Colin Free’s 2015 Movie Awards

It’s time again for my third annual awards. Eligible films are those that were released in the UK for the first time in 2015.

 

This year, I have 198 eligible movies, though once again there are some notable omissions, such as 99 Homes, Shooting for Socrates, Tangerines, 52 Tuesdays and Mississippi Grind.

 

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Honourable Mentions: Foxcatcher, Pressure, Sisters, Catch Me Daddy, Aloha

Runner Up: Birdman

Winner: Man from UNCLE

 

MOST OVERLOOKED

Films that seem to have been released with barely a mention, good or bad

Honourable Mentions: War Book, Kill the Messenger, Howl, Good. Kill, The Connection, Coherence, Ride

Runner Up: Still Life

Winner: A Most Violent Year

 

MOST UNDERRATED

Honourable Mentions: The Gunman, Survivor, The Program, Irrational Man, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Runner Up: Vacation / Child 44

Winner: Hot Pursuit

 

MOST OVERRATED

I quite liked some of these films, but they were all overpraised

Honourable Mentions: Duke of Burgundy, Foxcatcher, 45 Years, Listen up Philip, Beasts of No Nation, Ex Machina, Catch Me Daddy, Slow West, Phoenix, Girlhood, Timbuktu

Runner Up: Birdman

Winner: Mad Max, Fury Road

 

SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHORTER AWARD

Honourable Mentions: The Gambler, Birdman, Appropriate Behaviour, Sisters, Catch Me Daddy, Straight Outta Compton

Runner Up: Mad Max, Fury Road

Winner: Hinterland

 

SHOULD HAVE BEEN LONGER AWARD

Honourable Mention: Sicario

Runner Up: Everest

Winner: Kill the Messenger

 

BEST POPCORN / ACTION MOVIE

The annual award for the best put your brain in neutral and enjoy the ride film…

Honourable Mentions: Jurassic World, The Gunman, Survivor, San Andreas, Run All Night, No Escape

Runner Up: Mission. Impossible: Rogue Nation

Winner: Spectre

 

BEST SCORE

Honourable Mentions: Thomas Newman (Bridge of Spies), Carter Burwell (Carol), Rich Vreeland (It Follows), Johnny Jewel (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario), Dickon Hinchliffe (Beyond the Reach), Johnny Greenwood (Inherent Vice)

Runner Up: Tracy Thorn (The Falling)

Winner: Harold. Budd (White Bird in a Blizzard)

 

BEST USE  OF SONGS

Award for a soundtrack predominately featuring songs rather than a traditional score

Runner Up: Straight. Outta Compton

Winner:  Love and Mercy

 

BEST HORROR MOVIE

Horror films in event years have been so poor, this award has been redundant. However, in 2015, there was a definite up turn in quality

Honourable Mentions: Howl, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, It Follows

Runner Up:  Krampus

Winner: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

 

BEST COMEDY

Similarly, the standard of comedies this year was improved…

3rd: Vacation / The DUFF

Runner Up:  Mistress America

Winner: Spy

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY

It has been an exceptionally good year, with the top 2 difficult to split, and the 3rd place would have come top most years

Honourable Mentions:  The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson, Amy, A Syrian Love Story

10^th: This Changes Everything

9^th: The Diplomat

8^th: Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story of Cannon Films

7th: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

6th: He Named Me Malala

5^th: 1971

4th: Best of Enemies

3^rd: Precinct Seven Five

Runner Up: Cartel Land

Winner: Death of a Gentleman

 

BAD PERFORMANCE IN A GOOD MOVIE

The film is good enough not to ruin your enjoyment but the bad acting still bugs you…

Honourable Mentions: Javier Bardem (The Gunman)

Runner Up: 50 Cent (Spy)

Winner: Laura Dern (Wild)

 

GOOD PERFORMANCE IN A POOR OR BAD MOVIE

Just as much of a stand out, but this time in a good way…

Honourable Mentions: Brie Larson (The Gambler), Sean Harris (The Goob), Hannah Spearitt (The Goob), David Hayman (Queen and. Country), John Standing (Queen and Country), Abbie Cornish (Solace), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Solace), Ed Norton (Birdman), Naomi Watts (Birdman), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Brad Pitt (By the Sea), Niles Arestrup (By the Sea), Olivia Munn (Mortdecai), Hailee Steinfeld (Barely Lethal), Olivia Wilde (Christmas with the Coopers), Stella Maeve (Dark Summer), Nina Kunzendorf (Phoenix)

Runner Up: Michael Shannon (Night Before)

Winner: Kate Mara (Captive)

 

BEST SINGLE SCENE / SEQUENCE

Honourable Mentions: The march across the bridge (Selma), Susan falls off her bike (Spy), Cooper

accidentally takes cocaine (Hot Pursuit), the farce sequence (Mistress America), Ellis befriends the girl on the boat (Brooklyn), last 15 minutes (Whiplash), the escape in the dust storm (American Sniper), the frantic car ride (The Clouds of Sils Maria), the recording of Pet Sounds (Love and Mercy), John impatiently waiting for the lift (Still Alice), Ben interrupting Kate (Love is Strange), Billy and Tick open up to each other in the bar (Southpaw), Hector and Sara’s final scene together (Hector)

3^rd: The 2 cut together scenes of Steve Jobs meeting John Sculley (Steve Jobs)

Runner Up: The shoot out on the bridge (Sicario)

Winner: Pre titles sequence at Day of the Dead (Spectre)

 

BEST SCREENPLAY

Honourable Mentions: Patrick Tobin (Cake), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), Paul Thomas. Anderson (Inherent Vice), Taylor Sheridan (Sicario), Nanni Moretti (Mia Madre), Jack Thorne (War Book)

Runner Up:  J C Chandor (A Most Violent Year)

Winner: Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Honourable Mentions: Yorick Le Saux (Clouds of Sils Maria), Benoît Debie (Lost River), Robert Elswit (Inherent Vice), Janusz Kaminski (Bridge of Spies), Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), Salvatore Totino (Everest), Lyle Vincent (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), David Raedeker (Hector)

Runner Up: Laurent Tangy (The Connection)

Winner: Roger Deakins (Sicario)

 

BEST VILLAIN

Honourable Mentions: Sean Harris (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation)

Runner Up: Christoph Waltz (Spectre)

Winner: Giles Clarke (Death of a Gentleman)

 

WORST PERFORMANCE

Honourable Mentions: Jason Ian Drucker (Barely Lethal), Hugo Weaving (The Dressmaker), Caleb Landry Jones (Queen and. Country), Emily Browning (Legend), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max, Fury Road), Eddie Redmayne (Jupiter Ascending)

3rd: Michael Kenneth Williams (Captive)

2^nd: Entire cast (Richard the Lionheart: Rebellion)

Winner: Henry Cavill (Man from UNCLE)

 

WORST TALKING ANIMAL

Runner Up:  Robin Williams (Absolutely Anything)

Winner: Steve Martin (Christmas with the Coopers)

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Honourable Mentions: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Kill the Messenger), Marisa Tomei (Love is Strange),  Alexa Davies (x+y), Sophie Okenedo (War Book), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation), Hattie Morahan (Mr Holmes), Jessica Barden (The Lobster), Olivia Wilde (Christmas with the Coopers), Sienna Miller (Burnt), Jennifer Aniston (She’s Funny That Way) Mamie Gummer (Ricki and the Flash), Hailee Steinfeld (Pitch Perfect 2)

10^th: Julie Walters (Brooklyn)

9^th: Sally Hawkins (x+y)

8^th: Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria& Still Alice)

7^th: Emily Watson (Everest)

6^th: Olivia Colman (The Lobster)

5^th Kate Mara (The Martian)

4^th:   : Joanne Froggatt (Still Life)

3^rd:: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year & The Martian)

Runner Up: Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice)

Winner: Sarah Solemani (Hector)

 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Honourable Mentions: James Badge Dale (The Walk), Eddie Marsan (x+y), Tom Wilkinson (Selma), Tim Roth (Selma), Wendell Pierce (Selma), Michael Sheen (Kill the Messenger), Anthony Sher (War Book), Fabrice Luchini (Gemma. Bovary), Brendan Gleeson (Suffragette), Ben Kingsley (Life), Jesse Plemons (Black Mass & The Progam), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Andrew Scott (Victor Frankenstein & Spectre)

10^th: Benicio Del Toro (Sicario)

9^th: Albert Brooks (A Most Violent Year)

8^th: Chris O’Dowd (The Program)

7^th: Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

6^th: Josh Brolin (Inherent Vice & Sicario)

5th: Rafe Spall (x+y)

4th: Jeff Daniels (The Martian & Steve Jobs)

3rd: Seth Rogan (Steve Jobs)

Runner Up: JK Simmons (Whiplash)

Winner: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

 

BEST ACTRESS

I’ve never known a better year for roles for actresses and their performances…

Honourable Mentions: Juliette Binoche (Clouds of Sils Maria), Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) , Kate Mara (Captive), Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van), Milla Jovovich (Survivor), Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Margherita Buy (Mia Madre), Lily Tomlin (Grandma), Maisie Williams (The Falling), Helen Hunt (Ride)

10^th: Cate Blanchett (Carol) / Mae Whitman (The DUFF)

9^th: Emily Blunt (Sicario)

8^th: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

7^th: Lola Kirke (Mistress America),

6^th: Jennifer Aniston (Cake)

5^th: Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

4^th: Rooney Mara (Carol)

3^rd: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Runner Up: Zsófia Psotta (White God)

Winner: Carey Mulligan (Suffragette)

 

BEST ACTOR

Interestingly, it was a comparatively weak year for leading roles for actors

Honourable Mentions: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Ben Chaplin (War Book), O’Shea Jackson Jr (Straight Outta Compton), Robert Pattinson (Life), Ben Foster (The Program), Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw), Tom Hanks (Bridge of Spies), Jean Dujardin (The Connection), Alfred Molina (Love is Strange), John Lithgow (Love is Strange), Ethan Hawke (Good Kill)

10^th: Jeremy Renner (Kill The Messenger)

9^th: Ian McKellen (Mr Holmes)

8^th: Tom Hardy (Legend)

7^th: David Oyelowo (Selma)

6^th: Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year)

5^th: Tom Courtenay (45 Years)

4^th: Peter Mullan (Hector)

3^rd: Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)

Runner Up: Eddie Marsan (Still Life)

Winner: Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, MacBeth & Slow West)

 

BEST DIRECTOR:

Honourable Mentions: David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), Joel Edgerton (The Gift), David Barnz (Cake), Robert Ostlund (Force Majeure), Sarah Gavron (Suffragette), Carol Morley (The Falling), Jake Gavin (Hector), Nanni Moretti (Mia Madre), James Ward Byrkit (Coherence), Helen Hunt (Ride)

5^th: Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies)

4^th: Ridley Scott (The Martian)

3^rd: J C Chandor (A Most Violent Year)

Runner Up: Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)

 

WORST FILM:

Dishonourable Mentions: Spring, Chappie, 50 Shades of Grey, The Opposite Sex, Hot Tub Time Machine 2. Asylum, Jupiter Ascending, Top Five

Runner Up: Into the Woods

Winner: The Interview

 

BEST FILM

25^th: 1971

24^th: The Program

23^rd: Mistress America

22^nd: He Named Me Malala

21^st: Carol

20^th: The Connection

19^th: Kill The Messenger

18^th: Spy

17^th: War Book

16^th: Best of Enemies

15^th: Spectre

14^th: The Martian

13^th: Still Life

12^th: Precinct Seven Five

11^th: Mia Madre

10^th: Hector

9^th: Suffragette

8^th: Whiplash

7^th: A Most Violent Year

6^th: Cartel Land

5^th: Steve Jobs

4^th: Death of a Gentleman

3^rd: Bridge of Spies

Runner Up: Inherent Vice

Winner: Sicario