Wicked Wins In Washington D.C.


The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association — try saying that ten times fast — has announced it picks for the best of 2024!

And here they are:

Best Feature
“Anora” (Neon)
“Conclave” (Focus Features)
“Sing Sing” (A24)
“The Brutalist” (A24)
“Wicked” (Universal Pictures)

Best Director
Brady Corbet – “The Brutalist“
Denis Villeneuve – “Dune: Part Two”
Edward Berger – “Conclave”
Jon M. Chu – “Wicked”
Sean Baker – “Anora”

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo – “Wicked”
Demi Moore – “The Substance”
Karla Sofia Gascon – “Emilia Perez”
Marianne Jean–Baptiste – “Hard Truths”
Mikey Madison – “Anora“

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – “The Brutalist”
Colman Domingo – “Sing Sing“
Daniel Craig – “Queer”
Ralph Fiennes – “Conclave”
Timothee Chalamet – “A Complete Unknown”

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande – “Wicked”
Aunjanue Ellis–Taylor – “Nickel Boys”
Danielle Deadwyler – “The Piano Lesson“
Isabella Rossellini – “Conclave”
Zoe Saldana – “Emilia Perez”

Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin – “Sing Sing”
Denzel Washington – “Gladiator II”
Guy Pearce – “The Brutalist”
Keiran Culkin – “A Real Pain“
Yura Borisov – “Anora”

Best Animated Feature
“Flow”
“Inside Out 2”
“Memoir of a Snail”
“The Wild Robot“
“Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”

Best Documentary
“Dahomey”
“Daughters”
“Music by John Williams”
“No Other Land”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story“
“Will & Harper”

Best International Film
“Dahomey”
“Emilia Perez“
“Flow”
“I’m Still Here”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Conclave” – written for the screen by Peter Straughan
“Dune: Part Two” – written for the screen by Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts
“Nickel Boys” – written for the screen by RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
“Sing Sing” – written for the screen by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
“Wicked” – written for the screen by Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox

Best Original Screenplay
“Anora” – Sean Baker
“A Real Pain” – Jesse Eisenberg
“Challengers” – Justin Kuritzkes
“The Brutalist” – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
“The Substance” – Coralie Fargeat

Best Acting Ensemble
“Anora”
“Conclave“
“Dune: Part Two”
“Sing Sing”
“The Brutalist”
“Wicked”

Best Youth Performance
Alisha Weir – “Abigail”
Alyla Browne – “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
Elliott Heffernan – “Blitz“
Ian Foreman – “Exhibiting Forgiveness”
Isabel DeRoy–Olson – “Fancy Dance”
Izaac Wang – “Didi”
Zoe Ziegler – “Janet Planet”

Best Voice Performance
Amy Poehler – “Inside Out 2”
Auli’i Cravalho – “Moana 2”
Brian Tyree Henry – “Transformers One”
Lupita Nyong’o – “The Wild Robot“
Maya Hawke – “Inside Out 2”

Best Original Score
“Blitz” – Hans Zimmer
“Challengers” – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (TIE)
“Conclave” – Volker Bertelmann
“Nosferatu” – Robin Carolan
“The Brutalist” – Daniel Blumberg (TIE)
“The Wild Robot” – Kris Bowers

Best Editing
“Anora” (TIE)
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two” (TIE)
“The Brutalist”
“Wicked”

Best Cinematography
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Nickel Boys”
“Nosferatu“
“The Brutalist”

Best Production Design
“Dune: Part Two”
“Gladiator II”
“Nosferatu”
“The Brutalist”
“Wicked“

Best Motion Capture
Eka Darville – “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
Jonno Davies – “Better Man”
Kevin Durand – “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
Owen Teague – “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes“
Peter Macon – “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”

Best Stunts
“Deadpool and Wolverine”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
“Gladiator II”
“The Fall Guy“

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC
“Civil War“
“Daughters”
“Shirley”
“Stopping the Steal”

Anora Wins In Boston


The Los Angeles Film Critics Association wasn’t the only group to honor Anora today!  The film was also honored by the Boston Society of Film Critics.

Here’s who and what won in Boston.

Best Picture
Winner: Anora

Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World

Best Director
Winner: Sean Baker – Anora

Best Ensemble
Winner: Sing Sing

Best Actor
Winner: Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Best Actress
Winner: Mikey Madison – Anora

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Nickel Boys

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Anora

Best New Filmmaker
Winner: Annie Baker – Janet Planet

Best Documentary
Winner: No Other Land

Best Animated Feature
Winner: Flow

Best Cinematography
Winner: The Brutalist

Best Editing
Winner: Challengers

Best Score
Winner: The Brutalist

Anora Wins In Los Angeles!


The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has announced their picks for the best of 2024!  Anora has picked up its first major precursor victory.

Here are the winners in LA:

Best Film
Winner: ANORA
Runner-Up: 
THE BRUTALIST

Best Film Not In The English Language
Winner: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
Runner-Up: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG

Best Director
Winner: Mohammad Rasoulof – THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Runner-Up: Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Documentary Film
Winner: NO OTHER LAND
Runner-Up: DAHOMEY

Best Screenplay
Winner: Jesse Eisenberg – A REAL PAIN
Runner-Up: Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Leading Performance
Winners: Marianne Jean-Baptiste – HARD TRUTHS & Mikey Madison – ANORA
Runners-Up: Demi Moore – THE SUBSTANCE & Fernanda Torres – I’M STILL HERE

Best Supporting Performer
Winners: Yura Borisov – ANORA & Kieran Culkin – A REAL PAIN
Runners-Up: Clarence Maclin – SING SING & Adam Pearson – A DIFFERENT MAN

Best Animated Film
Winner: FLOW
Runner-Up: CHICKEN FOR LINDA!

Best Editing
Winners: Nicholas Monsour – NICKEL BOYS & Hansjörg Weißbrich – SEPTEMBER 5 (TIE)

Best Production Design
Winner: Judy Becker – THE BRUTALIST
​Runner-Up: Adam Stockhausen – BLITZ

Best Music/Score
Winner: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – CHALLENGERS
Runner-Up: 
Eiko Ishibashi – EVIL DOES NOT EXIST

Best Cinematography
Winner: Jomo Fray – NICKEL BOYS
Runner-Up: Lol Crawley – THE BRUTALIST

New Generation
Vera Drew for THE PEOPLE’S JOKER

Douglas Edwards Experimental Film
THE HUMAN SURGE 3

#SundayShorts with THE HITCHER!


Since Sunday is a day of rest for a lot of people, I present #SundayShorts, a weekly mini review of a movie I’ve recently watched.

Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) is driving a car across the country to San Diego. Tired and needing some help staying awake, he makes the major mistake of picking up a hitchhiker, the psychotic John Ryder (Rutger Hauer). Through a stroke of luck, he’s able to knock the “Hitcher” out of his car and keep going. Unfortunately, John Ryder isn’t content with being dumped by young Jim Halsey. Rather, he decides to stalk Jim and frame him for a cross-country murder spree.

I first saw THE HITCHER at a friend’s house when I was in the 4th grade. It scared the ever living crap out of me. I have never even pondered the possibility of picking up a hitchhiker because there’s always a chance that it could be a psycho like John Ryder. The genius of THE HITCHER is how it taps into the horror of everyday life. We pass by strangers every day. Who’s to know if there’s a John Ryder in our presence just waiting for us to invite them into our lives?! 

What can I say about Rutger Hauer as John Ryder?! He absolutely owns the film. There’s no wonder his roles in BLADE RUNNER and THE HITCHER would come to define his career. He was one of the great artists, and I’ve missed him ever since I learned of his death while I was sitting on the beach in Perdido Key, FL in 2019. C. Thomas Howell & Jennifer Jason Leigh are excellent as well. As a big-time Rutger Hauer fan, THE HITCHER is an intense film that I watch at least once a year. 

Five Fast Facts:

  1. C. Thomas Howell admitted that he was actually afraid of Rutger Hauer on and off the set because of Hauer’s general intensity.
  2. Writer, producer, and director Christopher Nolan (THE DARK KNIGHT, OPPENHEIMER) has listed THE HITCHER as one of his favorite movies.
  3. Entertainment Weekly ranked THE HITCHER as the nineteenth scariest movie of all time.
  4. Gene Davis, the psycho killer from Charles Bronson’s 10 TO MIDNIGHT plays Trooper Dodge in this movie. Based on my love of the Bronson Cannon classic, I love seeing Davis in any film. 
  5. President George W. Bush served on the board of the company that lent money to HBO to finance this movie. During the 2000 presidential election, Bush’s critics used his involvement in this film to discredit his stance on “family values” and his criticism of pervasive violence in Hollywood movies.

Here Are The Nominations of the San Diego Film Critics Society!


Yesterday, the San Diego Film Critics Society announced their nominations for the best of 2024!  The winners will be announced on December 9th …. hey, that’s right around the corner!

Here are the nominees:

Best Picture
ANORA
CHALLENGERS
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING

Best Director
Brady Corbet – THE BRUTALIST
Coralie Fargeat – THE SUBSTANCE
Denis Villeneuve – DUNE: PART TWO
Edward Berger – CONCLAVE
Greg Kwedar – SING SING

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – THE BRUTALIST
Colman Domingo – SING SING
Daniel Craig – QUEER
Ralph Fiennes – CONCLAVE
Timothée Chalamet – A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Best Actress
Amy Adams – NIGHTBITCH
Cynthia Erivo – WICKED
Demi Moore – THE SUBSTANCE
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – HARD TRUTHS
Mikey Madison – ANORA

Best Supporting Actor
Clarence Maclin – SING SING
Denzel Washington – GLADIATOR II
Guy Pearce – THE BRUTALIST
Kieran Culkin – A REAL PAIN
Stanley Tucci – CONCLAVE

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande-Butera – WICKED
Danielle Deadwyler – THE PIANO LESSON
Jessie Buckley – WICKED LITTLE LETTERS
Joan Chen – DÌDI
Natasha Lyonne – HIS THREE DAUGHTERS

Best Comedic Performance
Aubrey Plaza – MY OLD ASS
Channing Tatum – DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
June Squibb – THELMA
Michael Keaton – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Ryan Gosling – THE FALL GUY

Best Youth Performance (For a performer under the age of 18)
Alisha Weir – ABIGAIL
Alix West Lefler – SPEAK NO EVIL
Elliott Heffernan – BLITZ
Izaac Wang – DÌDI
Katherine Mallen Kupferer – GHOSTLIGHT

Best Original Screenplay
Coralie Fargeat – THE SUBSTANCE
Jesse Eisenberg – A REAL PAIN
Justin Kuritzkes – CHALLENGERS
Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska – LOVE LIES BLEEDING
Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Sanders – THE WILD ROBOT
Craig Bentley, Greg Kwedar – SING SING
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – DUNE: PART TWO
Malcolm Washington, Virgil Williams – THE PIANO LESSON
Peter Straughan – CONCLAVE

Best First Feature (Director)
Anna Kendrick – WOMAN OF THE HOUR
Dev Patel – MONKEY MAN
Rachel Morrison – THE FIRE INSIDE
Sean Wang – DÌDI
Zoë Kravitz – BLINK TWICE

Best Documentary
DAUGHTERS
MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS
SUGARCANE
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY
WILL & HARPER

Best Animated Film
FLOW
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
TRANSFORMERS ONE
WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL
THE WILD ROBOT

Best Foreign Language Film
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
NO OTHER LAND
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
VERMIGLIO

Best Editing
Hansjörg Weißbrich – SEPTEMBER 5
Joe Walker – DUNE: PART TWO
Kathryn J. Schubert – BLINK TWICE
Marco Costa – CHALLENGERS
Sean Baker – ANORA

Best Cinematography
Alice Brooks – WICKED
Greig Fraser – DUNE: PART TWO
Jarin Blaschke – NOSFERATU
Pat Scola – SING SING
Stéphane Fontaine – CONCLAVE

Best Production Design
Craig Lathrop, Beatrice Brentnerova – NOSFERATU
Judy Becker – THE BRUTALIST
Nathan Crowley – WICKED
Patrice Vermette – DUNE: PART TWO
Suzie Davies – CONCLAVE

Best Visual Effects
ALIEN: ROMULUS
DUNE: PART TWO
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
NOSFERATU
THE SUBSTANCE

Best Costume Design
Colleen Atwood – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Jacqueline Getty, Rainy Jacobs – THE LAST SHOWGIRL
Jacqueline West – DUNE: PART TWO
Lisy Christl – CONCLAVE
Paul Tazewell – WICKED

Best Sound Design
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
ALIEN: ROMULUS
CIVIL WAR
DUNE: PART TWO
WICKED

Best Use of Music
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
CHALLENGERS
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING
WICKED

Best Stunt Choreography
ALIEN: ROMULUS
DUNE: PART TWO
THE FALL GUY
GLADIATOR II
MONKEY MAN

Best Ensemble
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
SEPTEMBER 5
SING SING
WICKED

JACK FROST – should Frosty the Snowman be worried?


My wife and I have been watching a Christmas movie every night for the last week or so. We’ve already watched DIE HARD 1 and 2, LETHAL WEAPON, HOME ALONE 1 and 2, CHRISTMAS VACATION, YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS, FOUR CHRISTMASES and a Hallmark movie called THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR with Fonzi. She’s been wanting me to watch JACK FROST with her for a while now. I’ve been somewhat hesitant because a movie about a talking snowman not named Frosty doesn’t seem that appealing to me. I was explaining this reluctance to a couple of my co-workers at the accounting office, and they both assured me that it’s a good movie. With this newfound confidence that I would enjoy the film, my wife and I settled in to watch JACK FROST a couple of nights ago…

JACK FROST is about a guy named Jack Frost who is having a difficult time with his work life / home life balance. He loves his wife Gabby (Kelly Preston) and his son Charlie (Joseph Cross) very much, but his musical group, The Jack Frost Band, is taking up a lot of his time. He’s one of those dads who says he’ll “for sure” be at his son’s hockey game but then misses it because the band’s recording session runs late. It’s always something like that with Jack Frost. Tragically, before Jack can get this stuff figured out, he dies in a car accident on Christmas Eve. Jump forward a year later where a depressed Charlie decides to build a snowman like he and his dad always did together for Christmas. Just go with me here… through the magic notes of Jack’s old harmonica as played by his son Charlie, Jack’s spirit is transferred to the snowman, and the two have another chance to bond like they always wanted to. Will Jack be the father he should have been now that he’s a magical snowman dad? How long will he be around this time? Will an abnormally warm Colorado winter melt him? Will he get to watch Charlie play one more hockey game? These are just a few questions to be answered over the course of the film’s 100-minute running time.

I have always been drawn to movies that focus on the relationships between fathers and their sons. For example, FIELD OF DREAMS and FREQUENCY are two of my very favorite films. The reason I love both films is that dads and their boys are able to reconnect and experience each other in a way that resolves pain or regret from the past. The movies may not be realistic in how that happens, but I think each of the films tap into a universal truth about the connections between kids and their parents. If you want to see me cry, just watch either of those movies with me. JACK FROST seems to have this noble intention of magically re-connecting a father and his son for a second chance, and I give it credit for that. Only the most cold-hearted cynic would blow off the scene where Jack’s wife and son get to see him in his human form just one last time. It was touching. I also enjoy some of the songs on the soundtrack. I was able to take my wife to see Stevie Nicks in concert here in Little Rock earlier this year. I enjoyed when her “Landslide” played as Charlie made a snowman for the first time after his dad passed away. I thought that was a strong scene. With that said though, for me, JACK FROST doesn’t come together in a way that packs much of an emotional punch even though it’s clearly going for the heart. Part of that could be the fact that Michael Keaton turns into a snowman, and statements like “snow-dad is better than no-dad” are made. When I think of the other films, sure there are supernatural elements at play, but they’re still set in the real world, even if that place is in Iowa! In the case of JACK FROST, neither the comedy nor the drama worked well enough for me to get emotionally invested. The filmmakers overestimated the comedic nature of a snowman in general, and they seemed to dwell on that one note way too long, and to the film’s detriment. I did think a scene where Charlie’s hockey coach, played by Henry Rollins, refuses to allow the word “snowman” to be spoken in his presence was funny, but that was the exception and not the norm. 

After watching JACK FROST, I do understand why Frosty has retained his place as the world’s favorite talking snowman even after this film’s 1998 release. I think the idea of a talking snowman works much better in Frosty’s context. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go ahead and watch Frosty the Snowman again when I’m done here. But you never know, JACK FROST just may grow on me. Since my wife loves it, I know we’ll be watching it this same time next year! 

Here Are The 2024 Nominations of the Michigan Movie Critics Guild!


The Michigan Movie Critics Guild have announced their nominations for the best of 2024.  The winners will be announced on December 9th!

Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
The Substance
Wicked

Best Director
Sean Baker – Anora
Jon M. Chu – Wicked
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Robert Eggers – Nosferatu
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance

Best Actress
Amy Adams – Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Hugh Grant – Heretic

Best Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Natasha Lyonne – His Three Daughters
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Burisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Adam Pearson – A Different Man
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

Best Animated Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Piece By Piece
Transformers One
The Wild Robot

Best Documentary
Daughters
Music By John Williams
No Other Land
Piece By Piece
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Best Ensemble
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Saturday Night
Wicked

Best Screenplay (Adapted or Original)
Anora
The Brutalist
Challengers
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked

Breakthrough Award
Mikey Madison – Actress for Anora
Giovanni Ribisi – Cinematographer for Strange Darling
Jane Schoenbrun – Director for I Saw the TV Glow
Maisy Stella – Actress for My Old Ass
Zelda Williams – Director for Lisa Frankenstein

Stunts
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kill
Monkey Man
Road House

The MMCG Award for Film Excellence (presented to a filmmaker, writer, actor, crew member, etc., who has Michigan ties or to a film made or set in Michigan)
The Fire Inside (Set in Flint, and lead actress Ryan Destiny is a Detroit native)
Francis Ford Coppola (Writer/Director of Megalopolis)
Hundreds of Beavers (Partially filmed in Michigan)
Keegan-Michael Key (Actor in IF, Transformers One & Dear Santa)
J.K. Simmons (Actor in Saturday Night, Red One and Juror #2)

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


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

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 DEAD POOL – the 5th and final Dirty Harry adventure!


Dirty Harry Callahan has brought so much joy into my life. I remember when I was in 5th Grade in 1983, the hot phrase was “Go ahead. Make my day.” You heard that phrase everywhere. It may have been said by Dirty Harry in the 4th Harry Callahan adventure, SUDDEN IMPACT, but it transcended the movie and became a cultural phenomenon. Somewhere between 1983 and 1988, I was able to watch all of the Dirty Harry films, DIRTY HARRY, MAGNUM FORCE, THE ENFORCER and SUDDEN IMPACT. I just loved Harry. He was always sticking it to his superiors, and then doing whatever it took to take out the bad guys. That was an amazing combination for me. I was 14 years old when the 5th and final Dirty Harry film, THE DEAD POOL, was released into the theaters in July of 1988. This was the first Dirty Harry film to be released after our family got our VCR in the mid 80’s. I couldn’t wait to rent it. 

In THE DEAD POOL, Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) finds himself the target of crime boss Lou Janero, as Harry was crucial in his arrest and subsequent conviction. This high profile news story has caught the attention of the horror film director, Peter Swan (Liam Neeson). It’s seems Swan and some of his friends are playing a twisted game called “the dead pool” where they predict the deaths of certain celebrities based on various factors going on in their lives. Harry Callahan is a local celebrity and Swan includes him on his list due to his role in the Janero conviction. This “dead pool” game is leaked to reporter Samantha Walker (Patricia Clarkson) after the murder of Johnny Squares (Jim Carrey), who’s on Peter Swan’s list. As celebrities who are on Swan’s list continue to die, Harry and his partner Al Kwan (Evan C. Kim) try to figure out if Swan is behind the killings, or if someone else is trying to frame him, all while trying to keep themselves alive!

There are so many cool and interesting things about THE DEAD POOL. First, there has never been a character any more awesome than Harry Callahan, as played by Clint Eastwood. He will do whatever it takes to get the bad guys, regardless of what his superiors think. As a rule follower, I absolutely love Harry’s approach to life and live vicariously through him. Only vigilante Paul Kersey, played by Charles Bronson in the DEATH WISH films, rivals Callahan in his willingness to fight for justice, everyone else be damned! Second, future superstar actor Jim Carrey has the role of Johnny Squares, the drug-addicted rocker whose death kicks off the public’s knowledge of the dead pool. In hindsight, it’s fun seeing Carrey as a working actor in 1988, while also knowing that he’d become one of the biggest stars in the world over the next decade. It’s also pretty cool seeing a pre-superstar Liam Neeson as horror director Peter Swan. Third, in the late 80’s, I loved the rock group Guns N Roses. The group members are in this film in two places. They’re in the sequence where a harpoon stunt goes wrong, as well as at the funeral of Johnny Squares. Hell, guitarist Slash gets to fire the harpoon! Their hit song “Welcome to the Jungle” also has a prominent part in the film. I loved their other hits “Sweet Child of Mine,” and “Paradise City,” when I was a teenager. Fourth, I always love Harry’s catchphrases from the films. Each Dirty Harry film has its own catchphrase, including examples like “Do you feel lucky?” and “Go ahead. Make my day.” In THE DEAD POOL, various bad guys get “you’re shit out of luck.” Shit is a favorite curse word of my family, so I like this one. Fifth, THE DEAD POOL has a crazy car chase sequence. In this sequence, Harry and his partner Al Kwan find themselves chased by a remote-controlled car packing a bomb. It makes for some interesting visuals as the tiny car chases them through those familiar streets of San Francisco. It’s not often that filmmakers can come up with a new way to present a car chase, but they do a great job here. Finally, I enjoy seeing the media getting skewered in THE DEAD POOL. Patricia Clarkson’s reporter character has a solid arc as she goes from someone at the beginning of the movie who will do anything to get an exclusive story, to someone who is even willing to forego the exclusive if it’s the “right thing to do.” Our media is a hopeless mess these days where opinion is treated as facts, and actual facts are treated as an option. Where’s Dirty Harry to clean this up in 2024? 

I’m a fan of THE DEAD POOL, and I probably watch it every year or two. If you haven’t ever seen it, or if it’s been a while, I’d definitely recommend it! 

The AFI Announces Their Top Ten Of 2024!


The American Film Institute has announced it’s top ten films of 2024.  And here they are!

AFI MOTION PICTURES OF THE YEAR

ANORA
THE BRUTALIST
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
EMILIA PÉREZ
NICKEL BOYS
A REAL PAIN
SING SING
WICKED

AFI is considered to be one of the best precursors out there.  Though there have been some notable exceptions, the Academy’s Best Picture line-up tends to include the majority of the AFI’s list.  Typically, there will be maybe one or two nominees that didn’t appear on the AFI list but, with the way this year is playing out, I would not be surprised if the AFI goes 10/10 as far as predicting the 2024 Best Picture nominees is concerned.

So, that’s definitely good news for all the films listed above.  And it’s bad news for Gladiator II, Saturday Night, September 5, Juror #2, and all of the other potential nominees that did not make the AFI cut.