Here I will lay out in ascending order the ten films that brought me the most joy in 2015.

Although I am a pretty big sucker for blockbusters, it was the smaller movies that mostly got under my skin this year. Also I saw Nothing But Trouble (1991) for the first time. That changed my perspective on cinema in general.

10. Inside Out

In a stunning year for animation (even Minions was freaking amazing), Pixar hit another one out of the park. I had my arms folded when this movie started, but by the time the gut-wrenching finalé rolled around, my hands were clasped together, covered in my tears. 

9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

J.J. may have played it a little safe, but it’s tough to fault his efforts — in righting pop culture’s biggest ship, he proved to have Hollywood’s steadiest hand as a blockbuster director.

8. Ant-Man

Although this didn’t pop as widely as Guardians of the Galaxy, I found it to be an equally engaging effort that benefitted from comparable emphasis on character and humor. 

7. Shaun the Sheep Movie

I didn’t go into Shaun the Sheep Movie anticipating it would end up on this list, but you can’t argue with results — I was in fits from start to finish. This Aardman winner has a laugh-rate that shames modern live-action comedy. All without dialogue!

6. The Ground We Won

This stunning Kiwi documentary about grassroots rugby is both beautiful and modest. The cinematography is truly something to behold, but it is the ceaselessly endearing subjects that remain. 

5. Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller brought auteur filmmaking back to the blockbuster, and not a moment too soon. Proof that the right kind of crazy can still do big business. 

4. Anomalisa

Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s one-of-a-kind, stop-motion masterpiece is weirdly reminiscent of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. in how it’s a simultaneously horrific and hilarious vision that remains nothing less than intensely watchable throughout. As appropriate a follow-up to Synecdoche, New York as you could imagine.

3. Ex Machina

A nimble, ideas-driven thriller with fantastic performances, an intelligent script and a fantastic sense of audience expectation. As slick as they come, with a fraction of the budget.

2. Force Majeure

A devastatingly black family comedy that looks deeper into its viewers’ hearts and minds than the world’s nosiest abyss. Contains more dread and excruciating tension/awkwardness than any one film has any right to.

1. It Follows

Indie horror finally fulfills its potential. David Robert Mitchell’s utterly terrifying horror is the first English-language film in forever to earn that description. A wonderful, unsettling reminder of how directly cinema can tap into our most intimate fears.