2015's best movies in 140 characters or less

As we come to the end of another year, we pause to reflect on the highlights from 2015. The next few days will certainly be filled with introspection, goal setting and quality time with our families, but let us take just a moment to ponder another important aspect of the past 365 days of our lives: the best movies of the year!

In this blog, I'll count down my favorite movies of 2015 - and I'll do it Twitter-style - in 140 characters or less. (Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I did not see every movie that came out this year, nor am I listing every single show that I watched.) With no further ado, here are my top 15 movies. Let's get to it!

15. The Divergent Series: Allegiant (@Divergent)

• I struggled to finish the book. The movie wasn't any better. I'm losing faith in this series and I'm not looking forward to #Insurgent.

14. Tomorrowland (#TomorrowlandMovie)

• Biggest disappointment of the year, in my opinion. I fell asleep during a pivotal scene in the movie's "third act." No Space Mountain? #lame

13. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (@TheHungerGames)

• This was the "least good" of the four movies. Felt a bit too long - and I didn't love the ending of book it was based on, either. #TeamGale

12. Inside Out (@PixarInsideOut)

• A witty, clever movie about childhood depression. So sad. I saw it first at a drive-in theater, which was a terrible idea. #BingBongBingBong

11. Ant-Man (@AntMan)

• It definitely didn't suck as much as the previews made it seem. Better the second time. Funny, but not my favorite from Marvel's Phase Two.

10. Bridge of Spies (@BridgeOfSpies)

• Cold. Gray. Amazing. A fascinating story that kind of made me feel bad for the Russian. Tom Hanks is great, as we've all come to expect.

9. SPECTRE (@007)

• Not as good as #Skyfall, but a fun ride with a surprising twist that is a big payoff for long-time Bond fans. Also, Batista is a beast.

8. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (@ManFromUNCLE)

• Bond with a sense of humor. A couple of truly laugh-out-loud scenes and a totally rockin' soundtrack. Cavill and Hammer make a good team.

7.  Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (@MissionFilm)

• Is there anything @TomCruise won't do? The airplane scene was definitely the best opening sequence of 2015. This tweet will self-destruct...

6. The Peanuts Movie (@PeanutsMovie)

• I'll be doggone if this wasn't the cutest little movie I've ever seen. A wonderful, G-rated family film that anyone can enjoy. #TwoThumbsUp

5. Avengers 2 - Age of Ultron (@Avengers)

• Not as good as the first one, but a great addition to the franchise. Gotta love those action scenes with all of the Avengers in action.

4. McFarland, USA (#McFarlandUSA)

• Having served Spanish-speaking, this movie nearly brought me to tears on several occasions - and I don't even like running! A 2015 must-see.

3. Jurassic World (@JurassicPark)

• A big-budget blockbuster with plenty of excitement and superb CGI. A step up from J.P. 2 & 3 and practically on par with the original film.

2. Creed (@creedmovie)

• Creed got me right in the feels like a sucker punch to the kidney. A worthy successor to the Rocky films. Hoping for a sequel. #GonnaFlyNow

1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (@starwars)

• My most anticipated film of 2015 was absolutely worth the wait. It's now one of my new favorite movies and I'll definitely see it again.

Well, there you have it. What were your favorite movies of 2015? Feel free to comment below in as many characters as you so choose.

Happy new year, friends.

Did "Insurgent" derail any hope for Divergent franchise? (DVD review)

Insurgent (2015)

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller

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Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Woodley) and Tobias "Four" Eaton (James) continue the fight of their lives in the follow-up to 2014's summer blockbuster "Divergent." After the discovery of a box containing society's biggest secret, Jeanine (Winslet) remains bent on tracking down each and every Divergent, in hopes that their special cerebral skill set will help her gain access to the metallic mystery. Now the dynamic Divergent duo must adjust to their newfound life on the run while searching for answers and new allies in the war against the Erudite.

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The Verdict:

Simply put, "Insurgent" is just like the book it was based on - not nearly as good as its predecessor. While last year's "Divergent" brought hope for an exciting young adult fiction franchise that might rival "The Hunger Games," the sequel falls a bit flat with a slow-moving plot, sub-standard acting and shoddy CGI.

So what went wrong?

As if cut from the same cloth as Katniss Everdeen, Tris goes from a lovable, squeaky-voiced heroine to a bratty little whiner that will make you question why you ever liked her in the first place. While Woodley seems like a nice enough chick in real life, her gratingly obnoxious screams and her new Peter Pan haircut serve as equal distractions from the film. (During one particular dream sequence in the film, Woodley lets out a couple war cries that will honestly make you laugh.)

Other than James, who is, the Salt Lake City DVD Examiner supposes, as undoubtedly handsome as ever and does a good job of holding his own as the male lead in the movie, audiences will have a very tough time connecting to, really, anyone in the cast. James' good work as Four is counterbalanced by Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller, who are both flat, boring and under-developed as characters and seem to simply function as awkward, cliche-spouting supporting characters. Some of the dialogue is downright cringe-worthy.

But it isn't just the script and the acting that failed this movie. Much of the action, albeit dystopian fantasy, is absolutely unbelievable - and not in the good way - in the sense that the computer animation and green-screen scenes look obvious and cheap. They just don't look real. Even the untrained eye will be able to spot the special effects. Of course, there's got to be a lot of suspension of disbelief in movies such as "Insurgent," but some of the stuff you'll see in this movie looks like it's straight out of 2002.

For those that read the novel, there will most certainly be a lot to talk about after this movie. Discrepancies abound (was some of that stuff even actually in the book??) and there is one gigantic plot-bomb that should have been dropped at the end of the movie and inexplicably wasn't, so that was weird. The movie leaves a lot out and will likely be quite controversial in the eyes of the YA bibliophiles out there. Veronica Roth's second book in the Divergent series was hard enough to get through as it was - and the movie ain't much better. For a series so obsessed with trains, it's ironic that "Insurgent" could quite easily be the thing that derails many moviegoers' interest in this franchise.

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Similar movies: "Divergent" (2014), "The Hunger Games" (2012), "The Maze Runner" (2014)

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DVD bonus features:

- Audio in English, English Descriptive Audio, Spanish
- Subtitles in English, Spanish
- No other bonus features available on rental version

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Directed by: Robert Schwentke
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Running time: 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 for "intense violence and action throughout, some sensuality, thematic elements and brief language," and including violence by and against women.
Costars Jai Courtney, Ansel Elgort, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Octavia Spencer, Daniel Dae Kim
DVD release date: August 4, 2015

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