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:

My Award Nominations: Original Song

Eesh.

That's all I have to say about the selection there was for Best Original Song.
Not every year can be vintage, but these five aren't bad (though I had to make a stretch or two).

My Award Nominations: Adapted Score

Nest up on my list of favourite musical accomplishments of the year:
My selections for Best Adapted Score.

My Award Nominations: Acting Ensemble

I've sounded off on my favourite individual performances, so we'll cap the weekend off with the Ensembles that most impressed me in 2015. Happy Superbowl Sunday!

Quick Takes from Summer 2015

Yeah, it hasn't been an especially compelling summer movie season from where I'm standing, so I can count on two hands the total number of 2015 releases I've seen as of this posting.

As usual, I'll inevitably catch up with various titles later on, and when I do I'll often add some brief thoughts in this space. For now I'll start with my impressions of Trainwreck and Ricki and the Flash (female-centred movies are not common enough and they need your admission dollars!) with more to come...