It’s that time of year again. Everyone is making resolutions and hitting the gym while I’m recollecting everything I watched last year.
I’ll be honest. I didn’t plan on making this list for 2015. But due to my list in 2013 and 2014, someone requested another list for 2015. This one is from memory, but here you have it: a list of the movies and television shows I wasted time on last year. As always, these aren’t all movies that came out this year, just stuff that I got around to watching this year.
Movies
A Five Star Life – I didn’t realize the movie was in Italian when I started watching it (I might not have picked it if I had). It made me miss Italy. And want to travel more. And reevaluate a full time traveling lifestyle. 7/10
Birdman – Not my typical type of film but so many great characters and performances in this one. 9/10
Bad Words – Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman have both gotten to play hilarious roles in their careers. This movie didn’t live up to those expectations. I found the plot thin and predictable. 2/10
Chef – Watched this on a whim, but really enjoyed it. It encouraged me to film one second of my day everyday. I habit I kept up faithfully for most of 2015. 7/10
Divergent – I read the book for my book club (yes, I read books and not just watch movies) and thought the movie did a great job of showing the factioned Chicago. 9/10
Draft Day – A good football movie despite it being about the Browns. #herewegosteelers 6/10
God’s Not Dead – WAY better than I expected. Inspired me to start studying about why I believe what I do again. Not necessarily an amazing movie, but far surpassed expectations. 7/10
Happy Christmas – Ugh. I wanted to like this so bad! It’s Anna Kendrick in a Christmas movie. But what was the point? Uproot your life, get drunk, do drugs, nearly set your brother’s house on fire with his baby son in it, run away and hide, show no remorse for any of it because “you’re just trying to figure things out,” but then come home and open presents because Christmas? 1/10
Horrible Bosses 2 – Stupidly funny. A good followup to the first. Not much substance, but easy laughs. 5/10
Hunger Games: Catching Fire – I know I’m way behind on these. I’ve read all the books and I’m getting “what happens and when” all mixed up in my mind. This movie wasn’t what I had expected, but was well done. 7/10
In A World – After watching Million Dollar Arm last year, I looked up Lake Bell and put this title on my list. After watching Tig this year, I looked up Tig Notaro and decided it was time for this title. It was fun and entertaining. I’m interested in the voiceover world so this was a silly peak behind that curtain. 5/10
Insurgent – I don’t think I read all of Book 2 in the series, but I really enjoyed the film. 8/10
Kingsman: The Secret Service – I really enjoyed this film. It’s kind of an over-the-top James Bond recruitment video, but in the spoof style of the Red movies. An action comedy if you will. 9/10
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – I didn’t know much about Nelson Mandela, but I really enjoyed this brief look at his life and the history of South Africa. 8/10
Neighbors – Ridiculous over the top humor. Most of the laughs were found in the commercials for the movie, but this was still a good way to spend a Friday night without disturbing any of my neighbors. 6/10
Our Brand Is Crisis – I was looking forward to Sandra Bullock’s return to the big screen and thought this character may even rival Gracie Hart of Miss Congeniality. But it didn’t. If you’re really into Latin American politics you’ll likely love this film. I’m not. And I didn’t. 4/10
Sisters – Hilarious. I was worried that all the funny parts were featured in the trailer, but there were lots more laughs to be had. I left the theater with a numb face from smiling and laughing so hard the entire time. 10/10
Pitch Perfect 2 – I also saw this one in theaters, but the experience was marred when the fire alarm went off in the middle of it and we had to evacuate. On the bright side, I was really hungry and jumped into McDonalds while we waited for the “All Clear.” The movie was hilarious and the music was great. An enjoyable film, but it didn’t seem to have the magic of the first one. 9/10
Take Me Home – Not really a great film, but it was nice to see Sam Jaeger (dreamy Joel from Parenthood) not only in a movie, but also as writer and director. And he cast his real-life-wife as his co-lead. I did enjoy the storyline of not meeting expectations or being satisfied with your life. 4/10
That Awkward Moment – I couldn’t remember if I watched this or not. After researching it, I know I did but I can’t remember anything about it. Talk about awkward…2/10
The Best of Me – Pass the Nicholas Sparks and get out your tissues. I watched this one while home sick from work and all the sap was the comfort I needed. This film got the best of me. Sad, but somehow nice. 7/10
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Time to make some people mad…I fell asleep. 3/10
The Good Lie – I listed this in last year’s post as one I was looking forward to watching. It was enjoyable, but not captivating and, ultimately, I fell asleep before the end. 3/10
The National Parks (Ken Burns) – Would this be considered a mini-series or a movie? Either way, I’m cheating a bit by having it on the list as I’m still about 30 minutes short of completion. I’m not a big documentary watcher, but I am a big National Parks fan. This show was my gym show that I watch every morning on my run. I can’t say I ever get the strong desire to watch it, but once I start watching I’m reminded of how good it is. The series presents incredible history of our country that I never learned in school. I’d like to try out some other Ken Burns features in 2016. 10/10
The Other Woman – Hilarious. And made me want to get a beach house. I don’t even like the beach. 8/10
The Wolf of Wall Street – So much greed. And yet I felt I was looking into the soul of most American corporations (if not most Americans). While the story is sickening, the movie is good. 7/10
Tig – I had never heard of Tig Notaro before this year (I know, I know), but she quickly became one of my favorite comedians. I have “Live” pretty much memorized now and I went to see Tig (the human, not the movie) in October. This film was funny, heartbreaking, and inspiring. 10/10
Tracks – I knew much of Robyn Davidson’s story having met and worked with photographer Rick Smolan (played by Adam Driver in the film). The movie made me want to find my own expedition to tackle. I’m still working on finding it. 8/10
Unbroken – Not an easy watch. But an unbelievably true story. What a message of grace, forgiveness, and determination. Watch this when you think your life is bad… 10/10
Unfinished Business – Not as strong of a Vince Vaughn comedy as I’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Many awkward laughs instead of Vaughn fast talking his way into and out of trouble. I didn’t really care about most of the characters or their conflicts. But, I do think of that art exhibition hotel room every time I’m booking a room with a deal that sounds too good to be true. 3/10
Welcome to Me – A horribly awkward film that Kristen Wigg plays brilliantly. A good commentary on our fame obsessed culture. I related, but didn’t really enjoy the movie. 4/10
Wild – A nice companion to the book. I read the book first so I can’t say how the movie would be without it. I watched this as I was running low on the courage to tackle some of the outdoor adventures I had planned over the summer. It did the trick. 8/10
TV
House of Cards – I enjoy most shows set in DC, but I couldn’t get enough of this one. I watched all 3 seasons in a matter of weeks. I’d walk around my apartment watching in on my Kindle – propping it on the counter as I cooked or the vanity as I did my hair. I couldn’t put it down. 9/10
How I Met Your Mother – I’d seen many episodes before, but after seeing the final episode I decided I wanted the whole story. So I took it from the beginning. These nine seasons only took me 4-6 weeks to swallow. I forgot how funny this show was. I need to find better friends…and live upstairs from a bar… 9/10
Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce – Lisa Edelstein and Paul Adelstein have played two of my favorite television characters in recent memory (Dr. Cuddy on House and Cooper on Private Practice, respectively), but this show has a ways to go… 3/10
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – I might not have watched this without Tina Fey attached to it. It’s silly, but a good time. 6/10
Better Off Ted – How had I not watched this before? I may rewatch it in 2016. It certainly helped that I watched this business fueled comedy as my company was going through some drastic changes. It helped me laugh through a stressful time. I consider this a “must watch” for anyone working in business. 10/10
In the end, I found 2015 to be a disappointing year in entertainment. What am I missing?
However, I’m one episode away from finishing the second season of The Americans. Wow. I love that the protagonists (Russian spies during the Cold War) are people that I, as an America, shouldn’t like but do. Great storytelling!
What was the best thing you saw last year? What should go on to my “Watch List” for 2016?
January is a great time to hibernate and binge on new content. Sign up for a FREE month of Amazon Prime by clicking below and get watching now!
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Go. Watch.
