BEST SCENE

 

And the winner is KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE for the Church scene! With 4 votes

 

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/69799/Kingsman_The_Secret_Service_69799.jpg

 

(2nd Joy (QVC) / 3rd Hunger Games (Sewer scene) / 4th Room (Escape scene) / 5th Ant Man (Thomas the Tank Engine fight) / 6th Straight Outta Compton (Police harass band) / 7th Kingsman ("Give It Up"))

 

Another win for Kingsman!! Colin Firth totally owns the church scene with people killing each other left, right and center. Joy comes in 2nd for the scene where she sells her miracle mop herself on QVC to great results (after some initial stage fright) and then in 3rd we have Jennifer Lawrence again, this time for the sewer scene in Mockingjay Part 2.

I agree with you Jonjo that Big Hero 6 is one of the best animated films, I can see why your friend liked it too because the action it just looks so cool. Like in The Incredibles where it's better than half of the live-action superhero movies. Baymax is so adorable too :wub:

Great winner - the church scene is brilliant!

Yay, great winner there. The church scene is so well choreographed and I just love how much of a bloodbath it is. A shame the escape scene from Room didn't come higher, that was so tense and I knew the outcome already. Didn't expect the QVC scene to get that high at all but it's really good, I think it's Jennifer's best scene in the movie and really uplifting too seeing those numbers roll in.

http://i.imgur.com/s5dE4l7.jpg

BEST ENSEMBLE

 

01. Spotlight (5 votes)

02. Avengers: Age of Ultron (4 votes)

03. Brooklyn (3 votes)

04. The Martian (2 votes)

05. Straight Outta Compton (1 votes)

 

So Spotlight wins the award for best ensemble here, it was definitely my pick of the bunch so I'm pleased with that. Everyone does their job excellently and it is a prime example of an ensemble movie. I do have some highlight performances in this (namely Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton) but everyone works so well together that the list of good performances in this is endless.

The Avengers team is probably the coolest ensemble around at the moment, pretty much every character has a badass moment in the film and they all have such good chemistry which is something that makes the films so enjoyable. We all have our favourites (#TeamCap [and Black Widow]) but that fact that it's so difficult to pick a team in the upcoming Civil War proves how much we love the Avengers as a united team.

Brooklyn also had a solid ensemble cast although I think it would be least favourite of the five nominated here mainly because I feel like the story is Eilis' story but that's not to say there are not some great performances from everyone involved including my personal favourites of Julie Walters and Emory Cohen.

Much like Brooklyn, I feel The Martian's best parts consisted of Matt Damon's isolated performance back on Mars but the whole crew on the mission do a fantastic job (especially Jessica Chastain in my opinion) and also the team back at NASA, Chiwetel Ejiofor is great in everything and this is no exception. This film boasts one hell of a cast and luckily they all work well as an ensemble.

I do think Straight Outta Compton deserves to be higher here but maybe this isn't down Buzzjack's lane as much as the others. The whole band have great chemistry in this and all the supporting characters that they meet along the way are stellar too. This film wouldn't work half as well if there was an awkward performance in the band but fortunately all of them have great chemistry.

Yay for Spotlight! Great movie and the actors work so well together but unlike Brooklyn, it doesn't have a stand-out / lead as such and all the actors are required for it to work!

The third film fighting it out for Best Picture, and another animation

 

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2015/news/150316/inside-out-435.jpg

 

Inside Out

 

Words by Froot

 

Pixar rarely fail to deliver for me, having producing the very best animations and some of my favourite films of all time. What helps to make them stand out is the range of emotions that they make you experience with every film, and it is this aspect which is made explicitly prominent in 'Inside Out'. The film tried to envisage what really goes on inside our heads by imagining that everyone has five different characters in their mind, representing five different emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who control us. A person's personality is also represented by different islands whilst it also explores how we store our memories. All in all its a very clever film, the idea may have been explored before but it is pulled off so well with the film that it certainly looks like a unique concept. It could have easily become very confusing but the whole thing is executed perfectly, in the way that you are able to feel for both Riley and each of the emotions. It experiments with a lot of ideas, making it Pixar's most ambitious movie but I can't express enough how well it works! These ideas allow for plenty of memorable gems, with my favourite sequence being the abstract room and there's also a lot of fun to be had when it explores why certain songs get stuck in your head. As with some other Pixar films, it focuses on growing up, with the concept being used to explore this in most explicit way, and possibly one of the most thoughtful ways. The character of Sadness is the absolute standout of the film for me though, she does have her unintentional funny moments but her journey through the film is incredibly moving.

 

After a few underwhelming films, Pixar returned to the top of their game with 'Inside Out'. Emotions is what Pixar does best and never has it been represented better than here. In a film filled with ambitious concepts and experimental ideas, it is the characters, both inside and out, that shine the brightest. It is truly one of the best films of the last few years.

And Haus

 

Inside Out is the 15th studio length film from Pixar Animation Studios made lovingly by the animators of the studio who have repeatedly perfect the art of story-telling for children and adults alike. This film in particular, which centres on a young girl facing all problems that children go through on a daily basis, is perhaps one of their most touching and universal achievements. The lead character is broken down explictly into 5 traits of the human mind, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust and each becomes its own integral part in making this young girl survive the day-to-day trials and tribulations she faces. It's a unique storyline, a unique conceptual arrangement and a sweet, adventurous, daring exploration at how cinema is able to break apart the human psyche and present something that can relate to all.

 

The film received huge critical and commercial success and garnered yet more fans and more generations to hop on the Pixar train. It's lovingly crafted and told and this is seen perfectly in the range of movie-goers who fell in love with the film. They have the power like no other to combine every genre and cinematic experience into their films, and here Pixar did not shy away from this as the film is a psychologically deep, but playful film full of joy, sadness and every emotion in between, all in equal measure.

Great to see the Joy scene so high I personally prefer another scene in the movie tho :(

http://i.imgur.com/dEwnbOf.jpg

BEST HERO

 

01. Baymax - Big Hero 6 (5 votes)

02. Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (4 votes)

03. Eggsy - Kingsman: The Secret Service (2 votes) [3 second preferences]

04. Owen - Jurassic World (2 votes) [1 second preference]

04. Furiosa - Mad Max: Fury Road (2 votes) [1 second preference]

06. Captain America - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2 votes) [0 second preferences]

07. Rey - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (0 votes)

 

Yay for Baymax, one of the cutest heroes here and also one of the funniest. Baymax managed to make us love him already by just being so adorable and cuddly but then he goes and saves the day so we have to award him best hero. The fact that it's so heart-breaking to see him turn bad just for a teeny bit of screentime in the film just shows how much we love him as a hero and all-round cute blob.

Katniss Everdeen managed to finish in second place here, the main character of the Hunger Games franchise played by Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most beloved characters in recent years. Perhaps not one of the most likeable heroes but she's so complex and compelling to watch that you can't help but want to follow her story. Sadly it all ended this year with the final instalment but I'm sure she will be regarded as one of the best movie heroes for a long time.

Eggsy is just so great in Kingsman because he has such a cheeky demeanour about him that you just fall in love with his character. It's so great to see him get back at his abusive step-father at the end too. Owen from Jurassic World and Furiosa come in joint 4th. Owen is pretty great because he's Chris Pratt who is just so good at playing the witty hero. Furiosa is one of the coolest characters too, I really liked her metal arm and whole style but she didn't get enough second preferences to come much higher here, I wonder if Mad Max will win something later after getting six nominations?

Cap comes sixth due to lack of second preferences, he's also my favourite Avengers hero so yay for picking him here guys but I can see why he's not higher here though due to having to share so much screentime. I'm sure we'll get to see more of him this year though in Civil War.

I thought Rey would do really well here but she didn't even pick up one vote, she'd also be my last choice though because I feel like in terms of best hero Harrison Ford stole the show in Star Wars for me.

Best Character

 

The winner is JOY (Inside Out) / AVA (Ex_Machina) with four votes each (and two second preferences)

 

http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2015/07/07/102815673-io_Joy_standard.530x298.jpg

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news/70795/_1428618402.jpg

 

(3rd Baymax (Big Hero 6) / 4th Sadness (Inside Out) / 5th Rey (Star Wars: The Force Awakens))

 

So Baymax is our favourite hero but only our 3rd favourite character after all. Another one to maybe split in a poll later but currently our joint winners are Joy and Ava! Joy is a huge preference in Inside Out voiced by the wonderful Amy Poehler, always trying to remain positive and she's so cute, it's no wonder she won everyone over. Ava (a robot of artificial intelligence) is much less joyous, a very stark contrast between the two but she's played so well by Alicia Vikander and quite complex for someone who isn't true human!

Rey not having a good night so far :/

 

I'd pick Ava out of the two winners there, so complex and excellently acted. Baymax was my favourite of the lot though :heart:

Omg two good winners :wub:

http://i.imgur.com/9hm3Q5i.jpg

BEST SCI-FI/THRILLER

 

01. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (5 votes) [3 second preferences]

02. Jurassic World (5 votes) [2 second preferences]

03. Ex_Machina (3 votes)

04. The Martian (2 votes)

05. Tomorrowland (1 vote)

06. The Gift (0 votes) [4 second preferences]

07. Sicario (0 votes) [0 second preferences]

 

At first I was like no shocks here then with that winner but upon further inspection, this was way closer than I was anticipating. I didn't expect to say this tonight but Star Wars narrowly takes the winner here. It is the biggest sci-fi franchise of all time so it was always going to be tough to please everybody, especially after the critically despised prequels but it managed to be one of the biggest smash hits of all time. I think they balanced the introduction of new characters and continuation of old character's stories incredibly well and of course all the effects were excellent so I'm sure a lot of people would have this as their best sci-fi film of 2015 too.

I would give that accolade to Jurassic World personally though, I thought the action was more exciting and the sci-fi world was just so much more interesting, I'd give anything to go to a real Jurassic World and I feel like that's one of the reasons that the franchise was so popular. It did get some vocal haters but it was still a massive hit and the Indominus Rex is one of my favourite sci-fi characters of all time now.

Ex Machina is not the most exciting sci-fi film ever but it's so dense with so many things to think about afterwards which is why so many people love it. It's also excellently acted and pretty much the whole package but it's not hard to see why it lost out to such large blockbusters.

The Martian is a pretty great film with so many highs, pretty much all of the Mars scenes are spectacular and Mark Watney is such a great character too.

I like Tomorrowland too but I'm really shocked to see it come out this high or even be nominated, it was a massive box office disappointment and didn't get great reviews either but it was completely bonkers and had some really fun moments so I'm glad to see it here anyway.

I've not seen The Gift because I'm a wuss so I won't comment on that but Sicario also picked up no votes (or second preferences sadly). Although it's not really my thing at all, I thought it was a really well-made thriller and had some exceptionally tense moments.

I really need to see Star Wars 7 :heart:

Best Action

 

The winner is STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS with four votes

 

http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Star-Wars-the-Force-Awakens-Poster-Cropped.jpg

 

(2nd Avengers: Age of Ultron / 3rd Kingsman: The Secret Service & Mad Max: Fury Road / 5th Jurassic World / 6th Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2)

 

And Star Wars makes it two in a row!! In a similarly close battle with Avengers, Kingsman and Mad Max all getting three first preference votes!! My personal pick was Kingsman which was non-stop action and doesn't really blend the genres like some of the others but Star Wars is HUGE so it's not a surprise to see it dominate a bit. At least it can't win comedy :kink:

I like Star Wars but bit annoying it's won two genre awards, I'd have picked Jurassic World over it in both categories and also Avengers :(

http://i.imgur.com/AbXLx26.jpg

Best Picture Nominee #4:

IT FOLLOWS

 

Blessed with one of the cleverest, most unnerving titles in years, It Follows was 2015's horror cinema revelation. Director David Robert Mitchell subverts the cliches of the genre to provide some of the most bracing scares, with expert pacing and cinematography constantly playing with the audience like a cat with a mouse. The music, production design, and basically every aspect of the film is creepily beautiful, and the film will stay with you for quite a while. Hey, who's that behind you?

- notfurlong

 

As probably my favourite film genre, I am disappointed these days that truly great horror is so rare and reliant on past glories, so It Follows - probably the surprise package of these best picture Buzznominees - was a truly great thing to see. Directed by David Robert Mitchell (not THAT David Mitchell no), the film tells the story of Jay (and by horror tradition, yes she is young and beautiful and yes she is our hero for the film) who gets slightly more than she bargained for after sleeping with her boyfriend as she found she has inherited a curse where an entity, taking the form of person, that only she can see will follow her constantly and eventually kill her. It can never be broken and can only be delayed by being passed on to another person via sex where they will inherit the curse and be next in line. Jay becomes more and more threatened each day, her friends try to help but what can you do when you have something that you can never escape from? Premiering at Cannes 2014 and made on a budget of just $2 million, it has been very well received for a film of it's type and budget and has been one of the more under the radar success stories of 2015.

 

It Follows has a masterful concept for a horror film - the thought of being followed or watched is something that is intimately scary to all of us and there is nothing more terrifying than never being able to escape from that. Not only that, but the film succeeds in the classic 'less is more' approach by prioritising suspense build up over gore (though you could be mistaken by the opening scene). It's not a gory fast paced slasher, the action is few and far between, but it always works as it's constantly keeping you guessing what's gonna happen next and when it's going to strike out of the blue again. While the second half of the film isn't quite as strong as the first, it's focused on the horror of our deepest paranoias and the small details we miss in life, and that is what makes this an utterly terrifying film. Don't watch it at night, ill advised.

- Chez Wombat

It's won a couple of awards already tonight and our 5th Best Picture contender is

 

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

 

 

Here is Jonjo letting you know why it should win!

 

The first trailer to this film is quite misleading. It shows it to be your typical, chavvy comedy. 'Attack The Block'-esque. However, this is MATTHEW VAUGHAUN! This is not your typical chavvy comedy. It's an intelligent, smart, original and pretty gruesome take on the classic Spy genre. It's not your typical spoof movie, because it is quite sharp and genuinely clever and manages to refrain from from being ott and stupid. It has propelled the main star, Taron Egerton, to huge heights and makes him one of the most interesting newcomers on the block. This is to spy movies, what 'Kick Ass' is to superhero movies, essentially. Gore and all. But like I said, it's MATTHEW VAUGHAUN. My favourite film of last year.

 

More comments please :kink:

Hype for this award :D

http://i.imgur.com/2RGIrm8.jpg

BEST COMEDY

 

01. Spy (4 votes) [2 second preferences]

02. Pitch Perfect 2 (4 votes) [1 second preferences]

03. Sisters (2 votes)

04. Trainwreck (1 vote) [3 second preferences]

05. The Duff (1 vote) [2 second preferences]

 

This is another category that I was expecting to be more of a walk-over but Spy only won by a small margin. It's a great comedy with so many laughs due to every character being funny. Melissa McCarthy is suited to this role so well, Jason Statham's anecdotes are bonkers but hilarious, Rose Byrne is on top form with her snobby character and all the supporting characters have their moments too.

Pitch Perfect 2 is also pretty great but I think a lot of its appeal comes from the a cappella side. Fat Amy is a great character and makes me laugh a lot with her blunt attitude so I'm glad to see it do well here but I feel like it's cheating a bit because the singing compositions are so enjoyable too. :P

I was shocked to see Sisters this high but happy about it, Tina and Amy have excellent chemistry and they bounce off each other so well so the jokes just kind of flow. Both of them are so likeable too and it's nice to see comedy gold Maya Rudolph appear too.

Trainwreck was massively successful for lead actress Amy Schumer last year and she even earned a Golden Globe nomination for it. She definitely shone in this and I'm glad she's become more well-known because of it, hopefully we get the rumoured Jennifer Lawrence collaboration soon because I'm sure that'll be a lot of fun although I hope that they stick to the jokes and don't get bogged down into the sad parts like this did.

I've not seen The Duff but my friend told me it was hilarious. I like Bella Thorne a lot so I'm glad she's actually in a good film now, hopefully we see her in more stuff in the future.