By the end of the weekend at this year’s Oscars, one of eight nominated films will be added to an eternal list of Academy Award-winning Best Pictures. This year’s nominees run the gamut of genres. There are two films detailing modern scandals (Spotlight, The Big Short), two “based on true story” historical set pieces (Bridge of Spies, The Revenant), one little international indie film (Brooklyn), a deep emotionally wrenching drama (Room), a film about someone lost in space”¦ again (The Martian), and a kick ass action thrill ride (Mad Max: Fury Road). Are these the actual best films of 2015? Well, that depends on personal preference and opinion. Based on box office, this year’s nominees weren’t close to being the most popular films. Only one — The Martian — finished in the top 10 grossing films of the year, and only three total were in the top 21.

So if the eight nominees aren’t your cup of tea, here are the Top 10 films of 2015 NOT nominated for Best Picture…

The annual ritual of narrowing down hundreds of titles to just 10 is a cruel but necessary discipline as a film critic. Over the past 12 months, I’ve seen 100 new releases. I spent a combined eight days watching movies this year, and I’m happy to report that 2015 has been a pretty great year for cinema.

We saw new work by visionary filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, Todd Haynes, George Miller, and Denis Villeneuve. We witnessed noteworthy performances by Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac, Michael B. Jordan, Saoirse Ronan, and Brie Larson. And we were entertained and awe-struck by blockbusters like Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

I saw some truly great movies that renewed my love for cinema and kept my cynicism and negativity buried beneath joy and optimism this year. Here are the ones that did just that: 10 films that moved, inspired, and reinvigorated me.

With the sequel opening yesterday, Screen Junkies made an obvious choice this week with an Honest Trailer of the Magic Mike, directed by Oscar winner, Steven “Soda Burger.” It was inevitable that women would want to see Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and other model-esque actors strut their stuff on the “dance floor.” What’s interesting is that it’s actually a really good movie with plenty of eye candy for all, an interesting story loosely based on Tatum’s pre-acting career. Narrator Jon Bailey spends much of the trailer discussing the uneasiness men (including himself) have watching this film for a variety of complicated reasons.

Watch the Honest Trailer below.

Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Screenwriter: Reid Carolin, Channing Tatum
Cinematographer: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Gabriel Iglesias, Jada Pinkett-Smith
Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated R | 115 Minutes
Release Date: July 1, 2015

“Are you ready to be worshipped?”

Magic Mike XXL is something of a cinematic anomaly. What makes Gregory Jacobs‘ film so unique is that it works as bro-centric male fantasy and erotic female wish fulfillment. It’s the movie both Entourage and Fifty Shades of Grey aspire to, but are woefully unequipped to be.

Written by Reid Carolin and Channing Tatum, Magic Mike XXL picks up three years after the end of Magic Mike. After leaving the stripper spotlight to start his own business, “Magic” Mike Lane (Tatum) has traded one grind for another. The custom furniture business isn’t exactly booming, and the girl he thought was the one wasn’t.

Meanwhile, the remaining Kings of Tampa are planning one last blow-out performance, but they need the legendary Magic Mike as their headliner. Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, and Kevin Nash, along with their emcee (Gabriel Iglesias), recruit Mike for one last ride: a road trip to a Myrtle Beach stripper convention where they’ll drown in a tsunami of dollars.

Just weeks after his 2012 film Magic Mike hit theaters, Channing Tatum confirmed that a sequel was in the works, with plans to make the follow-up bigger.

With a Magic Mike XXL trailer expected later today, the hunky G.I. JOE actor posted an image of the film’s first poster to this Twitter account yesterday. The poster shows off a shirtless Tatum and his six-pack ads, but centers on his crotch area, where he points to the words “COMING” – coming to theaters, that is.

Along with Tatum returning as the titular stripper, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, and Gabriel Iglesias will all be reprising their roles, with franchise newcomers Jada Pinkett Smith, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Glover, and Amber Heard signing on for the ride this time around. Matthew McConaughey, who, in the first film, played a former stripper who owned the Florida club where Mike works, will sit out this dance.