My Top 10 Films of 2015

2015 had a bit of everything, and it could have easily been split down the middle with both exceptional but also disappointing films. From instalments in some of the biggest franchises around including Star Wars, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Maze Runner, to Disney and Pixar classics, Studio Ghibli delights, and superhero blockbusters at their best.

This year I’ve watched 610 films (80 released this year and 262 for the first time). My most watched director is Alfred Hitchcock and my most watched actor is Samuel L. Jackson.

To bring the year to an end, here are my top 10 films of 2015. This list changes quite frequently, so you can see an updated list on my Letterboxd page.

My 2015 Reading Wrap-Up

Over the past couple of years, I have documented every film that I have watched and reviewed them all using Letterboxd. As a way to motivate myself to read more, I thought I would do the same for what books I have been reading, using Goodreads as a way to set myself a reading challenge.

So, this year I set myself a challenge of reading 15 books. Here’s how my 2015 challenge went, with a short review and rating for each of the books:

Book v Film: Brooklyn

“None of them could help her. She had lost all of them. They would not find out about this; she would not put it into a letter. And because of this she understood that they would never know her now. Maybe, she thought, they had never known her, any of them, because if they had, then they would have had to realise what this would be like for her.”

Based on the 2009 award-winning novel of the same name, written by Irish author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a historical period drama directed by John Crowley and screenplay written by Nick Hornby.

Set in 1950s Ireland, Brooklyn follows Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish girl who reluctantly moves to Brooklyn with the promise of a job. Although Eilis didn’t want to leave the comfort of her quaint hometown and the company of her mother and sister, the initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish when she is swept into a fresh romance with Italian plumber Antonio “Tony” Fiorello (Emory Cohen). But when tragedy forces Eilis back to Ireland, she is faced with temptation when the charming Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) enters her life. With her new vivacity disrupted by her past, Eilis must now choose between two countries and two loves.

Film Review: Brooklyn

Based on the 2009 award-winning novel of the same name, written by Irish author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a historical period drama directed by John Crowley and screenplay written by Nick Hornby.

Set in 1950s Ireland, Brooklyn follows Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish girl who reluctantly moves to Brooklyn with the promise of a job. Although Eilis didn’t want to leave the comfort of her quaint hometown and the company of her mother and sister, the initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish when she is swept into a fresh romance with Italian plumber Antonio “Tony” Fiorello (Emory Cohen). But when tragedy forces Eilis back to Ireland, she is faced with temptation when the charming Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) enters her life. With her new vivacity disrupted by her past, Eilis must now choose between two countries and two loves.

Book Review: Brooklyn

“None of them could help her. She had lost all of them. They would not find out about this; she would not put it into a letter. And because of this she understood that they would never know her now. Maybe, she thought, they had never known her, any of them, because if they had, then they would have had to realise what this would be like for her.”

A 2009 award-winning novel written by Irish author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a historical period drama set in 1950s Ireland. The story follows Eilis Lacey, a young Irish girl who reluctantly moves to Brooklyn with the promise of a job. Although Eilis didn’t want to leave the comfort of her quaint hometown and the company of her mother and sister, the initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish when she is swept into a fresh romance with Italian plumber Tony Fiorello. But when tragedy forces Eilis back to Ireland, she is faced with temptation when the charming Jim Farrell enters her life. With her new vivacity disrupted by her past, Eilis must now choose between two countries and two loves.

Actor Ranked: Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan made her acting debut at the age of only 10 years old, and over the years we have watched her transform from a promising child star in films including Joe Wright’s Atonement and Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, to an elegant and super talented young woman in films such as Brooklyn and Lady Bird.

Here is my ranking of her performances (not of the films themselves) to date:

Stunning New Trailer & Poster for ‘Brooklyn’

(Written for Filmoria)

Lionsgate has released a brand new trailer and poster for the critically acclaimed Brooklyn this week, and they couldn’t be more beautiful.

Another one of the most anticipated novel adaptations of 2015, this time from author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a heart-breaking story set in the early 1950s, and stars star Saoirse Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Emory Cohen (The Place Beyond The Pines), Jim Broadbent (Iris), and Julie Walters (Billy Elliot).