So 2015 has been and gone and we were provided with lots of good movies as well as many bad movies. In this post, I will be listing my 10 BEST 2015 films that I have seen. You may not agree with my list but that doesn't matter as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Also, I didn't get to see every film in 2015 - I saw around 80 films in cinema and then more on other platforms (DVD etc). This list is based on the films that I enjoyed the most in 2015 - ratings do not matter here - if a 4.5 is higher than a 5 then it is because the film has stuck with me more positively in the long run. I have also decided to only include films that had their initial wide release in 2015 (some films came out in the UK in 2015 such as Big Hero 6 & Into the Woods that would be classed as a 2014 film). 


For each film, I will include a profile of what other critics rated it (IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic) and a summary for why I liked the film.


But first, here are a few honourable mentions - films that I thoroughly liked and weren't far from making the list: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Visit, The DUFF, Paper Towns, Pitch Perfect 2

10.  Furious 7 - This film is definitely the best in the franchise. Not only does it respectively pay tribute to Paul Walker, it is an extremely good, fun popcorn film. Some may call it cheesy, others may call it unrealistic but I thought Furious 7 was the first proper 'good time' movie of 2015 to be released - it kicked off the summer season with a bang! 
Bottom Line - "Furious 7 defines why the world likes this franchise so much - it is spectacular!"
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%

Room did strong business, despite a limited release the film took the number 7 spot, taking in around $955,000. The Met Opera also made its first appearance for 2016 with $500,000 at number 10.

No other films were able to crack the top 10.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens kept its place at number 1 this weekend for the 3rd week in a row with a remarkably strong hold. The film took in $15.09 million. The highest debut came from Jennifer Lawrence's Joy (3rd - $2.23) which narrowly beat Eddie Redmayne's The Danish Girl (4th - $2.02). This weekend's theme was extremely strong holds - only one film saw a drop of over 60%.

The only other feature to crack the top 10 was the broadcast of The Winter's Tale - the film wasn't a new release but was shown again over the festive period. The broadcast took in $335,000.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens kept its place at number 1 this weekend, despite a steep 70% drop. However, it is important to note that this weekends box office is only really the 26th and 27th of December as cinemas in the UK are closed on Christmas day - this is the explanation for the majority of films seeing steep drops. The Peanuts Movie debuted with a strong $5.39 million - that is including a handful of previews before its release however. Daddy's Home took 3rd place with a solid $2.41 million and In The Heart of the Sea (despite having the biggest budget out of the new entries) took 4th with just below $850,000.

No other films managed to crack the top 10.

I did this post about a year ago and it was one of the first posts I ever did. To celebrate my blog turning a year old, I thought I would do the same post but what I bought and received over the Christmas period. Over this Christmas, I added 13 DVDs to my collection - 8 as presents and 5 bought.

Received as Gifts

1. Self/Less - Back in March, the trailer for this film was featured as one of my 'top trailers' for that week. I never actually got to see the film in cinemas - it did abysmal business so didn't stick around for long. It was also released in a really crowded time frame (July) so it wasn't a top priority of mine. Once I see the film, I will post a review - even though the critics don't have very good things to say about this, I still have hope as the concept sounds quite intriguing.
Rotten Tomatoes: 21%, Metacritic: 34/100, IMDB: 6.5/10. Average: 40/100




2. Ant-Man - Back in July, I saw Ant-Man and had mixed (but mostly positive) feelings about it - I gave it 3.5/5 and a B. The film was silly but I think it was quite a refreshing superhero film - the scope was much smaller as it wasn't a worldwide threat but more of a 'close to home' threat. I am pleased I received this as a gift as I did like the film and it is a must have for any Marvel fan.

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%, Metacritic: 64/100, IMDB: 7.5/10. Average: 73/100




3. Minions - This was another film I had mixed feelings about. I was satisfied by the film but it was definitely not as good as the original Despicable Me. I think at this point, we may be nearing Minions overkill. I was happy to receive this DVD though as the film has gone on to become the 2nd highest grossing animated film in the world of all time - even if the quality isn't great, there is no denying that Minions is an extremely successful film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 55%, Metacritic: 56/100, IMDB: 6.5/10. Average: 59/100





4. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - I haven't actually seen this film but as soon as I do, I will post a review on here. This film came out at an awkward time when I was on holiday and it didn't do too great box office wise so I didn't really get a chance to see it. However, it has had solid reviews so I look forward to giving it a watch.
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%, Metacritic: 56/100, IMDB: 7.4/10. Average: 66/100




5. Paper Towns - This is definitely one of my favourite films of the year - I really liked it. I watched this film again over the Christmas period and it definitely held up. Paper Towns is a real treat. I was originally supposed to receive the 'Paper Journey' edition for Christmas but Amazon lost my order so I got the standard edition instead.
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%, Metacritic: 56/100, IMDB: 6.5/10. Average: 59/100





6. Maggie - This was another film that had a trailer that was featured in my 'top trailers' list in late March. Maggie also didn't perform strongly at the box office so I didn't get the chance to see it. However, I now have it on DVD so as soon as I do, I will post my review on here.
Rotten Tomatoes: 54%, Metacritic: 52/100, IMDB: 5.6/10. Average: 54/100






7. The Good Lie - As a fan of Reese Witherspoon, I had heard bits about this movie and thought it sounded interesting. I then saw the trailer as it was attached to a DVD I bought and thought it looked pretty good. As soon as I watch this film, I will post a review on here.
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%, Metacritic: 65/100, IMDB: 74/10. Average: 76/100






8. The Gift - I thoroughly enjoyed this film back in late Summertime - I thought that even though it only had a handful of true scares, they were very effective. The film also had great mood setting. I watched this for the second time over Christmas and it held up very well - those 3 jump scares were all still very good and the mood setting was great too.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%, Metacritic: 77/100, IMDB: 7.1/10. Average: 80/100





Bought in the Boxing Day and January Sales

9. Vacation - I have heard terrible things about this film - it has been featured on a lot of 'worst of' lists this year. So what did I do? I bought it. I missed this film in cinemas so I wanted to make my own judgements. I have now watched the film so I will write a full review soon but I think it was just a B version of We're the Millers - it was a really fun movie that I would watch again! I bought this DVD in a 2 for £20 offer at HMV.






10. Ted 2 - I thought that this film was an improvement on the first. I watched half of it again over Christmas and thought it held up pretty well. Even though we won't get a Ted 3 because this underperformed a lot at the box office, it is still an enjoyable watch that keeps the Ted story rolling. I bought this on Amazon for £8 which is a pretty good deal.







11. The Gallows - This was a film that I was really excited about in the Summer as I thought the trailers looked really scary. I missed the film in cinemas due to it not having a very wide release. I bought this DVD in a 2 for £20 offer at HMV. I have now watched the film and will post a full review on here but I have to say, it is nothing to write home about.







12. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - This is one of my top movies of the year so it was essential that it joined my DVD collection. Rogue Nation is smart, thrilling and entertaining. I bought this film on Amazon for £7.99 which is a good deal as it is a pretty recent release.








13. Southpaw - This was a pleasant surprise for me back in August - I thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought this film for £10 on Amazon which isn't really an offer as that was the price it was when it was first released. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop Southpaw from being a solid film.