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BEST FILM
Up in the Air
BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, A Single Man
BEST ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, An Education
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
That’s the title of Richard Corliss’ piece in TIME, and I can’t improve on it, except to add, “As if.”
December is that most wonderful time of the year, when Santa perches all the little boy and girl critics on his knee and warmly whispers, “You matter.” All the other months, we’re dog food. But when the winter solstice nears, and movie reviewers convene to vote for their favorites of the year, we suddenly become valuable to the studios. The news stories about the winners provide free publicity for Oscar-yearning pictures, copy for the movie industry’s trade ads and balm for its needy ego. The honor roll also gives members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences hints as to which DVDs, of the dozens, hundreds, of recent films they’ve been sent, should be pulled out of the freebie pile and watched. See, we critics have a higher mission after all. We’re the Oscar voters’ touts.
He dismisses the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as show biz reporters, not critics.
As such, they want access to movie stars, and they get it by throwing a dinner for celebrities; the party favors are nationwide attention and maybe an award. To get on their guest list, it helps to be famous; note that The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner, who finished third in our critics’ tally, was not nominated for a Golden Globe. But we’re betting he has an aisle seat on Oscar night.
With this project, Corliss endeavors to do the same thing Sasha has done for the past 10 years: Tally up the scores from 21 critics groups,* with points awarded for each winner in 7 categories. (winners who share tie votes get .5)
Best Actress
Best Actor
As Sasha notes above, one week from today things will really begin to snowball, so here’s a handy schedule to help us prepare for the avalanche of Critics and Guild Awards dates in coming weeks.
December
12/16 – Chicago Film Critics Nominations
12/12 – European Film Awards
12/13 – AFI Awards Announced
12/13 – Boston Critics Announce
12/13 – LA Film Critics Announce
12/14 – NY Film Critics Announce
12/21 – Chicago Film Critics Awards
12/14 – Critics Choice Award Nominations
12/15 – Golden Globe Nominations
12/17 – SAG Nominations
12/28 – Oscar Nomination Ballots Mailed
January
1/3 – National Critics Awards Announce
1/4 – USC Scripter Nominations
1/7 – DGA Nominations
1/8 – Online Film Critics Awards Announce
1/12 – ACE Eddie Nominations
1/17 – Art Directors Guild Nominations
1/11 – WGA Nominations
1/11 – ASC Nominations
1/15 – Critics Choice Awards
1/17 – Golden Globe Awards
1/21 – BAFTA Award Nominations
1/23 – SAG Awards
1/23 – Oscar Nomination Polls Close
1/24 – PGA Awards
1/24 – Costume Designers Guild Nominations
1/27 – ASC Awards
1/30 – DGA Awards
February
2/2 – Oscar Nominations
2/6 – USC Scripter Awards
2/13 – Art Directors Guild Awards
2/13 – ACE Eddie Awards
2/18 – VES Nominations
2/20 – Final Oscar Ballots Mailed
2/20 – WGA Awards
2/21 – BAFTAs
2/25 – Costume Designers Guild Awards
2/28 – VES Awards
March
3/2 – Final Oscar Polls Close
3/6 – Independent Spirit Awards
3/7 – Oscar Night
What makes a film critic, one has to wonder. Nowadays, anyone with a blog who sees movies is called a “critic.” I really think that should be amended to use the term “blogger” or “industry columnist.” Not everyone is an actual film critic. I feel like I’m the only person in the known universe who cares about the difference but that’s because I come from a time when there was a difference; not just anyone could write about movies and be called a “critic.” Indiewire has a rundown of grades from the Toronto Film Fest and calls it a “Critics Poll”. In truth, it is a columnist/critic/blogger poll. I’m not dissing these guys at all. I’m just making the point that the line is invisible if no one notices it’s there. At any rate, you’ll find the grades of people like Anne Thompson (not a film critic), Jeff Wells (not a film critic), Peter Sciretta (not a film critic), etc. These opinions made by them are made as industry columnists and bloggers. I think it’s important to remember that (thus, the main difference between Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes).
Anyway, here are their grades for some of the Toronto films.
A Serious Man
Peter Sciretta, /Film: A+
David Fear, Time Out New York: A+
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: A
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: A
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: A
Mark Olsen, LA Times: A
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: A
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood: A
Joe Leydon, Variety: A
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A
Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere: A
Michael Tully, Hammer To Nail: A
Sean Means, The Salt Lake Tribune: A
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: A-
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: A-
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: A-
Noel Murray, A.V. Club: A-
Peter Knegt, indieWIRE: A-
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: B+
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B+
David Ansen, Newsweek: B-
Current Average: A-
(Thanks to Ritchie, for the tip.)
BEST FILM
Milk
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Sean Penn, Milk
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road/The Reader
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Edge of Heaven
Now… is it really screwed up that I’m putting the all outstanding Canadian winners after the cut? I know it is. I’m so ashamed.
Best Comedy Movie: Tropic Thunder
Best Acting Ensemble: Milk
Best Young Actor/Actress: Dev Patel
Best Writer: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Action Film: The Dark Knight
Best Composer: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Song: Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler
Best Documentary: Man On Wire
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir
Best Animated Feature: WALL·E
Best Movie Made for TV: John Adams
Best Actress: tie!!
Meryl Streep, Doubt; Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Thanks to Kris over at In Contention for these:
Best Film
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
Thanks to glimmer for reminding me (twice) about this year’s annual critics poll conducted by The Village Voice among “(mainly) alt-press critics.” In an attempt to psychoanalyze the year in movies, J. Holberman says “critics turn into optimists”:
Unlike last year, when Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood materialized in late December to snatch the prize from the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men and David Fincher’s Zodiac, there was no groupthink stampede. Critics had months in which to cogitate over the eventual poll winner. Pass the popcorn, not the ammunition: While last year’s top films were characterized by murderous violence, WALL-E radiated hope. The new optimism was also manifest in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, which, boasting a relentlessly upbeat performance by Sally Hawkins, finished a close third in the poll just behind Hou Hsiao-hsien’s relatively cheerful The Flight of the Red Balloon, as well as Gus Van Sant’s ultra-inspirational political biopic, Milk (#7).
yay, new optimism! Good news for Slumdog Millionaire, right? Wrong. Good news for Wendy & Lucy. oh, alt-press critics, must you be so emo?
1. WALL-E
Determined little whatsit saves Earth and rocks the vote. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
2. The Flight of the Red Balloon
Great Chinese filmmaker remakes a 50-year-old French kiddie classic. Paris has never seemed more gloriously strange—nor has puppeteer Juliette Binoche.
3. Happy-Go-Lucky
4. Still Life
5. A Christmas Tale
6. Waltz With Bashir
7. Milk
Van Sant goes straight . . . for the heartstrings, that is, in this wildly affirmative biopic of the San Francisco activist Harvey Milk, played with a controlled enthusiasm by Sean Penn.
8. Wendy and Lucy
9. Let the Right One In
Bullied 12-year-old boy falls in puppy love with the androgynous 200-year-old child vampire next door, in this gritty, wintry, bloody adaptation of Sweden’s equivalent of the Twilight novels.
10. Synecdoche, New York
Acting, documentary, and other choices, after the cut.
[UPDATE: Expanded list of winners including 2nd & 3rd place selections.]
BEST PICTURE
1. Waltz with Bashir, directed by Ari Folman (26)
2. Happy-Go-Lucky (20)
3. WALL-E (20)
BEST NON-FICTION FILM
1. Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh (55)
2. Trouble the Water (34)
3. Encounters at the End of the World (26)
BEST DIRECTOR
1. Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky (36)
2. Gus Van Sant, Milk & Paranoid Park (20)
3. Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire (16)
BEST ACTOR
1. Sean Penn, Milk (87)
2. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler (40)
3. Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino (38)
BEST ACTRESS
1. Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky (65)
2. Melissa Leo, Frozen River (33)
3. Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy (31)
(more after the cut)
Oklahoma Critics officially smarter than Ebert:
Best Film of 2008: Slumdog Millionaire dir. Danny Boyle
Top Ten Films (listed alphabetically):
Best Foreign Film: Let the Right One In, dir. Tomas Alfredso
Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York, dir. Charlie Kaufman
Best Documentary: Man on Wire, dir. James Marsh
Best Animated Film: WALL-E dir. Andrew Stanton
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Original Screenplay: Robert D. Siegel, The Wrestler
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Obviously Worst Film: The Love Guru
Not-So-Obviously Worst Film: Mamma Mia!
(thanks to rgg)
The results are quite interesting in Indiewire’s latest critics poll. Would you believe Milk, The Wrestler, Che and The Dark Knight all beat Slumdog Millionaire? Well, this is probably why Slumdog will do better with the Academy because traditionally, AMPAS and the critics have been at odds about the films they believe are best (No Country and The Departed being two notable exceptions). Here is the list:
Best film
* Slumdog Millionaire
Best director
* Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Best actor
* Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
Best actress
* Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road
Best supporting actor
* Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best supporting actress
* Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
Best ensemble
* Frost/Nixon
Best newcomer
* Martin McDonough, writer/director, In Bruges
More evidence of a late surge in support for Kate Winslet? Maybe people are actually taking time to see Revolutionary Road. These are the winners of the nominees announced on the 15th. If you still care about seeing who didn’t win, click that link or find them after the cut.
AAFCA 2008 Film Selections
1. The Dark Knight
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Tie) The Secret Life of Bees
4. Tie) Cadillac Records
6. Miracle at St. Anna
7. Milk
8. Seven Pounds
9. Doubt
10. Iron Man
Best Director: Danny Boyle
Best Lead Actor: Frank Langella
Best Lead Actress: Angelina Jolie
Best Sup. Actor: Heath Ledger
Best Sup. Actress: Viola Davis
Special Achievement Award: Melvin Van Pebbles
(from Variety, thanks to ladylurks)
Picture: “Frost/Nixon”
Actor: Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Actress: Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road,” “The Reader”
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Director: Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Screenplay (Original or Adapted): Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
Cinematography: Claudio Miranda, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Film Editing: Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill, “Frost/Nixon”
Score: James Newton Howard, “Defiance”
Song: “Another Way to Die,” “Quantum of Solace”
Family Film: “The Spiderwick Chronicles”
Documentary: “Man on Wire”
Animated Film: “Wall-E”
Foreign Film: “Mongol” (Russia)
Costume Design: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Art Direction: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Visual Effects: “Iron Man”
Youth in Film: David Kross, “The Reader”
Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Actress: Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Supp. Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Supp. Actress: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Cinematography: Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
Foreign Language: Let The Right One In
Animated Feature: Wall*E
Documentary: Man On Wire
Breakout: Martin McDonagh, writer/director of “In Bruges”
Golden Orange: Dick Morris/Sarasota Film Society
