The best movies of 2015

Around 200 movies were commercially released in Australia in 2015 (more if you live in Sydney or Melbourne; less if you’re in a regional or country area); and as these things go, it was a pretty good year. The range of films – from predictable superhero blockbusters to surprising indie fare – provided at least something for most people. There are super fans (like the colleague who saw 140 of the released films) but for the casual filmgoer who carefully selects their (sometimes expensive) trips to the cinema, 2015 provided ample scope for both comfortable choices and experimentation.

As with most years, things started with a bang as Oscar contenders were either already showing or steadily being released through January. Of course, the brilliantly observed and fiercely idiosyncratic Birdman took out the top gong in February, perhaps unexpectedly beating out Richard Linklater’s much lauded Boyhood. The usual “dead zone” in February-March was followed by the blockbuster season of the US summer, which seems to be getting earlier every year. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Fast & Furious 7, Magic Mike XXL, Ant-Man, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Terminator Genisys all made an impression on the box office, even if they were producing yawns from the critics. Indeed, Fast & Furious 7 was (at time of writing) the frontrunner for box office champ for the year, raking in nearly $40 million at the local box office – although it was quickly being reeled in by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opened just over a week ago (at time of writing).

A small but significant trend of 2015 was films by and about women. These ranged from oh-so-serious fare like Suffragette and Freeheld to the comedies Trainwreck and Spy. There were documentaries like Amy and Iris; while strong female roles were features of action-thrillers like Mad Max: Fury Road and Sicario. This will continue into the New Year also with the likes of Carol and Sisters.

Speaking of Mad Max, the film heralded a better than expected year for Australian film. While some might quibble as to whether it can truly be called an “Australian” film (it was largely filmed in Africa and starred a Brit and a South African), it was nonetheless a star of the local box office. Also appearing in the top 100 at the box office this year were The Dressmaker, Last Cab to Darwin and Paper Planes.

There were, as ever, some real stinkers out there too. Some of those were Australian too (like StalkHer, which managed to put off just about everyone who saw it) but they were more than surpassed by dross like The Last Witch Hunter, Get Hard and the Entourage movie.

But this is a time for celebration rather than commiseration, so without further ado, here are our critics’ top 10 movies of 2015:

David Edwards

1. Birdman
2. The Clouds of Sils Maria
3. Foxcatcher
4. Macbeth
5. Mistress America
6. Ex Machina
7. The Lobster
8. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
9. Trainwreck
10. Sicario

Alex First

1. Birdman
2. Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem
3. Foxcatcher
4. Wild Tales
5. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
6. Amy
7. Sicario
8. Trainwreck
9. X + Y
10. A Most Violent Year

Greg King

1. Sicario
2. The Martian
3. 99 Homes
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. The Theory of Everything
6. Boychoir
7. A Perfect Day
8. Freeheld
9. Ant-Man
10. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation