Travis Hopson's 20 Best Movies of 2015

Every year is a good year for movies. Don't be fooled by those who say otherwise because they're probably not exploring their options too tough.  The consensus for 2015 seems to be that this was a down year, which kind of boggles my mind. How can that be when we've had such visually distinct films as Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Crimson Peak, and more? How can that be when Pixar delivered on the promise of their most ambitious film, Inside Out? How can it be when friggin' Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out this year and turned us all into kids again? Nah, I don't buy it. Sell that nonsense to someone else.

As you know I like to keep a running tally of the movies I see each year, and I'm currently sitting at 271 with only a few days to go. Makes putting together this list both easier and more of a headache. If there's a common thread between the films I chose it's forcing the audience to take a second look. Whether it's looking at war differently like Beasts of No Nation, or adolescence like Mustang, or motherhood like Goodnight Mommy, most of the movies on my list force you to think again, and maybe even think differently.

Changing things up a little bit this year, partially due to time but mainly due to my desire not to repeat myself. What's the point of writing reviews if I'm just going to come here and tell you what's great about the movie? So I'm keeping the entries short and sweet, focusing on what made the most immediate impact. And really, these "Best of" lists are all about the movies that had the biggest personal impact on us, right?

So here we go. Enjoy the show. Be sure to follow all of our "Best of 2015" coverage here!

20. Goodnight Mommy
Practically an advertisement for abstinence, the twin horrors at the center of this Austrian thriller are the scariest kids since Children of the Corn. Dark, torturous, and ominous from the start, only watch this if you never want to be a parent ever.

19.Best of Enemies
Thank you, Nell Minow, for putting me on to Best of Enemies. She knows somebody like me would pay good money to watch conservative icon William F. Buckley get smacked down, and revisiting how badly he get rope-a-doped on national TV by Gore Vidal still makes me smile devilishly. Only documentary of the year I'd happily watch again and again.

18. Creed
The best Rocky movie since the first one. Period.  And yes, it definitely is a Rocky movie in all of the ways that matter. From the heart, the toughness, the emphasis on family; all of it. Creed, like Rocky before it, is about leaving it all in the ring and living life the same way. If there's a more invigorating scene than Michael B. Jordan's jogging montage I don't know what it is.

17. People Places Things
I can't believe how much I love this movie.  It's got precocious kids all over the place. And Jemaine Clement. These are things I don't normally like, but People Places Things is the sweetest and one of the funniest movies of the year.

16. Five Star
A little authenticity goes a long way, and the incredible performance by gangster-turned-actor James "Primo" Grant in this gritty tale of street legacy is what separates it from the more polished urban dramas.

15. Crimson Peak
Suffered from terribly miscalculated marketing, that much is undeniable, but Guillermo Del Toro's lurid, lush Gothic romance was a visual treat you couldn't turn your eyes away from. Plus it features the most icy-awesome Jessica Chastain ever. I'd kill for her to give me that kind of shade.

14. Mustang
The superior of the year's two foreign films on girlhood (the other ironically titled Girlhood), Mustang had me wanting to bust through the screen and rescue the five spirited girls from the conservative Hellhole they were trapped in.

13.  Ex Machina
The best sci-fi is weird, funny, and forces us to think about our current society in a different way. Ex Machina does all of these things, plus it has the most awesome dance scene of the year (sorry Naomi Watts but you're a close second) and Alicia Vikander. And Oscar Isaac. And Domhnall Gleeson. Combined they had like two thousand movies in 2015.

12. Carol
Did you see how exquisitely Cate Blanchett was dressed? Who the f**k wouldn't fall in love with her? Todd Haynes' camera certainly did.

11. Inside Out
Finally, a movie that attempts to tell us guys what exactly is going on in a woman's head! Surprise! The whole thing's an amusement park.  A crumbling amusement park. Pixar needed this stroke of brilliance after the last couple of years afflicted with "sequel-itis".

10. Sicario
The most stinging rebuke of the failed war on drugs is also the year's most white-knuckle experience. As Emily Blunt's naive young agent falls down the rabbit hole of violent government excess and corruption, exemplified by an overconfident handler (Josh Brolin) and mysterious "bird dog" (scariest Benicio Del Toro ever, and he was The Wolfman!) we can't help but feel the same futility she must have felt.

9. The Hateful Eight
Part of me wants Quentin Tarantino to make something other than Westerns. But then he does them so damn well! From the glorious Ennio Morricone score, to the stunning cinematography (see it in 70mm!) to the rabble of ornery cusses all crammed together waiting to fill one another with lead, The Hateful Eight is a nearly flawless love letter to the Westerns of old.

8. Victoria
Those who claim Victoria is a one-trick pony, that being its 2-hour-long single shot, aren't acknowledging HOW FREAKING AMAZING THAT ONE TRICK IS!!! No seriously, there isn't a cinematic feat quite like it this year, but I also fell for the arc of the central love story which goes from Before Sunrise to True Romance at the drop of a hat.

7. Far from the Madding Crowd
Carey Mulligan. Matthias Schoenaerts. Thomas Vinterberg. It's like they made a movie just for me. And that I'm a sucker for a sweeping romance only made it more likely this would be high on my list. I'm also a sucker for any film in which a woman can be courted with a live lamb.

6. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
One of two Sundance films to crack my top 10, this was the most enjoyable film about illness since The Fault In Our Stars, which it shares much in common with from a thematic standpoint. But it's also unexpectedly nimble visually, riotously funny thanks to a stellar comedic cast, and acknowledges the healing power of really good cinema.

5. Beasts of No Nation
Cary Fukunaga's devastating war film would be too tough to watch if it wasn't so beautiful. To see children losing their innocence in a shower of blood and bullets is unbearable but that's the point; to make you think about the real costs of armed conflict around the world. On a side note: Idris Elba is so damned charismatic here I woul probably follow him into certain doom.

4. Mad Max: Fury Road
I went into George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road not at all a fan of the previous films, and exited a total convert.  A breakneck 2-hour thrillride through Miller's warped imagination, the film also marks a welcome turn away from CGI effects and into the practical. Let's hope it stays that way.

3. The Revenant
The most breath-taking film of the year, Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu's grueling survival thriller put Leonardo DiCaprio and Co. through their paces, but damn was it worth it. Shot mostly using natural light, the cast and crew endured brutal weather patterns and an overlong production. Normally such stories are the deathknell of a film, but this is the rare case where the difficulties seem to have made it better.  I watched it again recently on a small portable DVD player and it's still awesome to behold. There may never be another film that looks quite like The Revenant. Just hand cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki his third straight Oscar already! Just hand it over!

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
How in the name of Kylo Ren is Star Wars: The Force Awakens not my #1 film of the year? Well, it's just not, but it was damn close. While we all love J.J. Abrams' obvious adoration for the original trilogy, it's that he isn't so busy looking backward that he forgets to move forward that makes this movie so special.

1. Brooklyn
I saw Brooklyn at Sundance back in January and haven't been able to forget it. I have an appreciation for simple stories told well, and that's what this is.  Nick Hornby's concise adaptation, along with John Crowley's smooth direction paints a beautifully vivid picture of America as a place of hope and opportunity. Saoirse Ronan, in what I think is an Oscar-worthy performance, has never been better, capturing the fear, loneliness, and eventual strength of a homesick girl trying to find her place in the world. Brooklyn is a truly timeless story that reflects the best of what cinema has to offer.

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2015 WAFCA Awards Honors 'Spotlight' with Best Film; 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Wins Big

The accolades keep on rolling in for Tom McCarthy's Spotlight, his searing drama on the investigation into the Catholic Church abuse scandal. Today, the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (of which many of us are members) announced the winners of the 2015 WAFCA AWARDS, honoring the acclaimed film with Best Picture and Best Ensemble.

It was George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road that came away with the most victories, earning wins for Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Production Design. The post-apocalyptic chase flick also saw multiple nominations in other categories, making the case for it as perhaps an Oscar sleeper in the coming weeks. In a move that was a bit of a surprise, Alicia Vikander won Best Supporting Actress, not for The Danish Girl, but for Alex Garland's Ex Machina. Not a bad pick, just an interesting one. Can't really complain about it. Idris Elba's remarkable performance as the Commandant in Beasts of No Nation earned him a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor win. After the grueling shoot for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's The Revenant it's no surprise that Leonardo DiCaprio won for Best Actor and Emmanuel Lubezki continued his string of victories for Best Cinematography. Saoirse Ronan's graceful performance in Brooklyn is one I've been championing all year so I'm happy to see her win for Best Actress.

The full list of winners is below!

Best Film:
Spotlight

Best Director:
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress:
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor:
Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)

Best Supporting Actress:
Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Spotlight

Best Youth Performance:
Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Emma Donoghue (Room)

Best Original Screenplay:
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley (Original Story by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen) (Inside Out)

Best Animated Feature:
Inside Out

Best Documentary:
Amy

Best Foreign Language Film:
Son of Saul

Best Production Design:
Production Designer: Colin Gibson, Set Decorator: Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (The Revenant)

Best Editing:
Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Original Score:
Johann Johannsson (Sicario)

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Box Office: 'War Room' Commands Top Spot; 'A Walk In the Woods' Tramples 'The Transporter'

1. War Room- $9.3M/$24.6M
The new releases this week were pretty soft, leaving the door wide open for faith-based film War Room to slide in and take the top spot. The latest such drama from Alex Kendrick, who connected with a similar audience with Fireproof and Courageous, the film increased its theater count by 391, earning $9.3M for the holiday weekend. These movies don't cost much, only around $3M for this one, and rely on word-of-mouth for much of the marketing. And considering next week's new films aren't too strong, either, don't be surprised if War Room is back hovering around the top spot for a second week.
2. Straight Outta Compton- $8.8M/$147.7M
It's worth noting that the top two movies are led by primarily African-American casts, and if The Perfect Guy does relatively well next week it could be the top three. Just sayin'.
3. A Walk In the Woods (review here)- $8.1M/$10.2M
The Robert Redford/Nick Nolte walkabout dramedy A Walk in the Woods is the top new release of the week, which should give you an idea how lackluster the Labor Day holiday was for debuts. This one actually opened on Wednesday and the reviews have been lukewarm at best...in fact they have been since it debuted at Sundance earlier this year when Redford, who created the festival, didn't seem to want the film playing there. Anyway, this one is geared towards older-skewing audiences, obviously, especially those familiar with Bill Bryson's cherished memoir. But the promos suggested just another broad "old folks misadventures" comedy, which neither actor is really known for. Hey, it only cost $8M, a pittance nowadays, so whether it sticks around long or not money has already been made.
4. Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation- $7.15M/$180.3M
5. The Transporter Refueled (review here)- $7.1M
The only people who couldn't have seen the terrible domestic response to The Transporter Refueled were the suits at EuropaCorp. The Transporter franchise was popular mainly due to the presence of Jason Statham, but this fourth entry replaces him with lesser-known actor Ed Skrein with predictably lackluster results. The $30M film earned $7.1M, which is pretty lousy, but what's important to keep in mind is that these movies, which are French productions led by filmmaker Luc Besson, do extremely well overseas. And that is why this franchise continues, and why it was popular enough to also spawn a television series. So don't be surprised if this one does well globally, leading to The Transporter: Engine Failure or whatever a fifth movie will be titled.
6. No Escape- $5.4M/$18.4M
7. The Man from UNCLE- $3.4M/$39.3M
8. Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos- $3.4M
Lionsgate has found remarkable success with their Hispanic-targeted films such as Spare Parts, Girl in Progress, and Instructions Not Included, and now you can add Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos to the list. The $5M Spanish-language animated film earned $3.4M, on top of what it has already earned in Mexico.
9. Sinister 2- $3.3M/$23.7M
10. Inside Out- $3.1M/$348.2M

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Box Office: 'Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation' soars with $56M; 'Vacation' runs out of Gas

1. Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation (review here)- $56M
Proving again why he's considered Hollywood's top action star, Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation soared to a $56M opening weekend, the third largest of his career. That's nearly double the $29M wide debut of Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol, and that went on to hit $694M worldwide, $480M of which came from international markets. This one promises to be even bigger considering it is basically a Chinese co-production, so $800M may not be out of the realm of possibility. So far it has amassed $65M overseas, for an overall total $121M. No wonder Cruise is already talking about shooting the next M:I film next year.
2. Vacation (review here)- $14.8M/$21.1M
Warner Bros.' Vacation sequel/reboot ran into the ditch, with $21.1M over a five-day opening. The film is a continuation of the Chevy Chase-led comedy franchise from 1983 that spawned a handful of sequels. This one starred Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, and an appearance from Chris "Thor" Hemsworth, but not even the Asgardian Avenger's might could get this Vacation out of the driveway.
3. Ant-Man- $12.6M/$132.1M
4. Minions- $12.1M/$287.3M
5. Pixels- $10.4M/$45.6M
Adam Sandler's video game action-comedy Pixels malfunctioned for a second week in a row, dropping 57% for $10.4M. The $90M feature is the last live-action theatrical effort from Sandler before he journeys over to Netflix for a four-picture deal, and frankly it couldn't come soon enough even though I'm one of the few who didn't loathe Pixels. His next film is the animated Hotel Transylvania 2, which is all but guaranteed to be a hit with families looking for a wholesome night out.
6. Trainwreck- $9.6M/$79.7M
7. Southpaw- $7.5M/$31.5M
Jake Gyllenhaal and Antoine Fuqua's boxing drama Southpaw got floored in week two, dropping 55% for only $7.5M.
8. Paper Towns- $4.6M/$23.8M
9. Inside Out- $4.5M/$329.5M
10. Jurassic World- $3.7M/$631.4M

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Box Office: 'Ant-Man' outscores 'Pixels', 'Southpaw' and 'Paper Towns' deliver solid Debuts

1. Ant-Man- $24.7M/$106M
Marvel's Ant-Man isn't going to the studio's strongest box office performers, but it's proving to be a solid hit for the B-list hero. The film has earned another $24.7M for a $106M domestic haul, while the worldwide total has reached $226M. The next couple of weeks are going to be tough, though, with Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation and another Marvel movie in Fantastic Four on the way.
2. Pixels (review here)- $24M
My honest opinion of Pixels going in was that this could be the one film Adam Sandler couldn't ruin, because it had so many childhood favorite video game characters that it would still be fun. As other critics, who savaged the film while I found it decent, noted in their reviews, Sandler is the one thing that actively hurts it. And as Pixels opened to a mediocre $24M, it may be that Sandler's presence stopped the film from doing better. He's built up such a negative reputation at this point that audiences are taking steps to avoid his movies, even when the concept is as playful as this one. On the other hand, it racked up an additional $25M overseas for a $49M worldwide haul, which isn't bad for an $88M production budget. It may be that Pixels ultimately performs decently overall, but it may be these dwindling returns that drove him to a 4-picture exclusive deal with Netflix. His last feature for awhile will be this fall's Hotel Transylvania 2, so really Pixels is the last time he'll be seen on the big screen for a stretch.
3. Minions- $22M/$261.5M
4. Trainwreck- $17.2M/$61.5M
Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow's R-rated rom-com Trainwreck slid 43% for another $17.2M, giving the film $61.5M after two weeks. It doesn't appear to have been hurt by the recent Louisiana shooting that took place during a showing of the film.
5. Southpaw (review here)- $16.5M
Boxing movies don't always make the cut at the box office. They tend to fare better in the long run rather than the short term. Southpaw, a film that was developed as a starring vehicle for Eminem before Jake Gyllenhaal took over the lead, got off to a solid start with $16.5M. The Weinstein Company has been pushing this as a potential Oscar-contending performance by Gyllenhaal, while the marketing has been targeted mostly at young men who love boxing, pro wrestling, and MMA, which isn't surprising. It seems to have paid off for the $30M feature, as the debut ranks as one of his best for a non-franchise film.
6. Paper Towns (review here)- $12.5M
The latest teen adaptation of a John Green book is Paper Towns, and it comes with considerably less buzz than last year's The Fault in our Stars. For one thing it's much less starry with Nat Wolff and supermodel Cara Delevingne (who will be in Suicide Squad next year) the two biggest names, and the book simply isn't as highly regarded as 'Fault'. Fortunately, the $12.5M opening immediately recoups the meager production budget, and it has earned an additional $7M overseas. This was always going to be a low-key release and it is performing exactly that way.
7. Inside Out- $7.3M/$320.3M
8. Jurassic World- $6.8M/$623.7M
Marvel's Avengers  just got whooped by a bunch of dinosaurs. Jurassic World earned another $6.8M for a domestic total of $623.7M, moving past The Avengers. With its $1.53B worldwide total, it is now the third highest-grossing film of all-time, both domestically and globally. James Cameron still holds the top two spots with Avatar and Titanic, and they are in no danger of losing out on those anytime soon.
9. Mr. Holmes- $2.8M/$6.4M
10. Magic Mike XXL- $1.8M/$63.1M

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Box Office: 'Ant-Man' Takes #1 with Smallish $58M Debut; 'Trainwreck' Avoids Disaster with $30M

1. Ant-Man (review here)- $58M
In the weeks leading up to the release of Ant-Man, it seemed Marvel was getting a little bit desperate to kick up interest in the B-List character. But they really had nothing to worry about for a number of reasons. The film opened with a solid $58M, which may be the lowest for Marvel since 2008's $55M debut of The Incredible Hulk, but it's also the least expensive film they've produced to date. Add that it features a character few recognize, and that it has earned $114M worldwide when international numbers are factored in should make Marvel execs plenty happy. There was some hope it would perform similar to another offbeat Marvel offering, Guardians of the Galaxy, but that was never going to be in the cards. First of all, Ant-Man is a brand new solo franchise, Marvel's first since Captain America: The First Avenger, and it lacks the same level of star power. All in all, the film performed well enough that if Marvel decides to move forward on a sequel they should be solid enough footing to do so. If $58M domestic is considered "weak" by Marvel standards then they can live with that.
2. Minions- $50.2M/$216.6M
Tumbling 57% from last week, those pesky little Minions may end up falling short of the heights reached by the preceding two Despicable Me movies, especially since a ton of family-friendly choices are on the way, starting with Adam Sandler's Pixels next week.
3. Trainwreck (review here)- $30.2M
Amy Schumer may be wildly popular on TV, but it was unclear if that would translate to the big screen, even with the assistance of Judd Apatow. Fortunately all worked out as Trainwreck opened to $30.2M, the second biggest of Apatow's career and a breakthrough performance for Schumer. While some had debated whether the film could possibly top Ant-Man this week, that was never going to happen. First of all, the R-rating limited its audience to a certain degree, plus the polarizing nature of Schumer's act probably had some waiting for the reviews to rollout before deciding if it was worth paying to see. Given that the buzz from critics has been overwhelmingly positive, don't be surprised if Trainwreck steams along the tracks for awhile.
4. Inside Out- $11.6M/$306.3M
5. Jurassic World- $11.4M/$611.1M
6. Terminator Genisys- $5.4M/$80.6M
7. Magic Mike XXL- $4.5M/$58.6M
8. The Gallows- $4M/$18M
9. Ted 2- $2.7M/$77.4M
10. Mr. Holmes- $2.48M
Also debuting this week was Mr. Holmes, in which Sir Ian McKellen plays the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes post-retirement. So this is more of a character study than the bombastic Guy Ritchie movies led by Robert Downey Jr., but the $2.4M opening for Roadside Attractions in limited release shows audiences love the sleuth however they can get him.

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Box Office: 'Minions' Rule with $115M Debut

1. Minions- $115.2M
Proving that the Minions are perfectly capable on their own, their titular Despicable Me spinoff opened to a mind-blowing $115M, the second biggest ever for an animated film, trailing only Shrek the Third's $121M. It's an interesting film in that Minions is a prequel, but it scored numbers that are the biggest of the franchise by a wide margin. This is also the largest opening weekend for voice star Sandra Bullock, which is no small feat. The question now is how Despicable Me plays off of this. Will it do even better? Or is it true that people are more interested in the minions than Gru and his adventures?
2. Jurassic World- $18.1M/$590.6M
3. Inside Out- $17.1M/$283.6M
4. Terminator Genisys- $13.7/$68.7M
While it looks like Terminator Genisys will struggle to hit $100M domestic, it has earned $224M worldwide which isn't too awful. Still, these numbers don't inspire much confidence in seeing the planned trilogy through.
5. The Gallows- $10M
Another cheapie found horror from the folks at Blumhouse, The Gallows has endured some truly crushing reviews to earn its $10M opening weekend. Considering it cost practically nothing and has no stars anyone would recognize, this result should make everybody happy.
6. Magic Mike XXL- $9.6M/$48.3M
7. Ted 2- $5.6M/$71.6M
8. Self/Less- $5.3M
Ryan Reynolds may have been the star of Comic-Con with the Deadpool trailer everyone fell in love with (including me), but until that film comes out his career is still floundering. His latest film, the body-swapping sci-fi movie Self/Less, opened weakly with $5.3M. Co-starring Ben Kingsley and directed by the visual maestro Tarsem Singh, the film received awful reviews (I thought it was okay) and never seemed to have a solid marketing angle. This marks a low for Singh, as well, which is interesting since it is also his least interesting film from a visual standpoint.
9. Baahhubali: The Beginning- $3.5M
10. Max- $3.4M/$33.7M

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*UPDATE* Box Office: 'Terminator Genisys', 'Magic Mike XXL' Off to Slow Starts

*UPDATE* Turns out Pixar's Inside Out narrowly beat Jurassic World last weekend, taking #1 for the first time since it opened. The updated numbers are below:

1. Inside Out- $29.7/$245.8M
2. Jurassic World- $29.2M/$556.5M
3. Terminator Genisys (review here)- $28.7M/$44.1M
Well, he said he'd be back, but Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't bring Terminator Genisys up to the franchise's box office standards. The fifth film in the sci-fi series James Cameron built opened to $44.1M over the five-day holiday weekend, and $28.7M from Friday-thru-Sunday. Given the terrible reviews and mediocre box office, it unfortunately lands in the same territory as 2009's Terminaor Salvation, a failed reboot remembered only for Christian Bale's on-set tantrums.'Genisys' has had problems basically from the start, though, especially in the marketing department. Fans were upset that a major plot point was spoiled so casually, while others have balked at the storyline which twists the classic narrative. Even more were against the casting of just about everybody except for Schwarzenegger. On the bright side, foreign markets tend to be really kind to Terminator movies, and this one's no different with $85.5M earned overseas so far. But on the other hand, this is the July 4th weekend which tends to be huge for blockbuster debuts, and that didn't happen here. So what happens now? The plan was for this to be the kickoff to a new trilogy and accompanying TV series, but obviously those plans have to be in doubt.
4. Magic Mike XXL (review here)- $11.6M/$26.6M
The first Magic Mike film was essentially a low-budget indie, directed by Steven Soderbergh and costing only $7M, but it had a cast of superstars that led it to a blockbuster performance. The film ended with $167M, powered by the muscled frames of Matthew McConaughy, Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello and more. The sequel, Magic Mike XXL, isn't going to come close to those numbers, but it doesn't really need to. It scored $27M since the Wednesday opening, but it only cost $14M so who cares? There are a couple of obvious reasons for the downturn. First of all, both Jurassic World and Inside Out maintained their dominance this week, and the arrival of Terminator Genisys didn't help. Second: the first film played almost exclusively to women, which explains why they made up 96% of the sequel's audience. The sad thing is, Magic Mike XXL is more of a guys' flick with road trips and silly shenanigans and hot women. Considering how inexpensive these movies are it wouldn't be a surprise to get Magic Mike 3: Strippers Take Manhattan or something along those lines.
5. Ted 2- $11M/$58.3M
6. Max- $6.6M/$25.3M
7. Spy- $5.5M/$97.8M
8. San Andreas- $3M/$147.3M
9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl- $1.3M/$4M
10. Dope- $1M/$14.1M

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Box Office: 'Jurassic World' Remains on Top; 'Ted 2' Bears with $33M Debut

1. Jurassic World- 54.2M/$500M
In its third week Jurassic World continues to trample the competition with an amazing $54M and hitting the $500M in blazing fashion. At this number it has now surpassed Avengers: Age of Ultron to be the top domestic film of 2015, and is now 8th worldwide all-time with $1.238B. Wow.
2. Inside Out- $52.1M/$184.9M
While Pixar's Inside Out may never hit #1 in the weekly box office race, its overall numbers are the best the studio has had since Toy Story 3.  The imaginative journey through a young girl's mind earned $52M and slipped only 42%, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
3. Ted 2 (review here)- $33M
Maybe it's a matter of outsized competition like Jurassic World and Inside Out, but Seth MacFarlane's Ted 2 opened with a relatively modest $33M, well off the $54M pace set by the original. The first film broke $500M and was the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy ever, which was a mountain nobody expected this one to climb. Perhaps audiences were just plain over it; the novelty of a crude, pot-smoking bear is fun for awhile but hardly the stuff of franchises. Whatever the case, the film isn't performing as strong as some would have thought, but at a cost of only $68M it certainly won't be a flop, and it could still prove to be huge overseas just as the prior one was.
4. Max- $12.2M
The family-friendly canine drama Max sunk its teeth into a solid $12.2M debut, not bad for a film surrounded by blockbusters. Perhaps its still capitalizing on the good will inspired by American Sniper, as there are similar thematic parallels dealing with PTSD, only in this case it has to do with a military dog whose handler is killed in Afghanistan. All of this is decent news for a $20M production with no big name stars. Then again it did have one cool-looking soldier dog gracing the posters so that might have helped.
5. Spy- $7.8M/$88.3M
6. San Andreas- $5.2M/$141.8M
7. Dope- $2.8M/$11.7M
The interesting thing about Dope is that everybody loves it; the reviews out of Sundance were phenomenal, and the marketing has been all over the place. You can't turn on a TV without an ad for Dope turning up, pushing the urban summer comedy. And yet its numbers are only average, possibly due to all of the money being sucked up by bigger films. Perhaps a later release, closer to the tail end of summer, would have helped.
8. Mad Max: Fury Road- $1.7M/$147M
9. Avengers: Age of Ultron- $1.6M/$452M
10. Pitch Perfect 2- $1.3M/$180.9M

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Box Office: 'Jurassic World' Tops the Food Chain while Pixar's 'Inside Out' Scores with #91M

1. Jurassic World- $102M/$398.2M
After only 10 days Jurassic World is chomping at the edges of a whopping $400M domestically, and is on track to be the fastest film in history to cross that threshold. It slid only 51% in week number two which is tremendous when one thinks of the stiff competition it got from Pixar's Inside Out. Speaking of which...
2. Inside Out (review here)- $91M
First, the bad news: Inside Out is the first Pixar film not to debut at the top of the box office. Now, the good news: Nobody at Disney or Pixar care because the film opened with $91M, the highest number for a #2 film ever, plus another $41M overseas. At a time when many continue to decry the lack of original features from Pixar lately, Inside Out just scored their biggest non-franchise opening weekend, and the second-biggest overall just behind Toy Story 3. So that's not too shabby, and in this case it seems the high concept nature of the film (it takes place inside of a little girl's mind) is what attracted audiences the most. Nice to see people reward such a brilliantly creative film.
3. Spy- $10.5M/$74.3M
4. San Andreas- $8.2M/$132.2M
5. Dope (review here)- $6M
The last couple of weeks have seen arguably the two most buzzed-about movies from Sundance hit theaters, albeit with different rollouts. Last week it was the smaller platform release of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and this week it's the hip-hop comedy, Dope, a film many are calling a coming-of-age classic. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa and featuring only Zoe Kravitz and A$AP Rocky as bankable names, the film has been all the rage for months and opened with a decent $6M. This is the very definition of summer movie and Open Road may have been better off waiting a few more weeks to get away from the Jurassic World juggernaut. But it speaks to their confidence they released it now, and with incredibly strong reviews (it's at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes) it could be one of the summer's most successful comedies.
6. Insidious Chapter 3- $4.1M/$45.3M
7. Pitch Perfect 2- $3.2M/$177.4M
8. Mad Max: Fury Road- $2.8M/$143.6M
9. Avengers: Age of Ultron- $2.7M/$449.3M
10. Tomorrowland- $2M/$87.6M

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Geek Goodies: Pixar's 'Inside Out' Pop! Vinyl Figures

This weekend sees the release of Pixar's latest, Inside Out, and personally I think it's another classic; their best film since Toy Story 3 and possible better. There are so many wonderful characters, from Joy to Anger to Bing Bong, that you'll want to keep them around forever, and now you can. Our friends at Entertainment Earth have the entire collection of Inside Out Pop! Vinyl figures available for only $9.99 each. You already know of my Pop! Vinyl obsession, so combine that with my love of this movie and you know I've already bought them, right? Join in my obsession! Order yours now below!

We appreciate the support you continue to show our sponsors. Punch Drunk Critics earns a small fee every time one of our readers buys from any of our links.

Anger

Sadness

Fear

Joy

Disgust

Bing Bong

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Review: Pixar's 'Inside Out' with the Voices of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, and Mindy Kaling

The merging of beloved animation studio Pixar with Disney had the expected effect: more sequels, more spinoffs, less of that creative ingenuity that gave us Up, Wall-E, and the Toy Story movies. That's not to say Pixar forgot how to touch our hearts in the meantime; far from it, actually. When it comes to the joyous and fearful touchstones that mark the passage of childhood, themes visited in everything from Toy Story to Monsters, Inc., Pixar has proven themselves uniquely attuned. When Inside Out was announced with some great fanfare a few years ago, it seemed like the kind of wildly ambitious idea the studio hadn't attempted in quite a while. That was reason enough to be excited, but that it would center largely on the emotions of a single adolescent girl put it right in their emotional wheelhouse.

Everyone wanted Inside Out to be another Pixar classic, but it more than exceeds our lofty expectations. In the same way director Pete Docter's Toy Story took a goofy concept (living toys!) and made us look at our childhoods differently, Inside Out forces us to reexamine the way our emotions shape who we are. Equal parts sympathetic and nutty, the story takes us inside the amusement park mind of 11-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), a happy Minnesota girl who loves hockey, her close friends, and her parents. But when the father's job forces them to uproot and move to San Francisco, everything changes in ways she's not prepared for. While following Riley's not-so-smooth transition would probably be interesting enough in Docter's capable hands, we're instead taken into the control center of her brain where her emotions are personified by Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Fear (Bill Hader). Joy, who literally glows with fairy-like glee, has known Riley the longest and is sort of the de facto leader. With her in charge, all five emotions work like a well-oiled machine; controlling her moods as well as keeping track of Riley's memories, and it's in dealing with her memories that things start to spin out of control. Most of her emotions do as we would expect them to. Fear is naturally a big wuss; Disgust looks at everything skeptically; Anger is always hot-headed (literally), and Joy can be counted on to be optimistic about everything. But the ever-morose Sadness has no real place, and Joy certainly doesn't want her around tainting happy memories. It's in trying to keep Sadness away that things begin to go haywire, with Joy and Sadness trapped in the deeper recesses of Riley's mind.

Inside Out is perhaps Pixar's most complicated narrative, and Docter's screenplay (co-written with Ronnie del Carmen) isn't so smooth is setting up this vibrant but intricate world. Riley's memories are represented by glowing marbles, but her "core memories" are special and power key facets of her personality. These are represented by floating islands (such as Hockey, Family, and Goofball) that look like theme parks, and we haven't even begun to talk about her long-term memory, subconscious, and other parts of Riley's mental framework. When these core memories get lost, it's up to Joy and Sadness to wander her Long Term Memory, retrieve them and return to Headquarters, and while all of this is going on Riley is trying and failing to deal with multiple changes out in the real world. When Disgust tries to emulate Joy, the result is an uncharacteristically sarcastic Riley

Once Joy and Sadness' quest begins, there is scarcely a moment when Inside Out stops amazing you on just about every level.  Each new land is as imaginative as the last, and we see them venturing through Dreamland, which is naturally a giant movie studio; the two hop on the constantly-moving Train of Thought, and pass through Abstract Thought where they temporarily become 2D constructs. Meanwhile, there are tons of clever gags that will only become funnier the more one thinks about them. An annoying "double mint gum" jingle constantly emerges from the long term memory when least expected. Blame the brain's hardhat-wearing workers for why you can't remember phone numbers anymore, "They're in her phone", they say while erasing them completely from Riley's memory. Going deep into the subconscious, Joy and Sadness also encounter Riley's long-forgotten imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind), who cries tears of candy and rides a magical rocket powered by song. If Bing Bong's story, one that has echoes of Toy Story coursing through it, doesn't melt your heart then nothing else will.

Pixar, and specifically Docter, know how to tug at our heartstrings and fill us with recollections of our own childhoods. Inside Out forces us to feel these things while taking us on a deliriously bizarre adventure inside Riley's mind, while on the outside the story is decidedly more serious, and presented in a way kids can understand. That's not to say Riley's situation is treated with kid gloves, though. Those who are Riley's age will understand her isolated feelings as the new girl in school, her hesitation about joining a new hockey team, and the anger she feels when an old friend appears to have moved on. With her emotions literally steering her every move, though, Riley does begin to come across for a while like a robot being controlled rather than a human making real decisions.

Fortunately, the film keeps getting better and better, and while it may literally be about our emotions never does it feel emotionally manipulative. Incredibly funny and remarkably moving, Inside Out is easily Pixar's best film since Toy Story 3. Not only can it make you laugh but it will tickle your brain.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Two Clips from Cannes Favorite, Pixar's 'Inside Out'

While there are plenty of films looking to get bought and sold at Cannes, Pixar's Inside Out obviously wasn't one of them. It also turned out to be, arguably, the film audiences loved the most, earning a standing ovation after its premiere. We're still a few weeks away from it opening in theaters stateside, but two new clips show why everyone has been so excited for what some are calling another Pixar masterpiece.

Directed by Pete Docter (Up), the inventive story takes us inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), where her jumble of emotions are voiced by Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Bill Hader as Fear, Lewis Black as Anger, Amy Poehler as Joy, and Phyllis Smith as Sadness. They must help Riley cope with being uprooted from her life in the Midwest to San Francisco.

The first clip introduces us to Anger and Disgust, while the second clues us into the workings of long-term memory. Inside Out opens June 19th.


Inside Out Movie CLIP - Disgust & Anger (2015) - Amy Poehler Pixar Movie HD by Movie Trailers


Inside Out Movie CLIP - Long Term Memory (2015) - Animated Pixar Movie HD by viveos

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First Clip from Pixar's Cannes-Bound 'Inside Out'

Fresh off the news that Cannes attendees will be getting a special out-of-competition screening of Pixar's next film, Inside Out, the first clip has been released. Directed by Pete Docter and featuring the voices of Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, and Lewis Black, the film takes place inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) as her five emotions try to guide her through a tough time in her young life.

This scene shows the emotions, led by the upbeat Joy, getting ready for Riley's first day at her new school. Pixar's Inside Out opens June 19th.

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New Trailer for Pixar's 'Inside Out' Brings Emotions to Life

After taking a year off from animated features, Pixar is coming back with a double shot of originality in 2015. Complaints that they do too many sequels (Finding Dory, Toy Story 4, and The Incredibles 2 are on the way) will persist but for now the award-winning studio is bringing us fresh creations in The Good Dinosaur, due out in November, and this summer's Inside Out which has just released another fantastic trailer.

Directed by Pete Docter (Up), the inventive story takes us inside the mind of Riley, a young girl dealing with all of the complicated emotions that are a part of life: Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Housed in the headquarters of her mind, the chaos ensues as the emotions try to steer Riley through a sudden move to a new city. 

Inside Out seems targeted mostly at the female audience, but it worked for Brave and there's every reason to think it will work here. Inside Out opens on June 19th. 

Inside Out Feature Trailer by itsartmag

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Watch Super Bowl Spots for 'Seventh Son', 'Inside Out', 'Terminator Genisys', and More

Last night saw Hollywood do what they do, namely spend a ton of money to promote their biggest movies during the Super Bowl. So we had TV spots for Jurassic World, Fifty Shades of Grey, Tomorrowland, and others. But there were plenty more that also debuted during the most watched event of the year for movies like Seventh Son, Pixar's Inside Out, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. You can check those out below.

Inside Out, opening June 19th. 


INSIDE OUT Super Bowl TV Trailer by Teaser-Trailer.com

Seventh Son, opening February 6th.


Seventh Son - Super Bowl Spot [VO|HD] by addictomovie

Terminator Genisys, opening July 1st.


Terminator Genisys - Big Game Commercial by Teaser-Trailer.com

SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water, opening February 6th.


SpongeBob Squarepants Official Super Bowl Spot (2015) - Antonio Banderas Movie HD by Moviesteller Trailers

Kingsman: The Secret Service, opening February 13th.


Kingsman: The Secret Service - Super Bowl TV Spot Like a Spy by InTheFame

Unfinished Business, opening March 6th


Unfinished Business - Super Bowl TV Spot Like A Boss by InTheFame

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Disney Reveals New Images from 'The Good Dinosaur' and 'Inside Out'

Last night Disney began the promo rollout for what's shaping up to be a huge 2015 campaign. They dropped a brand new Avengers: Age of Ultron image, but as we all know that was really just the tip of the iceberg for what the Mouse House has in store. A couple of brand new animated films from Pixar are on the way in The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out, and now there's some pics to feast your eyes on.

Arriving on June 19th 2015 will be the ambitious Inside Out, which takes us into the mind of a young girl and creates characters out of her emotions. Peter Docter is directing this one with Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Diane Lane, Amy Poehler, and Lewis Black part of the voice cast. And then there's The Good Dinosaur, which has undergone some pretty significant changes beginning with the firing of original director, Bob Peterson. The project has since been taken over by Peter Sohn, and how much he's changed the plot is still a mystery. What we know is that it presents a world where dinosaurs never became extinct and now live side-by-side with humans. That film arrives on November 25th.

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Emotions Run Wild in Trailer for Pixar's 'Inside Out'

There won't be a Pixar movie up for an Academy Award in a few months because they won't have released an animated film in all of 2014. It's rare when that happens, and the beloved studio saw fit to remind us they still exist with the first teaser for 2015's Inside Out. It didn't reveal an awful lot, and basically served as an homage to the studio's past works, but now a proper trailer has been revealed and it looks pretty special.

Reminding us just how great Pixar can be when allowed to do original work (rather than a bunch of sequels), Inside Out has an inventive premise and what appear to be some memorable characters. Those characters happen to be the feelings of a little girl named Riley; such as Joy, Disgust, Anger, Fear, and Sadness. But adults have emotions, too, and the story will also reach inside the mind of her parents, voiced by Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan.

Featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Kaitlyn Dias, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, and Phyllis Smith, Inside Out opens June 19th.

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First Trailer for Pixar's 'Inside Out' Brings the Emotion

That emptiness you feel is the complete lack of Pixar movies in 2014. The studio took the year off to better prepare their upcoming slate of films, and it couldn't come at a better time. Lately there has been a lot of complaining about their sudden reliance on sequels (Cars 2, Monsters University, the upcoming Finding Dory) rather than creating the fresh, imaginative films we've grown accustomed to. But in 2015 Pixar will hit us with two completely original works, and one that sounds like an ambitious return to form is Inside Out.

Pixar has debuted the first teaser for Inside Out, which takes us inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) so we can literally meet her emotions. And this being the brain of a pre-teen, those emotions are all over the place, voiced by the likes of Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, and Phyllis Smith.  Most of this teaser is a look back at Pixar's past classics, with actual footage from the film not arriving until the end. But maybe we should be encouraged they are confident enough to lump it in with them?

Directed by Pete Docter, Inside Out opens June 19th 2015, and it will be followed later that year by The Good Dinosaur which arrives November 25th.


Pixar Inside Out Trailer by itsartmag

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Disney/Pixar Reveal New Pics and Voice Casts for 'Inside Out', 'Finding Dory', 'The Good Dinosaur' and More

If you ever wondered by Disney/Pixar don't have a larger presence at Comic-Con, it's because they have their own D23 Expo following hot on its heels. That's where the Mouse House shows off most of their major upcoming projects and reveals new ones. The show kicked off in earnest today, and while we didn't anything in the way of Star Wars: Episode VII info, we did get the full voice casts for three major titles: The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, and Inside Out; plus fresh looks at a number of others like Frozen and Planes: Fire and Rescue. There are also a handful of new projects, so it was pretty busy. Let's just jump right into it...

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