Here Are The Houston Film Critics Nominations!


Another one of my former hometowns has checked in with their nominations for the best of 2015!  The Houston Film Critics gave Ex Machina another nomination for best picture.  Wouldn’t it be kinda neat if Ex Machina snuck into the Oscar race as well?

BEST PICTURE:
The Big Short, Paramount
Ex Machina, A24 Films
Inside Out, Disney/PIXAR
Mad Max: Fury Road, Warner Bros.
The Martian, 20th Century Fox
The Revenant, 20th Century Fox
Room, A24 Films
Sicario, Lionsgate
Spotlight, Open Road Films
Steve Jobs, Universal

BEST DIRECTION OF A MOTION PICTURE:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Brian Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Matt Damon, The Martian
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Tom Hardy, Legend

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Brie Larsen, Room
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road
Emily Blunt, Sicario
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Tom Hardy, The Revenant

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Rooney Mara, Carol

BEST SCREENPLAY:
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Emma Donaghu, Room
Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

BEST ANIMATED FILM:
Anomalisa, Paramount
The Good Dinosaur, Disney/PIXAR
Inside Out, Disney/PIXAR
The Peanuts Movie, 20th Century Fox
Shaun the Sheep, StudioCanal

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Dariusz Wolski, The Martian
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
Roger Deakins, Sicario

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Amy, Altitude Film Distribution
Best of Enemies, Magnolia
Cartel Land, IFC Films
The Look of Silence, Drafthouse Films
Where to Invade Next, IMG Films

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Assassin, Well Go USA
Goodnight Mommy, Radius/TWC
Son of Saul, Sony Pictures Classic
The Tribe, Drafthouse Films
White God, Magnolia

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
Ennio Moriccone, The Hateful Eight
Michael Giacchino, Inside Out
Junkie XL, Mad Max: Fury Road

Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto & Bryce Dessner, The Revenant

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
“Love Me Like You Do,” music & lyrics by Savan Kotecha, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Tove Lo, Max Martin & Ali Payami, 50 Shades of Grey
“One Kind of Love,” music & lyrics by Brian Wilson & Scott Bennett, Love & Mercy
“See You Again,” music & lyrics by Wiz Khalifa, DJ Frank E, Charlie Puth & Andrew Cedar, Furious 7
“Simple Song #3,” music & lyrics by David Lang, Youth
“Writing’s on the Wall,” music & lyrics by Sam Smith & Jimmy Napes, Spectre

TEXAS INDEPENDENT FILM AWARD:
6 Years
7 Chinese Brothers
Last Man on the Moon
Results
Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove

BEST POSTER
Carol – Theatrical Poster
Ex Machina – Theatrical Poster
It Follows – Rear Window Alternate
Mad Max: Fury Road – ‘What A Lovely Day’ Alternate
Sicario – Theatrical Poster
The Walk – IMAX Alternate

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR:
Aloha, Columbia
The Boy Next Door, Universal
Fantastic Four, 20th Century Fox
Mortdecai, Lionsgate
Pixels, Columbia

Tell Them What You Love, St. Louis Film Critics!


Inside_Out_(2015_film)_poster

The St. Louis Film Critics announced their nominations yesterday and they gave a lot of love to one of my favorite films of the year, Inside Out!  Love you, St. Louis!

BEST FILM

Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes, “Carol”
Alejandro G. Inarritu, “The Revenant”
Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
George Miller, “Mad Max”
Ridley Scott, “The Martian”

BEST ACTOR

Abraham Attah, “Beasts of No Nation”
Matt Damon, “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Ian McKellen, “Mr. Holmes”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett, “Carol”
Brie Larson, “Room”
Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”
Charlize Theron, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Paul Dano, “Love and Mercy”
Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”
Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”
Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”
Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria”
Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”
Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Clouds of Sils Maria,” Olivier Assayas
“Ex Machina,” Alex Garland
“The Hateful Eight,” Quentin Tarantino
“Inside Out,” Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen
“Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“Brooklyn,” Nick Hornby
“Creed,” Aaron Covington and Ryan Coogler
“The Martian,” Drew Goddard
“Room,” Emma Donoghue
“Steve Jobs,” Aaron Sorkin

BEST EDITING
The Big Short
Max Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Beasts of No Nation,” Cary Joji Fukunaga
“Carol,” Edward Lachman
“The Hateful Eight,” Robert Richardson
“Max Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
“The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki

BEST ART DIRECTION

Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Max Max: Fury Road

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
The Walk

BEST MUSIC SCORE

“Carol,” Carter Burwell
“The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone
“Inside Out,” Michael Giacchino
“It Follows,” Rich Vreeland (as Disasterpeace)
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Junkie XL

BEST SOUNDTRACK

Amy

Dope
Love and Mercy
The Martian
Straight Outta Compton

BEST SONG

“See You Again” Furious 7
“Til It Happens to You” The Hunting Ground
“Feels Like Summer” Shaun the Sheep
“Writing’s on the Wall” Spectre
“Simple Song #3” Youth

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep

BEST COMEDY

Inside Out
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Spy
Trainwreck
What We Do in the Shadows

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Amy
Best of Enemies
Cartel Land
The Hunting Ground
The Look of Silence

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The Assassin
Goodnight Mommy
Phoenix
Son of Saul
Wild Tales

BEST SCENE

Creed’s first fight, “Creed”
Paul Walker farewell, “Furious 7”
Bear attack, “The Revenant”
Jack’s escape and rescue, “Room”
Walk between the Twin Towers, “The Walk”

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Stunt work in “Mad Max: Fury Road”

The Online Film Critics Society Announce Their Winners!


Yesterday, the Online Film Critics Society announced their picks for the best of 2015 and it was another lovely day for Mad Max!  You can check out the OFCS nominations here and the winners below!

The 2015 OFCS AWARD WINNERS:

Best Picture:

Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director:

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor:

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Best Supporting Actor:

Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)

Best Supporting Actress:

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Best Animated Feature:

Inside Out

Best Film Not in the English Language:

The Assassin (Taiwan)

Best Documentary:

The Look of Silence

Best Original Screenplay:

Spotlight (Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy)

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Carol (Phyllis Nagy)

Best Editing:

Mad Max: Fury Road (Margaret Sixel)

Best Cinematography:

Mad Max: Fury Road (John Seale)

Non-U.S. Films (Alphabetical Order):

  • Aferim!
  • Cemetery of Splendor
  • The Club
  • Dheepan
  • The Lobster
  • Mountains May Depart
  • Mia Madre
  • Rams
  • Right Now, Wrong Then
  • The Sunset Song

Mad Max: Fury Road dominates the 21st Annual Critics Choice Nominations!


MadMaxFuryRoad

It’s been a busy few days as far as the Oscar precursors are concerned.  Let’s see how quickly I can get us caught up.  First off, the 21st Annual Critics Choice nominations were announced yesterday and Mad Max: Fury Road totally dominated them!

And you know what that means — its time to say that the Critics Choice nominations are …. MAD ABOUT MAX!

Anyway, here are the nominations!

BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn

Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Sicario
Spotlight

BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Johnny Depp – Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight

Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone – Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Helen Mirren – Trumbo
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation
RJ Cyler – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Shameik Moore – Dope
Milo Parker – Mr. Holmes
Jacob Tremblay – Room

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Big Short
The Hateful Eight
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes – Carol
Alejandro González Iñárritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott – The Martian
Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – Bridge of Spies
Alex Garland – Ex Machina
Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley – Inside Out
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
Nick Hornby – Brooklyn
Drew Goddard – The Martian
Emma Donoghue – Room
Aaron Sorkin – Steve Jobs

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol – Ed Lachman
The Hateful Eight – Robert Richardson
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Martian – Dariusz Wolski
The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
Sicario – Roger Deakins

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies – Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
Brooklyn – François Séguin, Jennifer Oman and Louise Tremblay
Carol – Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
The Danish Girl – Eve Stewart, Michael Standish
Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
The Martian – Arthur Max, Celia Bobak

BEST EDITING
The Big Short – Hank Corwin
Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
The Martian – Pietro Scalia
The Revenant – Stephen Mirrione
Spotlight – Tom McArdle

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Brooklyn – Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Carol – Sandy Powell
Cinderella – Sandy Powell
The Danish Girl – Paco Delgado
Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Black Mass
Carol
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
The Walk

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Sicario

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Daniel Craig – Spectre
Tom Cruise – Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road
Chris Pratt – Jurassic World
Paul Rudd – Ant-Man

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – Sicario
Rebecca Ferguson – Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Bryce Dallas Howard – Jurassic World
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST COMEDY
The Big Short
Inside Out
Joy
Sisters
Spy
Trainwreck

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Steve Carell – The Big Short
Robert De Niro – The Intern
Bill Hader – Trainwreck
Jason Statham – Spy

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Tina Fey – Sisters
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Melissa McCarthy – Spy
Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
Lily Tomlin – Grandma

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Ex Machina
It Follows
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Assassin
Goodnight Mommy
Mustang
The Second Mother
Son of Saul

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy
Cartel Land
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
He Named Me Malala
The Look of Silence
Where to Invade Next

BEST SONG
Fifty Shades of Grey – Love Me Like You Do
Furious 7 – See You Again
The Hunting Ground – Til It Happens To You
Love & Mercy – One Kind of Love
Spectre – Writing’s on the Wall
Youth – Simple Song #3

BEST SCORE
Carol – Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone
The Revenant – Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto
Sicario – Johann Johannsson
Spotlight – Howard Shore

And Here Are The San Francisco Film Critics Nominations!


Winners will be voted on tomorrow!

San Francisco Film Critics Nominations

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Actor

Best Actress

  • Cate Blanchett (Carol)
  • Brie Larson (Room)
  • Rooney Mara (Carol)
  • Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
  • Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

  • Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)
  • Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
  • Mya Taylor (Tangerine)
  • Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
  • Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Screenplay, Original

Best Screenplay, Adapted

Best Cinematography

Best Film Editing

Best Production Design

Best Animated Feature

Best Documentary

  • Amy
  • Best of Enemies
  • Listen to Me Marlon
  • The Look of Silence
  • Meru

Best Foreign Language Picture

The Detroit Film Critics Announce Their Nominations! Congratulations, Liev Schrieber!


Awards seasons continues as, earlier today, the Detroit Film Critics announced their nominations for the best of 2015!  Like almost all the other film critics groups, Detroit showed a lot of love to Spotlight.  However, unlike previous groups, Detroit did not nominate Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, or Rachel McAdams.  Instead, they nominated Liev Schrieber who, up until this point, had not really figured into the awards race.

If nothing else, the current confusion over who, if anyone, should be nominated for Spotlight might inspire someone to ask why the Academy doesn’t give an award for Best Ensemble.

Another question raised by Detroit: why does the Academy only allow actors to be nominated for one performance per category.  Detroit nominated Alicia Vikander twice for best supporting actress, for both The Danish Girl and Ex Machina.  And why not?  As we saw with Jessica Chastain in 2011, sometimes one performer delivers several great performances in one year.

Here are the Detroit nominations!

BEST FILM

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST ACTOR

  • Christopher Abbott, James White
  • Michael Caine, Youth
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
  • Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
  • Tom Hardy, Legend

BEST ACTRESS

  • Cate Blanchett, Carol
  • Brie Larson, Room
  • Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
  • Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
  • Saorise Ronan, Brooklyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

BEST ENSEMBLE

BREAKTHROUGH

  • Sean Baker, Tangerine (director)
  • Emory Cohen, Brooklyn (actor)
  • Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl (actress)
  • Jacob Tremblay, Room (actor)
  • Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, The Danish Girl (actress)

BEST SCREENPLAY

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Here Are The Online Film Critics Society Nominations and They’re Great!


Sicario_poster

I love the Online Film Critics Society, I really do.  Every year, when they announce the nominees for their end-of-the-year awards, they always seem to honor the films that truly deserve to be honored.  For instance, this year, they found room to not only nominate the Academy front runners — like Spotlight, The Martian, Carol, Brooklyn, and Mad Max — but they also gave nominations to Ex Machina, Sicario, and Inside Out.  Ex Machina, Sicario, and Inside Out all deserve to be in the Oscar conversation and hopefully, these nominations will help them stay there.

Here are the nominations from the Online Film Critics Society!

Best Picture:
Brooklyn
Carol
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Room
Sicario
Spotlight

Best Animated Feature:
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Film Not in the English Language:
The Assassin (Taiwan)
Goodnight Mommy (Austria)
Mustang (France)
Phoenix (Germany)
Son of Saul (Hungary)

Best Documentary:
Amy
Best of Enemies
Cartel Land
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
The Look of Silence

Best Director:
Todd Haynes (Carol)
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Ridley Scott (The Martian)
Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)

Best Actor:
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Michael B. Jordan (Creed)
Ian McKellen (Mr. Holmes)

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Brie Larson (Room)
Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Supporting Actor:
Benicio Del Toro (Sicario)
Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)
Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress:
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Cynthia Nixon (James White)
Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Original Screenplay:
Ex Machina (Alex Garland)
Inside Out (Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley)
Mistress America (Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach)
Sicario (Taylor Sheridan)
Spotlight (Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Brooklyn (Nick Hornby)
Carol (Phyllis Nagy)
The Martian (Drew Goddard)
Room (Emma Donoghue)
Steve Jobs (Aaron Sorkin)

Best Editing:
Mad Max: Fury Road (Margaret Sixel)
The Martian (Pietro Scalia)
The Revenant (Stephen Mirrione)
Sicario (Joe Walker)
Steve Jobs (Elliot Graham)

Best Cinematography:
The Assassin (Ping Bin Lee)
Carol (Edward Lachman)
Mad Max: Fury Road (John Seale)
The Revenant (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Sicario (Roger Deakins)

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Goes Mad For Max But Even Madder For Spotlight!


MadMaxFuryRoad

Boston and New York were not the only critics to vote today!  The Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2015 as well!  Mad Max: Fury Road won best director but Spotlight won best picture with Fury Road as the runner-up.  In other words, the LAFCA liked Fury Road but decided to play it safe.  Let’s not forget that this is the same group of people who once named The Descendants best picture with The Tree of Life as the runner-up.

(Dear award-giving groups: Just so you know, playing it safe is really freaking boring.)

Here’s all that what won:

Best Picture
Winner: Spotlight
Runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Director
Winner: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Roard
Runner-up: Todd Haynes, Carol

Best Actor
Winner: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Runner-up: Geza Rohrig, Son of Saul

Best Actress
Winner: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Runner-up: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Runner-up: Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria

Best Screenplay
Winner: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa

Best Cinematography
Winner: John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Ed Lachmann, Carol

Best Production Design
Winner: Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Judy Becker, Carol

Best Editing
Winner: Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Runner-up: Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Music Score
Winner: Carter Burwell, Anomalisa and Carol
Runner-up: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight

Best Foreign-Language Film
Winner: Son of Saul
Runner-up: The Tribe

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film
Winner: Amy
Runner-up: The Look of Silence

Best Animation
Winner: Anomalisa
Runner-up: Inside Out

New Generation Award: Ryan Coogler for Creed

The Boston Society Of Film Critics Honors Spotlight!


Spotlight

With three major groups of critics scheduled to announce their picks for the best of 2015, today is a big day for those of us who love Awards Season.  First off, here are the picks of the Boston Society of Film Critics!  While the awards are nicely spread around, it’s not surprising that the Boston Society of Film Critics picked a Boston film for best picture.

Best Picture  – Spotlight (runner-up: Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor – Paul Dano, Love & Mercy and Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (TIE)

Best Actress – Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years (runner-up: Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor – Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies (runner-up: Sylvester Stallone, Creed)

Best Supporting Actress – Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria (runner-up: Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, Burnt, Testament of Youth)

Best Director – Todd Haynes for Carol (runner-up: Tom McCarthy for Spotlight)

Best ScreenplaySpotlight (runner-up: Carol)

Best CinematographyCarol (runner-up: The Revenant)

Best Editing – Mad Max: Fury Road (runner-up: Spotlight)

Best DocumentaryAmy (runner-up: The Look of Silence)

Best Foreign-Language Film  (awarded in memory of Jay Carr)The Look of Silence (runner-up: White God)

Best Animated FilmAnomalisa and Inside Out (TIE) (runner-up: Shaun the Sheep Movie)

Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer)Mad Max: Fury Road (runner-up: Spotlight)

Best New Filmmaker (awarded in memory of David Brudnoy) – Marielle Heller for The Diary of a Teenage Girl (runner-up: Alex Garland for Ex Machina)

Best Ensemble Cast – Spotlight (runner-up: The Big Short)

Best Original Score – Love & Mercy (runner-up: Creed)

For Whatever They’re Worth, Here are The Satellite Awards Nominees!


Sicario_poster

The International Press Academy has announced the nominees for the Satellite Awards!  Who are the International Press Academy?  They’re kind of like an even less credible version of the Golden Globes.  They’re also the same people who, last year, nominated The Wolf of Wall Street for five awards, despite having not seen the film.  I would suggest viewing these nominations more as a guide to conventional wisdom than anything else.

Motion Picture
Spotlight, Open Road
Sicario, Lionsgate
Room, A24
The Revenant, 20th Century Fox
The Martian, 20th Century Fox
Carol, The Weinstein Co.
Brooklyn, Fox Searchlight
Bridge of Spies, DreamWorks
Black Mass, Warner Bros.
The Big Short, Paramount

Director
Tom Hooper, The Danish Girl
Thomas McCarthy, Spotlight
Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

Actress in a Motion Picture
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Carey Mulligan, Suffragette
Brie Larson, Room
Blythe Danner, I’ll See You in My Dreams

Actor in a Motion Picture
Will Smith, Concussion
Tom Hardy, Legend
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Actress in a Supporting Role
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Jane Fonda, Youth
Elizabeth Banks, Love & Mercy
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Actor in a Supporting Role
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Michael Keaton, Spotlight
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Benicio Del Toro, Sicario

Motion Picture, International Film
South Korea, The Throne
Brazil, The Second Mother
Croatia, The High Sun
Belgium, The Brand New Testament
Taiwan, The Assassin
Hungary, Son of Saul
France, Mustang
Germany, Labyrinth of Lies
Austria, Goodnight Mommy
Sweden, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
The Prophet
The Peanuts Movie
The Good Dinosaur
Shaun The Sheep Movie
Inside Out
Anomalisa

Motion Picture, Documentary
Where to Invade Next
The Look of Silence
The Hunting Ground
He Named Me Malala
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead:The Story of the National Lampoon
Cartel Land
Best of Enemies
Becoming Bulletproof
Amy

Screenplay, Original
Josh Singer, Thomas McCarthy, Spotlight
Michael A. Lerner, Oren Moverman, Love & Mercy
Josh Cooley, Meg LeFauve, Pete Docter, Inside Out
Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman, Straight Outta Compton
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Matt Charman, Bridge of Spies
Abi Morgan, Suffragette

Screenplay, Adapted
Jez Butterworth, Mark Mallouk, Black Mass
Lucinda Coxon, The Danish Girl
Emma Donoghue, Room
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mark L. Smith, The Revenant
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs

Original Score
Thomas Newman, Spectre
Michael Giacchino, Inside Out
Howard Shore, Spotlight
Harry Gregson-Williams, The Martian
Carter Burwell, Carol
Alexander Desplat, The Danish Girl

Original Song
“Writing’s On The Wall”, Spectre
“Till It Happens To You”, The Hunting Ground
“See You Again”, Furious 7
“One Kind Of Love”, Love & Mercy
“Love Me Like You Do”, Fifty Shades of Grey
“Cold One”, Ricki and the Flash

Cinematography
Roger Deakins, Sicario
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Hoyte Van Hoytema, Spectre
Dariuz Wolski, The Martian
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant

Visual Effects
Spectre
The Walk
The Martian
Mad Max: Fury Road
Jurassic World
Everest

Film Editing
Pietro Scalia, The Martian
Joe Walker, Sicario
Michael Kahn, Bridge of Spies
Lee Smith, Spectre
Elliot Graham, Steve Jobs
Affonso Goncalves, Carol

Sound (Editing and Mixing)
The Martian
Spectre
Sicario
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
Jurassic World

Art Direction and Production Design
Fiona Crombie, Macbeth
Eve Stewart, The Danish Girl
Dennis Gassner, Spectre
Dante Ferretti, Cinderella
Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road,
Adam Stockhausen, Bridge of Spies

Costume Design
Wen-Ying Huang, The Assassin
Shim Hyun-seob, The Throne
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
Paco Delgado, The Danish Girl
Janet Patterson, Far From the Madding Crowd
Jacqueline Durran, Macbeth

Ensemble: Motion Picture
Spotlight

Sicario

At least these nominations gave me an excuse to drag out some Sicaro-related media.