Matt's Blog

If two films finished on the same score, the film that appeared on the most number of top 10 lists is ranked higher (as an indication of wider approval).

This year there was a clear winner - Mad Max: Fury Road.   The film featured on 9 of the 12 top ten lists with 4 critics naming it as their top choice.  The film is expected to perform strongly when the Academy Award nominations are unveiled in a few weeks.

Critics were divided when it came to the other selections.  Only 3 films appeared on at least 50% of the top ten lists - Birdman, Inside Out and Sicario. 

On that note, here are the top 10 movies of 2015 according to Brisbane critics…
 

Matthew Toomey

Born in Brisbane, Matt Toomey was introduced to the world of cinema when he landed a job at a video store fresh out of high school in 1995. A few years later, he started his own website and reviewed movies regularly on a community radio station. In 2005, he joined the team at 612ABC and can be heard reviewing the latest releases every Thursday on Brisbane’s highest rated breakfast program with Spencer Howson. He can also be heard weekly on ABC Wide Bay, Capricornia and Southern Queensland.

Website: www.thefilmpie.com
Twitter: @ToomeyMatt

Sarah Ward

Sarah Ward is a freelance film critic, arts writer, and film festival organiser. She is a film reviewer and feature writer for artsHub, the Australian critic for Screen, a senior writer for Concrete Playground, the editor of Trespass Magazine, and a contributor to FilmInk, Metro Magazine and Screen Education. Her work has been published by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Junkee, Lumina, Senses of Cinema, SBS Film, Televised Revolution, At The Cinema, and the World Film Locations book series. Sarah also chats about film weekly on ABC radio Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and the ABC's national digital channel.

Websites: www.artshub.com.au
www.trespassmag.com
www.concreteplayground.com
www.filmink.com.au
www.screendaily.com/reviews
Twitter: @swardplay

Laurence Barber

Laurence Barber is a film and television critic and freelance writer based in Brisbane. His writing appears regularly at Graffiti with Punctuation, SBS, and Metro Magazine, and his work has been featured at The Guardian, Senses of Cinema, Crikey, The Age, Archer Magazine and News.com.au.

Websites: www.letterboxd.com/Laurence
Twitter: @bortlb

Baz McAlister

Baz McAlister is the editor of Qweekend magazine. A blow-in from the wilds of Northern Ireland, he started watching horror films at the age of ten and never fully recovered.

Website: bazmcalister.wordpress.com
Twitter: @bazmcalister

Garry Williams

Garry Williams is a reviewer for the 4ZZZ-FM Film Club broadcast each Thursdays from 6-7pm on 102.1FM.

Website: 4zzzfm.org.au/program/film-club
Twitter: n/a

David Edwards

David Edwards is the editor and film critic for The Blurb, a website that provides the latest news and reviews for arts entertainment in Australia.

Website: www.theblurb.com.au
Twitter: @TheBlurbMag

Peter Gray

Peter Gray is a Brisbane based freelance entertainment writer specialising in film. Currently the entertainment reporter/film reviewer for QNews, Queensland’s largest LGBT publication, and regular contributor to M/C Reviews and Hush Hush Biz.

Website: hushhushbiz.com
qnews.com.au
Twitter: @ratedPDG

Gary McDonald

35 years ago Gary’s movie career began as Publicist in film distribution in Australia and later Internationally.  He moved onto journalism, television production and freelance film work.  His 1st reviews were published late 70’s in full gloss colour street mag ‘Me’.  Over 3 decades reviewing film and tv, he is now with Fairfax Media 4BC and ABC.  His philosophy is ‘Don’t talk about it unless you have seen it’. Gary has current film and television production underway in the UK and USA.  Remember: ‘A good movie reminds us to feel’.

Website: n/a
Twitter: n/a

Dave Crewe

Dave is a full-time teacher and part-time freelance film critic. You can mostly find his work at ccpopculture, but he’s also been published by the likes of The Guardian, SBS, Metro Magazine, Screen Education, Junkee and The Big Issue.

Website: ccpopculture.com
Twitter: @dacrewe

Jesse Thompson

Jesse Thompson is a film critic and radio producer. He contributes to ey-based film reviewing website 4:3 Film and expresses opinions on new release movies each Thursday from 6pm on 4ZzZ’s Film Club.

Website: www.fourthreefilm.com
Website: www.4zzzfm.org.au/program/film-club
Twitter: @je_thom_

Ella Donald

Ella is a journalism and arts student who decided to start writing reviews when she was 16 because she had too much fun defending why she loved Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. In addition to writing for her blog Monumental Pictures, her writing has also been featured on many publications, including The Seventh Row, where she is an editor, and An Online Universe. When she’s not trying to write about everything she’d like to she enjoys calling out bad French in English language films, fangirling over various actors, and arguing about Awards Season.

Website: monumentalpictures.wordpress.com
Twitter: @_pingus

Shayne Grieve

Shayne has successfully been able to manipulate his addiction and obsession with film into a full time career. When not attempting to moonlight as a film critic, you can find him indoctrinating the youth in his Film and TV classes. Huge genre fan. Bigger geek. He tears up frequently when attending the cinema. Editor-in-chief @ www.thisisfilm.com. Also contributes to Scene Magazine and Moustache Magazine.

Website: www.thisisfilm.com
Twitter: @ShayneTIF