DFW Honors Everything

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Reunion Tower (picture by Erin Nicole)

The Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association has announced their picks for the best of 2022 and here they are!

BEST PICTURE
Winner: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Runners-up: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2); THE FABELMANS (3); TAR (4); TOP GUN: MAVERICK (5); WOMEN TALKING (6); THE WHALE (7); GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO (8); BABYLON (9); THE WOMAN KING (10)

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Colin Farrell, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Runners-up: Brendan Fraser, THE WHALE (2); Austin Butler, ELVIS (3); Bill Nighy, LIVING (4); Tom Cruise, TOP GUN: MAVERICK (5)

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Cate Blanchett, TAR
Runners-up: Michelle Yeoh, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2); Michelle Williams, THE FABELMANS (3); Danielle Deadwyler, TILL (4); Viola Davis, THE WOMAN KING (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Ke Huy Quan, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Runners-up: Brendan Gleeson, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2); Paul Dano, THE FABELMANS (3); Brian Tyree Henry, CAUSEWAY (4); Ben Whishaw, WOMEN TALKING (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Kerry Condon, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Runners-up: Hong Chau, THE WHALE (2); Angela Bassett, BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (3); Jessie Buckley, WOMEN TALKING (4); Janelle Monae, GLASS ONION (5)

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Runners-up: Steven Spielberg, THE FABELMANS (2); Todd Field, TAR (3); Martin McDonagh, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (4); Sarah Polley, WOMEN TALKING (5)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: DECISION TO LEAVE
Runners-up: CLOSE (2); ARGENTINA 1985 (3); ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (4); EO (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: GOOD NIGHT OPPY
Runners-up: ALL THAT BREATHES (2); FIRE OF LOVE (3); MOONAGE DAYDREAM (4); BAD AXE (5)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
Runner-up: MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON

BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: Martin McDonagh, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Runner-up: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Russell Carpenter, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Runner-up: Greig Fraser, THE BATMAN (tie); Claudio Miranda, TOP GUN: MAVERICK (tie)

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Alexandre Desplat, GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
Runner-up: John Williams, THE FABELMANS

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)
Winner: EO

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

Best Musical Score
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Mank

The Russell Smith Award (Independent Film)
Minari

The Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Love Birdman!

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

And finally, one last group of critics announced their picks for the best of the year today. The DFW Film Critics, who represent my hometown but have somehow failed to offer me membership (and what’s going on with that!?), today announced that — in their opinion —

Birdman is the best film of 2014!

(I know that some people will probably be surprised that the DFW Film Critics did not pick Boyhood — a film that was made in, based in, and basically about Texas — for best picture. Personally, I suspect that if Boyhood had been set in North Texas — as opposed to the Houston area and Austin — it probably would have won.)

Check out the winners below!

Best Film: Birdman

Best Actor: Michael Keaton for Birdman

Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon for Wild

Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons for Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood

Best Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu for Birdman

Best Foreign Language Film: Force Majeure

Best Documentary: CitizenFour

Best Animated Film: The LEGO Movie

Best Cinematography: Birdman

Best Original Score: Interstellar

The Russell Smith Award: Boyhood

Top Ten Films of the Year:

Birdman

Boyhood

The Imitation Game

The Theory of Everything

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Whiplash

Gone Girl

Selma

Wild

Nightcrawler

Dallas Snubs Lisa Marie

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m now officially bored with groups of people voting for and handing out awards. However, I do have to mention one more film critics group that announced their “best-of-2010” selections earlier today.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association announced their picks and, while the winners are pretty much the same films and performances that everyone else has honored this year, I still find it fascinating that there is apparently a Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association. I mean, I live in Dallas and I love my city but it’s not like we’re Los Angeles or New York. Dallas has two newspapers — the Dallas Morning News and the weekly Dallas Observer. Forth Worth has the Star Telegram and that’s about it. Of course, the towns surrounding the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex all have their own local papers but for the most part, everything is owned and published by the same company that puts out the Morning News. So, regardless of whether its political endorsements or film reviews, we’re not exactly dealing with a lot of editorial diversity.

And, of course, I haven’t even start to get into the main issue — which is that I’m not a member! I’m an opinionated, online film critic from North Texas! Where’s my freaking membership!? Is it because I’m a woman? That’s it, isn’t it? All you good old boys just don’t realize that the glass ceiling hasn’t just been cracked, it’s been shattered…

Oh, wait. I just visited the official site of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Film Critics Association and apparently, 11 of the 32 members are female. And apparently, once you join, you have to pay dues…

Never mind. 🙂

Plus, I noticed that Gary Cogill is a member and if you live in DFW then you know that Gary Cogill is just da man.

Anyway, here’s their list of winners:

TOP TEN:
1. The Social Network
2. The King`s Speech
3. Black Swan
4. 127 Hours
5. Winter`s Bone
6. Inception
7. The Fighter
8. True Grit
9. The Town
10. The Kids Are All Right

(Really? The Town and The Kids Are All Right make the top ten? I don’t know, maybe I should demand membership becaue it seems like they kinda need me…)

BEST PICTURE: The Social Network

BEST DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network

BEST ACTOR: James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST SCREENPLAY: The Social Network (Bleh, give a mainstream, elitist like Aaron Sorkin all the awards you want, he’s still going to hate on us for being from Texas…)

BEST FOREIGN FILM: Biutiful

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Waiting for Superman

BEST ANIMATED FILM: Toy Story 3

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: 127 Hours

RUSSEL SMITH AWARD: Winter`s Bone