4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films


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

Three Days of the Condor (1975, dir by Sydney Pollack)

First Blood (1982, dir by Ted Kotcheff)

Invasion USA (1985, dir by Joseph Zito)

Lethal Weapon (1987, dir by Richard Donner)

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists


Here are the 2025 nominations of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists!

BEST FILM
FRANKENSTEIN
HAMNET
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
THE SECRET AGENT
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
SINNERS
TRAIN DREAMS

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Ryan Coogler – SINNERS
Jafar Panahi – IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Joachim Trier – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Chloe Zhao – HAMNET

BEST SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – Jafar Panahi
JAY KELLY – Noah Baumbach
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier
SINNERS – Ryan Coogler
SORRY, BABY – Eva Victor

BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
BUGONIA – Will Tracy
FRANKENSTEIN – Guillermo del Toro
HAMNET – Maggie O’Farrell & Chloe Zhao
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Paul Thomas Anderson
TRAIN DREAMS – Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

DOCUMENTARY
COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT – Ryan White
MY MOM JAYNE – Mariska Hargitay
ORWELL 2+2=5 – Raoul Peck
THE LIBRARIANS – Kim A. Snyder
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR – Geeta Gandbhir

ANIMATED FEATURE
ARCO – Ugo Bienvenu & Giles Cazaux
IN YOUR DREAMS – Erik Benson & Alexander Woo
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – Chris Applehaus & Maggie Kang
LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN – Liane-Cho Jin Kuang & Mailys Vallade
ZOOTOPIA 2 – Jared Bush & Simon Howard

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – HAMNET
Rose Byrne – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Renate Reinsve – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Emma Stone – BUGONIA
Tessa Thompson – HEDDA

BEST ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Nina Hoss – HEDDA
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Amy Madigan – WEAPONS
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Wunmi Mosaku – SINNERS

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Joel Edgerton – TRAIN DREAMS
Ethan Hawke – BLUE MOON
Michael B. Jordan – SINNERS
Wagner Moura – THE SECRET AGENT

BEST ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Benicio Del Toro – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Jacob Elordi – FRANKENSTEIN
Paul Mescal – HAMNET
Sean Penn – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Stellan Skarsgård – SENTIMENTAL VALUE

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST & CASTING DIRECTOR
HAMNET – Nina Gold & Lucy Amos
MARTY SUPREME – Jennifer Venditti
NOUVELLE VAGUE – Stéphane Batut
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Cassandra Kulukundis
SINNERS – Francine Maisler

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
FRANKENSTEIN – Dan Laustsen
HAMNET – Łukasz Żal
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Michael Bauman
SINNERS – Autumn Durald Arkapaw
TRAIN DREAMS – Adolpho Veloso

BEST EDITING
F1: THE MOVIE – Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith
HAMNET – Affonso Gonçalves & Chloe Zhao
MARTY SUPREME – Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Andy Jurgensen
SINNERS – Michael P. Shawver

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – Jafar Panahi
NO OTHER CHOICE – Park Chan-wook
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier
SIRÂT – Oliver Laxe
THE SECRET AGENT – Kleber Mendonça Filho

FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
Presented Only to Women

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow – A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
Mary Bronstein – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Mona Fastvold – THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
Chloe Zhao – HAMNET

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE WRITER
Mary Bronstein – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Nia DaCosta – HEDDA
Hikari & Stephen Blahut – RENTAL FAMILY
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell – HAMNET

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST VOICED PERFORMANCE IN ANIMATED FILM
Ginnifer Goodwin – ZOOTOPIA 2
Loïse Charpentier – LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
Arden Cho – KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
Fortune Feimster – ZOOTOPIA 2
Zoë Saldaña – ELIO

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Odessa A’Zion – MARTY SUPREME
Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Wunmi Mosaku – SINNERS
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST STUNTS PERFORMANCE
Ana de Armas – BALLERINA
Hayley Atwell – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Pom Klementieff – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the North Texas Film Critics Association


Here are the nominations of the North Texas Film Critics Association.

BEST PICTURE
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
Michael Jordan – Sinners
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

BEST ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident (France)
No Other Choice (South Korea)
Sentimental Value (Norway)
Sirāt (Spain)
The Secret Agent (Brazil)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Deaf President Now
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Alabama Solution
The Perfect Neighbor

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Arco
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Ne Zha 2
Zootopia 2

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams
Łukasz Żal – Hamnet

BEST NEWCOMER
Miles Caton – Sinners
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Alfie Williams – 28 Years Later

BEST SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson & Thomas Pynchon – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Zach Cregger – Weapons
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein – Marty Supreme
Will Tracy – Bugonia
Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet

GARY MURRAY AWARD (BEST ENSEMBLE)
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

Holidays On The Lens: Christmas Twister (dir by Peter Sullivan)


The 2012 film Christmas Twister tells the story of what happens when several twisters hit North Texas on Christmas Day.  For a film taking place in the DFW area (a region that is called the flatlands for a reason), there’s a surprisingly large amount of mountains around.

I mean check out the road leading to Fort Worth:

Check out the town of Gransbury!

Guess which movie was definitely not filmed in Texas!

That said, Casper Van Dien manfully drives across the city, saving his children from the tornado and encouraging folks to stay inside. Plus, the film features a perfect shot that shows that the filmmakers did understand at least one thing about Texas:

Hell yeah!  The flag of Texas and some other country!

Enjoy Christmas Twister:

Join #MondayMania For A Wife’s Nightmare!


Hi, everyone!  Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania!  Join us for 2014’s A Wife’s Nightmare!

You can find the movie on Prime and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time!  (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.)  See you then!

Song of the Day: Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum


Apparently, when Norman Greenbaum wrote today’s song of the day, he wasn’t quite writing a parody but, at the same time, he wasn’t being totally serious either.  Greenbaum wrote the song after watching a gospel performance on television and thinking, “Yeah, I could do that.”  By his own recollection, it took him 15 minutes to come up with the lyrics for Spirit In The Sky.

Originally, he was going to perform the song with a jug band.  (Yikes!)  He also tried to do a folk version.  (Double yikes!)  Fortunately, he ultimately went for the hard rock sound that made the song a legend.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Freddie Francis Edition


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.

On this date, 108 years ago, Freddie Francis was born.  Though Francis may be best remembered as a cinematographer (who worked on three David Lynch films), he was also a director who did memorable work for both Hammer and Amicus in the 60s and 70s.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Freddie Francis Films

The Evil of Frankenstein (1963, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: John Wilcox)

The Skull (1965, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: John Wilcox)

Dracula Has Risen The Grave (1968, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: Arthur Grant)

The Creeping Flesh (1973, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: Norman Warwick)

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For 12 Disasters of Christmas!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasionally Mastodon.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We snark our way through it.

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 2012’s 12 Disasters of Christmas!

It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in.  If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, find the movie on YouTube and hit play at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  The  watch party community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.   

See you soon!