Mad Max Rockatansky ruled the roads and also the imagination of the Hawaii Film Critics Society, who published their first ever best films of the year list. George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” led the charge, as the 2015 blockbuster earned seven awards including Best Picture, Director (for George Miller’s extraordinary helming) and Best Actress (for Charlize Theron’s stunning, muscular turn as Furiosa).
Leonardo Di Caprio’s gut-wrenching starring role in “The Revenant” and Sir Ian McKellen’s moving portrayal of an elderly Sherlock Holmes in “Mr. Holmes” were tied for Best Actor. Sylvester Stallone’s triumphant return to the role of Rocky Balboa won him Best Supporting Actor (“Creed,” the film in question, also won Best Original Screenplay) and Rooney Mara’s powerful turn in “Carol” won Best Supporting Actress.
The HFCS were split over their picks for the year’s best new filmmakers and their debut films, as Henry Hobson’s Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring zombie drama, “Maggie,” tied with Alex Garland’s stylish sci-fi thriller, “Ex Machina” (which also tied with Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” for Best Sci-Fi Film). There was no question about the choice for Best Overlooked Film, as David Robert Mitchell’s frightening “It Follows” was honored and Mamoru Osoda’s “The Boy and the Beast” from Japan was deemed the year’s Best Foreign Language Film.
A surprise choice was the award for Best Hawaii Film, which went to Cameron Crowe’s controversial summer comedy, “Aloha.” Other winners include “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ with two awards for Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance (Lupita Nyong’o’s spirited turn as Maz Kanata) and Best Visual Effects, while Brian Wilson, the subject matter of “Love & Mercy,” was awarded “Best Song” for his “One Kind of Love.”
On the other end of the spectrum, “Vacation,” the remake of the 1983 Chevy Chase comedy, also appears on the list. The 2015 version, which starred Ed Helms, Christina Applegate and Chase, was voted as the Worst Film of the Year.
The Full HFCS list is below
BEST FILM: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (tie) Sir Ian McKellen, Mr. Holmes
BEST ACTRESS: Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rooney Mara, Carol
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone, Creed
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Ryan Coogler & Aaron Covington, Creed
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Drew Goddard (Based on the Novel by Andy Weir), The Martian
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
BEST EDITING: Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ART DIRECTION: Shira Hockman & Jacinta Leong, Mad Max Fury Road (tie) Crimson Peak
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Sandy Powell, Carol
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Star Wars The Force Awakens
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Junkie XL, Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST SONG: Brian Wilson, “One Kind of Love,” Love & Mercy
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (dir. Alex Gibney)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Boy and The Beast (dir. Mamoru Hosoda), (Japan)
BEST HAWAII FILM: Aloha (dir. Cameron Crowe)
BEST NEW FILMMAKER: Alex Garland, Ex Machina (tie) Henry Hobson, Maggie
BEST FIRST FILM: Ex Machina (dir. Alex Garland) (tie) Maggie (dir. Henry Hobson)
BEST OVERLOOKED FILM: It Follows (dir. David Robert Mitchell)
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR FILM: Ex Machina (dir. Alex Garland) (tie) The Martian (dir. Ridley Scott)
BEST STUNTS: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST VOCAL/MOTION CAPTURE PERFORMANCE: Lupita Nyong’o, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
WORST FILM OF THE YEAR: Vacation