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2015 was an oddly structured year when it came to the quality of movie releases. At the same time, I’m beginning to suspect that this might just become the status quo for a while.
The first few months, until the beginning of the release of the inevitable tentpole films (around the time of Mad Max making its appearance), the theaters tended to be filled with either the previous year’s Oscar movies (which I had seen) or movies that were being dumped because their producers had lost faith in them.
It’s not that there wasn’t some gold here and there. Movies like Predestination and What We Do In the Shadows made their presence known. But overall, it was like pulling teeth to find a decent film to go to.
Then the blockbusters hit and with a vengeance. As usual, most weren’t very good, mediocre if we were lucky. At the same time, the quality was, on average, a bit better than usual with Mad Max, Spy and The Martian leading the pack.
Then fall hit, also with a vengeance, and all the distributors inundated the movie houses with their prestige pictures, and suddenly it was safe to go back to the theater again. Not that all of these lived up to their hype (cough, Steve Jobs, cough), but overall, the year ended with a nice selection of films to choose from for a best of list.
Let me know what you think.
So here are the 2015 Howies:
BEST FILM – Son of Saul
The remainder in alphabetical order:
45 Years
Brooklyn
Carol
Diary of a Teenage Girl
The Lobster
Spy
Tangerine
Winter Sleep
Youth
I also enjoyed: A Brilliant Young Mind, Creed, Dope, The Final Girls, The Gift, Goodnight, Mommy, Grandma, He Never Died, I’ll See You in My Dreams, The Martian, The Peanuts Movie, Predestination, Shawn the Sheep Movie, Spotlight, Theeb, What We Do In the Shadows
BEST ACTOR – Geza Rohrig – Son of Saul
The remainder in alphabetical order:
Haluk Bilginer – Winter Sleep
Michael Caine – Youth
Tom Courtenay – 45 Years
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Collin Farrell – The Lobster
Tom Hardy – Legend and The Revenant
I also enjoyed: Matt Damon – The Martian; Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant; Joel Edgerton, The Gift, Black Mass; Jake Gyllenhaal – Southpaw; Samuel L. Jackson – The Hateful Eight; Michael B. Jordan – Creed; Ian McKellan – Holmes
BEST ACTRESS – Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
The remainder in alphabetical order
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Blythe Danner – I’ll See You in My Dreams
Rooney Mara – Carol
Melissa McCarthy – Spy
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez – Tangerine
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklen
Lily Tomlin – Grandma
I also enjoyed: Bel Powel – The Diary of a Teenage Girl; Amy Schumar – Trainwreck
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
The remainder in alphabetical order:
Idris Elba – Bests of No Nation
Sam Elliott – Grandma, I’ll See You In My Dreams
Paul Giamatti – Straight Outta Compton, Love & Mercy
Harvey Keitel – Youth
Sylvester Stallone – Creed
Jason Statham – Spy
I also enjoyed: Albert Brooks – A Most Violent Year, Concussion; Steve Carrell – The Big Short; Jeff Daniels – The Martian, Steve Jobs; Michael Keaton – Spotlight; Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Jane Fonda – Youth
The remainder in alphabetical order:
Olivia Colman – The Lobster
Mya Taylor – Tangerine
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Julie Waters – Brooklyn
Rachel Weisz – The Lobster, Youth
I also enjoyed: Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight; Helen Mirren – Trumbo; Parker Posey – Irrational Man; Meryl Streep – Suffragette; Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
BEST SCREENPLAY – Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou – The Lobster
The remainder in alphabetic order:
Ebru Celyan, Nuri Bilge Celyan – Winter Sleep
Paul Feig – Spy
Andrew Haigh – 45 Years
Marielle Heller – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Phyllis Nagy – Carol
Lazlo Nemes, Clary Royer – Son of Saul
I also enjoyed: Brooklyn, Dope, The Gift, Predestination, Spotlight, What We Do in the Shadows, Youth
BEST DIRECTION – Laslo Nemes – Son of Saul
The remainder in alphabetical order:
Sean Baker – Tangerine
Andrew Haigh – 45 Years
Todd Haynes – Carol
Yorgos Lanthimos – The Lobster
Georg Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Paolo Sorrentino – Youth
I also enjoyed: Goodnight, Mommy; The Martian; Sicario; Spy; Winter Sleep
BEST ENSEMBLE
Carol, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Dope, The Lobster, Spotlight, Spy, Tangerine, What We Do in the Shadows
SPECIAL AWARDS:
Brooklyn – Art Direction, Costumes
Carol – Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, Music
The Hateful Eight – Music
Mad Max: Fury Road – Editing
The Revenant – Cinematography, Sound, Music
Sicario – Cinematography, Editing, Music,
Tangerine – Sound
Youth – Art Decoration, Music
