no other.

Gleeson plays Gerry Boyle, a cop in western Ireland. Gerry has his own rules. He tries drugs that he finds at a crime scene, drinks beer while still on the clock and spends time with call girls. Whoever comments, can expect a sharp response. Gerry is not political correct and very unconventional. American FBI agent Wendell Everett, a role by Don Cheadle, has come to Ireland to solve a drug case. He has to work with Gerry. Two completely different men working together on a big case.

Brendan Gleeson does a great job portraying the rude Gerry. One crude remark after another, he seems like a real ass. But somehow Gleeson manages to give him some charm as well. We see that he can be caring, in his own way. He is a man that has toughened himself to hide his true vulnerability. Then there is Wendell, goodie two shoes living by the rules. The chemistry between Gleeson and Cheadle is good. Fun roles for Liam Cunnigham and Mark Strong, as the semi-philosophical drug criminals and Fionnula Flanagan as Gerry’s foulmouthed mother.

“The Guard” is especially strong because of its dialogue and acting. The sharp oneliners are so enjoyable, even if they are harsh, and Brendan Gleeson is so good. If you like dark comedies, with typical British humor and that are different and cynical, you should definitely watch “The Guard”.

Rating: 5/ 5