Best in Film of 2015: Our Choices

It was a pretty wide open race this year at the Oscars; aside from Leonardo DiCaprio being a runaway victor for Best Actor. Best Picture was wide open, with “The Revenant”, “Spotlight”, “The Big Short” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” all as legitimate contenders.

Although there were many winners we would have picked differently, there was one category that was a supreme disappointment and an utter disgrace in our books: Best Supporting Actor.

Sylvester Stallone being shafted for the Oscar will go down as one of the biggest oversights of all-time, along with “Citizen Kate” and “Reds” for Best Picture (1941, 1981). Here are our thoughts on his performance:

“It shows the beauty of human nature; the depth of our hearts and our soul, and our willingness help others, and in the end, survive.” – Charlotte Zang  

“It was the most genuine, heartfelt and natural performance of this year. It moved me more than any other performance in the past five years.” – Alex Knudsen

“Stallone’s performance is the most heartfelt of 2015. No showboating, no upstaging and no gimmicks; just painfully honest and impossible to forget.” – Kyle Kenyon 

Without further ado, here are OUR nominations and winners for the Best in Film in 2015!

Kyle’s Nominations and Winners

*Winners

Best Picture

• *Creed
• Room
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• 45 Years
• Victoria
• Bone Tomahawk
• Inside Out
• Bridge of Spies
• Straight Outta Compton
• Steve Jobs

Best Actor

• Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
• Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
• *Jason Segel – The End of the Tour
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• Michael B. Jordan – Creed

Best Actress

• *Brie Larson – Room
• Cate Blanchett – Carol
• Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
• Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
• Laia Costa – Victoria

Best Director

• Ryan Coogler – Creed
• *Lenny Abrahamson – Room
• George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
• Adam McKay – The Big Short
• Kyle Patrick Alvarez – The Stanford Prison Experiment

Best Supporting Actor

• *Sylvester Stallone – Creed
• Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton
• Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation
• Tom Hardy – The Revenant
• Richard Jenkins – Bone Tomahawk

Best Supporting Actress

• Helen Mirren – Trumbo
• *Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
• Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
• Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
• Olivia Cooke – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Best Cinematography

• The Hateful Eight
• *Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Beasts of No Nation
• Bridge of Spies

Best Screenplay

• *Steve Jobs
• Inside Out
• What We Do In The Shadows
• The End of the Tour
• Room

Best Original Score

• The Hateful Eight
• *Mad Max: Fury Road
• Bridge of Spies
• It Follows
• Inside Out

Best Production Design

• Carol
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Hateful Eight
• *Anomalisa
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Editing

• The Big Short
• Spotlight
• *Mad Max: Fury Road
• Creed
• Straight Outta Compton

Best Documentary

• Twinsters
• *Cartel Land
• Best of Enemies
• Finders Keepers
• Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Best Visual Effects

• *The Walk
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Ex Machina

Best Costume Design

• *Carol
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Brooklyn
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Hateful Eight

Best Hair and Makeup

• *The Revenant
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Mad Max: Fury Road

Alex’s Nominations and Winners

*Winners

Best Picture

• Bone Tomahawk
• Brooklyn
• Carol
• Creed
• Creep
• Love & Mercy
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• * The Revenant
• Room
• Steve Jobs

Best Actor

• Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
• John Cusack – Love & Mercy
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• * Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
• Jason Segel – The End of the Tour

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett – Carol
• *Brie Larson – Room
• Rooney Mara – Carol
• Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
• Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director

• Lenny Abrahamson – Room
• Danny Boyle – Steve Jobs
• * Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant
• Todd Haynes – Carol
• George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale – The Big Short
• Tom Hardy – The Revenant
• Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton
• * Sylvester Stallone – Creed
• Jason Statham – Spy

Best Supporting Actress

• Elizabeth Banks – Love & Mercy
• Olivia Cooke – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
• * Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
• Kristen Stewert – Clouds of Sila Maria
• Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Best Cinematography

• Beasts of No Nation
• Carol
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• * The Revenant
• Room

Best Screenplay

• The Big Short
• Bone Tomahawk
• Carol
• Room
• * Steve Jobs

Best Original Score

• * Carol
• The Revenant
• Room
• Sicario
• Steve Jobs

Best Production Design

• Carol
• Brooklyn
• * Crimson Peak
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
• Ex Machina

Best Editing

• The Big Short
• *Mad Max: Fury Road
• Room
• Spotlight
• Steve Jobs

Best Visual Effects

• Crimson Peak
• Ex Machina
• The Martian
• * The Revenant
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Costume Design

• Carol
• Bone Tomahawk
• Crimson Peak
• * Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant

Charlotte’s Nominations and Winners

Best Picture

• Brooklyn
• Crimson Peak
• Ex Machina
• Goodnight Mommy
• The Hateful 8
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
• * The Revenant
• Room

Best Actor

• * Matt Damon – The Martian
• Jacob Tremblay – Room
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• Tom Hiddleston – Crimson Peak
• Michael B. Jordan – Creed

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett – Carol
• Brie Larson – Room
• Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
• * Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
• Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director

• Lenny Abrahamson – Room
• John Crowley – Brooklyn
• * Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant
• Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful 8
• George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale – The Big Short
• Walton Goggins – The Hateful 8
• Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton
• * Sylvester Stallone – Creed
• Benecio Del Toro – Sicario

Best Supporting Actress

• Elizabeth Banks – Love & Mercy
• Jessica Chastain – Crimson Peak
• * Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
• Kristen Stewert – Clouds of Sila Maria
• Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Best Cinematography

• Crimson Peak
• * The Hateful 8
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Slow West

Best Screenplay

• The Martian
• Creed
• The Hateful 8
• * Room
• The Revenant

Best Original Score

• Crimson Peak
• * The Hateful 8
• It Follows
• Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
• The Martian

Best Production Design

• Carol
• * Crimson Peak
• Ex Machina
• The Hateful 8
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Best Editing

• The Big Short
• * Mad Max: Fury Road
• Sicario
• The Revenant
• Spotlight

Best Visual Effects

• Jurassic World
• * Ex Machina
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Costume Design

• Carol
• * Crimson Peak
• The Hateful 8
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian