Top Ten Spreadsheet

Posted on January 1, 2009 at 8:00 am

Movie City News has collected the top ten lists of all the top critics (yes, even me) and put them into a spreadsheet. Just about everyone picks four or five of ten heavily-promoted awards films — “Wall?E,” “Milk,” Slumdog Millionaire,” “Dark Knight,” “Doubt,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and “The Wrestler.” Take a look at it from the bottom up, though, because that’s where people’s highly individual preferences come out. A very wide range of films got at least one vote, even “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” “Kit Kittridge,” “American Zombie,” “House Bunny,” and “The Foot Fist Way.” I really enjoy seeing the swing-for-the-fences choices from critics who just can’t help loving some films even without support from the studios, the box office, or other critics.

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Awards Commentary

Women Critics Film Awards

Posted on December 21, 2008 at 12:52 pm

As expected, the associations of female critics have a slightly different take on the best and worst films of the year than the male-dominated critic groups. One thing that makes them fun is the extra categories, like Most Offensive Male Characters, Most Egregious Age Difference Between Leading Man, and Love Interest and Actress in Need of a New Agent.
The Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2008
BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Changeling
BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Frozen River

(more…)

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Awards

Washington Film Critics Pick ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Posted on December 7, 2008 at 8:00 pm

The Washington Area Film Critics have announced our awards for 2008. “Slumdog Millionaire,” the story of an orphan in India whose correct answers on the local version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” lead to suspicions he was cheating, won not only the top prize for best movie but also awards for direction, screenplay, and the “breakthrough” performance of its young star. Other awards went to the comeback performance by an actor whose troubled past mirrors the struggles of the character he plays (Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”), to Hollywood’s most distinguished actress (Meryl Streep in “Doubt”), and to the late Heath Ledger in this year’s biggest money-maker, “The Dark Knight”).
Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire/Fox Searchlight
Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Best Supporting Actress: Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Original Screenplay: Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Animated: Wall?E/Disney&Pixar
Best Documentary: Man on Wire/Magnolia Pictures
Best Foreign Film: Let the Right One In/Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing
Best Ensemble: Doubt/Miramax
Best Breakthrough: Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button/Paramount

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Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Video Your Vote

Posted on November 4, 2008 at 6:30 pm

No matter which candidate you support, it is impossible not to be deeply moved and inspired by the videos posted by citizen journalists across the country showing us America at the polls.

The breadth of this great country and the “eternal vigilance” of its people is truly remarkable, and it is thrilling to have it documented in such an immediate fashion. I especially love to see the young students interviewing the older people.

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Shorts