Taking a note from sports publications such as CBS and ESPN, we’ve got this little new feature at GodHatesGeeks called the Power Rankings. What this means is that our nerd-clergy will rank the very best of 4 mediums of this year’s popular geek culture, including movies, TV shows, video games, and comics (both Big 2 & Indy) that are unreleased for 2015, as well. Rankings are based on the following: hype/expectation, reviews/criticism, and sales/buzz.
How this list was compiled: 1.) All of our 2015 movie reviews, 2.) Our most anticipated movies left, 3.) We factored in the website’s general opinion, 4.) We asked ourselves: is the hype of “Film A” bigger than the overall reception of “Film B”?, 5.) We also considered movies that did well on Blu Ray, and have a better chance of being purchased this holiday.
Also, feel free to click on the following titles for links to any previews and reviews we have on these hot geek items!
Top 25 Geek Movies of 2015 for the month of OCTOBER
1.) Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens
I mean, really. The Force truly woke the fuck up the other night, when all first-day ticket sales were demolished. According to Forbes, SWTFA made up for 95% of all purchases on MovieTickets; SWTFA sold $5.5 million more than any previous IMAX movie; SWTFA sold 700% higher than any previous first day film on Fandango; and SWTFA sold 10 times as many tickets as the previous one-day record-setter at AMC Theaters. Uh-huh — Episode 7 has a chance to break every movie record ever, at the set of $1.5 billion or higher. Do you really want me to get into theme parks and merchandise? Star Wars is a monster right now, and not even a movie containing Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman can touch the end of its lightsaber. As far as the movie itself, its extended “fan-made” trailer is putting grown men in tears. The only way I’m not going to cry after my initial December 18th viewing is if I don’t get to see it again. That night. – Travis Moody
Words such as face-melting, adrenaline-fueled, high octane, nitro-injected thrill-ride, barely scratch at the gloriously-irradiated surface of this brutal, action-packed masterpiece. The franchise set the bar for the entire post-apocalyptic genre 30 years ago, and with this installment, Mad Max: Fury Road, has strapped a hydrogen bomb to that bar and catapulted a Warboy brandishing a grenade-tipped spear at it. Tom Hardy’s gravelly baritone rumbles in the background as we watch him attempt to escape a horde of fearsome, powder-painted men in a signature ‘show don’t tell’ style that could serve as a teaching tool for young film-makers. MMFR‘s rampaging chase, stunt work and CG blends into a seamless torrent of beautifully-choreographed violence that spills from vehicle to vehicle with brutal efficiency and elegant chaos, pushed ever forward by Junkie XL’s heart-pounding, percussive music score that’s both primal and sophisticated. If you enjoy things that are fucking awesome, this movie is for you. – Adam Mondschein
In Straight Outta Compton, you are completely immersed in the lives of N.W.A and taken for the wild ride that was their rise to fame and the Aftermath of the success. The performances were so impressive, I thought little known actor Corey Hawkins was actually the son of the mothafuckin’ D.R.E. Of course, there’s no mistaking the man playing Ice Cube, as it’s none other than Co-Producer Oshea Jackson’s son, Oshea Jackson Jr. The likeness is daunting — and OJJ def. captures his daddy’s whole “goin’ for dolo” vibe — to say the least. More important to the film than just appearance, SOC avoids the use of exaggerated West Coast accents and over-dramatized culture typically portrayed in films of this genre, opting for more of the natural. The persona of each character is unique and true to life, so much so, that I have a freshly renewed fear of Suge Knight and a new respect for Ice Cube. Hell has frozen over. Pigs are flying. Call me completely impressed. – Esko Robinson
4.) The Revenant
The Revenant is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s grand follow-up to last year’s Birdman, with Leonardo DiCaprio as an early 19th Century explorer dealing with cold winters, Native Americans and a near fatal bear attack. Yeah–it seems that Inarritu doesn’t believe in making a movie the easy way. With Birdman, he shot all the scenes in one long take. With The Revenant, the only lighting the director used was natural (i.e. sun, fires, etc.), which, of course, caused all sorts of problems. According to the Hollywood Reporter the production cost higher than intended ($95 to $135 million); it was also supposed to have wrapped back in March, but just recently rolled into August — all of which also caused friction on set, leading to many crew members resigntation. Of course, much of this forced Inarritu to go off the rails, which makes The Revenant a still very likely contender for Best Picture. And you may have heard it features a few guys named DiCaprio and Hardy (who had to drop out of Suicide Squad for this one, which might tell you something). Sure, the movie might be about surviving in the wilderness; but the question remains: Will Inarritu survive the outcome of this production? – Robert Bexar
5.) Inside Out
Inside Out successfully does what no other formal educational tool before could ever do — successfully give a reference point that both adults and children could use to discuss fairly complex emotional and psychological concepts. Pixar has, for the most part, been great at packaging fun, effective storytelling with classic, universal themes; but with Inside Out they have innovated the core idea of the “life lesson” in animated films without sacrificing any of their well renowned polish. All the trappings of their fun, adventure movies are still in tact as IO takes beautifully developed characters through an honest, thought-out narrative with all the gorgeous visual cohesion that is to be expected from anything affiliated with the House of Mouse. The jokes aimed at kids are broad enough to be enjoyed by adults, while the “grown up” jokes aren’t just hacky double entendres — they’re legitimately sophisticated and fit within the world of the story. I challenge anyone to come up with a film more successful at conveying the message that sadness is not only an okay emotion to experience, but a necessary emotion to embrace in order to become a well adjusted human being. – Myke Ladiona
6.) Sicario “The tension in this movie had me squirming in my seat like a televangelist at the Spearmint Rhino.” – Derek Vigeant
7.) The Martian “After a few laughs, great tragedies, lots of tears, and awesome astrophysical endeavors, The Martian is a movie that will definitely hold on its own in 2015.” – Eva Ceja
8.) The Hateful Eight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRbXn4-Yis
9.) Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation “Rogue Nation offers an array of death-defying thrills, and it’s arguable that three of the film’s stunts will get the heart beating faster than any other previous installment.”- Travis Moody
10.) Ex Machina “Ex Machina‘s cohesive tone is helped by a steady, methodical pacing that gives equal weight to the plot developments as it does to the philosophical inquiries.” – Myke Ladiona
11.) Ant-Man “Being that this is a film about a shrinking man and a robbery that is aided by ants, the action sequences are pretty unique and the creative force behind this movie allowed themselves to have some fun.” – Ryan Scott
12.) What We Do in the Shadows “This film is brilliantly staged, and each character is given enough backstory to make them fascinating and hilarious at the same time — all which gives it a great emotional core.” – J.L. Caraballo
13.) Black Mass “With his balding-slick graying hair, rotten front teeth, and a ratty snout only a motha could love, Depp gives Whitey an Oscar-nominated worthy spin of The Shining macabre.” – Travis Moody
14.) Bridge of Spies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyFAn5IaFS0
15.) Macbeth
16.) Terminator: Genisys “The sheer terror and horror of this fifth Terminator film is far more effective than the rest.” – Travis Moody
17.) Turbo Kid “The movie does not believe it is smarter than its own conventions, nor does it ask the audience to do that either; Turbo Kid has enough heart and information to care about the characters and enjoy the story.” – J.L. Caraballo
18.) Dope
19) Avengers: Age of Ultron “It was a lot of fun!” – Travis Moody
20.) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. “This movie could’ve been a totally different film if the musical choices or editing had been in the hands of lesser individuals.” – Lance Paul
21.) Spectre 007
22.) Krampus
23.) Furious 7
22.) Everest “With a such a strong cast and the biggest Mother Nature star in the background, the film’s true lacking is humanizing characters.” – Lance Paul
23.) Kingsman: Secret Service “As cool as the action is in this flick — especially that OMG moment in the church! — most of the action comes across as just plain cartoonish or video-gamey.” – JaDarrel Belser
24.) *TIE* Minions / The Good Dinosaur
25.) San Andreas “San Andreas may be the most entertaining disaster movie to come out in quite some time — even if it is a bit cheese ball.” – Ryan Scott