The Smit Awards 2015: Putting the Oscars to shame

2015. It’s been one hell of a year. New records all over the shop, bigger, more involving narratives and a little thing called Star Wars happened this year. It’s finally time to look back on the best and worst of the last 12 months, with my alternative to the big awards shows. Just like last year, only the films reviewed within a cinema environment count (25 of them this year, with only one of them not being in a Vue-operated establishment).

Best Lead Performance- Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn

Best Supporting Performance- Andrew Scott in SPECTRE 

Best Screenplay- Kingsman: The Secret Service

Best Adapted Screenplay- The Lady in the Van (Alan Bennett)

Best Audience (Reactions): Tied with Take That: Live From The O2, Ant-Man and Brooklyn

Best Action Scene: Church Scene, Kingsman: The Secret Service

Best Visual Effects- Ant-Man

Best Score- Kingsman: The Secret Service

Best Soundtrack- Kingsman: The Secret Service

The OMG Moment- Oberhauser’s Real Name, SPECTRE

Comedy of the Year- Spy

British Film of the Year- tied with Suffragette and The Lady in the Van

Turkey of the Year- Bill (so bad that I didn’t even bother posting the review)

Best Foreign Film- Girlhood (Bande de filles)

SMIT FILM OF THE YEAR 2015: BROOKLYN

After several discussions with my film co-ordination team, a consensus decision was found in favour of Brooklyn. The performances were sublime, it was shot brilliantly and Nick Hornby’s script still stands out for the well written dialogue. It’s gonna stand up to the test of time very well, and as I write this, it’s secured Golden Globe nominations, with potentially BAFTA and Oscar nominations to follow. It’s the epitome of a hidden gem.

Landmark Award: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

As all of the awards were determined before December 17th, there was no room for this in any of the categories, but it’s getting an award specially created for films that break all expectations. It’s a great film to end the year on, and as such, this has already passed the $1billion mark after a very quick 12 days. And it’s a great return to form for the franchise too, especially as it has appeased the millions of die hard fans with it’s nostalgic roots leading into a very promising trilogy.