OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Brooklyn (Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Bríd Brennan, Jane Brennan, Fiona Glascott, Jessica Paré, Eileen O’Higgins, Jenn Murray, Emily Bett Rickards, Eve Macklin, Mary O’Driscoll, Nora-Jane Noone, Michael Zegen, Paulino Nunes, James DiGiacomo, Christian de la Cortina, Ellen David, Gerard Murphy, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Barbara Drennan, Gillian McCarthy, Ellis Rockburn, Max Walker, James Corscadden, Adrien Benn, Mella Carron)

Magic Mike XXL (Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodríguez, Gabriel Iglesias, Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Glover, Michael Strahan, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Billy Reilich, Christian Boeving, Dmitry Steesy)

Maps to the Stars (Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, Evan Bird, Carrie Fisher, Jayne Heitmeyer, Jonathan Watton, Amanda Brugel, Justin Kelly, Emilia McCarthy, Kiara Glasco, Ari Cohen, Dawn Greenhalgh, Domenic Ricci, Sean Robertson, Gord Rand)

Spotlight (Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Gene Amoroso, Jamey Sheridan, Billy Crudup, Maureen Keiller, Paul Guilfoyle, Len Cariou, Neal Huff, Michael Cyril Creighton, Laurie Heineman)

Spy (Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Jude Law, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Peter Serafinowicz, Morena Baccarin, Richard Brake, Nargis Fakhri, Björn Gustafsson, 50 Cent, Verka Serduchka, Will Yun Lee, Carlos Ponce, Michael McDonald, Mitch Silpa, Steve Bannos, Jessica Chaffin, Katie Dippold, Zach Woods, Ben Falcone, Jamie Denbo)

AND THE WINNER IS:

SPOTLIGHT (MARK RUFFALO, MICHAEL KEATON, RACHEL MCADAMS, LIEV SCHREIBER, JOHN SLATTERY, BRIAN D’ARCY JAMES, STANLEY TUCCI, GENE AMOROSO, JAMEY SHERIDAN, BILLY CRUDUP, MAUREEN KEILLER, PAUL GUILFOYLE, LEN CARIOU, NEAL HUFF, MICHAEL CYRIL CREIGHTON, LAUREI HEINEMAN)

When I think about a great ensemble I think of a bunch of characters as a team and no ensemble fit this definition more then the ensemble of Tom McCarthy’s newspaper drama Spotlight. Whether it’s those scenes set at the Bostom Globe or the multiple interview scenes spanning out from the Globe newspaper each and every member of this impressive shines in the most subtle ways. It’s even funny how the singled out by the oscars (Ruffalo & McAdams) are in fact some of the weaker performances in this very strong ensemble of known and unknown actors. All the performances gidded with great strength by McCarthy make this world all the great and really what I look for in impressive ensemble’s is each actor acting to make each better and well defined from one another which Spotlight does with each of it’s characters.