Ex Machina (2015)

IMDb plot summary: A young programmer is selected to participate in a groundbreaking experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.
Directed by Alex Garland. Starring Domnhall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, and Sonoya Mizuno.

(Definite spoilers ahead.)

Oh, this was an excellent movie. A smart, interesting thriller with some great acting from Oscar Isaac in particular. On top of that, it's a kind of story that very easily could have been exploitative and heavily objectifying of its women, but instead it tells their story with compassion and grants them tremendous agency to shape their own lives. (Reading the credits at the end, I was particularly happy to see the tiny detail that all the discarded AIs had names. Such a little thing, but I loved that they all got to be named and not just described as "naked AI #1" or something like that.)

The ending surprised me, but it was also very satisfying. Watching Ava claim her humanity and just... leave was somehow exactly what the story needed. Plus, the final 10 minutes or so of the movie have such a gorgeous artfulness to them, with haunting visuals and a beautiful score to create a very moving finale. This is easily one of my favorites of 2015.

4.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Ex Machina > Alice Adams
Ex Machina > Eat Pray Love
Ex Machina > The Holiday
Ex Machina < This Is Spinal Tap
Ex Machina < Equilibrium
Ex Machina < Mighty Aphrodite
Ex Machina < A Little Princess (1995)
Ex Machina < Guardians of the Galaxy
Ex Machina > Amerian Splendor
Ex Machina > Another Woman
Ex Machina < Jean de Florette
Final spot: #294 out of 2408.

Trainwreck (2015)

IMDb plot summary: Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.
Directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, and Tilda Swinton.

I didn't actually realize this was directed by Apatow until the end credits, but it makes sense, because it definitely feels like an Apatow movie. For the first 2/3 of the movie, it's pretty good. It's funny, and Amy Schumer has an odd charm about her despite playing a terrible character, and Bill Hader serves as a good foil for her, and there's some good dialogue and some interesting plot development. The third act is where things fall apart somewhat, as the plot suddenly goes from light to sentimentally serious. It's an abrupt shift in tone, and the laughs in the last third of the movie are few and far between, while the dramatic dialogue would be right at home in a cheesy TV movie. The final couple minutes brings it (mostly) back home, but there's a long stretch in there where it feels like an entirely different movie has been shoehorned in, and it's not a good fit. It's too bad that such a large part of this movie is handled so awkwardly, because the rest of it was very enjoyable.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Trainwreck > The Fortune Cookie
Trainwreck < Eat Pray Love
Trainwreck < A Separation
Trainwreck < Short Circuit
Trainwreck > Walk the Line
Trainwreck < Ghostbusters II
Trainwreck < Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Trainwreck > Win Win
Trainwreck < 12 Monkeys
Trainwreck < George of the Jungle
Trainwreck > Snakes on a Plane
Final spot: #1116 out of 2407.

Into the Wild (2007)

IMDb plot summary: After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
Directed by Sean Penn. Starring Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, and Jena Malone.

(ALL the spoilers.)

There is no way for me to discuss this movie without getting into spoilers, so if you don't know the ending of this movie or the real-life story it was based on, just pass this one by. This is also going to be a *very* personal review -- I don't have much to say about the technical or aesthetic specifics, but I have a LOT to say about how I felt about it.

I didn't know anything about this movie going into it (not even that it was based on a true story), but I had... quite an array of responses to it. The first third or so, I found myself kind of intrigued by this young character and his drive to get away into isolation. This intrigue faded pretty quickly, though, and then I spent an hour and a half being mostly bored by this young man's personal journey and just wanted him to come to his senses and go home or find something to do with his life besides wandering alone forever.

And then... the ending happened. And I was *angry*. I was angry that the movie wanted me to be following the saga of some kind of hero or brave soul or someone with revolutionary ideas when all I could see was an angry college student who thought he was better than the whole world and got himself killed because of it. I was angry that his sister didn't hear from him for months and then, bam, finds out he's starved to death in the woods. I was angry that the old man who was so kind to him might never even know what happened to him at all. I was angry that his bitterness toward society took him all the way to death and never gave him a chance to make things right for the people he hurt with his carelessness. And I did *not* want to let the movie give him a meaningful or a fulfilling death, because that isn't what it was.

I feel uncomfortable saying these things knowing that the was a real Christopher McCandless, but really, I don't know anything about the real guy. I did a tiny bit of research before writing this review, but it's not the facts of the story I have a problem with as much as the little artistic details the movie provides. Those are what that try to give us a satisfying "Aw, he lived a good life" ending when that just doesn't work with what I saw. And I'm annoyed that I had to sit through 2 1/2 hours of hiking footage to get to that ending.

That being said... I'm not sure how to rank it. It's probably better for the movie to make me angry at the end than to make me bored. And the reaction was so strong and so surprising that I'm not even sure I'm categorizing it correctly. It might eventually settle into something more positive. I remember Grave of the Fireflies making me angry but then after I got some distance, I loved it. Then again, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas made me angry and I still hate it. So... I'll loosely rank it for now, but I'm pretty sure I won't know what I actually feel about it for a couple months.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Into the Wild < Alice Adams
Into the Wild > X2
Into the Wild < Mickey's Christmas Carol
Into the Wild > Swingers
Into the Wild < The Quiet Man
Into the Wild > Hotel Transylvania
Into the Wild > Thoroughly Modern Millie
Into the Wild < The Muppet Christmas Carol
Into the Wild > Pretty in Pink
Into the Wild < Last of the Red Hot Lovers
Into the Wild < Burlesque
Final spot: #1592 out of 2406.

Flickchart guesses I'd give this 1.5 stars based on my ranking, so we'll take its lead on that.

The Big Short (2015)

IMDb plot summary: Four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predicted the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s decide to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed.
Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt.

Well, sheesh. If you've ever wanted to see a movie that came away feeling like there was absolutely no hope for humanity left in America, here's one. It's an unusual departure for Adam McKay as mostly a fast-talking drama (with some comedic elements, but still all centered around a serious situation). I mean, who would expect the director of Anchorman to do a biopic explaining the 2008 economic crisis? It is absolutely engaging, however, and to someone like me who knows very, very little about financial or economic matters, it was able to tell its story in a way that kept me continually in the loop, even making fun of how deliberately complicated some of this stuff is. I walked out of this feeling... well, maybe not entertained (it's hard to be entertained by greed when it's had an impact on your life and the lives of those around you), but definitely with a stronger grasp of the facts of the matter.

The acting here is fantastic -- one of Steve Carell's best roles, and Christian Bale is a little over-the-top as always but definitely creates a compelling character. The script is also stupendous -- funny and clever and interesting all the way through. My biggest aesthetic grip comes down to the bizarre editing, specifically the tendency to insert into the narrative shots of random houses or flowers or groups of people. These shots lasts so briefly that I barely even had time to try and parse how they connected to anything being said. I'm sure McKay had a directorial reason for this, but it took me out of the story every single time and just seemed... awkward.

3.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Big Short > The Fortune Cookie
The Big Short < Eat Pray Love
The Big Short > A Separation
The Big Short < The Green Mile
The Big Short > The Thin Man
The Big Short < How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
The Big Short > The Return of the Living Dead
The Big Short > 2001: A Space Odyssey
The Big Short > Going My Way
The Big Short > Batman
Final spot: #790 out of 2405.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

IMDb plot summary: The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
Directed by Ivan Reitman. Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykyord, Sigourney Weaver, and Harold Ramis.

I was pretty lukewarm on the first Ghostbusters movie, although I probably owe it a rewatch someday -- I expect it'll grow on me, especially since I kind of liked this. I didn't laugh super hard or want to class it as one of the all-time best comedies, but it was easily like a 2 1/2-star enjoyable flick. Peter MacNicol as Janosz was a side character that stole the show for me (I'd rather have watched his awkward antics than 3/4 of the Ghostbusters themselves). So... decent, especially as a sequel to a movie I didn't really love the first time around.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Ghostbusters II > The Fortune Cookie
Ghostbusters II < Pretty Woman
Ghostbusters II < Strictly Ballroom
Ghostbusters II < Die Hard
Ghostbusters II > Walk the Line
Ghostbusters II < 2012
Ghostbusters II > Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Ghostbusters II > The Lion in Winter (2003)
Ghostbusters II > Rushmore
Ghostbusters II > In Time
Final spot: #1090 out of 2404.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

IMDb plot summary: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a rag-tag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.
Directed by J.J. Abrams. Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Harrison Ford.

(Definite major spoilers.)

This movie is essentially retelling A New Hope, but, goodness, it does it so well. It's an extremely satisfying continuation of the franchise, establishing interesting new characters and giving us great scenes with old favorites. It returns to the lightheartedness that was so missing from the prequels. While the movie isn't perfect (Han's death was handled sometimes awkwardly, and the absurdly abrupt completion of the map made me actually laugh out loud), its mildly derivative nature actually works very much in its favor, returning to not only the flavor of the original but even the original story, winning back the fans' hearts after the prequels disappointed us so badly. It's a loving tribute to the original trilogy, and an excellent way to kick things off. I just hope that the story retelling ends here now that they've reestablished trust and that we can now go off into more unexplored territory. And this one may very well climb up in my rankings as it sits with me or I eventually rewatch it.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > The Circus
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > Eat Pray Love
Star Wars: The Force Awakens < The Holiday
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > Kiss Me, Stupid!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens < Changing Lanes
Star Wars: The Force Awakens < Grave of the Fireflies
Star Wars: The Force Awakens < Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > The Talented Mr. Ripley
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > The Peanuts Movie
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > Trainspotting
Star Wars: The Force Awakens > The Graduate

Final spot: #432 out of 2403.

Creed (2015)

IMDb plot summary: The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
Directed by Ryan Coogler. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, and Phylicia Rashad.

(Spoilers ahead.)

I admit, the only other Rocky movie I've seen is the original one, but I liked it a lot and liked this one a lot too. It manages to do what sports movies often try to do but frequently fail: It centers the sport in the characters. The original did the same thing, and so even though boxing itself isn't interesting to me, I was strongly cheering for the characters. Adonis is a great character, and his interactions with Rocky are funny and moving. The cancer subplot, which in a less well-written movie would schmaltz the story to death, is dealt with intelligently and in a way that is consistent with the characters we've been given. The big boxing match at the end is truly exciting, even for people like me who typically could not care less about sporting events of any kind. The movie intelligently takes its time fleshing out its characters and fleshing them out well, so when the focus finally shifts to The Big Fight, we're already invested. Well done.

3.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Creed > The Circus
Creed < Eat Pray Love
Creed > Laura
Creed > The Green Mile
Creed < Bend It Like Beckham
Creed < The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Creed > The Happening
Creed > Lord of the Flies
Creed > Ikiru
Creed > You Can Count on Me
Creed > Rabbit Hole
Final spot: #713 out of 2402.