2015 Smart AwardsShows or movies that premiered in 2015 – The Smart Awards are for shows or movies that aren’t dumbed down, that force you to use your brain. And the acting is subtle rather than over the top or playing to the camera.
The polar opposite of dumbed-down TV (U.S. major network TV). French spy thriller about agents in the General Directorate of External Security (DGSE), the French equivalent of the CIA. Based on real accounts by former spies. A slowly paced, very fly-on-the-wall series with great subtlety and smarts. Considered by some to be France’s best television show ever.
Creator: Eric Rochant
Cast: Mathieu Kassovitz, Florence Loiret Caille, Sara Giraudeau
Original title: Le Bureau des Légendes
Language: French
IMDb: 8.5
Where: Sundance Now, iTunes, Amazon On Demand
Boston Globe journalists uncover an avalanche of child sex crimes perpetrated by Catholic clergy. An All the President’s Men for a new generation. Won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Director: Tom McCarthy
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams
IMDb: 8.1
Where: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
A clinically depressed, reclusive cybersecurity engineer takes part in the hacking of a top American corporation after being recruited by the hacktivist/anarchist known as “Mr. Robot.” Interesting, non-cliché story with subtle acting and innovative cinematography.
Creator: Sam Esmail
Cast: Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, Martin Wallström
IMDb: 8.6
Where: Amazon Prime, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Google Play, Vudu
An FBI agent (Blunt) learns the harsh realities of the war on drugs when she joins an interagency task force. One of the top movies of 2015, for sure. Can be watched again and again, which is the true sign of a well-done movie.
Director: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro
IMDb: 7.6
Where: iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Google Play, Vudu
If you want to know how weird Scientology is, watch this well-done but often-times-creepy documentary. Normally I don’t have the patience to watch documentaries, but this one was an exception.
Director: Alex Gibney
Interviewees: Paul Haggis, Jason Beghe, Spanky Taylor
IMDb: 8.0
Where: HBO outlets, Kanopy, DirecTV, iTunes, Amazon On Demand
In the 9th century, Saxon king Alfred the Great seeks to unite several kingdoms into one unified England. Against this backdrop is the story of Uhtred, a great Saxon-born warrior raised as a Viking. The show has plenty of action and plot twists, and later seasons seem as strong as the first season.
Creators: Anna LeVine, Jörg Winger
Cast: Alexander Dreymon, Ian Hart, Emily Cox, David Dawson
IMDb: 8.4
Where: Netflix, Amazon On Demand
A young East German soldier is forced to become an undercover spy in West Germany. Well-done spy drama that feels nothing like American major network TV. A second season, called Deutschland 86, began in 2018.
Creators: Anna LeVine, Jörg Winger
Cast: Jonas Nay, Maria Schrader, Ulrich Noethen
Language: German
IMDb: 8.2
Where: Hulu, Sundance Now, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Google Play
Matt Murdock, blinded as a child but who “sees” by his enhanced other senses, is a lawyer by day but a vigilante superhero by night, who goes against Hell’s Kitchen’s criminal underworld. Daredevil was the start of Marvel’s very smart action series on Netflix. Later in the year they also debuted Jessica Jones. You don’t have to like comic superheroes to like these Marvel series.
Creator: Drew Goddard
Cast: Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones, Jon Bernthal
IMDb: 8.7
Where: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
Another Marvel series on Netflix. A private investigator with superhuman abilities tangles with some really bad people. Ritter gives a spot-on performance, balancing between being a sassy smart aleck who cares about nothing and no one, to being a feeling, vulnerable person who really does care. Season 1 is better than Season 2, and 2019 will be its third and last season.
Creator: Melissa Rosenberg
Cast: Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor, David Tennant (Broadchurch)
IMDb: 8.0
Where: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
Two DEA agents working in Columbia attempt to curtail the traffic of cocaine coming into the United States. Chronicles the life, crimes, capture, and imprisonment of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Considered by many to be an addictive show (no pun intended).
Creators: Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Doug Miro
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook
IMDb: 8.8
Where: Netflix