Here Are The Visual Effects Society Nominations!

Now, as some of you may know, I am currently in the process of playing catch up as far as all of my reviews are concerned. Sadly, I haven’t posted a review for every film listed below. However, as I continue to post reviews tonight and tomorrow, I will be sure to add links to this list!

Finally, I have only considered and listed 2015 films that I have actually seen. Unfortunately, Anomalisa has not opened in my part of the world yet and neither has Son of Saul. So, I could not consider either one of them for the list below. However, I have seen every other “prestige” picture to have been released over the past few weeks. So, if you look at this list below and wonder if I actually saw Spotlight, The Hateful Eight, and The Big Short, rest assured that I did. And none of them made my list.

With all that in mind, here are my picks for the 30 best films of 2015!

Carol
Brooklyn
Inside Out
Mad Max Fury Road
Ex Machina
Room
Clouds of Sils Maria
Sicario
Straight Outta Compton
The Final Girls
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Beasts of No Nation
88
Love & Mercy
The Tribe
The End of the Tour
Furious Seven
The Walk
Crimson Peak
Unfriended
Trainwreck
The Revenant
Creed
Shaun the Sheep
The Gift
The Stanford Prison Experiment
A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflection On Existence
Spring
Maggie
The Green Inferno

Katharine Isabelle in 88

You can check out my picks for previous years by clicking on 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014!

Agree? Disagree? Have a list of your own? Let us know in the comments!

Previous Entries In The Best of 2015:

Here’s What Won At The Golden Globes!

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Golden Globes just ended and here’s what won the film categories this year. (Check out a full list of nominees here.)

Best Motion Picture (Drama) — The Revenant

Best Motion Picture (Comedy) — That freaking hilarious comedy The Martian

Best Actor (Comedy) — Matt Damon in that freaking hilarious comedy The Martian

Best Actor (Drama) — Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

Best Actress (Comedy) — Jennifer Lawrence in Joy

Best Actress (Drama) — Brie Larson in Room

Best Supporting Actor — Sylvester Stallone in Creed

Best Supporting Actress — Kate Winslet in Steve Jobs

Best Director — Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant

Best Screenplay — Aaron Sorkin for Steve Jobs

Best Original Score — Ennio Morricone for The Hateful Eight

Best Original Song — Writing’s on the Wall, that boringass song from Spectre

Best Animated Film: Inside Out

Best Foreign Language Film: Son of Saul

Here Are The Costume Designers Guild Nominations!

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Costume Designers Guild Nominations were announced today and here they are! Ex Machina received a nomination, which would seem to be another indication that it’s popular with Academy voters. (Then again, remember how excited we were last year when Nightcrawler kept getting love from the guilds?)

Excellence in Contemporary Film

“Beasts of No Nation” – Jenny Eagan
“Joy” – Michael Wilkinson
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” – Arianne Phillips
“The Martian” – Janty Yates
“Youth” – Carlo Poggioli

Excellence in Period Film

“Brooklyn” – Odile Dicks-Mireaux
“Carol” – Sandy Powell
“Crimson Peak” – Kate Hawley
“The Danish Girl” – Paco Delgado
“Trumbo” – Daniel Orlandi

Excellence in Fantasy Film

“Cinderella” – Sandy Powell
“Ex Machina” – Sammy Sheldon Differ
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” – Kurt and Bart
“Mad Max: Fury Road” – Jenny Beavan
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” – Michael Kaplan

Here Are The USC Scripter Nominations!

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The USC Scripter nominations are meant to honor film scripts that were adapted from previously published material. You’ll find their film nominations below and you may immediately notice that Oscar front runner Carol is missing. Make of that what you will.

The Big Short
Screenwriters Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, adapted from Michael Lewis’s nonfiction work “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine”
Paramount Pictures and W.W. Norton

Brooklyn
Novelist Colm Tóibín and screenwriter Nick Hornby
Fox Searchlight and Viking

The End Of The Tour
Screenwriter Donald Margulies, adapted from David Lipsky’s memoir “Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace”
A24 and Broadway Books

The Martian
Novelist Andy Weir and screenwriter Drew Goddard
Twentieth Century Fox and Crown Publishing Group

Room
Emma Donoghue for the novel and screenplay
A24 and Little, Brown and Company

Here Are The WGA Nominations!

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Writers Guild of America announced their film nominations earlier today! As always, the WGA nominations should be taken with a grain of salt, as several potential Oscar nominees — Brooklyn, Room, The Hateful Eight — were not eligible to be nominated for a WGA award.

With that in mind, here are the nominees!

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bridge of Spies, Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures

Sicario, Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate

Spotlight, Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films

Straight Outta Compton, Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff; Universal Pictures

Trainwreck, Written by Amy Schumer; Universal Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Big Short, Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures

Carol, Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy; Based on the Novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith; The Weinstein Company

The Martian, Screenplay by Drew Goddard; Based on the Novel by Andy Weir; Twentieth Century Fox

Steve Jobs, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the Book by Walter Isaacson; Universal Pictures

Trumbo, Written by John McNamara; Based on the Biography by Bruce Cook; Bleecker Street Media
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Being Canadian, Written by Robert Cohen; Candy Factory Films

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Written by Brett Morgen; HBO Documentary Films

Prophet’s Prey, Written by Amy J. Berg; Showtime Documentary Films

The American Society of Cinematographers Has Spoken!

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The American Society of Cinematographers announced their 5 nominees for the best cinematography of 2015 and here they are:

Bridge of Spies – Janusz Kaminski
Carol – Edward Lachman
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
Sicario – Roger Deakins

This is Roger Deakins’s 14th ASC nomiantion! If Sicario scores a best picture nomination, I wouldn’t be surprised if Deakins finally picks up an Oscar as a result.

Though a lot of critics don’t want to admit it (for obvious reasons), the guild awards are actually a far better Oscar precursor than the critic awards. If you want to know what films are popular with the people who actually make movies, look to the guild awards.

And looking at the guild awards so far, it really does appear that there are quite a few films that have wide industry support. Interestingly enough, both Sicario and Straight Outta Compton have been making something of a comeback with the guild awards. (Even though Compton was not nominated by ASC, it has been recognized by the PGA, WGA, and SAG.) As well, Bridge of Spies and Trumbo have both received more guild support than either has gotten from the critics.

For that matter, both Mad Max: Fury Road and The Big Short have received more guild support than Spotlight. I know that Sasha Stone and Jeff Wells have pretty much declared Spotlight to be unbeatable but who knows? Things could still get interesting.

(Correction: Over on Gold Derby, Sasha Stone is now predicting victory for The Big Short.)

The ADG Nominates Crimson Peak … and some other films…

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The PGA wasn’t the only guild to announce nominations today! The Art Director’s Guild announced their nominees for the best of 2015 as well. And here they are! (And yay to the ADG for nominating Crimson Peak!)

THE NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM IN 2015 ARE:

1. PERIOD FILM

BRIDGE OF SPIES
Production Designer: ADAM STOCKHAUSEN

CRIMSON PEAK
Production Designer: THOMAS E. SANDERS

THE DANISH GIRL
Production Designer: EVE STEWART

THE REVENANT
Production Designer: JACK FISK

TRUMBO
Production Designer: MARK RICKER

2. FANTASY FILM

CINDERELLA
Production Designer: DANTE FERRETTI

JURASSIC WORLD
Production Designer: EDWARD VERREAUX

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Production Designer: COLIN GIBSON

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Production Designers: RICK CARTER, DARREN GILFORD

TOMORROWLAND
Production Designer: SCOTT CHAMBLISS

3. CONTEMPORARY FILM

EX MACHINA
Production Designer: MARK DIGBY

JOY
Production Designer: JUDY BECKER

THE MARTIAN
Production Designer: ARTHUR MAX

SICARIO
Production Designer: PATRICE VERMETTE

SPECTRE
Production Designer: DENNIS GASSNER

The PGA Gives New Life To Sicario and Straight Outta Compton!

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Producers Guild of America announced their nominees today and guess what? Ex Machina, Sicario and Straight Outta Compton made the cut! In general, the PGA is a good precursor for the actual Oscar nominations so that’s good news for both of those films. (Among the films snubbed: Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Carol!)

Here are the nominees:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Ø The Big Short

Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Ø Bridge of Spies

Producers: Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger

Ø Brooklyn

Producers: Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey

Ø Ex Machina

This film is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

Ø Mad Max: Fury Road

Producers: Doug Mitchell & George Miller

Ø The Martian

Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam

Ø The Revenant

Producers: Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon

Ø Sicario

Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith

Ø Spotlight

Producers: Michael Sugar & Steve Golin,

Straight Outta Compton

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Ø Anomalisa

Producers: Rosa Tran, Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman

Ø The Good Dinosaur

Producer: Denise Ream

Ø Inside Out

Producer: Jonas Rivera

Ø Minions

Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

Ø The Peanuts Movie

Producers: Craig Schulz, Michael J. Travers

2015 in Review: The Best of Lifetime

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, I continue my look back at 2015 by posting my picks for the best of Lifetime! My nominees for the best Lifetime films and performances are listed below, with the winners starred and listed in bold! Congratulations to all the nominees and winners and thank you for making this one of the most entertaining years in my long history of watching Lifetime movies!

Best Picture
Babysitter’s Black Book, produced by Robert Ballo and Ken Sanders.
Cleveland Abduction, produced by David A. Rosemont and Stephen Tolkin
*A Deadly Adoption, produced by Fritz Manger, Max Osswald, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay.*
If There Be Thorns, produced by Richard D. Arredondo and Harvey Kahn.
A Mother’s Instinct, produced by Oliver De Caigny and Timothy O. Johnson
Patient Killer, produced by Barbie Castro.
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, produced by Joseph Boccia, Don Carmody, and David Cormican.
The Spirit of Christmas, produced by Andrea Ajemian
Stalked By My Neighbor, produced by Robert Ballo.
The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story, produced by Ian Hay.

Best Director
Jason Bourque for A Mother’s Instinct
Doug Campbell for Stalked By My Neighbor.
*Rachel Goldenberg for A Deadly Adoption*
Alex Kalymnois for Cleveland Abduction
Vanessa Parise for The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story
Casper Van Dien for Patient Killer

Best Actor
Shaun Benson in Kept Woman
Dan Castellaneta in The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story
*Will Ferrell in A Deadly Adoption*
Travis Hammer in The Bride He Bought Online
Adam Kaufman in A Mother Betrayed
Eric Roberts in Stalked By My Doctor

Best Actress
Josie Bissett in A Mother’s Instinct
Anna Camp in Caught
Kimberly Elise in Back to School Mom
Kelli Garner in The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
*Taryn Manning in Cleveland Abduction*
Kelcie Stranahan in Stalked By My Neighbor

Best Supporting Actor
Ken Camroux-Taylor in Sugarbabies
MacKenzie Gray in If There Be Thorns
Richard Harmon in A Mother’s Instinct
*Patrick Muldoon in Patient Killer.*
Eric Roberts in A Fatal Obsession
Peter Strauss in Sugar Daddies.

Best Supporting Actress
Angeline Appel in Babysitter’s Black Book.
Barbie Castro in Patient Killer
Olivia d’Abo in Stolen From The Suburbs
Sarah Grey in A Mother’s Instinct
Jessica Lowndes in A Deadly Adoption
*Samantha Munro in The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story*

Best Adapted Screenplay
*Cleveland Abduction, written by Stephen Tolkin*
If There Be Thorns, written by Andy Cochran.
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, written by Stephen Kronish and J. Randy Taraborrelli.
Seeds of Yesterday, written by Darren Stein.
Turkey Hollow, written by Tim Burns and Christopher Baldi.
Wuthering High School, written by Delondra Williams.

Best Original Screenplay
*Babysitter’s Black Book, written by Richard Kletter and Michele Samit*
A Deadly Adoption, written by Andrew Steele.
The Murder Pact, written by John Doolan
Patient Killer, written by Bryan Dick and Brian D. Young.
Stalked By My Neighbor, written by Doug Campbell.
Stolen From The Suburbs, written by Alex Wright

Best Cinematography
*Cleveland Abduction, Richard Wong.*
Fatal Obsession, Ronnee Swenton.
If There Be Thorns, James Liston.
The Murder Pact, Branden James Maxham.
Patient Killer, Bernard Salzmann
The Spirit of Christmas, Michael Negrin.

Best Costume Design
Grace of Monaco, Gigi Lepage
If There Be Thorns, Shanna Mair, Rebekka Sorensen.
Kept Woman
*The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, Gersha Phillips.*
Seeds of Yesterday, Claire Nadon.
The Spirit of Christmas, Jennifer Lynn Tremblay.

Best Editing
Babysitter’s Black Book, Ely Mennin
Cleveland Abduction, Henk Van Eeghen.
*A Deadly Adoption, Bill Parker.*
A Mother’s Instinct
Stalked By My Neighbor, Clayton Woodhull.
The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story, Allan Lee.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
*Cleveland Abduction, Dugg Kirkpatrick, Susan R. Prosser, Tina Roesler Kewin, Alan Tuskes, Alicia Zavarella*
Grace of Monaco
If There Be Thorns, Jenine Lehfeldt, Tana Lynn Moldovanos.
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe. Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey
The Spirit of Christmas
The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story, Amber Crombach.