Previously, in 2015

2015: A Look Back

We've been on such a role the past few weeks with the OVP that I figured I'd dive into our next year right away, our ninth year in the Oscar Viewing Project.  2015, a simpler time, when Hillary Clinton was the frontrunner to be the next president (is it always going to be "too soon" on this one?), Serena Williams was oh-so-close to the Serena Slam becoming a reality, and liquid water was being discovered on Mars (which made the real estate there slightly more desirable...it would become more so in November of 2016).  And of course, we remember the movies...

Box Office

This is what the Top 10 at the (Domestic) Box Office looked like:

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Jurassic World
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron
4. Inside Out
5. Furious 7
6. Minions
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2
8. The Martian
9. Cinderella
10. Spectre

The first thing I noticed here was how I had never realized that The Martian had made so much money-it really outgrossed a Bond film?  That's crazy!  It's also our only Best Picture nominee (is Pixar ever going to be included again, or is that ship out now?), though Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant also cracked $100 million and the top spot with AMPAS.  I've seen seven of the ten here, missing #5-7, and while I suspect I'll see The Hunger Games that franchise never really did it for me (I also would like some opinions-should I catch Furious 7 or any other entry in that franchise, or is it just over-hyped?).  For the record, a couple of other $100 million movies I never got around to in 2015 include Ant-Man, Home, Hotel Transylvania 2, and San Andreas.

The Films I Missed

While I've seen all of the Oscar nominees, I haven't seen every film in 2015.  In addition to the Box Office champs I listed above, I missed a couple of films that got cited by precursors.  Infinitely Polar Bear, The Lady in the Van, Danny Collins, Beasts of No Nation, and 99 Homes were a big deal with the Globes (and in the case of the latter two, SAG), but I wasn't able to see them.  Additionally, I Smile Back and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation were both nominees with SAG that I missed and BAFTA had time for The Assassin and Force Majeure that I never got around to.  I have every intention of catching The Lady in the Van, Mission Impossible 5, and I Smile Back (they're the next three films on my Netflix queue, so I might honestly have one viewed by the time this publishes), and I will probably force myself to catch Beasts of No Nation before I get to Best Supporting Actor, but are there any other movies here that I should definitely catch?  Share your thoughts in the comments, and then this weekend get ready to kick off installment nine of our Oscar Viewing Project!

Also in 2015: Documentary Short, Live Action Short, Animated Short