Tag Archives: Spike Lee

Here Are The 2025 Black Reel Award Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2025 Black Reel Award nominations!  The winners will be announced on February 16th.

Outstanding Film (Award given to producers)
Hedda – Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Gabrielle Nadig, Nia DaCosta, Tessa Thompson, producers
Highest 2 Lowest – Todd Black, Jason Michael Berman, producers
One of Them Days – Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, Sara Rastogi, James Lopez, Poppy Hank, producers
Sinners – Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler, producers
Wicked: For Good – Marc Platt, David Stone, producers

Outstanding Director
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Nia DaCosta – Hedda
Spike Lee – Highest 2 Lowest
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Lead Performance
Danielle Deadwyler – 40 Acres
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
André Holland – Love, Brooklyn
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Jonathan Majors – Magazine Dreams
Keke Palmer – One of Them Days
Tessa Thompson – Hedda
Denzel Washington – Highest 2 Lowest

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Miles Caton – Sinners
Regina Hall – One Battle After Another
Damson Idris – F1
David Jonsson – The Long Walk
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – Eternity
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Jeffrey Wright – Highest 2 Lowest

Outstanding Screenplay
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Nia DaCosta – Hedda
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Syreeta Singleton – One of Them Days
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Documentary (Award given to director)
Being Eddie – Angus Wall, director
In Whose Name? – Nico Ballesteros, director
Orwell: 2+2=5 – Raoul Peck, director
Songs From the Hole – Contessa Gayles, director
The Perfect Neighbor – Geeta Gandbhir, director

Outstanding Ensemble (Award given to casting director)
40 Acres – Stephanie Gorin, casting director
Highest 2 Lowest – Kim Coleman, casting director
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Isabella Odoffin, casting director
One of Them Days – Nicole Abellera, Jeanne McCarthy, casting directors
Sinners – Francine Maisler, casting director

Outstanding International Film (Award given to director)
My Father’s Shadow – United Kingdom
Night Call – Belgium
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Zambia, United Kingdom, Ireland
Souleymane’s Story – France
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe – Germany

Outstanding Voice Performance
Danielle Brooks – The Bad Guys 2
Quinta Brunson – Zootopia 2
Idris Elba – Zootopia 2
Anthony Ramos – The Bad Guys 2
Zoe Saldana – Avatar: Fire and Ash

Outstanding Score
Freaky Tales – Raphael Saadiq, composer
Hedda – Hildur Guðnadóttir, composer
Highest 2 Lowest – Howard Drossin, composer
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson, composer
The Eyes of Ghana – Kris Bowers, composer

Outstanding Original Song (Award given to performer and writer)
“Highest 2 Lowest” from Highest 2 Lowest – Aiyana-Lee Anderson, performer; Aiyana-Lee Anderson, Nicole Daciana Anderson, writers
“I Lied to You” from Sinners – Miles Caton, performer; Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson, writers
“Last Time (I Seen the Sun)” from Sinners – Miles Caton, Alice Smith, performers; Miles Caton, Alice Smith, Ludwig Göransson, writers
“Pale, Pale Moon” from Sinners – Brittany Howard, performer; Brittany Howard, Ludwig Göransson, writers
“Sinners” from Sinners – Rod Wave, performer; Darius Povillunas, Kyris D’Asia, Rod Wave, Tarkan Kozluklu, writers

Outstanding Soundtrack
Freaky Tales
Highest 2 Lowest
One of Them Days
Sinners
Wicked: For Good

Outstanding Independent Film (Award given to director)
40 Acres – R.T. Thorne, director
Love, Brooklyn – Rachael Holder, director
Magazine Dreams – Elijah Bynum, director
My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr., director
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Rungano Nyoni, director

Outstanding Independent Documentary (Award given to director)
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions – Kahlil Joseph, director
The Eyes of Ghana – Ben Proudfoot, director
Fatherless No More – Kayla Johnson, director
Seeds – Brittany Shyne, director
We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe – Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, director

Outstanding Short Film (Award given to director)
The Devil Is Busy – Geeta Gandbhir, Christalyn Hampton, directors
JULES – Tiffany Abney, director
Walk in the Light – Princella Smith, director

Outstanding Emerging Director
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Rachael Holder – Love, Brooklyn
Kahlil Joseph – BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Miles Caton – Sinners
Susan Chardy – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Naya Desir-Johnson – Sarah’s Oil
Damson Idris – F1
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Jayme Lawson – Sinners
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
SZA – One of Them Days
Tyriq Withers – HIM

Outstanding First Screenplay
Nnamdi Asmougha – The Knife
Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies – My Father’s Shadow
Rungano Nyoni – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Syreeta Singleton – One of Them Days
R.T. Thorne – 40 Acres

Outstanding Cinematography
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Jermaine Canute, Bradley Edwards – My Father’s Shadow
Kira Kelly – HIM
Malik Hassan Sayeed – After the Hunt
Brittany Shyne – Seeds

Outstanding Costume Design
Charlene Akuamoah – 40 Acres
Estelle Don Banda – On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – Highest 2 Lowest
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good

Outstanding Editing
Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie – The Smashing Machine
Kahlil Joseph, Luke Lynch, Paul Rogers – BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Taylor Joy Mason – HIM
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners
Malika Zouhali-Worrall – Seeds

Outstanding Hair & Makeup
Amber Aprin, Mele Egbe – My Dead Friend Zoe
Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Sian Richards, Shunika Terry – Sinners
Antonio Hines, Chancelle Mulela – 40 Acres
Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal – The Smashing Machine
Vonda K. Morris, Nikki Wright – One of Them Days

Outstanding Production Design (Award given to production designer and set decorator)
Ramsey Avery, Rosemary Brandenburg – Captain America: Brave New World
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne – Sinners
Cara Brower, Stella Fox – Hedda
James Chinlund, Marcia Calosio, Mike Keel, Frank Okay – The Smashing Machine
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sanders – Wicked: For Good

Trailer for HIGHEST 2 LOWEST (2025), starring Denzel Washington!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Who thinks that a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s HIGH AND LOW, directed by Spike Lee, and starring Denzel Washington, sounds intriguing? I do! The duo’s fifth film will be released on August 15th, 2025.

Check out the trailer for HIGHEST 2 LOWEST:

October True Crime: Summer of Sam (dir by Spike Lee)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

First released in 1999, Summer of Sam is Spike Lee’s sprawling, frustrating, flawed, occasionally compelling, and ultimately rather intriguing film about the summer of 1977 in New York City.

As one can guess from the title, it was a summer that was dominated by the reign of terror of the serial killer known as the Son of Sam.  While New York suffered one of the hottest summers on record, the Son of Sam shot couples while they sat in their cars.  Because all of his victims had been women with long, dark hair, women across the city wore blonde wigs.  While the police searched for the killer, the city was also caught up in the World Series.  Club 57 was the hottest club in New York but a growing number of rebels, inspired by the news that was coming out of the UK, eschewed the glitz of disco for the gritty and deliberately ugly aesthetic of punk and the Mud Club.

Though the film is centered around the murders of the Son of Sam, he remains a largely shadowy figure in the film.  Played by Michael Badalucco, David Berkowitz spends most of his time in his filthy home, yelling at the dog across the street and writing cryptic messages on the walls.  He only gets a few minutes of screen time because the film is ultimately less about the Son of Sam’s crimes and more about how one Italian-American neighborhood in New York deals with the atmosphere of fear and paranoia created by those crimes.  It’s a neighborhood that’s ruled over by the ruthless but benevolent Luigi (Ben Gazzara).  When the two detectives (Anthony LaPaglia and Roger Guevener Smith) come to the neighborhood in search of information, they know that Luigi is the man to see.

Vinny (John Leguizamo) is one of the neighborhood’s citizens, a hairdresser who hasn’t let his marriage to Dionna (Mira Sorvino) stand in the way of his compulsive womanizing.  Vinny is the type who cheats on his wife and then goes to Confession to get forgiveness.  He’s the type who gets angry whenever Dionna wants to have sex with the lights on or do anything other than a quick three minutes in the missionary position.  When he realizes that the Son of Sam was watching him while he was having sex in a car with Dionna’s cousin and that he could have been one of his victims, Vinny starts to spin out of control.  Vinny’s childhood friend is Ritchie (Adrien Brody), who shocks everyone when he spikes his hair, puts on a Union Jack t-shirt, and starts speaking with a fake British accent.  Ritchie and his girlfriend, Ruby (Jennifer Esposito), embrace the punk lifestyle and even put one the Son of Sam’s letters to music when they perform at the Mud Club.

It’s an ambitious film but it’s also an overlong film, one where the slow spots can truly test the viewer’s patience.  With a 142-minute running time, Summer of Sam finds the time to touch on almost every trope of the late 70s.  Vinny and Dionna hit the clubs, where the usually quiet Dionna truly comes to life as she dances.  (Vinny’s moves are far less impressive.  Tony Manero would have laughed at him.)  Ritchie not only embraces punk rock but he also makes his money by performing in live sex shows.  When a mysterious man offers to give Vinny and Dionna a ride in his limo, it’s hard not to smile when it’s revealed that he’s taking them to the infamous sex club, Plato’s Retreat.  One can respect Lee’s ambition while still finding the film itself to be a bit too self-indulgent for it’s own good.

Spike Lee, for all of his other talents, has never been a particularly subtle director.  Vinny and his friends spend a lot of time hanging out at the end of street, strategically placed in front of a sign that loudly proclaims, “DEAD END.”  At one point, Vinny is inspired to run to his window and start screaming insults at the Son of Sam and Leguizamo’s histrionic delivery of the lines make it impossible to take his anguish seriously.  At the same time, there are moments that work brilliantly.  I particularly liked the scenes that took place during the blackout of 1977.  Luigi automatically knows how to keep control in his neighborhood and he sends his men out with baseball bats, channeling their aggression into a search for the phantom serial killer.  For every scene that doesn’t work, there’s a scene like the Baba O’Riley montage or Vinny, Dionna, Ritchie, and Ruby having a candlelit dinner.

“We really dig your vibe.”

John Leguizamo is shrill and miscast as Vinny, though I’m not sure if anyone could have made much of such a one-dimensional characters.  I preferred the performances of Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, and Jennifer Esposito, who all brought their characters to authentic life.  (I especially liked how Brody switched from being tough to being a wounded child at the drop of a hat.)  As is so often the case with Lee’s films, it’s the supporting actors who make the strongest impression.  I loved Mike Starr’s earthy performance as Ritchie’s father and Ben Gazzara’s sly turn as the neighborhood mobster.  Bebe Neuwirth is underused but memorable as Vinny’s boss.

The film is overstuffed and overlong but it effectively portrays a community in the grips of paranoia and anger.  In the end, the film is epitomized by a scene in which the neighbor’s dog enter David Berkowtiz’s living room and starts yelling at him in the voice of John Turturro.  It’s a scene that’s so ludicrous that it somehow becomes effective.  It’s a scene that most directors would have left on the editing room floor but Spike Lee included it.  It takes courage to write, film, and keep a scene like that.  Summer of Sam is a wreck of a film but it’s also ultimately a compelling portrait of a community coming apart.  In the end, just as in real life, Berkowitz is brought to justice and a community is left wondering what to do now.

Summer of Sam features some of Spike Lee’s best work and also some of his worst.  The film opens with columnist Jimmy Breslin describing New York as being the city that he both loves and hates and that’s the way that I feel about this film.  For all of its flaws, there’s enough strengths to make up for them.  It’s a New York story and, appropriately, it’s just as messy as the city that it is about.

10 Oscar Snubs From the 1980s

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, the 80s! Ronald Reagan was president. America was strong. Russia was weak. The economy was booming. The music was wonderful. Many great movies were released, though most of them were not nominated for any Oscars. This is the decade that tends to drive most Oscar fanatics batty. So many good films that went unnominated. So many good performers that were overlooked.  Let’s dive on in!

1980: The Shining Is Totally Ignored

Admittedly, The Shining was not immediately embraced by critics when it was first released.  Stephen King is still whining about the movie and once he went as far as to joke about being happy that he outlived Stanley Kubrick.  (Not cool, Steve.)  Well, none of that matters.  The Shining should have been nominated across the board.  “Come and play with us, Danny …. AT THE OSCARS!”

1981: Harrison Ford Is Not Nominated For Best Actor For Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders received a lot of nominations.  Steven Spielberg was nominated for Best Director.  The film itself was nominated for Best Picture.  (It lost to Chariots of Fire.)  But the man who helped to hold the film together, Harrison Ford, was not nominated for his performance as Indiana Jones.  Despite totally changing the way that people looked at archeologists and also making glasses sexy, Harrison Ford was overlooked.  I think this was yet another case of the Academy taking a reliable actor for granted.

1982: Brian Dennehy Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For First Blood

First Blood didn’t receive any Oscar nominations, not even in the technical categories.  Personally, I think you could argue that the film, which was much more than just an action film, deserved to be considered for everything from Best Actor to Best Director to Best Picture.  But, in the end, if anyone was truly snubbed, it was Brian Dennehy.  Dennehy turned Will Teasle into a classic villain.  Wisely, neither the film nor Dennehy made the mistake of portraying Sheriff Teasle as being evil.  Instead, he was just a very stubborn man who couldn’t admit that he made a mistake in the way he treated John Rambo.  Dennehy gave an excellent performance that elevated the entire film.

1984: Once Upon A Time In America Is Totally Ignored

It’s not a huge shock that Once Upon A Time In America didn’t receive any Oscar nominations.  Warner Bros. took Sergio Leone’s gangster epic and recut it before giving it a wide release in America.  Among other things, scenes were rearranged so that they played out in chronological order, the studio took 90 minutes off of the run time, and the film’s surrealistic and challenging ending was altered.  Leone disowned the Warner Bros. edit of the film.  Unfortunately, in 1984, most people only saw the edited version of Once Upon A Time In America and Leone was so disillusioned by the experience that he would never direct another film.  (That said, even the edited version featured Ennio Morricone’s haunting score, which certainly deserved not just a nomination but also the Oscar.)  The original cut of Once Upon A Time In America is one of the greatest gangster films ever made, though one gets the feeling that it might have still been too violent, thematically dark, and narratively complex for the tastes of the Academy in 1984.  At a time when the Academy was going out of its way to honor good-for-you films like Gandhi, it’s probable that a film featuring Robert De Niro floating through time in an Opium-induced haze might have been a bridge too far.

1985: The Breakfast Club Is Totally Ignored

Not even a nomination for Best Screenplay!  It’s a shame.  I’m going to guess that the Academy assumed that The Breakfast Club was just another teen flick.  Personally, if nothing else, I would have given the film the Oscar for Best Original Song.  Seriously, don’t you forget about me.

1986: Alan Ruck Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Poor Cameron!

1986: Blue Velvet Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Considering the type of films that the Academy typically nominated in the 80s, it’s something of a shock that David Lynch even managed to get a Best Director nomination for a film as surreal and subversive as Blue Velvet.  Unfortunately, that was the only recognition that the Academy was willing to give to the film.  It can also be argued that Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern, Isabella Rossellini, and Dean Stockwell were overlooked by the Academy.  Dennis Hopper did receive a Supporting Actor nomination in 1986, though it was for Hoosiers and not Blue Velvet.

1987: R. Lee Ermey Is Not Nominated For Best Supporting Actor For Full Metal Jacket

One of the biggest misconceptions about Full Metal Jacket is that R. Lee Ermey was just playing himself.  While Ermey was a former drill instructor and he did improvise the majority of his lines (which made him unique among actors who have appeared in Kubrick films), Ermey specifically set out to play Sgt. Hartmann as being a bad drill instructor, one who pushed his recruits too hard, forgot the importance of building them back up, and was so busy being a bully that he failed to notice that Pvt. Pyle had gone off the deep end.  Because Ermey was, by most accounts, a good drill instructor, he knew how to portray a bad one and the end result was an award-worthy performance.

1988: Die Hard Is Not Nominated For Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, or Director

Die Hard did receive some technical nominations but, when you consider how influential the film would go on to be, it’s hard not to feel that it deserved more.  Almost every action movie villain owes a debt to Alan Rickman’s performance as Hans Gruber.  And Bruce Willis …. well, all I can say is that people really took Bruce for granted.

1989: Do The Right Thing Is Not Nominated For Best Picture

Indeed, it would take another 30 years for a film directed by Spike Lee to finally be nominated for Best Picture.

Agree?  Disagree?  Do you have an Oscar snub that you think is even worse than the 10 listed here?  Let us know in the comments!

Up next: It’s the 90s!

Horror Scenes That I Love: The Dog Speaks From Summer of Sam

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Every film about the Son of Sam and his reign of terror in New York City inevitably faces one huge question.

What to do about the dog?

Before he started blaming Satanists, David Berkowitz claimed that a dog told him to kill. Most people who have made films about the Son of Sam have been content to just have a dog barking in the distance. Spike Lee, however, had the guts to actually have a dog trot into Berkowtiz’s apartment and start yelling at him.

From 1999’s Summer of Sam:

The dog is voiced by John Turturro. I have to say that, for such an evil creature, it really is a cute dog.

The Black Reel Awards Honor Judas and the Black Messiah

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2020 winners of the Black Reel Awards have been announced, with Judas and the Black Messiah taking the prize for best film.

Here are all the nominees and winners:

OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE
DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SOUL

OUTSTANDING ACTOR
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
CHADWICK BOSEMAN – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
DELROY LINDO – DA 5 BLOODS
ROB MORGAN – BULL
LAKEITH STANFIELD – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS
NICOLE BEHARIE – MISS JUNETEENTH
VIOLA DAVIS – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ANDRA DAY – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
TESSA THOMPSON – SYLVIE’S LOVE
ZENDAYA – MALCOLM & MARIE

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR
RADHA BLANK – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
REGINA KING – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SHAKA KING – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
SPIKE LEE – DA 5 BLOODS
CHANNING GODFREY PEOPLES – MISS JUNETEENTH

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHADWICK BOSEMAN – DA 5 BLOODS
COLMAN DOMINGO – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ALDIS HODGE – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
DANIEL KALUUYA – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
LESLIE ODOM JR. – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ALEXIS CHIKAEZE – MISS JUNETEENTH
DOMINIQUE FISHBACK – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
KIKI LAYNE – THE OLD GUARD
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS – THE HIGH NOTE
GABOUREY SIDIBE – ANTEBELLUM

OUTSTANDING SCREENPLAY
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION – RADHA BLANK
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – WILL BERSON & SHAKA KING
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – KEMP POWERS
SOUL – PETE DOCTER, MIKE JONES & KEMP POWERS

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY
JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE
MLK/FBI
TIME
THE WAY I SEE IT

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
HIS HOUSE
NIGHT OF THE KINGS
THE LIFE AHEAD

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
MISS JUNETEENTH
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

OUTSTANDING VOICE PERFORMANCE
ANGELA BASSETT – SOUL
JAMIE FOXX – SOUL
MAYA RUDOLPH – THE WILLOUGHBYS
OCTAVIA SPENCER – ONWARD
PHYLICIA RASHAD – SOUL

OUTSTANDING SCORE
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION – GUY C. ROUTTE
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY – JOHN DEBNEY
THE PHOTOGRAPH – ROBERT GLASPER
SOUL – TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS & JON BATISTE
SYLVIE’S LOVE – FABRICE LECOMTE

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG
FIGHT FOR YOU – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MAKE IT WORK – JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
POVERTY PORN – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
SPEAK NOW – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
TIGRESS & TWEED – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT FEATURE
AMERICAN SKIN
FAREWELL AMOR
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
MISS JUNETEENTH
SYLVIE’S LOVE

OUTSTANDING SHORT FILM
BROTHER
CANVAS
THE CYPHER
GRAB MY HAND: A LETTER TO MY DAD
THE PANDEMIC CHRONICLES

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY
MR. SOUL!
THE SIT-IN: HARRY BELAFONTE HOSTS THE TONIGHT SHOW
WITH DRAWN ARMS

OUTSTANDING EMERGING DIRECTOR
EUGENE ASHE – SYLVIE’S LOVE
RADHA BLANK – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
REGINA KING – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SHAKA KING – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
CHANNING GODFREY PEOPLES – MISS JUNETEENTH

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE, MALE
YAHYA ABDUL-MANTEEN II – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
DUSAN BROWN – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ELI GOREE – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
NTARE MWINE – FAREWELL AMOR

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
RADHA BLANK – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
ALEXIS CHIKAEZE – MISS JUNETEENTH
ANDRA DAY – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
DOMINIQUE FISHBACK – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
ZENDAYA – MALCOLM & MARIE

OUTSTANDING FIRST SCREENPLAY
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION – RADHA BLANK
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON
MISS JUNETEENTH – CHANNING PEOPLES GODFREY
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – KEMP POWERS
SYLVIE’S LOVE – EUGENE ASHE

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY
DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MALCOLM & MARIE
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
TENET

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SYLVIE’S LOVE
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
TENET

Here Are the 2020 Nominations Of The Black Reel Awards!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Black Reel Awards announced their nominees for the best of 2020 today.  The winners will be announced on April 11th.  The nominees can be found below:

OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE
DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SOUL

OUTSTANDING ACTOR
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
CHADWICK BOSEMAN – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
DELROY LINDO – DA 5 BLOODS
ROB MORGAN – BULL
LAKEITH STANFIELD – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS
NICOLE BEHARIE – MISS JUNETEENTH
VIOLA DAVIS – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ANDRA DAY – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
TESSA THOMPSON – SYLVIE’S LOVE
ZENDAYA – MALCOLM & MARIE

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR
RADHA BLANK – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
REGINA KING – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SHAKA KING – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
SPIKE LEE – DA 5 BLOODS
CHANNING GODFREY PEOPLES – MISS JUNETEENTH

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHADWICK BOSEMAN – DA 5 BLOODS
COLMAN DOMINGO – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ALDIS HODGE – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
DANIEL KALUUYA – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
LESLIE ODOM JR. – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ALEXIS CHIKAEZE – MISS JUNETEENTH
DOMINIQUE FISHBACK – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
KIKI LAYNE – THE OLD GUARD
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS – THE HIGH NOTE
GABOUREY SIDIBE – ANTEBELLUM

OUTSTANDING SCREENPLAY
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION – RADHA BLANK
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – WILL BERSON & SHAKA KING
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – KEMP POWERS
SOUL – PETE DOCTER, MIKE JONES & KEMP POWERS

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY
JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE
MLK/FBI
TIME
THE WAY I SEE IT

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
HIS HOUSE
NIGHT OF THE KINGS
THE LIFE AHEAD

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
MISS JUNETEENTH
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

OUTSTANDING VOICE PERFORMANCE
ANGELA BASSETT – SOUL
JAMIE FOXX – SOUL
MAYA RUDOLPH – THE WILLOUGHBYS
OCTAVIA SPENCER – ONWARD
PHYLICIA RASHAD – SOUL

OUTSTANDING SCORE
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION – GUY C. ROUTTE
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY – JOHN DEBNEY
THE PHOTOGRAPH – ROBERT GLASPER
SOUL – TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS & JON BATISTE
SYLVIE’S LOVE – FABRICE LECOMTE

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG
FIGHT FOR YOU – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MAKE IT WORK – JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
POVERTY PORN – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
SPEAK NOW – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
TIGRESS & TWEED – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT FEATURE
AMERICAN SKIN
FAREWELL AMOR
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
MISS JUNETEENTH
SYLVIE’S LOVE

OUTSTANDING SHORT FILM
BROTHER
CANVAS
THE CYPHER
GRAB MY HAND: A LETTER TO MY DAD
THE PANDEMIC CHRONICLES

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY
MR. SOUL!
THE SIT-IN: HARRY BELAFONTE HOSTS THE TONIGHT SHOW
WITH DRAWN ARMS

OUTSTANDING EMERGING DIRECTOR
EUGENE ASHE – SYLVIE’S LOVE
RADHA BLANK – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
REGINA KING – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SHAKA KING – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
CHANNING GODFREY PEOPLES – MISS JUNETEENTH

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE, MALE
YAHYA ABDUL-MANTEEN II – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
DUSAN BROWN – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ELI GOREE – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
NTARE MWINE – FAREWELL AMOR

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
RADHA BLANK – THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
ALEXIS CHIKAEZE – MISS JUNETEENTH
ANDRA DAY – THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
DOMINIQUE FISHBACK – JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
ZENDAYA – MALCOLM & MARIE

OUTSTANDING FIRST SCREENPLAY
THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION – RADHA BLANK
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON
MISS JUNETEENTH – CHANNING PEOPLES GODFREY
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI – KEMP POWERS
SYLVIE’S LOVE – EUGENE ASHE

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY
DA 5 BLOODS
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MALCOLM & MARIE
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
TENET

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SYLVIE’S LOVE
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
TENET

Here Are The 2020 Nominations of the Hollywood Critics Association!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Hollywood Critics Association has announced their nominees for the best of 2020!  The winners will be announced on March 5th, 2021 in a virtual ceremony.

As for the nominees, themselves, it’s pretty much more of the same.  Judas and the Black Messiah — which really wasn’t a huge factor during the December and January portion of awards season — seems to be coming on strong in the 2nd half.  In this case, it took the Best Picture spot that probably would have otherwise gone to First Cow.

Here are the nominees:

Best Picture
Da 5 Bloods
Judas and The Black Messiah
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman
Soul
Sound of Metal
The Father
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Actor
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods
Kingsley Ben-Adir – One Night in Miami
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Zendaya – Malcolm & Marie

Best Supporting Actor
Bo Burnham – Promising Young Woman
Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and The Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal

Best Supporting Actress
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Ellen Burstyn – Pieces of a Woman
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman – The Father
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari

Best Animated or VFX Performance
Ben Schwartz – Sonic the Hedgehog
Cathy Ang – Over the Moon
Honor Kneafsey – Wolfwalkers
Jamie Foxx – Soul
Tina Fey – Soul

Best Male Director
Darius Marder – Sound of Metal
David Fincher – Mank
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Shaka King – Judas and The Black Messiah
Spike Lee – Da 5 Bloods

Best Female Director
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Regina King – One Night in Miami
Sofia Coppola – On the Rocks

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

Best Adapted Screenplay
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Florian Zeller – The Father
Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Kemp Powers – One Night in Miami
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Cast Ensemble
Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman
The Prom
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best First Feature
Channing Godfrey Peoples – Miss Juneteenth
Darius Marder – Sound of Metal
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Radha Blank – The 40-Year-Old Version
Regina King – One Night in Miami

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

Best International Film
Another Round
Bacurau
I’m No Longer Here
La Llorona
Two of Us

Best Documentary
All In: The Fight for Democracy
Boys State
Class Action Park
Dick Johnson is Dead
Time

Best Action
Bad Boys for Life
Birds of Prey
Extraction
Tenet
The Old Guard

Best Blockbuster
Birds of Prey
Sonic the Hedgehog
Tenet
The Old Guard
Wonder Woman 1984

Best Comedy/Musical
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
On the Rocks
Palm Springs
The Personal History of David Copperfield
The Prom

Best Horror
Freaky
His House
Host
Relic
The Invisible Man

Best Indie Film
Black Bear
First Cow
Minari
Miss Juneteenth
Palm Springs

Best Short Film
Burrow
Canvas
Cops And Robbers
If Anything Happens, I Love You
The Heart Still Hums

Best Cinematography
Mank
News of The World
Nomadland
Tenet
The Midnight Sky

Best Stunts
Birds of Prey
Extraction
Tenet
The Old Guard
Wonder Woman 1984

Best Score
Mank
Minari
News of The World
Soul
The Midnight Sky

Best Original Song
Husavik (My Hometown) – Eurovision Song Contest
Rocket to the Moon – Over the Moon
Speak Now – One Night in Miami
Turntables – All In: The Fight for Democracy
Wear Your Crown – The Prom

Best Hair & Makeup
Birds of Prey
Hillbilly Elegy
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Promising Young Woman

Best Costume Design
Birds of Prey
Emma
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The Personal History of David Copperfield

Best Production Design
Emma
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The Personal History of David Copperfield
The Prom

Best Film Editing
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Father
The Invisible Man
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Visual Effects
Birds of Prey
Sonic the Hedgehog
Tenet
The Invisible Man
The Midnight Sky

Lisa Marie’s Oscar Predictions for January of 2021

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Normally, this is when I would be talking about the actual Oscar nominations as opposed to the hypothetical ones but, due to the whole COVID thing, the 2020 Oscar nominations (or really, the 2020-2021 Oscar nominations since neither Nomadland nor Minari is really a 2020 film as far as I’m concerned) will not be announced until March.

So, guess what?

It’s that time of the month again!

It’s time for me to present my own personal predictions of what will eventually be nominated.  With some of the critics groups giving out awards over the past two months, the Oscar picture is definitely a bit clearer.  Still, it’s not as clear as it’s going to be by the end of next week.  February is going to see the Golden Globes and the guilds announcing their nominees.  The Globes and the guilds are far more reliable than the critics groups when it comes to serving as Oscar precursors.

Still, I feel somewhat confident about the nominations below.  So, take a look and be sure to check out my previous predictions for January (2020), February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December!

Best Picture

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Da 5 Bloods

First Cow

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Minari

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Trial of the Chicago 7

(I’m going out on a limb with Borat, I know.  My theory is that the same people who nominated Vice for a host of Oscars aren’t going to be able to resist the temptation to give Trump the finger at least one more time.)

Best Director

Lee Isaac Chung for Minari

Spike Lee for Da 5 Bloods

Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7

Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round

Chloe Zhao for Nomadland

(Again, I know that I’m going out on a limb with Vinterberg but if there’s ever a year that’s going to have a totally surprising and unexpected nomination, it’s going to be this year.  Another Round’s been getting a lot of attention and a lot of acclaim.  Since 2014, despite the expanded best picture lineup, two directors have still managed to get nominated without their film also getting a picture nod.  Bennett Miller was nominated for Foxcatcher.  Paweł Pawlikowski was nominated for Cold War.  I’m going to go ahead and predict that Vinterberg will join them for Another Round.)

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins in The Father

Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods

Steven Yeun in Minari

(I’ve pretty much been predicting this line-up for a while now.  I think Minari will be popular enough with the Academy that Steven Yeun will pick up a nomination.)

Best Actress

Viola Davis in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Sidney Flanigan in Never Rarely Sometimes Often

Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

(Once again, this is a lineup that I’ve been predicting for a while now.  I’m adding Sidney Flanigan to my predictions because of the strength she’s shown with the critics.  I nearly replaced her with Meryl Streep for The Prom but my instincts, for whatever they’re worth, say Flanigan.)

Best Supporting Actor

Chadwick Boseman in Da 5 Bloods

Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7

Bill Murray in On The Rocks

Leslie Odom, Jr. in One Night In Miami

Paul Raci in Sound of Metal

(I do think Chadwick Boseman is going to receive two posthumous acting nominations in the same year.  That’s the way the momentum is going and his passing adds an extra poignancy to his Da 5 Bloods performance that wouldn’t be there otherwise.  If I had to guess, I’d say that this is the Oscar that Boseman is going to win.)

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Ellen Burstyn in Pieces of a Woman

Olivia Colman in The Father

Amanda Seyfried in Mank

Youn Yuh-jung in Minari

(I know some people aren’t sure that the Academy is going to go as crazy for Bakalova as some of the critics have.  But I think the same Academy that nominated Vice is going to be open to considering a performance from the Borat sequel, especially one that embarrassed Rudy Giuliani.)

We’ll see whether or not I’m correct about any of these predictions in March!

The National Board of Review Honors Da 5 Bloods

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In the past, the National Board of Review were considered to be a big deal because they were the first of the critics groups to announce their yearly awards and winning with the NBR could help to generate momentum for a film going into the awards season.  No one was really sure just who exactly the NBR voters were but they were the first to announce and that was all that mattered.

However, that all changed when the Academy decided to extend the year’s eligibility window and to also hold off on announcing the Oscar nominations into February.  The National Board Of Review followed suit and decided to hold off on handing out their awards until late January, presumably so that they could continue to be seen as Academy influencers.  As a result of bunch of regional critics got the jump on the NBR and now Nomadland and Promising Young Woman have so much momentum that it’s kind of hard to really care that the NBR honored Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods instead.

(That said, it is kind of interesting that Nomadland is kind of underrepresented as far as the NBR rewards are concerned.  It won for for Joshua James Richards’s cinematography and it was included as one of the “top films of the year,” but otherwise, it was pretty much ignored in favor of Da 5 Bloods, Promising Young Woman, Minari, and Sound of Metal.  Nomadland didn’t even pick up the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, instead losing out to News of the World, a film that otherwise really hasn’t been a huge factor in 2020’s extended awards season.)

Anyway, for what their worth, here are the winners from the National Board of Review:

Best Film: “Da 5 Bloods”
Best Director: Spike Lee – “Da 5 Bloods”
Best Actor: Riz Ahmed – “Sound of Metal”
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan – “Promising Young Woman”
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci – “Sound of Metal”
Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung – “Minari”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies – “News of the World”
Best Original Screenplay: Lee Isaac Chung – “Minari”
Breakthrough Performance: Sidney Flanigan – “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Best Directorial Debut: Channing Godfrey Peoples – “Miss Juneteenth”
Best Animated Feature: “Soul”
Best Foreign Language Film: “La Llorona”
Best Documentary: “Time”
NBR Icon Award: Chadwick Boseman
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “One Night in Miami”
NBR Spotlight Award: Radha Blank for writing, directing, producing and starring in “The Forty-Year-Old Version”
Best Ensemble: “Da 5 Bloods”
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Joshua James Richards – “Nomadland”

Top Films (in alphabetical order):
First Cow
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Midnight Sky
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Soul
Sound of Metal

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order):
Apples
Collective
Dear Comrades
The Mole Agent
Night of the Kings

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
All In: The Fight for Democracy
Boys State
Dick Johnson is Dead
Miss Americana
The Truffle Hunters

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
The Climb
Driveways
Farewell Amor
Miss Juneteenth
The Nest
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
The Outpost
Relic
Saint Frances
Wolfwalkers