Films of 2015: Hits and Misses

Hits

Jurassic World

Jurassic World was one of the most anticipated films of the year, and it most certainly delivered. A brand new cast gave it a refreshing boost that proved it is a franchise that will stand the test of time, as it does not rely on particular actors. It was a classic Summer blockbuster, and rightly became the third highest grossing film of all time.

The Martian

There was very little talk of the Martian until it was in cinemas, but it deserved the attention it ultimately got. It was a very timely film; with much talk about manned missions on Mars, it created a "what if" scenario that many would not have considered, and that's an interesting concept in itself. It was able to be funny while still taking itself seriously, which put it a notch ahead of other Sci Fi films of recent times.

It Follows

Personally my favourite film of the year, and one of my favourite films of all time. It's everything a horror needs to be. It's scary without needing to frighten you, the tension will have you trying to pause it or look away and the imagery is second to none. There's no such thing as the perfect film, but It Follows comes pretty close. 

Bridge of Spies

Steven Spielberg is still at the top of his game. The atmosphere, theme and emotional fluctuation is so trademark Spielberg that the film almost feels sentimental. He's a real magician with a camera. Tom Hanks put in a great performance, and the score is memorable too. The combination of people involved meant that anything less than amazing would have been disappointing. Thankfully, it wasn't.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Like Jurassic World, it was highly anticipated. It could have fallen victim to being too nostalgic and not producing a worthwhile storyline, but it didn't at all. The new cast stole the show and the old cast offered some memorable moments. The story made sense and didn't feel forced. The film's cycle hasn't quite finished yet, but it's likely to become one of the highest grossing films of all time. It makes Star Wars the number one franchise in the world once more. 

Honourable Mentions: Inside Out, Song of the Sea

Misses

Tomorrowland: A World Beyond

This isn't a miss because it was a bad film, it just promised to be so much more. It had moments where it was great, but it never really packed a full punch. The film succeeds in terms of trying to restore and reproduce old values and inspire the audience, but fails in terms of telling a story. It was an enjoyable film nonetheless and the visuals were wonderful, but I'm not quite sure who the target audience is. 

Poltergeist

The original is a great film. This remake is absolute muck. There's not much else to say really. Avoid at all costs.

The Good Dinosaur

I really wanted this film to be good. A combination of aspects landed it in the miss pile. It was released at a really bad time, with Star Wars coming out in the same month. Pixar had also released a film earlier in 2015, and people weren't excited about The Good Dinosaur. The characters weren't all that interesting and the story never made me want to continue watching. It's an okay film, but poor by Pixar's standards.

Krampus

You can never really expect a horror film to be good, so it didn't exactly disappoint but it was just visually too dark, and couldn't decide if it was a horror or a comedy. It had potential to be good, it could have capitalized on an interesting concept, but it never delivered. David Koechner's typecast character is intolerable and should never have been in Krampus, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

The Good Dinosaur (2015) Review

The Good Dinosaur is Pixar's latest film, which tells the story of Arlo the dinosaur finding his way back home with the help of his dog-like human friend, Spot. The incredibly realistic scenery steals the show throughout the film, and the caricature dinosaurs and human almost become uninteresting in front of the background, as seen in the photo above. Pixar have spearheaded the animation industry since the release of Toy Story in 1995, and they continue to showcase the evolution of animation. The main problem in terms of animation is the blandness of the dinosaurs. 

This story of the protagonist trying to find their way home has been done to death by Pixar. It's the plot of all three Toy Story films, Finding Nemo and most recently, Inside Out, which was released just five months ago. The audience knows they're going to get there, so any threat to the character not getting home just feels formulated. Emotional moments in this movie feel formulated as well, probably due to the characters not really warranting empathy. 

The poor timing of the release has plagued The Good Dinosaur and prevented it from following the natural development of a Pixar film's release. It's partly their own fault, as it's their second original release this year. They didn't release any film last year, and this film was scheduled to be released last year. While I understand that rushing a release does more harm than good, they should have postponed it until next year, as they are releasing a Finding Nemo sequel next year, but no original films. We've already seen a dinosaur film this year in Jurassic World, and The Good Dinosaur has been release three weeks before the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. All of these aspects combined has made for a very underwhelming release of this film, and that is reflected in the box office earnings. It will likely lose money, and that's a first for Pixar.

Pixar create great protagonists, and they make great antagonists to counteract them. At first glance, The Good Dinosaur doesn't have an antagonist but after thought, it has one of the best antagonists of any Pixar film; nature itself. Nature takes Arlo away from home, and does things that if done by a character, would be unforgivable. Nature is relentless, and yet the audience (and Arlo) can't help but admire its beauty. Nature is treated like a character, and this was executed really well. 

There are some redeeming qualities, and Pixar will probably never make a bad film, but this was nowhere near their high standard. A higher quality of characters and a better timed release would have made this film successful, and hopefully the company will learn some important lessons from this rather than begin to fear the risk of original films. 

3/7

Inside Out (2015) Review

Pixar's new film Inside Out is their first release in two years and their first original release since Brave in 2012. Brave was a little bit out there for Pixar as they had never done a fairy tale before, and it didn't quite appeal to me like other Pixar films do. So for me, Inside Out is their first original film since Up in 2009. I loved growing up through the Pixar era as they brought such new and imaginative stories to the world of animation. In a time where remakes and sequels seem to be the biggest draw, Pixar were always against the wave in creating new stories while still being hugely successful. It's disappointing to see them develop multiple sequels now. A Good Dinosaur is another original Pixar film that will be released later this year (more about that later) but their schedule after that has sequels to Finding Nemo, Toy Story, The Incredibles and Cars. I feel like the company is selling its soul in order to make money.

But anyway, Inside Out itself is a great film. It involves all the qualities that every Pixar film has. The emotional highs and lows fluctuate perfectly and there are plenty of funny moments that you keep you laughing the whole time. There's no villain, and there's no need for one. The point of the film is to send a message; emotions work in different ways but all of them create a perfect balance. The story line might seem quite complex for youngsters, but Pixar know that that is only half of their audience. It's enjoyable for people of all ages, while never simplifying itself for the sake of being a children's movie. For those who can keep up, it teaches a really important lesson in how the brain works and even offers an explanation for bad and good moods. It has multiple classic Pixar easter eggs that are always fun to look out for, although they were much more subtle than previous films. 

Colour plays a big role throughout the film, as each colour represents an emotion. The inside of Riley's head is colourful while the real world is quite grey. The difference between the scenes inside Riley's head and the real world are great because it allows the two worlds to be interoperable without much confusion about which is which. The entire film might seem too complex for a childrens' story, and this particular task might have been an obstacle, but Pixar always know how to knock the ball right out of the park. 

My issue with Inside Out is the timing of release. Of course summer makes sense but they haven't released a film since June 2013. They used to release a film every summer, and 2014 marked the first time in eight years that they hadn't released a film in a calender, but they're releasing A Good Dinosaur in four months. That makes no sense. Why not release Inside Out in 2014? If it was a timing issue, why not push the whole schedule back and release A Good Dinosaur next summer? Two Pixar films in the space of four months might just be too much of a good thing, and while I'm happy to see another original film coming out, I think the timing is wrong.

However, this is a review of the film and not of the company, and the film ticks a lot of boxes. It's classic Pixar, it has plenty of replay value. These characters will be iconic in a few years just like Woody, Buzz, Mike and Sully. They create incredible characters who stay in the hearts of audiences young and old, and Joy and Sadness are no exception. This is a must see for all Pixar fans and general animation fans. Pixar have been spearheading the animation world since their inception and they are showing no signs of stopping.

6/7