Cinema · 2015 Ranked

Best Films of 2015, Ranked by IQ Score

The year action cinema rediscovered choreographic discipline (Fury Road) alongside the deepest prestige slate of the decade. Ranked.

15 titles · ranked by IQ Score

1. 1
   

   Son of Saul

   Masterclass drama, history, war

   A Sonderkommando at Auschwitz tries to give a dead boy a proper Jewish burial. László Nemes's debut feature is formally extraordinary — the film is shot in 35mm with a shallow focus that keeps the Holocaust's worst atroc…

   172/200
2. 2
   

   The Big Short

   Masterclass biography, comedy, drama

   Investors profit from the 2008 housing collapse. Educational about mortgage-backed securities and financial engineering. Cognitive engagement from understanding the fraud. Entertainment from the black comedy and the four…

   171/200
3. 3
   

   Spotlight

   Masterclass drama

   Boston Globe journalists investigate the Catholic Church's cover-up of child sexual abuse. Educational about institutional corruption and journalism. Cognitive engagement from the methodical investigation. Entertainment…

   169/200
4. 4
   

   Carol

   Masterclass drama, romance

   Todd Haynes's luminous adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel; Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara share devastating chemistry in this exquisitely shot 1950s love story

   168/200
5. 5
   

   Room

   Masterclass drama

   A woman escapes captivity with her young son. Educational about trauma and resilience. Cognitive engagement from the mother-son bond. Entertainment from the psychological intensity.

   167/200
6. 6
   

   Inside Out

   Masterclass animation, family, comedy

   Anthropomorphizes emotions as distinct agents competing for control, teaching emotional complexity through visualization while grounding growth in grief acceptance.

   164/200
7. 7
   

   Bridge of Spies

   Masterclass drama, historical, thriller

   Spielberg's 2015 Coen Brothers / Matt Charman screenplay anchored by Tom Hanks as the insurance lawyer recruited to negotiate the U-2 pilot Gary Powers's release from Soviet custody. Mark Rylance won the Oscar for Rudolf…

   164/200
8. 8
   

   Brooklyn

   Masterclass drama, romance, immigration

   John Crowley's 2015 Colm Tóibín adaptation anchored by Saoirse Ronan (Oscar-nominated) as an Irish immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn caught between two countries and two romantic possibilities. The structural commitment to let…

   164/200
9. 9
   

   Trumbo

   Masterclass drama, biography, historical

   Jay Roach's 2015 Dalton Trumbo biographical film anchored by Bryan Cranston (Oscar-nominated). The structural commitment to letting the McCarthy-era Hollywood-blacklist political-cognitive material be the actual subject…

   161/200
10. 10
    

    The Hateful Eight

    Stimulating western, mystery, drama

    Tarantino's 2015 Ultra Panavision 70mm post-Civil-War Western set almost entirely inside a Wyoming stagecoach stop during a blizzard. The single-location chamber-piece structure is Tarantino's most disciplined formal com…

    159/200
11. 11
    

    Ex Machina

    Stimulating sci-fi, thriller

    A coder interacts with an AI robot disguised as a beautiful woman, unknowingly becoming part of a manipulation experiment. Cognitive engagement from the unreliable narration and the twist. Educational about AI, the male…

    156/200
12. 12
    

    Sicario

    Stimulating action, crime, drama

    Presents CIA operative as protagonist entering cartel warfare alongside moral ambiguity—viewers must determine whose interests are served and where law ends and geopolitical pragmatism begins.

    154/200
13. 13
    

    The Revenant

    Stimulating drama, adventure, historical

    2015 Best Picture nominee and Best Actor winner (Leonardo DiCaprio). A frontiersman's survival and revenge journey in the 1820s American wilderness. Moderate cognitive demands. Educational value from the frontier setting…

    147/200
14. 14
    

    Steve Jobs

    Stimulating drama, biography

    Three product launches frame Steve Jobs's personal and professional relationships. Danny Boyle's film of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay is exceptional — the dialogue is among Sorkin's finest. Michael Fassbender's performance…

    147/200
15. 15
    

    Mad Max: Fury Road

    Stimulating action, sci-fi

    A post-apocalyptic chase film. George Miller's action masterpiece is formally extraordinary — nearly every frame is compositionally precise and the practical effects are exceptional. Educational about resource scarcity,…

    130/200