Quick Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (dir. by Jon Turteltaub)

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice may be one of Disney’s better Live Action features. Borrowing from a small segment in Disney’s Fantasia, it builds a pretty cool story and still manages to pay homage to the original in it’s own way. Executive Produced by and starring Nicolas Cage, the film reunites him with his National Treasure director, Jon Turteltaub.

In the Dark Ages, the great wizard Merlin fought a major battle against the evil Morgana (Alice Krige, Star Trek: First Contact). At his side were his three apprentices, Veronica (Monica Bellucci, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), Horvath (Alfred Molina, Prince of Persia) and Balthazar (Nicolas Cage). When Horvath betrays Merlin, both he and Morgana are defeated, contained in a layer of nesting dolls. Veronica is also part of the doll as she sacrifices herself to keep Morgana at bay. In order for Morgana to be destroyed, however, this can only be done by the Prime Merlinian, a Sorcerer of unimaginable power. To find the Prime Merlinian, Balthazar is given a ring for him to use.

When young Dave Stutler encounters Balthazar in his curio shop, we find that the ring does react to him and he may very well be the Prime Merlinian. Dave accidentally frees Horvath from the nesting doll and is saved by Balthazar before the pair of sorercers are trapped in an urn. 10 Years Pass (to the day), causing an event where both Horvath and Balthazar are freed. Can Balthazar train Dave (Jay Baruchel, Goon) in time to defeat Morgana, especially when Dave’s attentions are more focused on the girl of his dreams, Becky(Teresa Palmer, Netflix’s A Discovery of Witches)?

Thoughout his career, one of Cage’s magical traits is that he fully throws himself into a role. Not so much ‘method’ as maybe a Jeremy Strong (which may be more over the top), but he brings his own style to the mix. There isn’t a Cage character that isn’t enriched by the performances he brings to the table. For The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, he’s slightly subdued, but still carries the moxie he had in fllms like Face/Off, The Rock or even Mandy. He does make for a good father figure in this film.

Of course, the supporting cast is great. Molina makes for a nice villain in Horvath, with Toby Kebbell (Rock-n-Rolla) as an evil apprentice. Baruchel’s performance is pretty similar to what he did for How to Train Your Dragon, which made him perfect for this.

Building off of the National Treasure films, there’s as much humor in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice as there is adventure. After all, we are dealing with a tale of magic and wizards. There’s a cool car chase and a nice final confrontation. The connecting scene to Fantasia is a cute one, with magical brooms and mops trying to clean the workshop was a nice touch. The main theme of the story is just learning to believe in oneself and trust in what you’re capable of.

The Substance Wins In Seattle

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Seattle Film Critics Society has announced its picks for the best of 2024!

BEST PICTURE
Anora – Sean Baker
The Beast – Bertrand Bonello
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet
Challengers – Luca Guadagnino
Conclave – Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – George Miller
I Saw the TV Glow – Jane Schoenbrun
Sing Sing – Greg Kwedar
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

DIRECTOR
Sean Baker – Anora
Bertrand Bonello – The Beast
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

LEAD ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Keith Kupferer – Ghostlight
George MacKay – The Beast

LEAD ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Léa Seydoux – The Beast

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Chris Hemsworth – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Josh O’Connor – Challengers
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Joan Chen – Dìdi (弟弟)
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave

ENSEMBLE
Anora – Sean Baker
Conclave – Nina Gold and Martin Ware
Dune: Part Two – Dixie Chassay and Francine Maisler
His Three Daughters – Nicole Arbusto
Sing Sing – Greg Kwedar

PACIFIC NORTHWEST FILM
All We Carry – Cady Voge
Fish War – Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, and Skylar Wagner
Gasoline Rainbow – Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
Rainier: A Beer Odyssey – Isaac Olsen
Strange Darling – J.T. Mollner

INTERNATIONAL FILM
The Beast – Bertrand Bonello
Evil Does Not Exist – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Flow – Gints Zilbalodis
Red Rooms – Pascal Plante
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Mohammad Rasoulof

DOCUMENTARY FILM
Dahomey – Mati Diop
No Other Land – Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Will & Harper – Josh Greenbaum

ANIMATED FILM
Flow – Gints Zilbalodis
Inside Out 2 – Kelsey Mann
Transformers One – Josh Cooley
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park
The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Simon Duggan
Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

EDITING
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
Dune: Part Two – Joe Walker
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Eliot Knapman and Margaret Sixel
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, and Valentin Feron

SCREENPLAY
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
Conclave – Peter Straughan
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist – Judy Becker (Production Design)
Conclave – Suzie Davies (Production Design) | Cynthia Sleiter (Set Decoration)
Dune: Part Two – Patrice Vermette (Production Design) | Shane Vieau (Set Decoration)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Colin Gibson (Production Design) | Katie Sharrock (Set Decoration)
Wicked – Nathan Crowley (Production Design) | Lee Sandales (Set Decoration)

COSTUME DESIGN
Conclave – Lisy Christl
Dune: Part Two – Jacqueline West
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Jenny Beavan
Nosferatu – Linda Muir
Wicked – Paul Tazewell

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Challengers – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
Evil Does Not Exist – Eiko Ishibashi
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers

ACTION CHOREOGRAPHY
Dune: Part Two – Lee Morrison (Stunt Coordinator) | Roger Yuan (Fight Choreographer)
The Fall Guy – Chris O’Hara and Keir Beck (Stunt Coordinator) | Jonathan Eusebio (Fight Choreographer)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Tim Wong (Stunt Coordinator) | Richard Norton (Fight Choreographer)
Monkey Man – Udeh Nans (Stunt Coordinator) | Brahim Achabbakhe (Fight Choreographer)
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In – Kenji Tanigaki (Stunt Coordinator)

VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, and Rhys Salcombe
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Andrew Jackson and Dan Bethell
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Erik Winquist and Sean Noel Walker
The Substance – Bryan Jones and Guillaume Le Gouez
Wicked – Anthony Smith, Jonathan Fawkner, Pablo Helman, and Robert Weaver

YOUTH PERFORMANCE
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Katherine Mallen Kupferer – Ghostlight
Izaac Wang – Dìdi (弟弟)
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
Count Orlok – Nosferatu (as portrayed by Bill Skarsgård)
Dementus – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (as portrayed by Chris Hemsworth)
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen – Dune: Part Two (as portrayed by Austin Butler)
Longlegs – Longlegs (as portrayed by Nicolas Cage)
Macrinus – Gladiator II (as portrayed by Denzel Washington)

The Substance Wins In Indiana

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Indiana Film Journalists Association have announced their picks for the best of 2024! The winners are in bold.

BEST FILM

Anora

The Brutalist

Challengers

Civil War

Conclave

A Different Man

Dune: Part Two

His Three Daughters

I Saw the TV Glow

In a Violent Nature

Longlegs

Mars Express

Nickel Boys

Nosferatu

The People’s Joker

A Real Pain

Rebel Ridge

Sing Sing

The Substance

Wicked

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Flow

Inside Out 2

Look Back

Mars Express

Memoir of a Snail

The Wild Robot

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Aattam

All We Imagine as Light

Emilia Pérez

Evil Does Not Exist

Los Frikis

Look Back

Mars Express

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Daughters

Ennio

Girls State

No Other Land

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

The Sixth

The Speedway Murders

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David – September 5

Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Alex Garland – Civil War

Azazel Jacobs – His Three Daughters

Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge

Aaron Schimberg – A Different Man

Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow

Julio Torres – Problemista

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield – Sing Sing

Jay Cocks and James Mangold – A Complete Unknown

RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys

Chris Sanders – The Wild Robot

Peter Straughan – Conclave

Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two

Virgil Williams and Malcolm Washington – The Piano Lesson

BEST DIRECTOR

Brady Corbet – The Brutalist

Robert Eggers – Nosferatu

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Alex Garland – Civil War

Luca Guadagnino – Challengers

RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge

Aaron Schimberg – A Different Man

Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Daniel Craig – Queer

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

Kirsten Dunst – Civil War

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Demi Moore – The Substance

Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge

Justice Smith – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Nicolas Cage – Longlegs

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin – Sing Sing

Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

Adam Pearson – A Different Man

Dennis Quaid – The Substance

Margaret Qualley – The Substance

Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu

Tilda Swinton – Problemista

Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

BEST VOCAL / MOTION-CAPTURE PERFORMANCE

Tom Hardy – Venom: The Last Dance

Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2

Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot

Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot

Amy Poehler – Inside Out 2

Sarah Snook – Memoir of a Snail

Owen Teague – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Robbie Williams – Better Man

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING

Civil War

Conclave

A Different Man

Dune: Part Two

His Three Daughters

Nickel Boys

Nosferatu

A Real Pain

Saturday Night

Sing Sing

BEST EDITING

Sean Baker – Anora

Marco Costa – Challengers

Jérôme Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat and Valentin Feron – The Substance

Nick Emerson – Conclave

Louise Ford – Nosferatu

Dávid Jancsó – The Brutalist

Nicholas Monsour – Nickel Boys

Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge

Terilyn A. Shropshire – Twisters

Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu

Lol Crawley – The Brutalist

Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two

Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys

Rob Hardy – Civil War

Benjamin Kračun – The Substance

Dan Mindel – Twisters

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Challengers

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Queer

Eric Yue – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Volker Bertelmann – Conclave

Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

Raffertie – The Substance

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Challengers

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Queer

Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow – Civil War

Alex Somers and Scott Alario – Nickel Boys

Umberto Smerilli – A Different Man

Benjamin Wallfisch – Twisters

BEST STUNT / MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHY

Bren Foster (action designer / fight choreographer) and Jaylan Foster, Jimmy Foster, Nick Harding, Jordan Petersen, Matthew Murgola and Mike Duncan (stunt team) – Life After Fighting

Muhammad Irfan (stunt coordinator / fight choreographer) – The Shadow Strays

Jeremy Marinas (fight coordinator and choreographer / second-unit director) – The Beekeeper

Lee Morrison (supervising stunt coordinator), Roger Yuan (fight coordinator / stunt coordinator) and Tanya Lapointe (second-unit director) – Dune: Part Two

Saifuddin Mubdy (stunt coordinator) and Brahim Chab (fight coordinator) – Monkey Man

Guy Norris (action designer / supervising stunt coordinator / second-unit director) and Richard Norton (fight choreographer / coordinator) – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Chris O’Hara (stunt coordinator and stunt designer) – The Fall Guy

Christopher Scott (choreographer) and Jo McLaren (stunt coordinator) – Wicked

Ashley Wallen (dance choreographer), Nicholas Daines (stunt coordinator), Slavisa Ivanovic (stunt coordinator), Tim Wong (fight choreographer) and Spencer Susser (second-unit director) – Better Man

Keith Woulard and Cory DeMeyers (stunt coordinators) – Rebel Ridge

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

Mike Cheslik (visual effects) and Jerry Kurek (assistant effects artist) – Hundreds of Beavers

Bryan Jones (visual effects supervisor), Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky (visual effects producer) and Jean Miel (special effects supervisor) – The Substance

Paul Lambert (visual effects production supervisor), Gerd Nefzer (special effects supervisor), Rhys Salcombe (visual effects supervisor) and Stephen James (visual effects supervisor) – Dune: Part Two

Damien Leone (writer / director), Phil Falcone (producer), Christien Tinsley (design and creation of prosthetics and makeup effects), Brian Van Dorn (Tinsley Studios production coordinator), Ryan Ward (on-set makeup effects department head), Heather Albert (on-set makeup effects artist), Josh Petrino (visual effects supervisor), Declan Boyle (lead visual effects artist), Lincoln Smith (senior visual effects artist), John Caglione, Jr. (Virgin Mary / demon sequence prosthetics supervisor), Jason Baker (Callosum Studios on-set effects supervisor) and Jason Milstein (post-production supervisor and visual effects artist) – Terrifier 3

Luke Millar (visual effects supervisor) and Scott MacIntyre (special effects supervisor) – Better Man

Kevin Smith (visual effects supervisor), Kevin Sherwood (visual effects producer), Bruce Bright (special effects supervisor) and Michael Meinardus (special effects supervisor) – Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Ben Snow (visual effects supervisor), Florian Witzel (Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor), Charles Lai (ILM associate visual effects supervisor) and Scott Fisher (special effects supervisor) – Twisters

David White (prosthetic and makeup effects design), Angela Barson (visual effects supervisor) and Pavel Sagner (special effects supervisor) – Nosferatu (2024)

Erik Winquist and Stephen Unterfranz (VFX supervisors), Paul Story (senior animation supervisor) and Rodney Burke (special FX supervisor) – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR

Joanna Arnow (director / writer / editor / performer) – The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

Mike Cheslik (director / co-writer / editor / visual effects) – Hundreds of Beavers

Vera Drew (director / co-writer / editor / performer) – The People’s Joker

Mikey Madison (performer) – Anora

Chris Nash (director / writer) – In a Violent Nature

Katy M. O’Brian (performer) – Love Lies Bleeding

RaMell Ross (director / co-writer) – Nickel Boys

Maisy Stella (performer) – My Old Ass

Julio Torres (director / writer / performer) – Problemista

Malcolm Washington (director / co-writer) – The Piano Lesson

ORIGINAL VISION

Better Man

Emilia Pérez

Hundreds of Beavers

I Saw the TV Glow

In a Violent Nature

The People’s Joker

Problemista

Sasquatch Sunset

The Substance

Dune Part II Wins in St. Louis

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the St. Louis Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2024! It was another victory for Dune Part II!

BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
September 5
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST DIRECTOR
Edward Berger – “Conclave”
Brady Corbet – “The Brutalist”
Mohammad Rasoulof – “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Denis Villeneuve – “Dune: Part Two”

BEST ACTRESS
Pamela Anderson – “The Last Showgirl”
Cynthia Erivo – “Wicked”
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – “Hard Truths”
Mikey Madison – “Anora”
Demi Moore – “The Substance”
Saoirse Ronan – “The Outrun”

BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – “The Brutalist”
Timothee Chalamet – “A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – “Queer”
Colman Domingo – “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes – “Conclave”
Hugh Grant – “Heretic”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Monica Barbaro – “A Complete Unknown”
Danielle Deadwyler – “The Piano Lesson”
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – “Nickel Boys”
Ariana Grande – “Wicked”
Zoe Saldana – “Emilia Perez”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – “A Real Pain”
Clarence Maclin “Sing Sing”
Guy Pearce – “The Brutalist”
Stanley Tucci – “Conclave”
Denzel Washington – “Gladiator II”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora
The Brutalist
Hard Truths
A Real Pain
Saturday Night
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Maria
Nosferatu
Nickel Boy

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Dune: Part Two
Hundreds of Beavers
Maria
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST EDITING
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Saturday Night
September 5

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Wild Robot

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alien: Romulus
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Nosferatu

BEST SOUNDTRACK
A Complete Unknown
Deadpool & Wolverine
I Saw the TV Glow
Maria
Wicked

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Maya Hawke – “Inside Out 2”
Lupita Nyong’o – “The Wild Robot”
Pedro Pascal – “The Wild Robot”
Amy Poehler – “Inside Out 2”
Sarah Snook – “Memoir of a Snail”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

BEST ENSEMBLE
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST HORROR FILM
Heretic
I Saw the TV Glow
Late Night with the Devil
Longlegs
Nosferatu
The Substance

BEST STUNTS
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Monkey Man

BEST COMEDY FILM
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Hundreds of Beavers
A Real Pain
Saturday Night

BEST ACTION FILM
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Monkey Man

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Daughters
Music by John Williams
No Other Land
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
All We Imagine As Light
Dahomey
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Emilia Perez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
Annie Baker – “Janet Planet”
Anna Kendrick – “Woman of the Hour”
Josh Margolin – “Thelma”
Dev Patel – “Monkey Man”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Malcolm Washington – “The Piano Lesson”

BEST SCENE
Civil War – “What kind of an American are you?”
Dune: Part Two – Riding the Sandworm
The Substance – New Year’s Eve performance
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – War Rig battle
His Three Daughters – Dad’s Chair

The Indiana Film Journalists Nominate Everything

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Indiana Film Journalists Association announced their nominations for the best of 2024 today. They kept things simple by nominating everything. The winners will be announced on December 16th.

BEST FILM

Anora

The Brutalist

Challengers

Civil War

Conclave

A Different Man

Dune: Part Two

His Three Daughters

I Saw the TV Glow

In a Violent Nature

Longlegs

Mars Express

Nickel Boys

Nosferatu

The People’s Joker

A Real Pain

Rebel Ridge

Sing Sing

The Substance

Wicked

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Flow

Inside Out 2

Look Back

Mars Express

Memoir of a Snail

The Wild Robot

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Aattam

All We Imagine as Light

Emilia Pérez

Evil Does Not Exist

Los Frikis

Look Back

Mars Express

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Daughters

Ennio

Girls State

No Other Land

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

The Sixth

The Speedway Murders

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David – September 5

Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Alex Garland – Civil War

Azazel Jacobs – His Three Daughters

Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge

Aaron Schimberg – A Different Man

Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow

Julio Torres – Problemista

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez

Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin and John “Divine G” Whitfield – Sing Sing

Jay Cocks and James Mangold – A Complete Unknown

RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys

Chris Sanders – The Wild Robot

Peter Straughan – Conclave

Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two

Virgil Williams and Malcolm Washington – The Piano Lesson

BEST DIRECTOR

Brady Corbet – The Brutalist

Robert Eggers – Nosferatu

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Alex Garland – Civil War

Luca Guadagnino – Challengers

RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge

Aaron Schimberg – A Different Man

Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Daniel Craig – Queer

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

Kirsten Dunst – Civil War

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Demi Moore – The Substance

Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge

Justice Smith – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Nicolas Cage – Longlegs

Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin – Sing Sing

Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

Adam Pearson – A Different Man

Dennis Quaid – The Substance

Margaret Qualley – The Substance

Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu

Tilda Swinton – Problemista

Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

BEST VOCAL / MOTION-CAPTURE PERFORMANCE

Tom Hardy – Venom: The Last Dance

Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2

Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot

Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot

Amy Poehler – Inside Out 2

Sarah Snook – Memoir of a Snail

Owen Teague – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Robbie Williams – Better Man

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING

Civil War

Conclave

A Different Man

Dune: Part Two

His Three Daughters

Nickel Boys

Nosferatu

A Real Pain

Saturday Night

Sing Sing

BEST EDITING

Sean Baker – Anora

Marco Costa – Challengers

Jérôme Eltabet, Coralie Fargeat and Valentin Feron – The Substance

Nick Emerson – Conclave

Louise Ford – Nosferatu

Dávid Jancsó – The Brutalist

Nicholas Monsour – Nickel Boys

Jeremy Saulnier – Rebel Ridge

Terilyn A. Shropshire – Twisters

Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu

Lol Crawley – The Brutalist

Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two

Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys

Rob Hardy – Civil War

Benjamin Kračun – The Substance

Dan Mindel – Twisters

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Challengers

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom – Queer

Eric Yue – I Saw the TV Glow

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Volker Bertelmann – Conclave

Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot

Raffertie – The Substance

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Challengers

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Queer

Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow – Civil War

Alex Somers and Scott Alario – Nickel Boys

Umberto Smerilli – A Different Man

Benjamin Wallfisch – Twisters

BEST STUNT / MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHY

Bren Foster (action designer / fight choreographer) and Jaylan Foster, Jimmy Foster, Nick Harding, Jordan Petersen, Matthew Murgola and Mike Duncan (stunt team) – Life After Fighting

Muhammad Irfan (stunt coordinator / fight choreographer) – The Shadow Strays

Jeremy Marinas (fight coordinator and choreographer / second-unit director) – The Beekeeper

Lee Morrison (supervising stunt coordinator), Roger Yuan (fight coordinator / stunt coordinator) and Tanya Lapointe (second-unit director) – Dune: Part Two

Saifuddin Mubdy (stunt coordinator) and Brahim Chab (fight coordinator) – Monkey Man

Guy Norris (action designer / supervising stunt coordinator / second-unit director) and Richard Norton (fight choreographer / coordinator) – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Chris O’Hara (stunt coordinator and stunt designer) – The Fall Guy

Christopher Scott (choreographer) and Jo McLaren (stunt coordinator) – Wicked

Ashley Wallen (dance choreographer), Nicholas Daines (stunt coordinator), Slavisa Ivanovic (stunt coordinator), Tim Wong (fight choreographer) and Spencer Susser (second-unit director) – Better Man

Keith Woulard and Cory DeMeyers (stunt coordinators) – Rebel Ridge

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS

Mike Cheslik (visual effects) and Jerry Kurek (assistant effects artist) – Hundreds of Beavers

Bryan Jones (visual effects supervisor), Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky (visual effects producer) and Jean Miel (special effects supervisor) – The Substance

Luke Millar (visual effects supervisor) and Scott MacIntyre (special effects supervisor) – Better Man

David White (prosthetic and makeup effects design), Angela Barson (visual effects supervisor) and Pavel Sagner (special effects supervisor) – Nosferatu (2024)

Erik Winquist and Stephen Unterfranz (VFX supervisors), Paul Story (senior animation supervisor) and Rodney Burke (special FX supervisor) – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

BREAKOUT OF THE YEAR

Joanna Arnow (director / writer / editor / performer) – The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

Mike Cheslik (director / co-writer / editor / visual effects) – Hundreds of Beavers

Vera Drew (director / co-writer / editor / performer) – The People’s Joker

Mikey Madison (performer) – Anora

Chris Nash (director / writer) – In a Violent Nature

Katy M. O’Brian (performer) – Love Lies Bleeding

RaMell Ross (director / co-writer) – Nickel Boys

Maisy Stella (performer) – My Old Ass

Julio Torres (director / writer / performer) – Problemista

Malcolm Washington (director / co-writer) – The Piano Lesson

ORIGINAL VISION

Better Man

Emilia Pérez

Hundreds of Beavers

I Saw the TV Glow

In a Violent Nature

The People’s Joker

Problemista

Sasquatch Sunset

The Substance

Here Are The Nominations Of The St. Louis Film Critics Association!

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Finally, the St. Louis Film Critics Association today announced their nominations for the best of 2024! The winners will be announced on December 15.

BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
September 5
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST DIRECTOR
Edward Berger – “Conclave”
Brady Corbet – “The Brutalist”
Mohammad Rasoulof – “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Denis Villeneuve – “Dune: Part Two”

BEST ACTRESS
Pamela Anderson – “The Last Showgirl”
Cynthia Erivo – “Wicked”
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – “Hard Truths”
Mikey Madison – “Anora”
Demi Moore – “The Substance”
Saoirse Ronan – “The Outrun”

BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – “The Brutalist”
Timothee Chalamet – “A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – “Queer”
Colman Domingo – “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes – “Conclave”
Hugh Grant – “Heretic”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Monica Barbaro – “A Complete Unknown”
Danielle Deadwyler – “The Piano Lesson”
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – “Nickel Boys”
Ariana Grande – “Wicked”
Zoe Saldana – “Emilia Perez”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – “A Real Pain”
Clarence Maclin “Sing Sing”
Guy Pearce – “The Brutalist”
Stanley Tucci – “Conclave”
Denzel Washington – “Gladiator II”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora
The Brutalist
Hard Truths
A Real Pain
Saturday Night
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Maria
Nosferatu
Nickel Boy

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Dune: Part Two
Hundreds of Beavers
Maria
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST EDITING
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Saturday Night
September 5

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Wild Robot

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alien: Romulus
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Nosferatu

BEST SOUNDTRACK
A Complete Unknown
Deadpool & Wolverine
I Saw the TV Glow
Maria
Wicked

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Maya Hawke – “Inside Out 2”
Lupita Nyong’o – “The Wild Robot”
Pedro Pascal – “The Wild Robot”
Amy Poehler – “Inside Out 2”
Sarah Snook – “Memoir of a Snail”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

BEST ENSEMBLE
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST HORROR FILM
Heretic
I Saw the TV Glow
Late Night with the Devil
Longlegs
Nosferatu
The Substance

BEST STUNTS
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Monkey Man

BEST COMEDY FILM
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Hundreds of Beavers
A Real Pain
Saturday Night

BEST ACTION FILM
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Monkey Man

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Daughters
Music by John Williams
No Other Land
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
All We Imagine As Light
Dahomey
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Emilia Perez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
Annie Baker – “Janet Planet”
Anna Kendrick – “Woman of the Hour”
Josh Margolin – “Thelma”
Dev Patel – “Monkey Man”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Malcolm Washington – “The Piano Lesson”

BEST SCENE
Civil War – “What kind of an American are you?”
Dune: Part Two – Riding the Sandworm
The Substance – New Year’s Eve performance
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – War Rig battle
His Three Daughters – Dad’s Chair

The Seattle Film Critics Society Announced Their Nominees For The Best of 2024

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Seattle Film Critics Society has announced their nominations for the best of 2024! The winners will be announced on December 16th!

DIRECTOR
Sean Baker – Anora
Bertrand Bonello – The Beast
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

LEAD ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Keith Kupferer – Ghostlight
George MacKay – The Beast

LEAD ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Léa Seydoux – The Beast

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Chris Hemsworth – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Josh O’Connor – Challengers
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Joan Chen – Dìdi (弟弟)
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave

ENSEMBLE
Anora – Sean Baker
Conclave – Nina Gold and Martin Ware
Dune: Part Two – Dixie Chassay and Francine Maisler
His Three Daughters – Nicole Arbusto
Sing Sing – Greg Kwedar

PACIFIC NORTHWEST FILM
All We Carry – Cady Voge
Fish War – Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, and Skylar Wagner
Gasoline Rainbow – Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
Rainier: A Beer Odyssey – Isaac Olsen
Strange Darling – J.T. Mollner

INTERNATIONAL FILM
The Beast – Bertrand Bonello
Evil Does Not Exist – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Flow – Gints Zilbalodis
Red Rooms – Pascal Plante
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Mohammad Rasoulof

DOCUMENTARY FILM
Dahomey – Mati Diop
No Other Land – Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui
Will & Harper – Josh Greenbaum

ANIMATED FILM
Flow – Gints Zilbalodis
Inside Out 2 – Kelsey Mann
Transformers One – Josh Cooley
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park
The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Simon Duggan
Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

EDITING
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
Dune: Part Two – Joe Walker
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Eliot Knapman and Margaret Sixel
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, and Valentin Feron

SCREENPLAY
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
Conclave – Peter Straughan
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist – Judy Becker (Production Design)
Conclave – Suzie Davies (Production Design) | Cynthia Sleiter (Set Decoration)
Dune: Part Two – Patrice Vermette (Production Design) | Shane Vieau (Set Decoration)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Colin Gibson (Production Design) | Katie Sharrock (Set Decoration)
Wicked – Nathan Crowley (Production Design) | Lee Sandales (Set Decoration)

COSTUME DESIGN
Conclave – Lisy Christl
Dune: Part Two – Jacqueline West
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Jenny Beavan
Nosferatu – Linda Muir
Wicked – Paul Tazewell

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Challengers – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
Evil Does Not Exist – Eiko Ishibashi
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers

ACTION CHOREOGRAPHY
Dune: Part Two – Lee Morrison (Stunt Coordinator) | Roger Yuan (Fight Choreographer)
The Fall Guy – Chris O’Hara and Keir Beck (Stunt Coordinator) | Jonathan Eusebio (Fight Choreographer)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Tim Wong (Stunt Coordinator) | Richard Norton (Fight Choreographer)
Monkey Man – Udeh Nans (Stunt Coordinator) | Brahim Achabbakhe (Fight Choreographer)
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In – Kenji Tanigaki (Stunt Coordinator)

VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, and Rhys Salcombe
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Andrew Jackson and Dan Bethell
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Erik Winquist and Sean Noel Walker
The Substance – Bryan Jones and Guillaume Le Gouez
Wicked – Anthony Smith, Jonathan Fawkner, Pablo Helman, and Robert Weaver

YOUTH PERFORMANCE
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Katherine Mallen Kupferer – Ghostlight
Izaac Wang – Dìdi (弟弟)
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
Count Orlok – Nosferatu (as portrayed by Bill Skarsgård)
Dementus – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (as portrayed by Chris Hemsworth)
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen – Dune: Part Two (as portrayed by Austin Butler)
Longlegs – Longlegs (as portrayed by Nicolas Cage)
Macrinus – Gladiator II (as portrayed by Denzel Washington)