Here Are The 2025 Critics Choice Nominations

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The nominations for the Critics Choice Awards — a.k.a. the most pointless awards of the season — were announced on Friday.  The winners will be announced on January 4th.

BEST PICTURE
Bugonia (Focus Features)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Marty Supreme (A24)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Sentimental Value (Neon)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Train Dreams (Netflix)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent (Neon)

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Emma Stone – Bugonia (Focus Features)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Paul Mescal – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value (Neon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Amy Madigan – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Everett Blunck – The Plague (Independent Film Company)
Miles Caton – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Cary Christopher – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family (Searchlight Pictures)
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (Focus Features)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Zach Cregger – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (A24)
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don Mckellar, Jahye Lee – No Other Choice (Neon)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Will Tracy – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet (Focus Features)

BEST CASTING AND ENSEMBLE
Nina Gold – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme (A24)
Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Francine Maisler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Łukasz Żal – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams (Netflix)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Kasra Farahani, Jille Azis – The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Marty Supreme (A24)
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST EDITING
Kirk Baxter – A House of Dynamite (Netflix)
Stephen Mirrione – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners (Warner Bros.)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Malgosia Turzanska – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)
Colleen Atwood, Christine Cantella – Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Flora Moody, John Nolan – 28 Years Later (Sony Pictures)
Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Siân Richards, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal – The Smashing Machine (A24)
Leo Satkovich, Melizah Wheat, Jason Collins – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier, Laura Blount – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett – Avatar: Fire And Ash (20th Century Studios)
Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Eric Leven, Edward Price, Keith Dawson – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Alex Wuttke, Ian Lowe, Jeff Sutherland, Kirstin Hall – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé, Guy Williams – Superman (Warner Bros.)

BEST STUNT DESIGN
Stephen Dunlevy, Kyle Gardiner, Jackson Spidell, Jeremy Marinas, Jan Petřina, Domonkos Párdányi, Kinga Kósa-Gavalda – Ballerina (Lionsgate)
Gary Powell, Luciano Bacheta, Craig Dolby – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Wade Eastwood – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount Pictures)
Brian Machleit – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Andy Gill – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Giedrius Nagys – Warfare (A24)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco (Neon)
Elio (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
In Your Dreams (Netflix)
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain (GKIDS)
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

BEST COMEDY
The Ballad of Wallis Island (Focus Features)
Eternity (A24)
Friendship (A24)
The Naked Gun (Paramount)
The Phoenician Scheme (Focus Features)
Splitsville (Neon)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Belén (Amazon MGM Studios)
It Was Just an Accident (Neon)
Left-Handed Girl (Netflix)
No Other Choice (Neon)
The Secret Agent (Neon)
Sirāt (Neon)

BEST SONG
“Drive” – Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin – F1 (Apple Original Films)
“Golden” – Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
“I Lied to You” – Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
“Clothed by the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams (Netflix)
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

BEST SCORE
Hans Zimmer – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Max Richter – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme (A24)
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)

BEST SOUND
Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John – F1 (Apple Original Films)
Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern, Greg Chapman – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco, David V. Butler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Laia Casanovas – Sirāt (Neon)
Mitch Low, Glenn Freemantle, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner – Warfare (A24)

“Christmas Caper”, Review by Case Wright (Dir. David Winkler, Writers: April Blair & Brian Gunn)

Posted on by casewright

I watched Christmas Caper with Lisa and, as always, it was a wonderful time. It’s weird to have a friend who is way cooler than you, but I’ll take it! “Christmas Caper” had some great lines and a clear story arc, but was what really stands is its similarity to “Dazed and Confused” in this way: it was a springboard for many careers attached to it. April Blair, the writer, went on to write for… everything and the actors all had bright careers for decades. I’m used to Hallmark, which is A LOT more strict. I was in talks to have script made for Hallmark, but it was funny and had Mrs. Claus as the heroine and they just couldn’t wrap their heads around a female lead like that. Here, we have Cate Dove (Shannen Doherty), a gentlewoman thief, who is the heroine- Hallmark would say – BLASPHEMY!!!! Needless to say, I was primed to enjoy this movie.

The film opens with Cate and Clive (Conrad Coates) who are doing a “Mission Impossible” style heist at a home that has A LOT of security. For a plot device, both Cate and Clive remove their masks for the security cameras. (Note: To the homeowner, maybe you should move? I get that you have this fancy pants gem in your house and the schools are a 10/10 on “SchoolDigger,” but if you have this many problems with crime, have you considered another neighborhood or starting a neighborhood watch? I understand it’s hard to move, but I had to pull the trigger on that and leave my beloved Seattle. It’s ok bro, let’s hug it out and call Remax.) They steal a precious gem, but Clive runs off with the gem, leaving Cate to escape as best she can, but there’s a APB out for her with a picture of her everywhere.

Cate flees to NYC to go to her fence Duffy (Michael Northey) to figure out her next move. The inciting incident is that Cate has a goody too shoes sister Savannah (Sonya Salomaa) who is trapped in the Caribbean with her husband Brian and they need child care. Cate is Savannah’s last choice because she’s a degenerate, but Cate decides to watch her niece and nephew because she needs to lay low. Cate goes to Comfort, USA and watches the kids. She rekindles a relationship with her ex who is Sheriff Harrison (Ty Olsson). The mixture of family time, romance, and Christmas puts her on a good character arc.

However, when she tries to get the gem back from Clive, she involves her niece and nephew. I didn’t really that for stranger danger issues, but it added some good comic relief and key plot point. When Cate thinks she has no money to escape and avoid arrest, she steals everyone’s Christmas presents like the Grinch, BUT her heart grows three sizes that day and she returns them all – sort of.

The movie has a nice ending and I liked the act breaks a lot. The movie had clear plot points and that makes sense because the writer, April Blair, had a HUGE career writing for television. I absolutely recommend watching this film on Tubi. It really is a lot of fun!

Holidays on the Lens: Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny (dir by Richard Winer)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh no!  Christmas is approaching but Santa Claus is trapped on a beach in Florida!  A bunch of kids try to help him move his sled but the children are useless!  Maybe Santa’s friend, the Ice Cream Bunny, can help.  While Santa waits for the Bunny to show up, he tells the kids a story.

It’s a bit difficult to explain the plot of 1972’s Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny.  It’s even more difficult to explain why I can’t help but love this odd movie.  The Ice Cream Bunny driving to the rescue is one of my favorite holiday images.  Don’t ask me why he’s the Ice Cream Bunny.  Don’t ask me why Santa needs the help of a giant rabbit.  Don’t ask me why Santa’s on a beach in Florida in the first place.

Just enjoy this holiday oddity!

Scenes I Love: The Cross-Examination From Anatomy of a Murder

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is Otto Preminger’s birthday, I figured that this would be a good time to share a scene that I love from one of my favorite movies, Preminger’s 1959 film, Anatomy of a Murder.

In this scene, prosecutor Claude Dancer (played, in one of his first screen roles, by George C. Scott) cross-examined Laura Manion (Lee Remick), the wife of a man who has been accused of murder.  Playing the role of the defense attorney is James Stewart.  This scene is a master-class in great acting.  Preminger could be a bit of an inconsistent director but his willingness to take on controversial subjects set him apart from many of his contemporaries.  When he had the right material, as he did here, he could create the perfect mix of melodrama and art.  Preminger’s best films, like Anatomy of a Murder, stand the test of time.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Fritz Lang Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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 lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we celebrate the birth and the legacy of the great Austrian director Fritz Lang.  Starting his career during the silent era in Germany, Lang was both a proponent of expressionism and an early critic of the Nazis and Adolf Hitler.  Despite this and the fact that Lang’s mother was Jewish, Josef Goebbels attempted to recruit Lang to run Germany’s largest film studio, UFA.  Lang responded to Goebbels offer by moving to Paris and divorcing his wife, who was an ardent Nazi.  Lang eventually found his way to Hollywood, where he worked for the next twenty years.  With films like Metropolis, M, Fury, Hangmen Also Die, Scarlet Street, and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Lang proved himself to be a master of every genre and his influence is still felt to this day.

In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Fritz Lang Films

Metropolis (1927, dir by Fritz Lang, DP: Karl Freund and Gunther Rittau)

 

M (1931, dir by Fritz Lang, DP: Fritz Arno Wagner)

 

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933, dir by Fritz Lang, DP: Karl Vash and Fritz Arno Wagner)

 

Fury (1936, dir by Fritz Lang, DP: Joseph Ruttenberg)

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for Eye of the Tiger!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix and celebrating the event’s 5th birthday with an encore presentation!  The movie?  1986’s Eye of the Tiger!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find Eye of the Tiger on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there happily tweeting.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you there!

Music Video of the Day: It’s Not Christmas Without You by Katharine McPhee (2010, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m still disappointed that there was never a remake of From Justin to Kelly starring Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee.  Imagine the duet they could have done with this tune.  Well, even without Taylor, this is a lovely rendition of a classic holiday song.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 4.24 “The Whole Nine Yards”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

Today, season 4 comes to a close with an episode about two football teams, one struggling and one not.  Care to guess which team is going to win the big game?

Episode 4.24 “The Whole Nine Yards”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on April 27th, 1988)

Charlie DuBoise (Dinah Lacey) is a twelve year-old girl who wants to play football.  Vince Diller (Beau Starr) is the chauvinistic coach who refuses to allow Charlie to join his team, despite the fact that she can catch and she’s even faster then his son, quarterback Ricky Diller (Chad Allen).  Instead, Charlie joins another team, the 0-5 Minnows.  Who is the new coach of the Minnows?  Mark Gordon, of course!

Ricky has a hard time accepting that a girl beat him in a race and, when Charlie approaches him in a totally 80s arcade, a fight breaks out.  Luckily, Jonathan is there to break it up.  Ricky apologizes to Charlie while Charlie has a gigantic wad of Kleenex stuck up her nose.  The scene goes on for a while and Charlie never removes the Kleenex.  It was awkward to watch.  Seriously, that’s what nampons are for.

Eventually, Ricky gets sick of Vince and his win-at-all-costs mentality.  Ricky talks back to his father and gets kicked off the team.  Ricky joins the Minnows and he and Charlie defeat Vince’s team in the big game.  Vince comes to realize that the game should be about fun and Ricky and Charlie go to the school dance together.

And so ends season 4 of Highway to Heaven.  Shows about girls who want to play football are always weird to me because I’m a girl and I can’t ever think of circumstances in which I would want to play football.  But I do think that if Charlie wants to get a head start on getting the concussions that will ruin her adult life, she should certainly be allowed to do so.  The main problem with this episode was that Vince was such an ogre and such a terrible father that the show’s happy ending felt false.  His son joined another team and destroyed Vince’s undefeated record.  The episode ends with Vince saying he’s proud of his son but Vince has been such a monster that his words sound hollow.  I’m kind of worried about what’s going to happen when Ricky goes home.  Instead of putting together a football game, Jonathan and Mark should have been calling Child Protective Services.

This is my final episode of Highway to Heaven for 2025.  Retro Television Reviews will be taking a break for the holidays but this feature will return!  On January 8th, 2026, we’ll start our look at the final season of Highway to Heaven.