A little late this year, but here are my favourite media things of 2015.
UK Cinema Releases
Foxcatcher & Selma
These were the two Oscar contenders that stood out for me. Foxcatcher was tense, creepy, and excellently performed. Selma was a flawlessly directed, stirring epic of inequality and minor triumph.
The Boy Next Door
Bizzare Jenifer Lopez erotic thriller. How this film got made in 2015 I don’t know. It’s completely insane (at one point the romantic interest buys JLo a ‘first edition’ of the Illiad. What?). I was just pleased with its existence really, and pleased to indulge its trashy sensibilities.
Mommy
I’m a sucker for Xavier Dolan’s knitwear and existentialism. Mommy is one of his best to date, taking characters who in most realities should be unlikeable and turning them into a loveable leads with a believable dysfunctional family dynamic.
Mad Max: Fury Road & John Wick
Action cinema was back in 2015. And in both of these examples it was flawlessly taught and expertly executed. Mad Max gets extra points for new cinema icon Furiosa, but both films are a joy of simple storytelling and adrenaline.
The Last Five Years
My first experience with a Jason Robert Brown musical, and oh my god I loved it. Full of both optimism and melancholy, it deals with the highs and lows of a relationship as melodramatic opera.
Listen Up Philip
While I very much also enjoyed Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young and Mistress America, Alex Ross Perry took Baumbach-style cynical hipster snark to a whole new levels with Listen Up Philip.
Clouds of Sils Maria
The kind of film that sweeps you up and surrounds you with all kinds of feelings. At once both subtle and extravagent. Juliette Binoche is an ageing actress and Kristen Stewart her youthful, contemplative assistant, both actresses at the top of their game.
Magic Mike XXL
A love letter to the joys of escapism. Sustained brilliance and constantly surprising. My film of the year. I have written more about MMXXL elsewhere on this blog.
We Are Your Friends & Paper Towns
I saw these back to back. The first is pure romance – arguably flawed, but full of the joys of youthful love, music, and friendship. The second is throwaway young adult fiction, but its characters and scenarios stuck with me more than it’s critically acclaimed YA competitors (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and The Diary of a Teenage Girl)
Carol
Gorgeous 16mm photography. Perfect 1950s production design. A deep relationship portrayed elegantly by two of the finest leading actresses around. Superb.
Home Viewing
TV
On TV, Netflix have been knocking it out of the park with Daredevil and Jessica Jones – both are wonderfully realised comicbook adaptations. Also on TV, the constantly brilliant, subsersive sitcom, Broad City has become my favourite comedy show in a long time,
Masters of Cinema
I’ve really engaged with the Masters of Cinema blu-ray line this year, who put out fantastic transfers of fantastic films. I was mightily impressed by Man of the West (1958), Faust (1926), Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), and Lifeboat (1944).
The Epic of Everest
Perhaps the finest film I watched all year though was seen on iPlayer. The Epic of Everest (1924) offers a beautifully haunting look into the lost world of early 20th century adventure and exploration.
Music
I haven’t attended much live music this year. The most notable though would be The Decemberists at Brixton Academy, who put on a fantastic evening of wistful-hipster-folk-rock.
In terms of music releases, Being as an Ocean, August Burns Red, and While She Sleeps all put out top tier metal/hardcore albums, As It Is brought back emo, and I’ve been listening to a fair amount of alt-electro-pop (much of which is 80s influenced) – ODESZA, CHVRCHES, Dive In, Paperwhite, and Madeon stand out.
Convenient playlist of my fave songs of 2015.
Comics and Books
This year I once again read a load of Marvel and Image comics.
Special mention for Image goes to Greg Rucka and Michael Lark for introducing a great new female lead and detailed universe in Lazarus, the gorgeous painted art and tense sci-fi storytelling of Descender by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, and the the ongoing brilliance that is Saga.
As for Marvel, my favourites of the year go to Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey’s superb collab on Moon Knight, the pure joy of Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and the first three flawless issues of Cyclops, written by Greg Rucka with stunning artwork by Russel Daugterman.
Outside of comics, My Lunches with Orson by Henry Jaglom / Peter Biskind and Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt scratched my movie itch, while Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey introduced me to an exciting new sci-fi universe via a perfectly paced action romp.
Movies. Comics. Culture. 