No year has been more profitable for Hollywood than 2015, with a total of $11 billion taken home by the American market alone. Four movies released this year have crossed the $1 billion bench mark, with Jurassic World becoming the third highest grossing film of all-time, after Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009). And with the hype it is no surprise that the new Star Wars movie is on its way to become the biggest hit in movie history. This has been a great year for Hollywood.
Twenty-three of the thirty highest grossing movies of 2015 have been released right here in Dhaka, mostly by Star Cineplex which is the best multiplex in Dhaka. Hopefully Blockbuster Cinemas would catch up, release more movies and reconsider their quality-control-management.
The following favourites-list (in descending order) is based on movies released in Dhaka in 2015.
10 CINDERELLA There has been a lot of Cinderella-movies and this version is among the best. A film one can watch with the whole family.
9. SPECTRE Yes, this one is no match for Skyfall (2012), but we still love Daniel Craig who, for many of us, is the best Bond ever. 8. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Man of Steel (2013) is not Henry Cavill’s movie, its Superman’s movie. However, this spy-action-comedy film belongs to Cavill who is going to become the next big movie star for sure.
7. JURASSIC WORLD The movie is exactly as it should be – a thrill ride in an amusement park! It’s amazing to see the audience scream in unison every time and exactly at the same moment, without any break in synchronisation.
6. KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE This is the most stylish movie of 2015. The church action sequence with Colin Firth fighting “zombies” is better than all the action of Spectre put together.
5. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION This one is an encyclopedia of spy movies. It has all the stock-elements: sacrificing hero, sinister villain, femme fatale, band of brothers, exotic locations and superb action set-pieces.
4. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD This has been the surprise of the year. Not only is Fury Road the greatest action-adventure film ever, it will remain the greatest action movie for a long time. Hard to imitate. Tough to surpass.
3. INSIDE OUT Inside Out is not only Pixar’s greatest achievement but it is among the greatest animations ever made along with Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001). Watching this movie can actually make us and our children better human beings. A rare classic.
2. THE MARTIAN This could be the most influential film of the year. Martian finally put science back into science-fiction. This is a film for all the science-geeks. NASA has already started working on their mission to Mars freshly inspired by Martian. Thanks to author Andy Weir and director Ridley Scott.
1. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS How would non-fans react to this choice? It is difficult to explain the feeling of watching Star Wars with an audience – people clap and whistle and talk to characters- as if we are not watching the movie, we are inside it. This is true for audiences all over the world. It’s a magical feeling like no other that only films can generate.