Here Are the 2016 Seattle Film Award Nominees!


Here are the 2016 Seattle Film Award Nominees!  I don’t know what the cat’s yawning about; these nominations are actually an interesting mix of the usual suspects (Moonlight, Manchester, La La Land) and a few unexpected but intriguing picks (like 13th and The Witch).

THE 2016 SEATTLE FILM AWARD NOMINEES:

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR:

BEST DIRECTOR:

  • Damien Chazelle – La La Land
  • Robert EggersThe Witch
  • Barry JenkinsMoonlight
  • Paul Verhoeven – Elle
  • Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

BEST ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE:

  • Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
  • Ryan GoslingLa La Land
  • Logan Lerman – Indignation
  • Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
  • Denzel Washington – Fences

BEST ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE:

  • Amy Adams – Arrival
  • Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
  • Isabelle Huppert – Elle
  • Natalie Portman – Jackie
  • Emma StoneLa La Land

BEST ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE:

BEST ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE:

  • Viola Davis – Fences
  • Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
  • Naomie HarrisMoonlight
  • Kate McKinnonGhostbusters
  • Michelle Williams – Manchester By The Sea

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST:

BEST SCREENPLAY:

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

  • EllePaul Verhoeven, director
  • The HandmaidenPark Chan-wook, director
  • The InnocentsAnne Fontaine, director
  • Under The ShadowBabak Anvari, director
  • The WailingNa Hong-jin, director

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

BEST FILM EDITING:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

BEST YOUTH PERFORMANCE (18 years of age or younger upon start of filming):

BEST VILLAIN:

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4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films: Silent Night Bloody Night, Black Christmas, The Silent Partner, Christmas Evil


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972, dir by Theodore Gershuny)

Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972, dir by Theodore Gershuny)

Black Christmas (1974, dir by Bob Clark)

Black Christmas (1974, dir by Bob Clark)

The Silent Partner (1978, dir by Daryl Duke)

The Silent Partner (1978, dir by Daryl Duke)

Christmas Evil (1980, dir by Lewis Jackson)

Christmas Evil (1980, dir by Lewis Jackson)

Music Video of the Day: Winter by Tori Amos (1992, dir. Cindy Palmano)


My calendar says it’s the first day of Winter today, so I figured I would spotlight this Tori Amos song. I have only talked about one other music video of hers so far. That being Silent All These Years. Basically everything I said about that music video applies to this one too. The only difference is that this time director Cindy Palmano populated the music video with coming-of-age imagery. It is even as misleading in that it also primarily sells Amos as a the girl with a piano, which is how they marketed her at the beginning. It looks like it took till Cornflake Girl and/or God, depending on whether you look at mvdbase or IMVDb, before they hit on the kind of music videos that get across what you are in for with Tori Amos.

To my knowledge, they continued doing work together photo-wise into the mid-to-late-90s even though they stopped doing videos after 1994, according to mvdbase. It makes sense since while Palmano’s videos are certainly beautiful to look at, they really showcase her talents as a photographer rather than capturing Tori using the medium of a music video. To be fair, her first album is different from her subsequent stuff, so it is kind of like complaining that a writer isn’t describing Francois Truffaut correctly when the only movie of his they have seen is The 400 Blows (1959).

For whatever reason, IMVDb has quite different information about her early videos. IMVDb says 1991 for Silent All These Years while mvdbase says 1993. I am trusting IMVDb since Silent All These Years was released as a single in 1991. It makes more sense to me.

Enjoy!

The Detroit Film Critics Society Turns The Key For La La Land!


On Monday, the Detroit Film Critics Society announced their picks for the best of 2016!  You can check out the Motor City’s nominees here!  

And here are the winners:

Best Picture — La La Land

Best Director — Damien Chazelle for La La Land

Best Actor — Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Best Actress — Emma Stone, La La land

Best Supporting Actor — Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Best Supporting Actress — Viola Davis, Fences and Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women

Best Ensemble — 20th Century Women

Best Breakthrough — Kelly Fremon Craig, The Edge of Seventeen

Best Screenplay — Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Best Documentary: OJ: Made in America

 

The Women Film Critic Circle Honors Hidden Figures And Ghostbusters!


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The Women Film Critics Circle has announced their picks for both the best and the worst of 2016! And here they are:

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Hidden Figures
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
13TH
BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER [Screenwriting Award]
13TH, Ava DuVernay
BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Jackie
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge Of Seventeen
BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Kate McKinnon, Ghostbusters
BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
The Handmaiden
BEST DOCUMENTARY BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
13TH
BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Hidden Figures
WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Neighbors 2
BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Loving
WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Dirty Grandpa
WOMEN’S WORK/BEST ENSEMBLE
Hidden Figures
SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS COURAGE IN FILMMAKING
Ava DuVernay, 13TH
COURAGE IN ACTING [Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Rebecca Hall, Christine
*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD: For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women
American Honey
*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD: For best expressing the woman of color experience in America
Hidden Figures
*KAREN MORLEY AWARD: For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity
Hidden Figures
*THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD: [Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
The women of Hidden Figures
BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Loving
BEST FEMALE ACTION HERO
The women of Ghostbusters

The Southeastern Film Critics Association Honors Moonlight!


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On December 19th, The Southestern Film Critics Association announced its awards, as follows:

TOP TEN FILMS
1. Moonlight
2. Manchester by the Sea
3. La La Land
4. Hell or High Water
5. Loving
6. Arrival
7. (Tie) Fences and Jackie
8. Nocturnal Animals
9. Hidden Figures

BEST ACTOR
Winner – Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Runner-up – Denzel Washington (Fences)

BEST ACTRESS
Winner – Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Runner-up – Ruth Negga (Loving)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner – Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Runner-up – Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner – Viola Davis (Fences)
Runner-up – Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner – Moonlight
Runner-up – Manchester by the Sea

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner (tie) – Damien Chazelle, (La La Land)
Winner (tie) – Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner – Manchester by the Sea
Runner-up – Hell or High Water

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner – Moonlight
Runner-up – Arrival

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner – I Am Not Your Negro
Runner-up – OJ: Made in America

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Winner – The Handmaiden
Runner-up – Elle

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner – Zootopia
Runner-up – Kubo and the Two Strings

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner – La La Land
Runner-up – Moonlight

The GENE WYATT AWARD
Winner – Loving
Runner-up – Moonlight

(h/t to AwardsCircuit.)

 

The Phoenix Film Critics Society Goes Ga Ga for La La!


la-la-land

The Phoenix Film Critics Society, one of two warring groups of Phoenix film critics, announced their winners for 2016 earlier today!  Check out their nominees here and the winners below!

Best Picture — La La Land

Best Director — Damien Chazelle — La La Land

Best Actor — Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Best Actress — Emma Stone, La La Land

Best Supporting Actor — Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Best Supporting Actress — Viola Davis, Fences

Best Ensemble — Hell or High Water

Best Original Screenplay — Hell or High Water

Best Adapted Screenplay — Hacksaw Ridge

Overlooked Film Of The Year — Sing Street

Best Animated Film — Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film — Elle

Best Documentary — Gleason

Best Original Song — City of Stars from La La Land

Best Original Score — La La Land

Best Cinematography — La La Land

Best Editing — Hacksaw Ridge

Best Production Design — La La Land

Best Costume Design — Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Best Visual Effects — Doctor Strange

Breakthrough Performance — Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch

Best Performance By A Youth — Alex Hibbert, Moonlight

Manchester By The Sea Wins Almost Everything In Vancouver!


manchester-by-the-sea-sundance-2016

The Vancouver Film Critics have spoken!  Check out their nominees here and their winners below!

BEST FILM
Manchester by the Sea
 
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
 
BEST ACTRESS
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
 
BEST DIRECTOR
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
 
BEST SCREENPLAY
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
 
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Toni Erdmann
 
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cameraperson

Love you, Canada!

Holiday Scenes That I Love: David Bowie and Bing Crosby Sing A Duet in Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas (CBS, 1977)


In this scene from Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, David Bowie stops by the home of his old friend, Sir Percival Crosby, and meets Sir Percy’s long-lost American relative, Bing Crosby!  A discussion of modern music and parenting techniques leads to them performing a duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.

This was Bing’s final Christmas special and he died just five weeks after filming completed.  This scene is a holiday classic and has been described. by the Washington Post, as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history.”

When asked about David Bowie, Bing said he was “clean-cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well.”

Enjoy!