Your 5 2015 favourites

[PlasmaCow]

Any medium, any format - not necessarily things that came out this year, but that you discovered this year. Name just 5 that you would recommend or found the most enjoyment in. You can be as detailed as you like in explaining your choices or give no explanations at all like myself.

Here's mine:

Mad Max: Fury Road (movie)
Nightcrawler (movie)
Wolf Hall (TV show)
The Race For Space by Public Service Broadcasting (album)
Cities: Skylines (pc game)

[Kapol]

Hmm... off the top of my head:

Mad Max: Fury Road (Movie) - A great action movie with a solid plot to back it up. I like the world building it did as well. But it really shined as a movie about having intense action with beautiful shots.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (Movie) - A movie that manages to be a ton of fun and still heart wrenching without ever losing it's stride. It feels like a love letter to spy movies without falling into parody or fawning.
Fallout 4 (Game) - While there were a lot of changes I disliked from the previous games, it's still just fun. The world is interesting. The graphics are a huge improvement and help with immersion. It has it's flaws. But it's still one of the best games I've played this year.
Off To Be The Wizard (Audiobook) - A fun take on the fantasy genre. It's generic in some places, the main character is an idiot, and the main character feels like a Mary Sue to me. But the book takes on an interesting approach to 'magic.' The story itself is a good deal of fun. The narration is fantastic. And while there are some plot points that feel very telegraphed, it never stopped being a good time to me. It's the first audiobook I actually binge listened to, listening to the entire 10 hour book in a single day.
The Marian (Audiobook) - This is a book that manages a more serious subject without losing it's fun tone. There are moments where things seem hopeless. But the book, much like the main character, always makes it a joy to experience. My only complaint was that the switch in perspective really threw me off the first time it happened. Other than that, it was wonderfully narrated and a well written book.

Runners-up:

Cook, Serve, Delicious! (Game) - LIFT AND THROW, LIFT AND THROW. BE-BE-BEEEEEEEER.
Bioshock: Rapture (Audiobook) - It's weird when you go into a story knowing it's ending. If you've played Bioshock, you know the fact of Rapture. Spoiler: it's not pretty. And I don't think the book works as well without having played the game. But the book is an interesting exploration on how Rapture really began, the people who made it what it was, and the eventual downward spiral it fell into. It felt like it suffered from having to set up both Bioshock and Bioshock 2 while trying to include original characters. And it fell into the pitfall of making some of it's characters almost cartoonish near the end. But overall, it was a good listen.

[Darkflame]

Game;

Xenoblade X - even though I am probably less then 1/4 into it. I just love running about a massive, imaginative, alien world. The art design is just amazing, and the creatures so fantastic. Not bad crazy sci-fi plot too.

Contrast (PC) - Has been out a few years, but only played it this year. WONDERFULL game. Lovely plot, style, and mechcanic (where you jump from the 3d world into the shadows on the walls whenever you like, whereupon its a 2d game). The 3d platforming is a bit so-so, but overall a great little gem.
Sadly it had a lot of bugs on release so it wasnt well recieved. Fortunately they all seemed fixed now.

Film;

Ant Man - I love a good hiest, and this was a very good hiest. By some miricle it somehow survived, and even flourished, despite Mr Wright leaving production. Probably the "tightest" Marvel movie in a way, very focused on what it wanted to be.

Inside Out - Gotta give Pixar the love. While the overall concept isnt that new as such, there was a lot that was inside it. Once again, a great movie without any trace of a villain. I also give it props for actually dealing with some decent issues under the comedy surface - not many childrens films would praise the value of sadness and emotional complexity.

TommorowLand - yup, I freaking loved this movie. Me alone in the world Really dont get the hate. Weirdly in tones and themes this should be what a good Fantastic Four movie should be - showing us hope for the future and trying to inspire us to build. It had a lot of fresh ideas, and a core message that is both complex and I have never even seen before. Purhapes it suffered coming out next to the - very fun - Fury Road, and people felt it was critising them for enjoying post apocalyptic stuff? Maybe.
In either case I thought the idea that only seeing the worst possibilities of the future doesnt help us avoid it was a strong message in a world of 24 hours always showing us the very worst of the world.


TV;

DareDevil, Jessica Jones - Netflicks killing it with their Marvel work. I hope Luke Cage keeps it up.

Limitless (tv) - I liked the film but am really liking the tv show even more. Great imaginative directions/editing especially.

Doctor Who - how can I not ? Best season of New Who for me so far. And I dont say that lightly.

Comics;

Squirrel Girl - Pure, pure fun. Showing the character is far more then one joke. So much crammed into each issue. Great stuff.

Avengers/New Avengers/Secret Wars - Its all the same thing. Hickmans almost 3 year epic is reaching its climax. Its all been one long, intelligent, Fantastic Four story essentially, hidden under a vial of a few other characters. Lots of phylospgy elements too it, presenting geniunely well reasoned positions on conflicting characters. Hickman writes Doom especially well - easily Marvels best villian, and is so entertaining to read under Hickmans writing.
Its only a shame the scheduling messed up due to issues coming in late - so his whole story is "out of sycn" with the rest of the Marvel line.

Silver Surfer - Heavily, and acknowledged, as New Who inspired, a great fun sci-fi romp though space. One guide with a past, one companion, and a semi-sentient surf board. iZombie fans might recognised the artwork.

[Ptangmatik]

Um. Narrowing it down to five was hard, so I went for categories and for first instinct.

Film: Mad Max
TV show: Jessica Jones
Board game: Funemployed
New band: Strangely Flamboyant
Stand up comedy show: "Tim Renkow: Kim Jong-Un, Muhammad, Jesus and Other Power Hungry Maniacs" OR "Some like it Thea-skot"
Favourite book (that I read, not that was released): Roughing it by Mark Twain

And with that, I show how rubbish I am at counting to five.

[Bebop Man]

Best films of 2015

1) Mad Max: Fury Road
2) Remember
3) Anomalisa
4) Bridge of Spies
5) Macbeth

Best books (I read) in 2015

1) Reflections in a Golden Eye, by Carson McCullers
2) Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
3) Cathedral, by Raymond Carver
4) The Sunset Limited, by Cormac McCarthy
5) Kwaidan, by Lafcadio Hearn

Best comics/graphic novels (I read) in 2015

1) Chicken with Plums, by Marjane Satrapi
2) The Blue Aspic, by Edward Gorey
3) The Gashlycrumb Tinies, by Edward Gorey
4) Harlequin Valentine, by Neil Gaiman
5) Wanted, by Mark Millar

Best games (I played) in 2015

1) The Last of Us
2) Far Cry 3
3) Tomb Raider (2013)
4) Borderlands 2
5) Catherine

[theycallmejokke]

Hmm, let's see...

Top 5 Video Games, in no particular order:
- Destiny; yeah I'm super late to this party.
- Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide; Left of Dead for us whom are meh about Zombies.
- Magic Duels/MtGO; Will never become a hardcore player, but when I play I have fun.
- Hard West; Bought on a whim during Steams x-mas sale, Dark magic and comboys!
- The Consuming Shadow; Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation's Mythos Rogue-lite.

Sadly haven't seen enough movies, or read enough books this year to do a top 5 of them.

[korvys]

Mad Max: Fury Road (Movie)
Steven Universe (TV)
Gravity Falls (TV)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (TV)
Galavant (TV)

I watched a lot of TV...

[Darkflame]

Darn. I broke the rules and still left out gravity falls.
Ok new list;

1. Gravity Falls
2. Gravity Falls
3. Gravity Falls
4. Gravity Falls
5. Duck-tective.

[Psyclone]

It isn't 2016 yet here so I'm still allowed to do this.

Downton Abbey - Late to the party but my parents wanted to watch the final season with me so I tried to cram it all in. It's such a soap opera but you get so sucked in.
Come From Away - Probably the best musical I've ever seen. I really hope it goes to Broadway so I can see it again.
Jessica Jones - I was skeptical because everyone told me it was really dark, but I'm loving it so far.
Undertale - Yeah, cliche, whatever.
Hamilton - I have descended into the depths of hell and no one can save me.

[Trippzen]

I think the only fives I can come up with are games and DLC as I've watched 0 TV shows and fewer than 5 movies this year, most of which were movies from previous years.

Games:
Undertale
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Shadowrun: Hong Kong
Cities: Skylines
Gravity Ghost
Honorable mention:
Grand Theft Auto V which came out on PC this year.

DLC:
The Talos Principle: Road to Gehenna
Never Alone: Foxtales
LISA the Joyful
The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone
Cities: Skylines - After Dark
Honorable Mention:
Goat Simulator: GoatZ

I think most of them go without saying as just being really good games. The only one that I think isn't super popular is Gravity Ghost by Erin Robinson and Ivy Games. I watched her stream and talk about the development of Gravity Ghost on her Twitch channel and bought it when I saw it on a Humble Bundle. I think it looks very much like a storybook and I found it relaxing and satisfying to play.

[Duckay]

I tend to sort of haphazardly approach media so this probably doesn't bear a lot in common with other people's lists, but, in no particular order...

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt -- excellent little TV show, great theme song, really funny, eminently rewatchable.
Shameless (US) -- Not really from 2015, but I discovered this show on Netflix not long ago and absolutely fell in love. If nothing else, it has hands-down the best opening credits of any TV show I've ever watched.
Inside Out -- brilliant film. Loved it. Better than Frozen. Seriously.
Unfriended and It Follows-- they share a point because they're both essentially honourable mentions. Both technically 2014 but I didn't see until 2015, both imaginative horror films, and while I didn't think either were amazing, I'm really happy that they both exist, and I'm happy to have seen them.
Magic Online -- because I have dedicated more hours to this than anything I can think of. Except maybe sleep.

EDIT: Actually, I added Magic Online as a bit of a joke, but the truth is...

Best program of 2015: NETFLIX

(Netflix launched in its current form in Australia in March 2015. I got it not long after. It counts!)

It is what I have been waiting for my whole life and I am so happy to have it now.

[Amake]

It's been a good year for entertainment - Sandman: Overture concluding, along with Battle Angel Alita: last Order; Inside Out, Undertale, Steven Universe, Brooklyn Nine-Nine doing good stuff and, really, Fury Road I expect will stand as a high point of the early 21st century - but I have a mind for another enjoyable top five: Great photo series.

New Horizons gave us the first close-ups of Pluto, likely the last heavenly body we're going to see for the first time in our lifetime.

NASA put 8400 pictures from the Moon landings on the Internet.

Also, this random collection of images of Earth from Space reminds me how endlessly beautiful our home is.

And heck I'll just throw in these pictures of the far end of space that I learned of sometime last year.

And closer to Earth, other kinds of beauty.

[Omega Lairon]

Oh good, another totally sweet topic I'm late as s*** to participate in.

I love my brain : \

F*** it, I'm posting my things anyway.

Top 5: Music (I don't really listen to new music, so it's more "songs I like which were only downloaded in 2015")
5. "Close My Eyes Forever" - Lita Ford / Ozzy Osbourne
4. "The Ballad of Floor Buffer Smurf" - Tripod
3. "You're The Best" - Joe Esposito
2. "The Liberty Bell March" - J.P Sousa
1. The entire Undertale soundtrack

Hon. mention: "Fever" - Dr. Mario soundtrack. Disqualified because I've had the file for years, but it continues to be good anyway.



Top 5: TV / Movies (Again, because I don't really watch enough of either, I'm combining both... and they may not be "new")
5. Mad Max: Fury Road (disclaimer: haven't actually seen it, but the buzz has been so OVERWHELMINGLY positive, that I kinda got a cultural osmosis thing going on with it)
4. Steven Universe (only a few episodes though... I'll get around to it eventually)
3. Spectre
2. Jurassic World
1. Rick & Morty



Top 5: Comics
5. Batman ("Endgame" story arc)
4. Midnighter
3. Drax
2. Sinestro ("Sinestro Rising" story arc)
1. The Omega Men

Hon. Mentions - "Green Lantern Lost Army" and "Groot" were both totally sweet miniseries for entirely different reasons. (I'm still not entirely sold on "Edge of Oblivion" though... might just pick that up as a collected edition). The New 52 "Lobo" was fun, but kinda bland... they really needed to go all the way and make him a full parody of early 00's "grimddark antihero" tropes, instead of just another example of them. And as usual, Red Lanterns remains the greatest (recent) series ever printed, and the fact that they cancelled it is, without hyperbole, the single greatest tragedy in all of recorded history... (seriously though... I miss the Reds -_-)