A list seen this year in San Francisco, London, LA, DC, Istanbul, Barbados, Sydney, and occasionally, VOD and mid-air.

Initial tweet-reactions to the “5 star” films included.

In alphabetical order, by star rating…

 

A Most Violent Year
Once again, Oscar Isaac becomes one of my favourite characters in forever. J.C. Chandor is a supremely talented dude.

Amy
What a magnificent pure voice, lyricist and individual. Utterly destroyed by the media, betrayed by many close to her.

Cartel Land
Harrowing, and fills you with misery considering there’s no end in sight. No idea how Hieneman got the access he did.

Creed
The first fight and its continuous take. Emotion and montages in spades. A tribute and fresh take that Coogler crushes.

Leviathan
That majestic yet decaying landscape is a perfect companion to what enfolds. Grand on every front. LOVE that slow-moving camera.

Love & Mercy
The best music you’ll hear in a film this year. Paul Dano doing his finest work. A welcome addition to the musical biopic.

Mad Max: Fury Road
George Miller and team have set a new standard for the summer blockbuster. Impeccable, exhilarating filmmaking.

Mommy
The energy and emotions overwhelm. Two extraordinary performances that give themselves completely to Xavier Dolan’s direction.

Seymour: An Introduction
Joyous, uplifting, poignant. It just made me happy. Mr. Bernstein, keep on teaching.

Sicario
That first extraction scene has to be one of the best of the year. del Toro really is like a wolf, personified. Jóhannsson’s score was quite the marriage.

Song of the Sea
Every image is magic, realised. Can’t express how evocative and well-crafted it is! The emotions kick in strong too.

Steve Jobs
The best ensemble in forever. Sorkin’s screenplay sizzles. I was ready to stand up and clap and then realised 2/3rds was left.

The Assassin
The camera never hurries. Exquisite in every sense. Directed by a man in complete control and command of his craft.

The Babadook
Excels in foreboding, delivers on earned scares. Ends with a most excellent parable on managing your personal demons.

The Tribe
A clinical display in cold, brutal filmmaking. The absence of words left me even more isolated and uncomfortable.

About Elly

Anomalisa

Best of Enemies

Ex Machina

Hitchcock/Truffaut

Inside Out

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Taxi

The Duke of Burgundy

The Look of Silence

The Revenant

The Wolfpack

 

99 Homes

Brooklyn

Clouds of Sils Maria

It Follows

Junun

Listen To Me Marlon

Mistress America

Room

Selma

Tangerine

The Big Short

The Hateful Eight

Tom at the Farm

 

American Sniper

Bridge of Spies

Carol

Heart of a Dog

Inherent Vice

Slow West

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

The End of the Tour

The Imitation Game

Timbuktu

What We Do in the Shadows

 

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

Spy

Trainwreck

While We’re Young

 

Ant-Man

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Into the Woods

Jurassic World

The Martian

 

Dope

Phoenix

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Tomorrowland

 

Spectre