This list won't have as much varying content as the 2014 list because, at the time I did that one, I was unemployed and bored, and this year I am happily employed and have little time to spare. So I have done my best with more films than TV series, but I hope you enjoy this list. I have also added a new feature: standout character of the year. Who could that be, now?
And yes, like last year, there will be a #1 moment!
2015's Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Moments
Back to the Future: 2015 version
We all awaited Marty McFly's appearance on 10/21/15, and Jimmy Kimmel delivered. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd reprised their roles as Marty McFly and Doc Brown from the franchise, observing what predictions from Back to the Future Part II had offered versus what was going on today. The only thing that was close was that the Cubs were in the World Series this year, but they lost it a few days later (which, if this HAD come true, would have been the #1 moment this year). This sketch was perfectly written and executed, and gave all us hardcore fans something to satisfy us.
The Martian - Ridley Scott's latest project gets nomination...in what category???
I was unfortunately unable to see this movie, but it still scored a geek moment in an unorthodox way. The film, featuring Matt Damon in yet another role where he needs to be rescued, was a hit at the box office and received high ratings and scores from critics and viewers alike. Was it good enough to garner a Golden Globe nomination? Yes, but the category? Comedy. If you watch the trailer, you will see that this film definitely had a dramatic tone going on and didn't appear to have much lightheartedness to it. Somehow, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association found it funny, and felt that this film should be categorized as such. This raised questions across social media, wondering how this decision came about. An article from The Independent gives some examples of tweets that went out regarding this issue. Although this blog is dedicated to scripted projects, this categorization was just too bizarre to pass up. If you haven't seen the movie yet, check out the trailer below and decide for yourself: does this movie look funny to you?
Fantastic Four - officially scores lower than Batman and Robin
The first sign that this reboot was going to flop was that the original came out in 2005, a mere 10 years before. The second: Stan Lee didn't make a cameo. The third and final nail in this coffin: Rotten Tomatoes rated it at an extremely rotten 10%. Up until this point, the most popular geek film with the lowest Rotten Tomato rating was the abhorrent Joel Schumacher film Batman and Robin, which previously held the lowest score of 11%. If you have seen Batman and Robin, which featured one of George Clooney's worst performances, the awful Alicia Silverstone, a laughable Bane, horrible puns left and right, and Bat-Nipples, you know that this is one of the geek world's lowest points. Although I haven't seen the new Fantastic Four yet and cannot post my own review, the disappointing point is that viewers found it 1% less enjoyable than Batman and Robin. That's just sad.
Cinderella - The REAL star of the scene
This updated Disney Princess movie makes the list for Kenneth Branagh's brilliant directing in this one particular scene. As Cinderella has her first dance with Robb Stark-ACK! excuse me, I mean Prince Charming, she notices everyone looking at them, which the Prince smoothly tells her that everyone is looking at her. Yet as they dance, the focus gently guides the watchers away from the choreography and the characters, and focuses on one element only: the dress. Cinderella's dress was beautifully designed and sways like magic with Lily James' every movement. Unfortunately, the full clip is currently unavailable, so here's a partial one.
Although I will add this: am I the only one who wants to see this clip dubbed over with The Rains of Castamere?
Avengers: Age of Ultron - We're not worthy!
It's long been established in the MCU that only those who are worthy have the ability to wield Mjolnir, and so far we've only seen Thor and Odin handle that massive hammer. So, Tony Stark has just thrown a party and the Avengers are chilling afterwards and there's drinking involved, so who wants to try lifting Mjolnir? From the application of physics, to jet propelled Iron Man suit gloves, to faking a Hulk scare, none of them have any luck. The best part of the scene of when Steve gives it a try, and the hammer actually jiggles, and Thor's expression suddenly turns momentarily concerned. Obviously, he has nothing to worry about, and even offers Natasha a try, which she turns down, despite the MCU canon establishing that she has been worthy of handling Mjolnir at least once. This scene also becomes a running gag when Quicksilver tries to wield Mjolnir as it flies through the air, dragging him along with it; and, of course, Vision finally succeeding in handling the hammer and passing it back to Thor with no issues at all.
Game of Thrones - the Valyrian steel proves its mettle
Yes, you read that right, I made a pun. Feel free to groan. This scene, which does the books justice without embellishing the way that HBO has a tendency to do too much, focuses on the battle between the white walkers and the Night's Watch. Jon Snow, leading the Watchers against the attacking wights, goes to collect obsidian blades, or "dragon glass," as it's effective against the wights. Ambushed by a particularly nasty looking white walker, the defenseless Jon barely escapes his attacker before he is reunited with his trusty sword, Longclaw, made of the rare, magically enhanced ore Valyrian steel in Westeros. Jon blocks the white walker's attack, which completely catches that wight off guard, and gives Jon the momentum he needs to strike. And the sword not only hits true, but completely destroys the wight in a shattering of ice. Though this particular season has had many shocking and epic moments, this one takes the prize for its best depiction of the book battle and not adding or removing any elements, all the while keeping even the most devoted readers on their toes.
Agent Carter - Whatever Dottie wants, Dottie gets!
Peggy Carter was allowed a much-deserved expansion on her story in this MCU series, but it was femme fatale Dottie who stole the best moment during the run of its first season. This bleach-blonde baddie has been stalking Peggy for the entire episode, and Dottie was only introduced earlier in the episode as what seemed to be another of the generic working women of that era only boarding until she can find a husband. When Dottie comes across the baddie, the audience's first reaction is, "oh no, she's gonna die!" WRONG! Dottie, with all the innocence of any bystander, observes that the weapon the baddie's holding is an automatic pistol. Then, she turns sinister when she states: "I want that." The dude is dead 5 seconds later. Though the weapon itself is a silly concept, Dottie's reveal as a dangerous adversary is well executed, and introduces the audience to a very real threat to our heroine.
Once Upon a Time - Can one go too far to prevent evil?
I personally stopped watching this show earlier this year because I think it's lost its mojo (Black Swan? Two Dark Ones? Zelena coming back? KILLING HOOK? How many more sharks is this show gonna jump?), but there was one scene that stood out for its emotional punch at people who are aligned with goodness. Emma learns that her parents, Snow White and Prince Charming (NOT the same one in the Cinderella clip I mentioned earlier), were obsessed with a prophesy about their unborn daughter being susceptible to becoming evil that they stole Maleficent's unborn hatchling baby, still in its egg, to have any evil from their child to be applied to Maleficent's instead. With the help of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, he removes pre-born Emma's taint and applies it to Maleficent's egg, then reveals that its evil cannot be kept in their realm. A grief-stricken Maleficent had previously begged Snow and Charming not to take her baby, but they promised her they would bring it back. Realizing their mistake, they try to stop the Apprentice from banishing the egg, and as a portal forms, a human baby's hand breaks through the shell and human baby crying is heard, showing that what Snow and Charming have done is not curse a monster, but a helpless baby. Ursula and Cruella, who had been knocked out by the two while guarding Maleficent's cave, come to confront the egg-nappers, but the egg baby is sucked into the portal, taking the two with it. Once the portal closes, Snow and Charming are left realizing the horrible mistake they made, showing how an evil deed committed with good intent will never produce a good result.
Pixels - Sean Bean gets set up for a comedic death....and lives!
Sean Bean has become a staple of the film industry as being expendable to the point where even he is getting tired of it so much so that he promotes the hashtag #dontkillseanbean.
The film Pixels was overall disappointing with some fun scenes, but Bean did bring good presence to the scenes he was in. Since just about everyone these days expects him to die in whatever project he's involved in, and he plays the British Army Commander, it all seems too obvious that he's going to kick it. As the Pixels aliens set up England as a giant Centipede game that Adam Sandler and Josh Gad take command over, a special pointer spider bounces into the field and heads straight for Bean and the American Army General with him. Screaming like ninnies, the two cling to each other in cartoonish fashion, when the spider is suddenly destroyed just in the nick of time. Considering Bean's impressive resume of going in different ways, this would-be death would have been one of the most creative, and definitely the funniest, deaths to do. While it is mildly disappointing that "pixelated by Atari Centipede Spider" won't be added to that list, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Bean lives to die another day!
The Walking Dead - Rick gets groomed
Let's hear it for some eye candy! Rick has been through so much in this series, and finally catches a break in finding a home and getting basic amenities like showers and electricity back into his life. After taking his first shower since the writers know when, Rick cuts off that lumberjack beard and shaves his face clean. Though Andrew Lincoln rocked the bearded look, his change to his physical appearance is almost symbolic of the life he lives. As he explains to his new neighbor Jessie later on, it's going to take some time for him to get used to having an almost normal, pre-zombie life. This scene, outside from some glorious shots of Lincoln, also adds to the show a sense of hope, that despite the conditions of the world, that somehow, the world we know now could re-emerge, even from the most dire of circumstances. And YES, I know Glen's death was sad, but there's people dying on that show all the time! This entire list can't be about death, you know.....so enjoy Rick instead.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - that's no garbage...
If you for some reason or another haven't seen this film yet, please take this opportunity to skip this portion if you don't want to be spoiled. That being said, J.J. Abrams' new installment of the Star Wars franchise was better than what he did to the Star Trek franchise (still not quite forgiven there, J.J.!), as he was able to incorporate new material with homages to the original series, even to some of the canonized video games as well. While a major moment in the film is Han Solo's death at the hands of his son, which takes out not only a beloved sci-fi character but the greatest film hero of all time, it is partially hinted at by the lighting in the scene. The part I selected for this list is when Rey and Finn are escaping from the TIE-Fighter attack and heading for a transport. This high-paced scene gives you little time to think about other elements in the scene and keeps you riveted to where the action is focused. Finn and BB-8 follow Rey as she leads them to a cargo vessel to escape in, and Finn asks her about the ship they've just passed. She says: "that one's garbage." Then she starts rattling off all the benefits of the transport they've almost reached and a TIE-Fighter blows it to smithereens. Rey then changes her mind and she tells Finn to head for the garbage. The camera pans out, and the audience sees the form of this so-called "garbage:" covered with some kind of material, but completely unmistakable, is the Millennium Falcon. Not only is this scene selected for its reveal, but in the means that it was done. Abrams executed this scene extremely well and kept the audience from focusing on it even being an option for our new heroes' escape. For the record, when I saw the Falcon, I choked on my potato chips. As for the clip below, obviously Disney is going to keep a tight lid on any clips out there, so I found a video that mashes together various trailers and puts it with a song by Halsey.
The Flash - The reaction Darth Vader was hoping for
Mark Hamill may be best known for playing Luke Skywalker, but his performances voicing the Joker in the Batman: The Animated Series are just as legendary. In this episode, Hamill channels his inner Joker to portray the Flash's latest nemesis, The Trickster, and employs a local villain and fanboy, Kid Trickster, to kidnap Barry's dad from prison. Kid Trickster and Trickster are celebrating their success when Kid asks why he was the one chosen to help his idol. Hamill, now adding a Darth Vader flavor to his character, reveals: "I am your father," just as Vader revealed to Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. Instead of going Skywalker's route and yelling "NOOOO!" in anguish, Kid is shocked and overjoyed, going straight in for a hug from daddy in a way that every Star Wars fan knows that Vader had hoped he would experience with his reveal. We all knew this was coming, and it was a HUGE payoff!
Mockingjay Part 2 - the Peeta we know has been replaced
Wow, Josh Hutcherson. Just WOW. The last film left off with Peeta, Katniss Everdeen's faux boyfriend from the Hunger Games trying to kill her after he was rescued from being tortured by the Capitol. Readers of this trilogy and fans of the films have followed Katniss and Peeta as they overcame their deathmatch together and have seen how Peeta has had feelings for Katniss long before he was reaped for the games. For the previous film to cut off right as the audience sees Peeta suffering from the effects of torture and brainwashing, Hutcherson's stakes were super high to remind the audience after 1 year just how far gone Peeta now is. In the first 5 minutes of the movie, Peeta is re-introduced as Primrose Everdeen is sent in to his cell to see how he reacts to her. When she begins to mention her sister, just watch Hutcherson's eyes. Though he's halfway turned from the camera, you can see a very subtle, but very dangerous change come to his eyes. Then, he gradually begins spewing all the propaganda hatred that has been drilled into his head, which rises until he is full blown screaming and foaming at the mouth with his pure loathing of Katniss. Though this series was perfectly cast and this particular film delivered some of the strongest performances of the film franchise, it's Hutcherson here who delivers the best performance, showing the audience that the admirable Peeta from the first and second films is gone, and the person you see now is someone else completely; everyone is left to wonder if the previous Peeta still exists in that head of his. It's a scene that sticks with you throughout the entire film, and that's saying something considering all the other events that occur throughout the rest of the film. This clip isn't available yet, so here's a trailer.
Mad Max: Fury Road - two lives on the line and no winners
Let's face it, if you want to shock the audience, one thing that will always hit the mark is doing something to a pregnant lady. In this Mad Max update with fabulous car chases and riveting action sequences, Furiosa steals evil despot Joe's slave wives, two of which are pregnant, to get them to the place of her childhood where they will be safe. Max first comes across them having escaped Joe's thugs despite being chained and muzzled. Though armed, he forces the ladies to bring him water and wire cutters to free him. To show he isn't joking about shooting them, he shoots the about-to-give-birth-at-any-time-and-Joe's-favorite wife Angharad in the calf. It's only a flesh wound, and she doesn't complain about it, but Furiosa sees the wisdom in bringing Max along to help and he joins their party to escape from Joe. After several chases, Joe's men shoot a spear with a cable attached into the driver's cab, catching Max and the steering wheel. Angharad, despite her massive girth and lack of balance, takes the wire cutters and steps outside the cab to free her comrades because she knows that neither Joe nor his cronies would dare hurt her. She cuts the cable, freeing them from Joe's henchmen just as the truck is about to hit an outcropping of rocks. In the nick of time, Furiosa and Max turn the truck, but the side is still struck, leaving the audience to wonder if Angharad survived. Thankfully, she moved in time, but as she tries to get back into the cab, the blood from the shot Max fired at her earlier drips down her leg, and she slips from the truck when the car door she clings to breaks free, rolling onto the ground, getting caught under Joe's truck, which he also overturns in a futile attempt to miss her. It's a shocking and gripping scene, knowing that this was partially Max's fault for shooting her in the first place, and that Angharad would be willing to put her pregnant self in such a dangerous position for the safety of the others.
Jupiter Ascending - Jupiter chooses what many heroes don't
The Wachoski's latest endeavor still hasn't met the work they did with The Matrix. While the stylized combat is amazing, as it always is, this story lacked content and had gaping plot holes that would probably have gone over better as a mini-series than to be compacted into this dragging two-hour-long film. Jupiter had a good amount of potential as a hero, and her shining moment came when she confronted Balem over his kidnapping of her family. Balem promises her that she and her family will live as long as she abdicates her title as owner of Earth, which she will maintain through life or even after her death. Though reluctant at first, Jupiter realizes the full scale of the sacrifice she would make if she chose her family over the human race. Unlike many heroes, she does the honorable thing and chooses to maintain the title over Earth, thereby securing its safety despite her forfeiting of both her and her family's lives. Jupiter's decision shows what a true hero is made of, and she still manages to survive with her family. It's a shame that this movie with high potential fell so flat; it would have been interesting to see more depth to Jupiter and the universe she lives in. This clip is unavailable, so here's a cut of the trailer.
And, for the record, Sean Bean survives this one too!
Ash vs. Evil Dead - the king is back!
It's been over 20 years since we last saw Ash return from the middle ages after kicking some major butt with his boom stick and chainsaw in Army of Darkness. This Starz TV series brings him back, with the first minute devoted to the one-handed Ash tightening a girdle around his gut before going out on the town. But that's not what got fans excited. What we were waiting for was the reunion with the chainsaw. The episode continues with Ash learning that the evil dead that chased him through 3 B-movies are back for him, and he's tired of fighting them. In this scene that makes the list, Ash is about to reunite with the chainsaw, and we see its shadow silhouetted behind a red curtain. As Ash draws the curtain aside, there's an undead woman ready to take him and his younger friends out. She overpowers each one with all the campiness that made the previous Evil Dead films the cult classics that they are today. As Ash regains consciousness, his buddy Pablo, pinned to the wall with a knife in his shoulder, foots the chainsaw, then kicks it toward Ash. Ash, in slow-mo, attaches his stump to the chainsaw, and the undead lady goes for him, getting her head promptly sliced off. Just when we think Ash is truly back, he then ends the episode with the one word that establishes that he is still the king: "groovy!" Hail to the king, baby!
Jurassic World - What a way to go!
Jurrasic World was a long time coming, and was definitely fun, but lacked the intelligence factor of the first film. Though there were many great scenes and sequences in this film, a lot of them were predictable and geared toward giving what the audience expected and wanted. One scene that stood out, however, was when Zara, Claire's assistant/nephew babysitter, met her demise. Zara was little more than today's average person: glued to her cell phone with little personality (aka a zombie, which many people are becoming these days). It's when the pterodactyls attack that Zara gets singled out of the hundreds of people in the park. One pterodactyl sweeps her into the sky, then drops her, and another swoops by and catches her before it loses her too, right in the mosasaurus pool. Zara finds herself in the water and tries to swim for the surface, but another pterodactyl dives in, grabs her in its mouth, and tries to break out from the water's surface. It sinks for a moment, but as it's about to break the surface again, the mosasauraus pushes out from under them, snapping its open jaws shut on Zara and the pterodactyl. This scene, when considered from Zara's POV is terrifying, because she has little to no time to react to these constant attacks, and never gets a chance to try to save herself.
There is also an honorable mention in order for Bryce Dallas Howard's high heels. That's some science they used to keep her from sinking into the mud and not breaking a heel while she ran.
Terminator: Genesys - Reese finally knows
This reboot was equal parts epic and silly, but still didn't pan out to the hype it received. However, one particular scene stood out from the rest of the movie that brought satisfaction to many fans: Kyle Reese finally learns the truth. Although his character wasn't nearly as good as Michael Biehn's version (that one was more true-to-life with PTSD) in the original, fans of the franchise felt for this tragic character, particularly in the realm that he dies before he learns that in the wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey space time continuum, his travelling back in time results in him becoming his best friend and leader's, John Connor's, father. In this film, after Reese and Sarah and transported forward through time, John appears to help them get away from police custody at a hospital. Then, while walking through a parking garage, John calls Reese "dad." Reese's expression when he learns is one of shock and disbelief, but it was a refreshing moment for the audience to see that Reese finally learns what his true impact on history is, and how he is there for his son after all, even if time is screwy. Unfortunately, this clip is currently unavailable, but here's an extended trailer to enjoy.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Fitz kisses Simmons
Agents has been on a serious roll this year. I could make a top ten list from this show alone from this last year, it's been doing so well. Some honorable mentions would include Kyle MacLaughlin's happy dance, Reina's sacrifice, May's tragic story, Quinn getting brainwashed, Roz's death on her date with Coulson, Fitz raging at the Monolith, Andrew's reveal as Lash, Coulson losing his hand or swan diving into a portal to "Tattooine" (he assumes), the fish oil tease, Ward being resurrected and possessed by the "It" creature....the list goes on. But I'm going to pick the moment that fans and characters from the show have been waiting for from the start. Fitz and Simmons were practically attached at the hip in the first season, and Fitz finally admitted his feelings to Simmons when they were dropped to the bottom of the ocean in the season 1 finale. Through a series of unfortunate events, these two had been separated and come back together as friends, and in the season 2 finale Simmons got sucked to another world through the Monolith after she said yes to Fitz asking her out. Simmons survived her extraterrestrial ordeal by meeting a human survivor named Will who had been marooned there many years before, and came back to Earth when Fitz dove through a portal crossing the universe to get her. Simmons, being torn between her feelings for both Will and Fitz, has kept her distance, despite Fitz doing everything he can to bring Will home for her and not showing anger over him. When Simmons finally confronts Fitz on his willingness to cooperate, they launch into a perfectly scripted and brilliantly acted scene of total honesty from each character. At the climax of the scene, after a moment of silence, Fitz goes for the gold and kisses Simmons. And I mean really kisses her. Just watch Iain de Caestecker in this scene, he is so bloody real in it. When he parts from her, she goes to him and kisses him with real emotion showing from both characters. Afterward, Fitz sadly admits that they are cursed, and the moment ends. It's a flawless, romantic, and heartbreaking scene that left the audience wanting more from these two.
Ant-Man - Scott's birthday gift
Ant-Man was full of fun and great sequences, and also shined some light on ants that made them way cooler than those tiny little suckers come across (for the record, I HATE ants!). While the Ant-Man vs. Falcon scene was tempting, I chose the scene where Scott drops in on his daughter's, Cassie's, birthday party after having just been released from prison and fired from his job. His birthday gift, clearly coming from a trash can or dump, is this horribly ugly and dirty stuffed rabbit that has a pleasant voice and says cute phrases, and while Cassie admits very enthusiastically that it's ugly, she loves it anyway. From that point on, whenever Cassie is seen in her bedroom, she's seen cuddling that ugly stuffed bunny, showing that despite its outward appearance, the fact that it's from her daddy makes it the best present in the world to her. The MCU films haven't focused on their superheroes having kids yet, but this film did its part in showing how, despite his mistakes, Scott's priorities are still in the right place and will do anything for his daughter. The scene sticks out for showing what the rewards are for being the best father a man can be regardless of his circumstances. I was unable to find the exact clip, but I found the one where Scott reunites with Cassie just before he hands her the present. This scene is just as poignant too.
Daredevil - The right way to introduce a superhero
The high-rated mature audience MCU series definitely stated that it means to get down to the mean and gritty side of the popular comic series. After a brief exposition scene on how the blind Matt Murdoch, aka Daredevil, lost his sight when he was a child, the series launches into a frightening scene of four girls being kidnapped and shoved toward storage pods to be sent into a horrifying fate. The masked vigilante, still officially unnamed at this point, takes on all the thugs, enduring a more realistic fight where he takes some nasty blows. The high point is when Matt escapes from a thug who has regained his pistol, and parkours his way through the storage pods, and leaps quietly above the thug as he fires at the sounds he's too late to react to. Matt then drops the guy, takes out another thug who has been watching the entire event while snacking, and eventually frees the girls. But when the original thug tries to shoot at Matt again, he starts mercilessly beating the guy before the credits cut the scene off. This introduction shows that Daredevil will not be as family friendly as Thor and Captain America have been; that Daredevil is an entity all on his own who's not afraid to go beyond the realm of good alignment.
Tomorrowland - an inconvenient truth even Al Gore wouldn't share with you
Yakko Warner once said: "Being an evil villain, you are contractually required to explain your evil plot before getting rid of us." Every Bond villain follows this cliche, and Governor Nix in Tomorrowland is no exception. This film, which was intelligent, flawlessly cast, and had a good script, didn't garner very high ratings, and most of it was due to Nix's monologue (a subject which director Brad Bird covered in one of his previous films, The Incredibles). As he has the heroes subdued and is about to throw them back into their world, one that will be overtaken by many disasters in 58 days, Frank figures out that Nix's time predicting platform is projecting hopelessness and negativity to our world. Nix then monologues on how the media and internet are constantly reporting all the bad stories of the world, regarding the environment, politicians, and even just local news that its destroying people's will to try to avoid such a fate. Those who are paying attention realize the truth in Nix's plans, that the media is constantly focused on negativity, which in turn is rallying yet even more negative reactions to these crises. Casey actually wants to do something about the future, and when she puts her mind to it, the probability of change is created. The message of this film is to not cave in to the media and the stories and reports of the terrible status of the world today, and how if anyone is motivated enough, the chances of positive change are possible. Think any politicians would want to share that with you? No. Listen to this speech and take some time to wrap your mind about what Nix is really saying and how it applies to the world today.
Project: Almanac - do unto others....
The found footage sci-fi film for this year followed a group of high schoolers as they discover how to travel backward in time for short spans of time. This film featured cool effects for its style of shooting, and a decent story line with believable characters. Once the teens are able to control their time travelling, they experiment by fixing things they failed at in the last few days, such as failed tests. Christina wants to stand up for herself against the girl who has been bullying her. They travel back to a few days prior, when the bully, Sarah, rams into Christina, who has her hands full with a soda, and spills it all over her. Past Christina, humiliated, tries to slink away without being seen. Present Christina is hiding around the next corner (avoiding her past self), with two large sodas this time. When Sarah walks by, Christina crashes into her, drenching Sarah with the sodas. It's a staple of films for satisfying scenes where the bully gets their due, but Christina owns her payback with the line, "I'm everywhere, bitch!" and turns her back on Sarah, laughing all the way with her buddies. Score one for the nerds!
The Big Bang Theory - Sheldon speaks from the heart
The season 8 finale left viewers who are still watching (I'm not included) in shock when Amy told Sheldon that she needs time away from him, and afterward Sheldon contemplating what to do with the ring he had bought her. Though this scene could even be considered one of the top scenes of 2015 as a whole, for this list I chose a different one. For the last 9 years, Sheldon has been many less-than-stellar things, including arrogant, but one thing he has never been is liar. In this episode, Amy calls up Sheldon to tell him after they have a night out as friends that she wants to get back together with him. Sheldon then makes an honest and shockingly humble admission without beating around the bush: "Amy, I excel at many things. Getting over you wasn't one of them." Although he goes straightaway back into the self we know him to be, his answer is shocking in that he can be so honest not only knowing how Amy feels, but also in letting what is on his heart be known. For once, we can feel for both Amy and Sheldon, because we know exactly what each is going through.
Insurgent - the right way to end this film
I haven't had the chance to read these books yet, but the film scored low reviews, some even by the loyal readers of this trilogy. The previous film established the villain, Jeanine, as being out to destroy all "divergents" from the population, and the series' heroine, Tris, is one of these divergents. This second film finds Jeanine seeking (and subsequently killing) divergents in order to open a puzzle box with a great secret that only a divergent can solve. Tris is successful after her third try, and the box reveals a message that the divergent population were part of an experiment to regain the humanity that the human race lost after the world went into chaos. The message goes on to explain how the divergent population are vital to humanity's survival, and since the experiment was a success, all the people making up the five factions are welcome to join the other survivors on the other side of the wall that surrounds the city. Jeanine then orders that the message be destroyed. Her orders are thwarted, and the message is released to the public. Jeanine is imprisoned for, as the films have shown, she has sunk to horrible lows to push her agenda, including the point of trying to eliminate an entire faction by subliminally controlling another. Jeanine is watching from a hole in her cell as the masses of people migrate from the city to go beyond the wall. Jeanine, knowing that Four's mother, Evelyn, is there, says that no one knows what's out there. Evelyn, who has been a less than stellar mom to Four but knows what Jeanine's done to him, tells Jeanine flat out, "you'll never know." And shoots Jeanine in the back of the head right before the credits roll. This film, in my opinion, dragged on too long, but this final scene left a feeling of satisfaction that Jeanine wouldn't be back for the next film.
Supergirl - the biggest inside joke
DC's attempt at creating an enormous franchise of their cinematic universe the way Marvel did has taken a step in the right direction with the new TV series focusing on Superman's cousin, Kara. This show delves into her family life and her adjustments to living as a human on Earth. The casting of her foster parents, however, is absolutely fabulous. For starters, her foster mom, Eliza Danvers, is played by Helen Slater, who played Supergirl in the 1984 film adaptation. Her foster father, Jeremiah, is played by Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent/Superman in the 1990s TV series, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. If that ain't nutty enough, the moment to appear on this list came from episode four, which explains a backstory to Jeremiah and his untimely death. Hank Henshaw, an agent of the DEO, tries to take Kara to study her alien physiology at their base. Jeremiah goes in her place, stating "there's no one else on this planet who knows Superman like I do." Dean Cain hasn't been the victim of being the butt of Superman jokes the way another former Superman, Brandon Routh, has been throughout his career (the latter probably will be even more with the upcoming series Legends of Tomorrow), but right here, he just full out conquers that previous role and owns it in this scene. Thanks Dean, we'll always love you as Superman! I unfortunately couldn't find this clip, but you can still (at this time but not for longer, unless you have CBS All-Access) watch the entire episode. This moment comes at the very end, so feel free to skip ahead if you just want to see that scene. In the meantime, here's the promo for Supergirl from YouTube.
Pan - wait a minute, who's directing this?
This most recent backstory film of popular literary and film character, Peter Pan, focused on another hot Hook (not that I'm complaining here), and starred Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard. At this point in the film, young Peter is being brought into Neverland. As the ship passes through a cavern and into a hideout hidden by stone mountains all around, you hear singing/chanting of "hello, hello, hello, hello, hello." For a moment, it sounds familiar, but you're not sure how. Then, as the singing continues, the film's feel changes into one like Baz Luhrmann (director of Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby) would be directing, as the song slowly is revealed to be Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and all the population are forced to sing it. Blackbeard is revealed during this number, and steps out onto the bow of his ship singing along and encouraging his people to sing with him. This scene just jumps out of nowhere, it just doesn't seem like Joe Wright is still directing here since it has such a Luhrmann feel to it, and doesn't return to that feel for the rest of the movie.
Arrow - you were expecting Superman, perhaps?
The last few episodes of season 3 dealt with Oliver Queen's choice in becoming the new Ra's Al Ghul and eventual redemption arc. The final battle between the former and newer Al Ghuls was cheaply choreographed and not nearly as climactic as it could have been, although the addition of snipers watching and waiting to take out the victor did add a sense of dramatic tension. Of course, Oliver wins this poorly executed fight, but then one of the snipers shoots him twice, sending him tumbling backwards over a waterfall. As he's about to hit the water, Atom suddenly appears and catches Oliver, flying him to safety, as Oliver was wearing a bulletproof vest and survived the shootings. But as Oliver steps back from Atom, he realizes that it's not the former-Superman-Brandon-Routh-now-playing-Ray-Palmer-as-Atom (okay, I HAD to make at least one Superman joke about Routh!), it's his girlfriend, the previously unrequited love Felicity Smoke. Felicity has been waiting years to win her man, and it was only earlier this year that she finally won his heart. In this scene, with a virus and ancient evil on the line in addition to Oliver's danger, she shows she's not about to give that man of hers up without exercising every available option.
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice Trailer - Wonder Woman, we're glad to met ya!
There's a lot of geek movies that will be coming out next year that we're all hyped up for: Suicide Squad, Warcraft, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Doctor Strange, Star Trek Beyond, Deadpool...just to name a few. One of the biggest hypes is for the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film, with Henry Cavill returning as Superman and Ben Affleck attempting to redeem himself from the 2003 Daredevil film by playing Batman (my hopes were on Richard Armitage or Karl Urban to don the cowl). Several trailers have been released, but the most recent one has caused the most excitement for one element: Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is one of the most popular female superheroes across the comic worlds and has only had one TV series to show for it (we love you, Lynda Carter!). This film is going to finally bring her to the big screen, and this trailer introduces her in an exciting, classy, and humorous method: she emerges from a massive explosion from behind her glowing shield, with Superman looking on asking Batman, "is she with you?" To which Batman replies, "I thought she was with you." I don't know about you, but I think the anticipation for this film's release just got booted by another 10 levels.
Oh yeah, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor looks pretty awesome too.
And now, the moment you've been waiting for: The BEST geek moment of 2015!
Doctor Who - The Doctor's Entrance
In the series 9 premiere, Missy and Clara are searching for the Doctor, who they believe has some kind of death wish, and wind up in medieval Europe. While trying to determine the Doctor's actions to find him as a bulky fighter in an arena looks to fight his foe, electric guitar starts blaring, and the Doctor emerges from fog wearing a pair of sunglasses, and riding a frakking tank! Capaldi rocked this ridiculous-on-paper scene and broke the internet with his coolness. Bow before the Doctor, all you geeks!
And, for the heck of it.....
Best Geek Moment in a Non-Geek Franchise: Downton Wars Episode 2: The Evil Butler Strikes Back - Maggie Smith wields a light saber
The cast of Downton Abbey put together a Star Wars spoof involving the characters on their show as a fundraiser for the Chilterns MS Centre, for which they raised over £15,000. This particular spoof features a light saber battle and chase between good guy Bates and bad guy Thomas. The chase has taken them through the set of the show, the crew milling around, a makeout session between Mrs. Hughes and Carson, Thomas going The Warriors on Bates, Lady Mary in Princess Leia buns....it's ridiculous fun. It's when Thomas had Bates pinned down in the style of Vader/Obi-Wan's battle and he's about to deal the final blow when Maggie Smith's voice booms: "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" The camera zooms in on this classy Dame as she wields a blue light saber, looking menacing without even using it. Then, the cherry on top is added: Penelope Wilton (also having geek cred for her stint on Doctor Who), steps in with her own blue light saber and says, "for once, we're in complete agreement!" Well, those two are intimidating enough to send Thomas running for his life. You don't mess with British dames handling light sabers!
Sort of Ineligible Entry I Decided to Throw In: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended R-Rated Edition - Bifur loses his axe
Though this film came out in 2014, the extended cut, that was rated R for orc violence that was oh so cool and well done despite heavy CGI, was released in 2015 and featured a scene worth mentioning. Despite Legolas seriously slaying the maximum body count meter in this cut (but seriously, is that totally unexpected in this franchise?), the extended scene I decided to make note of was when Bifur loses his axe. Bifur, in case you don't know which dwarf he is, has an honest-to-Durin AXE embedded in his forehead, and the first film's extended cut reveals the detail that he's not all there mentally and can only speak an ancient dwarf language due to his injury. In Five Armies, Bifur's brother Bofur is cornered by an orc, and in typical dwarf fashion, Bifur comes to the rescue by head-butting the orc. The axe in his own head gets stuck in the orc's head, and the two are unable to break apart. Bofur grabs Bifur to pull him to safety, then their cousin, the portly Bombur, grabs Bofur and they all yank with no avail. Then the orc falls backward over a ledge, and Bombur, using his extra weight, drops onto the orc's back, dragging him apart from Bifur as they crash to the ground, where Bombur finishes the orc off without a weapon (!). As Bifur and Bofur come around, Bofur notices that the axe in Bifur's head is gone. Bombur then returns, saying his first real line in the entire trilogy: "No, he's not! Here you go, cousin!" and hands Bifur the retrieved axe he pulled from the orc's corpse. What made this scene stand out from the other awesome extended scenes was the flawlessness in how the scene was choreographed between the four actors, keeping the stakes high with comedic flare, and still showing the bond of brotherhood and family between the dwarves. And, there's also Bifur's perfect line (now in common-tongue) that wraps up the scene: "You know where you can stick that!"
Now, for the standout character of the year: Mack.
Joss Whedon creates amazing characters, and he did it again when he introduced Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie in season 2 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Mack started out as a mechanic, but then was shown to be of deeper character when he became the only person that could help Fitz recover from his brain injury from the season 1 finale. We had two scares with this guy: he was possessed by an ancient evil in the Cree ship, but it left him in time for Coulson to save his life; the second was when it was revealed he was a part of another group that sounded Hydra-like; it was revealed to be a more radical S.H.I.E.L.D. splinter group that was still run by and composed of good guys.
Mack unfortunately hasn't had as much spotlight as the other regulars on the show, but whenever he's there, he brings a good presence. Some of his best moments from this last year include how Fitz was confronting Mack about his allegiance to the splinter group when a bomb is discovered, and Mack grabbed Fitz and protected him from the blast, taking most of the damage (which thankfully, wasn't much). Let's not forget his axe-gun, where he literally attached an axe on the end of his gun like a bayonet and went hunting for rogue inhumans with it (he eventually ditched the gun and stuck with the axe); the three-way battle with him, Coulson and Fitz vs. Gordon; or how quickly he reacted in chopping off Coulson's hand when he grabbed one of the death-or-transformation inducing crystals from releasing the mist, which would have killed Coulson if Mack hadn't reacted so quickly. There's also big moment when Coulson, going rogue to kill Ward, made Mack the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. over May, his trusted sidekick.
Mack brings a sense of heart to the show and makes a good impression mostly due to his loyalty, as demonstrated by his relationships with Bobbi, Fitz, Coulson and Daisy/Skye. He's the big brother/protector who is also the voice of reason, willing to think outside the box to solve problems, and humble enough to admit when he's over his head and needs help; not to mention great with one liners and nicknames. By the end of the day, we're ready to knock out a few hours playing X-Box with this guy. Can't wait to see what he brings to us when the show returns.
So this is my list for 2015! I don't know how busy I will be, but I hope to be able to collect enough data on the films and shows in 2016 to comprise another list like this for next year. Thank you for reading, and have a happy new year!
