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Top 5 Films of Summer 2015

The temperature is starting to cool down, the leaves are turning brown and the children are back at school, which means one thing: we’re entering awards season. So that also means that summer movie season, my favorite time of the year at the theaters, is again over. There was some good, some bad, but a lot of meh. So here are the five best films from Summer 2015 (May-August), with the five worst stinkers in a subsequent post!

Honorable Mention/Surprised It Didn’t Suck: The Gift

I saw the trailer, the cast, and the August release date and I honestly thought this thing was destined for disaster. But to my pleasant surprise, Jason Bateman turns in a fantastic performance, and even if the film doesn’t pull as many twists as it wants, it was still a wonderfully uncomfortable viewing experience that I would gladly take again.

5.) Avengers: Age of Ultron

Some people didn’t like this movie, which I have to believe was their own fault for overhyping it. “Ultron” is fun and exciting, with yet another fantastically charismatic performance from Robert Downey Jr., as well as an interesting villain portrayed by James Spader. It may have been a little bit similar to the first “Avengers” film, but this one kicked off the summer movie season with a bang.

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4.) Trainwreck

It’s a funny movie with charming performances from Amy Schumer and Bill Hader, with a surprising amount of dramatic heft. It is definitely Judd Apatow’s most mature film to date, and it is arguably his most hilarious.

Variety

3.) Spy

One of the first comedies of the year remains its funniest. Melissa McCarthy continues her streak of only being funny when in Paul Feig-directed films, but what really makes this movie so great is the surprise comedy work from Jason Statham. I really hope he does more action-comedies, because that dude is surprisingly hilarious.

Variety

2.) Straight Outta Compton

It isn’t too often (or ever?) that one of the year’s best films comes out in the month of August, but that is the case here (the month also has one of the year’s worst films, but that’s for another article). The first half of “Compton” is so energetic and has such a powerful and engaging vibe to it, not to mention fantastically underrated cinematography by Matthew Libatique, that even when the film starts to slow down near the end, you’re on such a high you don’t care.

Variety

1.) Jurassic World

Some people hated this movie. And to that I say, everyone is entitled to their opinion, even when it’s wrong. I saw this movie twice in the same week, and it blew me away both times. Chris Pratt is Hollywood’s next big star, and the film is the definition of a summer popcorn flick (even if it is so much more than that). If somehow you are one of the seven people who still hasn’t seen this movie (it currently sits 3^rd all-time at the box office), you are doing yourself an immense injustice. See “Jurassic World” now; it’ll make you feel like a kid again.

Variety

From ‘Avengers’ to ‘Thor 2’, Let’s Rank the Marvel Movies

With the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” it is only natural to create a list ranking all the Marvel movies so far. Because why have your own opinion when you can read mine, right? From 11 to number one, here is how the Avenger movies stack up in my book.

11.) THOR: THE DARK WORLD

I think this one is universally accepted as the weakest entry in the franchise, and is the only genuinely bad film of the series to date. People said the first “Thor” was forced and felt obligatory (more on that in a second), but this one made its predecessor look like the epitome of Marvel movies and how they should be. It is dumb, noisy and boring, and features a material with a changing list of abilities. It really felt like nothing but a cash grab for the entire runtime. Thank God they’re making a third one, right? [sighhh]

Variety

10.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Many things in this one work, however there are a lot of aspects that simply don’t. It features some fun 1940’s World War II scenery, not to mention the whole scrawny Steve Rogers thing was well-done, but at times felt disjointed, featured a material with a plot-reliant list of powers (seeing a pattern?), and essentially was one big movie trailer for the “Avengers”.

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9.) THOR

It is a lot of fun, and thanks to director Kenneth Branagh has a nice Shakespearian flare about it. Forget that Loki’s plot doesn’t make sense when you think about it for more than a minute and that most everything that happens is negated by the next film. It still is light years better than its sequel.

8.) THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Before Mark Ruffalo was turning green, Edward Norton starred as everyone’s favorite physicist with an anger issue. The film features a fun villain (Tim Roth’s Abomination) and was the first real hint that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to actually come to fruition.

7.) IRON MAN 2

Sure, this film has its flaws and is nowhere near as good as its predecessor, but it is too much fun to hate. Downey’s charm is impossible to resist and let’s be honest: this is still a way better sequel than “Thor 2” (yep, I’m just going to keep bashing).

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6.) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Now we’re getting into good-near-great territory. When this came out last year, few knew what it was; much less that it was a part of the Marvel Universe. However 9 months and $775 million later, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen the misadventures of Rocket and Groot. It is random and colorful and just a lot of fun.

Variety

5.) AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

It may not be the redefining superhero film some were hoping for, and may feature one of those darn ability-changing materials, but it is honestly hilarious and features some of the most ingenious and entertaining action sequences I’ve seen in a long time.

Variety

4.) THE AVENGERS

I’m not a fanboy of this film like it seems most people are, I recognize its flaws (like its darn use of an ability changing—forget it), but it was able to fit six superheroes into one film seamlessly, and was immense fun to boot.

Variety

3.) IRON MAN 3

This is where people may scratch their heads and/or get upset, depending on how much of a comic book fan they are. I personally loved this film, thanks in large part to director Shane Black’s writing. It is clever, self-referential and had some nice twists. It’s been two years; let’s stop pretending that one scene ruined this entire movie.

Variety

2.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

I adore this film. I saw it three times in theaters alone. It blew me away. It is everything the first “Captain America” was not, and in all the best ways. It is perfectly directed, cleverly written and immensely entertaining. It could be argued that it could be the top choice on the list, and I would have no arguments. It’s that much fun.

Variety

However it is not number one, because that title belongs to…

1.) IRON MAN

And here it is, the one that started it all. I remember seeing the trailers for this one and thinking it looked dumb, and leaving the theater floored. It was nothing like I had ever seen before, and remains, in my humble opinion, the greatest comic book movie ever made (“what about ‘The Dark Knight’?!” Oh, stop with that nonsense). It reintroduced the world to Robert Downey Jr., and seven years later I think we are all the better for it.

There’s my list of the Marvel movies from top to bottom. I am excited to see how “Ant-Man” (the final film in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) plays out this July, mostly just because Paul Rudd is the man. However the film I really can’t wait for is “Captain America: Civil War”, which drops next May. Honestly, “Batman v Superman” is cool and all, but I am more pumped to see Iron Man take on Captain America, mostly because that film isn’t being directed by Zach Snyder…

Worst Films of 2014

What goes up must come down. There were some great films in 2014, so it only makes sense that there were some stinkers.

Unlike my Top Films list, I saw most every bad movie in 2014. There were some that were bad and just didn’t make the cut, such as “Transcendence” and “Annie”, and please do not take those films not being on this list as my approval for you to see them. But without further ado…

Dishonorable Mention: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I really didn’t get the hype around this one. I liked the first film but found the sequel boring and pretty uneventful, and by the time we reached the monkeys firing machine guns while riding horses, I had long checked out.

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10.) Think Like A Man Too

The first film was charming, witty and funny. This film was the opposite of all those things, even with Kevin Hart at his Kevin Hart-iest. I wish this Vegas-set sequel had stayed in Vegas…

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9.) The Other Woman

I chuckled a few times at this but overall it is a chick flick that is actually insulting to women and their intelligence, so I’m not exactly sure the demographic they were going for here…

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8.) Ride Along

Hello, Mr. Hart. We meet again. This wasn’t a *bad* movie, it just was a comedy that wasn’t funny. Like, at all. The storyline was basic and cliché, so it wasn’t even like that could hold my attention. Congrats (?) to Hart and director Tim Story for making this list twice.

7.) Exodus: Gods and Kings

A movie involving ancient Egypt, gods, plagues and all that fun schtuff shouldn’t be boring. Throw in Batman himself Christian Bale and it really, REALLY shouldn’t be boring. Yet, alas, “Exodus” is boring. Like, check-my-phone-every-ten-minutes boring. Leave it to Hollywood to create yet another movie that is nowhere near as good as the book on which the film is based.

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6.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

There’s really not much to say about this one. Michael Bay produced it. Megan Fox starred in it. I mean, if those aren’t red flags then I don’t know what are…

Variety

5.) Transformers: Age of Extinction

Dammit, Michael Bay, when will you stop ruining our childhoods?! You want a plot summary of this movie? Here it is: boom. Boom. Boom BOOM. [objectification of women] Boom. BOOM….boom. Like, this is worse than “Revenge of the Fallen” and once I hit the period ending this sentence I will never have to think about Transformers 4 ever again.

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4.) Blended

[sighhhhhhhh] I hate Adam Sandler.

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3.) Annabelle

A scary movie that isn’t scary. Actors that make adult film stars look like Oscar contenders. This thing was a mess. When the doll is the best actor in your film, you know you have a problem.

Variety

2.) Tammy

I think I laughed…once (?) during this movie. But it wasn’t just me; my theater was dead quiet the whole film. If I wasn’t sick of Melissa McCarthy before, I sure am after seeing this movie. It is just not funny and what’s worse is it’s awkward. And what’s worse yet is when the jokes awkwardly don’t work, the film tries to throw in some drama which doesn’t work, so then THAT adds onto the awkwardness. [exhale] Point is this movie isn’t good.

Variety

And “Tammy” would have been the worst film of 2014 had it not been for…

1.) Lucy

It really wasn’t a good year for films with women’s names as their title (see the previous three movies, as well as “Annie”). When I walked out of the theater after seeing “Lucy” on that muggy July afternoon, I knew I had just witnessed the worst 2014 had to offer. “Lucy” is stupid, stupid, stupid. As Scarlett Johansson gets smarter, this movie only gets more unintelligent. The ending is also an insult to the audience, as if the director had no idea how to conclude the picture so he threw his hands up and said, “Screw it! The audience is probably asleep by now anyways!” Some people actually liked this movie and it makes me honestly hope Charles Darwin was right about natural selection.

Variety

Do you agree with my list? Any movies you thought were worse than these? See a film on here that you actually thought was good? Let me know in the comments!

Worst Movies of Summer 2014

This summer was one of the worst in recent box office history, and many of the products released make that stat not all too surprising. Here are my worst five films from Summer 2014.

5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Produced by Michael Bay, this was stupid, unfunny and boring. A film about giant talking fighting reptiles should be an incredibly entertaining and fun film. But Bay had other things in mind. You know your film is in trouble when Megan Fox is the star of your film, and she’s one of the best parts.

4) Transformers: Age of Extinction

Michael Bay strikes again. The worst of the Transformers series, this film was an assault on the eyes, ears, brain and the human urge to be entertained. It also starred Marky Mark as Cade Yeager, the only Texan with a Boston accent.

3) Blended

[Sighhhhh]….I hate you, Adam Sandler.

2) Tammy

A lazy and unfunny film, this movie got one chuckle out of me, and I instantly felt guilty about it. It should have been much funnier, especially considering the talent involved. I’m not the biggest Melissa McCarthy fan, but even I wanted this to at least be passable.

[50 feet of crap]

1) Lucy

The trailer for this made the movie look like it was going to be awful; the finished product was even worse. A rip-off of Limitless, it made this year’s Transcendence look like a mind-bending thriller that had its act together. I didn’t hate the film until the climax, in which the film just loses any sense of intelligence or fun that it was barely holding onto. Seriously, the ending of this movie makes no sense, and not in an Inception kind of way. In a “we don’t know how to end this movie so are just going to do it” kind of way. [SPOILER, but you shouldn’t care] You pay to watch Scarlett Johansson turn into a flashdrive.