Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Here Are The 2021 Nominations of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists announced their nominees for the best of 2021 earlier today.  While they nominated some familiar films, it is nice to see that someone is finally showing Passing some love.

Here are the nominations:

Best Film
“Belfast”
“Licorice Pizza”
“The Lost Daughter”
“Passing”
“The Power Of The Dog”

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – “Licorice Pizza”
Kenneth Branagh – “Belfast”
Jane Campion – “The Power Of The Dog”
Maggie Gyllenhaal- “The Lost Daughter”
Rebecca Hall – “Passing”

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain – “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye”
Olivia Colman – “The Lost Daughter”
Lady Gaga – “House Of Gucci”
Kristen Stewart – “Spencer”
Tessa Thompson – “Passing”

Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Jessie Buckley  – “The Lost Daughter”
Ann Dowd – “Mass”
Kirsten Dunst – “The Power Of The Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis – “King Richard”
Ruth Negga – “Passing”

Best Actor
Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Power Of The Dog”
Peter Dinklage – “Cyrano”
Andrew Garfield – “Tick, Tick…boom!”
Will Smith – “King Richard”
Denzel Washington – “The Tragedy Of Macbeth”

Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Jamie Dornan – “Belfast”
Troy Kostur – “CODA”
Ciaran Hinds – “Belfast”
Jesse Plemons – “The Power Of The Dog”
Kodi Smit-McPhee – “The Power Of The Dog”

Best Screenplay, Original
“Being The Ricardos” – Aaron Sorkin
“Belfast” – Kenneth Branagh
“Don’t Look Up” – Adam Mckay
“Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson
“Mass” – Fran Kranz

Best Screenplay, Adapted
“CODA” – Sian Heder
“Dune” – Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
“Passing” – Rebecca Hall
“The Power Of The Dog” – Jane Campion

Best Documentary
“Ascension”
“Flee”
“Julia”
“Summer Of Soul”
“Val”

Best Animated Film
“Encanto”
“Flee”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells Vs The Machines”
“Raya And The Last Dragon”

Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director
“Belfast” – Lucy Bevan, Emily Brockmann
“The French Dispatch” – Douglas Aibel, Antoinette Boulat
“The Harder They Fall” – Victoria Thomas
“King Richard” – Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
“The Power Of The Dog” – Nikki Barrett, Tina Cleary, Carmen Cuba, Nina Gold

Best Cinematography
“Belfast” – Haris Zambarloukos
“Dune” – Greig Fraser
“Passing” – Eduard Grau
“The Power Of The Dog” – Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy Of Macbeth” – Bruno Delbonnel

Best Editing
“Belfast” – Una Ni Dhonghalle
“Don’t Look Up” – Hank Corwin
“Dune” – Joe Walker
“The Power Of The Dog” – Peter Sciberras
“West Side Story” – Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn

Best Non-English-language Film
“Drive My Car”
“Flee”
“A Hero”
“I’m Your Man”
“Titane”

EDA Female Focus Awards

Best Woman Director
Jane Campion – “The Power Of The Dog”
Julia Ducournau – “Titane”
Maggie Gyllenhall – “The Lost Daughter”
Rebecca Hall – “Passing”
Sian Heder – “CODA”

Best Woman Screenwriter
Jane Campion – “The Power Of The Dog”
Maggie Gyllenhaal – “The Lost Daughter”
Rebecca Hall – “Passing”
Sian Heder – “CODA”
Maria Schrader – “I’m Your Man”

Best Animated Female
Mirabel, Stephanie Beatriz – “Encanto”
Katie, Abbi Jacobsen – “The Mitchells Vs The Machines”
Raya, Kelly Marie Tran – “Raya And The Last Dragon”
Giulia, Emma Berman – “Luca”
Sisu, Awkwafina – “Raya And The Last Dragon”

Best Woman’s Breakthrough Performance
Ariana Debose -“West Side Story”
Alana Haim – “Licorice Pizza”
Emilia Jones –  “CODA”
Renate Reinsve – “The Worst Person In The World”
Rachel Zegler – “West Side Story”

Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry
Victoria Alonzo For Her Achievements At Marvel Studios
Maya Cade For Establishing The Black Film Archive
Anna Serner For 20 Years Of Female-forward Work At The Swedish Film Institute

EDA Special Mention Awards

Grand Dame Award For Defying Ageism
Dame Judi Dench
Ms. Rita Moreno
Dame Diana Rigg

Most Egregious Lovers’ Age Difference Award
“The Many Saints Of Newark” –  Ray Liotta and Michela Derossi (38 Years)
“Red Rocket” – Simon Rex and Suzanna Son (21 Years)
“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” – Salma Hayek and Samuel L. Jackson (21 Years)
“Nightmare Alley” – David Strathairn and Toni Collette (22 Years)
“Licorice Pizza” Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (10 Years)

She Deserves A New Agent Award
Amy Adams – “The Woman In The Window” and “Dear Evan Hansen”
Melissa Mccarthy – “The Starling”
Chloe Grace Moretz – “Tom And Jerry”

Most Daring Performance Award
Sandra Bullock – “The Unforgivable”
Olivia Colman – “The Lost Daughter”
Ruth Negga – “Passing”
Renate Reinsve – “The Worst Person In The World”
Agatha Rouselle –  “Titane”

Time Waster Remake or Sequel Award
“The Boss Baby: The Family Business”
“Cruella”
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”
“Space Jam: A New Legacy”
“Tom And Jerry”

TV Review: Fear The Walking Dead 7.8 “PADRE” (dir by Michael E. Satrazemis)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The seventh season of Fear The Walking Dead came to its mid-season conclusion on Sunday.  We learned a few thing as the show went into the hiatus.

We learned that PADRE is not a person but instead, it’s a place.  It’s some sort of secret government installation that has the resources that can be used to rebuild the world.  It was created by Senator Elias Vaszquez, just in case something like a zombie apocalypse happened.  Unfortunately, Sen. Vaszquez is now one of the walking dead and no one is quite sure where Padre is actually located.

We learned that Will, who we met in the first episode of the season, was the senator’s aide.  Will had managed to retain his idealism, even while the world was changing around him.  When Alicia said that she sometimes forgot that the dead used to be the living, Will said, “Maybe that’s why I’m here.  To remind you.”  Wow, someone certainly had a high opinion of himself.  Anyway, as we all know, Strand eventually threw Will into the moat and Will lost a good deal of his face and came back as a walker.  Alicia came across Will at the end of the episode and put a blade through his reanimated brain.

And that’s lead us to the other big thing that happened during this episode — ALICIA RETURNED!  I would probably be more excited about this if I felt like I really knew Alicia but, as I’ve mentioned in the past, this is the first season that I’ve really watched this show.  I do know that Alicia is one of the few remaining links to the show’s first season.  So, the fact that she’s back, has amputated an arm, is turning into a walker, and ended the episode by declaring war on Strand is a big deal.

As for this episode, it was …. well, it wasn’t bad.  It managed to neatly link together everything that we’ve seen and heard since this season began.  Hopefully, now that Alicia has declared war on Strand, the rest of the season can play out a bit more straight-forwardly.  (Keeping track of all of these flashbacks and trying to keep everyone’s chronology straight in my head has been a bit of a struggle.)  It’s hard not to feel that the first 8 episodes of the seventh season were basically just an extended prologue for something bigger.  On the one hand, dragging a prologue out over 8 episodes is exactly the sort of narrative trick that burned me out on The Walking Dead in the first place.  On the other hand, the episodes were largely well-done and well-acted and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in seeing where this all goes.

Fear the Walking Dead will return on April 17th, 2022!

Here Are The AFI’s Top Ten American Films of 2021

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For those of you already trying to make your Oscar predictions, the American Film Institute’s Top Ten List is probably the best of the early precursors. Chances are that the majority of the films listed below are going to be nominated for Best Picture.

Now, I should mention that the AFI only lists American-made productions. So, Belfast was not eligible. However, the AFI still gave Belfast a “special award,” so that should tell you just how much of a contender Belfast is going to be when the Oscar nominations are announced next year.  Even when Belfast isn’t eligible to compete, it wins.

Here are the the AFI’s Top Ten Films of 2021:

CODA
DON’T LOOK UP
DUNE
KING RICHARD
LICORICE PIZZA
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE POWER OF THE DOG
tick, tick… BOOM!
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WEST SIDE STORY

Special Awards: BELFAST & SUMMER OF SOUL

 

The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Honor Belfast

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Washington has selected Belfast as the best of 2021!

Here are the winners and nominees of the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics!

Best Film
Belfast
The Green Knight
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick…BOOM!
West Side Story

Best Director
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
David Lowery – The Green Knight
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…BOOM!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Actress
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Tessa Thompson – Passing

Best Supporting Actor
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard

Best Acting Ensemble
Belfast
The French Dispatch
The Harder They Fall
Mass
The Power of the Dog

Best Youth Performance
Jude Hill – Belfast
Emilia Jones – CODA
Woody Norman – C’mon, C’mon
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story

Best Voice Performance
Awkwafina – Raya and the Last Dragon
Stephanie Beatriz – Encanto
Abbi Jacobson – The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Kelly Marie Tran – Raya and the Last Dragon
Jacob Tremblay – Luca

Best Original Screenplay
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Mike Mills – C’mon, C’mon
Zach Baylin – King Richard
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Fran Kranz – Mass

Best Adapted Screenplay
Siân Heder – CODA
Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth – Dune
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Steven Levenson – tick, tick…BOOM!
Tony Kushner – West Side Story

Best Animated Feature
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Documentary
The First Wave
Flee
The Rescue
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Val

Best International/Foreign Language Film
Drive My Car
A Hero
Lamb
Titane
The Worst Person in the World

Best Production Design
Jim Clay, Production Designer; Claire Nia Richards, Set Decorator – Belfast
Patrice Vermette, Production Designer; Richard Roberts and Zsuzsanna Sipos, Set Decorators – Dune
Adam Stockhausen, Production Designer; Rena DeAngelo, Set Decorator – The French Dispatch
Tamara Deverell, Production Designer; Shane Vieau, Set Decorator – Nightmare Alley
Adam Stockhausen, Production Designer; Rena DeAngelo, Set Decorator – West Side Story

Best Cinematography
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast
Greig Fraser – Dune
Andrew Droz Palermo – The Green Knight
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Editing
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Joe Walker – Dune
Andrew Weisblum – The French Dispatch
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Myron Kerstein & Andrew Weisblum – tick, tick…BOOM!

Best Original Score
Bryce Dessner & Aaron Dessner – Cyrano
Hans Zimmer – Dune
Alexandre Desplat – The French Dispatch
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer

TV Review: Dexter: New Blood 1.5 “Runaway” (dir by Marcos Siega)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

There was a lot of coincidences in the latest episode of Dexter.  In fact, I would argue that there were perhaps more coincidences than were necessary.

For instance, I can accept that — having killed his latest victim — Kurt would just happen to drive up on Harrison while the latter was trying to run away from home.  And I can accept that Kurt would possibly see Harrison as being a kindred spirit.  It’s not just that Harrison and Kurt both have homicidal tendencies.  It’s also that they’re both people who feel like they’re on the outside of normalcy looking in.  Harrison probably reminds Kurt of himself as a teenager and, by mentoring Harrison, it’s possible that Kurt can try to fix the mistakes that he made while raising Matt.  Either that or he just wants to make Harrison his new partner in his side hustle, murdering hitchhikers.

I can accept all of that.  I mean, this is Dexter that we’re talking about.  Dexter requires a certain suspension of disbelief in order for the show to work.  If you spend too much time focusing on the chances of two serial killers actually ending up in the same small town in upstate New York, you’re never going to have time to appreciate Dexter’s sense of the macabre.

However, the show also asked me to believe that Angela and Molly would just happen to be in New York at the same time as Angel (David Zayas) and that Angel would just happen to be talking about the murders previously committed by the man that Angela now knows as Jim Lindsay.  I mean, it was good to see Angel again and I’m glad he’s still wearing the hat but his sudden appearance was a bit too convenient.  It was also very convenient that, earlier in the episode, a drugged Harrison told Audrey that his father was using a fake name and that Audrey later told Angela, at the exact moment that Angela was having her first doubts about Jim/Dexter.  The episode ended with Angela printing out an old obituary for Dexter Morgan, one that featured Dexter’s picture.

From the start of Dexter: New Blood, it has been obvious that Angela was going to learn that Jim was actually Dexter.  We all knew it was going to happen but I was hoping that Angela would learn the secret as the result of her own investigations, as opposed to just happening to attend the same random conference as someone from Dexter’s past.  Audrey very easily could have just told Angela what Harrison told her and Angela could have then done some investigating on her own.  Having her randomly stumble across the truth felt like a bit of a disservice to the character.  It felt like the type of groan-worthy plot twist that far too often popped up during the final seasons of the show’s original run.

So, yes, I was a bit disappointed.  A lot of this episode felt like filler.  Dexter returned to his serial killer ways to take out a drug dealer but, in another coincidence, Logan showed up to arrest the dealer before Dexter could actually do his full ceremony.  (Interestingly enough, the same thing happened with Kurt when his latest victim refused to run when he ordered her to.)  So, Dexter had to force the man to overdose on drugs before making a hasty retreat.  That was probably for the best, considering that Dexter still hasn’t found a good place to dump the bodies.

Still, there were a few intriguing moments in this episode.  I’m liking the idea of Harrison having to potentially choose between two serial killing mentors and Clancy Brown continues to give a strong performance as Kurt.  And, regardless of how she discovered the information, I’m looking forward to seeing Angela confront Dexter.

One final note: I still don’t think Kurt is working alone.  I think Olsen is somehow involved.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Molly was somehow involved too.  Seriously, if Molly isn’t secretly a killer then she’s just an extremely annoying character.  On a show like this, it’s always better to be a killer as opposed to just annoying.  Either way, we’ll see what happens!

The Detroit Film Critics Society Honors Cyrano

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Detroit Film Critics Society have announced their winners for the best of 2021 and, in a move that may surprise some but is actually pretty typical of the always wonderfully quirky Detroit Critics, they selected Cyrano for Best Picture!

The winners are listed in bold:

BEST PICTURE
Belfast
CODA
Cyrano
Don’t Look Up
King Richard

BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker – Red Rocket
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
David Lowery – The Green Knight
Adam McKay – Don’t Look Up
Lan-Manuel Miranda – Tick, Tick…Boom!

BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick…Boom!
Oscar Isaac – The Card Counter
Will Smith – King Richard

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Jennifer Hudson – Respect
Nicole Kidman – Being The Ricardos
​Kristen Stewart – Spencer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jon Bernthal – King Richard
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jared Leto – House Of Gucci
Ray Liotta – The Many Saints Of Newark
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Kirsten Dunst – The Power Of The Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Rita Moreno – West Side Story
Diana Rigg – Last Night In Soho

BEST ENSEMBLE
CODA
Don’t Look Up
The French Dispatch
The Harder They Fall
House Of Gucci

BREAKTHROUGH
Alana Haim – Actress – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – Actress – CODA
Woody Norman – Actor – C’mon C’mon (TIE)
Agathe Rousselle – Actress – Titane
Emma Seligman – Writer/Director – Shiva Baby (TIE)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA
The Green Knight
In The Heights
The Power Of The Dog
Tick, Tick…Boom!

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Don’t Look Up
The French Dispatch
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
Parallel Mothers

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Flee (TIE)
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
The Sparks Brothers
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street
Summer Of Soul (TIE)

BEST USE OF MUSIC/SOUND
Cyrano
In The Heights
Last Night In Soho
Tick, Tick…Boom!
West Side Story

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Belle
Cryptozoo
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. The Machines