Best Films of 2015

By Barrett OBarr
2015 was a standout, despite being so fleeting that most of us keep forgetting its now
2016. One of the things that made 2015 such an interesting year was its movies. To remember
these cinematic productions, heres a list of the top five best films of
2015, spoiler free.
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
The fourth and final movie of its series, The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay - Part 2 was a wrap up to one of the biggest hits of our
generation. Based off of the third book in Suzanne Collinss novels, it
shows us the end of Katniss Everdeens journey as she and her
comrades rebel against the tyranny of the Capitol and its President,
Snow, seeking to bring peace to the enslaved districts. It has a lot of
moments that will leave you at the edge of your seat, as well as ones
to give you a brief respite of joy or despair. Despite a few differences
from the novel that might have left some of the viewers who hadnt
read the book confused, as well as some drawn out scenes, it made
quite the mark on the community.
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron
After Marvel Studios released The Avengers, fans of the group of
superheroes eagerly awaited the second installment their anticipation only
growing as other Marvel films gave a glimpse of what might come in the sequel.
When it finally released, it gave a story even more enrapturing than the first. The
Avengers, a group of individuals with extraordinary powers, are tasked with
saving the world from a form of artificial intelligence known as Ultron, developed
by Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Banner (the Hulk). All the while, groups
opposing both the heroes and real world governments work against them, and
introduce new heroes and allies. Packed with both action and plot, it was highly
enjoyable for fans and casual viewers alike, and leaves all wondering what will
happen in the next film.
3. Inside Out
Pixar is known for vividly animated childrens movies, which tend to put a
spin on what we consider the norm by giving personalities to things such as toys, cars, and
robots. But last year, their big hit was focused on giving emotions to emotions? In Inside Out,
a young girl named Riley moves away from Minnesota and her friends and hockey team to San
Francisco. As she struggles to cope, so do the five emotions in her minds Headquarters- Fear,
Anger, Disgust, Sadness, and Joy. As things grow worse for Riley, Sadness begins tampering
with her happy core memories, tainting them with sadness and even resulting in her gaining a
new core memory- a sad one. However, when Joy attempts to keep the new core memory out,

she ejects the rest of them, and she and Sadness are sucked
into long term memory with the cores. As they struggle to
return to fix things, the rest of the emotions try to keep Rileys
life from turning upside down without joy. With several heart
wrenching moments and a very original and interesting
concept, Inside Out stood out as a new Pixar classic.
2. Jurassic World
After the spectacular Jurassic Park
(and the not so spectacular sequels), fans
were both thrilled and hesitant to see the
fourth movie. However, it seems that everyone came away happily surprised.
Two decades after the original disaster of a park with dinosaurs, the new theme
park, Jurassic World, is in full swing. Brothers Zach and Gray are sent to
spend some time at the place with their aunt Claire, the parks operation
manager. Around the same time, Claire sends Owen Grady, trainer of the
parks four velociraptors, to take a look at the new hybrid dinosaur made to
attract more visitors, who have grown bored of the classics- the Indominus
rex. The two realize that the hybrid may have a few more genetic quirks than
the labs had anticipated, and it soon breaks free, wreaking havoc at the
inhabited park. It has a lot of suspense, and the animation is incredible. It also
has a lot of little throwbacks to the first film, and manages to reinforce the feel
that had made it a hit, including bringing back the iconic soundtrack.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The original Star Wars saga is known as one of, if not the, best
film series yet. Therefore, it is no wonder everyone was out of their
mind and hyped up when they heard that a seventh movie would be
released. It follows the story of Rey, a scavenger from Jakku who runs
into the droid BB8, who holds a map which leads directly to the missing
Luke Skywalker. However, the First Union, a new group seeking to
rebuild the empire, sends their forces (including a new, Vader-like
villain, Kylo Ren) after her so that they can track down and exterminate
the last Jedi. It involves new characters, such as Finn and Poe, as well
as old ones, like Leia and Han Solo. It only grossed enough to reach
second place (after Jurassic World) in money grossed worldwide for
the year, but that is incredibly impressive when you realize that it was
only out for the end of December. In fact, out of the 143 polled, 74
students stated that they had already seen it, several multiple timesmany of those who said no also said that they were planning to over
the weekend. Despite having such a short amount of time to run, it has already become the
mass favorite.

Movies are a major part of our culture nowadays, and are one of the things we critic and
value. 2015 had a lot of great movies for us to take away from and remember the year by. Did
these five films help 2015 stand out in your mind? Take the poll to let us know!