Movie | The November Man | Liked It

Liked it but the script had massive problems.

Movie | Superbeast | Didn't Like It

What a train wreck. And not in a fun way.

Movie | The Raven | Liked It-ish

I so desperately want Cusack to get more great roles. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of them and I still hate movies set in the Victorian era. But the film was okay and I watched the entire thing. Gleeson's presence was entirely wasted.

Don't get too excited; it was no V for Vendetta.

Movie | Kite | Liked It

Disposable action movie that wasn't as bad as I expected. In fact, it turned out to be pretty darn good. Would make a good double with the admittedly better Dredd.

Movie | The Chickening | Liked It

Clever R-rated short utilizing footage from and spoofing The Shining. Crazy, wacky Canucks.

TV | Death Valley | Liked It

Fun and funny spin on a Cops and Reno 911-like television show where they have to deal with zombies, werewolves and vampires. Too bad it was so short lived.

Movie | Crawlspace | Didn't Like It

Having recently seen Creature, I was reminded of how great Klaus Kinski is at being creepy. I remember thinking the same thing 30 years ago when I saw this but I couldn't remember if I thought this was a good movie at the time. I'm pretty sure I didn't love it because it's a slasher with torturporn in it. Well, Kinski is still great, this movie is still a slasher, yes there's tortureporn in it and I didn't like it. So there.

TV | Plebs | Really Liked It

Cute, lightweight Britcom set in ancient Rome, populated with a very good cast and featuring an outstanding soundtrack. I was in the right mood and the show just got better and better. How come American sitcoms can't be this good? It isn't rocket science.

Movie | The Apple | Didn't Like It

Okay, now I've seen it. Yep, it was really bad; super cheesy and the camp was out of control. I can check it off my cult movie checklist now.

Movie | Dead Man's Eyes | Didn't Like It

Whole lotta blah blah blah.

Movie | Whiplash | Didn't Like It

In fact, I hated it. Expertly made in every respect and the always amazing JK Simmons can just do anything but the movie was so completely unlikable that I found it pretty much unwatchable. I did watch it all the way through, but I never felt any differently about this pretentious piece of junk. Horrid and it's painful that unimaginative, cardboard crapola like this wins awards and attention.

Movie | Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone | Really Liked It

Heartbreaking doc featuring another one of the all-time greatest bands who never got what they deserved.

Movie | Big Game | Liked It

Simplistic yet still very enjoyable action flick; a mix of Air Force One and Ofelas. Same director/writer as the utterly fantastic Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

Movie | The Rewrite | Liked It

Perfect date night flick, starring the king of date night flicks!

TV | Psychoville Halloween Special | Really Liked It

More absolute genius from Pemberton and Shearsmith. This special was actually scary!

TV | Yonderland (Series 2) | Really Liked It

I still hate puppets but this show continues to be brilliant, hilarious and clever.

Movie | 13 Tzameti | Liked It

Wish I'd seen this before I saw the remake, but I'm glad I did; it was very good. Tense, well made and a must-see for folks who really like psychological thrillers.

Movie | Creature | Liked It-ish

I don't know; somehow I found this cheapo Alien ripoff to be alright.

Movie | Destination Moon | Didn't Like It

It might have taken them two years to make this but it felt like an eternity watching it.

TV | One Punch Man | Didn't Like It

I liked the insanity of the premise but that was about it.

Movie | Werewolf of London | Didn't Like It

Universal's very first werewolf flick was boring.

TV | Elementary (Season 4) | Liked It

This show continues to be good except for two things happening this season; it was a little boring at points and they went absolutely nuts with Liu's wardrobe...to the point of ridiculousness. She's a fashion model at a crime NYC scene? That makes zero sense, to the point that it's actually distracting from the show.

Movie | An Evening With Noel Fielding | Really Liked It

Live concert in Melbourne, OZ. Awesome! The only complain I have is that there's a lot of standing around giggling at how funny they thought they were. That gets a little old but it doesn't ruin anything.

Movie | M (1951) | Liked It-ish

After years of legal baloney, they finally released this American remake of the horrifying classic. Just like the original, it was well done (well, almost as well done) but the subject is so gawd-awful nasty that I wouldn't count watching either an enjoyable experience. So, extremely well done but hard for me to stomach.

Movie | Mutant Hunt | Liked It

Enjoyably bad.

Movie | Re-Kill | Liked It

Surprisingly decent zombie flick.

Movie | Subway | REALLY Liked It

One of my all-time favorites and it was great to see again after all these years. I'm sure I've seen it maybe a hundred times at this point but there's always something new to discover every single time.

TV | Moone Boy (Series 3) | Really Liked It

It's fun to see David Rawle and Ian O'Reilly grow up in front of our very eyes onscreen and the fact that this continues to be such an enjoyable show with greats like Chris O'Dowd (who was co-creator) and a monster cast of cameos including Johnny Vegas, Sharon Horgan and Jessica Hynes is just icing on this very, very Irish cake. Too bad that the word is that it's all over, with the possible exception of a movie but I just can't see that happening.

TV | Psychoville (Series Two) | REALLY Liked It

The second series was just as good as the first, even more epic, in fact, and though it's kind of sad that there will be no more (at least, that's what Shearsmith and Pemberton have said), it did go out on top unlike way too many other shows. Absolutely superb!

Movie | Manborg | Liked It

I was in the right mood for this super low budget (we're talking about $750 here...seriously) scifi shlockfest. It didn't hurt that the script was halfway decent and the humor rather clever. Though it's not quite up to the same level, this would make a great double feature with Turbo Kid.

Movie | Session 9 | Liked It

Thanks for the loan, PW.

Movie | Blood Shot | Didn't Like It

The cheese level was high with this one, which is too bad because it seems like, with a little more work, they could really have had something and how did they lure such well known actors to be in this? The premise was the best part...a CIA vampire hitman, but the rest of it was pretty bad.

Movie | Night Train to Terror | Didn't Like It

Admittedly, this terrible horror movie cracked me up. Back in the day when I was still in film school, my professor would tell me to check out a 16mm camera and go practice using it by filming a tree. Like a moron, I'd get all excited and write a ridiculously complicated script that was so highfalutin' that it was stupid, gather a cast and shot an entire short, instead of just following the instructions. I was excited and just couldn't stomach wasting that film and opportunity. When I showed my film the to class, the prof was furious with me and my fellow students weren't too pleased with me either, for various reasons. My grades sucked; go figure.

This movie is like that; too high-brow for its' own good and really poorly made. But, it did have a lot of period funky vibe and Richard Moll was in it, who is always great.

TV | Look Around You | Liked It-ish

Clever, humorous homage to those dated educational films that those of us who are older than a shoe grew up with. But seriously, how long can you watch this premise? They do a good job but it gets stale pretty quick.

TV | The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon | Liked It

Richard Gale is the new Roger Corman. This was one of his online pieces and it was a lot of fun.

TV | Hunderby | Didn't Like It

My problem is that I hate period pieces. The saving grace here is that it's a black Britcom and there were moments, mainly because Alexandra Roach (Utopia) stars, there are several other notable cast members and Julian Barratt narrates (The Mighty Boosh). But it wasn't enough for me. Julia Davis is clearly a genius but her brand of monotone humor drives me nuts.

TV | Monkey Dust (Series 2) | Really Liked It

Another series of the blackest of black animated Britcom.

Movie | Dr. Cyclops | Didn't Like It

Despite some pretty interesting ambient funk, the acting and the script were just not good.

Movie | Nothing | Liked It

Finally! A movie that I could actually enjoy. The director of Cube decided to make an indie comedy with a similar premise...to mostly good results. David Hewlett, who was in Cube, stars in this one just as he did in the superior A Dog's Breakfast.

Movie | Damsels in Distress | Didn't Like It

Awful. When will this run of stinkers end?

TV | Pulling | Didn't Like It

This year's viewing is off to a dismal start. This is another one where I liked the cast but not the show.

TV | Superstore | Didn't Like It

A waste of time and a perfectly good cast.

Movie | Bedlam | Didn't Like It

Karloff aside, the acting was so bad that I had to turn it off.

Movie | Doctor X | Didn't Like It

Bored the spit out me.

Best of 2015

It was another banner year for television and movies; we're truly in a golden age! There were so many good ones but there must be a best...and so here you go, my favorites for the year 2015.

Best Action/Adventure/Thriller - Housebound

Honorable Mention - Mad Max: Fury Road, Hector and the Search for Happpiness, Lucy, The Maze Runner, Tower Block, Now You See Me, Shuffle

Best Comedy - A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Honorable Mention - A Dog's Breakfast, What We Do In The Shadows 

Best Documentary - Searching for Sugar Man

Honorable Mention - Exit Through the Gift Shop, Winnebago Man, Deceptive Practice

Best Science Fiction and Fantasy - Automata

Honorable Mention - The Signal, Turbo Kid  

Best Family Film - The Boxtrolls

Best Drama - The Road Within

Honorable Mention - Natural Selection

Best Horror - It Follows

Honorable Mention - The Night Listener 

Best New Television Show - Mr. Robot

Honorable Mention that's so good it's a "Best" too- Sense8

 

Best Returning Television Show - Fargo

Best Horror Television Show - The Strain

Honorable Mention - Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead

Best Sci-fi Television Show - Utopia

Honorable Mention - Black Mirror, Wayward Pines, Other Space, Humans

Best Reality Television Show - Adam Ruins Everything

Best Comedy Television Show - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Honorable Mention - Grace and Frankie, Broad City

Best Drama Television Show - Better Call Saul

Honorable Mention - The Last Man on Earth, You(comma) Me and the Apocalypse

Best Adult Animated Television Show - Rick and Morty

Honorable Mention - Mike Tyson Mysteries 

Don't forget, these are the outstanding shows but there are so many that were just merely very good.

So there you have it! It was an amazing year, full of incredible viewing experiences and I'm looking forward to what the new year brings.