Best Film
There is, of course, a black hole at the centre of our cinematic summary of 2015. Star Wars The Force Awakens hangs unseen over the festive period like a cloaked Death Star. Never mind. This was a year of box-office mayhem in the blockbuster sector and 2015 was distinguished by eccentric, smaller films that pushed various whacky agendas; The Tribe went among deaf students in Ukraine; It Follows redrew horror templates. The Duke of Burgundy played with off-centre sexy. What's going on?
Best Franchise Film
A lot of money was made, but there wasn't much in the gigaplex to stir the spirits of superhero agnostics. Avengers: Age of Ultron did much the same as its predecessor, but not quite so well. Spectre (despite puzzling British raves) found 007 treading water violently. There was some good news. Pitch Perfect 2 improved on the delightful original and Mad Max Fury Road – strong female co-lead to the fore – might be the best film in that ancient series.
Best Performances
There was a lot of justifiable rage about the under-representation of women at cinema's top table this year. Meanwhile, more interesting corners swelled with fine female-led films. Virtual first-timers shone in original work such as Frank Berry's I Used to Live Here and Sean S Baker's Tangerine. Anne Dorval tore the screen apart as the eponymous, life-drunk centre of Xavier Dolan's transcendent Mommy. The best of the men were more familiar: Steve Carell in the barely-seen Foxcatcher; and Michael Fassbender in demonic form as Steve Jobs.
Best Ensemble
Inherent Vice, the mad adaptation of Thomas Pynchon, really was released here in 2015. Mistress America, one of two great Noah Baumbach films this year, drew the best out of Greta Gerwig and a circling team. Everyone was in The Lobster and everyone was perfect.
Best Director
Todd Haynes's Carol was beautiful and just a little unsettling. Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster proved a hit with critics and cinema-goers. Hats are doffed to the late Aleksei German, director of How to Be a God. That unfinished film, dragged from the vault, was polished into a brilliantly horrible classic.
Best Cinematography
This year was distinguished by a great deal of visual innovation. The team behind Tangerine used iPhones to their advantage. Chung-hoon Chung moved the camera elegantly in the divisive Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Valentyn Vasyanovych employed enormously long shots on The Tribe. Then there was Edward Lachman's lovely New York in Carol.
Best Animation
It was the "year of two Pixar films". The Good Dinosaur doesn't make the grade but Inside Out powers ahead. Tomm Moore's Song of the Sea was another unpredictable standout. Shaun the Sheep converted the series hilariously to film (and flopped inexplicably on US release). The Oscar went to Big Hero 6 but we also retain affection for the characteristically whacky SpongeBob sequel.
Best Irish Film
Ireland expects in the coming award season: what with Lenny Abrahamson's Room, Paddy Breathnach's Viva, and John Crowley's Brooklyn all possible Oscar contenders. Unhappily, only the latter film is eligible for Reader's Poll purposes. But that doesn't mean that competition isn't fierce. Just check out the quality shortlist. Honourable additional shout outs to A Doctor's Sword and Fortune's Wheel. Decisions, decisions.
Best Documentary
Look of Silence and Montage of Heck were accessible yet formally daring; Red Army, Best of Enemies and Precinct Seven Five made for great company and compelling narratives; Amy was fittingly tragic; file Wolfpack and Cartel Land under you couldn't make it up. And there was a chance to meet Ireland's oldest residents and the nation's new monarch.
Best Screenplay
A good year for the typing of words. The epic cycle of JC Chandor's Most Violent Year; a daring stand-off against former high-school bullies in Anna Odell's The Reunion; Greta Gerwig reworks the screwball for Mistress America; Damián Szifron's blackly comic portmanteau Wild Tales and Aaron Sorkin deconstructs Steve Jobs in, well, Steve Jobs.
Best Music
There were very different pop stylings on offer courtesy of The Beach Boys and NWA. Daft Punk were kind enough to "gift" Eden with some tracks. It Follows offered splendidly creepy post-Carpenter electronica. And, thanks to Jóhann Jóhannsson's score, Sicario boasted the most thundering sounds of the year Honourable Best Irish Score award goes to David Geraghty for You're Ugly Too.
Worst Film
Things we learned at bad movies this year: Emilia Clarke is no Linda Hamilton and defunct TV shows are better off staying defunct. (You too, Spooks). Before you start shooting a sequel, it's good to have a screenplay to work from: take heed, Magic Mike people. Many things went very wrong for Neill Blomkamp's Chappie. And just when we thought Hollywood rom-coms couldn't be less generous to women, along comes The Intern.
Best Reissue
Lots of contenders but we're happy to stick with such Hollywood greats as Orson Welles, Groucho Marx, Buster Keaton and Howard Hawks. And lest we forget: there's the highly canonical 1929 masterpiece from Dziga Vertov. Welcome back into cinemas, one and all.
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