by Barye Phillips
Artwork of the Day: Country Girl (by Barye Phillips)
Yearly Archives: 2018
Here Are the 2018 St. Louis Film Critics Association nominations!
The St. Louis Film Critics Association announced their nominations for the best of 2018 on Sunday night. The winners will be announced on December 17th!
- BEST FILM
- BlacKkKlansman
- First Reformed
- Roma
- A Star Is Born
- Vice
- BEST DIRECTOR
- Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
- Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
- Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
- Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
- Adam McKay – Vice
- BEST ACTOR
- Christian Bale – Vice
- Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
- Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate
- Ethan Hawke – First Reformed
- Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
- BEST ACTRESS
- Toni Collette – Hereditary
- Olivia Coleman – The Favourite
- Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
- Charlize Theron – Tully
- Glenn Close – The Wife
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Mahershala Ali – Green Book
- Steve Carell – Vice
- Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy
- Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Michael B. Jordan – Black Panther
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Amy Adams – Vice
- Emily Blunt – A Quiet Place
- Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
- Emma Stone – The Favourite
- Rachel Weisz – The Favourite
- BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Eighth Grade – Bo Burnham
- The Favourite – Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
- First Reformed – Paul Schrader
- A Quiet Place – Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski
- Vice – Adam McKay
- BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- BlacKkKlansman – Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Spike Lee (Screenplay); Ron Stallworth (Book)
- Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (Screenplay); Lee Israel (Book)
- If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins (Screenplay); James Baldwin (Novel)
- A Star Is Born – Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters (Screenplay); Moss Hart (1954 Screenplay); John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion, and Frank Pierson (1976 Screenplay); William A. Wellman and Robert Carson (Story).
- Widows – Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen (Screenplay); Linda La Plante (1983 – 85 Teleplay)
- BEST EDITING
- First Man – Tom Cross
- Roma – Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough
- A Star Is Born – Jay Cassidy
- Vice – Hank Corwin
- Widows – Joe Walker
- BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- The Favourite – Robbie Ryan
- First Man – Linus Sandgren
- Green Book – Sean Porter
- If Beale Street Could Talk – James Paxton
- Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
- A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique
- BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
- Black Panther – Hannah Beachler
- The Favourite – Fiona Crombie
- First Man – Nathan Crowley
- If Beale Street Could Talk – Mark Friedberg
- Roma – Eugenio Caballero
- BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- Annihilation
- The Avengers: Infinity War
- Black Panther
- Ready Player One
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- BEST SCORE
- Annihilation – Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Carter Burwell
- BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
- First Man – Justin Hurwitz
- If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
- BEST SOUNDTRACK
- BlacKkKlansman
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- The Hate U Give
- Ready Player One
- A Star Is Born
- BEST ACTION FILM
- Ant-Man And the Wasp
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Black Panther
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout
- Ready Player One
- BEST COMEDY
- Deadpool 2
- The Favourite
- Game Night
- Paddington 2
- Sorry to Bother You
- BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
- Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
- The Incredibles 2
- Isle of Dogs
- Ralph Breaks the Internet
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- Free Solo
- RBG
- Science Fair
- Three Identical Strangers
- Won’t You Be Me Neighbor?
- BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE
- Capernaum
- The Captain
- The Guilty
- Roma
- Shoplifters
- BEST SCENE
- BlacKkKlansman – Final montage.
- Bohemian Rhapsody – Live Aid.
- Roma – Beach rescue.
- Vice – Ending.
- Avengers: Infinity War – Thor arrives in Wakanda.
Holiday Music Video of the Day: Santa Baby by Lindesy Stirling (2018, dir by ????)
Happy Holidays! Trust Linsdey Stirling to elevate one of the worst Christmas songs ever written with an energetic performance and an entertaining music video.
(I should admit that I have a personal bias against Santa Baby, one that goes back to my dancing days. Let’s just say that falling flat on your ass in front of a huge crowd of people while dressed like one of Santa’s helpers and while Santa Baby plays in the background is not necessarily one of my happiest holiday memories.)
Enjoy!
Lisa’s Week In Review: 12/3/18 — 12/9/18
I was on vacation last week so I missed most of the controversy over Kevin Hart being the host of the Oscars for 24 hours. My personal opinion — and this is one that I’ve had for a while — is that the Oscars don’t need a host. The host is usually dead weight and usually spends too much time bragging about the same industry that refused to hold Harvey Weinstein accountable until it absolutely had no other choice but to do so. Instead of a host, just have someone announce each presenter’s name and what award they’re going to present.
Anyway, here’s my week in review.
Movies I Watched
- 22 July (2018)
- Early Man (2018)
- Hugo (2011)
- Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)
- Winchester (2018)
Television Shows I Watched
- The Apprentice
- A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol
- EastEnders
- The Graham Norton Show
- Holby City
- A Hotel for the Super Rich and Famous
- I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here
- ITV News At Ten
- ITV New London
- Live at the Apollo
- The One Show
- Ramsay’s Hotel Hell
- Serial Killer With Piers Morgan
- Survivor 37
- Unsolved Mysteries
Books I Read
- Bitter (2018) by Francesca Jakobi
- Ghost Virus (2018) by Graham Masterson
Music To Which I Listened
- Above & Beyond
- Adam Rickfors
- Adi Ulmansky
- Afrojack
- Alessia Cara
- Alex Winston
- Ariana Grande
- Ava Max
- Avicii
- Big Data
- The Black Keys
- Blanck Mass
- Bloc Party
- Blur
- Calvin Harris
- The Chainsmokers
- The Chemical Brothers
- Daft Punk
- David Guetta
- DJ Judaa
- DJ Snake
- Elle King
- Gwen Stefani
- The Killers
- Lindsey Stirling
- MØ
- Moby
- New Order
- Public Service Broadcasting
- Pulp
- Purity Ring
- Saint Motel
- Sia
- Skating Polly
- Sleigh Bells
- The Struts
- Talking Heads
- Taylor Swift
- Thom Yorke
- The Ting Tings
- Underworld
Links From Last Week
- On my music site, I shared songs from Big Data, MØ, Skating Polly, Alex Winston, Lindsey Stirling, and Alessia Cara.
- Erin shared the following pictures on her photography site: Happy, Christmas Trees, Christmas Dream, Frozen Fire Hydrant 2011, A Path To A Christmas House, Curved Street 2011, and Black-and-White Street!
- Erin wrote about the latest episode of Survivor for the Reality TV Chat Blog!
- Will Write For Food: The Freelance Stories of Derrick Ferguson
- Erik Anderson of Awards Watch wrote a bit about the Kevin Hart.
Links From The Site
- Erin reviewed Finding Santa and profiled Bernard Barton. She also shared the following artwork: La Traición tiene Curvas, The Dangerous One, Swamp Hoyden, The Case of the Constant God, The Case of the One-Eyed Witness, Ward Nurse, and the Loves of Dr. Devere!
- Gary reviewed Stir Crazy, Tension, and Drunken Master and paid tribute to Ken Berry!
- Jeff shared music videos from George Harrison, Madness, The Rolling Stones, Def Leppard, R.E.M., Journey, and Kid Creole and the Coconuts!
- I shared the trailer for The Avengers: Endgame and also my thoughts on the Golden Globe nominations!
- Arleigh shared the trailer for Captain Marvel!
- Ryan continued his look back at 2018 with his top ten contemporary collections, vintage collections, special mentions, and graphic novels!
It’s Always Sunny As The Philadelphia Film Critics Pick Roma!
On Saturday, The Philadelphia Film Critics announced their picks for the best of 2018. And, once again, it was Roma that picked up the top prize. However, the Philadelphians did break with tradition by not selecting Ethan Hawke for Best Actor or Lady Gaga for Best Actress. Instead, those prizes went to Christian Bale (Vice) and Viola Davis (Widows).
Best Movie: ROMA
Best Director: Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Actor: Christian Bale, Vice
Best Actress: Viola Davis, Widows
Best Supporting Actor: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Foreign Film: ROMA (Mexico)
Best Animated Film: Incredibles 2
Best Documentary: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Best Cinematography: ROMA (Alfonso Cuarón)
Best Breakthrough Performance: Kiki Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Directorial Debut: Boots Riley, Sorry To Bother You
Best Script: Audrey Wells, The Hate U Give
Best Score/Soundtrack: Suspiria (Thom Yorke)
Elaine May Award: RBG
Steve Friedman Award: Black Panther
The Chicago Film Critics Association Makes Roma An Offer It Can’t Refuse
Last night, the Chicago Film Critics announced their picks for the best of 2018! Like many other critic groups, they selected ROMA as the best film of 2018. (They also picked Olivia Colman for Best Supporting Actress, though she’s being pushed for an Oscar nominations for Best Actress for her role in The Favourite.)
Ethan Hawke for First Reformed is coming on strong, as far as the precursors are concerned. Right now, I’m assuming First Reformed will do well when the Oscar nominations are announced but the fact that the film was not only snubbed but apparently loathed by the Golden Globe voters does give me reason to wonder if maybe we could see a repeat of what happened with Nightcrawler (i.e., a film and a performance loved by the critics but totally ignored by the Academy).
Check out their nominations here and then check out the winners below!
BEST PICTURE
Roma
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
BEST ACTOR
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
BEST ACTRESS
Toni Collette, Hereditary
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
If Beale Street Could Talk by Barry Jenkins
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
First Reformed by Paul Schrader
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Minding the Gap
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Roma
BEST ART DIRECTION
The Favourite
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
BEST EDITING
Roma
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Annihilation
MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Ari Aster, Hereditary
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
The Toronto Film Critics Association Honors ROMA!
The word out of Canada is that, earlier today, the Toronto Film Critics Association met and picked ROMA as the best film of 2018! Just like the L.A. Critics, Toronto picked Steven Yeun for best supporting actor, for his work in Burning.
Here’s a full list of the winners in Toronto!
Best Picture: ROMA
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA)
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
Best Actress: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Best Supporting Actor: Steven Yeun (Burning)
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Best Screenplay: The Favourite and First Reformed (tie)
Best Documentary: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Best Animated Feature: Isle of Dogs
Best Foreign Language Film: Burning
Best First Feature: Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You)
Love you, Canada!
The San Francisco Film Critics Circle Embraces Roma and Orson Welles!
The San Francisco Film Critics Circle announced their pics for the best of 2018 earlier today. They picked Roma for Best Picture and they also rightfully honored Orson Welles for his work on The Other Side of the Wind.
Check out a list of their nominees here and check out the winners below!
Best Picture: ROMA
Best Director: Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman)
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
Best Actress: Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Best Supporting Actor: Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader (First Reformed)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Charlie Watchel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman)
Best Film Editing: Bob Murawski and Orson Welles (The Other Side of the Wind)
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA)
Best Production Design: Hannah Bleacher (Black Panther)
Best Foreign Language Film: ROMA
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
Best Documentary: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Marlin Riggs Award (for courage & vision in the Bay Area film community): Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You)
Special Citation Award (for and under-appreciated independent film): The Endless – a genre-bending story of emotionally estranged brothers starring and directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Embrace Roma, Debra Granik, and Steven Yeun!
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2018 earlier today and guess who picked up their award for Best Supporting Actor?
Steven Yeun!
That’s right. As sad as we all were to see Glenn brutally murdered on The Walking Dead, at least we can find some happiness in the fact that Steven Yeun’s career has prospered since leaving the show. Yeun won the LAFCFA’s Best Supporting Actor prize for his role in the Korean film, Burning. The LAFCA liked Burning quite a bit actually. It also came in second for the Best Picture prize, an award that was won by Roma.
Finally, Debra Granik won Best Director for her work on Leave No Trace, making her the first woman to win the directing prize of a major critics group this year.
Here are the winners!
Best Picture – ROMA
Runner up: Burning
Best Director – Debra Granik (Leave No Trace)
Runner up: Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA)
Best Actor – Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
Runner up: Ben Foster (Leave No Trace)
Best Actress – Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Runner up: Toni Collette (Hereditary)
Best Supporting Actor – Steven Yeun (Burning)
Runner up: Hugh Grant (Paddington 2)
Best Supporting Actress – Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Runner up: Elizabeth Debicki (Widows)
Best Screenplay – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Runner up: Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (The Favourite)
Best Production Design – Hannah Beachler (Black Panther)
Runner up: Fiona Crombie (The Favourite)
Best Editing – Joshua Altman and Bing Liu (Minding the Gap)
Runner up: Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough (ROMA)
Best Cinematography – Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA)
Runner up: James Laxton (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Best Music Score – Nicholas Britell (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Runner up: Justin Hurwitz (First Man)
Best Foreign Language Film – Burning and Shoplifters (tie)
Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film – Shirkers
Runner up: Minding the Gap
Best Animation – Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
Runner up: Incredibles 2
New Generation – Chloé Zhao (The Rider)
Special Citation – The Other Side of the Wind
Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video – Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin (The Green Fog)
Career Achievement (previously announced) – Hayao Miyazaki
Artwork of the Day: The Loves of Dr. Devere (by Stanley Borack)
by Stanley Borack
Through the Shattered Lens 