1. Beasts of No Nation
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/War
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Actors: Idris Elba, Ama Abebrese, Abraham Attah, Richard Pepple, Opeyemi Fagbohungbe
Plot: Follows the life of Agu, a child soldier forced into fighting a civil war in an African nation.
2. Inside Out
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Animation
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Pete Docter
Actors: Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black
Plot: On the outside, Riley is just like any typical young girl - dealing with the ups and downs of life - but on the inside, things are much different. When her father gets a new job in San Francisco and moves the family from the Midwest to the West Coast, "Headquarters" the place in Riley's mind that contains her emotions, goes into overdrive. Joy, Fear, Sadness, Anger, Disgust - each one plays a role - and with a new city, home and school - there is going to be some major conflict.
3. The Revenant
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Adventure/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson, Forrest Goodluck, Lukas Haas
Plot: Based on a true story: In the 1820s, in the uncharted wilderness of America, Hugh Glass set out with a hunting party on an expedition. Glass was mauled by a bear and left for dead but through sheer will and to get back to his family, Glass survived - but that wasn't the only thing on his mind as he set out to payback the men who left him behind.
4. Spotlight
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Biography/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Thomas McCarthy
Actors: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James
Plot: The Boston Globe investigates the local Catholic Archdiocese and uncovers secrets long buried - a massive cover-up of child molestation that shakes the foundations of the Catholic church to its core.
5. Room
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Actors: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Tom McCamus, William H. Macy, Sean Bridgers
Plot: Explores the relationship between a mother and son as she raises him while confined to a 10x10 room and what happens when they finally get out.
6. The Martian
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Ridley Scott
Actors: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Mackenzie Davis
Plot: On a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is separated from his party following a fierce storm and left behind after being presumed dead. But he has survived and with few supplies, he will have to rely on his own ingenuity to survive and figure out a way to Earth that he is still alive.
7. Ex Machina
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Alex Garland
Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, Corey Johnson, Chelsea Li
Plot: An everyday programmer working as cog in the machine of the world's largest internet company finds himself as a winner of a competition to spend a week at the private mountain retreat of the secretive CEO of the company. But once he arrives, he finds himself as part of an experiment - interacting with world's most advanced A.I. - housed in the body of a beautiful female robot.
8. Mad Max: Fury Road
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Action
MPAA Rating: R
Director: George Miller
Actors: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Riley Keough
Plot: In a post-apocalyptic wasteland - the fight for survival has twisted the remnants of mankind, turning most into mad, vicious gangs. In this chaotic world two rebels may be able to restore order while seeking their own forms of redemption: Max, a man who just wants peace after losing his wife and child and Furiosa - who thinks finding her childhood home is the answer.
9. Anomalisa
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Animation/Comedy
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman
Actors: Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Thewlis, Tom Noonan
Plot: A depressed customer service rep faces the mundanity of his life and one day finds someone he can finally connect with.
10. Phoenix
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: German
Genre: Drama/Historical
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Christian Petzold
Actors: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Nina Kunzendorf, Michael Maertens, Imogen Kogge, Kirsten Block
