REVIEW OF 2015 - BEST FILM

1. The Assassin (Hou Hsiao Hsien)

2. The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer)

3. Carol (Todd Haynes)

4. Park Lanes (Kevin Jerome Everson)

5. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)

6. The Forbidden Room (Evan Johnson and Guy Maddin)

7. The Blue Room (Mathieu Amalric)

8. Phoenix (Christian Petzold)

9. The Witch (Robert Eggers)

10. Inside Out (Ronnie del Carmen and Pete Docter)

11. World of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt)

12. Eisenstein in Guanajuato (Peter Greenaway)

13. 45 Years (Andrew Haigh)

14. The Salt of the Earth (Juliano Ribeiro Salgado)

15. Chi-Raq (Spike Lee)

16. Son of Saul (Nemes Laszlo)

17. By the Sea (Angelina Jolie)

18. The Wonders (Alice Rohrwacher)

19. Cemetery of Splendour (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

20. Knight of Cups (Terrence Malick)

21. Tangerine (Sean Baker)

22. Sherpa (Jennifer Peedom)

23. Under Electric Clouds (Aleksey German)

24. A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino)

25. Innocence of Memories (Grant Gee)

26. Stray Dogs (Tsai Ming Liang)

27. My Nazi Legacy (David Evans)

28. Stinking Heaven (Nathan Silver)

29. Aferim! (Radu Jude)

30. Wild Tales (Damian Szifron)

REVIEW OF 2015 - BEST DIRECTION

1. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

2. Hou Hsiao Hsien (The Assassin)

3. Todd Haynes (Carol)

4. Mathieu Amalric (The Blue Room)

5. Joshua Oppenheimer (The Look of Silence)

6. Evan Johnson and Guy Maddin (The Forbidden Room)

7. Kevin Jerome Everson (Park Lanes)

8. Peter Greenaway (Eisenstein in Guanajuato)

9. Christian Petzold (Phoenix)

10. Angelina Jolie (By the Sea)

CINEMA EYE NAMES THE LOOK OF SILENCE THE BEST DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

Thanks for this, Cinema Eye. Because you just know the Academy is gonna reward a fairly decent but not exactly groundbreaking music doc over another cinematic milestone by Joshua Oppenheimer. But The Look of Silence deservedly wins Cinema Eye's top award. Check out their choices below:

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking

The Look of Silence (Signe Byrne Sorensen and Joshua Oppenheimer)

Outstanding Achievement in Direction

Joshua Oppenheimer (The Look of Silence)

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk (Meru)

Matthew Heineman and Matt Porwoll (Cartel Land)

Outstanding Achievement in Editing

Chris King (Amy)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score

Laurie Anderson (Heart of a Dog)

Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation

Hisko Hulsing and Stefan Nadelman (Cobain: Montage of Heck)

Outstanding Achievement in Production

Signe Byrge Sorensen (The Look of Silence)

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film

The Wolfpack (Crystal Moselle)

Heterodox Award

Taxi (Jafar Panahi)

Spotlight Award

Toto and His Sisters (Alexandre Nanau)

Legacy Award

American Movie (Chris Smith)

Audience Choice Prize

Meru (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin)

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking

Buffalo Juggalos (Scott Cummings)

Hotel 22 (Elizabeth Lo)

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD SWEEPS THE SEATTLE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS

You wanted quality, you got it. The Seattle Film Critics Society presented us with a fine slate of nominees last week, and they've followed up finely with their choice of winners. Mad Max: Fury Road sweeps, taking 10 of its 11 nominations; acting winners included Nina Hoss for Phoenix and Mya Taylor for Tangerine; Carol's Phyllis Nagy won the Adapted Screenplay award; The Look of Silence was named Best Documentary of 2015. This will easily rank among the very best set of awards this season. See for yourself:

Best Picture of the Year

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress

Nina Hoss (Phoenix)

Best Supporting Actor

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Best Supporting Actress

Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

Best Original Screenplay

Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Best Cinematography

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Film Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Production Design

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Costume Design

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Sound Design

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Original Score

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Original Song

Sam Drew, Ludwig Goransson and Tessa Thompson - 'Grip' (Creed)

Best Ensemble Cast

Spotlight

Best Animated Feature

Inside Out (Pete Docter)

Best Documentary Feature

The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer)

Best Foreign Language Film

Son of Saul (Nemes Laszlo)

REVERSE SHOT CHOOSES IN JACKSON HEIGHTS AS THE FILM OF 2015

Reverse Shot has chimed in with its top ten list for 2015, and a documentary has come out on top. Frederick Wiseman's universally-acclaimed In Jackson Heights is the favourite film among critics polled, on a strong and diverse list. Many of the films below are among my favourites from last year too, and even the year before! Check it out:

Reverse Shot's Film of 2015
1. In Jackson Heights
2. Carol
3. The Assassin
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
5. Timbuktu
6. Hard to Be a God
7. Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One / Arabian Nights: Volume 2 - The Desolate One / Arabian Nights: Volume 3 - The Enchanted One
8. The Look of Silence
9. Eastern Boys
10. Horse Money

SPOTLIGHT WINS NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS AWARD

The National Society of Film Critics shocked Oscar watchers today by announcing Tom McCarthy's Spotlight the best film of 2015. NSFC published its vote counts for its top three in each category, highlighting those unequivocal winners like Charlotte Rampling, Mark Rylance and Kristen Stewart in the acting categories, and the much closer races. Particularly tight was the Best Director race, while low figures in Best Actor go to show just how uncertain that category has been this year. There were welcome citations, like 2nd place for The Assassin's Lee Ping Bin in Cinematography, and less welcome ones, like Amy winning yet another Documentary prize with a no-show for The Look of Silence. Amy's win and Spotlight's were unusually mainstream picks for the normally arthouse-friendly society - last year, it chose Jean-Luc Godard's Goodbye to Language 3D. Have a look at all their picks for 2015 below:

Best Picture

1. Spotlight (Tom McCarthy) - 23
2. Carol (Todd Haynes) - 17
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller) - 13

Best Director
1. Todd Haynes (Carol) - 21
2. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) - 21*
3. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) - 20

Best Actor

1. Michael B. Jordan (Creed) - 29
2. Rohrig Geza (Son of Saul) - 18
3. Tom Courtenay (45 Years) - 15

Best Actress

1. Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) - 57
2. Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) - 30
3. Nina Hoss (Phoenix) - 22

Best Supporting Actor

1. Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) - 56
2. Michael Shannon (99 Homes) - 16
3. Sylvester Stallone - (Creed) - 14

Best Supporting Actress

1. Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria) - 53
2. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) - 23
3. Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy) - 17
=  Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) - 17

Best Screenplay

1. Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight) - 21
2. Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa) - 15
=  Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short) - 15

Best Cinematography

1. Edward Lachman (Carol) - 25
2. Lee Ping Bin (The Assassin) - 22
3. John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road) - 12

Best Non-Fiction Film
1. Amy (Asif Kapadia) - 23
2. In Jackson Heights (Frederick Wiseman) - 18
3. Seymour: An Introduction (Ethan Hawke) - 15

Best Foreign Language Film
1. Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako) - 22
2. Phoenix (Christian Petzold) - 20
3. The Assassin (Hou Hsiao Hsien) - 16

Film Heritage Award
Association Chaplin (for supervising the digital restoration of Charlie Chaplin's Essanay Films)
The Criterion Collection and L'Immagine Ritrovata (for the restoration and packaging of the reconstructed version of The Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Michelle Materre and Jake Perlin (for the series Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents in New York, 1968-1986)

Special Citation
One Floor Below (Radu Muntean)

*Lower placement due to featuring on fewer ballots

PHOENIX FUCKS IT UP WITH THEIR 2015 FILM CRITICS SOCIETY NOMINATIONS

And here comes the Phoenix Film Critics Society to really brighten up your Christmas! Among the many odious details in their award nominations for the year: Carol secures one nomination, the same number as The Visit; The Danish Girl is declared a better film than Carol; not a single POC is nominated for an acting award, The Martian makes the top three for cinematography (over Carol and The Assassin); 'Writing's on the Wall' from Spectre is named one of the best three film songs of the year; The Look of Silence isn't even nominated for Best Documentary; The Walk is nominated for its ensemble, indicating that perhaps these voters didn't even see The Walk; fs will people stop claiming Alicia Vikander broke through with Ex Machina? Have they literally not even gotten out of bed for the last four years? Winners will be announced on the 22nd of December. The disaster in full below:

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

The Danish Girl

Inside Out

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Best Director

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Adam McKay (The Big Short)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Johnny Depp (Black Mass)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Julie Walters (Brooklyn)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Spotlight

Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material

The Big Short

Brooklyn

The Martian

Room

Best Cinematography

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Best Film Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Spotlight

Best Production Design

Brooklyn

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Costume Design

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Visual Effects

Jurassic World

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies

The Hateful Eight

The Revenant

Spotlight

Best Original Song

‘One Kind of Love’ (Love & Mercy)

‘See You Again’ (Furious 7)

‘Writing’s on the Wall’ (Spectre)

Best Ensemble Acting

The Big Short

The Hateful Eight

Spotlight

Trumbo

The Walk

Best Animated Film

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Documentary

Amy

He Named Me Malala

Where to Invade Next

Best Foreign Language Film

The Assassin

Mustang

Son of Saul

The Overlooked Film of the Year

Ex Machina

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Z for Zachariah

Best Breakthrough Performance

Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Performance by a Youth

Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)

Ed Oxenbould (The Visit)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE FILM AWARDS: CAROL LEADS AMONG CONTROVERSY

The London Critics' Circle has often defined its local film awards as 'British', despite featuring Irish talent in these categories. Following today's nominations announcement, in which Todd Haynes' Carol leads all nominees with seven mentions, the circle made an adjustment, and renamed these categories. About time too. The nominees are pretty impressive, however, with Best Film mentions for two documentaries, and a brilliant slate of Foreign Language contenders (as ever from this group). A gala ceremony will be held on Sunday the 17th of January during which the award winners will be announced. Check out their choices below:

Film of the Year

45 Years

Amy

Carol

Inside Out

The Look of Silence

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Director of the Year

Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

Andrew Haigh (45 Years)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Actor of the Year

Tom Courtenay (45 Years)

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Tom Hardy (Legend)

Actress of the Year

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Supporting Actor of the Year

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Michael Keaton (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Supporting Actress of the Year

Olivia Colman (The Lobster)

Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)

Tilda Swinton (Trainwreck)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Screenwriter of the Year

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Nick Hornby (Brooklyn)

Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Phyllis Nagy (Carol)

Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs)

Technical Achievement Award

Carter Burwell (Carol)

Wade Eastwood (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)

Colin Gibson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Elliot Graham (Steve Jobs)

Edward Lachman (Carol)

Tom Ozanich (Sicario)

Sandy Powell (Cinderella)

John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Alistair Sirkett and Markus Stemler (Macbeth)

Andrew Whitehurst (Ex Machina)

Documentary of the Year

Amy

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

The Look of Silence

Palio

A Syrian Love Story

Foreign-Language Film of the Year

Eden

Hard to Be a God

The Look of Silence

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

The Tribe

British / Irish Film of the Year

45 Years

Amy

Brooklyn

The Lobster

London Road

British / Irish Actor of the Year

Michael Caine (Kingsman: The Secret Service / Youth)

Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation / Second Coming)

Colin Farrell (The Lobster / Miss Julie)

Michael Fassbender (Macbeth / Slow West / Steve Jobs)

Tom Hardy (Legend / London Road / Mad Max: Fury Road / The Revenant)

British / Irish Actress of the Year

Emily Blunt (Sicario)

Carey Mulligan (Far from the Madding Crowd / Suffragette)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years / The Forbidden Room)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn / Lost River)

Kate Winslet (The Dressmaker / A Little Chaos / Steve Jobs)

Breakthrough British / Irish Filmmaker

Tom Browne (Radiator)

Mark Burton and Richard Starzak (Shaun the Sheep Movie)

Emma Donoghue (Room)

Alex Garland (Ex Machina)

John MacLean (Slow West)

Young British / Irish Performer

Asa Butterfield (X+Y)

Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes / Robot Overlords)

Florence Pugh (The Falling)

Liam Walpole (The Goob)

Maisie Williams (The Falling)

British / Irish Short Film

Directed by Tweedie (Duncan Cowles)

Leidi (Simon Mesa Soto)

Over (Jorn Threlfall)

Rate Me (Fyzal Boulifa)

Stutterer (Benjamin Cleary)