Licorice Pizza Wins In Oklahoma

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle have named Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza the best film of 2021!

Actually, I really like the OFCC’s picks. They spread the wealth pretty evenly between Licorice Pizza and The Power of the Dog and they remembered two of my favorite films of the year, Pig and The Green Knight. They also gave out an award for Most Disappointing Film Of The Year and how can I not cheer their selection of Don’t Look Up?

Here are the winners in Oklahoma!

Best Picture
“Licorice Pizza”

Top 10 Films
1. Licorice Pizza
2. The Power of the Dog
3. West Side Story
4. The Green Knight
5. Summer of Soul
6. The French Dispatch
7. Tick, Tick…Boom!
8. C’mon C’mon
9. Dune
10. Nightmare Alley / Pig / Red Rocket (TIE)

Best Director
Winner: Jane Campion – “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Paul Thomas Anderson – “Licorice Pizza”

Best Actress
Winner: Alana Haim – “Licorice Pizza”
Runner-Up: Jessica Chastain – “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

Best Actor
Winner: Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Andrew Garfield – “Tick, Tick…Boom!”

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Kirsten Dunst – “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Ariana DeBose – “West Side Story”

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Kodi Smit-McPhee – “The Power of the Dog”
Runner-Up: Ciaran Hinds – “Belfast”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: “The Power of the Dog” – Jane Campion
Runner-Up: “Dune” – Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve & Eric Roth

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: “Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson
Runner-Up: “The French Dispatch” – Wes Anderson

Best Animated Film
Winner: “The Mitchells vs the Machines”
Runner-Up: “Encanto”

Best Documentary
Winner: “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Runner-Up: “The First Wave”

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: “Drive My Car” (Japan)
Runner-Up: “The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)

Best First Feature
Winner: “The Lost Daughter” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
Runner-Up: “Tick, Tick…Boom!” – Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best Ensemble
Winner: “The French Dispatch”
Runners-Up: “Licorice Pizza” & “The Power of the Dog” (TIE)

Best Cinematography
Winner: “Dune” – Greig Fraser
Runner-Up: “The Power of the Dog” – Ari Wegner

Best Score
Winner: “The Power of the Dog” – Jonny Greenwood
Runner-Up: “Dune” – Hans Zimmer

Best Body of Work
Winner: Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Tick, Tick…Boom!,” “Encanto,” “In the Heights” & “Vivo”)
Runner-Up: Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick…Boom!,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” & “Spider-Man: No Way Home”)

Most Disappointing Film
Winner: “Don’t Look Up”
Runners-Up: “Halloween Kills” & “Spencer” (TIE)

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Robert Duvall Edition

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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!

Today, we celebrate the 91st birthday of one of the finest American actors out there, Mr. Robert Duvall. Ever since he made his film debut in 1962’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Duvall has been a regular presence in American cinema. He’s an actor who has appeared in some of the best American films ever made (The Godfather, Network, Apocalypse Now, To Kill A Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, and others) and he’s played a wide variety of characters. He’s been everything from a lawyer to a cowboy to a network executive to a professional criminal to a cop and he’s never been less that convincing. He’s got a filmography about which anyone would be jealous. And, at an age when most actors have retired, Duvall is still working and taking the occasional part.

On a personal note, I have to say that, for someone who was born in California, raised in Maryland, and who started his career in New York, Robert Duvall is one of the few actors to have perfected both the Southern and the Southwestern accent. Whenever I see him playing a Texan, I always have to remind myself that he’s not actually from around here.

In honor of Robert Duvall’s birthday, here are….

6 Shots From 6 Robert Duvall Films

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962, dir by Robert Mulligan, DP: Russell Harlan)

MASH (1970, dir by Robert Altman, DP: Harold E. Stine)

Apocalypse Now (1979, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

True Confessions (1981, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Owen Roizman)

The Apostle (1997, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Barry Markowitz)

The Judge (2014, dir by David Dobkin, DP: Janusz Kamiński)

4 Shots From 4 Carlos Saura Films: Los Golfos, Carmen, Taxi, Tango

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we celebrate the 90th birthday of Spanish director Carlos Saura. Born in Huesca, Spain in 1932, Saura began his career directing documentaries in the 50s and has been directing feature films since the early 60s. Saura was originally known as a neorealist, which was not necessarily the safest thing to be when you were a filmmaker in Francisco Franco’s Spain. His later films have relied more on symbolism and surreal imagery to comment on both Spanish history and culture. He’s also acclaimed for his dance films. 12 of Saura’s films have competed at Cannes and three of his films were nominated for the Oscar for Best International Film.

In honor of Carlos Saura’s career and vision, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Carlos Saura Films

Los Golfos (1962, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Juan Julio Baena)

Carmen (1983, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Teo Escamilla)

Taxi (1996, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

Tango (1998, dir by Carlos Saura, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

Here Are The 2021 Nominees Of The Chicago Indie Critics!

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Chicago Indie Critics have announced their nominees for the best of 2021! The winners will be announced on January 8th.

Personally, I like the fact that they give an award for both Best Independent Film and Best Studio Film. I sometimes think that the Oscars should do the same. Then I remember how the Oscars manage to screw up nearly every cool idea and I change my mind.

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)
CODA
NINE DAYS
PIG
SPENCER
SUMMER OF SOUL

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)
THE HARDER THEY FALL
LICORICE PIZZA
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
TICK, TICK… BOOM!

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BENEDETTA
DRIVE MY CAR
FLEE
A HERO
PARALLEL MOTHERS

BEST DOCUMENTARY
FLEE
THE RESCUE
ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN
THE SPARKS BROTHERS
SUMMER OF SOUL

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ENCANTO
FLEE
LUCA
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – LICORICE PIZZA
Kenneth Branagh – BELFAST
Jane Campion – THE POWER OF THE DOG
Pablo Larrain – SPENCER
Edson Oda – NINE DAYS

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE FRENCH DISPATCH – Wes Anderson
A HERO – Asghar Farhadi
LICORICE PIZZA – Wes Anderson
NINE DAYS – Edson Oda
PIG – Michael Sarnoski

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA – Sian Heder
DRIVE MY CAR – Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
PASSING – Rebecca Hall
THE POWER OF THE DOG – Jane Campion
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH – Joel Coen

BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – PIG
Benedict Cumberbatch – THE POWER OF THE DOG
Andrew Garfield – TICK, TICK… BOOM!
Will Smith – KING RICHARD
Denzel Washington – THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
Olivia Colman – THE LOST DAUGHTER
Alana Haim – LICORICE PIZZA
Emilia Jones – CODA
Kristen Stewart – SPENCER
Tessa Thompson – PASSING

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ben Affleck – THE LAST DUEL
Colman Domingo – ZOLA
Mike Faist – WEST SIDE STORY
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Kodi Smit-McPhee – THE POWER OF THE DOG
Jeffrey Wright – THE FRENCH DISPATCH

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ariana DeBose – WEST SIDE STORY
Kirsten Dunst – THE POWER OF THE DOG
Aunjanue Ellis – KING RICHARD
Marlee Matlin – CODA
Ruth Negga – PASSING

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
BELFAST
CODA
THE FRENCH DISPATCH
THE HARDER THEY FALL
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BELFAST
DUNE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
THE POWER OF THE DOG
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
DUNE
THE LAST DUEL
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA
DUNE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST MAKEUP
CRUELLA
DUNE
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
HOUSE OF GUCCI
NIGHTMARE ALLEY

BEST EDITING
DUNE
THE HARDER THEY FALL
NINE DAYS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
WEST SIDE STORY

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
DUNE
ENCANTO
THE HARDER THEY FALL
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SPENCER

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Be Alive” – KING RICHARD
“Guns Go Bang” – THE HARDER THEY FALL
“Just Look Up” – DON’T LOOK UP
“No Time to Die” – NO TIME TO DIE
“So May We Start” – ANNETTE

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE
FREE GUY
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

BEST STUNTS
BLACK WIDOW
DUNE
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
NO TIME TO DIE
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content
Paul Thomas Anderson, filmmaker
Rebecca Hall, filmmaker
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, filmmaker
Sian Heder, filmmaker
Lin-Manuel Miranda, filmmaker

IMPACT AWARD
Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society
Rebecca Fons, Director of Programming – Gene Siskel Film Center
Rebecca Hall, filmmaker
Ryan Oestreich, General Manager – Music Box Theatre
Steven Spielberg, filmmaker
Jill Wheeler, Director of Publicity and Promotions – Allied Global Marketing

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sergio Leone Edition

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Sergio Leone (1929 — 1989)

93 years ago today, Sergio Leone was born in Rome, Italy. The son of actor/screenwriter Vincenzo Leone and silent actress Edvige Valcarenghi, Sergio was born into the Italian film industry. He began his career in the post-war rebuilding period, working as an assistant to Vittorio De Sica and, as an assistant director, for American films that were shot in Italy. (Albeit uncredited, he worked on two Oscar-nominated Biblical epics, Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur.)

After making his directorial debut with The Colossus of Rhodes, Leone went on to direct the films that would change the face of international cinema. Though he was hardly the first director of Spaghetti westerns, he was was the first to achieve far-reaching acclaim. With the Dollars Trilogy, he made Clint Eastwood a star and Eastwood has often said that the majority of what he knows about directing, he learned from working with Leone and later Don Siegel. Leone went on to direct the brilliant Once Upon A Time In The West and Once Upon A Time in America, two epic visions of American history that, sadly, were not initially treated well by their distributors.

Though Leone is only credited with directing eight films, his influence cannot be underestimated. As both a visual artist and a cultural and political commentator, his films continue to influence directors to this day.

For that reason, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sergio Leone Films

For A Few Dollars More (1965, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Massimo Dallamano)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984, dir by Sergio Leone, DP: Tonino Delli Colli)

Here Are The 2021 Nominees of the Columbus Film Critics Association!

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Columbus Film Critics Association have announced their nominees for the best of 2021! The winners will be announced on January 6th. That leaves you four days to see all of them. Good luck!

Here are the nominees from Columbus:

Best Film
Belfast
C’mon C’mon
Dune
Licorice Pizza
Pig
The Power of the Dog
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
tick, tick…BOOM!
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…BOOM!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Taylour Paige – Zola
Tessa Thompson – Passing

Best Supporting Actor
Colman Domingo – Zola
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress
Caitriona Balfe – Belfast
Jodie Comer – The Last Duel
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Marlee Matlin – CODA
Ruth Negga – Passing

Best Ensemble
The French Dispatch
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
Timothée Chalamet (Don’t Look Up, Dune, and The French Dispatch)
Bradley Cooper (Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, The Mauritanian, The Power of the Dog, and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Adam Driver (Annette, House of Gucci, and The Last Duel)
Andrew Garfield (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and tick, tick…BOOM!)

Breakthrough Film Artist
Janicza Bravo – Zola (for directing and screenwriting)
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter (for producing, directing, and screenwriting)
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza (for acting)
Rebecca Hall – Passing (for producing, directing, and screenwriting)
Jude Hill – Belfast (for acting)
Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon (for acting)

Best Cinematography
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Andrew Droz Palermo – The Green Knight
Greig Fraser – Dune
Dan Lautsen – Nightmare Alley
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast

Best Film Editing
Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn – West Side Story
Andy Jurgensen – Licorice Pizza
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Joe Walker – Dune
Andrew Weisblum – The French Dispatch

Best Adapted Screenplay
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Joel Coen – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Siân Heder – CODA
Tony Kushner – West Side Story
Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth – Dune

Best Original Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Zach Baylin – King Richard
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Julia Ducournau – Titane
Mike Mills – C’mon C’mon
Michael Sarnoski – Pig

Best Score
Alexandre Desplat – The French Dispatch
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Nathan Johnson – Nightmare Alley
Hans Zimmer – Dune

Best Documentary
Attica
Flee
The Rescue
The Sparks Brothers
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
The Velvet Underground

Best Foreign Language Film
Drive My Car
Flee
A Hero
Titane
The Worst Person in the World

Best Animated Film
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Overlooked Film
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
CODA
Cyrano
Nine Days

The Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Honors Pig!

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Greater Western New York Film Critics Association actually announced their picks for the best of 2021 on December 31st but, with the holidays and all, I’m only now getting a chance to share them with you. The GWNFCA picked Pig for the best film of 2021 and that’s actually really cool. Both Pig and Nicolas Cage’s lead performance are probably too weird for the Academy but it’s a damn good film. One of the great things about the critics groups is that the best of them are willing to consider the films that the more mainstream Academy might overlook, films like Pig and The Green Knight.

Here are all the winners and the nominees from Western New York!

(The winners are in bold.)

BEST PICTURE
C’mon C’mon
CODA
Dune
The Green Knight
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Last Duel
Licorice Pizza
Pig
The Power of the Dog
Spencer

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Drive My Car (Japan)
Flee (Denmark)
Parallel Mothers (Spain)
Titane (France)
The Worst Person in the World (Norway)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Flee
No Ordinary Man
Procession
The Sparks Brothers
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Belle
The Boss Baby 2: Family Business
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Jodie Comer – The Last Duel
Emilia Jones – CODA
Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person in the World
Kristen Stewart – Spencer

BEST LEAD ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick … BOOM!
Joaquin Phoenix – C’mon C’mon
Will Smith – King Richard

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter
Ariana Debose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Ruth Negga – Passing

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robin de Jesús – tick, tick … BOOM!
Mike Faist – West Side Story
Jason Isaacs – Mass
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Troy Kotsur – CODA

BEST DIRECTOR
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Pablo Larraín – Spencer
Ridley Scott – The Last Duel
Michael Sarnoski – Pig
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenneth Lucas & Keith Lucas – Judas and the Black Messiah
Julia Ducournau – Titane
Fran Kranz – Mass
Mike Mills – C’mon C’mon

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon & Nicole Holofcener – The Last Duel
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Tony Kushner – West Side Story

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Andrew Droz Palermo – The Green Knight
Greig Fraser – Dune
Claire Mathon – Spencer
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog

BEST EDITING
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Sebastián Sepúlveda – Spencer
Claire Simpson – The Last Duel
Joe Walker – Dune
Andrew Weisblum – The French Dispatch

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Carter Burwell – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Alberto Iglesias – Parallel Mothers
Hans Zimmer – Dune

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Mike Faist – West Side Story
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Agathe Rousselle – Titane
Rachel Sennott – Shiva Baby

BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Fran Kranz – Mass
Michael Sarnoski – Pig
Emma Seligman – Shiva Baby

4 Shots From 4 Oscar Micheaux Films

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

One hundred and thirty-eight years ago, on this date in 1884, Oscar Micheaux was born in Metropolis, Illinois. Starting his career as a writer and an investor, Oscar Micheaux eventually moved into the film industry. At a time when theaters were still segregated and black characters were regularly portrayed by white actors in blackface, the African-American Micheaux founded his own studio, financed his own movies, and distributed them himself. Micheaux’s films dealt directly with themes of systemic racism and the struggle of blacks to get ahead in American society. Many of Micheaux’s early films were designed as an “answer” to D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation while his later films deal with themes of inequality and corruption among both the police and the clergy.

Micheaux gave roles to talented black performers like Paul Robeson, actors who faced limited prospects in Hollywood during the silent and early sound eras. (Even the white characters in Micheaux’s films were played by light-skinned blacks, a reverse of Hollywood’s unofficial policy of using white actors in dark makeup to play black characters.) Unfortunately, many of Micheaux’s films are now lost but the few films that remain present a look at black life in America during the early decades of the 20th century.

In honor of the man and his legacy, Through the Shattered Lens presents….

4 Shots From 4 Oscar Micheaux Films

WIthin Our Gates (1920, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

Body and Soul (1925, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

Murder in Harlem (1935, dir by Oscar Micheaux)

8 Shots From 8 Films You Should Watch In 2022

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is the start of a new year and it’s also a day to start thinking about which film you’re going to discover over the course of the next 12 months! Below are my suggestions for 8 films that, if you haven’t already watched them, you should definitely make time to watch before 2023 rolls around!

8 Shots From 8 Film For 2022

It (1927, dir by Clarence Badger, DP: H. Kinley Martin)

The Rules of Game (1939, dir by Jean Renoir, DP: Jean Bachelet)

Portrait of Jennie (1948, dir by William Dieterle, DP; Joseph H. August)

Chappaqua (1966, dir by Conrad Rooks, DP: Etienne Becker, Robert Frank, and Eugene Schufftan)

An American Hippie in Israel (1972, dir by Amos Sefer, DP: Ya’ackov Kallach)

Strange Behavior (1981, dir by Micahel Laughlin, DP: Louis Horvath)

The Two Orphan Vampires (1997, dir by Jean Rollin, DP: Norbert Marfaing-Sintes)

A Field in England (2013, dir by Ben Wheatley, DP: Laurie Rose)

Lisa Marie’s Oscar Predictions for December

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, the year’s nearly over and that means that it is time for me to post my final Oscar predictions for 2021. The race has gotten much clearer with the start of the precursor season. The critics love The Power of the Dog. However, it’s perhaps a bit too early to declare it the front runner. I want to see how things go with the Guilds in January before I bestow that title on any film.

A few thoughts:

There are ten Best Picture nominees this year so we won’t have any of that, “Here’s a random number of nominees” crap. In theory, that should open the door for some unconventional nominees that might have missed the cut-off in previous years. Again, I said, “In theory.” They tried this 10 nominee thing before and it didn’t really lead to the results that a lot of people were expecting.

Still, I’m going to swing out on a web and predict a Best Picture nomination for Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s got Disney and Sony behind it. It’s making a ton of money despite not playing in China. It’ the film that’s currently giving the industry hope that there’s a future outside of the streaming sites. Plus, after the nominations of Black Panther and Joker, it might be time to give the whole “They’ll never nominate a comic book movie!” argument a rest.

I’m also going to predict a Best Picture nomination for Drive My Car, which has been getting a lot of attention from the critics.

The critics also loved West Side Story but now, it’s probably best known for being a bust at the box office. I still think the movie will be nominated but I don’t think it’ll win. And I think it’s a lot less likely that Rita Moreno will pick up a nomination. People seem to have moved on from the movie. Again, this could all change once the Guilds start announcing their nominations.

The critics are split on Don’t Look Up. I personally think it’s one of the worst films of 2021. But the film will be nominated for much the same reason that The Big Short and Vice were nominated. There’s a lot of Academy members who agree with McKay’s politics. And the people who do like Don’t Look Up really, really like it. And I also think there’s probably enough people annoyed with Elon Musk that Mark Rylance will sneak into the supporting actor race.

Belfast has not been dominating the early part of awards season but I think it will come on strong once the Guilds start announce their nominations.

Anywya, these are just my guesses, for better or worse. To see how my thinking has evolved, check out my predictions for March and April and May and June and July and August and September and October and November!