Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.3 “Moonlight”

Posted on January 5, 2026 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, it’s Ponch and Jon’s anniverary!

Episode 5.3 “Moonlight”

(Dir by Earl Bellamy, originally aired on October 18th, 1981)

A highway accident leads to a bunch of cars flying through the air in slow motion!

Ponch works off-duty as a security guard for an action film. Ponch being Ponch, he ends up flirting with the two female stars. He also ends up accidentally flirting with their stunt doubles, both of whom turn out to be men wearing blonde wigs. Oh, Ponch!

Someone is dumping toxic waste and ruining the beautiful California country side. Ponch and Jon turn to their old friend, trucker Robbie Davis (Katherine Cannon), for help. However, it turns out that the waste is being transported and dumped by someone close to Robbie!

There’s a lot going on in this episode but the majority of the screentime is taken up with Getraer, Grossman, Baricza, Turner, and Bonnie thinking about how to celebrate Ponch and Jon’s 4th anniversary as partners. At one point, Getraer does point out that it’s unusual for an entire department to celebrate the anniversary of a partnership. I’m glad that someone said that because, seriously, don’t these people have a job to do? I mean, aren’t they supposed to be out there, issuing tickets and preventing crashes like the one that opened this episode? You’re not getting paid to be party planners, people!

Knowing just how much Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada disliked each other when the cameras weren’t rolling, it’s hard not to feel as if there’s a bit of wish-fulfillment going on with the anniversary storyline. Watching everyone talk about how Jon and Ponch are the perfect team, one gets the feeling that the show itself is telling its stars, “Can you two just get along? Everyone loves you two together!”

Reportedly, by the time the fifth season rolled around, Wilcox was frustrated with always having to play second fiddle to Estrada. Having binged the show, I can understand the source of his frustration. During the first two seasons, Wilcox and Estrada were given roughly the same amount of screen time in each episode. In fact, Estrada often provided the comic relief while Wilcox did the serious police work. But, as the series progressed, the balance changed and it soon became The Ponch Show. If there was a beautiful guest star, her character would fall for Ponch. If there was a rescue to be conducted, Ponch would be the one who pulled it off. When it came time to do something exciting to show off the California lifestyle, one can b sure that Ponch would be the one who got to do it. Baker got pushed to the side. This episode, however, allows Baker to rescue someone while Ponch watches from the background. “See, Larry?” the show seems to be saying, “We let you do things!”

As for the episode itself, it’s okay. There’s enough stunts and car accidents to keep the viewers happy. That said, the toxic dump storyline plays out way too slowly. At one point, Baricza finds a bunch of barrels off the side of the road and he looks like he’s about to start crying. It’s an odd moment.

The episode ends with Baker and Ponch happy. It wouldn’t last. This would be Larry Wilcox’s final season as a member of the Highway Patrol.

Film Review: Tomorrow (dir by Joseph Anthony)

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1972’s Tomorrow opens up in rural Mississippi, in the early 40s. A man is on trial for shooting another man. The majority of the juror wants to acquit the shooter because it’s generally agreed that the victim was a no-account, someone who was never going to amount to anything and who the entire country is better off without. Only one juror votes to convict, a quiet and stoic-looking farmer named Fenty (Robert Duvall). Fenty refuses to go into much detail about why he’s voted to convict. Despite the efforts of the other jurors, Fenty refuses to change his vote and the end result is a hung jury.

The film flashes twenty years, to show why Fenty eventually voted the way that he did. Even in the past, Fenty is quiet and shy, a farmer who also works as a caretaker at another property that is several miles away. He walks to and from his home. Even on Christmas Eve, he says that he plans to walk the 30 miles back to his farm and then, on the day after Christmas, the 30 miles back to his caretaking job. Fenty is someone who keeps to himself, answering most questions with just a few words and revealing little about how he feels about anything.

When Fenty comes across a sickly and pregnant drifter named Sarah Eubanks (Olga Bellin), he takes her into his farm and he nurses her back to health. The film examines the bond that forms between Fenty and Sarah, two people who have been judged by society to be of little significance. It’s not an easy life but Fenty endures. Fenty’s decision to take in Sarah is a decision that will ultimately lead to Fenty’s guilty vote at the trial many years later.

Tomorrow is a film that is not as well-known as it should be. Adapted by Horton Foote from a William Faulkner short story, the black-and-white film is one that demands a little patience. Audiences looking for an immediate pay-off will be disappointed but those willing to give the film time to tell its story will be rewarded. The action unfolds at a gradual but deliberate pace, one that will seem familiar to anyone who has spent any time in the rural South. The film allows the audience the time to get to know both Fenty and Sarah and to truly understand the world in which the live. In the end, when the film’s narrator comes to realize that Fenty is not an insignificant bystander but instead a man of strong character and morals, the audience won’t be surprised because the audience already knows. Fenty has proven himself to the viewer.

Robert Duvall has described Tomorrow as being his favorite of the many films in which he’s appeared. (The film came out the same year that Duvall co-starred in The Godfather.) Indeed, Duvall does give one of his best performances as the quiet but strong Fenty. In many ways, the performance feels as if its descended from his film debut as Boo Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird. Duvall gives an excellent performance as a man who can hide his emotions but not his decency. Tomorrow is a film that requires patience but which still deserves to be better known.

Film Review: The Revolutionary (dir by Paul Williams)

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1970’s The Revolutionary tells the story of a young man named A (Jon Voight).

When we first meet him, A is a college student who lives in the industrial town of Axton. A comes from a wealthy family but he chooses to live in a tiny and quite frankly repellent apartment. He has a girlfriend named Ann (Collin Wilcox). A and Ann don’t really seem to have much of a relationship. “We should make love,” A says in a flat tone of voice. Ann is willing to show her emotions while the self-serious A goes through life with everything under wraps. Ann and A are both members of a radical political group. The group spends a lot of time talking and discussing theory but they don’t really do much else.

A grows frustrated with the group. He gets a job at a factory, where he falls under the sway of a communist named Despard (Robert Duvall). Despard is a bit more active than A’s former comrades. Despard, for instance, is willing to call a general strike but, when that strike still fails, A, along with Despard and everyone else involved, goes underground. Suspended from the university, he soon finds himself being drafted into the Army. His father asks A if he wants to be drafted. A questions why only the poor should be drafted. His father looks at A as if he’s hopelessly naive and his father might be right.

A continues to wander around Axton in an idealistic daze, trying to get people to read the flyers that he spends his time passing out. Things change when A meets Leonard II (Seymour Cassel), a radical who recruits A into an apparent suicide mission….

The Revolutionary took me by surprise. On the one hand, it’s definitely very much a political film. The movie agrees with A’s politics. But, at the same time, the film is also willing to be critical of A and his self-righteous view of the world. One gets the feeling that A’s politics have less to do with sincere belief and more to do with his own need to be a part of something. Up until the film’s final few minute, A is something of a passive character, following orders until he’s finally forced to decide for himself what his next move is going to be. A’s father thinks he’s a fool. Despard views him as being an interloper. Even Leonard II seems to largely view A as being a pawn. A wanders through Axton, trying to find his place in the chaos of the times.

It’s not a perfect film, of course. The pace is way too slow. Referring to the lead character only as “A” is one of those 70s things that feels embarrassingly cutesy today. As was the case with many counterculture films of the early 70s, the film’s visuals often mistake graininess with authenticity. Seriously, this film features some of the ugliest production design that I’ve ever seen. But for every scene that doesn’t work or that plays out too slow, there’s one that’s surprisingly powerful, like when an army of heavily armored policemen break up a demonstration. The film itself is full of talented actors. Seymour Cassel is both charismatic and kind of frightening as the unstable Leonard II. Jon Voight and Robert Duvall are both totally convincing as the leftist revolutionary and his communist mentor. (In real life, of course, Voight and Duvall would become two of Hollywood’s most prominent Republicans.) In The Revolutionary, Duvall brings a certain working class machismo to the role of Despard and Voight does a good job of capturing both A’s intelligence and his growing detachment. A can be a frustrating and passive character but Voight holds the viewer’s interest.

The film works because it doesn’t try to turn A into some sort of hero. In the end, A is just a confused soul trying to figure out what his place is in a rapidly changing world. Thanks to the performance of Voight, Duvall, and Cassel, it’s a far more effective film than it perhaps has any right to be.

Film Review: The Rain People (dir by Francis Ford Coppola)

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1969’s The Rain People tells the story of Natalie Ravenna (Shirley Knight), a Long Island housewife who, one morning, sneaks out of her house, gets in her station wagon, and leaves. She later calls her husband Vinny from a pay phone and she tells him that she’s pregnant. Vinny is overjoyed. Natalie, however, says that she needs time on her own.

Natalie keeps driving. In West Virginia, she comes upon a young man named Jimmy Kligannon (James Caan). She picks him up looking for a one-night stand but she changes her mind when she discover that Jimmy is a former college football player who, due to an injury on the field, has been left with severe brain damage. The college paid Jimmy off with a thousand dollars. The job that Jimmy had waiting for him disappears. Jimmy’s ex-girlfriend (Laura Crews) cruelly says that she wants nothing more to do with him. Natalie finds herself traveling with the child-like Jimmy, always trying to find a safe place to leave him but never quite being able to bring herself to do so.

Jimmy is not the only man that Natalie meets as she drives across the country. Eventually, she is stopped by Gordon (Robert Duvall), a highway motorcycle cop who gives her a speeding ticket and then invites her back to the trailer that he shares with his young daughter. (Gordon’s house previously burned down.) Natalie follows Gordon back to his trailer, where the film’s final tragic act plays out.

The Rain People was the fourth film to be directed Francis Ford Coppola. Stung by the critical and commercial failure of the big-budget musical Finian’s Rainbow, Coppola made a much more personal and low-key film with The Rain People. While the critics appreciated The Rain People, audiences stayed away from the rather downbeat film. Legendary producer Robert Evans often claimed that, when Coppola was first mentioned as a director for The Godfather, he replied, “His last movie was The Rain People, which got rained one.” Whether that’s true or not, it is generally acknowledged that the commercial failure of The Rain People set back Coppola’s directing career. (Indeed, at the time that The Godfather went into production, Coppola was better-known as a screenwriter than a director.) Of course, it was also on The Rain People that Coppola first worked with James Caan and Robert Duvall. (Duvall, who was Caan’s roommate, was a last-second replacement for Rip Torn.) Both Caan and Duvall would appear in The Godfather, as Sonny Corleone and Tom Hagen respectively. Both would be Oscar-nominated for their performances. (It would be Caan’s only Oscar nomination, which is amazing when you consider how many good performances James Caan gave over the course of his career.)

As for The Rain People, it may have been “rained on” but it’s still an excellent film. Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall, and James Caan all give excellent performances and, despite a few arty flashbacks, Coppola’s direction gives them room to gradually reveal their characters to us. The film sympathizes with Knight’s search for identity without ever idealizing her journey. (She’s not always nice to Jimmy and Jimmy isn’t always easy to travel with.) As for Caan and Duvall, they both epitomize two different types of men. Caan is needy but innocent, a former jock transformed into a lost giant. As for Duvall, he makes Gordon into a character who, at first, charms us and that later terrifies us. Gordon could have been a one-dimensional villain but Duvall makes him into someone who, in his way, is just as lost as Natalie and Jimmy.

The Rain People is a good film. It’s also a very sad film. It made my cry but that’s okay. It earned the tears.

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.9 “Fruit of the Poisoned Tree”

Posted on January 5, 2026 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

Retro television reviews returns with Miami Vice!

Episode 5.9 “Fruit of the Poisoned Tree”

(Dir by Michelle Manning, originally aired on February 3rd, 1989)

Crockett and Tubbs are trying to take down a drug dealer named Enriquez (Jeffrey Meek) but every time that they think they’ve got the guy, his shady lawyer, Sam Boyle (Stephen McHattie), is able to use a technicality to get the case tossed. Even sending Gina in undercover backfires as Gina’s cover gets blown and a bomb meant for her kills an innocent 13 year-old instead.

Crockett thinks that Sam and his associate, Lisa Madsen (Amanda Plummer), have evidence that could put Enriquez away. Crockett puts pressure on Lisa to become a confidential informant but Lisa is devoted to Sam. Lisa’s father was a crusading anti-drug prosecutor who was stabbed to death and Sam has promised that he will do everything within his power to prove that her father was actually assassinated by a drug cartel.

Of course, there’s some things that Lisa doesn’t know. Sam is heavily involved in the drug trade himself and he’s currently in debt to gangster Frank Romano (Tony Sirico, bringing some nicely realistic menace to his role). Sam plots to double cross Enriquez to get the drugs necessary to pay off Frank. Plus, it also turns out that Sam is the one who had Lisa’s father killed.

When Lisa (and hey, that’s my name!) finds out the truth, she uses her legal training to seek her own revenge. Enriquez has been arrested due to evidence that Lisa gave Crockett. But when Lisa reveals herself to have been Crockett’s informant, the case is tossed because Lisa violated attorney/client privilege. This frees up Enriquez to kill Sam right before Sam gets onto a private plane that would have taken him to freedom. The episode ends with Enriquez getting arrested yet again and Lisa staring down at Sam’s dead body.

This was a pretty good episode, especially considering that it aired during the final season. It feels like a throwback to the first two seasons, where the morality was always ambiguous and pretty much no one got a happy ending. Lisa may have gotten revenge for the killing of her father but she did it by arranging the murder of a man who she had spent years worshipping. The Vice Squad takes down a drug dealer but not before an innocent boy is murdered. The only reason that they’re going to a conviction this time is because they actually witnesses Enriquez killing Sam Boyle. Otherwise, the case probably would have gotten thrown out again.

Miami Vice was always at its strongest when it examined futility of the war on drugs. There’s a lot of money to found in the drug trade and there’s always someone willing to step up and replace anyone who the Vice Squad actually manages to take down. This episode may end with Enriquez defeated but there’s no doubt that someone else will step into his shoes.

Here Are The 2025 Nominations Of The Music City Film Critics Association

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Music City Film Critics Association — based out of Nashville — has announced its picks for the best of 2025. And here they are:

Best Picture
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams
Weapons

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Guillermo Del Toro – Frankenstein
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet

Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia

Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners

Best Supporting Actress
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

Best Young Actress
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family
Olivia Lynes – Hamnet
Madeleine McGraw – The Black Phone 2
Sora Wong – Bring Her Back
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl

Best Young Actor
Everett Blunck – The Plague
Miles Caton – Sinners
Cary Christopher – Weapons
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Alfie Williams – 28 Years Later

Best Acting Ensemble
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man

Best Music Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island
KPop Demon Hunters
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

Best Animated Film
The Day the Earth Blew Up
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Predator: Killer of Killers
Zootopia 2

Best Documentary
The Alabama Solution
Cover-Up
John Candy: I Like Me
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators

Best International Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt

Best Screenplay
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Weapons

Best Cinematography
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

Best Editing
F1: The Movie
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Perfect Neighbor
Sinners

Best Production Design
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

Best Original Song
“As Alive As You Need Me to Be” – Nine Inch Nails, Tron: Ares
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
“Golden” – EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, KPop Demon Hunters
“I Lied to You” – Miles Caton, Sinners
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Train Dreams

Best Score
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

Best Sound
F1: The Movie
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Warfare
Wicked: For Good

Best Stunt Work
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Sinners
Superman

Best Action Film
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Predator: Badlands
Superman

Best Comedy Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Friendship
The Naked Gun
Splitsville
Wake Up Dead Man

Best Horror Film
28 Years Later
Frankenstein
Sinners
The Ugly Stepsister
Weapons

The Jim Ridley Award
The Day the Earth Blew Up
Dracula
A Little Prayer
Resurrection
Sirāt

One Battle After Another Wins In Oklahoma

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle has announced its picks for the best of 2025! And here they are:

Best Film
Winner: One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Sinners

Best Director
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Actor
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon

Best North American Indigenous Film
Winner: Seeds
Runner-Up: Remaining Native

Best Actress
Winner: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Runner-Up: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Amy Madigan, Weapons
Runner-Up: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Sinners
Runner-Up: Marty Supreme

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Hamnet

Best Documentary
Winner: The Perfect Neighbor
Runner-Up: Orwell: 2+2=5

Best Ensemble
Winner: One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Sinners

Best International Film
Winner: Sentimental Value
Runner-Up: It Was Just an Accident

Best Animated Film
Winner: KPop Demon Hunters
Runner-Up: Zootopia 2

Best First Feature
Winner: Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Runner-Up: Charlie Polinger, The Plague

Best Body of Work
Winner: Pedro Pascal (Materialists, Eddington, Fantastic Four: First Steps)
Runner-Up: Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man, The Mastermind, The History of Sound, Rebuilding)

Best Score
Winner: Sinners
Runner-Up: One Battle After Another

Best Cinematography
Winner: Sinners
Runner-Up: One Battle After Another

Best Stunt Coordination
Winner: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Runner-Up: F1

Best Performance by an Animal Actor
Honorable Mention: Good Boy

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the North Dakota Film Society!

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The North Dakota Film Society has announced its nominees for the best of 2025. And here they are:

Best Picture
HAMNET – Nicolas Gonda, Pippa Harris, Liza Marshall, Sam Mendes, Steven Spielberg (Focus Features)
MARTY SUPREME – Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Timothée Chalamet, Anthony Katagas, Josh Safdie (A24)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Paul Thomas Anderson, Sara Murphy, Adam Somner, JoAnne Sellar (Warner Bros.)
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Andrew Berenstsen Ottmar, Maria Ekerhovd (Neon)
SINNERS – Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian (Warner Bros.)

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Coogler – SINNERS (Warner Bros.)
Josh Safdie – MARTY SUPREME (A24)
Joachim Trier – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Neon)
Chloé Zhao – HAMNET (Focus Features)

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)
Emma Stone – BUGONIA (Focus Features)

Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – MARTY SUPREME (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Warner Bros.)
Ethan Hawke – BLUE MOON (Sony Pictures Classics)
Michael B. Jordan – SINNERS (Warner Bros.)
Lee Byung-hun – NO OTHER CHOICE (Neon)

Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Neon)
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 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.)
Stellan Skarsgård – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Neon)

Best Ensemble
HAMNET – Joe Alwyn, Jessie Buckley, Jacob Jupe, Noah Jupe, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson (Focus Features)
MARTY SUPREME – Odessa A’zion, Timothée Chalamet, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Gwyneth Paltrow (A24)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Benicio del Toro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor (Warner Bros.)
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård (Neon)
SINNERS – Miles Caton, Michael B. Jordan, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O’Connell, Hailee Steinfeld (Warner Bros.)

Best Screenplay
HAMNET – Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao (Focus Features)
MARTY SUPREME – Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie (A24)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Paul Thomas Anderson (Warner Bros.)
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt (Neon)
SINNERS – Ryan Coogler (Warner Bros.)

Best Cinematography
HAMNET – Łukasz Żal (Focus Features)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Michael Bauman (Warner Bros.)
SINNERS – Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Warner Bros.)
SIRAT – Mauro Herce (Neon)
TRAIN DREAMS – Adolpho Veloso (Netflix)

Best Costume Design
FRANKENSTEIN – Kate Hawley (Netflix)
HAMNET – Malgosia Turzanska (Focus Features)
SINNERS – Ruth E. Carter (Warner Bros.)
THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE – Małgorzata Karpiuk (Searchlight Pictures)
WICKED: FOR GOOD – Paul Tazewell (Universal Pictures)

Best Editing
MARTY SUPREME – Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie (A24)
NO OTHER CHOICE – Kim Sang-beom, Kim Ho-bin (Neon)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Andy Jurgensen (Warner Bros.)
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Olivier Bugge Coutté (Neon)
SINNERS – Michael P. Shawver (Warner Bros.)

Best Visual Effects
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH – Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon (20th Century Studios)
F1 – Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Eric Leven, Edward Price, Keith Dawson (Apple Original Films)
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON – Christian Manz, Glen McIntosh, Andy Kind, Terry Palmer (Universal Pictures)
SINNERS – Donnie Dean, Espen Nordahl, Michael Ralla, Guido Wolter (Warner Bros.)
SUPERMAN – Stephen Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé, Guy Williams (Warner Bros.)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
BUGONIA – Torsten Witte (Focus Features)
FRANKENSTEIN – Cliona Furey, Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel (Netflix)
SINNERS – Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry (Warner Bros.)
THE UGLY STEPSISTER – Thomas Foldberg, Anne Cathrine Sauerberg (Independent Film Company)
WICKED: FOR GOOD – Laura Blount, Mark Coulier, Frances Hannon (Universal Pictures)

Best Original Score
BUGONIA – Jerskin Fendrix (Focus Features)
HAMNET – Max Richter (Focus Features)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Jonny Greenwood (Warner Bros.)
SINNERS – Ludwig Göransson (Warner Bros.)
SIRAT – Kangding Ray (Neon)

Best Original Song
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – “Golden” – EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick (Netflix)
SINNERS – “I Lied to You” – Ludwig Göransson and Raphael Saadiq (Warner Bros.)
SINNERS – “Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” – Miles Caton, Ludwig Göransson, and Alice Smith (Warner Bros.)
THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE – “Clothed By the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg (Searchlight Pictures)
TRAIN DREAMS – “Train Dreams” – Nick Cave (Netflix)

Best Production Design
FRANKENSTEIN – Tamara Deverell (Netflix)
HAMNET – Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton (Focus Features)
MARTY SUPREME – Jack Fisk, Adam Willis (A24)
SINNERS – Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne (Warner Bros.)
WICKED: FOR GOOD – Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales (Universal Pictures)

Best Sound
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH – Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Brent Burge, Gary Summers, Michael Hedges, Alexis Feodoroff, Julian Howarth (20th Century Studios)
F1 – Gareth John, Al Nelson, Juan Peralta, Gary A. Rizzo, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (Apple Original Films)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Jose Antonio Garci, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Vallaflor (Warner Bros.)
SINNERS – Steve Boeddeker, Benny Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, Chris Welcker (Warner Bros.)
SIRAT – Laia Casanovas (Neon)

Best Animated Feature
ARCO – Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman (Neon)
BOYS GO TO JUPITER – Julian Glander, Peisin Yang Lazo (Cartuna)
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang, Michelle L.M. Wong (Netflix)
LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN – Maïlys Vallade, Claire LaCombe, Edwina Liard, Henri Magalon, Nidia Santiago (GKids)
ZOOTOPIA 2 – Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino (Walt Disney Pictures)

Best Documentary Feature
THE ALABAMA SOLUTION – Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman, Alelur “Alex” Duran, Beth Shelburne (HBO Documentary Films)
COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT – Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Ryan White, Stef Willen (Apple Original Films)
COVER-UP – Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Yoni Golijov, Olivia Streisand (Netflix)
IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY – Amy Berg, Brad Pitt, Ryan Heller, Christine Connor, Mandy Chang, Jennie Bedusa, Matthew Roozen (Magnolia Pictures)
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR – Alisa Payne, Geeta Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee (Netflix)

Best International Feature
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – France (Neon)
NO OTHER CHOICE – South Korea (Neon)
THE SECRET AGENT – Brazil (Neon)
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Norway (Neon)
SIRAT – Spain (Neon)

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Hawaii Film Critics Society

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Hawaii Film Critics Society has announced its nominations for the best of 2025! And here they are:

Best Picture
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet

Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Actress
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Sally Hawkins, Bring Her Back
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Sophie Thatcher, Companion

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Amanda Seyfried, The Housemaid
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
Eddington
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Weapons

Best Adapted Screenplay
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
The Housemaid
Train Dreams

Best Editing
F1: The Movie
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Together

Best Cinematography
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

Best Art Direction
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
The Phoenician Scheme

Best Costume Design
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Sinners
The Phoenician Scheme
Wicked: For Good

Best Animated Film
Arco
Dog Man
KPop Demon Hunters
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
Zootopia 2

Best Documentary
George A. Romero’s Resident Evil
Orwell: 2+2=5
Pee-wee as Himself
Predators
The Perfect Neighbor

Best Make-Up
28 Years Later
Frankenstein
Sinners
Weapons
Wicked: For Good

Best Sound
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee

Best Score
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Tron: Ares

Best Song
“As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” Tron: Ares
“Highest 2 Lowest,” Highest 2 Lowest
“Hurry Up Tomorrow,” Hurry Up Tomorrow
“I Lied to You,” Sinners
“Train Dreams,” Train Dreams

Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Predator: Badlands
Sinners

Best Action Movie
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Predator: Badlands

Best Stunt Work
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners

Best New Filmmaker
Ugo Bienvenu, Arco
Ben Leonberg, Good Boy
Charlie Polinger, The Plague
Michael Shanks, Together
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby

Best First Film
Arco
Good Boy
Sorry, Baby
The Plague
Together

Best Overlooked Film
Clown in a Cornfield
Eddington
Nouvelle Vague
Rental Family
The Life of Chuck

Best Vocal / Motion Capture Performance
Eric Bauza, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
Oona Chaplin, Avatar: Fire and Ash
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Sam Rockwell, The Bad Guys 2
Alison Wright, Predator: Badlands

Best Animal Performance
Bing the dog, The Friend
Indy the dog, Good Boy
Jolene the dog, Superman
Olga the cat, Sorry, Baby
Tico the cat, Caught Stealing

Best Horror Film
Bring Her Back
Keeper
Shelby Oaks
Together
Weapons

Best Comic Book Movie
100 Nights of Hero
Captain America: Brave New World
Superman
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Thunderbolts*

Best Foreign Language Film
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
Sentimental Value
The Secret Agent

Best Underrated Film
Companion
Heart Eyes
Rental Family
The Life of Chuck
The Long Walk

Best Hawaiian Film
A Paradise Lost, dir. Laurie Sumiye (Hawaii)
Lahaina Rising, dir. Matty Schweitzer (Maui)
MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter, dir. Lisette Marie Flanary (Oahu)
Reeling, dir. Yana Alliata (Oahu)
Sharing Aloha, dir. Blair Treu (Hawaii)

The Ha’aheo Award (Pride in Achievement for Film, TV, or Theater)
Chief of War

Worst Film of 2025
Death of a Unicorn
Eddington
Hurry Up Tomorrow
Karate Kid: Legends
The Strangers: Chapter 2

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Set Decorator Society

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Set Decorators Society of America has announced its nominations for the best of 2025! And here they are:

Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Contemporary Feature Film
“BUGONIA” – Set Decoration by Prue Howard; Production Design by James Price
“F1” – Set Decoration by Andrew McCarthy SDSA & Véronique Melery; Production Design by Mark Tildesley & Ben Munro
“JAY KELLY” – Set Decoration by Véronique Melery & Meg Everist; Production Design by Mark Tildesley
“ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER” – Set Decoration by Anthony Carlino SDSA; Production Design by Florencia Martin
“WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY” – Set Decoration by Kathryn Pyle; Production Design by Rick Heinrichs

Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Period Feature Film
“DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE” – Set Decoration by Linda Wilson; Production Design by Donal Woods
“HAMNET” – Set Decoration by Alice Felton SDSA; Production Design by Fiona Crombie
“MARTY SUPREME” – Set Decoration by Adam Willis; Production Design by Jack Fisk
“SINNERS” – Set Decoration by Monique Champagne SDSA; Production Design by Hannah Beachler
“SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE” – Set Decoration by Kris Moran; Production Design by Stefania Cella

Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Fantasy or Science Fiction Feature Film
“AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH” – Set Decoration by Vanessa Cole; Production Design by Dylan Cole & Ben Procter
“THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS” – Set Decoration by Jille Azis; Production Design by Kasra Farahani
“FRANKENSTEIN” – Set Decoration by Shane Vieau SDSA; Production Design by Tamara Deverell
“HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON” – Set Decoration by Daniel Birt SDSA; Production Design by Dominic Watkins
“SUPERMAN” – Set Decoration by Rosemary Brandenburg SDSA; Production Design by Beth Mickle

Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film
“FREAKIER FRIDAY” – Set Decoration by Brandi Kalish SDSA; Production Design by Kay Anna Lee
“KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN” – Set Decoration by Andrew Baseman SDSA; Production Design by Scott Chambliss
“THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME” – Set Decoration by Anna Pinnock; Production Design by Adam Stockhausen
“ROOFMAN” – Set Decoration by Kendall Anderson SDSA; Production Design by Inbal Weinberg
“WICKED: FOR GOOD” – Set Decoration by Lee Sandales; Production Design by Nathan Crowley