Every year, I always seem to make the work involved towards creating the aggregate film critics list more time-consuming than the previous one.
Two years ago, during my first roundabout with this idea, I used 145 separate critics top-tens. It was a high amount that took a few hours of data collecting, but not entirely unreasonable. Then, a year ago, I decided "hey, why only 145 when there are so many more published?" So, I expanded my efforts nearly two-fold, to 300 critics top-tens, which included that a bunch more hours of data crunching (with additional time to go through things like finding those lists in the first place and making sure that I didn't include people more than once). Now, for this 2015, I have increased the total count of top-ten once again, to a total of 370 individual and staff lists. I suppose when it comes to a task like this, half-assing it just isn't how I go about it.
But enough about me and the time it took to put together this list. Let's get onto the business of actually revealing it! Here are the 85 movies which scored the most points among the 370 different critics top-ten list that I used for the final tabulation At this point, you probably know the points system and how the list is created. If not, then you can probably scroll the archives and figure it out.
84(tie). SAINT LAURENT (dir: Bertrand Bonello)
36 points
The biography of Yves Saint Laurent (fashion pioneer), from the director behind House of Tolerance.
84(tie). RESULTS (dir: Andrew Bujalski)
36 points
Two years after surprising everyone with critical darling Computer Chess (a film that placed in #23 in the 2013 countdown), Andrew Bujalski decides to tackle the romantic comedy genre. Starring Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders and Kevin Corrigan, the film centers around the lives of two personal trainers and one recent divorcee looking to receive help from them in losing weight.
83. THE WALK (dir: Robert Zemeckis)
36.5 points
Based on the same story that also inspired 2008's Man on Wire (which took home that year's Oscar for Best Documentary), Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Philippe Petit, the French high-wire artist in this dramatized re-telling of the time Petit performed his act on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in 1974.
82. GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF (dir: Alex Gibney)
37 points
A documentary on the origins and practices of the Church of Scientology (founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard), featuring interviews from former leaders and members of the Church. The movie premiered on HBO in the spring, making it the only movie in this year's top 85 to make its commercial debut in the United States solely on television.
81. CRIMSON PEAK (dir: Guillermo del Toro)
37.5 points
Visually luscious, with plenty of Gothic architecture and ghostly visions, Guillermo del Toro's latest feature is less of a modern horror film and more of a throwback to the moody and atmospheric pictures of the early 20th century.
80. SLOW WEST (dir: John Maclean)
38 points
The first film on the list to feature a starring appearance by Michael Fassbender, John Maclean's debut as full-length movie director is about a young Scottish teenager who is set on finding his love with the help of a gunman.
78(tie). ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL (dir: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
38.5 points
The story about a young man named Greg (Thomas Mann), whose favorite hobby is making juvenile parodies of movies with his friend, Earl (RJ Cyler), as he hangs out with a girl named Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who is dying of terminal cancer. The movie made headlines early in 2015, winning both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, and Jon Bernthal also star.
78(tie). AMOUR FOU (dir: Jessica Hausner)
38.5 points
A drama centering on the final days in the life of famed German writer Heinrich von Kleist and his lover Henriette Vogel. It stars Christian Friedel and Birte Schnoink.
77. BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (dir: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
39 points
After finishing 2014 ranked as the year's #3 film on our yearly rankings, the recent Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Cinematography continued to receive acclaim, gaining a spot on top-ten lists from critics of various countries that had its Birdman theatrical debut in 2015.
76. THE ROYAL ROAD (dir: Jenni Olson)
40 points
Arguably the most surprising film on the list due to its lack of exposure even amongst cinephiles (despite a theatrical release in the U.S. back in October, IMDB and Letterboxd still has less than 55 views for it listed as of January 6th, 2016), this movie (shot on 16-mm film) features a stream of consciousness narration by Olson on various topics that reminds viewer of Chris Marker movies. Toni Kushner also makes an appearance, narrating a segment in defense of nostalgia.
75. MOMMY (dir: Xavier Dolan)
41.5 points
Speaking of returning films, last year's breakout hit from Quebec's young, 26-year-old director pops up in the critics top 85 once more (after appearing in #59 of the 2014 rankings), in large part due to its theatrical debut in U.S. theaters during 2015. It was in 2015 that Mommy also received a Best Foreign Film prize from France's coveted Cesar Awards.
74. COURT (dir: Chaitanya Tamhane)
42 points
Marking the debut feature for the 28-year-old Mumbai native Chaitanya Tamhane, Court focuses on the story of a singer who is put to trial over an abatement of suicide claim against him.
73. LISTEN TO ME MARLON (dir: Stevan Riley)
43 points
A look into the life of Marlon Brando, as told by Brando himself through exclusive archived footage and hours of biographical audio clips. It is considered by many to be the definitive account of the legendary American actor.
72. KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER (dir: David Zellner)
44 points
A lonely Japanese woman (played by Rinko Kikuchi) discovers a VHS tape of the Coen Brothers' 1996 movie Fargo and believes it is a map to a hidden treasure in the American heartlands.
71. SPY (dir: Paul Feig)
44.5 points
Director Paul Feig and actress Melissa McCarthy collaborate once again in this comedy about the undercover mission of a CIA agent, arguably their most well-liked work since 2011's Bridesmaids. Jude Law, Jessica Chastain, and Jason Statham also star, among others.
70. LEVIATHAN (dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev)
46 points
Credit the Australians for this 2014 Cannes Film Festival darling (and Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film) making a re-appearance in the 2015 rankings (after appearing at #28 in the previous year). In the half-dozen top-ten lists I used from critics heralding from the Land Down Under, this bleak Russian drama appeared on all but one of them (with half of its appearances being in a list's top five).
69. THE LOBSTER (dir: Yorgos Lanthimos)
46.5 points
The Greek director behind 2010's Dogtooth and 2011's Alps makes his first feature in the English language, about a group of people who are trapped in a location and are forced to find a romantic partner in 45 days less they be transformed into an animal. Colin Farell stars, along with Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly. Also, don't be surprised to see this movie make an appearance on the 2016 rankings as well, since it expects to finally be released in the United States this spring.
68. TRAINWRECK (dir: Judd Apatow)
47 points
2015 was the Year of Amy Schumer. Not only did the comedian gain a lot of praise for the third season of her Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer (earning her first Emmy in the process), she also got her first HBO stand-up special and played a starring role in this latest comedy from Judd Apatow.
67. WHILE WE'RE YOUNG (dir: Noah Baumbach)
47.5 points
Noah Baumbach didn't wait too long after the success of Frances Ha (the #11 film in our 2013 rankings) to make a new movie, with not one but two new movies released in 2015. The first one to be released was While We're Young back in the spring, with Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged married couple who develop a friendship with a much younger, hipper twentysomething couple (played by Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried).
66. GRANDMA (dir: Paul Weitz)
48.5 points
Lilly Tomlin's most praised role in recent memory, as a grandmother who is asked to help her recently pregnant granddaughter.
65. WILD TALES (dir: Damian Szifron)
50 points
This Argentine comedy about six separate stories centered around the theme of revenge (which just barely placed into 2014's top 85) continued to play like gangbusters worldwide, earning a Best Foreign Language film nomination from the Academy in the process.
64. THE WONDERS (dir: Alice Rohrmaker)
50.5 points
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at 2014's Cannes Film Festival, the Italian filmmaker's second feature was also her breakthrough one. Set in the director's native Tuscany, the film centers on a family of beekeepers in the countryside whose normal lives are interrupted by several unusual events.
63. YOUTH (dir: Paolo Sorrentino)
54 points
How does one follow-up a movie as widely beloved as The Great Beauty (Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film, #19 in the 2013 rankings)? For Paolo Sorrentino, it was with yet another gorgeous drama about rich and privileged people, this time centered on an English composer (Michael Caine) and his American film director friend (Harvey Keitel) during their stay in a fabulous resort on the Alps.
62. BEASTS OF NO NATION (dir: Cary Joji Fukunaga)
55 points
In 2014, Cary Joji Fukunaga made his name known as the director for all eight episodes of True Detective's first season, In 2015, he made his return to movies in this picture about the experience of a young, African boy forced to fight as a child soldier in a civil war. Idris Elba plays a supporting role as the lead Commandant in the boy's army, one that may earn him an Oscar in February. Beasts of No Nation is also notable for being Netflix's first major foray into movies (with a simultaneous release in theaters and on its streaming service).
61. LI'L QUINQUIN (dir: Bruno Dumont)
56 points
After appearing at #69 in the 2014 rankings, the French mini-series turned 3.5 hour film elsewhere in the globe kept gaining favor among critics for Dumont's fine turn towards dark comedy.
60. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (dir: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi)
60 points
A mockumentary about the life and times of three immortal vampires living in New Zealand, two of them played by the film's directors.
59. WHITE GOD (dir: Kornel Mondruczo)
62.5 points
A mixed-breed dog forms a group with hundreds of other dogs to fight back against their human oppressors in this Hungarian film that has been described as an allegory of conditions in contemporary Europe. The film originally premiered at Cannes 2014, where it earned the coveted top prize at its Un Certain Regard screenings.
58. MAPS TO THE STARS (dir: David Cronenberg)
63.5 points
Cronenberg tackles the world of Hollywood, with the help of actors like Robert Pattinson and Julianne Moore. This is yet another returning film onto the list, after appearing at #62 back in 2014.
57. INHERENT VICE (dir: Paul Thomas Anderson)
66.5 points
This is it, folks: the seventh and highest ranking film on this list to have also appeared on the 2014 rankings (at #10, to be exact). Featuring a great cast lead by Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin, the latest from the beloved American auteur P.T. Anderson is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon (who may or may not have made a cameo at some point, with the answer likely being "may not have").
56. GIRLHOOD (dir: Celine Sciamma)
68 points
No, this movie was not made over the course of twelve years. But it's still an excellent movie nonetheless, centered around a black French teenager who develops a close friendship with three other girls.
55. BLACKHAT (dir: Michael Mann)
69.5 points
Chris Hemsworth stars as an American hacker who is let go from his prison sentence to help U.S. and Chinese authorities stop another hacker from causing various cyber crimes. It's the latest highly stylized, digitally shot action thriller from veteran filmmaker Michael Mann.
54. MUSTANG (dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven)
71 points
Chosen as France's submission for Oscar's Best Foreign Language film category, Mustang centers around the lives of five orphaned sisters in a small Turkish village.
53. GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIAN AMSALEM (dir: Roni Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz)
73.5 points
An Israeli women wants to receive a divorce document from her country yet faces multiple challenges to get it, including a husband who wants their twenty-year marriage to continue. Ronit Elkabetz stars in the titular role of Vivian Amsalem. She also collaborated with her brother, Shlomi, to write and direct it.
52. 99 HOMES (dir: Ramin Bahrani)
79.5 points
A few days after getting evicted from his home, one man (played by Andrew Garfield) decides to work for the real estate broker (Michael Shannon) who helped get him evicted. Set in 2010, the film focuses on the recent housing crisis that impacted millions of families, and features a potential Oscar-nominated performance from Shannon.
51. ABOUT ELLY (dir: Asghar Farhadi)
82.5 points
A group of men and women must deal with the repercussions from one of their group members disappearing. This Iranian film (from the beloved director behind A Separation and The Past) originally premiered all the way back in 2009, but did not get a proper theatrical release in the U.S. until this past year.
50. THE MEND (dir: John Magary)
83.5 points
In what is yet another feature-length film on the list made by a first-timer, Josh Lucas and Stephen Pluckett portray two brothers, Mat and Alan, who must deal with each other after Mat decides to move into his brother's apartment.
49. QUEEN OF EARTH (dir: Alex Ross-Perry)
86 points
Elisabeth Moss teams up once more with her director from Listen Up Philip (which placed #33 on the 2014 ranking) to make this horror movie about one's woman psychiatric breakdown following the loss of her father and her recent breakup. Katherine Waterston also stars as the friend who joins Moss's character on a weekend getaway in the woods.
48. EDEN (dir: Mia Hansen-Love)
89 points
A film that's been compared to such other title as Inside Llewyn Davis, it has a plot that focuses on twenty years in the life of a French DJ during the early years of the underground EDM scene. The events of the film were largely inspired by the life of Sven Hansen-Love, who helped to co-write the screenplay with his sister, Mia (who also directed).
47. HEART OF A DOG (dir: Laurie Anderson)
93.5 points
Meditations on the death of various things in the life of director Laurie Anderson, including her husband, Lou Reed, and her dog.
46. THE FORBIDDEN ROOM (dir: Guy Maddin)
96 points
Guy Maddin (director of My Winnipeg) pays tribute to the many lost films of silent cinema through a series of humorous and off-beat shorts structured in a manner similar to classic tales like One Thousand and One Nights, with multiple stories-within-stories during its runtime.
44(tie). A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE (dir: Roy Andersson)
96.5 points
Considered to be the final film in the director's "Living" trilogy (a trilogy that also includes 2000's Songs from the Second Floor and 2007's You, the Living), Andersson continues his unique exploration of humanity through a series of static, carefully staged shots. The film earned itself a Golden Lion victory at 2014's Venice Film Festival.
44(tie). EXPERIMENTER (dir: Michael Almereyda)
96.5 points
A story based on the events during the famous experiments conducted by Yale social psychology Stanley Milgram, with the duo of Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder among the lead roles.
43. STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (dir: F. Gary Gray)
104 points
A dramatic retelling of the lives of famed members from rap group N.W.A. The movie has grossed over $200 million dollars worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie made by an African American director to date. It will probably also gain a Best Picture nomination.
41(tie). HORSE MONEY (dir: Pedro Costa)
122 points
It's the much anticipated return to the silver screen from heralded Portguese director Pedro Costa. In it, Costa once again focuses on the actor Ventura, who starred in his last narrative feature, Colossal Youth (2006).
41(tie). ARABIAN NIGHTS (dir: Miguel Gomes)
122 points
Speaking of Portuguese directors, Costa's fellow countryman Miguel Gomes (the man behind Tabu, which placed #18 in our 2012 rankings) also returned to the big screen with this epic, seven-hour narrative (released in three parts over the course of the year in most countries) based on stories from One Thousand and One Nights (boy, that thing proved to be quite influential this year, huh?).
40. JAUJA (dir: Lisandro Alonso)
126 points
In a slow burn, Viggo Mortensen stars as a Danish ship captain who, alongside his daughter (played by Ghita Norby) adventure into a desert located in an unknown territory.
39. THE END OF THE TOUR (dir: James Ponsoldt)
131 points
Prior to the film's premiere, many worried how Jason Segel would do in the role of famed American writer David Foster Wallace. Yet, for the most part, audiences found Segel to have given an admirable performance, and the film (about Wallace's final days of his Infinite Jest book tour, in which he was accompanied alongside Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky, played by Jesse Eisenberg) to be a pretty good one overall.
38. HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT (dir: Ben Safdie, John Safdie)
133.5 points
A realist depiction of the lives of a few New York City junkies and drug dealers. It's notable for starring acting newcomer Arielle Holmes, whose unpublished memoir about her young life largely inspired the events depicted in the film.
36(tie). STEVE JOBS (dir: Danny Boyle)
142.5 points
Some have attempted to taint the legacy of Steve Jobs, calling it everything from a flop to a smart drop by Sony Pictures. Yet, despite all that, many critics still found themselves enthralled by this latest movie based on the life of Apple's famous co-founder. Some of the things they liked included an Aaron Sorkin script that was very much Aaron Sorkin-y, a crackling lead performance by Michael Fassbender, and a directing effort by Danny Boyle notable for shooting each of its three scenes in three different ways (16mm film, 35mm film, and digital).
36(tie). IN JACKSON HEIGHTS (dir: Frederick Wiseman)
142.5 points
Another year, another acclaimed documentary by Frederick Wiseman. After appearing in the top 50 in our 2010 rankings (Boxing Gym, at #49), our 2013 rankings (At Berkeley, at #30), and our 2014 rankings (National Gallery, at #43), the legendary 86-year-old returned in 2015 with yet another long look into a specific time and place, this time focusing on the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens, New York during the mid-2010s.
35. CHI-RAQ (dir: Spike Lee)
145 points
Teyonah Parris (of Mad Men and Dear White People fame) stars as a woman who decides to lead a female sex strike to stop the various gang violence happening in Chicago. The film is based on the 5th Century B.C. Greek work Lysistrata, and also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, and Angela Bassett.. It's director Spike Lee's most acclaimed work in nearly a decade, and one that was quite polarizing at the time of its release.
34. TAXI TEHRAN (dir: Jafar Panahi)
157.5 points
Jafar Panahi appears as the director a top 85 film for the fourth time in five years. This time, the Iranian continued to test the limits of his house arrest by starring as a cab driver in Tehran driving various passengers across the city. The film premiered in the late winter, and earned 2015's Golden Bear prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
33. THE TRIBE (dir: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky)
163.5 points
Centered on a boy's days as a student in a boarding school for the deaf, this bleak film is notable for having every actor communicate only in Ukrainian sign language, with the audience never getting subtitles to know what they're saying.
32. LOVE & MERCY (dir: Bill Pohlad)
167 points
Paul Dano and John Cusack both portray legendary musician Brian Wilson during two key moments in his life: as a member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, and as a man struggling with prescription drug abuse in the 1980s. Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giammati also play important parts in the movie.
31. MISTRESS AMERICA (dir: Noah Baumbach)
172 points
Part one of the top 85 countdown with the second movie directed by Noah Baumbach that was released in 2015. This time around, Baumbach teamed up with his Frances Ha lead actress Greta Gerwig (who also co-wrote the story with Baumbach) to create this comedy about a young college student (played by Lola Kirke) who befriends Gerwig's eccentric Brooke Cardinas and finds her interesting enough to use her for inspiration in her writings.
Coming Thursday: Part 2 of the 2015 countdown, as the year's top 30 most acclaimed movies are revealed.
84(tie). SAINT LAURENT (dir: Bertrand Bonello)
36 points
The biography of Yves Saint Laurent (fashion pioneer), from the director behind House of Tolerance.
84(tie). RESULTS (dir: Andrew Bujalski)
36 points
Two years after surprising everyone with critical darling Computer Chess (a film that placed in #23 in the 2013 countdown), Andrew Bujalski decides to tackle the romantic comedy genre. Starring Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders and Kevin Corrigan, the film centers around the lives of two personal trainers and one recent divorcee looking to receive help from them in losing weight.
83. THE WALK (dir: Robert Zemeckis)
36.5 points
Based on the same story that also inspired 2008's Man on Wire (which took home that year's Oscar for Best Documentary), Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Philippe Petit, the French high-wire artist in this dramatized re-telling of the time Petit performed his act on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in 1974.
82. GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF (dir: Alex Gibney)
37 points
A documentary on the origins and practices of the Church of Scientology (founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard), featuring interviews from former leaders and members of the Church. The movie premiered on HBO in the spring, making it the only movie in this year's top 85 to make its commercial debut in the United States solely on television.
81. CRIMSON PEAK (dir: Guillermo del Toro)
37.5 points
Visually luscious, with plenty of Gothic architecture and ghostly visions, Guillermo del Toro's latest feature is less of a modern horror film and more of a throwback to the moody and atmospheric pictures of the early 20th century.
80. SLOW WEST (dir: John Maclean)
38 points
The first film on the list to feature a starring appearance by Michael Fassbender, John Maclean's debut as full-length movie director is about a young Scottish teenager who is set on finding his love with the help of a gunman.
78(tie). ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL (dir: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
38.5 points
The story about a young man named Greg (Thomas Mann), whose favorite hobby is making juvenile parodies of movies with his friend, Earl (RJ Cyler), as he hangs out with a girl named Rachel (Olivia Cooke), who is dying of terminal cancer. The movie made headlines early in 2015, winning both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, and Jon Bernthal also star.
78(tie). AMOUR FOU (dir: Jessica Hausner)
38.5 points
A drama centering on the final days in the life of famed German writer Heinrich von Kleist and his lover Henriette Vogel. It stars Christian Friedel and Birte Schnoink.
77. BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (dir: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
39 points
After finishing 2014 ranked as the year's #3 film on our yearly rankings, the recent Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Cinematography continued to receive acclaim, gaining a spot on top-ten lists from critics of various countries that had its Birdman theatrical debut in 2015.
76. THE ROYAL ROAD (dir: Jenni Olson)
40 points
Arguably the most surprising film on the list due to its lack of exposure even amongst cinephiles (despite a theatrical release in the U.S. back in October, IMDB and Letterboxd still has less than 55 views for it listed as of January 6th, 2016), this movie (shot on 16-mm film) features a stream of consciousness narration by Olson on various topics that reminds viewer of Chris Marker movies. Toni Kushner also makes an appearance, narrating a segment in defense of nostalgia.
75. MOMMY (dir: Xavier Dolan)
41.5 points
Speaking of returning films, last year's breakout hit from Quebec's young, 26-year-old director pops up in the critics top 85 once more (after appearing in #59 of the 2014 rankings), in large part due to its theatrical debut in U.S. theaters during 2015. It was in 2015 that Mommy also received a Best Foreign Film prize from France's coveted Cesar Awards.
74. COURT (dir: Chaitanya Tamhane)
42 points
Marking the debut feature for the 28-year-old Mumbai native Chaitanya Tamhane, Court focuses on the story of a singer who is put to trial over an abatement of suicide claim against him.
73. LISTEN TO ME MARLON (dir: Stevan Riley)
43 points
A look into the life of Marlon Brando, as told by Brando himself through exclusive archived footage and hours of biographical audio clips. It is considered by many to be the definitive account of the legendary American actor.
72. KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER (dir: David Zellner)
44 points
A lonely Japanese woman (played by Rinko Kikuchi) discovers a VHS tape of the Coen Brothers' 1996 movie Fargo and believes it is a map to a hidden treasure in the American heartlands.
71. SPY (dir: Paul Feig)
44.5 points
Director Paul Feig and actress Melissa McCarthy collaborate once again in this comedy about the undercover mission of a CIA agent, arguably their most well-liked work since 2011's Bridesmaids. Jude Law, Jessica Chastain, and Jason Statham also star, among others.
70. LEVIATHAN (dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev)
46 points
Credit the Australians for this 2014 Cannes Film Festival darling (and Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film) making a re-appearance in the 2015 rankings (after appearing at #28 in the previous year). In the half-dozen top-ten lists I used from critics heralding from the Land Down Under, this bleak Russian drama appeared on all but one of them (with half of its appearances being in a list's top five).
69. THE LOBSTER (dir: Yorgos Lanthimos)
46.5 points
The Greek director behind 2010's Dogtooth and 2011's Alps makes his first feature in the English language, about a group of people who are trapped in a location and are forced to find a romantic partner in 45 days less they be transformed into an animal. Colin Farell stars, along with Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly. Also, don't be surprised to see this movie make an appearance on the 2016 rankings as well, since it expects to finally be released in the United States this spring.
68. TRAINWRECK (dir: Judd Apatow)
47 points
2015 was the Year of Amy Schumer. Not only did the comedian gain a lot of praise for the third season of her Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer (earning her first Emmy in the process), she also got her first HBO stand-up special and played a starring role in this latest comedy from Judd Apatow.
67. WHILE WE'RE YOUNG (dir: Noah Baumbach)
47.5 points
Noah Baumbach didn't wait too long after the success of Frances Ha (the #11 film in our 2013 rankings) to make a new movie, with not one but two new movies released in 2015. The first one to be released was While We're Young back in the spring, with Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged married couple who develop a friendship with a much younger, hipper twentysomething couple (played by Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried).
66. GRANDMA (dir: Paul Weitz)
48.5 points
Lilly Tomlin's most praised role in recent memory, as a grandmother who is asked to help her recently pregnant granddaughter.
65. WILD TALES (dir: Damian Szifron)
50 points
This Argentine comedy about six separate stories centered around the theme of revenge (which just barely placed into 2014's top 85) continued to play like gangbusters worldwide, earning a Best Foreign Language film nomination from the Academy in the process.
64. THE WONDERS (dir: Alice Rohrmaker)
50.5 points
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at 2014's Cannes Film Festival, the Italian filmmaker's second feature was also her breakthrough one. Set in the director's native Tuscany, the film centers on a family of beekeepers in the countryside whose normal lives are interrupted by several unusual events.
63. YOUTH (dir: Paolo Sorrentino)
54 points
How does one follow-up a movie as widely beloved as The Great Beauty (Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film, #19 in the 2013 rankings)? For Paolo Sorrentino, it was with yet another gorgeous drama about rich and privileged people, this time centered on an English composer (Michael Caine) and his American film director friend (Harvey Keitel) during their stay in a fabulous resort on the Alps.
62. BEASTS OF NO NATION (dir: Cary Joji Fukunaga)
55 points
In 2014, Cary Joji Fukunaga made his name known as the director for all eight episodes of True Detective's first season, In 2015, he made his return to movies in this picture about the experience of a young, African boy forced to fight as a child soldier in a civil war. Idris Elba plays a supporting role as the lead Commandant in the boy's army, one that may earn him an Oscar in February. Beasts of No Nation is also notable for being Netflix's first major foray into movies (with a simultaneous release in theaters and on its streaming service).
61. LI'L QUINQUIN (dir: Bruno Dumont)
56 points
After appearing at #69 in the 2014 rankings, the French mini-series turned 3.5 hour film elsewhere in the globe kept gaining favor among critics for Dumont's fine turn towards dark comedy.
60. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (dir: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi)
60 points
A mockumentary about the life and times of three immortal vampires living in New Zealand, two of them played by the film's directors.
59. WHITE GOD (dir: Kornel Mondruczo)
62.5 points
A mixed-breed dog forms a group with hundreds of other dogs to fight back against their human oppressors in this Hungarian film that has been described as an allegory of conditions in contemporary Europe. The film originally premiered at Cannes 2014, where it earned the coveted top prize at its Un Certain Regard screenings.
58. MAPS TO THE STARS (dir: David Cronenberg)
63.5 points
Cronenberg tackles the world of Hollywood, with the help of actors like Robert Pattinson and Julianne Moore. This is yet another returning film onto the list, after appearing at #62 back in 2014.
57. INHERENT VICE (dir: Paul Thomas Anderson)
66.5 points
This is it, folks: the seventh and highest ranking film on this list to have also appeared on the 2014 rankings (at #10, to be exact). Featuring a great cast lead by Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin, the latest from the beloved American auteur P.T. Anderson is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon (who may or may not have made a cameo at some point, with the answer likely being "may not have").
56. GIRLHOOD (dir: Celine Sciamma)
68 points
No, this movie was not made over the course of twelve years. But it's still an excellent movie nonetheless, centered around a black French teenager who develops a close friendship with three other girls.
55. BLACKHAT (dir: Michael Mann)
69.5 points
Chris Hemsworth stars as an American hacker who is let go from his prison sentence to help U.S. and Chinese authorities stop another hacker from causing various cyber crimes. It's the latest highly stylized, digitally shot action thriller from veteran filmmaker Michael Mann.
54. MUSTANG (dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven)
71 points
Chosen as France's submission for Oscar's Best Foreign Language film category, Mustang centers around the lives of five orphaned sisters in a small Turkish village.
53. GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIAN AMSALEM (dir: Roni Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz)
73.5 points
An Israeli women wants to receive a divorce document from her country yet faces multiple challenges to get it, including a husband who wants their twenty-year marriage to continue. Ronit Elkabetz stars in the titular role of Vivian Amsalem. She also collaborated with her brother, Shlomi, to write and direct it.
52. 99 HOMES (dir: Ramin Bahrani)
79.5 points
A few days after getting evicted from his home, one man (played by Andrew Garfield) decides to work for the real estate broker (Michael Shannon) who helped get him evicted. Set in 2010, the film focuses on the recent housing crisis that impacted millions of families, and features a potential Oscar-nominated performance from Shannon.
51. ABOUT ELLY (dir: Asghar Farhadi)
82.5 points
A group of men and women must deal with the repercussions from one of their group members disappearing. This Iranian film (from the beloved director behind A Separation and The Past) originally premiered all the way back in 2009, but did not get a proper theatrical release in the U.S. until this past year.
50. THE MEND (dir: John Magary)
83.5 points
In what is yet another feature-length film on the list made by a first-timer, Josh Lucas and Stephen Pluckett portray two brothers, Mat and Alan, who must deal with each other after Mat decides to move into his brother's apartment.
49. QUEEN OF EARTH (dir: Alex Ross-Perry)
86 points
Elisabeth Moss teams up once more with her director from Listen Up Philip (which placed #33 on the 2014 ranking) to make this horror movie about one's woman psychiatric breakdown following the loss of her father and her recent breakup. Katherine Waterston also stars as the friend who joins Moss's character on a weekend getaway in the woods.
48. EDEN (dir: Mia Hansen-Love)
89 points
A film that's been compared to such other title as Inside Llewyn Davis, it has a plot that focuses on twenty years in the life of a French DJ during the early years of the underground EDM scene. The events of the film were largely inspired by the life of Sven Hansen-Love, who helped to co-write the screenplay with his sister, Mia (who also directed).
47. HEART OF A DOG (dir: Laurie Anderson)
93.5 points
Meditations on the death of various things in the life of director Laurie Anderson, including her husband, Lou Reed, and her dog.
46. THE FORBIDDEN ROOM (dir: Guy Maddin)
96 points
Guy Maddin (director of My Winnipeg) pays tribute to the many lost films of silent cinema through a series of humorous and off-beat shorts structured in a manner similar to classic tales like One Thousand and One Nights, with multiple stories-within-stories during its runtime.
44(tie). A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE (dir: Roy Andersson)
96.5 points
Considered to be the final film in the director's "Living" trilogy (a trilogy that also includes 2000's Songs from the Second Floor and 2007's You, the Living), Andersson continues his unique exploration of humanity through a series of static, carefully staged shots. The film earned itself a Golden Lion victory at 2014's Venice Film Festival.
44(tie). EXPERIMENTER (dir: Michael Almereyda)
96.5 points
A story based on the events during the famous experiments conducted by Yale social psychology Stanley Milgram, with the duo of Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder among the lead roles.
43. STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (dir: F. Gary Gray)
104 points
A dramatic retelling of the lives of famed members from rap group N.W.A. The movie has grossed over $200 million dollars worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie made by an African American director to date. It will probably also gain a Best Picture nomination.
41(tie). HORSE MONEY (dir: Pedro Costa)
122 points
It's the much anticipated return to the silver screen from heralded Portguese director Pedro Costa. In it, Costa once again focuses on the actor Ventura, who starred in his last narrative feature, Colossal Youth (2006).
41(tie). ARABIAN NIGHTS (dir: Miguel Gomes)
122 points
Speaking of Portuguese directors, Costa's fellow countryman Miguel Gomes (the man behind Tabu, which placed #18 in our 2012 rankings) also returned to the big screen with this epic, seven-hour narrative (released in three parts over the course of the year in most countries) based on stories from One Thousand and One Nights (boy, that thing proved to be quite influential this year, huh?).
40. JAUJA (dir: Lisandro Alonso)
126 points
In a slow burn, Viggo Mortensen stars as a Danish ship captain who, alongside his daughter (played by Ghita Norby) adventure into a desert located in an unknown territory.
39. THE END OF THE TOUR (dir: James Ponsoldt)
131 points
Prior to the film's premiere, many worried how Jason Segel would do in the role of famed American writer David Foster Wallace. Yet, for the most part, audiences found Segel to have given an admirable performance, and the film (about Wallace's final days of his Infinite Jest book tour, in which he was accompanied alongside Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky, played by Jesse Eisenberg) to be a pretty good one overall.
38. HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT (dir: Ben Safdie, John Safdie)
133.5 points
A realist depiction of the lives of a few New York City junkies and drug dealers. It's notable for starring acting newcomer Arielle Holmes, whose unpublished memoir about her young life largely inspired the events depicted in the film.
36(tie). STEVE JOBS (dir: Danny Boyle)
142.5 points
Some have attempted to taint the legacy of Steve Jobs, calling it everything from a flop to a smart drop by Sony Pictures. Yet, despite all that, many critics still found themselves enthralled by this latest movie based on the life of Apple's famous co-founder. Some of the things they liked included an Aaron Sorkin script that was very much Aaron Sorkin-y, a crackling lead performance by Michael Fassbender, and a directing effort by Danny Boyle notable for shooting each of its three scenes in three different ways (16mm film, 35mm film, and digital).
36(tie). IN JACKSON HEIGHTS (dir: Frederick Wiseman)
142.5 points
Another year, another acclaimed documentary by Frederick Wiseman. After appearing in the top 50 in our 2010 rankings (Boxing Gym, at #49), our 2013 rankings (At Berkeley, at #30), and our 2014 rankings (National Gallery, at #43), the legendary 86-year-old returned in 2015 with yet another long look into a specific time and place, this time focusing on the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens, New York during the mid-2010s.
35. CHI-RAQ (dir: Spike Lee)
145 points
Teyonah Parris (of Mad Men and Dear White People fame) stars as a woman who decides to lead a female sex strike to stop the various gang violence happening in Chicago. The film is based on the 5th Century B.C. Greek work Lysistrata, and also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, and Angela Bassett.. It's director Spike Lee's most acclaimed work in nearly a decade, and one that was quite polarizing at the time of its release.
34. TAXI TEHRAN (dir: Jafar Panahi)
157.5 points
Jafar Panahi appears as the director a top 85 film for the fourth time in five years. This time, the Iranian continued to test the limits of his house arrest by starring as a cab driver in Tehran driving various passengers across the city. The film premiered in the late winter, and earned 2015's Golden Bear prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
33. THE TRIBE (dir: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky)
163.5 points
Centered on a boy's days as a student in a boarding school for the deaf, this bleak film is notable for having every actor communicate only in Ukrainian sign language, with the audience never getting subtitles to know what they're saying.
32. LOVE & MERCY (dir: Bill Pohlad)
167 points
Paul Dano and John Cusack both portray legendary musician Brian Wilson during two key moments in his life: as a member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, and as a man struggling with prescription drug abuse in the 1980s. Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giammati also play important parts in the movie.
31. MISTRESS AMERICA (dir: Noah Baumbach)
172 points
Part one of the top 85 countdown with the second movie directed by Noah Baumbach that was released in 2015. This time around, Baumbach teamed up with his Frances Ha lead actress Greta Gerwig (who also co-wrote the story with Baumbach) to create this comedy about a young college student (played by Lola Kirke) who befriends Gerwig's eccentric Brooke Cardinas and finds her interesting enough to use her for inspiration in her writings.
Coming Thursday: Part 2 of the 2015 countdown, as the year's top 30 most acclaimed movies are revealed.
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