Despite the growing success of online-streaming, I still savor my experiences in the theater, as those are the movie events I want to look back on. So, to keep things simple, I’m listing off each movie I saw in the theater in order of which film I saw first to the movie I saw last and give my quick opinions on them. I viewed 9 movies at the theater in total this year, so let’s just have some fun looking back at some of the films from 2015.
May ...
Avengers: Age of Ultron
The novelty of multiple Marvel superheroes in one action-packed adventure hasn’t lost an ounce of its appeal, and once again delivers the goods. We’ve got further developed characters, a menacing new villain, and no shortage of super-powered spectacles. It allows this squeal to live up to the high-quality standards of its predecessor, and in many ways surpasses it. That’s not to say it’s quiet as fresh as the first, and it’s still a simple-note premise, yet the focus is properly placed on the characters, their conflicts, and it makes this sequel feel like a worthy progression of its predecessor. THUMBS UP!
June ...
Jurassic World
The first “Jurassic Park” remains one of my favorite movies, and the sequels, while not great have still remained consistently enjoyable. “Jurassic World” was both a nostalgic return to this franchise, and the first sequel that felt genuinely good, as well as very exciting. The new cast is charming, the creature effects dazzling enough, and the overall experience reminded me why I love dinosaurs in the first place. Throw in a top-tier monster brawling climax, and you get a highly satisfying relaunch. While not on the same high bar as the original, it’s still a really fun sequel. THUMBS UP!
Ant-Man
One of the lesser-known Marvel comic characters brings his distinctly creative strengths and appeals to the big screen, and the result is a reasonable success without shattering any kind of expectations. While the action is thrilling, it’s less about battles, and more about exiting sequences. With its boundless creativity, imagination, charming performances, and a smart script that can overshadow a noticeable lack of fight scenes, it makes "Ant-Man" a refreshing smaller scaled superhero adventure. THUMBS UP!
Inside Out
You know that little voice in your head that always tells you what to do in any given situation ... well, that’s an emotion, or more precisely, one of five distinct emotions that live in your imagination, and have creative influence on how you live each day. That’s the premise of Disney and Pixar’s 2015 motion picture “Inside Out”. From the moment I saw this movie, I felt it really had the makings of a classic, and has something to offer to younger audiences, older audiences, and especially the young at heart. Pixar had been turning out some sub-par material previously, but this was a very strong return to the high-quality films that they’ve done in the past. It was imaginative, colorful, innovative, touching, magical, and for lack of better words ... a truly emotional experience that I look forward to seeing again, and again.
THUMBS WAY UP!
October ...
Hotel Transylvania 2
2012’s “Hotel Transylvania” was kind of a surprise Halloween movie I didn’t expect to like and yet have made a tradition to re-watch during the October season. Now we have a sequel, which I found to be half-way decent, as it recaptured some of the charm from its predecessor, but not all of it. In the plus column, this is a proper progression of the story, and the characters haven’t lost an ounce of their charismatic charms. Unfortunately, while this sequel still has funny scenes, not all of the comedy clicked with me this time, in fact, it almost got too silly for its own good. Also, it for some reason failed to get me in the mood for Halloween like its predecessor did. So, I don’t think I’ll make a tradition of re-watching this one during the October season, but it still packed enough delightful material to make for a passable viewing experience.THUMBS UP!
November ...
Specter
I love me some James Bond, and I’ve been on board with Daniel Craig’s series sense “Casino Royal” knocked my socks off back in 2007. Now we have “Specter”, the fourth in his series, and the first that came off feeling like … well … just another 007. Aside from a top-tier opening, nothing about this film really stood out as especially noteworthy or even that memorable for James Bond, but it certainly wasn’t awful either. Just kind of a middle of the road 007 outing, which was bound to happen with a franchise that’s been going on for this long. MIXED THUMBS!
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
It’s been a lengthy, emotional and all-around exiting journey, but now it’s “Game Over” for the “The Hunger Games” franchise, and the result … a satisfying conclusion to say the least. I can’t say it reached the same height’s from where it started, but it’s still exciting, with suspenseful set-pieces, emotional character beats, and even a timely message at the center. In the end, it tied this series together in a fine boa, and it’ll be interesting to see how future YA book adaptions will feel compared to this series.THUMBS UP!
December ...
The
Hateful Eight
Good old Quentin Tarantino is back, and he’s brought with
him a theatrical recreation of the board game “Clue”, but set in the old
West. It’s an intriguing concept at first … but the longer it went on … the
more exhausted I got to the point where I just couldn’t take it any longer. In
general, I’ve been around the block with Quentin Tarantino for years, seen all
his movies, and always appreciated them on some level, but if I had to rank all
of them … “The Hateful Eight” is arguably the one I’ve liked the least. For
a rock-solid Western presented by Quentin Tarantino, I think I’ll go back to
watching “Django Unchained” again. 
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