Matt's Blog
Blog
Oscars 2016: Thank You Movie Gambling Gods
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
The Oscars are over for another year and here’s my wrap…
Oscars Competition
A big thanks to the 64 people who entered by 16th Annual Pick The Oscars Competition. No one managed a perfect score and that was largely due to Mark Rylance winning best supporting actor. Only 3 out of 64 saw that coming. Three people were tied on 5 out of 6 – Sarah Ward, Prue Knox and Robb Musgrave. It came down to the tie-breaker question and Sarah Ward took the honours by being the closest to predict the age of the best picture presenter. 78-year-old Morgan Freeman did the honours.
Oscar Betting & Tipping
I can only laugh when I think of my Oscar bets this year. I had $300 on Spotlight in October 2015 and $300 on Mark Rylance in early 2016. I’d written both bets off but somehow, they came through with the goods today. I finished with a profit of $1,325 which is my largest win on any Oscars ceremony in 20 years. Suffice to say I was pretty damn excited.
Here’s a look at my cumulative Oscar betting…
1996 – profit of $750 – won on Susan Sarandon
1997 – profit of $300 (cumulative profit $1,050) – won on Frances McDormand
1998 – loss of $250 (cumulative profit $800)
1999 – loss of $250 (cumulative profit $550)
2000 – profit of $620 (cumulative profit $1,170) – won on Kevin Spacey and Michael Caine
2001 – loss of $190 (cumulative profit $980) – won on director Steven Soderbergh
2002 – profit of $480 (cumulative profit $1,460) – won on Halle Berry
2003 – profit of $275 (cumulative profit $1,735) – won on Catherine Zeta-Jones and Adrian Brody
2004 – profit of $150 (cumulative profit $1,875) – won on Sean Penn
2005 – profit of $214 (cumulative profit $2,089) – won on Hilary Swank
2006 – profit of $350 (cumulative profit $2,439) – won on Reese Witherspoon
2007 – profit of $1,463 (cumulative profit $3,912) – won on Eddie Murphy at Globes, Alan Arkin & West Bank Story at Oscars
2008 – profit of $268 (cumulative profit of $4,280) – won on Tilda Swinton and the Coen brothers
2009 – profit of $253 (cumulative profit of $4,533) – won on Mickey Rourke & Kate Winslet at Globes, Kate Winslet at Oscars
2010 – loss of $830 (cumulative profit of $3,703)
2011 – profit of $30 (cumulative profit of $3,733) – won on Social Network at Globes, Tom Hooper & King’s Speech at Oscars
2011 – loss of $640 (cumulative profit of $3,093) – won on Jean Dujardin at Oscars
2012 – loss of $850 (cumulative profit of $2,243) – won on Ang Lee at Oscars
2013 – loss of $72 (cumulative profit of $2,171) – won on Matthew McConaughey at Globes and Oscars
2014 – loss of $50 (cumulative profit of $2,121) – won on Eddie Redmayne at Oscars
2015 – win of $1,325 (cumulative profit of $3,446) – won on Mark Rylance and Spotlight at Oscars
I wasn’t quite as successful with my overall tipping. I managed 16 out of 24 but was one of the few to nab all 4 acting categories.
Oscar Results
The winners in the major categories were as follows:
Best Picture – Spotlight
Best Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
Best Actor – Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Best Actress – Brie Larson (Room)
Best Supporting Actor – Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)
Best Supporting Actress – Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Best Original Screenplay – Spotlight
Best Adapted Screenplay – The Big Short
Best Animated Feature – Inside Out
Best Foreign Language Film – Son Of Saul
Best Documentary Feature – Amy
It’s also terrific to see Mad Max: Fury Road nab 6 awards in the technical categories – more than any other film. It’s amazing consider it’s an Aussie action reboot. Who have bet on that a few months ago? The big surprises of the night belonged to Ex Machina winning visual effects and Spectre winning best song.
Chris Rock was a strong host and had plenty of material in light of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. That’s it from me. I look forward to doing it all again in 12 months!
Interview - Director Tom Hooper On 'The Danish Girl'
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
 |
The Danish Girl recently picked up 4 Oscar nominations. While he was visiting Australia, I spoke with director Tom Hooper about his film. You can listen to the full interview by clicking here.
Matt: We’re in the midst of awards season and so I have to start out with a lighter question – where do you keep the Oscar that you won for directing The King’s Speech?
Tom: I know a lot of the Brits like to keep them in obscure places like the loo but I keep mine on my mantelpiece next to the fireplace.
Matt: I remember your reaction as you jumped out of your seat with excitement after finding out you’d won. What was going through your head in the few moments before they announced the winner?
Tom: It’s nerves but not like you expect. As the weekend progressed and it got closer to the ceremony, I got more nervous about the thought of winning and giving a speech live in front of half a billion people. Minutes before they handed out my award, I was sitting there thinking this was ironic because I’d made a film about a guy who was terrified of public speaking.
When my name was called out, it was like a bolt of electricity had shot though me. I went up to the stage and I remembered some advice that Ricky Gervais had given me. He said that if you can get to the microphone without falling flat on your face, then you should relax and remind yourself of what you’ve achieved.
Matt: The Danish Girl had been floating around for a while with different directors and different actors attached. How did it end up in your lap and what convinced you it was the right project?
Tom: I fell in love with this script back in 2008. I was in early talks to direct The King’s Speech at the time. I have a wonderful casting director, Nina Gold, who has cast almost everything I’ve directed. She said she knew of one great unmade script called The Danish Girl. It was the most beautiful script. I completely fell for it and it reduced me to tears when I first read it. I then wanted to share how much the story moved me with the audience.
My seven year involvement makes me a bit of a newcomer on the project. My producers have been fighting since 2000 to get this brought to the screen so it’s been a passion project for us for many years.
Matt: You’ve worked with Eddie Redmayne before in Elizabeth I and Les Miserables. Were there a lot of actors in mind or was Eddie always the guy?
Tom: I actually imagined Eddie in the role the first time I read the script. Back then, they said I’d never get finance for a film with the unknown Eddie Redmayne in the lead role. That amuses me now because he won the Oscar last year and he’s now in a very different place. I’ve always found his acting so emotionally raw. It was actually on the set of Les Miserables that I slipped him the script in an unmarked brown paper envelope.
Matt: It’s a role that requires full frontal nudity and there are many actors in Hollywood who would say no to such a part. How did you approach that with Eddie? Was he up for it all the way or did he take convincing?
Tom: I was clear that I wanted to do that from the very beginning. He asked that before I showed it to anyone, he could see the edit first and approve it. I stuck by that. He never questioned it aside from that and he was very brave about it.
Matt: She’s been around for a little while but it’s been a breakout year for Alicia Vikander. She’s picking up a lot of award season attention for this and her performance in Ex Machina. How did you get her on board?
Tom: I think she’s going to be a huge move star. She’s done 7 films in rapid succession over the last couple of years. What’s great about The Danish Girl is that the story is as much about her as it is about him. She really illuminates the love story at the centre of this film. She has an unconditional love for her husband. She supports him even though there’s a risk of losing her husband. Gerda is never the victim in the film and she’s always a strong, inspiring woman. That’s not easy to do.
Matt: You mentioned that the film is as much about Gerda as it is about Einar. Was that always the intention? To find a balance between their respective stories?
Tom: Yeah but when you’ve got Eddie Redmayne playing one lead and you’re looking for another lead, it’s intimidating. Eddie is so gifted and he disappears into his roles. I was lucky to find Alicia to balance Eddie because there aren’t too many young actors who could go head-to-head with Eddie.
Matt: The film is based on the 2000 novel David Ebershoff which in turn was loosely based on actual events. Was the focus on remaining faithful to Ebershoff’s novel or were details changed to make it more like the actual story of Lili and Gerda?
Tom: Good question as it’s a bit of both. David’s novel is the reason we’re here with the film but the real story was extraordinary. Writer Lucinda Coxon changed a few details to make it closer to reality. I was staggered in 2008 when I looked up Lili Elbe online. There wasn’t a lot of information and much of it was inaccurate. It was if history had marginalised this extraordinary story. I actually thought Christine Jorgensen in the 1950s was the first person to have gender confirmation surgery. I had no idea that it happened in 1930. It made me think that history has a tendency to “bake in” the prejudices of the time and so maybe that’s why this story was kept hidden from view.
Matt: There are a lot of emotional sequences in the film with characters blubbering and crying. Does it take a lot of work to create an environment for that to occur? Or can the actors just turn the waterworks on at the click of a finger?
Tom: Ironically, I probably spent more time trying to suggest that they didn’t cry. Crying is not hard for these actors because they are so good. It was more about choosing the moment for those emotions and then balancing that with humour and levity. When you go on a journey like this, a little humour helps open your heart.
Matt: To ask about the set design, how easy is it to recreate all of Einar’s and Gerda’s paintings that we see throughout the film?
Tom: It’s a funny story. I started out being very purist and saying that I was only going to use the real Gerda Wegener art and the real Lili paintings. I was told this would be difficult as they’re mainly in private collections and it would be expensive and perhaps impossible to get our hands on them. About a month before the shoot, my wonderful production designer, Eve Stewart, sat me down and told me very gently – “you do realise that it’s not Eddie Redmayne in the Lili paintings?” I then got very embarrassed and realised we needed to do our own versions based on the real things but obviously with Eddie Redmayne’s Lili at the centre. We tried all kinds of shortcuts like blowing up Eddie’s face and doing photocopies of the paintings but the key to getting them right was to get Eddie to sit and pose as Lili and do the portraits in the old fashioned way.
Matt: I’m a big fan of composer Alexandre Desplat and I was reading that he can put an entire film score together in a matter of weeks. What was your approach in creating the right music for this film?
Tom: I was very lucky to get Alexandre. He won the Oscar last year after being nominated 7 times previously. It was hard to get the score right and it was a long journey. The thing about music in a film is that it’s the one element that’s not actually in the room with the characters. It’s put on by the filmmakers afterwards. You have to be very careful what you’re saying with the music because if you make it too dark, what are you suggesting about the transgender journey? If you make it too light, it’s not capturing the pain. The essential thing with the score was to balance the pain and the joy. To show that this journey in the 1920s was provoked by anxiety but it also opened the door to a happiness and a contentment that you may never imagine possible.
Matt: As always I like to finish up by asking what you’re working on at the moment?
Tom: My mum lives in South Australia so I’ve spent some time there celebrating Christmas. Now I’m back to promoting the film and taking it around the world. I think the last country we visit is Japan in March. I can then get stuck into my next movie. I am close to lining something up but can’t say anything just yet.
Brisbane Film Critics Select 'Mad Max: Fury Road' As Best Of 2015
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
Since 2011, I have been pulling together a list of the best movies of the year according to the Brisbane-based critics who I run into regularly at preview screenings. Those films to have topped prior year lists have been Drive in 2011, Argo in 2012, Gravity in 2013, and Boyhood in 2014. To come up with an overall top 10, I’ve used a simple points system and applied it to the list of each critic. It is as follows: |
| 3 points – the top film on each list. | |
| 2 points – the films ranked between 2nd and 5th on each list. | |
| 1 point – the films ranked between 6th and 10th on each list. |
|
|
| Brisbane Film Critics - Top 10 Of 2015 | ||
| 1. | Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| 2. | Birdman | |
| 3. | Inside Out | |
| 4. | Sicario | |
| 5. | It Follows | |
| 5. | The Lobster | |
| 7. | Foxcatcher | |
| 8. | Selma | |
| 9. | Ex Machina | |
| 10. | Macbeth | |
You can view a table of all the votes and final scores by clicking here. A big thanks to all the critics who were able to contribute. Hopefully we'll do it again next year! You can check out information on all the Brisbane critics (along with their choices for the best and worst of 2015) below. |
|
|
Matthew Toomey | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Inside Out |
| 2. | Selma |
| 3. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 4. | The Diary Of A Teenage Girl |
| 5. | The Walk |
| 6. | Citizenfour |
| 7. | Straight Outta Compton |
| 8. | Leviathan |
| 9. | Still Alice |
| 10. | Sicario |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Citizen Four | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Bel Powley (The Diary Of A Teenage Girl) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Ruben Guthrie | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Shaun The Sheep Movie | |
 |
|
|
Sarah Ward | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Macbeth |
| 2. | The Lobster |
| 3. | Ex Machina |
| 4. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 5. | Inside Out |
| 6. | A Most Violent Year |
| 7. | Selma |
| 8. | Sicario |
| 9. | Far From The Madding Crowd |
| 10. | Far From Men |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Carol |
| 2. | The Club |
| 3. | Brooklyn |
| 4. | The Forbidden Room |
| 5. | Heart Of A Dog |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Cobain: Montage Of Heck | |
| Best Performance: | |
| David Oyelowo (Selma) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Entourage | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Jupiter Ascending | |
 |
|
|
Laurence Barber| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 2. | Inside Out |
| 3. | Mommy |
| 4. | Inherent Vice |
| 5. | A Most Violent Year |
| 6. | The Dressmaker |
| 7. | Ex Machina |
| 8. | Bridge Of Spies |
| 9. | Clouds Of Sils Maria |
| 10. | Selma |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Arabian Nights, Volumes 1-3 |
| 2. | Carol |
| 3. | 45 Years |
| 4. | The Club |
| 5. | The Treasure |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| World Of Tomorrow | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| The Salt Of The Earth | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Entourage | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| The Age Of Adaline | |
 |
|
|
Baz McAlister| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 2. | Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
| 3. | Kingsman: The Secret Service |
| 4. | Ex Machina |
| 5. | The Martian |
| 6. | Birdman |
| 7. | It Follows |
| 8. | The Visit |
| 9. | '71 |
| 10. | Top Five |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| He Named Me Malala | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Jupiter Ascending | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Fantastic Four | |
 |
|
|
Garry Williams| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Amy |
| 2. | Youth |
| 3. | Going Clear: Scientology & The Prison Of Belief |
| 4. | Birdman |
| 5. | Foxcatcher |
| 6. | The Martian |
| 7. | Cobain: Montage Of Heck |
| 8. | Avengers: Age Of Ultron |
| 9. | Sicario |
| 10. | Truth |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Experimenter |
| 2. | My Ordinary Love Story |
| 3. | Filmed In Supermarionation |
| 4. | Drunk Stoned Brillaint Dead: The Story Of National Lampoon |
| 5. | A Sinner In Mecca |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| The Dressmaker | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| When Marnie Was There | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Amy | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Michael Shannon (99 Homes) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| 50 Shades Of Grey | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Magic Mike XXL | |
 |
|
|
David Edwards| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Birdman |
| 2. | Clouds Of Sils Maria |
| 3. | Foxcatcher |
| 4. | Macbeth |
| 5. | Mistress America |
| 6. | Ex Machina |
| 7. | The Lobster |
| 8. | Me & Earl & The Dying Girl |
| 9. | Trainwreck |
| 10. | Sicario |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Carol |
| 2. | The Revenant |
| 3. | Sisters |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Amy | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Juliette Binoche & Kristen Stewart (Clouds Of Sils Maria) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Chappie | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| The Gift | |
 |
|
|
Peter Gray| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 2. | Birdman |
| 3. | It Follows |
| 4. | Sicario |
| 5. | Foxcatcher |
| 6. | Inside Out |
| 7. | Spy |
| 8. | Top Five |
| 9. | The Dressmaker |
| 10. | The Martian |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | The Revenant |
| 2. | Spotlight |
| 3. | The Big Short |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road & Cut Snake | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Amy | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| The Gallows | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| The DUFF | |
 |
|
|
Gary McDonald | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | The Theory Of Everything |
| 2. | Leviathan |
| 3. | The Imitation Game |
| 4. | Sicario |
| 5. | Far From The Madding Crowd |
| 6. | Love & Mercy |
| 7. | Southpaw |
| 8. | Birdman |
| 9. | Foxcatcher |
| 10. | In The Heart Of The Sea |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | An |
| 2. | The Look Of Silence |
| 3. | Theeb |
| 4. | Carol |
| 5. | Grandma |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Paper Planes | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| That Sugar Film | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| 50 Shades Of Grey & Pixels | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
 |
|
|
Dave Crewe| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | It Follows |
| 2. | The Lobster |
| 3. | Infinitely Polar Bear |
| 4. | Sicario |
| 5. | Dope |
| 6. | The Dressmaker |
| 7. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 8. | Foxcatcher |
| 9. | 99 Homes |
| 10. | Creed |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Sherpa |
| 2. | Beyond The Lights |
| 3. | Tehran Taxi |
| 4. | Spotlight |
| 5. | Carol |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| The Dressmaker | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Cobain: Montage Of Heck & Herpa | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Bel Powley (The Diary Of A Teenage Girl) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Entourage | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Jurassic World | |
 |
|
|
Jesse Thompson| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Clouds Of Sils Maria |
| 2. | It Follows |
| 3. | Sicario |
| 4. | Inside Out |
| 5. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 6. | Mommy |
| 7. | Selma |
| 8. | Inherent Vice |
| 9. | The Salt Of The Earth |
| 10. | Magic Mike XXL |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | The Assassin |
| 2. | Cemetery Of Splendour |
| 3. | Hill Of Freedom |
| 4. | Breathe |
| 5. | Results |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| The Look Of Silence | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Kristen Stewart (Clouds Of Sils Maria) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Chappie | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| We Are Your Friends | |
 |
|
|
Ella Donald| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 2. | Mistress America |
| 3. | Wild |
| 4. | The Dressmaker |
| 5. | The Lobster |
| 6. | A Most Violent Year |
| 7. | Selma |
| 8. | Mommy |
| 9. | Top Five & Magic Mike XXL |
| 10. | Girlhood |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Carol |
| 2. | Respire |
| 3. | Spotlight |
| 4. | Brooklyn |
| 5. | Mustang |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road & The Dressmaker | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Carey Mulligan (Suffragette), Kristen Stewart (Clouds Of Sils Maria), Suzanne Clement (Mommy) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Irrational Man | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Paper Towns | |
 |
|
|
Shayne Grieve| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Birdman |
| 2. | Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
| 3. | The Lobster |
| 4. | Mad Max: Fury Road |
| 5. | Macbeth |
| 6. | Ex Machina |
| 7. | Inside Out |
| 8. | It Follows |
| 9. | Selma |
| 10. | Beasts Of No Nation |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mad Max: Fury Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Inside Out | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| None | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Marion Cotillard & Michael Fassbender (Macbeth) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Fantastic Four | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Dope, Spy, Unfriended | |
 |
Matt's Top 10 Films Of 2015
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
For the 20th time, I’ve put together my annual top 10 of the year! You can check out all my previous lists by clicking here. I went through the list on 612ABC Brisbane a week or so ago and we took a few calls from listeners. You can listen to the podcast here.
I’ve seen 190 films in 2015 which isn’t too bad I guess. I missed a few of the smaller releases but it’s tough juggling up all aspects of one’s life to see so many movies.
I must briefly mention my worst films of the year – Ruben Guthrie, Mortdecai, Hot Pursuit, Fantastic Four, Alex & Eve, The Wedding Ringer, Aloha, Absolutely Anything, Get Hard, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, The Interview, Dumb & Dumber To and Burnt. That’s enough about them.
Honourable mentions for my best of the year list go to Unbroken, Birdman, Legend, The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby, It Follows, Southpaw, ’71, Mr Holmes, Shaun The Sheep Movie, Holding The Man, Spy, Wild Tales and Madame Bovary.
On that note though, here are my top 10 films of 2015 in reverse order…
Top 10 Films Of 2015
 |
10. Sicario (out Sep 24) is a stylishly shot thriller about a group of "law enforcement" agents who start acting outside of the law in pursuit of a greater good - bringing down the head of a Mexican drug cartel. Deftly illustrating the blurry line between right and wrong, this is great stuff. Super performances from Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin.
 |
9. Still Alice (out Jan 29) is a moving drama centred on a fifty-something woman (Julianne Moore) battling the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. It's more than just a tear jerker though. The film's even-handed look at the changing family dynamic is interesting and thought provoking..
 |
8. Leviathan (out Mar 26) is a Russian drama that earned a foreign language Oscar nomination. Director Andrey Zvyagintsev challenges the audience by not showing several key events. As a result, you need to focus not on what happens... but rather how characters react. The plot is forever shifting and this is a riveting, unsettling piece of cinema.
 |
7. Straight Outta Compton (out Sep 3) chronicles the rise of a group of African American rappers (including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre) in the late 1980s. This film has it all - comedy, drama, tragedy and contract law. Some have been critical of its factual accuracy but I found it be an absorbing look inside a world previously unfamiliar to me.
 |
6. Citizenfour (out Feb 19) is something quite special. It's a riveting documentary that takes us inside the world of Edward Snowden as he blew the whistle on the National Security Authority's secret surveillance activities in 2013. The actions of the NSA will shock. The approach of Snowden will intrigue.
 |
5. The Walk (out Oct 15) tells the incredible true story of Philippe Petit. In 1974, he rigged a metal wire between the rooves of the World Trade Centre towers in New York City and used it as a tight rope. Perhaps my fear of heights was a contributing factor but this provides a film-going experience unlike anything I’ve seen this year. Shot using astonishing 3D imagery, it left me with sweaty palms and a light head.
 |
4. The Diary Of A Teenage Girl (out Sep 24) is riveting, disturbing and thought-provoking. Based on the graphic novel and set in the 1970s, it's centered on a 15-year-old girl who enters into a purely sexual relationship with her mother's 35-year-old boyfriend. Not often you see a film that asks so many questions of its characters.
 |
3. Mad Max: Fury Road (out May 14) is one of the more creative action films that we’ve seen in recent years. It begins with a well-choreographed chase sequence that never really stops. Except for a handful of very short detours, this is two hours of unrelenting warfare. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an action film with less dialogue. Intense and easily to follow.
 |
2. Selma (out Feb 12) was the last of the Academy's best picture nominees to make it to Australia but it was worth the wait. It's a fascinating exploration at the tactics used by Martin Luther King to change voter registration laws in Alabama 1965. Great performances. Great film.
 |
1. Inside Out (out Jun 18) is a Pixar animated feature that takes us inside the head of a vibrant, impressionable 11-year-old girl. It’s a fascinating concept that is rich in detail. The film’s most impressive attribute is the way it explores human emotions and the way they are so often intertwined. A stunning achievement that blends creativity, humour and emotion.