Tag Archives: Tessa Thompson

The New York Film Critics Online Honor One Battle After Another

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The New York Film Critics Online have announced their picks for the best of 2015.  The winners are listed in bold.

PICTURE
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Nuremberg
One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Sentimental Value
Sinners (RUNNER-UP)
Train Dreams

DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (WINNER)
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee
Olivier Laxe – Sirāt
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Lynne Ramsey – Die, My Love
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao – Hamnet

SCREENPLAY
Bugonia
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident (WINNER)
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Train Dreams
Twinless

ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme (RUNNER-UP)
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Sope Dirisu – My Father’s Shadow
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (WINNER)
Lee Byung Hun – No Other Choice
Dylan O’Brien – Twinless
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia

ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (RUNNER-UP)
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (WINNER)
Kathleen Chalfant – Familiar Touch
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Sydney Sweeney – Christy
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Cera – The Phoenician Scheme
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein (WINNER)
Noah Jupe – Hamnet
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Pierre Lottin – When Fall is Coming
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Alexander Skarsgard – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Glenn Close – Wake Up Dead Man
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Regina Hall – One Battle After Another
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (WINNER)
Amy Madigan – Weapons (RUNNER-UP)
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – Eternity
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

ENSEMBLE CAST
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Sentimental Value
Sinners (WINNER)
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wake Up Dead Man

USE OF MUSIC
Hamnet
KPop Demon Hunters
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners (WINNER)
Sirāt (RUNNER-UP)
Song Sung Blue
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sinners (WINNER)
Sirāt
Train Dreams (RUNNER-UP)
The Testament of Ann Lee
28 Years Later
Wicked: For Good

DEBUT DIRECTOR
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickerson – Urchin
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Scarlett Johansson – Eleanor the Great
Harry Lighton – Pillion
Carson Lund – Eephus
Charlie Polinger – The Plague (RUNNER-UP)
Kristen Stewart – The Chronology of Water
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (WINNER)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Odessa A’zion
Everett Blunck
Miles Caton (RUNNER-UP)
Chase Infiniti (WINNER)
Jacob Jupe
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Kayo Martin
Abou Sangare
Eva Victor

ANIMATION
A Magnificent Life
Arco (WINNER)
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain (RUNNER-UP TIE)
100 Meters
Predator: Killer of Killers
Scarlet
Zootopia 2 (RUNNER-UP TIE)

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
It Was Just an Accident (WINNER)
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
Resurrection
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Sirāt
Sound of Falling
The Voice of Hind Rajib
We Will Not Be Moved

DOCUMENTARY
Afternoons of Solitude
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (WINNER)
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cover-Up
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow
Pee-wee as Himself
Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk
The Perfect Neighbor (RUNNER-UP)
The Alabama Solution
2000 Meters to Andriivka

One Battle After Another Wins In Chicago

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Chicago Film Critics Association has announced their picks for the best of 2025.  The winners are listed in bold.

BEST PICTURE
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’Zion – Marty Supreme
Nina Hoss – Hedda
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Blue Moon by Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi
Marty Supreme by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Sinners by Ryan Coogler
Sorry, Baby by Eva Victor

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Hamnet by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook – Lee Kyoung-mi – Don McKellar – & Jahye Lee
One Battle After Another by Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Wake Up Dead Man by Rian Johnson

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco
Boys Go to Jupiter
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cover-Up
My Undesirable Friends – Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Phoenician Scheme
Sinners

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Lukasz Zal – Hamnet
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
Malgorzata Karpiuk – The Testament of Ann Lee
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good

BEST EDITING
Jon Harris – 28 Years Later
Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith – F1: The Movie
Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Kim Sang-beom & Kim Ho-bin – No Other Choice
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Rob Mazurek – The Mastermind
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
Ludwig Goransson – Sinners
Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee
Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Mickey 17
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Sinners

MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Carson Lund – Eephus
James Sweeney – Twinless
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Miles Caton – Sinners
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangare – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Chicago Film Critics Association

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2025 nominations of the Chicago Film Critics Association!

BEST PICTURE
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’Zion – Marty Supreme
Nina Hoss – Hedda
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Blue Moon by Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi
Marty Supreme by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Sinners by Ryan Coogler
Sorry, Baby by Eva Victor

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Hamnet by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell
No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook – Lee Kyoung-mi – Don McKellar – & Jahye Lee
One Battle After Another by Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Wake Up Dead Man by Rian Johnson

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco
Boys Go to Jupiter
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cover-Up
My Undesirable Friends – Part 1 – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Phoenician Scheme
Sinners

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Lukasz Zal – Hamnet
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
Malgorzata Karpiuk – The Testament of Ann Lee
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good

BEST EDITING
Jon Harris – 28 Years Later
Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith – F1: The Movie
Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Kim Sang-beom & Kim Ho-bin – No Other Choice
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Rob Mazurek – The Mastermind
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
Ludwig Goransson – Sinners
Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee
Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Mickey 17
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Sinners

MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Carson Lund – Eephus
James Sweeney – Twinless
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Miles Caton – Sinners
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangare – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

The African American Film Critics Association Honors Sinners

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The African American Film Critics Association has announced its picks for the best of 2025!  And here they are:

AAFCA’S TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR
1. Sinners (Warner Bros.)
2. One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
3. Hedda (Amazon MGM)
4. Frankenstein (Netflix)
5. Hamnet (Focus Features)
6. Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)
7. F1 (Apple/Warner Bros.)
8. One of Them Days (Sony Pictures Releasing)
9. The Knife (Relativity Media)
10. The Smashing Machine (A24)

BEST ACTOR – Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST ACTRESS – Tessa Thompson – Hedda (Amazon MGM)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Damson Idris – F1 (Apple/Warner Bros.)
BEST DOCUMENTARY – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
BEST DIRECTOR – Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST WRITING – Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
EMERGING FACE (ACTOR) – Miles Caton – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
EMERGING FACE (ACTRESS) – Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
BEST INDEPENDENT FEATURE – Hedda (Amazon MGM)
BEST ENSEMBLE – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT – The Rebel Girls
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Hoops, Hopes & Dreams
BEST ANIMATED SHORT – Black Man, Black Man
BEST MUSIC – Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (Warner Bros.)

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the New York Film Critics Online

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2025 nominations of the New York Film Critics Online!

PICTURE
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Nuremberg
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams

DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee
Olivier Laxe – Sirāt
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Lynne Ramsey – Die, My Love
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao – Hamnet

SCREENPLAY
Bugonia
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Train Dreams
Twinless

ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Sope Dirisu – My Father’s Shadow
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Lee Byung Hun – No Other Choice
Dylan O’Brien – Twinless
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia

ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Kathleen Chalfant – Familiar Touch
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Sydney Sweeney – Christy
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Cera – The Phoenician Scheme
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Noah Jupe – Hamnet
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Pierre Lottin – When Fall is Coming
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Alexander Skarsgard – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Glenn Close – Wake Up Dead Man
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Regina Hall – One Battle After Another
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – Eternity
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

ENSEMBLE CAST
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wake Up Dead Man

USE OF MUSIC
Hamnet
KPop Demon Hunters
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirāt
Song Sung Blue
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirāt
Train Dreams
The Testament of Ann Lee
28 Years Later
Wicked: For Good

DEBUT DIRECTOR
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickerson – Urchin
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Scarlett Johansson – Eleanor the Great
Harry Lighton – Pillion
Carson Lund – Eephus
Charlie Polinger – The Plague
Kristen Stewart – The Chronology of Water
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Odessa A’zion
Everett Blunck
Miles Caton
Chase Infiniti
Jacob Jupe
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Kayo Martin
Abou Sangare
Eva Victor

ANIMATION
A Magnificent Life
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
100 Meters
Predator: Killer of Killers
Scarlet
Zootopia 2

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
Resurrection
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt
Sound of Falling
The Voice of Hind Rajib
We Will Not Be Moved

DOCUMENTARY
Afternoons of Solitude
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cover-Up
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow
Pee-wee as Himself
Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk
The Perfect Neighbor
The Alabama Solution
2000 Meters to Andriivka

Here Are The 2025 Golden Globe Nominations

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Does anyone care about the Golden Globes any more?  I remember that there was a feeling of relief when it looked like we would finally be free from having to worry about them.  Of course, the Globes are back and under new management.  They’re clawing their way back to relevancy, or at least they’re trying.

To be honest, I don’t trust the nominations below.  I think it’s all about getting people to watch their ceremony again.  Still, the Golden Globes are a thing and here are the film nominations for this year.  The winners will be revealed on January 11th.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Blue Moon
Bugonia
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao – Hamnet

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Julia Roberts – After the Hunt
Tessa Thompson – Hedda
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Emily Blunt – The Smashing Machine
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Oscar Isaac – Frankenstein
Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Jeremy Allen White – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme
George Clooney – Jay Kelly
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

BEST SCREENPLAY, MOTION PICTURE
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, MOTION PICTURE
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sirat

BEST ORIGINAL SONG, MOTION PICTURE
Avatar: Fire and Ash – “Dream as One”
KPop Demon Hunters – “Golden”
Sinners – “I Lied to You”
Train Dreams – “Train Dreams”
Wicked: For Good – “No Place Life Home”
Wicked: For Good – “The Girl in the Bubble”

BEST MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATED
Arco
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2

BEST MOTION PICTURE, FOREIGN LANGUAGE
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat
The Voice of Hind Rajab

GOLDEN GLOBE FOR CINEMATIC & BOX OFFICE ACHIEVEMENT
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1: The Movie
KPop Demon Hunters
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Sinners
Weapons
Wicked: For Good
Zootopia 2

Here Are The 2025 Spirit Nominations

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Independent Spirit Nominations were announced earlier today.  As always, one should take the Spirit Awards with a grain of salt as a lot of the current Oscar contenders — like One Battle After Another and Hamnet — are not eligible for the Spirit Awards.  That said, Train Dreams is an Oscar contender that is eligible for the Spirit Awards and it had a fairly nice showing today.  I should also note that Peter Hujar’s Day received the most film nominations, with five.

Film Categories

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)

Peter Hujar’s Day
Producers: Jonah Disend, Jordan Drake

The Plague
Producers: Derek Dauchy, Joel Edgerton, Roy Lee, Lucy McKendrick, Steven Schneider, Lizzie Shapiro

Sorry, Baby
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski

Train Dreams
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman

Twinless
Producers: David Permut, James Sweeney

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)

Blue Sun Palace
Director: Constance Tsang
Producers: Sally Sujin Oh, Eli Raskin, Tony Yang

Dust Bunny
Director/Producer: Bryan Fuller
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee

East of Wall
Director/Producer: Kate Beecroft
Producers: Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub

Lurker
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby

One of Them Days
Director: Lawrence Lamont
Producers: Deniese Davis, Poppy Hanks, James Lopez, Issa Rae, Sara Rastogi

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000 (Award given to the writer, director and producer)

The Baltimorons
Director/Writer/Producer: Jay Duplass
Writer/Producer: Michael Strassner
Producers: David Bonnett Jr., Drew Langer

Boys Go to Jupiter
Director/Writer: Julian Glander

Eephus
Director/Writer/Producer: Carson Lund
Writer/Producer: Michael Basta
Writer: Nate Fisher
Producers: David Entin, Tyler Taormina

Esta Isla (This Island)
Directors/Writers/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos

Familiar Touch
Director/Writer/Producer: Sarah Friedland
Producers: Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm

BEST DIRECTOR

Clint Bentley
Train Dreams

Mary Bronstein
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Lloyd Lee Choi
Lucky Lu

Ira Sachs
Peter Hujar’s Day

Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby

BEST SCREENPLAY

Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin
Splitsville

Angus MacLachlan
A Little Prayer

James Sweeney
Twinless

Christian Swegal
Sovereign

Eva Victor
Sorry, Baby

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Andrew DeYoung
Friendship

Elena Oxman
Outerlands

Alex Russell
Lurker

Syreeta Singleton
One of Them Days

Constance Tsang
Blue Sun Palace

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Everett Blunck
The Plague

Rose Byrne
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Kathleen Chalfant
Familiar Touch

Chang Chen
Lucky Lu

Joel Edgerton
Train Dreams

Dylan O’Brien
Twinless

Keke Palmer
One of Them Days

Théodore Pellerin
Lurker

Tessa Thompson
Hedda

Ben Whishaw
Peter Hujar’s Day

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Naomi Ackie
Sorry, Baby

Zoey Deutch
Nouvelle Vague

Kirsten Dunst
Roofman

Rebecca Hall
Peter Hujar’s Day

Nina Hoss
Hedda

Jane Levy
A Little Prayer

Archie Madekwe
Lurker

Kali Reis
Rebuilding

Jacob Tremblay
Sovereign

Haipeng Xu
Blue Sun Palace

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Liz Larsen
The Baltimorons

Misha Osherovich
She’s the He

Kayo Martin
The Plague

SZA
One of Them Days

Tabatha Zimiga
East of Wall

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Alex Ashe
Peter Hujar’s Day

Norm Li
Blue Sun Palace

David J. Thompson
Warfare

Adolpho Veloso
Train Dreams

Nicole Hirsch Whitaker
Dust Bunny

BEST EDITING

Ben Leonberg
Good Boy

Carson Lund
Eephus

Fin Oates
Warfare

Sara Shaw
Splitsville

Sofía Subercaseaux
The Testament of Ann Lee

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast

The Long Walk
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting Director: Rich Delia
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

Come See Me in the Good Light
Director/Producer: Ryan White
Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen

Endless Cookie
Director: Peter Scriver
Director/Producer: Seth Scriver
Producers: Dan Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Chris Yurkovich

My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
Director/Producer: Julia Loktev

The Perfect Neighbor
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne

The Tale of Silyan
Director/Producer: Tamara Kotevska
Producers: Jean Dakar, Anna Hashmi, Jordanco Petkovski

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

All That’s Left of You
Palestine, Jordan, Germany, Cyprus
Director: Cherien Dabis

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Zambia, UK, Ireland
Director: Rungano Nyoni

A Poet
Colombia
Director: Simón Mesa Soto

The Secret Agent
Brazil
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Sirāt
Spain
Director: Oliver Laxe

Emerging Filmmaker Awards

PRODUCERS AWARD – The Producers Award, now in its 29th year, honors an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrates the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Emma Hannaway

Luca Intili

Tony Yang

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 32nd year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Tatti Ribeiro
Director of Valentina

Neo Sora
Director of Happyend

Annapurna Sriram
Director of Fucktoys

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 31st year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. This award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.

Tony Benna
Director of André is an Idiot

Rajee Samarasinghe
Director of Your Touch Makes Others Invisible

Brittany Shyne
Director of Seeds

The Gothams Honor One Battle After Another

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, Awards Season began with the Gotham Awards!  One Battle After Another, which I really don’t want to have to sit through but I guess now I have no choice, won Best Feature.  (Oddly enough, that was the only award that One Battle After Another won, suggesting that the award had more to do with the film’s politics than its quality.)  Far more interesting is the fact that Iranian dissident (who is facing prison if he even returns to his native country) Jafar Panahi won Best Director and Best Screenplay for It Was Just An Accident.  Will the Academy have the courage to also honor him?

The winners are listed in bold below.

Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Best Director
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Kelly Reichardt – The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe – Sirât

Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù – My Father’s Shadow
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Indya Moore – Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Pillion
Preparation for the Next Life
Train Dreams

Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling

Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund – Eephus
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin

Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman

One Battle After Another Leads The Gotham Nominations

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For better or worse, Awards Season started today with the announcement of the Gotham nominations.  The Gothams are supposed to honor independent films, though the line between studio and independent is now so thin that it’s sometimes difficult to tell which is which.

In the past, the Gothams honored obscure films and also low-budget films that captured the public’s imagination.  This year, they gave the majority of their nominations to One Battle After Another, a big-budget film that starred a slew of Hollywood heavyweights.  Meanwhile, Sinners, a genuinely independent feature, received one nomination.

It’s debatable how much of a precursor the Gothams are.  They’re a critic-selected award and it’s always the guild awards that serve as the best precursors.  Still, it always helps to be mentioned somewhere.

Here are the 2025 Gotham nominations!

Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Best Director
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Kelly Reichardt – The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe – Sirât

Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù – My Father’s Shadow
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Indya Moore – Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Pillion
Preparation for the Next Life
Train Dreams

Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling

Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund – Eephus
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin

Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman

Film Review: Creed III (dir by Michael B. Jordan)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Creed 3 opens with Adonis “Donnie” Creed (Michael B. Jordan) on top of the world.

He has just retired, as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, from boxing.  Unlike other boxers (like Big George Foreman or Rocky Balboa or Creed’s father, Apollo), Donnie is not retiring because he’s been defeated or because his health is at risk.  Donnie is retiring because he has apparently worked out his anger and his issues with with his father’s legacy and now, he wants to spend some quality time with his wife (Tessa Thompson) and his daughter (Mila Davis-Kent).  Donnie, however, does remain in the world of boxing by managing the new world champion, Felix (Jose Benavidez, Jr.), and setting up a title fight between Felix and Donnie’s former rival, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu).  However, when Viktor is attacked by a mysterious assailant and left too injured to fight, Donnie has to find a new opponent for Felix and he has to do it quickly!

Interestingly enough, Dame Anderson (Jonathan Majors) has just returned to town.  Donnie and Dame were childhood friends.  When they were kids, Dame was the aspiring boxer who dreamed of going to the Olympics, turning pro, and then eventually becoming the world champion.  However, those plans changed when Dame went to prison.  While Donnie was becoming world champion, Dame was serving hard time and writing letters to Donnie, all of which were hidden from Donnie by Donnie’s well-meaning mother (Phylicia Rashad).  When Dame returns home, a guilt-stricken Donnie gives Dame a job as Felix’s sparring partner and even promises to help Dame out with his late-in-life boxing career.  (As just about everyone points out, boxing is a young person’s sport and Dame is even older than Donnie.)  When Dame asks Donnie to give him the title shot against Felix, Donnie ignores everyone else’s advice and gives it to him.  Donnie justifies his decision by reminding everyone that Apollo gave Rocky a shot.

Directed by Michael B. Jordan, Creed III is an exciting and intelligent sports film that also works as a deconstruction of some of the genre’s most beloved clichés.  Donnie himself points out that everyone loves an underdog story and that’s certainly true, from Rocky to this year’s Champions.  Dame uses the world’s love for the underdog to his advantage, just to turn out to be a vicious and self-destructive fighter.  This is the film that answers the question, “What if Rocky Balboa wasn’t such a nice guy?”  Dame also uses Donnie’s guilt about the past to his advantage.  If the previous two films were all about Donnie coming to peace with the legacy of Apollo Creed, this film is about Donnie (and, to an extent, Dame) coming to peace with the legacy of Adonis Creed.

And yet, Dame himself is not a one-dimensional villain.  For much of the film, he’s actually more likable than Donnie and, even after he nearly kills Felix in the ring, he still seems to be incapable of understanding why everyone’s so upset.  While the other characters treat boxing as a sport and ignore the violence at the center of it, Dame understands that boxing is just a fight with a bigger audience.  After twelve years in prison, the system has dumped Dame on the streets and ordered him to make something of his life without bothering to help him develop any of the skills necessary to do so.  Dame fights because that’s what he’s had to do his entire life.  Since he went to jail for a fight that Donnie could have just as easily been arrest for, Dame is who Donnie easily could have become.  While his performance has since been overshadowed by his own legal issues, Jonathan Majors is never less than compelling as Dame, perfectly capturing both Dame’s bitterness and his own need for approval.

This film is Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut.  There are a few moments when Jordan falls victim to the first-time director’s trap of trying too hard to show off his artistic bona fides.  A sequence, during the final match, when the audience vanishes and Donnie and Dame dance around the ring and roar at each other like animals is occasionally effective and occasionally silly.  That said, Creed III is a hundred times more compelling and visually interesting than the more conventionally-directed Creed II.  Jordan gets good performances from his entire cast and shows himself to be a strong story teller.  I look forward to seeing what he does next as a director.

Finally, as everyone knows, Sylvester Stallone does not return as Rocky in this film, though the character is mentioned several times.  Stallone’s absence isn’t really felt.  That’s not a slight against Stallone, an actor who has gotten considerably more likable in his later years.  It’s just that there’s really not a place for Rocky Balboa in this film.  (Arguably, there really wasn’t much of a place for Rocky in the second film as well.)  Rocky Balboa has earned his retirement and hopefully, is still visiting his grandson in Canada.  This film belongs to Donnie and Dame.