CAROL LEADS INTERNATIONAL CINEPHILE SOCIETY NOMINATIONS

The International Cinephile Society has announced its nominees for achievements in film for 2015, and they've more than rectified the mistakes of other awards groups this season. Three female-led films top the nomination count, with Carol scoring ten mentions and both The Assassin and Mad Max: Fury Road scoring seven each - three of my favourite films of the year too! And the list of personal delights continues through every single category, including richly deserved tech nods for Hard to Be a God and Jauja, appearances from Tangerine in main categories and The Duke of Burgundy and Saint Laurent in select categories, again all richly deserved citations, and a considerably more diverse slate overall than any of this year's major groups. Keep a close eye on the 16 films nominated for the Best Picture Not Released in 2016 award: half of last year's list appear on this year's ICS lineup in at least one category. Winners are due to be announced on the 21st of February. Check it all out below:

Best Picture

45 Years

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 – The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 – The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 – The Enchanted One

The Assassin

Carol
Clouds of Sils Maria

The Duke of Burgundy

Inside Out

Li’l Quinquin

Mad Max: Fury Road

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Tangerine

Best Director

Sean Baker (Tangerine)

Bruno Dumont (Li’l Quinquin)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Hou Hsiao Hsien (The Assassin)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor

Christopher Abbott (James White)

Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight)

Röhrig Géza (Son of Saul)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Gaspard Ulliel (Saint Laurent)

Best Actress

Juliette Binoche (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Best Supporting Actor

Helmut Berger (Saint Laurent)

Emory Cohen (Brooklyn)

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight)

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Cynthia Nixon (James White)

Erica Rivas (Wild Tales)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

Best Original Screenplay

Roy Andersson (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence)

Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen, Pete Docter and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out)

Bruno Dumont (Li’l Quinquin)

Jessica Hausner (Amour Fou)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Ah Cheng, Chu T’ien Wen, Hou Hsiao Hsien and Hsieh Hai Meng (The Assassin)

Andrew Haigh (45 Years)

Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa)

Nick Lathouris, Brendan McCarthy and George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Best Cinematography

Vladimir Ilin and Yuriy Klimenko (Hard to Be a God)

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Lee Ping Bin (The Assassin)

Emmanuel Lubekzi (The Revenant)

Timo Salminen (Jauja)

John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Editing

Matyas Fekete (The Duke of Burgundy)

Affonso Gonçalves (Carol)

Huang Chih Chia and Liao Ching Song (The Assassin)

Julio Perez (It Follows)

Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Production Design

Judy Becker (Carol)

Colin Gibson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Huang Wen Ying (The Assassin)

Sergei Kokovkin, Georgiy Kropachyov and Elena Zhukova (Hard to Be a God)

Thomas E. Sanders (Crimson Peak)

Katia Wyszkop (Saint Laurent)

Best Score

Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira (The Duke of Burgundy)

Carter Burwell (Carol)

Tom Holkenborg (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)

Rich Vreeland (It Follows)

Best Ensemble

Brooklyn

Carol

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

The Hateful Eight

Li’l Quinquin

Spotlight

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

World of Tomorrow

Best Documentary

Amy

Heart of a Dog

In Jackson Heights

The Look of Silence

The Pearl Button

Best Picture Not in the English Language

Amour Fou

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 – The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 – The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 – The Enchanted One

The Assassin

Hard to Be a God

Jauja

Li’l Quinquin

Phoenix

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Saint Laurent

La Sapienza

Son of Saul

Honourable Mentions

Horse Money

Mustang

Timbuktu

The Tribe

Best Picture Not Released in 2015

Aferim!

Blood of My Blood

Cemetery of Splendour

Closet Monster

Embrace of the Serpent

In the Shadow of Women

Knight of Cups

The Lobster

Mia Madre

Mountains May Depart

My Golden Days

No Home Movie

Right Now, Wrong Then

Sunset Song

The Treasure

The Witch

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY LEADS 2015 CHLOTRUDIS AWARD NOMINATIONS

Eight films make the Chlotrudis Society's Best Movie slate for 2015, one more than the usual. It was a good year for films, if you believe the Chlotrudis voters - not that you'd need them to tell you that! The Duke of Burgundy leads all 47 nominated films with seven nominations; the only other film to score more than four mentions is Tangerine. Reflecting the high quality of eligible titles and the wonderfully varied tastes of society members, you'll find a number of curiosities among their choices: Carol appearing only in Best Director and a few tech categories, Room turning up in Best Editing only, and seemingly rogue mentions for Demet Akbag in Winter Sleep, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl up for its screenplay. No word yet on when the winners are due to be announced; due to this, points will be taken for the SOS Critics' Tally now, and amended when winners are revealed. Check out the nominations below:

Best Movie

The Assassin

The Duke of Burgundy

Girlhood

Spotlight

Tangerine

Timbutu

White God

Wild Tales

Best Director

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Hou Hsiao Hsien (The Assassin)

Mundruczó Kornél (White God)

Abderrahmane Sissako (Timbuktu)

Peter Strickland (The Duke of Burgundy)

Damián Szifrón (Wild Tales)

Best Actor

Christopher Abbott (James White)

Jemaine Clement (People Places Things)

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year)

Bruce Greenwood (Wildlike)

Jason Segel (The End of the Tour)

Best Actress

Ronit Elkabetz (Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem)

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Kikuchi Rinko (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter)

Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Karidja Touré (Girlhood)

Best Supporting Actor

Emory Cohen (Brooklyn)

Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)

Michael Fassbender (Slow West)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Best Supporting Actress

Demet Akbag (Winter Sleep)

Cynthia Nixon (James White)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

Katherine Waterston (Queen of Earth)

Best Original Screenplay

Jemaine Clement and Taiki Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows)

Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz (Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem)

Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Alice Winocour (Mustang)

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Mundruczó Kornél, Petrányi Viktória and Wéber Kata (White God)

Peter Strickland (The Duke of Burgundy)
Damián Szifrón (Wild Tales)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jesse Andrews – based on his novel (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)

Emma Donoghue – based on her novel (Room)

Nick Hornby – based on the novel by Colm Tóibín (Brooklyn)

Charlie Kaufman – based on his play (Anomalisa)

Donald Margulies – based on the book by David Lipsky (The End of the Tour)

Best Cinematography

Sean Baker and Radium Cheung (Tangerine)

Nicholas D. Knowland (The Duke of Burgndy)

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Lee Ping Bin (The Assassin)

Gökhan Tiryaki (Winter Sleep)

Best Editing

Matyas Fekete (The Duke of Burgundy)

Affonso Gonçalves (Carol)

Julien Lacheray (Girlhood)

Nathan Nugent (Room)

Chris Wyatt (’71)

Best Production Design

Roy Andersson (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence)

Judy Becker (Carol)

Huang Wen Ying (The Assassin)

François Séguin (Brooklyn)

Pater Sparrow (The Duke of Burgundy)

Best Use of Music in a Film

Boy Meets Girl

The Duke of Burgundy

Girlhood

Love & Mercy

Tangerine

Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast

About Elly

Mustang

Spotlight

Tangerine

What We Do in the Shadows

Best Documentary

Amy

Best of Enemies

Call Me Lucky

Red Army

Stray Dog

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Buried Treasure Award

Actress

Advantageous

Appropriate Behaviour

Charlie’s Country

People Places Things

Victoria

DUBLIN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE DECLARES INSIDE OUT THE BEST FILM OF 2015

Prepare yourselves for some time-travelling with the 2015 Dublin Film Critics Circle award. What with precisely-calibrated awards season releases in important international territories like the UK and Ireland, a lot of one season's contenders must wait until the next to be recognised by a group like the DFCC, which sticks closely to its calendar release dates and pretty much dgaf about its North American counterparts. Good for them! They've made some excellent choices this year, including picking Inside Out as Best Film, showing some love for The Tribe and mentioning Peter Strickland for The Duke of Burgundy in their Best Director list. And there's a fucking heap of female-led movies in their top nine, with more female leads than male. Good job, Dublin critics! Have a look below:

Best Film

1. Inside Out

2. Mad Max: Fury Road

3. Carol

4. The Tribe

5. Birdman

=  Ex Machina

=  A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

=  Star Wars: The Force Awakens

=  Tangerine

Best Director

1. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)

2. Todd Haynes (Carol)

3. Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy (The Tribe)

=  Peter Strickland (The Duke of Burgundy)

5. Sean Baker (Tangerine)

6. J. J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

=  John Crowley (Brooklyn)

Best Actor

1. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

2. Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year)

3. Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

4. Tom Courtenay (45 Years)

=  Matt Damon (The Martian)

=  Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

=  Michael Keaton (Birdman)

8. Colin Farrell (The Lobster)

=  Viggo Mortensen (Jauja)

=  J. K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Actress

1. Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

2. Rooney Mara (Carol)

3. Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

4. Emily Blunt (Sicario)

=  Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

=  Lily Tomlin (Grandma)

7. Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Best Documentary

1. The Queen of Ireland

2. Amy

3. Red Army

4. Best of Enemies

5. The Look of Silence

=  The Wolfpack

Best Irish

1. Brooklyn

=  The Queen of Ireland

3. Song of the Sea

4. Older Than Ireland

5. I Used to Live Here

6. The Lobster

Breakthrough International Award

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (Tangerine)

Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

Breakthrough Irish Award

Jordanne Jones (I Used to Live Here)

SLANT RELEASES ITS TOP 50 OF 2015

Looking through Slant's Top 50 films of the year, one's reminded of just how brilliant a year in film 2015 was... and 2014... and 2013! Several of my personal favourites appear here, not only of this year but of the last two, including Hard to Be a God and Jauja. It's a varied list, with divisive films that even divided my own opinion, like Magic Mike XXL and Blackhat, placing highly. And any list in which neither Anomalisa nor The Duke of Burgundy can crack the Top 30, and 45 Years can only just make the Top 25, is either the sign of admirably active voters or plain old bad taste. It's Slant magazine, so I'll assume the former. On the other hand, their Worst Of list is full of potential titles for their Best Of list, alongside some indubitably awful ones. Check out their choices below:

Slant's Best Films of 2015

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. In Jackson Heights

3. Timbuktu

4. Horse Money

5. Magic Mike XXL

6. Hard to Be a God

7. Heart of a Dog

8. Blackhat

9. The Assassin

10. Chi-Raq

11. Li'l Quinquin

12. Taxi

13. Queen of Earth

14. The Look of Silence

15. Heaven Knows What

16. Jauja

17. The Forbidden Room

18. Phoenix

19. Carol

20. Creed

21. Mistress America

22. Son of Saul

23. Of Men and War

24. Eastern Boys

25. 45 Years

26. About Elly

27. Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 - The Enchanted One

28. Salvation Army

29. The Kindergarten Teacher

30. Tangerine

31. Anomalisa

32. Welcome to New York

33. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

34. Girlhood

35. Buzzard

36. The Duke of Burgundy

37. The Pearl Button

38. Of Horses and Men

39. Madam Phung's Last Journey

40. We Come as Friends

41. Entertainment

42. The Diary of a Teenage Girl

43. The Fool

44. Maps to the Stars

45. La Ultima Pelicula

46. Inside Out

47. Gangs of Wasseypur

48. Office

49. Coming Home

50. The Princess of France

Slant's Best Performances of 2015

Christopher Abbott (James White)

Emory Cohen (Brooklyn)

Tom Courtenay (45 Years)

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Gérard Depardieu (Welcome to New York)

Arielle Holmes (Heaven Knows What)

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Michael B. Jordan (Creed)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Elisabeth Moss (Queen of Earth)

Cynthia Nixon (James White)

Bernard Pruvost (Li’l Quinquin)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Peter Sarsgaard (Experimenter)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Slant's Best Scenes of 2015
'Abstract thought' (Inside Out)
'Cause I Knew' (Li'l Quinquin)
'Convenience store dance' (Magic Mike XXL)
'Diamonds' (Girlhood)
'Dirtbike training' (Creed)
'Equine sex' (Of Horses and Men)
'Fantasy football' (Timbuktu)
'Fuck It!' (Tangerine)
'Home invasion' (Eastern Boys)
'King XXI' (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence)
'Kite flying' (About Elly)
'Maid enters pool' (The Second Mother)
'Master closeup' (Queen of Earth)
'Mother and son in bathroom' (James White)
'Oh girl' (Chi-Raq)
'Opening' (It Follows)
'Opening' (Sicario)
'The second dinner' (Carol)
'Speak Low' (Phoenix)
'Veridis Quo' (Eden)

Slant's Worst Films of 2015
1. Beasts of No Nation
2. Accidental Love
3. 7 Minutes
4. Jason and Shirley
5. Vice
6. The End of the Tour
7. Ted 2
8. The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence)
9. Trainwreck
10. The Cobbler

THE PLAYLIST CHOOSES ITS FAVOURITES IN FILM FOR 2015

The Playlist has rolled out its Best Of lists for the year! Unsurprisingly, critics fave Mad Max: Fury Road tops the Best Film poll, while there are also categories after the cut for Best Trailer, Best Poster and Worst Film - a category that could convince some that 2015 has been as bad a year for film as it was a good one. There's a few more traditional lists too. Have a look below:

Best Film

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. Sicario

3. The Duke of Burgundy

4. Carol

5. 45 Years

6. Inside Out

7. Room

8. Spotlight

9. Brooklyn

10. Son of Saul

11. Ex Machina

12. Steve Jobs

13. Anomalisa

14. The End of the Tour

15. The Tribe

16. Tangerine

17. Mustang

18. The Assassin

19. Creed

20. The Diary of a Teenage Girl