The 15 Best Films of 2015

15) Dope
Written & Directed By: Rick Famuyiwa
Starring: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, & Kiersey Clemons.
STARS: 3 out of 4

Brief Description: Dope is the journey of Malcolm (Moore) and his two friends Jib (Revolori) and Diggy (Clemons) and their struggle of getting out of the slums of Los Angeles. The three high school kids are extremely bright and are looking to escape their circumstances by getting into college, until a bag of cocaine comes into their possession. Dope is all about the labels the world places upon you and what you can do escape those labels and be the person you want to become. While the tone does vary wildly between drama and humor, the performances of the cast, the amazing 90's hip hop soundtrack (plus the handful of original songs created for this film by Pharrell, and the performances of all the young actors make this film worth watching, As of this writing you can stream Dope for free on Netflix, and you should do.

14) Sisters
Directed By: Jason Moore
Starring: Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
STARS: 3 out of 4

Brief Description: No film made me laugh as much in 2015 as Sisters did. I laughed harder at Trainwreck, but more consistency at Sisters. (The other big comedy of 2015 was Spy, and that movie was chuckle-worthy at best). I was dragged to see this movie thanks to my friends being big babies and not wanting to see The Force Awakens on its opening day weekend, but I'm glad I was dragged. The movie is non-stop laughs, and Fey and Poehler are a delight as always (well, except Baby Mama, but that's another story). The film brings in a lot of current and former SNL alums, some of television's funniest people, and gives Ike Barinholtz his break-through performance. If you like to laugh, check out Sisters.

2016 Oscar Preview: Best Cinematography

THE NOMINEES:

- Ed Lachman (Carol)
- Robert Richardson (The Hateful Eight)
- John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)
- Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)
- Roger Deakins (Sicario)

SHOULD BE HERE: Maryse Alberti (Creed)

Former Hitfix.com and current Variety writer Kristopher Tapley creates a list every year of the best shots in film of the year. Wouldn't you know it, Creed ended up at the very top of the list. Almost everyone currently nominated for an Academy Award earned a spot on Mr. Tapley's list, but one of the very best films of the year ended up at #1. I personally would have gone with the oner fight scene in the middle of the film- a piece of technical mastery that instantly rose to the top as one of the best fight scenes in the history of cinema (not a hyperbole)- but that's just me. Alberti's camera work in Creed is just incredible, much like everyone who worked on the film, and her nomination would have not only made the Oscars not so white, but would have been well deserved.

#OscarsSoWhite: Does The Academy Have A Race Problem? Part II

The #OscarsSoWhite hashtag was born in 2014 after the 2015 Oscar nominations were released. The Academy failed to nominate an actor or director of color which led many of us to ponder the state of this seemingly antiquated institution. I even chimed in on the issue wondering if The Academy had a race problem last year. Last year, I felt as if the lack of nominations for people was not the fault of The Academy, but basically the result of Hollywood’s latent racism. I didn’t feel as if it was The Academy’s fault that they weren’t able to nominate quality from people of color that wasn’t there (and frankly even if The Academy did nominate Selma, the larger lack of quality to choose from still remains).

However, that argument just doesn’t hold as much water today where, for the second year in a row, the Oscars are still so white. There most certainly is still a lack of opportunity for people of color to tell their stories, but there were plenty of deserving nominations for people of color at this year’s Oscars and plenty of ways to make the Oscar nominations more diverse while still honoring craft and talent.