Anora Wins In Dallas

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Reunion Tower (picture by Erin Nicole)

On December 19th, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association announced its picks for the best of 2024!

BEST PICTURE
Winner: ANORA
Runners-up: THE BRUTALIST (2); CONCLAVE (3); DUNE: PART TWO (4); A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (5); THE SUBSTANCE (6); WICKED (7); NICKEL BOYS (8); A REAL PAIN (9); SING SING (10)

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Sean Baker, ANORA
Runners-up: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST (2); Denis Villeneuve, DUNE: PART TWO (3); Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE (4); RaMell Ross, NICKEL BOYS (5)

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
Runners-up: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST (2); Timothee Chalamet, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (3); Colman Domingo, SING SING (4); Hugh Grant, HERETIC (5)

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runners-up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE (2); Karla Sofia Gascon, EMILIA PÉREZ (3); Angelina Jolie, MARIA (4); Marianne Jean-Baptiste, HARD TRUTHS (5, tie); Nicole Kidman, BABYGIRL (5, tie)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Runners-up: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN (2); Edward Norton, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (3); Denzel Washington, GLADIATOR II (4); Clarence Maclin, SING SING (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Zoe Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ
Runners-up: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE (2); Ariana Grande, WICKED (3); Danielle Deadwyler, THE PIANO LESSON (4); Monica Barbaro, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (5)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Runners-up: EMILIA PÉREZ (2); ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (3); I’M STILL HERE (4); KNEECAP (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: SUGARCANE
Runners-up: DAUGHTERS (2); WILL AND HARPER (3); SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (4); DAHOMEY (5)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-up: FLOW

BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-up: Sean Baker, ANORA

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Grieg Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
Runner-up: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Kris Bowers, THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)
Winner: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG

Dallas Honors The Holdovers!

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Reunion Tower (photograph by Erin Nicole Bowman)

My hometown has spoken!

The Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association has named The Holdovers as the best picture of the year! This is actually a little bit of a surprising result. In the past, the DFWCA has usually gone with the clear front-runners, which in his case would be Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon. That they picked The Holdovers makes me even more excited about watching that movie either this week or next.

Here are the Dallas winners!

BEST PICTURE
Winner: THE HOLDOVERS
Runners-up: OPPENHEIMER (2); KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (3); POOR THINGS (4); AMERICAN FICTION (5); PAST LIVES (6); MAESTRO (7); ANATOMY OF A FALL (8); BARBIE (9); MAY DECEMBER (10)

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Cillian Murphy, OPPENHEIMER
Runners-up: Paul Giamatti, THE HOLDOVERS (2); Bradley Cooper, MAESTRO (3); Jeffrey Wright, AMERICAN FICTION (4); Leonardo DiCaprio, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (5, tie); Colman Domingo, RUSTIN (5, tie)

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Lily Gladstone, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Runners-up: Emma Stone, POOR THINGS (2); Carey Mulligan, MAESTRO (3); Greta Lee, PAST LIVES (4); Sandra Huller, ANATOMY OF A FALL (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Robert Downey Jr., OPPENHEIMER
Runners-up: Charles Melton, MAY DECEMBER (2); Robert De Niro, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (3); Mark Ruffalo, POOR THINGS (4); Dominic Sessa, THE HOLDOVERS (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, THE HOLDOVERS
Runners-up: Danielle Brooks, THE COLOR PURPLE (2); Emily Blunt, OPPENHEIMER (3); Jodie Foster, NYAD (4); Julianne Moore, MAY DECEMBER (5)

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Christopher Nolan, OPPENHEIMER
Runners-up: Martin Scorsese, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (2); Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS (3); Yorgos Lanthimos, POOR THINGS (4); Celine Song, PAST LIVES (5)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: ANATOMY OF A FALL
Runners-up: THE ZONE OF INTEREST (2); THE TASTE OF THINGS (3); SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (4); FALLEN LEAVES (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: AMERICAN SYMPHONY
Runners-up: 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL (2); STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE (3); THE DEEPEST BREATH (4); THE PIGEON TUNNEL (5)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: THE BOY AND THE HERON
Runner-up: SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: David Hemingson, THE HOLDOVERS
Runner-up: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, ANATOMY OF A FALL

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Hoyte van Hoytema, OPPENHEIMER
Runner-up: Rodrigo Prieto, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Robbie Robertson, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Runner-up: Ludwig Goransson, OPPENHEIMER

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)
Winner: THE ZONE OF INTEREST

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Honor Nomadland

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics announced their picks for best of 2020 yesterday. I’m sad to say that they picked the exact same winners that all the other critics groups are picking. I mean, seriously, DFW — we’re supposed to be the individualists and the contrarians! We’re supposed to be the ones who say, “We’re going to honor whoever we want and if you folks up north don’t like it, tough!” Where’s that independent spirit?

In other words — where’s the love for Money Plane!? I keep waiting for one of these critics groups to have the courage to honor one of the best films of the year. They don’t even have to name it best picture. How about Kelsey Grammer for best supporting actor. “I am the Rumble!” Who else could have delivered that line as skillfully? But, so far, none of the regional groups have had the guts. As a result, both the Golden Globes and SAG ignored Money Plane. I’m starting think that the Oscars might do the same thing. Sometimes, the best films go unhonered and that could happen here. “We’re going to rob the money plane!” That’s a line that will never be forgotten.

Oh well. I am happy that Carey Mulligan won best actress. I haven’t watched Judas and the Black Messiah yet but Daniel Kaluuya is really coming on strong here in the home stretch so I’m going to guess that he’ll soon be picking up his second Oscar nomination. Even if Money Plane is being snubbed, it’s still interesting to watch momentum for a performance build in real time.

Here are the winners from my hometown:

Best Picture
Nomadland

Best Actor
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah

Best Supporting Actress
Amanda Seyfried – Mank

Best Director
Chloe Zhao – Nomadland

Best Foreign Language Film
Minari

Best Documentary
Time

Best Animated Film
Soul

Best Screenplay
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

Best Cinematography
Joshua James Richards – Nomadland