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2015 is over. Here is a look back at what I enjoyed most in arts and enertainment over the past year.

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COMIC BOOKS
All of my non-comic reading and most of my comic reading in 2015 came from years past, but I did try to keep up with Jonathan Hickman’s very fun Secret Wars. The best single issue of a comic book that I read this year was the grand finale of Mark Waid’s now-legendary run on one of Marvel’s greatest characters, Daredevil #18. Waid set the story up with typical gravitas, incorporating essential elements of Daredevil lore, and delivered what is a true endangered species in comics: a narratively and thematically satisfying conclusion to a long-running story.

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MUSIC
Although I listened to several fun new albums and movie soundtracks in 2015, by far the most affecting music I heard this year was Sufjan Stevens’ beautiful and haunting Carrie & Lowell. As usual, Sufjan shows his penchant for vulnerability and honest wrestling with Christianity, paired with a newfound simplicity in instrumentation.

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PRO WRESTLING
Speaking of spiritual conflict, I kind of got back into “combat theater” this year, thanks to some really great storytelling in various companies. A great match is one that makes an argument for pro wrestling as a true narrative art form, so here are my ten favorites of 2015.

10. John Cena vs Kevin Owens, WWE Elimination Chamber

9. Finn Balor © vs Samoa Joe, NXT Takeover: London

8. Kushida vs Kyle O'Reilly, NJPW Best of the Super Juniors

7. Tomohiro Ishii © vs Tomoaki Honma, NJPW New Beginning

6. Shinsuke Nakamura © vs Kota Ibushi, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

5. John Cena © vs Cesaro, WWE Raw (7-6-15)

4. AJ Styles © vs Kota Ibushi, NJPW Invasion Attack

3. Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Kazuchika Okada, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

2. AJ Styles © vs Kazuchika Okada, NJPW Dominion

1. Brock Lesnar © vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins, WWE Royal Rumble

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TELEVISION
I didn’t keep up with much of the great stuff on TV this year, but I have to say that the hilarious and touching series finale of Parks & Recreation, titled One Last Ride, and the incredible Daredevil episode Speak of the Devil both stand out as fantastic pieces of episodic programming. One of my biggest regrets this year is not having the time to catch up with Justified in time to watch its final season play out live.

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MOVIES
Alright, now that all that stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff. And boy, is there ever a bunch of good stuff. This may have been the best movie year we’ve had since 2011. Here are my favorite aspects of the 39 films that I saw in 2015.

VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
4. Ex Machina
5. Crimson Peak

EDITING
1. Creed
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. The Hateful Eight
4. Finders Keepers
5. Crimson Peak

SOUND
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Creed
3. The Nightmare
4. Sicario
5. The Hateful Eight

OVERALL DESIGN
1. Inside Out
2. Crimson Peak
3. The Hateful Eight
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Bridge of Spies

SCORE
1. Michael Giacchino, Inside Out / Tomorrowland / Jurassic World
2. Joe Kraemer, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
3. John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
4. Ludwig Göransson, Creed
5. Jóhann Jóhannson, Sicario

CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Dan Mindel, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Roger Deakins, Sicario
3. Janusz Kaminski, Bridge of Spies
4. John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Lyle Vincent, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

SCREENPLAY
1. Inside Out
2. Bridge of Spies
3. While We’re Young
4. Spotlight
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
1. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
2. Liev Schreiber, Spotlight
3. Sylvester Stallone, Creed
4. Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina & The Force Awakens
5. Raffey Cassidy, Tomorrowland

MALE PERFORMANCE
1. Tom Hanks, Bridge of Spies
2. Viggo Mortenson, Jauja
3. John Boyega, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
4. Michael Keaton, Spotlight
5. Walton Goggins, The Hateful Eight

FEMALE PERFORMANCE
1. Nina Hoss, Phoenix
2. Rebecca Ferguson, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
3. Naomi Watts, While We’re Young
4. Emily Blount, Sicario
5. Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

DIRECTING
1. Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies
2. Ryan Coogler, Creed
3. JJ Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
4. George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
5. Pete Docter, Inside Out

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FAVORITE FILMS

10. The Nightmare
One of the predominant recurring themes I noticed in 2015 cinema is the idea of empathy, of walking in another’s shoes, understanding that no matter what appearances suggest, everyone has an internal struggle that should be respected. Every human experience matters, no matter how bizarre or - possibly - imaginary. This extremely resourceful and scary documentary from Rodney Ascher puts its audience in the place of its tormented subjects in brilliant ways. The best horror film of the year.

9. The Hateful Eight
Despite being a bad man, Kurt Russell’s John Ruth announces that it is impossible to assess a person without first hearing their story. Every character in Quentin Tarantino’s latest - and angriest - film is determined to survive at all costs, using personal narratives to keep others at bay, or at the very least to try to understand the broken world they inhabit.

8. Sicario
Speaking of broken worlds, there is no escape from the encroaching darkness of a brutal and uncaring bureacracy in Denis Villeneuve’s bleak, counterintuitive thriller. At our best, we want to believe ourself capable of heroics, but we’ll all crack eventually, and in the end, we’ll do whatever we can to save only ourselves. We’re not really that different from the other side, after all.

7. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
From a film that literally descends into impossible darkness through its runtime, to a movie that plays like an illuminating, modern-day Roger Moore 007 film, Christopher McQuarrie’s arrival as a major blockbuster auteur is an absolute blast. From the very real stunts to the beautiful ode to classical Hollywood to the satisfyingly paralleled opening and closing story beats, the latest Mission: Impossible continues the series’ hot streak as one of the most entertaining and purely cinematic franchises going.

6. While We’re Young
A riotous comedy that hits embarrasingly close to home, Noah Baumbach’s most mainstream film to date looks at the unique brand of narcissm afforded most to struggling artists hoping to balance life and work. Of course, this theme is just one of the film’s many interwoven elements of existential confusion. Adam Driver previews his role as the most hate-able man in several galaxies by perfectly - and frustratingly - portraying an insufferable hipster sycophant. And yet, the film does not allow his character to be a villain, but instead shows us his honest experience. Baumbach is not content to keep a narrow perspective.

5. Mad Max: Fury Road
And now we get into the tumultuous top five, where any film could skyrocket into my all-time favorites list with a second viewing, and where three titles are sequels which function as a remake of a previous film they sequelize. I’d feel guilty about this proliferation of Hollywood franchise commodities, but we live in a time where great filmmakers are exploiting the Hollywood model to create vibrant, humanist, and - yes - original big-budget cinema. Like the other two sequels in my top five, Fury Road uses recycled plot points to present refreshing movie moments. In this case, George Miller uses the opportunity to create incredible action-based character moments and confront the prevailing power structure of our time, a wealth-based patriarchy that refuses to acknowledge the sanctity of all life.

4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
What a marvel. A sixth sequel that uses its capital to further deepen existing characters and present new characters who struggle with their place in the world, and their relationship to their heritage. Plus… it’s quite possibly the most purely entertaining popcorn film since The Avengers. JJ Abrams uses the blockbuster canvas to compose a vibrant and electric fairy tale. The way Abrams uses literal light and dark to tell what has always been a story about the light of hope versus the dark of oppression is almost Griffith-esque in its directness. This is what pop entertainment should be.

3. Creed
What a marvel. A sixth sequel that uses its capital to further deepen existing characters and present new characters who struggle with their place in the world, and their relationship to their heritage. The innate human need to “matter” pulses throughout Creed, and in the process paints not just a clear picture of a three dimensional character, but also a process by which we can give hope to those who feel violence and aggression is the only way to survive in the world. There is a moment late in the film that I dare not spoil, but it brings the whole story into focus, while not betraying the complexity and contradiction natural to any great character study.

2. Bridge of Spies
We don’t decide when a person stops being a person. This massive truth is, again, just one of many intersecting themes in this quiet masterpiece from the quiet master. Who would have imagined the man who literally created shock-and-awe blockbuster filmmaking would commit himself to making the films Hollywood just refuses to make? A film about what it means to be the United States (yes, the whole nation), to endure mob mentality, to keep grinding at one’s job, and in the process, find a previously elusive humanity. Tom Hanks’ James Donovan is part Indiana Jones, doggedly making it up as he goes, and part Oscar Schindler, using a system devoid of humanity to save more lives than he had ever expected. I could go on and on about the film’s incredibly precise and engaged direction, its beautiful cinematography and production design, and its phenomenal performances (Mark Rylance is next-level), but considering the lack of attention the film has recieved and the minimal amount of awards buzz it’s getting… would it help?

1. Inside Out
“Movies are like a machine that generates empathy.” With this great quote, Roger Ebert summed up the utility of cinema so beautifully. In Pixar’s latest - and, in my estimation, greatest - work, the studio uses every tool available to a filmmaking team to craft an experience that gets to the root of our very motivations, playing out the internal experience of a little girl on a cosmic canvas. It’s the most introspective look at humanity since The Master, and the most sprawling look at an individual’s inner life since The Tree of Life.

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Honorable Mentions: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Crimson Peak, Finders Keepers, The Good Dinosaur, The Look of Silence, Spectre, Spotlight, Tangerine, Ant-Man, Blackhat, Ex Machina, Furious 7, Going Clear, Jurassic World, The Glamour and the Squalor, Phoenix, Timbuktu, Tomorrowland

Films I wish I had seen before the end of the year: Anomolisa, Brooklyn, Carol, It Follows, Joy, MacBeth, The Martian, Mistress America, The Revenant, Room, Son of Saul, Tokyo Tribe

Here is my top ten list on Letterboxd, and well as
a list of all the 2015 films I saw.