Saturn Awards 2018: Best Science Fiction Film Release

Alien: Covenant:  There were too many sequels this year that didn’t bring anything new to the table.  Michael Fassbender’s performance was oddly boring to me.  One of my favorite actors, Jussie Smollett, was in it, but that’s all I can say for his character. I rolled my eyes whenever Danny McBride was on screen, as I kind of can’t stand him.  I tried, though, because he was part of the “heart” of the story.  It could have been about any other actor and I would have been more invested.  Katherine Waterston is always good, though I hate to admit that I was distracted by her hair cut.  I’m sorry, but for me the Alien movies are played out, and it barely held my attention.

Blade Runner 2049:  Harrison Ford is in it, but not enough.  The premise is great, but it took way too much time getting there.  It was weird to see Sean Young, and Robin Wright, and Jared Leto, of all people, in a weird role.  I’m not in love with Ryan Gosling like everyone else.  I find him weirdly expressionless as an actor.  The atmosphere felt like a retread of the original, but the casinoish place in the wasteland was cool.  I’m pretty ambivalent.  Half of the movie could have been cut and it would have been more cohesive.  Here’s my ultimate take: it could have been structured like an extended episode of CSI.  The medical mystery was the heart, which leans itself to a fascinating, entertaining, and fantastic movie.  They added a bunch of crap to be “atmospheric” and it unnecessarily pushed up the run time and tested my patience.

Life:  Alien knock-off.  The scene where the alien first escapes was great, though.  And the ending could be setting us up for a potentially awesome sequel.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi:  “Why?  I’ve seen your daily routine – you are not busy.”  My heart broke a little when Billie Lourd was in the opening scene.  This was right after I got my usual chill hearing John Williams’ iconic score and seeing the classic STAR WARS opener.  My, how I have been trained to derive pleasure from that from an early age.  I still don’t like Adam Driver (who mumbled all the way through), and not only because he did you know what.  Then Princess Leia…the first 20 minutes of the film had my emotions swinging all over the place.  And then I was laughing again at Chewbacca and those little creatures.  Then Luke and R2…are they trying to make me cry?  I still like Daisy Ridley (who still reminds me of Keira Knightley), but Rey essentially destroys this little island and doesn’t apologize to the little nun-like creatures.  That seems weirdly out of character.  And Luke Skywalker was too melodramatic until the end, where he mellowed back out.  Is it just me, or do Luke and Leia look a lot alike now?  Like, believably twins now?  Anyway.  Well, it was the Resistance versus the Empire…First Order, whatever…again.  For some reason that never gets old.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:  Bad acting.  A male lead that didn’t have enough swagger, even though I like Dane DeHaan in other things.  Cartoonish special effects.  Half-baked romance.  Cara Delevingne’s dead eyes.  Nonsensical plot.  I wanted so badly to like this.  I liked Rihanna, that’s about it.

War for the Planet of the Apes:  These movies are also getting old.  I don’t like war movies in general.  Historical ones like to get too graphic, and ones like this no longer feel fresh.  At this point it’s mostly just war, even though I know we’re meant to be trying to bridge the “humanity” gap in ourselves.  They just don’t make me care, which is what you need to be a successful series.

 

So… Which is Best?:  I’m not happy with my choices.  But I’ll grudgingly go Star Wars.  It had spots of humor, good vs. evil, characters that feel like family members, and it was entertaining without trying to be a horror movie.

 

image credit: movieweb.com

Monsters at Large (2017)

What is This?:  A cross between Ghostbusters (admitted in movie), Monster Squad, (“That’s already taken.  My dad has it on bluray and watches it all the time.”), and either E.T. or Harry and the Hendersons, I haven’t decided which. Maybe a little Monsters Inc., too.  Three kids put together a “business” “taking care of” “imaginary” monsters that scare little kids.  That is a lot of quotation marks.

Marissa Cooper?:  Mischa Barton plays the mom.  Now I want to watch the O.C.  Which will make me want to watch Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody stuff again.  I had better nip this in the bud.

The Worst Kind:  Stephen Tobolowsky, as the teacher, is the kind of teacher that is often shown in kids’ movies – the jerk.  (The other type is the uber-cool guy/weirdly hot lady.)  The biggest difference in this instance is that the teacher is shown in the light of “no fair” from the perspective of a kid, but with the kid’s behavior I am a little offended that the teacher is being shown in that light.  Granted, he’s a jerky jerk at the end, but when the main kid, played  by Matthew Kosto, just spaces out instead of taking his test, the teacher is shown as being mean, when in reality it was the kid’s own damn fault.  I started liking the main character a little less because of it.

Golden Girl:  So, the main character has a crush.  And she is a little blonde girl named Tara McDonald.  When the crush in kids’ movies is a little blonde girl I uncontrollably roll my eyes.  I could forgive the boring casting choice if the actress was good, but she’s very bland.

Do I Like Anyone In This Movie?:  Yes, there is a great little spark plug of an actress that played one of the monster-busters, Alicia C. Del Aguila.  She is great fun to watch!  I foresee a Disney or Nickelodeon show of her own in the future.

Is It Too Scary for Little Kids?:  Nope.  If they were scared by Monsters, Inc., then there may be a problem, because that’s about where the design on the monster is.

Final Thoughts:  I’ve seen worse.  I’ve seen better.  Meh.

 

image credit:  pophorror.com

Nerve (2016)

I Am Going To Try To Explain Why I Love This Movie:  It’s not perfect.  Yet I was sucked in.  The premise is fun: a high school girl signs up for an online dare game because she wants to do something a little out of her comfort zone.  Was it to prove something to herself or to her friends?  A little of both, I think.  We follow her through a night of excitement.

The Silliness:  I freely admit the end goes off the rails a bit.  It tries to get all serious and I was a little sad at that point.  But the ending ending was good, so I was all right with it.

Seeing Stars:  Emma Roberts stars as Vee, with Dave Franco as Ian, the fellow player she teams up with.  After the meet cute, which I will not spoil here, these two spend the night running around New York City completing dares and making money.  I previously liked both actors, but now am slightly obsessed with them.

How Daring:  At first the dares are tame, but quickly turn wilder.  This is when a grown up watching this starts to wonder how stupid these kids are.  Put away your cynicism and play along, people!

BFF’s:  A side story is Vee’s relationships with her friends.  Emily Meade and Miles Heizer play her two closest friends.  Emily comes off as a bit of a bully/rival/narcissist and Miles is clearly in love with Vee.  He spends the night watching Vee through his phone and chastising her choices.  He just liked her as she was!

Social Commentary On Social Media: Celebrity means something new now, and a lot of Nerve players are looking for fame.  Neither Vee nor Ian are playing for that reason, but the more watchers you have the better dares you get.  Vee and Ian get a lot of watchers very quickly.  So many that one of the characters tells them that they are “so famous right now” as though that were the goal in life.  The game itself also uses the players’ social media accounts to gather information to entice them and to use against them.  This whole movie is a roundabout way of saying that’s not real.  It’s not life.

Unabashedly Romantic…In a Way:  From the beginning, in my opinion, Ian seemed too slick for Vee, even though of course she’s beautiful.  He seemed to enjoy messing with her, and I kept waiting for him to turn on her in some way.  The fact that the watchers, including Vee’s friends, are watching Ian and Vee have their little romance doesn’t seem to phase Vee, who before that seemed embarrassed to be the center of attention.  The possibility of being humiliated was real, and that she made those choices both surprised me and filled me with dread.  Ultimately, their interaction was cute and by the end I was a believer.

There’s a Book Right?:  Yes.  And I only kind of liked the first half.  I read it wanting to get more into the heads of the characters.  The dares are different, the relationship is different, and halfway through the book goes in a completely different direction.  It turned into that type of movie I hate: terrorizing people.  Gone was any bit of fun.  It felt more like a light version of Saw or something.  This is the first time I am going to suggest NOT EVER reading the book if you love the movie.

The Music is Fantastic:  The soundtrack, which I have not found anywhere, is addictive. I ended up piecing a lot of it together on iTunes.  Roy Orbison aside (I’ve always loved that song), I am obsessed with Electric Love by Borns.  Add in Lowell and Halsey and a host of other fun tracks, and you have set the atmosphere to fun!  Seriously, the tone is very set by the music.  Love it!

Is This the Hackers For This Generation?:  Anyone tried watching Hackers lately?  Over the top and silly!  Not that it wasn’t from the start, but it was cool.  Maybe in 20 years this will be a nostalgia piece for the Me Generation.  As a GenXer myself it will be interesting to see.

Juliet Lewis is In This:  For some reason.  And she has some of the stupidest dialogue ever.  I hope she was paid handsomely.

So Why Do I Love It?:  It. Was. Fun.  It included a romance, which isn’t common in adventures anymore, and it just clicked with me.  I’ve rewatched it multiple times now.  I kind of want to watch it right now.  That is not normal for me.  I’m a love-it-and-leave-it kind of movie watcher.  This is a special.  I hope you can look past the silly bits and love it, too.

 

image credit:  variety.com

The Siege Winter (2014)

What Is This?:  Medieval action thriller drama by Ariana Franklin.  An evil monk rapes and kills redheads up and down England.  One survives, is found by a mercenary, and disguises herself as a boy for safety.  They get tangled in a war between two factions that believe they are each the rightful rulers of England.  They find a temporary home at a castle that is swiftly taken under siege.

Why Haven’t I Heard of This Author?:  Well, I guess Medieval mysteries aren’t everybody’s thing.  Mistress of the Art of Death was her debut and it was wonderful.  While you do not have to read that first, I try to read books in the order they were written.  It’s my particular OCD.  It would truly not make a difference, as this is not a series.

But It’s a Book:  Oh, wah.  Try it on audio if you can’t spend your free time reading.  If you don’t read literature, that’s not a problem with this one.  The writing is not…intellectual.  It is smart yet accessible to anyone.  Franklin isn’t overly wordy, and lets the story move along at a nice clip.

It’s a Surprise:  I’m great at guessing what’s going to happen in a book.  This one had some great surprises, but also fell into some traps.  Penda, the girl, can’t just be great at archery, she has to be the best, leading to predictability.  Maud’s romance could also be seen a mile away.  As I was reading I was a little disappointed at the heavy-handedness.  The ending wasn’t easy to guess, however, and that was the most important bit.

Final Thoughts:  As historical drama, it doesn’t take itself as seriously as “scholarly” fiction, and that’s much appreciated.  It has bits of adventure, romance, and mystery, so it is enjoyable on many levels.  I may have even laughed once.  Take a chance!

 

image credit:  audiogals.net

 

 

Flatliners (2017)

Why???:  God, I don’t know.  Hollywood can’t leave anything alone?

No, Really, Why?:  Seriously.  I have no idea.

The Original?:  I watched the original at many a slumber party (I’m that old) and we loved it.  Each character had a well-defined thing that haunted them, and something specific they had to own up to in order to be released from the terror.  The new one kind of does that, but it is ill-defined.

Go, Diego, Go!:  I like Diego Luna, mostly because of Rogue One.  He’s kind of a wee man, though, and sometimes Nina Dobrev seemed bigger than him.  And she’s by no means a normally-sized woman.  She’s dinky.  So that was weird. Maybe an optical illusion?

Ellen and the Priest:  For some reason I found it shocking the Ellen Page and James Norton got it on.  I’m so used to her playing asexual/lesbian, etc., that I just wasn’t expecting it.  And James Norton as a playboy…I bet he took this because he was afraid of being typecast.  For those that don’t know, he stars as a priest/clergyman/pastor character on the popular PBS show Grantchester.

Kiefer!:  The only one of the original cast to make an appearance in this is Kiefer Sutherland.  So, if you’re playing the Kevin Bacon Game this is a useful link!

Not a Remake:  More of a sequel.  No, more like a completely different movie with the same basic premise and the same title.  I liken this to when two suspiciously similar movies come out in quick succession.  Think The Illusionist and the Prestige, First Daughter and Chasing Liberty, Armageddon and Deep Impact, Volcano and Dante’s Peak, Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman…you get it.

The Verdict?:  I’m not going to tell you not to watch this one…it’s not awful.  It’s just not great.  While it is dated, go watch the original.  Because it was original.

 

image credit: IndieWire

Labyrinth (2012)

No, Not That Labyrinth:  This is based on the book by Kate Mosse that I read and enjoyed many moons ago.  It was a DaVinci Code-ish adventure that I devoured.

No, Not That Kate Mosse:  If you can’t tell by the spelling, the book was not written by the supermodel.  The author does have a small part at the end of the miniseries, as “Montsegur Guide,” in case you want to see her for some unfathomable reason.

Draco Malfoy?:  Yup.  Tom Felton with facial hair.  It’s still odd to see, even though he’s sported it for years.  His is a small part, though, so don’t expect all Malfoy all the time.

Jeff Gillooly?:  Yup.  Sebastian Stan has been a slowly rising star for years, and now being part of the Marvel universe he’ll be more and more visible.  His turn this year in I, Tonya was great.  This, however…meh.  Boy-toy turned conspirator.  He just wasn’t given that much to do.

Splitting Time:  As a dual story of religious persecution in Medieval times and fanatical grail hunters in the modern day, the performances greatly differ.  The modern actors are boring (Even John Hurt!).  The Medieval actors, led by Lady Sibyl herself, Jessica Brown Findlay, were vastly superior.  The “main” character, played by Vanessa Kirby, mainly just looked pretty: pretty and confused, pretty and scared, pretty and worried.

What Is Happening!?!?:  SPOILER:  Okay, I read the book and I’m still not sure about the whole white robe/slitting wrists thing.  I know the youth was sucked out of the villainess,  instead of her gaining immortality (very Indiana Jones), but it was weirdly incongruous with the rest of the movie.  The white robe made it feel cultish, even though nothing else really came off that way…in modern times.  Before that the villainess felt more high-fashion-power-hungry-ruthless.  It just seemed too abrupt.

Should You Seek It Out?:  The book is far superior.  And it has a sequel.  Hit the library instead.

 

image credit: fangirlish.com

Killing Gunther (2017)

Mockumentary?:  Slapstick murder?  This is a true black comedy.  This is a comedy first, unlike other black comedies that are really dramas with a dark sense of humor.  A group of assassins team up to kill Gunther, with whom they each have beef.

Starring…Not Who You Think!:  You would think Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cobie Smulders starred in this based on the poster.  Not so.  Arnold doesn’t show up until an hour in, and Cobie shows up for about 15 minutes total throughout the movie.

My Favorite New Word:  Workation:  When you go somewhere else, then kill people.  Yes, the Russian siblings are there to kill Gunther, but they would rather be loving American culture.  *SPOILER ALERT*  Their deaths were unjust and the posing went too far.

Random and Funny:  “Kill Gunther first, then visit Scott Wolf.”  What?

What?  You Don’t Have a Favorite Assassin?:  Mine is the one that only kills with poison.  He wears a bright white coat because he doesn’t deal with blood and isn’t poison so much more elegant, anyway?  His unnecessarily complicated maneuvers versus the simplicity of “cover me/did I get him?” made me laugh.  And the way he held his poison vials out in  front of him was charming.  *SPOILER ALERT*  And of course he had to die early on.  Which the other assassins were sad about for about twenty seconds.

Worth Watching Just For This:  Arnold Schwarzenegger in a butterfly-motif sport coat.  And Arnold Schwarzenegger singing country music.  And Arnold Schwarzenegger ripping the door off a fridge to use it as a weapon.  And Arnold Schwarzenegger having fun!  It is refreshing to have him not speaking in catch phrases.

Favorite Line That Will Only Mean Something to the Person I Watched This With:  “I may need a ride home.”  It’ll be funny in the future.

Surprisingly Charming:  The love story and the father/daughter dynamics.  Good stuff.

Why You Should See It:  It is fun, funny, violent, and twisted.  It definitely has dumb moments, but is ultimately worth an hour and a half of your life.

 

Image credit:  store.steampowered.com

Saturn Awards 2018: Best Horror Film Release

Finally!  The 2018 Saturn Award Nominations are here!  These are my favorite awards because these are the movies I actually want to watch.  I have watched some painfully boring movies this year, and not one of them is nominated for a Saturn Award…thank God.  I love sci-fi and horror and thrillers and fantasy, so I celebrate the Saturn Awards as though they are the Oscars!

First on my list:  Best Horror Film Release

47 Meters Down:  I felt like I had seen this before.  There have been a number of “trapped by sharks/wolves/whatever-animal-lives-here” movies in the past couple years.  This one felt like…no big deal.

Annabelle: Creation:  Surprisingly good!  I liked The Conjuring…but did not like the original Annabelle movie.  My main issue?  The design of the doll.  It was not cute enough for anyone to want to keep in the first place, let alone as it started acting oddly.  Now the “actual” doll was a Raggedy Ann…and while it would have been a disaster for whatever toy company owns the rights, it would have made these movies even better!  Who didn’t have a Raggedy Ann?  Golden opportunity lost.

Anyway.  Annabelle: Creation was really original in premise.  It was convoluted…but what horror movie isn’t?  Orphans being taken in by a doll maker that had lost a little girl…a forbidden room…a woman with a mysterious illness…the whole thing was very well done.  As the scares started coming, it became less about watching for the doll, and more about the spirit of the orphans and their desperate circumstances.

Better Watch Out:  There was the twist I never saw coming…but it came way too soon.  After that it turned into my least favorite type of movie: terrorizing people just because you can.  There are too many “home invasion” type movies.  This one is barely special.

Get Out:  Not a bad movie, but I found no humor in it.  There were jokes, but they were to put us at ease.  This movie definitely works as social commentary, and I found the premise clever.  The demonizing of white suburbanites was entertaining and unique.  There are great performances, a unique story…why don’t I like this more?

I think your life experiences affect how you react to this movie.  I have come to understand that if you are black you look at this movie in a different way. I am not black.  I went in looking for a funny horror movie, maybe along the lines of the old self-aware Scream movies, but better.  This is definitely not that.

A multi-leveled movie like this deserves to be studied.  I predict there will be theses written about it’s particular take on race relations.  On the other hand, I have no desire to watch it again.  Like I said, I wish I like it more.

It:  I have ravenously read the book.  I have worshipped the miniseries.  I love Tim Curry and all his performances.  Saying I had mixed feelings about this remake is putting it mildly.  Now I feel that I can admit that I thought it was great.

Here’s the thing:  I’ve always been partial to the children’s story versus the adults’ story.  Children facing down evil has always been one of my favorite premises.  The miniseries was led Jonathan Brandis, Seth Green, and Emily Perkins as some of the children.  Their acting, in my opinion, was far superior to the adults, excluding Annette O’Toole, who I thought was great.  Skipping all the adult stories made for a cohesive movie that leaves an automatic sequel plot, and I think it was the right choice.

The new group of children is led by Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, and Finn Wolfhard.  They were fantastic.  I couldn’t get enough of watching them.  All the while I was waiting to see if they followed through on the…ummm…sexual bit of the book, if you can call it that.  If you’ve read the book, you know what I’m referring to.  Anyway, I started looking up all their screen credits so I could watch them some more.

Pennywise.  Well, I liked both versions, but during the miniseries it was Tim Curry under the make-up, and it colored my perception.  Having an actor I had not seen before take on Pennywise was very effective.  Bill Skarsgard was very menacing, as ordered, but obviously didn’t get to show a lot of range.  He was less animated that Curry, and came off as more of a monster.

mother!:  This one goes off the rails into absurdity very suddenly, and more than once!  For most of the movie I was identifying very much with Jennifer Lawrence’s character.  She didn’t want people in her space.  Her husband seems to invite everyone in.  Then everyone he invites in goes nuts.  It was particularly effective for me, as people-being-mean-just-because-they-can gets me every time.  I kind of hate it.  It comes off as a kind of bullying, and I can’t stand to watch it.  However, this goes too far.  Yup.  Too far.

THE VERDICT:

It.  It is the only one on the list that I want to watch again.  The performances by its young cast were spellbinding, the effects were seamless, and Pennywise was appropriately terrifying.  Well done.

Image credit: static.koimoi.com

Miracle Mile (1989)

Quick opinion:  Unexpected and took it self too seriously.  Extremely entertaining.  A surreal thriller.

Living the Dream:  How much do I love a Tangerine Dream soundtrack?  So much.  In Miracle Mile the music is overwhelming, but it works for the over-the-top everything of this movie.  Can’t imagine it?  Think Legend (1986), Risky Business, and Vision Quest.

How have I lived my life without this movie?:  Really, how?  I have always been a movie nut and I’m shocked and appalled that this movie slipped through.  I thought I had seen the best crazy 80’s movies!  And this is crazy.

Mare?  What did you do to your hair?:   Good Holy God, does Mare Winningham have horrible hair in this movie.  I kept staring at it.  Awful.  Bad.  And worse, it’s stolen directly from David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Pinups era.  Ugh.

Dr. Greene?:  I knew Anthony Edwards had been in things before “making it big” on ER, but I did not see this performance coming.  At the beginning, when I thought this was going to turn into a comedy, I got really excited to see him doing goofy things.  I was not let down.  I saw him do super goofy things, but this is definitely not a comedy.

Time-capsule?:  Not exactly.  This is so incredibly 80’s, and at the same time so bizarre that it was more like watching science fiction taking place on a distant planet.  This is one of those movies that mostly takes place on one night, and that pacing and the type of thriller this is made it possible to see a lot of stereotypical 80’s L.A. characters.

Final thoughts:  Wow.  I couldn’t look away.  Cheesy and oddly tension-filled, mostly due to the relentless soundtrack.

Image from syfy.com.

Two Months until the Saturn Awards!

One of my favorite awards is the Saturn Award!  Horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and action movies are never rewarded…except by me and the Saturn Awards.  (I got tired of removing the superfluous commas, so I decided to leave the rest as the list is found on the official website.)  I’ll work my way through as much of this list as possible.  Here are the nominees, from saturnawards.org:

Best Action / Adventure Film Release

Everest
Furious 7
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation                                                                                                     The Revenant
Spectre
Spy

Best Actor in a Film

Domhnall Gleeson, (Ex Machina)
Harrison Ford, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
John Boyega, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Leonardo DiCaprio, (The Revenant)
Matt Damon, (The Martian)
Paul Rudd, (Ant-Man)
Samuel L. Jackson, (The Hateful Eight)
Taron Egerton, (Kingsman: The Secret Service)

Best Actress in a Film

Blake Lively, (The Age of Adaline)
Charlize Theron, (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Daisy Ridley, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Emily Blunt, (Sicario)
Jessica Chastain, (The Martian)
Mia Wasikowska, (Crimson Peak)

Best Animated Film Release

Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
Kung Fu Panda 3
Minions
When Marnie Was There

Best Comic to Motion Picture Release

Ant-Man,
Attack on Titan, Part 1,
Avengers: Age of Ultron,
Kingsman: The Secret Service,
Peanuts Movie, The,

Best Fantasy Film Release

Age of Adaline, The,
Baahubali: The Beginning,
Cinderella,
Goosebumps,
Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, The,
Ted 2,

Best Film Costume Design

Avengers: Age of Ultron, (Alexandra Byrne)
Baahubali: The Beginning, (Rama Rajamouli, Prashanti Tipirineni)
Cinderella, (Sandy Powell)
Crimson Peak, (Kate Hawley)
Kingsman: The Secret Service, (Arianne Phillips)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (Michael Kaplan)

Best Film Director

Alex Garland, (Ex Machina)
Colin Trevorrow, (Jurassic World)
George Miller, (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Guillermo del Toro, (Crimson Peak)
J.J. Abrams, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Peyton Reed, (Ant-Man)
Ridley Scott, (The Martian)

Best Film Editing

Ant-Man, (Dan Lebental, Colby Parker Jr.)
Furious 7, (Leigh Folsom Boyd, Dylan Highsmith, Kirk Morri, Christian Wagner)
Jurassic World, (Kevin Stitt)
Kingsman: The Secret Service, (Eddie Hamilton, Jon Harris)
Mad Max: Fury Road, (Margaret Sixel)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey)

Best Film Make Up

Black Mass, (Joel Harlow, Kenny Niederbaumer)
Crimson Peak, (David Marti, Montse Ribe, Xavi Bastida)
Hateful Eight, The, (Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger, Jake Garber, Heba Thorisdottir)
Mad Max: Fury Road, (Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin, Elka Wardega)
Sicario, (Donald Mowat)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (Neal Scanlan)

Best Film Music

Baahubali: The Beginning, (M.M. Keeravani)
Crimson Peak, (Fernando Velazquez)
Hateful Eight, The, (Ennio Morricone)
Mad Max: Fury Road, (Tom Holkenborg)
Sicario, (Johann Johannsson)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (John Williams)

Best Film Production Design

Baahubali: The Beginning, (Sabu Cyril)
Crimson Peak, (Thomas E. Sanders)
Jurassic World, (Ed Verreaux)
Mad Max: Fury Road, (Colin Gibson)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (Rick Carter, Darren Gilford)
Tomorrowland, (Scott Chambliss)

Best Film Special / Visual Effects

Avengers: Age of Ultron, (Paul Corbould, Chris Townsend, Ben Snow, Paul Butterworth)
Ex Machina, (Andrew Whithurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett)
Jurassic World, (John Rosengrant, Michael Lantieri, Tim Alexander)
Mad Max: Fury Road, (Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver, Andy Williams)
Martian, The, (Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence, Steve Warner)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Chris Corbould)

Best Film Writing

Crimson Peak, (Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins)
Ex Machina, (Alex Garland)
Jurassic World, (Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly)
Kingsman: The Secret Service, (Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn)
Mad Max: Fury Road, (George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris)
Martian, The, (Drew Goddard)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, (Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt)

Best Horror Film Release

Crimson Peak,
Insidious: Chapter 3,
It Follows,
Krampus,
Visit, The,
What We Do in the Shadows,

Best Independent Film Release

99 Homes,
Bone Tomahawk,
Cop Car,
Experimenter,
Room,
Trumbo,

Best International Film Release

100 Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, The,
Goodnight Mommy,
Labyrinth of Lies,
Legend,
Turbo Kid,
Wave, The,

Best Performance By A Younger Actor in a Film

Elias / Lukas Schwartz, (Goodnight Mommy)
Jacob Tremblay, (Room)
James Freedson-Jackson, (Cop Car)
Milo Parker, (Mr. Holmes)
Olivia DeJonge, (The Visit)
Ty Simpkins, (Jurassic World)

Best Science Fiction Film Release

Ex Machina,
Jurassic World,
Mad Max: Fury Road,
Martian, The,
Star Wars: The Force Awakens,
Terminator: Genisys,

Best Supporting Actor in a Film

Adam Driver, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Michael Douglas, (Ant-Man)
Michael Shannon, (99 Homes)
Paul Bettany, (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
Simon Pegg, (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)
Walter Goggins, (The Hateful Eight)

Best Supporting Actress in a Film

Alicia Vikander, (Ex Machina)
Carrie Fisher, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Evangeline Lilly, (Ant-Man)
Jessica Chastain, (Crimson Peak)
Lupita Nyong’o, (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Tamannaah, (Baahubali: The Beginning)

Best Thriller Film Release

Black Mass,
Bridge of Spies,
Gift, The,
Hateful Eight, The,
Mr. Holmes,
Sicario,

TELEVISION AWARDS
Best Action / Thriller Television Series

Bates Motel,
Blindspot,
Fargo,
Hannibal,
Last Ship, The,
Librarians, The,
Mr. Robot,

Best Actor on a Television Series

Andrew Lincoln, (The Walking Dead)
Bruce Campbell, (Ash vs. Evil Dead)
Charlie Cox, (Daredevil)
David Duchovny, (The X-Files)
Grant Gustin, (The Flash)
Mads Mikkelsen, (Hannibal)
Matt Dillon, (Wayward Pines)
Sam Heughan, (Outlander)

Best Actress on a Television Series

Caitriona Balfe, (Outlander)
Gillian Anderson, (The X-Files)
Kim Dickens, (Fear The Walking Dead)
Krysten Ritter, (Marvel’s Jessica Jones)
Melissa Benoist, (Supergirl)
Rachel Nichols, (Continuum)
Rebecca Romijn, (The Librarians)

Best Fantasy Television Series

Game of Thrones,
Haven,
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,
Magicians, The,
Muppets, The,
Outlander,
Shannara Chronicles, The,

Best Guest Performance on a Television Series

Alex Kingston, (The Husbands of River Song)
John Carroll Lynch, (The Walking Dead)
Laura Benanti, (Supergirl)
Scott Glenn, (Daredevil)
Steven Brand, (Teen Wolf)
Victor Garber, (The Flash)
William Shatner, (Haven)

Best Horror Television Series

American Horror Story: Hotel,
Ash vs. Evil Dead,
Fear The Walking Dead,
Salem,
Strain, The,
Teen Wolf,
Walking Dead, The,

Best New Media Television Series

Bosch,
Daredevil,
DreamWork’s Dragons,
Man in the High Castle, The,
Marvel’s Jessica Jones,
Powers,
Sense8,

Best Presentation on Television

Cannibal in the Jungle, The,
Childhood’s End,
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song,
Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow,
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!,
Wiz, The,

Best Science Fiction Television Series

100, The,
Colony,
Continuum,
Doctor Who,
Expanse, The,
Wayward Pines,
X-Files, The,
X-No Opinion, Check here if you have no opinion in this category

Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series

Arrow,
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,
Flash, The,
Gotham,
Marvel’s Agent Carter,
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,
Supergirl,

Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series

David Tennant, (Marvel’s Jessica Jones)
Erik Knudsen, (Continuum)
Kit Harington, (Game of Thrones)
Lance Reddick, (Bosch)
Patrick Wilson, (Fargo)
Richard Armitage, (Hannibal)
Toby Jones, (Wayward Pines)
Vincent D’Onofrio, (Daredevil)

Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series

Calista Flockhart, (Supergirl)
Danai Gurira, (The Walking Dead)
Gillian Anderson, (Hannibal)
Lena Headey, (Game of Thrones)
Melissa Leo, (Wayward Pines)
Melissa McBride, (The Walking Dead)
Tovah Feldshuh, (The Walking Dead)

Best Younger Actor on a Television Series

Brenock O’Connor, (Game of Thrones)
Chandler Riggs, (The Walking Dead)
Dylan Sprayberry, (Teen Wolf)
Frank Dillane, (Fear The Walking Dead)
Jodelle Ferland, (Dark Matter)
Maisie Williams, (Game of Thrones)
Max Charles, (The Strain)

 

 

Image from withanaccent.com.