Tag Archives: Paul Raci

Lisa Marie’s Early Oscar Predictions For August!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

  You can check out my predictions for April by clicking here.  And then check out my predictions for May!  And June as well!  And July!

Best Picture

Anora

Blitz

Didi

Dune Part 2

Emilia Perez

Gladiator II

Maria

A Real Pain

Sing Sing

The Substance

Best Director

Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez

Sean Baker for Anora

Pablo Larrain for Maria

Steve McQueen for Blitz

Denis Villeneuve for Dune Part 2

Best Actor

Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain

Andre Holland in The Actor

Daniel Craig in Queer

Barry Keoghan in Bird

Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness

Best Actress

Ryan Destiny in The Fire Inside

Cynthia Erivo in Wicked

Angelina Jolie in Maria

Mikey Madison in Anora

Demi Moore In The Substance

Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain

Brian Tyree Henry in The Fire Inside

Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson

Paul Raci in Sing Sing

Denzel Washington in Gladiator II

Best Supporting Actress

Joan Chen in Didi

Toni Collette in Juror #2

Julianne Moore in The Room Next Door

Saoirse Ronan in Blitz

Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions For July

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

  You can check out my predictions for April by clicking here.  And then check out my predictions for May!  And June as well!

Best Picture

Anora

Blitz

Didi

Dune Part 2

Emilia Perez

The Fire Inside

Gladiator II

Inside Out 2

A Real Pain

Sing Sing

Best Director

Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez

Sean Baker for Anora

Steve McQueen for Blitz

Rachel Morrison for The Fire Inside

Denis Villeneuve for Dune Part 2

Best Actor

Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain

Andre Holland in The Actor

Daniel Craig in Queer

Barry Keoghan in Bird

Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness

Best Actress

Ryan Destiny in The Fire Inside

Cynthia Erivo in Wicked

Angelina Jolie in Maria

Mikey Madison in Anora

Demi Moore In The Substance

Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain

Brian Tyree Henry in The Fire Inside

Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson

Paul Raci in Sing Sing

Denzel Washington in Gladiator II

Best Supporting Actress

Joan Chen in Didi

Toni Collette in Juror #2

Julianne Moore in The Room Next Door

Saoirse Ronan in Blitz

Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions For June

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This has not been an easy month and I’ve fallen behind in my movie-watching and also my news-reading.  So, take the predictions below with many grains of salt.  That said, it is the end of the month and it’s time for my monthly Oscar predictions!

What will happen when the nominations are announced in 2025?  Who knows?  For now, let’s just have fun guessing.  You can check out my predictions for April by clicking here.  And then check out my predictions for May!

Best Picture

Anora

Blitz

Didi

Dune Part 2

Emilia Perez

The Fire Inside

Gladiator II

Inside Out 2

A Real Pain

Sing Sing

Best Director

Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez

Sean Baker for Anora

Steve McQueen for Blitz

Rachel Morrison for The Fire Inside

Denis Villeneuve for Dune Part 2

Best Actor

Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain

Andre Holland in The Actor

Daniel Craig in Queer

Barry Keoghan in Bird

Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness

Best Actress

Ryan Destiny in The Fire Inside

Cynthia Erivo in Wicked

Angelina Jolie in Maria

Mikey Madison in Anora

Demi Moore In The Substance

Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain

Brian Tyree Henry in The Fire Inside

Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson

Paul Raci in Sing Sing

Denzel Washington in Gladiator II

Best Supporting Actress

Joan Chen in Didi

Toni Collette in Juror #2

Julianne Moore in The Room Next Door

Saoirse Ronan in Blitz

Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez

Film Review: The Mother (dir by Niki Caro)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Jennifer Lopez is …. THE MOTHER!

The Mother is a professional assassin, a former U.S. military operative who has spent the last 12 years isolated in Alaska, hiding out from two of her former associates, drug lord Hector Alvarez (Gael Garcia Bernal) and mercenary Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes).  In the past, The Mother went to the FBI when she discovered that Alvarez and Lovell were involved in human trafficking.  Lovell reacted by killing a bunch of FBI agent and attempting to kill The Mother’s unborn child by stabbing The Mother in the belly.  (I actually gasped in shock at this act of violence.)  Both The Mother and her daughter, Zoe, survived.

The Mother left her daughter to be raised by an FBI agent named William Cruise (Omari Hardwick).  But, twelve years later, Zoe (Lucy Paez) is kidnapped and The Mother has to come out of hiding to rescue her.  It’s a mission that will lead The Mother and Cruise to Cuba and which will eventually bring Lovell and his men back to Alaska.  Along the way, The Mother learns how to forgive herself and to how to open up emotionally and Zoe learns why her mother abandoned her so many years ago.  Zoe also learns that nature can be ruthless and unforgiving.

The Mother isn’t really a bad film as much as it’s just a very predictable film.  It’s very much from the Taken school of cinematic action, with a parent doing whatever is necessary to protect their children.  This is another one of those films where everyone tends to be very grim and there’s a lot of scenes of people coldly threatening each other.  The film opens with the FBI interrogating The Mother and the dialogue was so familiar and the attitudes so reminiscent of every single action film and television show that I’ve seen recently that I had to take a few minutes to remember which film I was watching.  Even The Mother’s eventual trip to snowy Alaska caused me to have flashbacks to both Those Who Wish Me Dead and the recent Dexter revival.  Oddly enough, it also reminded me of Sound of Metal, if just because The Mother‘s one friend in Alaska was played by Paul Raci.  It was nice to see Raci again.  With his haunted eyes and his kindly voice, he’s the type of guardian angel that everyone would want to have.  But again, it just all felt so familiar.

Jennifer Lopez gives a convincing performance as The Mother.  Though the film may be predictable, her commitment to protecting her daughter no matter what was undeniably moving and she and Lucy Paez has a believable mother/daughter relationship.  That said, Jennifer Lopez is always at her best when she’s allowed to play a character with a sense of playfulness and there’s little of that to be found in The Mother.  It’s a grim film about serious characters and it hits all of the expected beats with efficiency but not much more.  When it comes to 2023 Jennifer Lopez films, I still prefer the appealingly silly Shotgun Wedding.

Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: Sound of Metal (dir by Darius Marder)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

What’s it like to lose the thing that you felt was the most important part of your life?  That’s one of the many questions that Sound of Metal left me considering.

The story opens with Ruben (Riz Ahmed) and Lou (Olivia Cooke) traveling the country in a cluttered RV.  Lou is a singer.  Ruben is a drummer.  They perform under the name Blackgammon.  Their life is about traveling from gig to gig, playing their own unique music.  It’s not exactly a glamorous life but, as the first few minutes of Sound of Metal makes clear, it’s a life that they both love.

Or, at least, they do until Ruben starts to lose his hearing.  (When Ruben goes to see a doctor, he’s told that he’s basically only picking up on 20% of the sounds around him and that it’s only going to get worse.)  At first, Ruben tries to keep Lou from discovering what’s happening but it doesn’t take long for Lou to realize that something’s wrong.  Ruben argues that he can still play the drums by memory, even if he can no longer hear what he’s playing.  Lou is more concerned that Ruben is going to slip back into his previous bad habits and once again start using heroin.

Eventually, the two of them go their separate ways.  Lou returns to her family in Belgium and reinvents herself as an artist.  Meanwhile, Ruben ends up at a center specifically for deaf recovering addicts.  The center is run by Joe (Paul Raci), a kind but no-nonsense man who lost his hearing in Vietnam and who is a recovering alcoholic.  At first, Ruben is bitter and angry and refuses to accept that his old life is over.  When Joe order Ruben to spend hours sitting in a room and writing down whatever pops into his head, it takes Ruben a while to see that Joe is helping him to come to terms with living in a world without sound.  Even as Ruben starts to accept his new reality, he still finds himself wanting to reunite with Lou.  He finds himself tempted to get a cochlear implant, despite Joe explaining that doing so will mean that Ruben will have to leave his new home.

In the hands of a lesser director and a lesser cast, Sound of Metal could have become mawkish or overly sentimental, the type of film that tries so hard to be uplifting that it ends up condescending instead.  However, director Darius Marder emphasizes the gritty details of his story, showcasing Ruben’s emotional growth while also acknowledging that Ruben will never truly be at peace with his hearing loss.  This is a film that acknowledges what Ruben’s gained from his new circumstances while never ignoring the pain of losing his former life.  The film’s soundtrack is designed so that we hear exactly as much or as little as Ruben can hear.  We feel his frustration and his fear as sound fades away while, at the same time, we also come to appreciate everything that he finds in the silence.

The Academy has rightfully nominated Riz Ahmed for best actor for his performance in Sound of Metal.  That was expected as Ahmed’s been honored by several critics groups and probably the only thing that will keep Ahmed from winning thr Oscar is the Academy’s understandable desire to honor the legacy of Chadwick Boseman.  Ahmed does a wonderful job capturing all of Ruben’s emotions, from his fear to his anger to finally his reluctant acceptance.

Olivia Cooke was not nominated for her role, though I think she should have been.  It’s perhaps understandable why Cooke wasn’t nominated as she’s actually off-screen for a good deal of the film but she still does a great job capturing both Lou’s love for Ruben and also portraying the way the Lou grows as both a person and an artist in his absence.

That said, the best performance in the film comes from Paul Raci.  I have to admit that I cheered a little when I heard that the Academy had nominated Raci for Best Supporting Actor.  The previously unknown Raci, who has been acting for years but who had never had a film role as big or as important as this one, is the son of deaf parents and he brings a tough but heartfelt authenticity to the role of Joe.  As played by Raci, Joe sincerely cares about Ruben but, at the same time, he’s also not going to let Ruben get away with self-pity.  Raci gives a quietly authoritative performance as Joe, rarely raising his voice but still turning the character into the film’s moral center.

Sound of Metal was one of my favorite films of 2020.  It was nominated for Best Picture, along with 5 other nominations.  Personally, while I know the film probably won’t beat Nomadland for the main prize, I’m still hoping that Paul Raci will be able to pull off an upset and take home the Oscar that he definitely deserves.

What If Lisa Picked The Oscar Nominees: 2020 Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

With the Oscar nominations due to be announced tomorrow, now is the time that the Shattered Lens indulges in a little something called, “What if Lisa had all the power.” Listed below are my personal Oscar nominations. Please note that these are not the films that I necessarily think will be nominated. The fact of the matter is that the many of them will not. Instead, these are the films that would be nominated if I was solely responsible for deciding the nominees this year. Winners are listed in bold.

I should also point out that I’ve only nominated films that were actually released in 2020.  Undoubtedly, Nomadland, Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Father will do very well with the Academy tomorrow but, as far as I’m concerned, they’re 2021 films and not eligible for my nominations.  They will be eligible next year, when I do my 2021 edition of What If Lisa Had All The Power.

It should also go without saying that I’ve nominated films that I’ve actually seen.

You’ll also note that I’ve added four categories, all of which I believe the Academy should adopt — Best Voice-Over Performance, Best Casting, Best Stunt Work, and Best Overall Use Of Music In A Film.

Click on the links to see my nominations for 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010!)

Best Picture

The Assistant
Bad Education
First Cow
The Girl With A Bracelet
i’m thinking of ending things
Lovers Rock
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
Soul
The Vast of Night

Best Director

Stéphane Demoustier for The Girl With A Bracelet
Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
Charlie Kaufman for i’m thinking of ending things
Steve McQueen for Lovers Rock
Andrew Patterson for The Vast of Night
Kelly Reichardt for First Cow

Best Actor

Ben Affleck in The Way Back
Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
John Boyega in Red, White, and Blue
Hugh Jackman in Bad Education
Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods

Best Actress

Alison Brie in Horse Girl
Sidney Flanigan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Julia Garner in The Assistant
Melissa Guers in The Girl With A Bracelet
Sophia Loren in The Life Ahead
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor

Brian Dennehy in Driveways
Aldis Hodge in One Night In Miami
Orion Lee in First Cow
Clarke Peters in Da 5 Blood
Paul Raci in The Sound of Metal
J.K. Simmons in Palm Springs

Best Supporting Actress

Jane Adams in She Dies Tomorrow
Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Cooke in Sound of Metal
Allison Janney in Bad Education
Chiara Mastroianni in The Girl With A Bracelet
Talia Ryder in Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Voice Over Performance

Jack Cruz in What Did Jack Do?
Bruce Davis in The Vast of Night
Tina Fey in Soul
Jamie Foxx in Soul
Nick Offerman in Frances Ferguson
Chris Pratt in Onward

Best Original Screenplay

The Assistant
Palm Springs
Possessor
Promising Young Woman
Soul
The Vast of Night

Bad Education

Best Adapted Screenplay

Bad Education
Emma
First Cow
The Girl With A Bracelet
i’m thinking of ending things
The Outpost

Best Animated Feature Film

A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Onward
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs
Soul

Best Documentary Feature Film

Alabama Snake
Athlete A
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
The Social Dilemma
Tread

Best International Feature Film

Figurant
The Girl With A Bracelet
Gunpowder Heart
The Hater
The Life Ahead
The Shock of the Future

Best Live Action Short Film

Basic
Figurant
Host
Run/On
Waffle
What Did Jack Do?

Best Documentary Short Film

Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business
John Was Trying To Contact Aliens
Lions in the Corner
Quilt Fever

Best Animated Short Film

Canvas

If Anything Happens I Love You

Best Original Score

Call of the Wild
First Cow
Mangrove
Possessor
She Dies Tomorrow
The Shock of The Future

Best Original Song

“Boss Bitch” from Birds of Prey
“Diamonds” from Birds of Prey
“Everybody Dies” from The Outpost
“Future Shock Work in Progress” from The Shock of the Future
“Gratia Plena” from Fatima
“Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Jah Jah Ding Dong” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Metamorph” from Gunpowder Heart
“The Spirit of Christmas” from The Christmas Chronicles 2
“True Love’s Flame” from What Did Jack Do?

Best Overall Use of Music

Bill & Ted Face The Music
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Lovers Rock
Proising Young Woman
The Shock of the Future
Soul

Best Sound

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Lovers Rock
The Outpost
Possessor
The Shock of the Future
Sound of Metal

Best Production Design

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Emma
First Cow
i’m thinking of ending things
Possessor
The Shock of the Future

Best Casting

The Assistant
First Cow
Lovers Rock
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
The Vast of Night

Best Cinematography

First Cow
i’m thinking of ending things
Lovers Rock
Mank
She Dies Tomorrow
The Vast of Night

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Bill & Ted Face The Music
i’m thinking of ending things
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Promising Young Woman

Best Costume Design

Emma
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Fatima
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Tesla

Best Film Editing

Extraction
i’m thinking of ending things
The Outpost
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
The Way Back

Best Stuntwork

Bad Boys For Life
Birds of Prey
Bloodshot
Extraction
The Hunt
The Outpost

Best Visual Effects

The Christmas Chronicles 2
The Midnight Sky
The Outpost
Possessor
Radioactive
Tesla

Films By Number of Nominations

8 Nominations — First Cow, Promising Young Woman

7 Nominations — Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, i’m thinking of ending things

6 Nominations — The Girl With A Bracelet, Lovers Rock, The Outpost, Shock of the Future, Soul, The Vast of Night

5 Nominations — Palm Springs, Possessor

4 Nominations — The Assistant, Bad Education, Sound of Metal

3 Nominations — Birds of Prey, Emma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, She Dies Tomorrow, What Did Jack Do?

2 Nominations — Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Christmas Chronicles 2, Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Fatima, Figurant, Gunpowder Heart, Hillbilly Elegy, The Life Ahead, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Onward, Tesla, The Way Back

1 Nomination — Alabama Snake, Athlete A, Bad Boys For Life, Basic, Bettye Saar: Taking Care of Business, Bloodshot, Call of the Wild, Canvas, Driveways, Frances Ferguson, The Hater, Horse Girl, Host, The Hunt, If Anything Happens I Love You, John Was Trying To Contact Aliens, Lions in the Corner, Mangrove, Mank, Midnight Sky, The Mystery of D.B. Cooper, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, One Night in Miami, Quilt Fever, Radioactive, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, Red White and Blue, Run/On, A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, The Social Dilemma, Tread, Waffle

Films By Number of Oscars Won

3 Oscars — The Girl With A Bracelet, Promising Young Woman

1 Oscar — The Assistant, Bad Education, Driveways, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Figurant, First Cow, Frances Ferguson, If Anything Happens I Love You, i’m thinking of ending things, John Was Trying To Contact Aliens, Lovers Rock, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Outpost, Palm Springs, Possessor, Shock of the Future, The Social Dilemma, Soul, Sound of Metal, The Vast of Night, What Did Jack Do?

Tomorrow, the Oscar nominations will be released and we’ll see if how much or, more likely, how little the Academy and I agree upon!

The Iowa Film Critics Association Honors Nomadland

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Though we may never know who actually won the Iowa Caucus last year, we do know which films won with the Iowa Film Critics Association!  Here are their picks for the best of the year:

BEST FILM: “Nomadland”
Runners up: “Minari” and “Sound of Metal”

BEST DIRECTOR: Chloe Zhao – “Nomadland”
Runners up: Darius Marder – “Sound of Metal” and Florian Zeller – “The Father”

BEST ACTOR: Chadwick Boseman – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Runners up: Anthony Hopkins – “The Father” and Riz Ahmed – “Sound of Metal”

BEST ACTRESS: Frances McDormand – “Nomadland”
Runners up: Viola Davis – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Carey Mulligan – “Promising Young Woman”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Paul Raci – “Sound of Metal”
Runners up: Bill Murray – “On the Rocks” and Leslie Odom Jr. – “One Night in Miami”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Yuh-jung Youn – “Minari”
Runners up: Olivia Colman – “The Father” and Amanda Seyfried – “Mank”

BEST ANIMATED FILM: “Soul”
Runners up: “Over the Moon” and “Wolfwalkers”

BEST DOCUMENTARY: “Dick Johnson is Dead”
Runners up: “Crip Camp” and “The Dissident”

BEST SCORE: Ludovico Einaudi – “Nomadland”
Runners up: James Newton Howard – “News of the World” and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – “Mank”

BEST SONG: “Speak Now” – “One Night in Miami”
Runners up: “Green” – “Sound of Metal” and “Rain Song” – “Minari”

The Washington D.C. Film Critics Honor Wonder Woman 1984!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

Well, the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics did pick Wonder Woman 1984 as being the best 2020 cinematic depiction of life in Washington D.C.

However, Nomadland won best picture.  Chloe Zhao picked up best director.  Frances McDormand won best actress.  In fact, to be honest, it was pretty much the same films and people who have been winning the majority of the prizes since award season began.  That’s not a complaint, mind you.  It’s just that, when the same film keeps winning over and over again, it makes you appreciate things like Wonder Woman 1984 picking up an award for being the best cinematic depiction of life in Washington D.C.

Here are the winners from our nation’s capital:

Best Film
First Cow
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami…
Promising Young Woman

Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Regina King – One Night in Miami…
Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed – Sound Of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods
Steven Yeun – Minari

Best Actress
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces Of A Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah
Bill Murray – On The Rocks
Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami…
Paul Raci – Sound Of Metal

Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Olivia Colman – The Father
Dominique Fishback – Judas And The Black Messiah
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari

Best Acting Ensemble
Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
One Night in Miami…
The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best Youth Performance
Millie Bobby Brown – Enola Holmes
Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Alan Kim – Minari
Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Helena Zengel – News Of The World

Best Voice Performance
Tina Fey – Soul
Jamie Foxx – Soul
Tom Holland – Onward
Honor Kneafsey – Wolfwalkers
Octavia Spencer – Onward

Best Original Screenplay
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Andy Siara – Palm Springs
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Darius Marder & Abraham Marder – Sound Of Metal
Aaron Sorkin – The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best Adapted Screenplay
Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Charlie Kaufman – I’m Thinking Of Ending Things
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Kemp Powers – One Night in Miami…

Best Animated Feature
The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Documentary
Boys State
Collective
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
Dick Johnson Is Dead
Time

Best International/Foreign Language Film
Another Round
Bacurau
La Llorona
Night of the Kings
The Mole Agent

Best Production Design
Emma.
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
News Of The World
Tenet

Best Cinematography
Newton Thomas Sigel – Da 5 Bloods
Erik Messerschmidt – Mank
Dariusz Wolski – News Of The World
Joshua James Richards – Nomadland
Hoyte van Hoytema – Tenet

Best Editing
Kirk Baxter – Mank
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen – Sound Of Metal
Jennifer Lame – Tenet
Alan Baumgarten – The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best Original Score
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Mank
Emile Mosseri – Minari
James Newton Howard – News Of The World
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Jon Batiste – Soul
Ludwig Göransson – Tenet

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
The Fight
Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President
John Lewis: Good Trouble
Wonder Woman 1984

The Toronto Film Critics Association Honors Nomadland

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

They love Nomadland, even in Canada!

The Toronto Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2020 yesterday and Noamdland picked up another best picture prize.  Chloe Zhao and Frances McDormand were also, once again, honored.  Daniel Kaluuya, who has been coming on strong in recent days, picked up Best Supporting Actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, defeating former front runners Paul Raci and Leslie Odom Jr.

Here are the winners from Toronto:

Best Film
Winner: ​​Nomadland
Runners Up: First Cow & Minari

Best Director
Winner: ​Chloe Zhao – Nomadland
Runners Up: Lee Isaac Chung – Minari & Kelly Reichardt – First Cow

Best Screenplay
Winner: ​Minari
Runners Up: Nomadland & Sound of Metal

Best Actress
Winner: ​Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Runners Up: Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Actor
Winner: ​Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Runners Up: Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Mads Mikkelsen – Another Round

Best First Feature
Winner: ​The Forty-Year-Old-Version
Runners Up: The Father & Promising Young Woman

Best Documentary
Winner: ​Collective
Runners Up: Crip Camp, David Byrne’s American Utopia & Time

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: ​Bacurau
Runners Up: Another Round & Beanpole

Best Animated Feature
Winner: ​Wolfwalkers
Runners Up: Soul & The Willoughbys

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Runners Up: Youn Yuh-jung – Minari & Olivia Colman – The Father

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah
Runners Up: Paul Raci – Sound of Metal & Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami

Here Are The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association announced their nominees for the best of the year.  After it was snubbed by both the Golden Globes and SAG, it’s nice to see at least one group acknowledging First Cow.  (Actually, a lot of groups have been acknowledging First Cow.  I just worry it’s the type of film that will player better with critics than with Oscar voters.  Which is a shame because it’s a great film!)

The winners will be announced on February 8th …. which is tomorrow!  Here are the nominees:

Best Film
First Cow
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami…
Promising Young Woman

Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Regina King – One Night in Miami…
Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed – Sound Of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods
Steven Yeun – Minari

Best Actress
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces Of A Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah
Bill Murray – On The Rocks
Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami…
Paul Raci – Sound Of Metal

Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Olivia Colman – The Father
Dominique Fishback – Judas And The Black Messiah
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari

Best Acting Ensemble
Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
One Night in Miami…
The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best Youth Performance
Millie Bobby Brown – Enola Holmes
Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Alan Kim – Minari
Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Helena Zengel – News Of The World

Best Voice Performance
Tina Fey – Soul
Jamie Foxx – Soul
Tom Holland – Onward
Honor Kneafsey – Wolfwalkers
Octavia Spencer – Onward

Best Original Screenplay
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Andy Siara – Palm Springs
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Darius Marder & Abraham Marder – Sound Of Metal
Aaron Sorkin – The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best Adapted Screenplay
Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Charlie Kaufman – I’m Thinking Of Ending Things
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Kemp Powers – One Night in Miami…

Best Animated Feature
The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Documentary
Boys State
Collective
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
Dick Johnson Is Dead
Time

Best International/Foreign Language Film
Another Round
Bacurau
La Llorona
Night of the Kings
The Mole Agent

Best Production Design
Emma.
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
News Of The World
Tenet

Best Cinematography
Newton Thomas Sigel – Da 5 Bloods
Erik Messerschmidt – Mank
Dariusz Wolski – News Of The World
Joshua James Richards – Nomadland
Hoyte van Hoytema – Tenet

Best Editing
Kirk Baxter – Mank
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen – Sound Of Metal
Jennifer Lame – Tenet
Alan Baumgarten – The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Best Original Score
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Mank
Emile Mosseri – Minari
James Newton Howard – News Of The World
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Jon Batiste – Soul
Ludwig Göransson – Tenet

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
The Fight
Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President
John Lewis: Good Trouble
Wonder Woman 1984