The D.C. Critics Embrace 12 Years A Slave

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oscar season continues!

A lot of observers (like me) were a bit surprised to see neither Los Angeles, New York, nor the National Board of Review name 12 Years A Slave best picture of 2013.

However, 12 Years A Slave has been doing well with the smaller critics groups. Earlier today, it was named best picture by the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association.

Here’s the full list of winners from D.C.:

Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave”

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyongo, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, “Her”

Best Art Direction: Catherine Martin, “The Great Gatsby”

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “Gravity”

Best Editing: Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, “Gravity”

Best Score: Hans Zimmer, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Broken Circle Breakdown”

Best Animated Feature: “Frozen”

Best Documentary: “Blackfish”

Best Acting Ensemble: “12 Years a Slave”

Best Youth Performance: Tye Sheridan, “Mud”

The New York Film Critics Online Honor 12 Years A Slave

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

12 Years A Slave didn’t just win Boston today. It was also named best picture of the year by the New York Film Critics Online.

Personally, I’m hoping that next year, sites like AwardsDaily, AwardsWatch, Goldderby, and others will join together to form the Online Oscar Precursors Watchers Association and they’ll give out awards to the various critical groups. For example, they could hand out awards for the Best Jump On The Bandwagon, Best Out-Of-Nowhere winner, or the Honorary Award For The Award That Was Most Obviously Determined By A Desire To Tick People Off.

But, until that happens, here’s are the New York Film Critics Online’s pick for the best of 2013:

BEST PICTURE
“12 Years a Slave”

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”)

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years A Slave”)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze (“Her”)

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”)

BEST MUSIC
“Inside Llewyn Davis”

BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki (“Gravity”)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“The Act of Killing”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Blue Is the Warmest Color”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Wind Rises”

BEST ENSEMBLE
“American Hustle”

12 Years A Slave Wins In Boston

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Boston Society Of Film Critics voted earlier today and 12 Years A Slave — which, so far, has been underperforming with the critics’ groups — swept the awards. The Wolf of Wall Street came in second for most of the major awards.

BEST PICTURE
“12 Years a Slave”
Runner-up: “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”)
Runner-up: Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”)
Runner-up: Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”)
Runner-up: Judi Dench (“Philomena”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
James Gandolfini (“Enough Said”)
Runner-ups:
Barkhad Abdi (“Capt. Phillips”) and Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) tie for second.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
June Squibb (“Nebraska”)
Runner-up:
Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Nicole Holofcener (“Enough Said”)
Runner-up:
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Wadjda”
Runner-up: “Blue Is the Warmest Color”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“The Act of Killing,” Josh Oppenheimer
Runner-ups:
“Blackfish,” “Leviathan,” “At Berkeley,” “Crash Reel,” “20 Feet from Stardom ”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Wind Rises,” Hayao Miyazaki
Runner-up:
“Frozen”

BEST NEW FILMMAKER
Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”)
Runner-up: Josh Oppenheimer (“Act of Killing”)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki (“Gravity”)
Runner-up:
Phillippe Le Sourd (“The Grandmaster”)

BEST EDITING
Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill (“Rush”)
Runner-up: Thelma Schoonmaker (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
Runner-up: “Nebraska”

The Los Angeles Film Critics Honor James Franco!

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced the picks for the best of 2013. There are a few things worth noting:

1) Her is coming on surprisingly strong.

2) James Franco won best supporting actor for Spring Breakers! Well, technically, Franco tied with Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club. But still, it’s good to see Franco’s audacious performance getting some recognition.

3) My favorite film of 2013 — Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color — came in second for best editing.

Here are the winners:

BEST PICTURE (tie)
“Gravity,” “Her”

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Runner-up: Spike Jonze, “Her”

BEST ACTOR
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Runner-up: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”

BEST ACTRESS (tie)
Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”); Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue is the Warmest Color”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (tie)
James Franco, “Spring Breakers”; Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyongo, “12 Years a Slave”
Runner-up: June Squibb, “Nebraska”

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Before Midnight,” Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater
Runner-up: “Her,” Spike Jonze

BEST EDITING
“Gravity,” Alfonso Cuaron & Mark Sanger
Runner-up: “Upstream Color,” Shane Carruth & David Lowery

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Gravity,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Runner-up: “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Bruno Delbonnel

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Her,” K.K. Barrett
Runner-up: “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Jess Gonchor

BEST MUSIC/SCORE
“Inside Llewyn Davis,” T Bone Burnett
Runner-up: “Her,” Arcade Fire & Owen Pallett

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
Runner-up: “The Great Beauty”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Ernest and Celestine”
Runner-up: “The Wind Rises”

BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION FILM
“Stories We Tell”
Runner-up: “The Act of Killing”

Here Are The Ten Semi-Finalists For The Best Visual Effects Oscar

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee announced the ten semi-finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar.

And here they are:

Elysium

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

The Lone Ranger

Oblivion

Pacific Rim

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Thor: The Dark World

World War Z

Five of the films listed above will receive actual Oscar nominations and then one will win the Oscar. And that one will probably be Gravity.

It’s interesting to note that Man Of Steel, a film that basically was just 143 minutes of visual effects, failed to make the cut.

The Oscar Season Begins With The Gotham Nominations!

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Can you guess what my favorite time of year is?

If you guessed November, you’re right! My birthday is on November 9th, our own Dazzling Erin’s birthday is on November 24th, and then Arleigh’s birthday is on November 27th! November is a big month here at the Shattered Lens.

My second favorite time of year? October, of course! How can you go wrong with so much horror?

And then, of course, my third favorite time of year is December because that’s when I get most of my presents.

Along with being my favorite three months of the year, another thing that all three of those months have in common is that they comprise what is known as Oscar Season. Oscar Season is the period of time when the majority of the Best Picture contenders are released and all of the critic groups give out their awards in the hope of influencing the Academy’s nominations. I love movies and I love awards so how can I not love Oscar Season?

Well, I’m happy to say that Oscar Season officially began earlier today when the nominations for the 23rd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were announced. The Gotham nominations aren’t exactly the best precursor of what’s going to be nominated in January but, nonetheless, they usually manage to include at least a few legitimate contenders.

This year, for example, Oscar front-runner 12 Years A Slave managed to collect the most Gotham nominations. Personally, I’m just happy to see that my favorite film of 2013, Upstream Color, collected two nominations.

The Gothams will be awarded on December 2nd.

Here are the nominations:

Best Feature

12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes, producers (IFC Films)

Before Midnight

Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Sara Woodhatch, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Inside Llewyn Davis

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors; Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, producers (CBS Films)

Upstream Color

Shane Carruth, director; Shane Carruth, Casey Gooden, Ben LeClair, producers. (erbp)

Best Documentary

The Act of Killing

Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge, Joshua Oppenheimer, producers (Drafthouse Films)

The Crash Reel

Lucy Walker, director; Julian Cautherly, Lucy Walker, producers (HBO Documentary Films)

First Cousin Once Removed

Alan Berliner, director and producer (HBO Documentary Films)

Let the Fire Burn

Jason Osder, director and producer (Zeitgeist Films)

Our Nixon

Penny Lane, director; Brian L. Frye, Penny Lane, producers (Cinedigm and CNN Films)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company)

Adam Leon for Gimme the Loot (Sundance Selects)

Alexandre Moors for Blue Caprice (Sundance Selects)

Stacie Passon for Concussion (RADiUS-TWC)

Amy Seimetz for Sun Don’t Shine (Factory 25)

Best Actor

Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (CBS Films)

Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

Robert Redford in All Is Lost (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)

Isaiah Washington in Blue Caprice (Sundance Selects)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)

Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (Relativity Media)

Brie Larson in Short Term 12 (Cinedigm)

Amy Seimetz in Upstream Color (erbp)

Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now (A24)

Breakthrough Actor

Dane DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings (Sony Pictures Classics)

Kathryn Hahn in Afternoon Delight (The Film Arcade and Cinedigm)

Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company)

Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Robin Weigert in Concussion (RADiUS-TWC)

Blue Is The Warmest Colour and Bruce Dern Win At Cannes

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Bruce Dern in Nebraksa

Here are the official winners at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

Palme d’Or – Blue Is the Warmest Colour by Abdellatif Kechiche
Honorary Palme d’Or – Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux for Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Grand Prix – Inside Llewyn Davis by Joel & Ethan Coen
Best Director – Amat Escalante for Heli
Best Screenplay – Jia Zhangke for A Touch of Sin
Best Actress – Bérénice Bejo for The Past
Best Actor – Bruce Dern for Nebraska
Jury Prize – Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda

Both The Tree of Life and Amour were nominated for best picture after winning the Palme d’Or and, in fact, it could be argued that neither one of those films would have had the momentum necessary to score an Oscar nod if they hadn’t first won at Cannes. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend will continue with Blue Is The Warmest Colour.

As for Bruce Dern — a Hollywood veteran who has appeared in a lot of iconic films but who has never won an Oscar — I have a feeling that he’ll be winning a lot of other awards before the Oscar season has ended.

Here Are The Oscar Winners

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Best Picture — Argo

Best Director — Ang Lee for Life of Pi

Best Actor — Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln

Best Actress — Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook

Best Supporting Actor — Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress — Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

Best Adapted Screenplay — Argo

Best Original Screenplay — Django Unchained

Best Animated Feature Film — Brave

Best Documentary Feature — Searching For Sugar Man.

Best Foreign Language Film — Amour

Best Cinematography — Life of Pi

Best Costuming — Anna Karenina

Best Editing — Argo

Best Makeup and Hair-Styling — Les Miserables

Best Original Score — Life of Pi

Best Original Song — “Skyfall” in Skyfall

Best Production Design — Lincoln

Best Sound Editing — Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall

Best Sound Mixing — Les Miserables

Best Visual Effects — Life of Pi

Best Live-Action Short Film — Curfew

Best Animated Short Film — Paperman

Best Documentary Short Film — Innocente

By the numbers:

Life of Pi — 4

Argo — 3

Les Miserables — 3

Django Unchained — 2

Lincoln — 2

Skyfall — 2

Amour — 1

Anna Karenina — 1

Brave — 1

Curfew — 1

Innocente — 1

Paperman — 1

Searching for Sugar Man — 1

Silver Linings Playbook — 1

Zero Dark Thirty — 1

Here Are The Winners Of The Independent Spirit Awards

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It was a good day for Silver Linings Playbook.

BEST FEATURE
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Bernie”
“Keep the Lights On”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
X – “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Julia Loktev, “The Loneliest Planet”
X – David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Ira Sachs, “Keep the LIghts On”
Martin McDonagh, “Seven Psychopaths”

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini, “Return”
Emayatzy Corinealdi, “Middle of Nowhere”
X – Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Smashed”

BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black, “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
X – John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Thur Lindhardt, “Keep the Lights On”
Matthew McConaughey, “Killer Joe”
Wendell Pierce, “Four”

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie Dewitt, “Your Sister’s Sister”
Ann Dowd, “Compliance”
X – Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Brit Marling, “The Sound of My Voice”
Lorraine Toussaint, “The Middle of Nowhere”

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
X – Matthew McConaughey, “Magic Mike”
David Oyelowo, “Middle of Nowhere”
Sam Rockwell, “Seven Psychopaths”
Bruce Willis, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Michael Pena, “End of Watch”

BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Zoe Kazan, “Ruby Sparks”
Martin McDonagh, “Seven Psychopaths”
X – David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias, “Keep the Lights On”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yoni Brook, “Valley of Saints”
Lol Crowley, “Here”
X – Ben Richardson, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Roman Vasyanov, “End of Watch”
Robert Yeoman, “Moonrise Kingdom”

BEST FIRST FEATURE
“Fill the Void”
“Gimme the Loot”
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
“Sound of My Voice”
X – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Rama Burshtein, “Fill the Void”
X – Derek Connolly, “Safety Not Guaranteed”
Christopher Ford, “Robot & Frank”
Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, “Celeste and Jesse Forever”
Jonathan Lisecki, “Gayby”

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (best feature under $500,000)
“Breakfast with Curtis”
X – “Middle of Nowhere”
“Mosquita y Mari”
“Starlet”
“The Color Wheel”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“How to Survive a Plague”
“Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present”
“The Central Park Five”
X – “The Invisible War”
“The Waiting Room”

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
X – “Amour”
“Once Upon a Time in Anatolia”
“Rust and Bone”
“Sister”
“War Witch”

The 19th Annual SAG Awards

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m sick so I ended up sleeping through most of the SAG awards and I missed Argo beating Lincoln for best ensemble. Does this victory mean that Argo is the new front-runner for Best Picture or did the SAG just want to reward a film directed by one of their own? I’m not sure but what I do know for sure is that the Actors’ Branch (made up, of course, by members of the same SAG that embraced Argo) is the biggest voting bloc in the Academy.

Lincoln, by the way, is a pretty good film but it’s also a rather conventional and stately film. For a lot of people, Argo, which I think is good but not great, connects emotionally in a way that Lincoln doesn’t.

That said, I still think Life of Pi is the best of the all the nominated films and my two favorite films of the year — Anna Karenina and The Cabin In The Woods — weren’t even nominated.

Here are the winners of the 19th Annual SAG Awards.