The best films of 2015 so far – Australia
JanuaryThe Imitation Game
Director: Morten Tyldum
Running time: 114 minutes
Certificate: M
Oscar-winning drama that tells the true story of Alan Turing whose code-breaking helped to win the second world war while homophobic laws hastened his tragic downfall.
Birdman
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Running time: 119 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
One-shot, double-Oscar-winning comedy starring Michael Keaton as an actor who tries to put his movie superhero past behind him by classying it up on Broadway.
Watch a video review of Birdman Guardian
Paper Planes
Director: Robert Connolly
Running time: 96 minutes
Certificate: G
Warmly-received look into the competitive world of paper plane throwing with a big homegrown heart and driven by Sam Worthington and a charming young cast.
American Sniper
Director: Clint Eastwood
Running time: 134 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
Clint Eastwood’s most commercially successful film to date stars Bradley Cooper as US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle who became one of the most lethal snipers in American history.
The Theory of Everything
Director: James Marsh
Running time: 123 minutes
Certificate: G
In an Oscar-winning turn, Eddie Redmayne plays physicist Stephen Hawking, whose relationship with wife (Felicity Jones) is tested by his motor neurone disease.
Foxcatcher
Director: Bennett Miller
Running time: 134 minutes
Certificate: M
Brooding true story of eccentric billionaire John du Pont, who invited a down-on-his-luck wrestler (Channing Tatum) to train at this estate, with tragic results.
February
Watch a video review of A Most Violent Year Guardian
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Running time: 129 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
This box office comic book adaptation stars Colin Firth as an agent who mentors a rufty-tufty youth training to become a super-spy.
The Interview
Director: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
Running time: 112 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
Controversial comedy with James Franco and Seth Rogen as a TV host and producer who are recruited to assassinate Kim Jong-un during an interview.
Selma
Director: Ava DuVernay
Running time: 128 minutes
Certificate: M
The story of Martin Luther King’s struggle to get African-American people the right to vote without fear of discrimination by focusing on a march in Alabama.
A Most Violent Year
Director: JC Chandor
Running time: 125 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
A crime drama starring Oscar Isaac as a business-owner trying to keep on the right side of law, despite mounting pressure from all around him.
March
Watch a video review of Inherent Vice Guardian
Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Running time: 149 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
Woozy, polarising adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s cult novel, with Joaquin Phoenix as a perma-stoned PI investigating the disappearance of an ex.
Home
Director: Tim Johnson
Running time: 96 minutes
Certificate: PG
Animated comedy with Rihanna voicing a young girl who befriends an alien that helps her to find her mother after the human population is relocated.
Big Eyes
Director: Tim Burton
Running time: 106 minutes
Certificate: M
The true story of an artist, played by Amy Adams, who is convinced by a new boyfriend to put his name on her paintings to achieve more success in 60s California.
Shaun the Sheep the Movie
Director: Mark Burton & Richard Goleszowski
Running time: 85 minutes
Certificate: G
In the Aardman creation’s first big screen outing, this kids adventure follows Shaun as he heads to the big city with his flock to save the farmer.
Leviathan
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Running time: 142 minutes
Certificate: M
Nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars, this Russian drama follows a man as he tried to maintain control of his property as the authorities try to break him.
April
Watch a video review of Avengers: Age of Ultron Guardian
Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Running time: 140 minutes
Certificate: M
Already one of the five most successful films of all time at the worldwide box office, this action-packed sequel brings back Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, in his final role, as they are pitted against a revenge-seeking Kurt Russell.
X+Y
Director: Morgan Matthews
Running time: 111 minutes
Certificate: M
A young maths prodigy must overcome is social anxiety when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
While We’re Young
Director: Noah Baumbach
Running time: 97 minutes
Certificate: M
Hipster satire starring Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a couple stuck in a rut who befriend a younger couple, played by Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried, causing them to reassess their outlook on life.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Director: Joss Whedon
Running time: 141 minutes
Certificate: M
Smash hit Marvel sequel which brings back the supervillain-fighting band of heroes who are faced with a new enemy, played by James Spader via motion capture, intent on destruction.
May
Wild Tales
Director: Damián Szifron
Running time: 122 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
A collection of darkly funny tales from Argentina, revolving around themes of anger and revenge that was nominated for the best foreign language film Oscar.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Running time: 120 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
Long-awaited reboot of the dusty apocalyptic action saga with Tom Hardy taking on the lead role, with support from a one-armed Charlize Theron.
Ex Machina
Director: Alex Garland
Running time: 110 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
A young computer programmer is chosen to spend time with his company’s reclusive CEO, played by Oscar Isaac, who reveals a humanoid robot with her own agenda.
Clouds of Sils Maria
Director: Oliver Assayas
Running time: 125 minutes
Certificate: MA 15+
Juliette Binoche plays an actress who is forced to examine her life when she takes on a role in a play that she starred in 20 years before.