The Best Of 2015 In MOVIES & TV – Part 1

Truth be told, 2015 has been a great year for the industry. We saw the reermergence of comic book TV shows in full bloom. New filmmakers rose to the occasion and reignited a renaissance in modern film. Movements sprang back and forth. Truly, it is a perfect time to be alive.

Now that 2016 has arrived, allow us to step back and entertain you with our team’s individual picks for the best (and worst) of 2015.

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Yuri Mangahas
Flipgeeks Managing Editor for Movies & TV, Fashion and Glamour Photographer, Corporate Writer & Editor

BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR: Birdman

This isn’t your typical run of the mill indie. Alejandro Inarritu’s Birdman definitely started the year right by laying out a multi-layered critique on the film industry by depicting a harsh contrast between art and commerce, and how it affects contemporary cinema as a whole. Keaton’s portrayal of the lead even magnified its brilliance, as he removed all sorts of inhibition and became an individual who is bare to the bone, and struggles to maintain his fading relevance. Its ingenious use of a continuous take sure helped in illustrating the themes of the film.

BREAKOUT FILM OF 2015: The Gift

Hear me out. You might be wondering why I picked The Gift as 2015’s breakout film. Sure, it didn’t perform well to box office expectations, but the movie manages to provide mixed amounts of thrill, suspense, and ambiguity to the viewer. This is Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut, and he proves just how brilliant he can be as a helmer. It is unsettling, haunting, and heavy to digest, but it never fails to illustrate the plot and all of its merits. Edgerton is also impressive with the way he portrayed the mentally unstable Gordo. Definitely a must watch for cinephiles.

BEST TV SHOW/MINI SERIES OF THE YEAR: Marvel’s Daredevil

Deviating itself from the norms of a TV show, Marvel’s Daredevil took liberties by depicting the story of The Man Without Fear the way it should be: By utilising composition schemes akin to comic book panels, while inserting grit, noir, and layers in it. Moreso, it didn’t feel connected at all with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, granted how realistic and inclined the show was with an indie. It is the best series I have laid my eyes on for years, and it would take a helmer’s balls to unseat Daredevil.

BEST ANIMATED PROJECT: Garo: The Animation Season 1

Perhaps one of 2015’s most underrated Anime shows, Garo: The Animation’s first season made a mark to western critiques as one of 2015’s best animated projects. Based on the live action series of the same name, the show tackles the gray area between good and evil, the merits behind fighting, and the twisted similarities between the concepts of light and darkness. Its smooth use of CGI also proves useful in depicting the magnificence and power of the Makai Knights.

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR: Attack On Titan

If the source material succeeded in its aim to induce a shonen-styled story deviant from previous serials of the said genre, Attack On Titan’s movie adaptation failed to meet hype and expectations by illustrating a tale that strayed too far from AoT’s mythos. Its CG, matte background, plot, acting, and script are far beyond par with the manga and Anime iterations of Attack on Titan. Truly, it is one of 2015’s biggest disappointments.

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GP Manalo
Flipgeeks Contributor for Movies & TV, Budding Critique, Cosplayer

BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR: Creed

Being pegged as a spinoff of a beloved long-running franchise, Creed was pretty much challenged to stand on its own without relying on the fame of the franchise it grew upon. Thankfully, this movie wasn’t exactly the tribute show one would expect. It did go back to its roots with the franchise’s clichés and tropes but it shows why the mold of the timeless underdog story exists, with some creative changes for the story of Adonis Creed mirroring Rocky Balboa’s. I’ve felt the same feeling I had with the first two Rocky movies (I don’t only consider the first one as the best to be honest) which is being excited for the fight as it was built up by an awesome training montage, being consistently entertained by the film’s sharp wit, and actually find the character’s story and struggle be compelling. Kudos to Ryan Coogler for giving the franchise a new beginning in a more grounded world than it is a cheesy one than the previous movies did.

BREAKOUT FILM OF 2015: The Gift

If we’re talking about 2015’s true, breakout movie in the merits of the label, then you may refer to Joel Edgerton’s The Gift.

You heard it, right. The guy who was young Owen Lars in the Star Wars prequels and became a respectable household name after 2011’s Warrior directed this movie and it made out to be one of the most compelling thrillers of the decade. It’s a thriller movie where it misdirects its audience into thinking who is the victim and who is attacker, making you think that the good guy is not what he seems. As the “monster’s” story unfold in this very unsettling tale where the monster is not the one haunting the victim but more of the past of how the monster is created is the one haunting the victim. In this film, Joel Edgerton not only demonstrated that he is one of the best actors working in the industry right now, but also a force to be reckoned with behind the camera as both director and screenwriter; as he brings out the best material to work with for excellent performances with his fellow cast members.

BEST TV SHOW/MINI SERIES OF THE YEAR: Daredevil

Marvel went down and dirty with this show and boy did it pay off as it offers its audience with a smorgasbord of good things in the show in just one season. It has the right amount of wit to make it not as gritty as whatever DC is doing with their movies, but not too funny to a point where it is copying off of the crowd-pleasing Marvel formula. It doesn’t beat you in the head with so many references from the expanding universe. In just 13 episodes every character is fleshed out and does have more than a moment to shine as it brings out the best performance from its actors. Not to mention that these are the best adapted comic-to-live action characters we will ever have in film.  The fight scenes are well choreographed, shot, and executed (that scene in the end of Episode 2 is still the best filmed action sequence since the first Raid movie). It takes its time to bring out the best in each character, to build up and pay off, and above all kick some serious ass. Also with an indie-level budget they sure did a good job in making this movie look like it’s not made with a subway sandwich budget. I guess in every mediocre MCU movie you got a Netflix TV Series to remember that Marvel can still entertain you nonetheless.

BEST ANIMATED PROJECT: The Little Prince

If there was one word to describe the book-to-movie adaptation of Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s beloved story, The Little Price is “clever”. Clever because the filmmakers re-tells the story without fully adapting it from page to page as it applies the book’s themes and values to the film’s advantage of bringing a fresh and contemporary adaptation of the book itself. As it begs the question once again on what is essential in the cogs of society and in the long run it did work.  The filmmakers showed how much taking right liberties would be a good thing to make an overall beautiful, virtuous, and well-crafted animated movie that remained faithful to its source material.

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR: Tragic Theater

Thankfully I didn’t really watch a lot of bad movies this year, but this one I wasn’t able to stay away from. I’ve never been this pissed going out of a theater before; it is as if I just watched 230 pesos be ripped in front of me by the ticket girl as I went back to see If I could refund my own ticket. It’s embarrassing to even know that this was once promoted as the scariest movie ever by blogs and even the news when we ended up laughing our asses off of how frustratingly cringey it was. When people are joining the fun of how noisy you are at making fun of said movie, it goes to show how much of a tragedy this movie REALLY is.

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Kimberly Mas
Flipgeeks Contributor for Movies & TV, Radio Disc Jockey, Animator

BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I might be a little biased. But, I have to say – I’m really impressed with the latest Star Wars episode. I loved how they balanced the nostalgia and introduction of new characters -It’s so great to see the connections between the old and new films. I can’t wait to see the next episodes.

BREAKOUT FILM OF 2015: Heneral Luna

The talk of the town! Aside from popular loveteams these days, I consider this a breakout film, because they had minimal promotions. Only through word of mouth. And, it’s really amazing how social media helped keep Heneral Luna in the cinemas.

The casting was excellent – no doubt about it. The visual effects were outstanding. But, most of all, I loved the satirical side of the film, which helps balance the dark parts of the film. I also love the fact that due to the success of Heneral Luna, they’ll be pushing through with the trilogy. We’ll be seeing more films line these! I’m looking forward to it – it’s something refreshing – because local films are always so starstudded and filled with commercials.

BEST TV SHOW/MINI SERIES OF THE YEAR:  Daredevil

The TV show that everyone was raving about. I loved the overall theme and tone that Daredevil was going for. The pacing and character development was superb. I’m looking forward to the second season. Good job, Netflix.

BEST ANIMATED PROJECT: Inside Out

Hands down. There was so much effort put into this animated film – Like how the directors consulted with actual psychologists and all. A mind-blowing and heartwarming animated film from Pixar again.

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR: Fantastic Four

I really like Fantastic Four. Although there were a lot of bad reviews for the first Fantastic Four movie, to be honest, I loved it. And, I was really looking forward to this reboot – only to find out that it wasn’t worth watching at all. Aside from the lackerluster storyline full of plot holes, there were a lot of cringe-worthy lines all throughout the movie that will make you want to question why it was even in the script. And yes, Green Lantern was better. Way better than Fantastic Four.

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Learn more of our picks for 2015 on the second part of our year-end review. Special thanks to 20th Century Fox, Columbia Philippines, Warner Bros PH, and Walt Disney PH for the source material.