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16. December 2015 - No Comments!

Year 2015 In Movies & Music

This is my year 2015 in movies and music.

Best Movies

10. The Martian (20th Century Fox)

Director: Ridley Scott
Country: USA, UK
164 minutes| Science Fiction & Fantasy
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%, IMDb: 8,0

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover. (C) Fox

9. Vehkleja / The Fencer (Making Movies Oy)

Director: Klaus Härö
Country: Finland, Estonia, Germany
99 minutes| Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%, IMDb: 7,3

A young man, Endel Nelis, arrives in Haapsalu, Estonia, in the early 1950s. Having left Leningrad to escape the secret police, he finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students. Endel becomes a father figure to his students and starts teaching them his great passion - fencing, which causes a conflict with the school's principal. Envious, the principal starts investigating Endel's background... Endel learns to love the children and looks after them; most are orphans as a result of the Russian occupation. Fencing becomes a form of self-expression for the children and Endel becomes a role model. The children want to participate in a national fencing tournament in Leningrad, and Endel must make a choice: risk everything to take the children to Leningrad or put his safety first and disappoint them.

8. Southpaw (The Weinstein Company)

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Country: USA, Hong Kong
123 minutes| Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 61%, IMDb: 7,4

From acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) and screenwriters Kurt Sutter ("Sons of Anarchy) and Richard Wenk (THE MECHANIC), SOUTHPAW tells the riveting story of Billy "The Great" Hope, reigning Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World (Academy Award (R) nominee Jake Gyllenhaal). Billy Hope seemingly has it all with an impressive career, a beautiful and loving wife (Rachel McAdams), an adorable daughter (Oona Laurence) and a lavish lifestyle. When tragedy strikes and his lifelong manager and friend (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson) leaves him behind, Hope hits rock bottom and turns to an unlikely savior at a run-down local gym: Tick Willis (Academy Award (R) winner Forest Whitaker), a retired fighter and trainer to the city's toughest amateur boxers. With his future riding on Tick's guidance and tenacity, Billy enters the hardest battle of his life as he struggles with redemption and to win back the trust of those he loves. (C) Weinstein

7. Must alpinist / Ghost Mountaineer (Kopli Kinokompanii)

Director: Urmas Eero Liiv
Country: Estonia
100 minutes| Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
Rotten Tomatoes: -, IMDb: 6,8

Urmas Eero Liiv's feature film "Must alpinist" (Ghost Mountaineer) is a youth film with elements of horror which is based on real life events which took place during the Soviet era. It tells the story of an Soviet Estonian student hiking group which gets caught up in a series of scary events unfolding in wintry Siberia. The unpopular group leader Olle (Reimo Sagor), who becomes disappointed in his companions during the trip, disappears on the last day in the mountains. His rival, liberal-minded and adventurous Eero (Priit Pius) guides the descending hikers into a Buryate village on the mountain to seek help. A weird and insane chain of events is unleashed which seems to be orchestrated by the missing Olle. In a foreign land and among people they do not know, the hikers are faced with a task which they at first do not want to undertake and later are unable to tackle. -Kopli Kinokompanii

6. Wild (20th Century Fox)

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Country: USA
115 minutes| Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%, IMDb: 7,1

With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. WILD powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her. (c) Fox Searchlight

5. 45 Years (Sundance Selects)

Director: Andrew Haigh
Country: UK
95 minutes| Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%, IMDb: 7,1

There is just one week until Kate Mercer's forty-fifth wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

4. Steve Jobs (Universal Pictures)

Director: Danny Boyle
Country: UK, USA
123 minutes| Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%, IMDb: 7,2

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.-- (C) Universal

3. Amy (A24 Films)

Director: Asif Kapadia
Country: UK, USA
128 minutes| Art House & International, Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%, IMDb: 7,8

Despite just two albums to her name Amy Winehouse is one of the biggest music icons in British history. With a voice oft described as a combination of Billy Holiday, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan, Amy Winehouse was a pop star with soul; a once in two generational musical talent whose appeal crossed cultural and demographic boundaries. But while her music made her a star, her chaotic personal life stole headlines.

2. Birdman (Fox Searchlight)

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Country: USA
119 minutes| Comedy, Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%, IMDb: 7,8

BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Michael Keaton) - famous for portraying an iconic superhero - as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. (c) Fox Searchlight

1. Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)

Director: Damien Chazelle
Country: USA
106 minutes| Drama
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, IMDb: 8,5

Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man's life. Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity. (C) Sony Classics