2015 was truly a historic year for the motion picture industry, even though the most anticipated and highest grossing movie of the year didn't come out until the middle of December.
We watched Joseph-Gordon Levitt defy death in The Walk, our favorite wastelander Mad Max made it back to the big screen in Fury Road, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens brought a whole new generation of fans along for the ride.
But the surprisingly great films of 2015 award goes to the underdogs overlooked in the sea of smash hits. Indie films like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Brooklyn struck an emotional chord, while horrifyingly fun films Bone Tomahawk and Krampus delivered the ground meat without all the cheese.
Joey Paur of GeekTyrant put together a list of his favorite films of 2015, including a trailer and review for each movie, and aside from one film I found relative-ly weak I think he's right on the money with the rest of his picks.