Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Watching God’s “Best” Movies of 2015

Watching God’s “Best” Movies of 2015

Last updated on: December 30, 2015 at 4:12 pm by Paul Asay

Watching God’s “Best” Movies of 2015 2015-12-30T16:12:35-06:00 Paul Asay

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

photo courtesy Morguefile

I love reading lists, but I don’t like making them. Choosing the “best” movies of the year is a little like trying to pick your “best” day. Would it be that day when you woke up at the perfect time and ate your perfect breakfast and everything seemed just completely right with the world? Or would it be that horrible day when you had to make that painful decision that, nevertheless, turned out to be exactly the right decision to make? Or would it be that otherwise unremarkable day wherein something small happened that changed the whole trajectory of your life? A lot of it depends on how you define the word “best.”

And so it is with movies. Some of my favorite movies aren’t necessarily great works of art. Some artistically brilliant films don’t do much to feed my soul or spirit. The Hateful Eight, for instance, is both a deft piece of cinema and a morally bereft piece of trash—a movie I liked almost as much as I hated.

It didn’t make this list, by the way. In my selection process, I chose these films because they touched me in some way—sometimes through their artistry, sometimes through their message, sometimes because I just flat-out enjoyed ’em—and often a combination of all three. (Click on the links embedded in the title to see a more thorough discussion of the movie.)

1. Room. I loved this movie. Absolutely loved it. It’s a simple, harrowing and ultimately inspiring story of a young woman and her son locked, literally, in a situation unimaginable for most of us. Yes, it’s rated R, for both language and for its awfully tough subject matter. But it’s also a deeply moral story with a strong Christian undercurrent. When it comes time to argue at Plugged In over the year’s very best movies, I’ll be pushing hard for this one to make the cut—R rating or no. And in my opinion, it’s one of two must-see movies (for adults) of the year.

2. Inside Out. The other must-see, of course, would be this delightful, deeply moving animated gem. I don’t think this is my favorite movie from Pixar—there are so many good ones to choose from, after all—but it’s the studio’s most ambitious, most thoughtful and (maybe by default, given its cast of characters) most emotional movie to date. Watching Inside Out made me a better person, because it gave me an entirely new framework with which to discuss thoughts and feelings, memories and personality. And if you didn’t stifle a sniffle when Bing Bong—well, you know—I feel a little sorry for you. (Just for kicks, feel free to see what my friend Jake Roberson and I had to say about the movie here.)

3. The Revenant. So very, very violent. If Quentin Tarantino turns blood into a plaything in The Hateful Eight, director Alejandro González Iñárritu treats it in deadly earnest here. And yet underneath the carnage, there’s a deep sense of purpose. Life is precious, we’re told. Stubborn. Mysterious. And, in some hard-to-place way, transcendent. The Revenant somehow manages to juxtapose the harsh, brutal biology of existence with a spiritual sense of being and meaning—and it does so beautifully. (I’ve not written about the film for Patheos yet, since it hasn’t rolled wide, but you can check out my Plugged In review here.)

4. The Martian. We’ve been graced with a barrage of great, intelligent sci-fi flicks as of late, from 2013’s Gravity to 2014’s Interstellar and now The Martian. Like The Revenant, it’s a story of survival—of life after death, in a way—set in a world even more forbidding than Iñárritu’s land of ice and blood. And yet The Martian, helmed by Ridley Scott, never loses its sense of fun or humor. This is, admittedly, not an overtly complex movie, nor is it particularly spiritual (though it does have its moments). But it does honor God’s greatest earthly creation—us—by telling us that every single life has value. And it’s worth $200 billion to save even one.

5. Spotlight. This is not a movie one loves, precisely, if movie-love is defined by seeing the thing 15 times. This can be a difficult film to sit through once, given its subject matter. But as a journalist and religion wonk, I so appreciated the craft brought to the subject—the Catholic pedophilic priest scandal of the early aughts. The acting is superb, the storytelling taught and creative. And it reminds us all that we cannot overlook evil, especially when it takes place in an entity that professes to be, and should be, so good.

6. Bridge of Spies. There were a lot of spy movies at the multiplex this year, from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to Spectre to Melissa McCarthy’s Spy. But Bridge of Spies, brought to us via movie maestro Steven Spielberg and one of his favorite leading men, Tom Hanks, was the best of the bunch. This story, based on real Cold War events, is as taut an espionage thriller you’ll see where no one ever shoots someone or swallows a cyanide pill. And like The Alien, it honors the idea that every life is precious, no matter who they are. (Oddly. I don’t think I’ve written about Bridge of Spies for Watching God, but I did type up some thoughts on this and other movies at Christianity Today.)

7. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Speaking of spies … One of my pet peeves about awards season is how we critics and voters always seem to honor “important films” and completely forget about, y’know, movies that most folks actually want to see. Rogue Nation, starring Tom Cruise in his fifth turn as nigh indestructible Ethan Hunt, doesn’t have much explicitly to say about gender equity or the nature of existence. But it’s a wonderfully well-crafted adventure filled with exotic locales, thrilling set pieces and beautiful nods to Hitchcock. Of all the movies here, this might be the one we’ll be most excited to see in our Netflix cue five years out.

8. Amy. This documentary of the life and death of pop/jazz singer Amy Winehouse was neither a fawning eulogy nor brutal take-down piece, but a straightforward narrative of a terrific talent gone terrifically wrong. This is a tragedy, no mistake: In a year in which so many of my favorite films took life so seriously, this is the real counterpoint—a life wrecked through and through by a litany of bad decisions. It’s a harsh movie to watch, and is rated R for much reason. But when you’re talking about a story like this, I think the adult content reminds us that, while we can celebrate Winehouse’s voice, we should steer well clear of romanticizing her life.

9. Brooklyn. This PG-13 romance feels like an old-fashioned movie, and not just because it’s set in the 1940s. It feels restrained, precise—the sort of movie where glances and gestures speak more effectively than a bevy of Michael Bay explosions. It’s a love story, of course, but not just the love between Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) and Tony (Emory Cohen). It’s about the complex love of family, too, and of home, both old and new.

10. Mad Max Fury Road: So, I feel a little guilty sticking yet another R-rated movie—and an adventure flick, no less—on this list instead of the much cleaner, nicer and even buzzier Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But while I really enjoyed The Force Awakens, it felt a little derivative to me—something that took pains to follow so closely in its forebear’s footsteps that it felt terrified of making a misstep. Fury Road, also sequel with a long pedigree and history to consider, managed to both feel completely in tune with its ancestors and yet be so original and daring at the same time. And frankly, I think that Fury Road was surprisingly spiritual, too: While most of the world saw Imperator Furiosa as the central character in this Mad Max movie (and, of course, she was), I was drawn to Nux, a man following a false faith who, eventually, finds meaning in love and sacrifice.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order): The 33; Concussion; Carol; Southpaw; Star Wars: The Force Awakens; The Walk

Previous Post

December 28, 2015

The Convicting Power of 'Concussion'

Next Post

January 4, 2016 The Hateful Eight: Nothing But the Blood

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books celebrities Editor's Choice games movies music news sports superheroes television Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 December 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 September 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 December 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am an offering without defect, completely burned on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A peace offering A sin offering A grain offering A burnt offering

Books by This Author Books by Paul Asay

See All Titles »