No Iron List would be complete without the opinions of our relatives. They have been calling this week, not to wonder why we haven't called, they know why, but to contribute some generational diversity to the perspectives contained herein.
While we’re a little disappointed that the movies we forced on Iron Mom Freddi Karp fared so poorly (see: Creed, Love and Mercy, Magic Mike XXL), we’re happy to see this year’s family Christmas movie take the #1 spot. Perhaps she's always telling us she loves us because she loves us after all. –eds.
18. Trainwreck
17. Ricki and the Flash
16. Grandma
15. Magic Mike XXL
14. Suffragette
13. Love and Mercy
12. Creed
11. Trumbo
10. The Danish Girl
9. Far From the Madding Crowd
8. Steve Jobs
7. Diary of a Teenage Girl
6. Meru
While we’re a little disappointed that the movies we forced on Iron Mom Freddi Karp fared so poorly (see: Creed, Love and Mercy, Magic Mike XXL), we’re happy to see this year’s family Christmas movie take the #1 spot. Perhaps she's always telling us she loves us because she loves us after all. –eds.
18. Trainwreck
17. Ricki and the Flash
16. Grandma
15. Magic Mike XXL
14. Suffragette
13. Love and Mercy
12. Creed
11. Trumbo
10. The Danish Girl
9. Far From the Madding Crowd
8. Steve Jobs
7. Diary of a Teenage Girl
6. Meru
5. Carol. I really did get caught up in the atmosphere created...
4. Brooklyn. Nothing compares to the experience of reading this book but the movie told the story perfectly sweetly.
3. The Martian. It's crazy that I liked this movie so much. It's Matt Damon's charm, I'm sure. Oh, and the science! A good movie about science!
2. Spotlight. Well written, well paced, and such a great ensemble of actors. I really respected how they told the story and communicated the victims' pain without actually inflicting that pain on me, the viewer. My imagination was enough. Plus, old-fashioned journalism (going into paper archives!) will always get my attention.
1. The Big Short. As scary a movie as I've ever seen (especially as I watch a proliferation of television ads for Rocket Mortgage Loans) but also entertaining, smart, and clever. It's pretty much a white male film, but, oh wait, this was a pretty much a white male crime...
4. Brooklyn. Nothing compares to the experience of reading this book but the movie told the story perfectly sweetly.
3. The Martian. It's crazy that I liked this movie so much. It's Matt Damon's charm, I'm sure. Oh, and the science! A good movie about science!
2. Spotlight. Well written, well paced, and such a great ensemble of actors. I really respected how they told the story and communicated the victims' pain without actually inflicting that pain on me, the viewer. My imagination was enough. Plus, old-fashioned journalism (going into paper archives!) will always get my attention.
1. The Big Short. As scary a movie as I've ever seen (especially as I watch a proliferation of television ads for Rocket Mortgage Loans) but also entertaining, smart, and clever. It's pretty much a white male film, but, oh wait, this was a pretty much a white male crime...
Meanwhile, down in Florida, Freddi's brother, Bill Karp, had this to say.
2015 went by so fast. Too fast, I am still trying to catch up with November. I saw a lot of great movies released in 2015 but missed a few biggies (Mad Max, The Big Short, The Revenant, and Carol among them) so this may be an unreliable list, but here goes in order beginning with the best:
1. Spotlight
2. Beasts of No Nation
3. Trumbo
4. Listen Up Marlon
5. Inside Out
6. Bridge of Spies
7. The Martian
8. Room
9. Concussion
10. The Good Dinosaur
11. Trainwreck
There were some really disappointing movies this year as well:
1. Jupiter Ascending
2. Fifty Shades of Grey
3. Sicario
4. San Andreas
5. Stonewall
6. Creed
As for the one glaring omission on this list, a film we all watched together at an admittedly depressing suburban cinema from the future...
So, Magic Mike XXL was hands down my most anticipated movie in 2015. While the experience of all of us watching together was one of the highlights of the year the movie itself failed to score well with me. I so wanted to love it but I just didn't. There wasn't enough dancing, or camp, and I didn't think Channing Tatum was in it enough.
I did recently record the original and am looking forward to moving the easy chair close to the screen and getting me some Tatum Time soon!
2015 went by so fast. Too fast, I am still trying to catch up with November. I saw a lot of great movies released in 2015 but missed a few biggies (Mad Max, The Big Short, The Revenant, and Carol among them) so this may be an unreliable list, but here goes in order beginning with the best:
1. Spotlight
2. Beasts of No Nation
3. Trumbo
4. Listen Up Marlon
5. Inside Out
6. Bridge of Spies
7. The Martian
8. Room
9. Concussion
10. The Good Dinosaur
11. Trainwreck
There were some really disappointing movies this year as well:
1. Jupiter Ascending
2. Fifty Shades of Grey
3. Sicario
4. San Andreas
5. Stonewall
6. Creed
As for the one glaring omission on this list, a film we all watched together at an admittedly depressing suburban cinema from the future...
So, Magic Mike XXL was hands down my most anticipated movie in 2015. While the experience of all of us watching together was one of the highlights of the year the movie itself failed to score well with me. I so wanted to love it but I just didn't. There wasn't enough dancing, or camp, and I didn't think Channing Tatum was in it enough.
I did recently record the original and am looking forward to moving the easy chair close to the screen and getting me some Tatum Time soon!