The 2015 Tuorhoth Awards

The BAFTAs and Golden Globes all favoured Boyhood while other awards have crowned the likes of Birdman, The Imitation Game or The Grand Budapest Hotel. Far more prestigious than any of those however is our own ceremony. Succeeding Hugo, Les Miserables and Captain Phillips is our new winner: Guardians of the Galaxy, a space adventure that took both Marvel and the audience into the reach universe of outer space. Get the full list of winners below.

Best Film:

Guardians of the Galaxy
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
The Lego Movie
Locke
Mr Turner
The Theory of Everything

Best British Film:

Paddington
The Imitation Game
Locke
Mr Turner
The Theory of Everything

Best Director:

Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Bryan Singer – X-Men: Days of Future Past
Mike Leigh – Mr Turner
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Matthew MacConaughey – Interstellar
Timothy Spall – Mr Turner
Tom Hardy – Locke

Best Actress:

Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Anne Hathaway – Interstellar
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Supporting Actor:

Bradley Cooper – Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris O’Dowd – Calvary
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Toby Kebbell – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Tyler Perry – Gone Girl

Best Supporting Actress:

Jessica Chastain – Interstellar
Elizabeth Olsen – Godzilla
Emma Stone – Birdman
Kim Dickens – Gone Girl
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

Best Original Screenplay:

Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness – The Grand Budapest Hotel
John Michael McDonagh – Calvary
Christopher and Jonathan Nolan – Interstellar
Phil Lord, Chris Miller – The Lego Movie
Steven Knight – Locke

Best Adapted Screenplay:

James Gunn, Nicole Perlman – Guardians of the Galaxy
Christopher McQuarrie, Jez and John Henry Butterworth – Edge of Tomorrow
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl
Mike Leigh – Mr Turner
Paul King, Hamish McColl – Paddington

Best Sci-Fi:

Guardians of the Galaxy
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Fantasy:

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Boxtrolls
Godzilla
Into the Woods
Noah

Best Comedy:

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Boxtrolls
The Lego Movie
Paddington

Best Drama:

The Theory of Everything
Birdman
The Imitation Game
Locke
Mr Turner

Best Thriller:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Before I Go to Sleep
Fury
Gone Girl
The Two Faces of January

Best Animated Film:

The Lego Movie
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2

Best Newcomer:

Dave Bautista
David Gyasi
Tony Revolori

Best Original Score:

Howard Shore – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Henry Jackman – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Alexandre Desplat – Godzilla
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Best Original Song:

Tegan & Sara, The Lonely Island – “Everything is AWESOME!!!” – The Lego Movie
Alicia Keys – “It’s on Again” – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Billy Boyd – “The Last Goodbye” – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Cinematography:

Interstellar
Edge of Tomorrow
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
Mr Turner

Best Special Effects:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Paddington

Here’s the winner’s leaderboard.

Guardians of the Galaxy – 5

Interstellar – 3

The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Lego Movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – 2

Paddington, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Edge of Tomorrow, The Theory of Everything – 1

The Boxtrolls review

Directors: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi

Starring: Isaac Hempstead Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Richard Ayoade, Nick Frost, Jared Harris, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Tracy Morgan, Toni Collette, Simon Pegg

Laika are the biggest rising stars in the world of animation at the moment. Their promise originated with the incredible Coraline which was followed up by the entertaining ParaNorman. Their purpose seems to be showcasing animation with more of a bite than your usual Disney fare. Their third feature, The Boxtrolls, will be the test on whether the studio can be in for the long haul so the result are understandably crucial.

The gothic, dairy-obsessed town of Cheesebridge are supposedly plagued by baby kidnapping monsters called Boxtrolls. They are in fact harmless creatures scavenging the town of its mechanical goods but Archibald Snatcher (Kingsley) is dispatched to hunt them down by local aristocrat Lord Portley Rind (Harris). Years later, Portley Rind’s adventurous daughter Winnie (Fanning) discovers the Boxtrolls’ true nature when she encounters a boy they’ve adopted, Eggs (Hempstead Wright).

Considering that Coraline’s scares slowly developed before lunging out in the final third, ParaNorman may have approached horror from the obvious route with zombies and death galore. This time round, the approach seems to be more of a family fantasy adventure, stripping away much of the more blatantly sinister apparel. What remains it certainly an entertaining watch but maybe not quite exciting. The events play out in a slightly unengaging, borderline predictable, manner.

You’d expect that, deprived of the studio’s use of horror to rely on, writers Adam Pava and Irena Brignull would perhaps more heavily invest in the comedy but are aren’t quite enough laugh out loud gags to satisfy. It does however introduce some brilliantly loveable character. Eggs is a far less bland hero than the aforementioned Norman. He has an interesting character arc in which he comes to terms with not actually being a Boxtroll.

The actual plot kickstarts with a chance encounter between Eggs and the strong willed young girl Winnie, voiced by Super 8’s Elle Fanning (putting on an English accent for the second time this year after Maleficent). Confidently rebelling from her oblivious father, she possesses a strangely dark obsession with The Boxtrolls and their supposedly murderous ways.

Her bonding with Eggs takes up the bulk of the second half which leaves the Trolls themselves in annoyingly small roles even though they are the film’s most delightful feature. They’re initially very similar to Despicable Me’s Minions but they don’t have the same violent tendencies, being in fact charmingly gentle. This only makes their relegation all the more frustrating.

Another character confusingly low in screentime is Winnie’s mother. Voicing the role is Oscar nominated actress Toni Collette who gets a high billing but I don’t remember having a single line in the film. Despite possessing the capable acting chops of Jared Harris, the role of the Portley Rind father is wasted on continuous huffing and sighing.

With the Boxtroll’s murders debunked, the true villain unsurprisingly emerges as the monstrous Archibald Snatcher, fantastically voiced by an unrecognisable Ben Kingsley. Whilst malevolently torturing the Trolls, his main desire is to join an elitist, cheese-celebrating gathering called The White Hats but, in a fitting parable, his lust is also his downfall. Compared to the more elegant likes of Maleficent, President Snow or Loki, it’s a nice change of pace to have a genuinely revolting lead villain.

He isn’t alone however; Snatcher is backed up by a trio of bumbling henchman, two of whom aren’t entirely sure is they’re on the right side – the other a bizarre, mindlessly headbutt first, ask later type. Again we don’t get to know any of them particularly well but the lovable tones of Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) are plenty to go on.

Laika’s use of stop motion his probably what gives it a unique homegrown sense over other studios and here they make stunning use of it. The character transitions are more fluid than ever and the detail in the character’s and sets is astonishing. Sadly the overblown and ambitious finale seems a tad too reliant on CG tinkering but what isn’t these days.

This is an abominably cruel criticism but, tonally, the film’s heart might be too much in the right place – it’s more mischievous than menacing. Even with dashes of darkness, I missed Laika’s usual ferocity but the bags of charm present can’t go ignored. There are some greatly entertaining pieces in character forming but the Boxtrolls themselves steal the segments of the show they are delegated.

“Where are the rivers of blood and the mountains of bones? I was promised rivers of blood!”

7/10

Weekend box-office – 11th to 17th of October 2014 – will horror spin-off Annabelle spook Fincher’s Gone Girl?

The Conjuring was 2013’s biggest commercial and critical hit in the world of horror, taking a hefty $318 million. This year it receives a lower budgeted spin off, titled Annabelle, from The Conjuring’s writer. This instalment has received a fairly negative critical response but we’ll see if it can the first film’s $40 million debut. In this week’s box-office battle it faces another major new release: Oscar favourite Gone Girl from Fight Club/Seven/Zodiac/The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo/The Curious Case of Benjamin Button/The Social Network director David Fincher. This is an intriguing showdown of mainstream hoots versus awards mongers.

US:

1. Gone Girl – Director: David Fincher – $38 million
2. Annabelle – John R Leonetti – $37.2 million
3. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua – $19 million
4. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi – $12.4 million
5. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball – $12 million

UK:

1. Gone Girl – David Fincher – £4.1 million
2. Dracula Untold – Gary Shore – £1.7 million
3. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua – £1.2 million
4. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi – $1 million
5. What We Did On Our Holiday – Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin – £0.7 million

Fincher’s work has surprisingly topped both box offices and it may well be one of his more profitable works taking around the same as Social Network’s and Dragon Tattoo’s opening weekends combined. Annabelle takes a modest second place with a still impressive $37 million, only a slight drop from Conjuring’s $40 million. Gone Girl has followed suit in the UK with an excellent debut. Britain has often taken to 18 certificated features more than America, see The Wolf of Wall Street’s three week run. Dark fantasy Dracula Untold, supposedly the start of a new Universal monster franchise, is tracking very poorly ahead of its US release next week thanks to this mediocre opening. This week I’ve scored a decent 6/10.

US:

1. Dracula Untold – Gary Shore
2. Gone Girl – David Fincher
3. The Judge – David Dobkin
4. Annabelle – John R Leonetti
5. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua

UK:

1. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball
2. Gone Girl – David Fincher
3. Dracula Untold – Gary Shore
4. Annabelle – John R Leonetti
5. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl, this week’s UK and US number one.

Weekend box-office – 5th to 11th of October 2014 – will Boxtrolls be evened by The Equalizer?

Since 1995, Pixar have ruled the animated genre, evin if Studio Ghibli may have received greater acclaim during that time. The branch of Disney has gone through a fairly dry patch in recent years and a new set of contenders have risen through the ranks. Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon and The Lego Movie are storming up as the most popular animations of the moment. Amongst these there is one studio with a but of a bite. Laika have often polarised their younger audiences with the deliciously dark Coraline and the entertaining watch of ParaNorman. Their new work, The Boxtrolls, has become a UK No.1 hit but it was unlikely to follow that up in the US as it challenged Denzel Washington thriller The Equalizer. Last week, we predicted the result to go in favour of Washington’s action vehicle but let’s find out what really went down in a milestone week in the UK box office.

US:

1. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua – $35 million
2. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball – $17.5 million
3. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi – $17.3 million
4. This is Where I Leave You – Shawn Levy – $7 million
5. Dolphin Tale 2 – Charles Martin Smith – $4.8 million

UK:

1. Billy Elliot The Musical Live – Stephen Daldry – £1.9 million
2. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua – £1.9 million
3. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi – £1.1 million
4. What We Did On Our Holiday – Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin – £0.8 million
5. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank – £0.6 million

The Boxtroll’s mediocre takings in the US may be contributing towards a fairly unsatisfactory global gross. Denzel Washington’s Hollywood popularity has been extended for another while but this may not be quite ideal for a new franchise. In the UK meanwhile there’s been a huge achievement made: Billy Elliot The Musical has become the first cinema event to top the UK box office. The medium has been trial ran for the past few years with concerts, Doctor Who and Monty Python trying but not quite succeeding. Family drama What We Did On Our Holiday, written by the pair behind TV’s Outnumbered, has been a decent success but Rosamund Pike my find more success on Oscar favourite Gone Girl next week. You can find where I’ve placed it for next week below, which’ll I hope will be better than this week’s dismal score of 1/10.

US:

1. Gone Girl – David Fincher
2. Annabelle – John R Leonetti
3. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua
4. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball
5. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacci

UK:

1. Gone Girl – David Fincher
2. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua
3. Dracula Untold – Gary Shore
4. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
5. What We Did On Our Holiday – Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin

Denzel Washington in The Equalizer, this week’s US number one.

The cast of Billy Elliot The Musical Live, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 27th of September to 3rd October 2014 – will Neeson get lost in The Maze Runner or take A Walk Among the Tombstones?

The great American box-office dry spell ended last week as Idris Elba thriller No Good Deed took the top spot from Guardians of the Galaxy (the end of an era) although it was still a fairly mediocre debut. This week, three new major releases are competing: Liam Neeson’s dark thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones; Shawn Levy’s family drama This is Where I Leave You and young adult fantasy The Maze Runner. Two of these ought to be smash hits but the fact that they’re clashing may be their undoing. Last week, we tipped the box-office in favour of The Maze Runner but let’s find out what really went on.

US:

1. The Maze Runner – Director: Wes Ball – $32.5 million
2. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank – $12.8 million
3. This is Where I Leave You – Shawn Levy – $11.6 million
4. No Good Deed – Sam Miller – $9.8 million
5. Dolphin Tale 2 – Charles Martin Smith – $8.9 million

UK:

1. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi – £1.3 million
2. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank – £1.3 milion
3. Pride – Matthew Warchus – £0.6 million
4. Lucy – Luc Besson – £0.6 million
5. The Riot Club – Lone Scherfig – £0.5 million

The Maze Runner’s victory has been lessened by this packed week of releases. As franchise starters go, this is an overall success. This is less than the blockbusting likes of The Hunger Games, Twilight or Divergent although far greater than the car crashes like The Mortal Instruments. A $30 million debut has secured a sequel so we ought to be seeing a lot of the series over the next few years. Liam Neeson’s resurgence as an action star began with Taken and The Grey and has since found greater financial takings with the increasingly generic likes of Taken 2 and Non-Stop. His attempt at darker material has only gained muted responses from both UK and America.

In the UK, The Boxtrolls’ British appeal is extending its run although I wouldn’t be surprised if this success eludes it in America. Pride in continuing to prove popular but ruling class drama The Riot Club seems to have slumped, despite the popularity of its younger stars. This week I’ve scored 3/10.

US:

1. The Equalizer – Antoine Fuqua
2. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
3. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball
4. Say When – Lynn Shelton
5. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank

UK:

1. The Equalizer – Antione Fuqua
2. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
3. What We Did on Our Holiday – Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin
4. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank
5. Pride – Matthew Warchus

Dylan O’Brien in The Maze Runner, this week’s US number one.

Isaac Hempstead Wright in The Boxtrolls, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 21st to 26th of September 2014 – will Guardians find No Good Deed?

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy have become the undisputed kings of the summer, as oppose to last year’s equally brilliant The Kings of Summer. This week its reign may come to an end as its faces thriller No Good Deed and family sequel Dolphin Tale 2, the first real competition for the top spot since last month’s action comedy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Meanwhile in the UK, miners strike drama Pride and animated fantasy The Boxtrolls are going head to head. Last week, we predicted that the aquatic drama would triumph but lets find out what really went down.

US:

1. No Good Deed – Director: Tim Miller – $24.5 million
2. Dolphin Tale 2 – Charles Martin Smith – $16.5 million
3. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – $8 million
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – $4.8 million
5. Let’s Be Cops – Luke Greenfield – $4.3 million

UK:

1. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi – £2 million
2. Lucy – Luc Besson – £0.8 million
3. Pride – Matthew Warchus – £0.7 million
4. Sex Tape – Jake Kasdan – £0.7 million
5. A Most Wanted Man – Anton Corbijn – £0.6 million

Idris Elba’s thriller vehicle No Good Deed has overcome a generally negative critical response for a decent box office debut. Dolphin Tale has regressed from the first films takings although its hardly a flop. Guardians of the Galaxy has of course slipped up from its place atop the box office but it was certainly fun while it lasted. The Boxtrolls has made a sizeable stab at success in the UK although it’ll be hoping for better in the US. Pride hasn’t won any great financial gains but it is delighting its audiences. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it creep back around by next year’s (UK based) awards season. The late great Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final lead performance in spy drama A Most Wanted Man rounds off the top 5. This week I’ve scored 4/10.

US:

1. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball
2. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank
3. No Good Deed – Tim Miller
4. Dolphin Tale 2 – Charles Martin Smith
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn

UK:

1. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
2. The Riot Club – Lone Scherfig
3. A Walk Among the Tombstones – Scott Frank
4. Magic in the Moonlight – Woody Allen
5. Pride – Matthew Warchus

Idris Elba in No Good Deed, this week’s US number one.

Isaac Hempstead Wright in The Boxtrolls, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 13th to 19th of September 2014 – can Guardians continue box-office reign?

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy completely conquered the fairly barren month of August and is now continuing its run into the early autumn. This week the sci-fi phenomenon is competing for its fourth week on top of the box office and once more there’s very little competition. To its credit it’s capitalising on a surprising financial slump. Meanwhile in the UK, comedic box-office disappointment Sex Tape makes its debut, hoping for a much needed recovery. Find last week’s predictions here.

US:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – Director: James Gunn – $10.2 million
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – $6.5 million
3. If I Stay – RJ Cutler – $5.7 million
4. Let’s Be Cops – Luke Greenfield – $5.4 million
5. The November Man – Roger Donaldson – $4.2 million

UK:

1. Sex Tape – Jake Kasdan – £1.4 million
2. Lucy – Luc Besson – £1.2 million
3. Before I Go to Sleep – Rowan Joffe – £0.8 million
4. The Hundred Foot Journey – Lasse Halstrom – £0.7 million
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – £0.7 million

The Guardians have done what no film this year has done: four weeks at the number one spot at the US box office, defying the worry that it’d be Marvel’s undoing. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is continuing impressive form while Let’s Be Cops is proving to be a sleeper hit. Pierce Brosnan’s spy thriller The November Man was intended to be a franchise starter but these numbers go against its favour. The UK saw three new entries, of which Sex Tape is number one. The film’ll be pleased with these statistics but it’ll hardly lift the spirits of a dismal box-office run. Star studded drama thriller Before I Go to Sleep has received a fairly mediocre reception also. This week I’ve scored a disappointing 3/10.

US:

1. Dolphin Tale 2 – Charles Martin Smith
2. No Good Deed – Sam Miller
3. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman
5. If I Stay – RJ Cutler

UK:

1. The Boxtrolls – Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
2. Pride – Matthew Warchus
3. Sex Tape – Jake Kasdan
4. Lucy – Luc Besson
5. A Most Wanted Man – Anton Corbijn

Zoe Saldana and Benicio Del Toro in Guardians of the Galaxy, this week’s US number one.

Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel in Sex Tape, this week’s UK number one.

Four new stills from Hobbit 2, new trailers for Boxtrolls and Hercules: The Legend Begins and Doctor Who Christmas special pic and title

Above is the first official image from this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special or, as we must now call it, The Time of the Doctor. The title stems from this year’s “of the Doctor” mini series. It started with the series seven finale The Name of the Doctor. The second major instalment of this trilogy was last Saturday’s 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor but that was preceded by the short film The Night of the Doctor. The Time of the Doctor will conclude Matt Smith’s time as the Doctor and will also introduce Peter Capaldi as the new incarnation. We won’t see Capaldi properly until Autumn next year when series eight begins with a two part episode directed by Ben Wheatley.

We know Jenna Coleman will star as Clara but no other castings are confirmed. The Silence, the Weeping Angels, the Cyberman and the Daleks are confirmed to be just some of the villains to feature and I think that they’re unlikely to leave Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny (Catrin Stewart) and Commander Strax (Dan Starkey) or indeed River Song (Alex Kingston).

Two Hercules films are to battle it out in 2014. We’ve no idea how the studios managed this but it’s awfully bad luck as their both hovering over August. One, Hercules, is from director Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand, Rush Hour, Red Dragon), stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the title role with John Hurt, Peter Mullan, Rebecca Ferguson, Ian McShane and Joseph Fiennes and goes for a tale set after the traditional Twelve Labours of Hercules legend.

The other is Hercules: The Legend Begins. Renny Harlin, director of Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and Deep Blue Sea, is calling the shots on a production which doesn’t seem to have many major stars beside Twilight’s Kellan Lutz. The first trailer reveals that this may have enough action and stun in it to go beyond the seemingly limited cast. With two versions of the Greek tale in production, the release is subject for change but it should come in August 8th.

The new trailer for The Boxtrolls has also landed. It serves as a cinematic teaser and a peek behind the scenes of an animation style that’s notoriously technical. Laika are the team behind brilliant stop-motion hits such as ParaNorman and Coraline so we can expect great things from this dark fantasy comedy. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Elle Fanning, Toni Collete, Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade, Jared Harris and Isaac Hempstead Wright all lend their voices while Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi direct.

We’ve now got some lovely new pics fresh from the editing room of Academy Award winning director Peter Jackson’s fantasy sequel The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (click next to cycle through). Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Dean O’Gorman, Ian McKellen, Sylvester McCoy and Luke Evans are the focus of today’s update.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – December 13th

The Boxtrolls – September 12th 2014

Hercules: The Legend Begins – August 8th 2014

Doctor Who 2013 Christmas Special/The Time of the Doctor – December 25th