I loved Birdman and I couldn’t wait for [Alejandro G. Inarritu’s next film] The Revenant, but I’m not a fan. I liked Leo [DiCaprio] and the cinematography better than I liked the movie, which I just felt was over the top — I don’t believe for one minute that someone in that condition could go over a waterfall in sub-zero conditions and survive. I’m also really bored with the publicity about how hard it was to make it — why the f--- didn’t you get a better location manager then? I watched The Big Short twice because I had a hard time figuring out what was happening, and I’m nobody’s fool; I’ve decided that I actually liked it, but I don’t really think it’s a best picture for me.

I loved Bridge of Spies — it’s a wonderful kind of fifties movies, predictable but well done — but it’s not really a breakthrough in any sense. I was not a fan of Brooklyn — I hear the book was quite good, but I was bored to tears by the movie; this immigrant girl comes and everything wonderful happens to her and so what? The Martian was entertaining enough, and I loved Matt Damon, but it was basically Cast Away on Mars, and you knew where it was heading from the very start. I like Spotlight, I respect Spotlight, but I don’t think Spotlight benefits from its frequent comparisons to All the President’s Men; I wish they had spent less time on investigative reporting and more time on the issue of sex abuse, which needs a spotlight much more. I thought The Room [sic] was amazing — it’s just two people in a room for the first half, but you’re riveted, and then you get out of the room and you’re even more riveted, if you can believe it! The performances were that amazing. When I saw it I thought it might be my favorite of the year. But Mad Max: [Fury Road] is one of the most extraordinary films I’ve ever seen — it’s so imaginative that it just takes my breath away. This is not just an action movie, although it has great battle sequences; it makes comments on women and it’s so deep and has so many layers.

My vote: (1) Mad Max: Fury Road; (2) Room; (3) The Big Short; (4) The Martian; (5) Spotlight