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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Movie Moment

2/28/2016

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***SPOILER WARNING*** - This award contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Movies are perhaps best defined by their moments. Those special instances that draw us in even closer and that will forever remain etched in our minds. They are what truly engage us in a film, whether through laughter, terror, excitement, or even by pulling out the rug from under us. These kind of moments are what make the movie, and here are my top 5 choices for the year.

Favorite  Movie  Moment  Nominees:


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Sicario

The Dinner Scene
Sicario takes some wild turns down the stretch, and it all leads to this intense and pivotal moment of revenge for Benicio Del Toro's Alejandro. He's calm, cold-blooded, and precise in this brilliantly staged scene, where he fully emerges as the film's lead character while demonstrating he's not someone to mess with.

Rogue  Nation

The  Plane  Stunt
I don't think it's possible to properly describe the marvel of this scene and do it justice. It is a moment that simply must be seen, and the bigger and louder the better. Seeing Tom Cruise literally hang from this monster of a plane is unmistakably one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. Good God, Tom Cruise, you are one bad dude, and your insane stunt paid off big time!
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Jurassic  World

The Final Showdown
This climactic finale was everything I could have ever dreamed. I found myself giddy with glee as the film set up this moment. It was as if it evoked my ultimate childhood fantasy right before my eyes. Watching the T-Rex team up with raptors to face off against the genetically superior Indominus Rex was unbelievably epic and amazing.

The  Force  Awakens

The Millennium Falcon
Returning to the Millennium Falcon was like reuniting with a childhood friend. It was everything I hoped it would be, with even a few great new twists. It has so many great moments wrapped up into one, such as Rey and Finn piloting the Falcon through a fallen Star Destroyer, the hilariously perfect BB-8 thumbs up, and the long-awaited return of Chewie and Han.
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Mad  Max:  Fury  Road

The War Rig Finale
Fury Road has so many outstanding action sequences that any one of them would have been worthy of a nomination here, but George Miller saved the best for last. With pole-vaulting acrobats, a flamethrower guitar, and radical stunts, I guarantee you that you've never seen anything quite like it. It's as outrageous as it is impressive.

And  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Fight

2/28/2016

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*** SPOILER WARNING*** - This award contains spoilers.

What a year this has been for movie fights! We saw Iron-Man battle The Hulk, and Ant-Man fight Falcon. James Bond duked it out with Bautista, while Ronda Rousey rumbled with Letty. Dwayne Johnson rock bottomed Jason Statham, and Leo battled Tom Hardy and a bear! Not to mention we got a new lightsaber battle as Kylo Ren fought both Finn and Rey. This award category is so stacked, however,  that none of those fights even cracked the top 5! With so many good choices, this was a challenging list to narrow down, but behold, 5 Minute Movie Guy's top 5 favorite fights of 2015!

Favorite  Fight  Nominees:


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Kingsman:  The  Secret  Service

Church Brawl
What a wild and unexpected scene this was! Set to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird, this crazy, violent, zombie-like brawl sees Colin Firth's Harry Hart killing a church full of crazed, brainwashed, cult churchgoers in a massive brawl. It's one hell of an action sequence that's wonderfully orchestrated and finds just the right mix of fun and ridiculousness.

Creed

Creed vs. Conlan
The final bout in Creed packs an emotional and powerful punch. Adonis "Donnie" Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, takes on his father's name for this title shot match-up against "Pretty" Ricky Conlan. The scene is set up brilliantly. Never have I been more moved and pumped up for a fight, and the end result is a heart-pounding 12 round battle that dares Donnie to go the distance.
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Jurassic  World

T-Rex vs. I-Rex
After escaping its containment, the Indominus Rex wreaks havoc across the newly opened Jurassic World as the staff is helpless to stop it. Enter the Tyrannosaurus Rex. This climactic battle pits the iconic T-Rex against this new genetically modified beast. It is the ultimate battle of dinosaurs and I loved every single second of it!

MAd  Max:  Fury  Road

Mad Max vs. Furiosa
When Mad Max and Furiosa first cross paths, it's a battle for survival, and both fighters find themselves at a disadvantage. Furiosa's battling without her mechanical arm, while Max is still chained to Nux. To make matters worse, Immortan Joe's forces are closing in on them. It's a refreshing and intense fight scene that shows how horribly desperate things are in the wasteland.
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Ant-Man

Ant-Man vs. Yellowjacket
This three-part battle between Yellowjacket and Ant-Man is one of the most impressive and elaborately staged fight scenes in Marvel's cinematic history. It continuously jumps back and forth between micro and macro sizes, giving it a very interesting and unique dynamic. The level of creativity in this fight scene is staggering, and it's so much fun.

And  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Bad Ass

2/28/2016

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*** SPOILER WARNING *** - This award contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

Time to celebrate the biggest bad ass of the year. Last year, the award went to Keanu Reeve's highly productive killing machine John Wick. Who will take home the honors this year?

Favorite  Bad  Ass  Nominees:


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Marquis  Warren

(Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight)
I've always liked Samuel L. Jackson but he just seems to be getting better with age. If you thought he was a bad mother F'er in Pulp Fiction, just wait until you get a load of his character Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight. He's a clever, cunning, no-nonsense, racist-hating, gun-slinging bounty hunter who quickly takes control of the film.

Furiosa

(Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road)
There's a reason this one-armed warrior woman is a favorite of the Citadel's warlord Immortan Joe. She's a great driver and an exceptional warrior to boot. In fact, she's the only female soldier in all of Joe's army. Imperator Furiosa is one of the strongest female leads in recent years. She's captivating as she fights to free Joe's enslaved Five Wives, as well as herself, from his rule.
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Ilsa

(Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation)
It's no small feat that Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust has landed this nod over fellow co-star Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, but she's genuinely the more worthy candidate. Ilsa is a quintessential female bad ass, who steals every scene she's in. Her fight scenes are just incredible. I've truly never seen a cooler female spy. Here's to hoping she'll be back!

Chris  Kyle

(Bradley Cooper in American Sniper)
Chris Kyle was a real life ultimate bad ass, who ended his four tours in Iraq with the highest confirmed kill count in U.S. history. Known first and foremost as the deadliest American sniper, Kyle also shows he's adept in other areas of combat. His skill level is nothing short of extraordinary, but his devotion to his duty and to saving lives is what makes him a real hero.
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Alejandro

(Benicio Del Toro in Sicario)
Benicio Del Toro's Alejandro plays most of the film as a shadowy, intimidating presence, who knows first hand the dangers of Mexican drug cartels. He keeps mostly to himself, never exposing his true intentions for revenge until he strategically pounces on his prey. He's a true lone wolf who takes over the film with his focus and ferocity.


And  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Movie Trailer

2/28/2016

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2015 had a ton of top-notch trailers. In fact, the movie that's about to win this award is actually my new favorite movie trailer of all time! (Don't ask me what movie previously held that title. I have no idea what it might have been!) There's nothing better to get us pumped up for a film than an exciting trailer, and fortunately, all 5 of these nominees delivered and ended up being great films overall. Now, here are the nominees!

Favorite  Movie  Trailer  Nominees:


Mad  Max:  Fury  Road

What a trailer! What a lovely trailer! The official trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road is outrageously cool in so many ways. It is a wild spectacle of a movie and this trailer gives a nice glimpse of all of it's unique, crazy, wasteland mayhem. After seeing this trailer, Fury Road instantly became one of my most anticipated movies of the year.

The  Revenant

This trailer for The Revenant is an outstanding tension builder that raises the intensity with each added breath. I love the use of breathing in the trailer, as it ends up being such an integral concept in the film. Just like Leonardo DiCaprio's character Hugh Glass says in the movie, "As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe. Keep breathing." When I saw this trailer, I was convinced The Revenant was going to win the Oscar for Best Picture of the year. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Mission:  Impossible  -  Rogue  Nation

Holy crap! Did Tom Cruise just literally hang from an airplane? As if that wasn't enough to get me excited, the rest of the trailer is excellent as well. It briefly highlights the best moments of the movie without detracting from the final cut. I really dig the use of The Fugee's "Ready or Not" in the trailer, which compliments it so well. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation scored the #2 spot on my most wanted list of 2014 after this trailer went live, and for good reason!

The  Martian

I knew when I saw this trailer that The Martian was going to be one of the must-see movies of 2015. It's a fascinating trailer with a wonderful introduction containing a moving speech by the film's title character, stranded astronaut Mark Watney. I was wholly invested in the movie and the rescue mission to Mars just from the trailer alone. I love this trailer from beginning to end, from its opening message of hope to it's closing shot of Jeff Daniel's hopeless face of shame. Tractor beam! Wooo. Sucked me right in!

Star  Wars:  The  Force  Awakens

Like so many hundreds of millions of you, I had been waiting for this moment ever since the film was announced, and let me tell ya... it didn't disappoint! In fact, it completely blew me away. I don't want to sell it short in any way, so I'm going to stop trying to hide my enthusiasm here. This trailer is outstanding. It's nostalgic, it's beautiful, it's totally exciting, and it does a perfect job of blending in the old with the new. I don't know if I've ever been as excited for a movie as I was for The Force Awakens. Now is that simply my inner fanboy talking or was the trailer really that good?

And  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Song

2/28/2016

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This award goes out to my favorite movie theme song of the year. While I certainly haven't heard all of the songs out there, I must confess that I had a hard time coming up with even 5 solid contenders.  Still, I think all of these songs are well done, with two of them in particular standing far and away ahead of the rest of the competition.

Favorite  Song  Nominees:


Glory

as performed by Common and John Legend in Selma
*** In case you missed the 2015 5MMG Awards Introduction, allow me to clarify that "Glory" is eligible for best song because it is featured in the film Selma which was officially released on January 9th, 2015, and this is why I did not include it in my 2014 awards show last year. I regret the mistake and have corrected it so it will not happen again with other movies next year. ***

"Glory" may be John Legend's best song, and that's saying a lot. Common is superb in this song as well. These two guys owned this performance. I love the lyrics, the message, and the music. This is a song pumped full of so much raw emotion that it makes my hair stand up and my eyes water every time I hear it. It's a beautiful and powerful song with a message that's still relevant today, even as it pertains to the Civil Rights Movement fifty years ago.

Crazy  In  Love  (2014  Remix)

as performed by Beyoncé in 50 Shades of Grey
Beyoncé puts a slow and seductive spin on her classic song "Crazy In Love" for the 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack. The result was a perfectly fitting tune to accompany the film's debut trailer last year. While I didn't see the movie and have no intention of doing so, I personally consider this version of "Crazy In Love" to be superior to the original.

See  You  Again

as performed by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth in Furious 7
Oh man. If you've seen Furious 7 like I have, you're going to need to grab some tissues and fight back the tears when this song starts playing. This song was so beautifully used in the touching ending of Furious 7 that paid tribute to the late Paul Walker. It's a great, heartfelt song that was completely snubbed by the Academy Awards this year, where it somehow didn't even score a nomination. But worry not, my friends, the 5MMG Awards are here to fix that injustice!

Writing's  on  the  Wall

as performed by Sam Smith in Spectre
This boy can sing. I recall a lot of people criticizing Writing's On The Wall when it was first released many months ago, but I think that criticism is completely unfounded. It's an exceptional song, and I find it perfectly fitting as a James Bond theme. It just has the misfortune of following in the footsteps of Adele's "Skyfall". Regardless, it's sung beautifully by Sam Smith.

So  Long

as performed by Leon Bridges in Concussion
I just discovered Leon Bridges for the first time this week, and I am in love with his music. Once I discovered he had a song featured in the movie Concussion, I bumped another nominee (Tessa Thompson's "Grip" from Creed) to make room for this one. Bridges is a contemporary artist who is reminiscent of the great soul singers of so long ago. His nominated song "So Long" is a soulful, slow-paced, emotional ballad that's more than worthy of a listen or two.

and  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Movie Quote

2/28/2016

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*** SPOILER WARNING *** - This award contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I'm the kind of guy that likes to quote movies at any available opportunity. I try to squeeze them into casual conversations, or insert them as jokes, all for my own amusement. Sure, it may be a little pretentious, but clearly I can appreciate a good quote. In the year of 2015, these quotes were my top 5 favorites!

Favorite  Movie  Quote  Nominees:


The  Hateful  Eight

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"
“Move a little strange, you're gonna get a bullet.
Not a warning, not a question... A bullet!”


-- Major Marquis Warren
(Samuel L. Jackson)


The  Revenant


“It turns out Jesus is a squirrel. A big fat meaty one.
And I shot
and ate that son of a bitch.”


-- John Fitzgerald
(Tom Hardy)

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Sicario

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“You should move to a small town, somewhere
the rule of law still exists. You will not survive here.
You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now.”


-- Alejandro Gillick
(Benicio Del Toro)


The  Martian


“In the face of overwhelming odds,
I’m left with only one option,
I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this.”

-- Mark Watney
(Matt Damon)

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Creed

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“Bring back everything that’s ever hurt you,
all the pain you had inside. They don’t know
what we’ve been through. You belong here!”


-- Rocky Balboa
(Sylvester Stallone)


and  the  Winner  is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Favorite Movie Poster

2/28/2016

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Not many things can entice you to a movie like a great poster. Long before any trailers come out, they can effectively pique your interest in a movie, or contrarily they can shatter it altogether if poorly executed. Good or bad, they'll be synonymous with their movie forever. There's truly an art to making memorable and iconic posters, and these here are my top 5 favorites from 2015!

Favorite  Movie  Poster  Nominees:


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Ant-Man

Marvel's marketing campaign for Ant-Man was hilariously brilliant, and this ant-sized teaser poster for the film perfectly demonstrates that. This simple poster shows nothing but the film's logo and a microscopic first look at Marvel's newest hero. Well played, Marvel. Well played.

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The  Walk

Warning: This poster may cause some serious vertigo! This extraordinary poster gives us a beautifully illustrated and terrifying top-down perspective of Philippe Petit as he attempts to walk along a tight rope across the World Trade Center towers. I get the chills just looking at it!

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In  the  Heart  of  the  Sea

Holy mother of Pearl! Look at the size of that thing! Here we have another simplistic poster that perfectly emphasizes the scale of the whale (sick rhyme, 5MMG!) that inspired Moby Dick. It's a scary and beautiful piece of art. I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad I'm not in that boat!

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Jurassic  World

I love the way this poster eloquently touches on our human obsession with entertainment as well as the thrill of violence and danger. This isn't a trip to your local aquarium, but is one of many grandiose attractions featured at Jurassic World. The Great White is a nice added Jaws joke.

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Star  Wars:  The  Force  Awakens


Star Wars is known for it's iconic posters, and this one is undeniably among the best of them. It's a busy poster but man if it isn't beautiful. I particularly love the contrast of Rey and Kylo Ren, as well as seeing the return of old favorite characters. It's well-balanced and just awesome!

And  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Worst Character

2/28/2016

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Whether featured in a great film or a terrible one, these characters undoubtedly make their movies worse. You can blame it on poor writing or bad acting, but whatever the case may be, their movies suffer as a result. Here are the year's 5 worst characters!

Worst  Character  Nominees:


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Quicksilver

(Aaron-Taylor Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron)
Two years in a row, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has found himself nominated for Worst Character in the 5MMG Awards. In Age of Ultron, he wasn't only an annoying pest for the Avengers, but also for the audience, with his poor acting and even worse accent. He may have cool powers, but otherwise I found him unlikeable in every way.

Kylo  Ren

(Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Will someone explain to me how everybody hates Anakin in the prequels for being a whiny teenager, yet they love Kylo Ren for being an even bigger, whiny teenager? Worse is that Kylo is an adult! This 30 year-old man child redefines what it means to be emo, and he's a crappy dark side warrior to boot. As if he wasn't awful enough, Abrams lets him do the unforgivable. Ugh! Why?!
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Jane  Bodine

(Sandra Bullock in Our Brand is Crisis)
Sandra Bullock's "Calamity Jane" Bodine really tested my patience. She bounces back and forth between serious and silly so much that I could hardly stand her. She'll go from being an amazing political strategist one minute to being a totally quirky oddball the next. Bullock's comedy act stinks. It's frustrating, it's irritating, and most of all,  it's NOT funny!

"Pretty"  Ricky  Conlan

(Tony Bellew in Creed)
Rocky movies are known for their memorable opponents. Conlan however, won't be one of them. While it may seem convenient to cast a real-life boxer in the role of the opposing boxing champ, it becomes problematic when they can't really act. Outside of the ring, Conlan's a cringe-worthy bad character who failed to make any impression or impact on me other than annoyance.
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James  "Whitey"  Bulger

(Johnny Depp in Black Mass)
I don't think Whitey Bulger in Black Mass is supposed to be laughable, but that's what he was to me. The film tries so hard to villainize him that he practically becomes a caricature of evil. He's made to look so demonic that he ends up looking inhuman and completely silly. Plus the way the film contrasts his brutality with sensitivity makes him feel disingenuous.

And  the  Winner  Is...


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The 2015 5MMG Awards - Worst Movie of the Year

2/28/2016

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Starting from the bottom and working our way to the top, we begin with the dreaded Worst Movie of the Year award. A dishonor that distinguishes a film as being wholly unworthy of your money and time. Although in fairness, the first 4 of these 5 nominees were movies I actually wanted to see. With that considered, I'm sure there are plenty of worse films that are more worthy of being nominees in this category, but in my own personal experience, these were the 5 worst movies I saw in 2015.

Worst  Movie  of  the  Year  Nominees:


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Black  Mass

While the story of the notorious Boston crime lord "Whitey" Bulger is an interesting one, I find that Black Mass does it little justice. This broody film reduces Bulger to an over-the-top evil caricature with a contradictory sensitive side that feels disingenous and downright silly. A weak script turns this boring movie into a largely forgettable mess.

Run  All  Night

Liam Neeson is milking his action star run down to the last drop, and Run All Night is another mediocre cash-in to add to the list. It has a premise similar to Taken, only now Neeson's an ex-hitman turned deadbeat drunk father who must protect his son from his old crime lord boss. It has decent dynamic between Neeson and Ed Harris, but this act is getting old. No pun intended.
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Tomorrowland

Director Brad Bird really missed the mark with this Disney feature film. What should have been an exciting and imaginative adventure ends up being dull and lifeless. Even the star power of George Clooney and Hugh Laurie couldn't redeem it. I'd rather spend two hours in line for a ride at Disneyland's Tomorrowland than ever watch this movie again.

Paper  Towns

After being surprisingly pleased by last year's cancer-ridden teenage romance The Fault in Our Stars, I was excited to see Paper Towns. I even read the book in anticipation of the film, but unfortunately this adaption leaves much to be desired. The film sugarcoats the dark mystery that drives the story, and the fun teenage hijinks are less effective and even annoying at times.
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Our  Brand  is  Crisis

Based on a true story, political strategist "Calamity Jane" Bodine is hired to help the former Bolivian President Castillo return to power.  Castillo's story is solid, but Sandra Bullock's quirky take on Jane coupled with Billy Bob Thorton's pervy performance really grated my nerves. If I could, I'd gladly back those 2 hours of my life.

And  the  Winner  Is...


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Introducing the 2015 5MMG Awards!

2/21/2016

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Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2nd annual 5 Minute Movie Guy Awards! Now that 2015 is long gone, I'd like to take some time to look back at my favorite and least favorite movies of the year. Before I get started, can I just say that it has been a FANTASTIC year for movies? I thought I started the website on a good year in 2014, but 2015 just blows it away in every way imaginable! We saw the triumphant return of Star Wars with The Force Awakens, the revival of Jurassic Park (literally!) with Jurassic World, the resurgence of Mad Max with Fury Road, and the conclusion of The Hunger Games with Mockingjay Part 2! We saw box office records being smashed by American Sniper to start off the year, only to end the year with Star Wars: The Force Awakens becoming America's highest grossing movie of ALL TIME! On a global scale, four 2015 films cracked the all-time top 5 at the worldwide box office, beginning with Furious 7, then Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, and finally The Force Awakens! What a year it's been for movies! And to top it all off, Tom Cruise hung from outside of an airplane in real life for a stunt in Mission: Impossible because he loves you!

Now please join me in honoring the best and the worst from 2015's historical year in movies!
This year there are have 15 award categories, each with 5 nominees. In order for a movie to be eligible for nomination, obviously it has to be a movie that I've seen (Favorite Movie Poster and Favorite Song notwithstanding). Being a one-man rodeo, this means that inevitably some great films won't be represented here, so I apologize if I've excluded some of your favorites. In all, I've seen 36 films in theaters this past year, although 2 of them (American Sniper and Selma) are throwing me for a bit of a loop, and that's because they opened in limited release in 2014, therefore making them eligible for the 2014 awards season despite being 2015 films. Last year, I deemed them ineligible for my 2014 5MMG Awards for this reason, but in hindsight I suppose that was a pretty foolish idea. Since I won't be making that mistake again, Room and The Revenant are indeed eligible this year.

For your convenience, here's a list of all 36 eligible films that I saw in theaters in 2015:
American Sniper (2014)
Ant-Man
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Black Mass
Bridge of Spies
Burnt
Chappie
Creed
Everest
Focus
Furious 7
Jurassic World
 Kingsman: The Secret Service
Mad Max: Fury Road
Minions
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Our Brand is Crisis
Paper Towns
Pixels
Room
Run All Night
San Andreas
Selma (2014)
Sicario
Southpaw
Spectre
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Taken 3
Terminator Genisys
The Hateful Eight
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Pt. 2
The Martian
The Revenant
The Secret in Their Eyes
Tomorrowland

Now let's get this show on the road!
Thanks for reading, and remember, comments and participation are always appreciated!
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