2015 was a fantastic year for
film. There were so many good films that many that I really liked could not
make the top 25 (and even more wonderful performances did not make the top 25
performances). I have put an “*” next to my personal favorite from each
category.
Favorite 25 Films of
2015
Favorite 25
Performances of 2015
Christian
Bale, a leading performance in The Big Short
Cate Blanchett, a leading performance in Carol
Emily
Blunt, a leading performance in Sicario
Marion Cotillard, a leading performance in Macbeth
Matt
Damon, a leading performance in The Martian
Paul Dano, a leading performance in Love & Mercy
Leonardo DiCaprio, a leading performance in The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, a leading performance in Macbeth*
Michael Fassbender, a leading performance in Steve Jobs
Tom Hanks, a leading performance in Bride of Spies
Tom Hardy, a supporting performance in The Revenant
Samuel L. Jackson, a leading performance in The Hateful
Eight
Brie Larson, a leading performance in Room
Jennifer Lawrence, a leading performance in Joy
Jennifer Jason Leigh, a supporting performance in The
Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, a leading performance in Carol*
Eddie Redmayne, a leading performance in The Danish Girl
Daisy Ridley, a leading performance in Star Wars: The Force
Awakens
Saoirse Ronan, a leading performance in Brooklyn
Jason
Segel, a leading performance in The End of the Tour
Sylvester Stallone, a supporting performance in Creed
Kristen Stewart, a supporting performance in Clouds of Sils
Maria
Alicia Vikander, a leading performance in Ex Machina
Alicia Vikander, a leading performance in The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, a supporting performance in Steve Jobs
Favorite 25 Artistic,
Technical & Aesthetic Achievements
Adam Arkapaw, cinematography for Macbeth
Carter Burwell, composer for Carol
Roger
Deakins, cinematography for Sicario
Jack Fisk, production design for The Revenant
Cary Joji Fukunaga, cinematography for Beasts of No Nation
Dennis Gassner, production design for Spectre
Colin Gibson, production design for Mad Max: Fury Road*
Todd Haynes, directing for Carol
Hoyte Van Hoytema, cinematography for Spectre
Alejandro G. Inarritu, directing for The Revenant
Johan Johannsson, composer for Sicario*
Jed Kurzel, composer for Macbeth
Edward Lachman, cinematography for Carol
Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematography for The Revenant*
Arthur Max, production design for The Martian
George Miller, directing for Mad Max: Fury Road
Ennio Morricone, composer for The Hateful Eight
Thomas Newman, composer for Spectre
John Seale, cinematography for Mad Max: Fury Road
Francois Seguin, production design for Brooklyn
Steven Spielberg, directing for Bridge of Spies
Quentin Tarantino, directing for The Hateful Eight
Yohei Taneda, production design for The Hateful Eight
Denis Villeneuve, directing for Sicario*
John Williams, composer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
A Few More Fun,
Entertaining and Interesting Smaller Films You Might Have Missed from 2015
Good Films I Have Yet
to See (that probably would have factored into the above lists)
99 Homes, a drama directed by Ramin Bahrani
The Hunting Ground, a documentary directed by Kirby Dick
Son of Saul, a period war drama directed by Laszlo Nemes
Suffragette, a period drama directed by Sarah Gavron