Alliance of Women Film Journalist Nominations 2015

Posted on December 28, 2015 at 5:54 pm

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has announced its nominations for the best (and some of the worst) in film for 2015. I have already voted my ballot for the final awards and look forward to the winners.

Best Film

Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Room
Spotlight

Best Director

Lenny Abramson – Room
Todd Haynes – Carol
Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
George Miller – Mad Max Fury Road
Ridley Scott – The Martian

Best Screenplay, Original

Ex Machina – Alex Garland
Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
Spotlight – Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy

Best Screenplay, Adapted

The Big Short – Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
Carol – Phyllis Nagy
The Martian – Drew Goddard
Room – Emma Donoghue

Best Documentary

Amy – Asif Kapadia
Best of Enemies – Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville
Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief – Alex Gibney
The Hunting Ground – Kirby Dick
What Happened, Ms. Simone? – Liz Garbus

Best Animated Film

Anomalisa
Inside Out
Shaun The Sheep

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Rooney Mara – Carol
Kristin Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Kate Winslett – Steve Jobs

Best Actor

Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo Di Caprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Best Ensemble Cast

The Big Short
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Best Editing

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
Spotlight – Tom McArdle

Best Cinematography

Carol – Edward Lachman
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Film Music Or Score

Carol – Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone
Mad Max: Fury Road – Junkie XL
Youth – David Lang

Best Non-English-Language Film

Mustang – Deniz Gamze Eguven
Phoenix – Christian Petzold
Son of Saul – Lazlo Nemes

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS

These awards honor WOMEN only.

Best Woman Director

Isabel Coixet – Learning to Drive
Maya Forbes – Infinitely Polar Bear
Sarah Gavron – Suffragette
Marielle Heller – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Celine Sciamma – Girlhood

Best Woman Screenwriter

Emma Donoghue – Room
Marielle Heller – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Phyllis Nagy – Carol
Amy Schumer – Trainwreck

Best Female Action Star

Emily Blunt – Sicario
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games Mocking Jay 2
Daisy Ridley – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Charleze Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Breakthrough Performance

Brie Larson – Room
Bel Powley – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Daily Ridley – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Alica Vikander – Ex Machina, Testament of Youth, The Danish Girl

Female Icon of the Year Award (a woman whose work in film and/or in life made a difference)

Chantal Ackerman – In Memoriam For being a great filmmaker and sinpiration.
Maria Geise – Activist filmmaker who is spearheading the movement for parity for women directors.
Donna Langley – Chair(wo)man, Universal Pictures, who has brought the studio to unprecedented profits.
Jennifer Lawrence – For breaking the silence about discriminatory practices and unequal pay for actresses.
Charlotte Rampling – Because she’s Charlotte Rampling and is iconic.

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction

Anomalisa
Carol
Diary of a Teenage Girl

Actress Defying Age and Ageism

Helen Mirren
Charlotte Rampling
Lily Tomlin

Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award

Danny Collins – Al Pacino and Katarina Cas
Freeheld – Julianne Moore and Ellen Page
Irrational Man – Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone
Spectre – Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux

Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent

Bryce Dallas Howard – Jurassic World
Dakota Johnson – 50 Shades of Gray
Emma Stone – Aloha

Movie You Wanted To Love, But Just Couldn’t

Aloha
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Sisters

EDA Award winners will be announced on January 12, 2016.

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Critics Choice Nominees 2015

Posted on December 14, 2015 at 10:27 pm

I am honored to be a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and excited that we’ve joined forces with the Broadcast Television Journalists Association to announce this year’s nominees. Be sure to tune in for our Critics Choice Awards broadcast on January 17, 2016, hosted by T.J. Miller.

MOVIE

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
(more…)

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2015 Awards — Online Film Critics Society

Posted on December 13, 2015 at 10:09 pm

I’m proud to be a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and proud of our 2015 awards.

Best Picture:
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Animated Feature:
Inside Out

Best Film Not in the English Language:
The Assassin (Taiwan)

Best Documentary:
The Look of Silence

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 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

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Online Film Critics Nominations 2015

Posted on December 7, 2015 at 12:02 pm

The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) – the oldest and most prominent society for online film critics in the world – recognized the year’s best films with nominations for their 19th annual awards.

“Carol” and “Sicario” led the race with six nominations each. “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Martian” followed with five nominations apiece. “The Revenant,” “Spotlight.” and “Steve Jobs” each received four nominations while “Brooklyn,” “Ex Machina,” “Inside Out,” and “Room” each received three nods.

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)

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Washington Critics Awards for 2015: Spotlight, Mad Max, Inside Out

Posted on December 7, 2015 at 8:01 am

D.C. Film Critics Shine a ‘Spotlight’ on Award Winners

Washington, D.C. — When the dust settled and the votes were counted, two very different films led the way as the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) announced their honorees for 2015 this morning. Dazzling dystopian adventure “Mad Max: Fury Road” was the big winner, taking home three awards, including Best Director (George Miller). The organization’s choice for Best Film, however, went to a picture a little more realistic but no less furious, the hard-hitting investigative journalist drama “Spotlight.”

“Spotlight,” about The Boston Globe’s discovery of a cover-up involving child molestation within the local Catholic Archdiocese, also won for Best Ensemble. The film’s top-notch cast includes Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci.

“Mad Max: Fury Road,” the long-awaited and much-acclaimed fourth installment in Miller’s post-apocalyptic action franchise, saw Tom Hardy taking over the iconic title role previously inhabited by Mel Gibson. In addition to Best Director, the film also earned accolades for Best Production Design and Best Editing.

WAFCA awarded Best Actor to Leonardo DiCaprio for his grueling, transformative work in epic survival western “The Revenant,” as an injured 1820s fur trapper left for dead and seeking retribution across the perilous American wilderness. Best Actress went to Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn,” about a young Irish woman’s experiences immigrating to the U.S. in the 1950s. Supporting nods were awarded to Idris Elba, as the tough leader of a West African child army in “Beasts of No Nation,” and Alicia Vikander, as a highly advanced android in provocative sci-fi thriller “Ex Machina.”

The many facets of human emotions portrayed in Pixar’s universally praised “Inside Out” were difficult to resist for voters, who awarded the film Best Animated Feature. Its writing team of Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley (from an original story by Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen) also won the Best Original Screenplay prize, an unprecedented win for the writing of an animated film. “Amy,” about the whirlwind rise and untimely fall of late musician Amy Winehouse, won for Best Documentary. Hungarian Holocaust drama “Son of Saul” took top honors for Best Foreign Language Film.

Best Adapted Screenplay went to Emma Donoghue, the author and screenwriter of emotionally stirring mother-and-son abduction drama “Room.” For his heartbreaking turn in the film, 9-year-old Jacob Tremblay won Best Youth Performance. Emmanuel Lubezki’s masterful lensing of “The Revenant” earned the Best Cinematography award. The film was shot under challenging, sometimes brutally cold weather conditions in Canada, Argentina and the U.S. using all natural lighting. Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was feted with Best Original Score for his starkly haunting work in “Sicario.”

This year’s awards are dedicated to the memory of late film critic and WAFCA member Joe Barber.

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association comprises 52 DC-VA-MD-based film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet. Voting was conducted from December 4-6, 2015.

THE 2015 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:

Best Film:
Spotlight

Best Director:
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress:
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor:
Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)

Best Supporting Actress:
Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Spotlight

Best Youth Performance:
Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Emma Donoghue (Room)

Best Original Screenplay:
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley (Original Story by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen) (Inside Out)

Best Animated Feature:
Inside Out

Best Documentary:
Amy

Best Foreign Language Film:
Son of Saul

Best Production Design:
Production Designer: Colin Gibson, Set Decorator: Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (The Revenant)

Best Editing:
Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Original Score:
Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario)

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