Top 20 of 2015, Part 1 (#20-11)

Even when you see well under a hundred movies a year, listing a mere top ten can still be awfully limiting. So this year I'm making time to lavish praise on twenty, which I should have started doing a long time ago. And even with twice as much love going around, there still isn't room to fit in every noteworthy achievement of 2015, so first a few shout-outs:

To Matthew Heineman's gripping expose on vigilantes fighting a hopeless war in Cartel Land; To Deniz Gamze Ergüven for evoking the sisterly bonds of Mustang with such purity and sensitivity; To Steven Spielberg's sturdy, classical construction of the Cold War pseudo-thriller Bridge of Spies; And to J.J. Abrams for reawakening our love of the galaxy far, far away in his exciting and affectionate Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

And now, the first half of my Top 20 Movies of 2015:

One Category at a Time: Foreign Language Film

After years of tweaking and finessing, it would seem the Academy has finally redeemed Best Foreign Language Film, turning it from a yearly source of debate to a rather respectable category. Credit the executive committee which gets to save three films for the shortlist -- A necessary evil in the face of the general membership's historical aversion to critically celebrated titles. This year in particular, I'm sure many critics would argue that Best Foreign Language Film is just as good (if not superior) to the Best Picture field.