The Best Films of 2015

this is a super timely thing I put together.

I wanted to wait to post my thoughts on 2015 films until the Oscar nominations were announced today. It didn't change my choices, but hopefully it works as a continuation of the conversation. Below are my choices for the best films of 2015, with my (somewhat long-winded) thought process on how I came to these decisions.

Oscar nominees for Best Picture are highlighted:

Top 15 Films 2015

1. Spotlight
2. Inside Out
3. What We Do in the Shadows
4. Brooklyn
5. Room
6. Dope
7. Amy
8. Anomalisa
9. Kingsman: The Secret Service
10. Straight Outta Compton
11. Mad Max: Fury Road
12. Experimenter
13. Ex Machina
14. Creed
15. The Martian

365 Days, 365 Movies: October & November

Grace Kelly: Fancy

It's been a crazy 11 months, but October and November finally saw me meeting my goal of watching 365 movies in 2015. Since the majority of the films I'd watched before October were from 1990-2015 (with over 150 coming from the last two years),  I thought I would focus more on 'classic' cinema for October and November, particularly old musicals (because Netflix) the films of Katharine Hepburn (who holds the record for most Oscars won) and Grace Kelly. It ended up being a fun couple of months filled with adorable old-timey accents.

I also got to pick my 365th movie, which I chose with a little trepidation.  I decided to watch two of my favorite movies, Rope and Home for the Holidays, as my lead-up movies, and I decided to watch Citizen Kane as my 365th. I'd never seen it, and people seem to like it, so it seemed like a good choice.

My Judi Takes The Morning Train

Part of the fun of living in New York is celebrity-spotting. Though it is no Los Angeles when it comes to the ratio of Celebrities to Normals, New York does provide residents with a higher incidence of accidental run-ins: Jason Sudeikis eating behind you at a restaurant, Steve Buscemi passing you on the street after you just finished talking about The Big Lebowski, Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal f*cking everywhere in Brooklyn back when they were dating. It's like constantly living in a magazine's Stars: They're Just Like Us section. 

Of course, that also means that you don't question it when you see a celebrity in a weird location. Of course Bebe Neuwirth is at the same crappy bodega in midtown as you are. Of course Ira Glass's dog is crapping on your stoop. So, when I got on the N train one morning and spotted my favorite celebrity, Dame Judi Dench, staring right at me, I didn't think twice about it. And sure, she was in a wig, and probably trying to keep a low-pro, but is it such a crime to casually take out a phone and snapped a quick pic of one of the greatest actors of our time? I think not! Of course, once I got to work and was fully awoken by my second cup of coffee, I realized that the picture I had taken was not of the star of Skyfall, but rather of a mean-looking old lady:

Still, I wasn't disappointed. Fake celebrity sightings just make it that much more exciting when you see an actual celebrity. Like when I sat next to Meg Ryan and Patti F*cking LuPone in Joe's Pub, or when I saw Rider Strong at a Ben & Jerry's. Plus, the Faux-di Dench (Clone-di Dench?) on the train was basically a doppelgänger for the Oscar winner. But, you know, Asian.

You Wouldn't Like Judi Dench When She's Angry...

Based on this episode of the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, wherein Scott Aukerman interviews Doug Benson, I made this photo of gamma-roided out Judi Dench. Because when Dench angry, Dench smash.

I may never understand why Doug Benson feels that the latest James Bond movie has too much Judi Dench in it, but at least I now know the appropriate reaction.

Skyfall Wins Outstanding British Film at BAFTAs

I was a little upset that Skyfall wasn't nominated for Best Film at the Oscars. It's not a ground-breaking film by any means, but it is remarkably good: swiftly told, well directed, and expertly acted. So, I was very happy to see it win Outstanding British Film at the BAFTAs last night. The big award of the night, Best Picture, went to Argo (with a Best Director award going to the Academy-jilted Ben Garner née Affleck), but the real news was that Skyfall beat fellow British film Les Miserables, which I pretty much hated.

So, YAY!

Film Review: Skyfall

I've been waiting a long time for this. It's time to review Skyfall!

Full disclosure here: My namesake is very closely tied to the James Bond franchise and my mother and father raised me to love all things Bond, so I may not be the most objective reviewer. So, yes, my real name is PussyGalore, and, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Bond and Q deal with dangerous numbers

Let’s get some plot out of the way first. Basically, a mysterious company steals a list of all of the NATO operatives currently undercover in terrorist cells across the world from MI6. What they plan to do with it in anyone’s guess, but it sets up the action, the betrayal, and the butt-kickery that follows. If you've heard this plot before, it’s because it’s basically the set-up to the first Mission: Impossible movie. However, where the plot goes from the set-up in Istanbul is completely different. I don’t want to spoil any of the plot, since figuring it out is half the fun. Even the title of the movie is mysterious – what exactly is Skyfall? Is it a mission, a person, the feeling one gets while bungee jumping? It could be all manner of things, and the fun and interest is in the journey of