Tag Archives: Film

Here Are The 2023 DiscussingFilm Critics Awards!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2023 nominations of the DiscussingFilm Critics Awards!  The winners will be announced on January 6th!

BEST PICTURE
All Of Us Strangers
Anatomy Of A Fall
Barbie
Killers Of The Flower Moon
May December
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Zone Of Interest

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Todd Haynes – May December
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer – The Zone Of Interest

BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Huller – Anatomy Of A Fall
Teyana Taylor – A Thousand And One
Lily Gladstone – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST ACTOR
Andrew Scott – All Of Us Strangers
Zac Efron – The Iron Claw
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo – Rustin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry
Robert De Niro – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Charles Melton – May December
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Julianne Moore – May December
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Anatomy Of A Fall
The Boy And The Heron
Fallen Leaves
Godzilla Minus One
Monster
Perfect Days
Society Of The Snow
The Taste Of Things
Totem
The Zone Of Interest

BEST ENSEMBLE
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anatomy Of A Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
Past Lives

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
All Of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Boy And The Heron
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Poor Things
Priscilla

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Asteroid City
Barbie
Beau is Afraid
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST FILM EDITING
Anatomy Of A Fall
John Wick: Chapter 4
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST SOUND
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Zone Of Interest

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Barbie
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
“What was I Made For” – Barbie
“Road To Freedom” – Rustin
“Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie
“Camp Isn’t Home” – Theater Camp

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
American Symphony
Beyond Utopia
Four Daughters
Still: A Michael J Fox Movie
20 Days in Mariupol

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Boy And The Heron
Elemental
The Peasants
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

BEST DEBUT FEATURE
American Fiction
A Thousand And One
Past Lives
Rye Lane
Talk To Me

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Abby Ryder Forston – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Charles Melton – May December
Cailee Spaney – Priscilla
Sophie Wilde – Talk To Me

BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Extraction 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
A Thousand And One
How To Have Sex
Passages
Past Lives
Skinamarink

BEST COMEDY
Barbie
Bottoms
Dream Scenario
The Holdovers
Poor Things

BEST HORROR FILM
Evil Dead Rise
Saw X
Scream VI
Skinamarink
Talk To Me

Oppenheimer Wins In Nevada (Again)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the 23rd, the Nevada Film Critics Society announced their picks for the best of 2023!  Appropriately, given that he left the state with a glowing reputation, Oppenheimer was named Best Picture.

Here are the winners!

Best Film – Oppenheimer
Best Actor – Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
Best Actress – Emma Stone (Poor Things)
Best Supporting Actor – Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)
Best Supporting Actress – Julianne Moore (May December)
Best Director – Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
Best Original Screenplay – The Holdovers (David Hemingson)
Best Adapted Screenplay – Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin)
Best Documentary – 20 Days in Mariupol
Best Animated Movie – Robot Dreams
Best Production Design – Barbie (Sarah Greenwood)
Best Cinematography – Oppenheimer (Hoyt van Hoytema)
Best Visual Effects – The Creator

Celebrate Christmas With Treevenge!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi!  We hope you’re having a wonderful holiday!

Here at the Shattered Lens, we have a Christmas tradition, one that was started way back in 2009 by site founder Arleigh Sandoc.  And that tradition is …. TREEVENGE!

Celebrate Christmas with the greatest haunted Christmas tree movie ever!

Enjoy and …. wait, what?  Uh-oh!  The video is age-restricted so you’ll have to click on the watch on YouTube link!

Let’s Celebrate Christmas By Watching Santa Claus Conquers The Martians On The Shattered Lens!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Watching the 1964 holiday sci-fi epic, Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, is a Christmas Eve tradition here at the Shattered Lens!  So, sit back, turn on Kid TV, and get ready to sing!

S

A

N

T

A

C

L

A

U

S

HOORAY FOR SANTY CLAUS!

Retro Television Review: The Night They Saved Christmas (dir by Jackie Cooper)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay.  Today’s film is 1984’s The Night They Saved Christmas!  It  can be viewed on Tubi and YouTube.

The Night They Saved Christmas argues that there are two types of people in the world.

There are people who still believe in Santa Claus and all that he represents and then there are the people who gave up their belief a long time ago.  Those who believe in Santa Claus are still full of the Christmas spirit and, under the right circumstances, they might even get to meet the elves and the jolly old man himself.  Those who do not believe are destined to waste their holiday on focusing on material things that aren’t really important.

Petroleum engineer Michael Baldwin (Paul Le Mat) doesn’t believe in Santa Claus and that’s why he had no trouble moving his entire family to the North Pole so that they could freeze while he headed up an oil exploration project.  Michael and his boss, billionaire Sumner Murdock (Mason Adams), are determined to find oil and they’ve got an endless supply of dynamite with which to search for it.

Michael’s wife, Claudia (Jaclyn Smith), still believes in the spirit of Santa and she encourages their children to believe as well.  For that reason, Ed the Elf (played by singer Paul Williams), is willing to take Claudia and the kids to North Pole City.  They get to meet Santa (Art Carney) and they even learn how Santa uses satellite technology to deliver presents all over the world.  The city is really quite impressive, with the movie making good use of matte paintings and miniatures to create the impression of a magical metropolis.  And Santa turns out to be a pretty nice guy, even if he does tell the elves that he’s sick of them singing Jingle Bells.

Unfortunately, North Pole City is in danger!  Every day, the oil company’s dynamite causes a mini-earthquake.  With the dynamiting getting closer and closer to North Pole City, Santa and the elves worry that they might be on the verge of getting blown up!  Can Claudia and the kids convince Michael to stop blowing up huge chunks of the North Pole before Christmas is ruined!?

Well, listen — I don’t think it’s a spoiler for me to tell you that Christmas is not ruined.  It would be pretty cynical for the movie to end with Michael blowing up Santa Claus and cynical is one thing that The Night They Saved Christmas is not.  This is a very earnest film, full of cheery elves, a paternal Santa, and lots of Christmas music.  Even greedy old Mr. Murdock turns out to be not that bad of a guy.  In the end, this film says that Santa and the spirit of Christmas is for everyone and that’s certainly not a bad message.  It’s a likeable movie for the holiday season and Art Carney is a perfect Santa Claus, even if he does appear to be a little underweight for the role.  As played by Carney, Santa is welcoming, good-humored, and still enthusiastic about his job, even after centuries of doing it.  He’s exactly the way you would want Santa to be.  This is a film that earns the right to wish everyone a merry Christmas!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Michael Curtiz Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 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.

December 24th is not just Christmas Eve!  It’s also the anniversary of the birth of Michael Curtiz!  Michael Curtiz was born in Budapest in 1886 and, after getting his start making silent films in Hungary, he eventually came to the United States and became one of the most important directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age!  Curtiz mastered every genre and worked with every star and the end result was some of the greatest films ever made.

Today, we honor the legacy of Michael Curtiz with….

4 Shots From 4 Michael Curtiz Films

The Walking Dead (1936, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Hal Mohr)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: W. Howard Greene)

Casablanca (1942, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Arthur Edeson)

Mildred Pierce (1945, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Ernest Haller)

The Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Nominated Asteroid City!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I think the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association is the only group announcing any year-end awards today and they should be the last of the precursor groups to do so before Awards Season starts up again on December 28th.

Here are the nominations.  The winners will be announced on January 6th.

Best Picture
ALL OF US STRANGERS
ASTEROID CITY
BARBIE
THE HOLDOVERS
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
MAY DECEMBER
OPPENHEIMER
PAST LIVES
POOR THINGS
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Best Film in a Foreign Language
Justine Triet – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Hayao Miyazaki – HE BOY AND THE HERON
Takashi Yamazaki – GODZILLA MINUS ONE
Wim Wenders – PERFECT DAYS
Jonathan Glazer – THE ZONE OF INTEREST

Best Animated Film
Hayao Miyazaki – THE BOY AND THE HERON
Peter Sohn – ELEMENTAL
Nick Bruno & Troy Quane – NIMONA
Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin K. Thompson – SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
Jeff Rowe & Kyler Spears – TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM

Best Documentary
Kaouther Ben Hania – FOUR DAUGHTERS
D. Smith – KOKOMO CITY
Frederick Wiseman – MENUS-PLAISIRS – LES TROISGROS
Davis Guggenheim – STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE
Sam Wrench – TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR

Best Director
Greta Gerwig – BARBIE
Todd Haynes – MAY DECEMBER
Christopher Nolan – OPPENHEIMER
Martin Scorsese – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Celine Song – PAST LIVES

Best Lead Actor
Bradley Cooper – MAESTRO
Paul Giamatti – THE HOLDOVERS
Cillian Murphy – OPPENHEIMER
Andrew Scott – ALL OF US STRANGERS
Jeffrey Wright – AMERICAN FICTION

Best Lead Actress
Lily Gladstone – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Sandra Hüller – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Greta Lee – PAST LIVES
Natalie Portman – MAY DECEMBER
Emma Stone – POOR THINGS

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Downey Jr. – OPPENHEIMER
Ryan Gosling – BARBIE
Charles Melton – MAY DECEMBER
Mark Ruffalo – POOR THINGS
Dominic Sessa – THE HOLDOVERS

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt – OPPENHEIMER
America Ferrera – BARBIE
Anne Hathaway – EILEEN
Rachel McAdams – ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – THE HOLDOVERS

Best Original Screenplay
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari – ANATOMY OF A FALL
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – BARBIE
David Hemingson – THE HOLDOVERS
Samy Burch (story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik) – MAY DECEMBER
Celine Song – PAST LIVES

Best Adapted Screenplay
Andrew Haigh – ALL OF US STRANGERS
Kelly Fremon Craig – ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.
Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Christopher Nolan – OPPENHEIMER
Tony McNamara – POOR THINGS

Best Cinematography
Mátyás Erdély – THE IRON CLAW
Rodrigo Prieto – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Matthew Libatique – MAESTRO
Hoyte Van Hoytema – OPPENHEIMER
Robbie Ryan – POOR THINGS

Best Editing
Nick Houy – BARBIE
Thelma Schoonmaker – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Jennifer Lame – OPPENHEIMER
Keith Fraase – PAST LIVES
Yorgos Mavropsaridis – POOR THINGS

Best Score
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – THE KILLER
Robbie Robertson – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Ludwig Göransson – OPPENHEIMER
Jerskin Fendrix – POOR THINGS
Daniel Pemberton – SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Breakthrough Director
Daniel Goldhaber – HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE
Raven Jackson – ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT
Cord Jefferson – AMERICAN FICTION
A.V. Rockwell – A THOUSAND AND ONE
Celine Song – PAST LIVES

Breakthrough Performance
Abby Ryder Fortson – ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.
Charles Melton – MAY DECEMBER
Dominic Sessa – THE HOLDOVERS
Cailee Spaeny – PRISCILLA
Teo Yoo – PAST LIVES

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix For Santa Claus Conquers The Martians!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on Twitter and Mastodon.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and 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, #FridayNightFlix has got one of my favorite Christmas movies, 1964’s Santa Claus Conquers The Martians!

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

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians is available on Prime, Tubi, YouTube, and a host of other streaming sites!  See you there!

Here Are The 2023 Nominations of the Society of Composers and Lyricists

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Society of Composers and Lyricists have announced their nominations for the best of 2023.  The winners will be announced on February 13th, 2024 so you’ve got a lot of time to listen to these scores.

Here are the nominations:

Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film
Joe Hisaishi – The Boy and the Heron
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer
Laura Karpman – American Fiction
Robbie Robertson – Killers of the Flower Moon
Anthony Willis – Saltburn

Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film
Jon Batiste – American Symphony
Mica Levi – The Zone of Interest
Fabrizio Mancinelli, Richard M. Sherman – Mushka
Daniel Pemberton – Ferrari
John Powell – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Outstanding Original Score for a Television Production
Nicholas Britell – Succession
Natalie Holt – Loki
Martin Phipps – The Crown
Carlos Rafael Rivera – Lessons in Chemistry
Gustavo Santaolalla – The Last of Us

Outstanding Original Title Sequence for a Television Production
Chanda Dancy – Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Nainita Desai – The Deepest Breath
Kevin Kiner – Ahsoka
Atli Örvarsson – Silo
Carlos Rafael Rivera -Lessons in Chemistry

Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production
Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson – “It Never Went Away” (American Symphony)
Nicholas Britell, Taura Stinson – “Slip Away” (Carmen)
Sharon Farber, Noah Benshea – “Better Times” (Jacob the Baker)
Lenny Kravitz – “Road to Freedom” (Rustin)
Olivia Rodrigo, Dan Nigro – “Can’t Catch Me Now” (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes)

Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production
Jack Black, John Spiker, Eric Osmond, Michael Jelenic, Aaron Horvath – “Peaches” (The Super Mario Bros Movie)
Heather McIntosh, Allyson Newman, Taura Stinson – “All About Me” (The L Word: Generation Q)
Billie Eilish O’Connell, Finneas O’Connell – “What Was I Made For?” (Barbie)
Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt – “I’m Just Ken” (Barbie)
Diane Warren – “The Fire Inside” (Flamin’ Hot)

Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media
Stephan Barton, Gordy Haab – Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Winifred Phillips – Secrets of Skeifa Island
Pinar Toprak – Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Austin Wintory – Stray Gods

The David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent
Catherine Joy – Home is a Hotel
Fabrizio Mancinelli – The Land of Dreams
Allyson Newman – Commitment to Life
Hannah Parrott – After Death
Kenny Wood – The Naughty Nine

The Online Association of Female Film Critics Honors Past Lives!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Online Association of Female Film Critics has announced its picks for the best of 2023!  The winners are listed below in bold.

BEST FILM
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things

BEST DIRECTOR
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Celine Song – Past Lives
Justine Triet – Anatomy of a Fall

BEST MALE LEAD
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Barry Keoghan – Saltburn
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Kôji Yakusho – Perfect Days

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Robert Downey, Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
John Magaro – Past Lives
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
America Ferrera – Barbie
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Saltburn

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
Past Lives

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Fiction
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Beyond Utopia
The Deepest Breath
Four Daughters
Kokomo City
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Anatomy of a Fall
Fallen Leaves
Perfect Days
The Taste of Things
The Zone of Interest

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn

BEST EDITING
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST STUNTS
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Polite Society

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Asteroid City
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
Priscilla

BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Raine Allen-Miller – Rye Lane
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Charlotte Regan – Scrapper
A.V. Rockwell – A Thousand and One
Celine Song – Past Lives

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Mia McKenna-Bruce – How To Have Sex
Charles Melton – May December
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Teyana Taylor – A Thousand and One

THE ROSIE
The OAFFC’s signature award celebrates the film that “best promotes women, their voices, and the female experience through cinema.”
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Barbie
Poor Things
Priscilla
The Royal Hotel