It’s time again for my fourth annual awards. Eligible films are those that were released in the UK for the first time in 2016.
This year, I have 140 eligible movies, though as usual there are some notable omissions, such as Birth of a Nation, A United Kingdom, Captain Fantastic, The Infliltrator, De Palma, Southside with You, Allied, and Paterson.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Honourable Mentions: The Revenant, The Room, My Scientology Movie, Fire at Sea, The Commune, War on Everyone, and Summertime.
Runner Up: Maggie’s Plan
Winner: Swiss Army Man
MOST OVERLOOKED
Films that seem to have been released with barely a mention, good or bad
Runner Up: The Library Suicides
Winner: The Absent One
MOST UNDERRATED
Honourable Mention: Truth
Runner Up: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Winner: Our Brand is Crisis
MOST OVERRATED
Honourable Mentions: Anomalisa, Midnight Special, Couple in a Hole, Maggie’s Plan, Dead Pool, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Little Men, Fire at Sea
Runner Up: Room
Winner: The Revenant
BEST REMAKE / REBOOT / SEQUEL
Honourable Mentions: The Absent One, The Magnificent 7, Ghostbusters, 10 Cloverfield Lane
Runner Up: Jason Bourne
Winner: Bridget Jones’ Baby
WORST REMAKE / REBOOT / SEQUEL
Dishonourable Mention: Independence Day: Resurgence
Runner Up: Zoolander 2
Winner: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
BEST SCORE
10: David Wingo (Midnight Special)
9: Joseph Bishara (The Other Side of the Door)
8: Robin Foster (Anthropoid)
7: Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
6: Bobby Krlic, Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross & Claudia Sarne (Triple 9)
5: Clint Mansell (High Rise)
4: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (Hell or High Water)
3: Abel Korzeniowski (Nocturnal Animals)
Runner Up: Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival)
Winner: Cliff Martinez (The Neon Demon)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
After a great year last year, pretty slim pickings this time:
3: The 13th
Runner Up: Hitchcock / Truffaut
Winner: Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach
BEST SINGLE SCENE / SEQUENCE
Honourable Mentions: Steve Carell hijacks the meeting The Big Short), Dancing to Emotional Rescue (A Bigger Splash), Laurence Laurentz directs Hobie Doyle (Hail Caesar), Ryan Gosling falls off a balcony, twice (The Nice Guys), The girl starting to sell out of bread (Eye in the Sky), Melanie and Conrad walk home (Louder Than Bombs), Thierry’s interview technique is critiqued (The Measure of a Man), Andy Garcia being compared to the mayor in Jaws (Ghostbusters), Nancy swimming with jellyfish (The Shallows), Amy Adams in the restaurant – final scene (Nocturnal Animals)
10: Ruby takes Jesse to a show (The Neon Demon)
9: Bike ride under cherry blossoms (Our Little Sister)
8: Religious leaders discussion of the Hail Caesar script (Hail Caesar)
7: Michael Caine explains why he can’t play Simple Songs (Youth)
6: Liev Schrieber meets the cardinal (Spotlight)
5: Amy Adams explains why you can’t ask the aliens why they are here (Arrival)
4: Bridget goes into labour and has to get to the hospital (Bridget Jones Baby)
3: The foreign secretary on the toilet (Eye in the Sky)
Runner Up: What Don’t You Want (Hell or High Water)
Winner: The Foodbank (I, Daniel Blake)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Honourable Mentions: Hirokazu Koreeda (Our Little Sister), Richard Linklater (Everybody Wants Some!), Hossein Amini (Our Kind of Traitor), Robert Carlock (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot), John Carney (Sing Street), Sean Ellis & Anthony Frewin (Anthropoid), Kelly Fremon Craig (Edge of Seventeen)
10: Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky)
9: Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight)
8: Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)
7: Eric Heisserer (Arrival)
6: Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals)
5: Shane Black (The Nice Guys)
4: Joel & Ethan Coen (Hail Caesar)
3: Charles Randolph & Adam McKay
Runner Up: Paul Laverty (I, Daniel Blake)
Winner: Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Honourable Mentions: Emmanuel Lubezki (the Revenant), Yoliswa von Dallwitz (Iona), Vittorio Storaro (Café Society)
5: Mikiya Takimoto (Our Little Sister)
4: Giles Nuttgens (Hell or High Water)
3: Sturla Brandth Grøvlen (Victoria)
Runner Up: Robert Richardson (The Hateful Eight)
Winner: Seamus McGarvey (Nocturnal Animals)
WORST PERFORMANCE
Dishonourable Mentions: Tom Courtenay & Blake Harrison (Dad’s Army), Marlon Wayans & Jenny Zigrino (50 Shades of Black), Dakota Blue Richards & Tom Palmer (ChickLit), Julianne Moore (Maggie’s Plan), Alice Eve (Misconduct),
Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2), Lee Tegerson (Equity)
3: Caleb Landry Jones (War on Everyone)
Runner Up: The entire cast (Point Break)
Winner: Paloma Faith (Youth)
SPECIAL AWARD FOR BEING PROLIFIC AND GREAT IN EVERY ROLE
3: Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, Deepwater Horizon & Bone Tomahawk)
Runner Up: Michael Stuhlbarg (Trumbo, Miles Ahead and Arrival)
Winner: Michael Shannon (Freeheld, Nocturnal Animals, Midnight Special and Elvis & Nixon)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Honourable Mentions: Zoe Kazan (Our Brand is Crisis), Christa Theret (Margueritte), Ruby Jerins (Louder Than Boms), Alia Shawkat (Green Room), Caitriona Balfe (Money Monster), Karine de Mirbeck (The Measure of a Man), Sarah Megan Thomas (Equity), Haley Bennett (The Girl on the Train), Muna Otaru (The Keeping Room), Antje Traue (Criminal & Despite the Falling Snow)
10: Hailee Steinfeld (The Keeping Room)
9: Anna Kendrick (The Accountant)
8: Joanna Froggatt (A Street Cat Named Bob)
7: Isla Fisher (Nocturnal Animals)
6: Haley Bennett (The Magnificent 7)
5: Jena Malone (The Neon Demon)
4: Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
3: Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
Runner Up: Angourie Rice (The Nice Guys)
Winner: Chloë Sevigny (Love & Friendship)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Honourable Mentions: Douglass Henshall (Iona), Billy Bob Thornton (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot), Paul Reiser (War on Everyone)
10: Ralph Fiennes (Hail Caesar)
9: JK Simmons (The Meddler)
8: John Malkovich (Deepwater Horizon)
7: Steve Carrell (The Big Short & Café Society)
6: Tom Bennett (Love and Friendship)
5: Woody Harrelson (Triple 9 and Edge of Seventeen)
4: Hayden Szeto (Edge of Seventeen)
3: Alan Rickman (Eye in the Sky)
Runner Up: Alden Ehrenreich (Hail Caesar)
Winner: Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins)
BEST ACTRESS
Honourable Mentions: Sandra Bullock (Our Brand is Crisis), Laia Costa (Victoria), Lucy Boynton (Sing Street), Emma Suarez (Julieta), Kristen Stewart (Café Society), Dolly Wells (Black Mountain Poets)
10: Günes Sensoy (Mustang)
9: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane)
8: Anna Taylor-Joy (The Witch)
7: Susan Sarandon (The Meddler)
6: Catrin Stewart (The Library Suicides)
5: Suzu Hirose (Our Little Sister)
4: Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake)
3: Amy Adams (Arrival)
Runner Up: Hailee Steinfeld (Edge of Seventeen)
Winner: Amy Adams (Nocturnal Animals)
BEST ACTOR
Honourable Mentions: John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane), Alfredo Castro (The Club), Robert Redford (Truth),
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street), Cillian Murphy (Anthropoid), Matthew McConaughey (Free State of Jones)
Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake), Tom Hanks (Sully), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals), Sigurður Sigurjónsson (Rams)
10: Jesuthasan Antonythasan (Dheepan)
9: Colin Firth (Bridget Jones Baby)
8: Michael Caine (Youth)
7: Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
6: Ralph Fiennes (A Bigger Splash)
5: Michael Keaton (Spotlight)
4: Vivek Gomber (Court)
3: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Runner Up: Chris Pine (Hell or High Water)
Winner: Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys)
BEST DIRECTOR
Honourable Mentions: Richard Linklater (Everybody Wants Some!), Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room), László Nemes (Son of Saul), Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Mustang), Jodie Foster (Money Monster), Whit Stillman (Love & Friendship), Paolo Sorrentino (Youth), Paul Greengrass (Jason Bourne), John Carney (Sing Street), Pedro Almodovar (Julieta), David MacKenzie (Hell or High Water)
10: Gavin Hood (Eye in the Sky)
9: Sebastian Schipper (Victoria)
8: Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight)
7: Hirokazu Koreeda (Our Little Sister)
6: Shane Black (The Nice Guys)
5: Tom MacCarthy (Spotlight)
4: Nicolas Winding Refn (The Neon Demon)
3: Tom Ford (Nocturnal Animals)
Runner Up: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)
Winner: Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake)
WORST FILM
Dishonourable Mentions: Grimsby, Swiss Army Man, 50 Shades of Black, Hardcore Henry
Runner Up: Point Break
Winner: Dirty Grandpa
BEST FILM
The top 20 is pretty strong, especially the top 8. Numbers 3 to 8 could almost be in any order, with the top two clearly ahead of the rest and almost too close to call.
20: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
19: Versus: The Life & Films of Ken Loach
18: Anthropoid
17: Court
16: Everybody Wants Some!
15: Our Brand is Crisis
14: Sing Street
13: Love and Friendship
12: The Hateful Eight
11: Hail Caeser
10: Our Kind of Traitor
9: The Big Short
8: Nocturnal Animals
7: Our Little Sister
6: Hell or High Water
5: Arrival
4: Eye in the Sky
3: The Nice Guys
Runner Up: I, Daniel Blake
Winner: Spotlight