This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2020

The New York Film Critics Circle announced this morning that members will vote for awards December 18, disregarding the elongated Oscar season that will push many contenders into next year.

But this, from their press release, made me laugh: pic.twitter.com/U4NNGhhvEZ

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) September 11, 2020

The NYFCC brainstorming its press release: “Make sure you lead with the Oscars thing, but is there also a way to make a completely contradictory claim to moral superiority?”

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) September 11, 2020

My brother quipped the other day that this will be the year when we'll likely see the first best picture Oscar nomination for a Bill & Ted installment.

Officially the earliest top 10 list I've ever seen:

Over at my Patreon I've posted the list I submitted for this year's Sight & Sound Films of the Year poll. https://t.co/gECab8oJMI pic.twitter.com/QpZKxi8zRE

— Jordan Cronk 🥀 (@JordanCronk) October 28, 2020

Was gonna post this to the film critics you trust thread, but JW is no critic, and this is absolutely a bunch of detrius:

https://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2020/10/straight-shooters-2/

There’s a movement afoot to launch a contra-Gold Derby Oscar Prediction chart, called Straight Shooters. The idea is to spitball the Oscars without the wokester filter — to resist the political stuff (or at least not to bow down in a kneejerk fashion), and to adopt a grounded and sensible ars gratia artis perspective.

Which would mean what exactly? Well, Straight Shooter members wouldn’t necessarily celebrate a film solely because it embraces POC, LGBTQ or woke female perspectives, although they might. Nor would they necessarily discount a film by an older white director or a performance by an older white actor or a film with a white-centric focus in general (i.e., Mank).

In a perfect incarnation, Straight Shooters would be about keeping wokester politics out of it, and letting the pure love of great films and exceptional film technique and world-class acting shine through.

People who may deserve to be Oscar-nominated wouldn’t be nominated strictly because of their ethnicity or gender or sexual identity. Or not be nominated for same. They would hopefully be championed or promoted because they’ve done excellent work. No one should be necessarily celebrated because of an absence of alignment with progressive causes, but at the same time a certain political ingredient or metaphor needn’t be a problem or an obstruction.

It could well turn out that most of the Straight Shooters might project Nomadland to win the Best Picture Oscar and Chloe Zhao to win Best Director. (As I currently am.) But they wouldn’t be required to support same because of Nomadland‘s subject or Zhao’s gender and ethnicity.

Straight Shooters would represent a symbolic unlocking of the handcuffs, and throwing off the politically correct ball and chain. People would be free to support who they want to support regardless of whatever p.c. points are involved. These estimations may in some instances (and perhaps more than a few) align with the predictable Oscar preferences of certain parties. Or not.

The point would be to judge films and performances as if it was 1988 or 1997 or 2005 or 2009 or 2014…to assess the best and the brightness without the demands or requirements of political correctness mucking everything up.

https://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2020/10/okay-okay-2/

Significant pushback from good people (i.e., friends) and bad has prompted me to junk HE’s proposed Straight Shooters Oscar handicap chart.

All I was suggesting was a forum that would predict Oscar contenders without the woke filter, as woke filters are everywhere. But nope, bad idea, can’t do that, will only make things worse. Okay, fine. I wasn’t married to the idea — just tossing it out there.

But full steam ahead on HE’s “I Just Ran Out of Bullshit.”

Journo pally: “To me, you’ve never written one thing in this era that is illegitimate. But then neither did Andrew Sullivan. Despite the wokeness (it sounds like the title of a Stephen King novel: ‘The Wokeness’), he seemed to be thriving at New York magazine. And then…no. They wanted him out. For the crime of having been fearlessly honest. Sometimes that’s all it takes now.

“Not sure what you should do, to be honest. Don’t neuter yourself, that’s for sure.”

Gothams kick things off by nominating an all female-directed best picture slate. (And also coming out in Cuties' corner.)

Best Feature

The Assistant -- Kitty Green, director; Scott Macaulay, James Schamus, P. Jennifer Dana, Ross Jacobson, producers (Bleecker Street)
First Cow -- Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani, producers (A24)
Never Rarely Sometimes Always -- Eliza Hittman, director; Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, producers (Focus Features)
Nomadland -- Chloé Zhao, director; Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Chloé Zhao, producers (Searchlight Pictures)
Relic -- Natalie Erika James, director; Anna Mcleish, Sarah Shaw, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, producers (IFC Midnight)

Best Documentary

76 Days -- Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous, directors; Hao Wu, Jean Tsien, producers (MTV Documentary Films)
City Hall -- Frederick Wiseman, director; Frederick Wiseman, Karen Konicek, producers (Zipporah Films)
Our Time Machine -- Yang Sun, S. Leo Chiang directors; S. Leo Chiang, Yang Sun, producers (Passion River Films)
A Thousand Cuts -- Ramona S. Diaz, director; Ramona S. Diaz, Leah Marino, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, producers (PBS Distribution | FRONTLINE )
Time -- Garrett Bradley, director; Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, Garrett Bradley, producers (Amazon Studios)

Best International Feature

Bacurau -- Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles, directors; Emilie Lesclaux, Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt, producers (Kino Lorber)
Beanpole -- Kantemir Balagov, director; Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov, producers (Kino Lorber)
Cuties (Mignonnes) -- Maïmouna Doucouré, director; Zangro, producer (Netflix)
Identifying Features -- Fernanda Valadez, director; Astrid Rondero, producer (Kino Lorber)
Martin Eden -- Pietro Marcello, director; Pietro Marcello, Beppe Caschetto, Thomas Ordonneau, Michael Weber, Viola Fügen, producers (Kino Lorber)
Wolfwalkers -- Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, directors; Paul Young, Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Stéphan Roelants, producers (Apple)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Radha Blank for The Forty-Year-Old Version (Netflix)
Channing Godfrey Peoples for Miss Juneteenth (Vertical Entertainment)
Alex Thompson for Saint Frances (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Carlo Mirabella-Davis for Swallow (IFC Films)
Andrew Patterson for The Vast of Night (Amazon Studios)

Best Screenplay

Bad Education, Mike Makowsky (HBO)
First Cow, Jon Raymond, Kelly Reichardt (A24)
The Forty-Year-Old Version, Radha Blank (Netflix)
Fourteen, Dan Sallitt (Grasshopper Film)
The Vast of Night, James Montague, Craig Sanger (Amazon Studios)

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Jude Law in The Nest (IFC Films)
John Magaro in First Cow (A24)
Jesse Plemons in I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix)

Best Actress

Nicole Beharie in Miss Juneteenth (Vertical Entertainment)
Jessie Buckley in I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix)
Yuh-Jung Youn in Minari (A24)
Carrie Coon in The Nest (IFC Films)
Frances McDormand in Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor

Jasmine Batchelor in The Surrogate (Monument Releasing)
Kingsley Ben-Adir in One Night in Miami… (Amazon Studios)
Sidney Flanigan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features)
Orion Lee in First Cow (A24)
Kelly O’Sullivan in Saint Frances (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

go Martin Eden!!

Sight unseen I suspect Nomadland will boringly (but maybe deservingly, who knows) sweep a lot of things

It feels like an Indie Spirit juggernaut, yeah.

plus it lets me imagine amusing secret Disney payola scenarios

glad Kaufman got shut out for directing/writing at least

and no Sorkin in sight.

RIP Hillbilly Elegy

Only other real surprise here is Dick Johnson is Dead not making best documentary roster.

And Steven Yuen too, I guess.

god, Burning feels like it came out a million years ago

oh wait that's for something else

Also, here are the European Film Award nominations...

European Film

Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Burhan Qurbani)
Corpus Christi (Jan Komasa)
Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello)
The Painted Bird (Václav Marhoul)
Undine (Christian Petzold)

European Documentary

Acasă, My Home (Radu Ciorniciuc)
Collective (Alexander Nanau)
Gunda (Victor Kossakovsky)
Little Girl (Sébastien Lifshitz)
Saudi Runaway (Susanne Regina Meures)
The Cave (Feras Fayyad)

European Director

Agnieszka Holland for (Charlatan)
Jan Komasa for (Corpus Christi)
Pietro Marcello for (Martin Eden)
François Ozon for (Summer Of 85)
Maria Sødahl for (Hope)
Thomas Vinterberg for (Another Round)

European Actress

Paula Beer in (Undine)
Natasha Berezhnaya in (Dau. Natasha)
Andrea Bræin Hovig in (Hope)
Ane Dahl Torp in (Charter)
Nina Hoss in (My Little Sister)
Marta Nieto in (Mother)

European Actor

Bartosz Bielenia in (Corpus Christi)
Goran Bogdan in (Father)
Elio Germano in (Hidden Away)
Luca Marinelli in (Martin Eden)
Mads Mikkelsen in (Another Round)
Viggo Mortensen in (Falling)

European Screenwriter

Martin Behnke, Burhan Qurbani for (Berlin Alexanderplatz)
Costa-Gavras for (Adults In The Room)
Damiano D’Innocenzo, Fabio D’Innocenzo for (Bad Tales)
Pietro Marcello, Maurizio Braucci for (Martin Eden)
Mateusz Pacewicz for (Corpus Christi)
Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm (Another Round)

European Comedy

Advantages Of Travelling By Train (Aritz Moreno)
Ladies Of Steel (Pamela Tola)
The Big Hit (Emmanuel Courcol)

European Discovery – Prix Fipresci

Full Moon (Nermin Hamzagić)
Gagarine (Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh)
Instinct (Halina Reijn)
Isaac (Jurgis Matulevičius)
Jumbo (Zoé Wittock)
Sole (Carlo Sironi)

European Animation

Calamity, A Childhood Of Martha Jane Cannary (Rémy Chayé)
Josep (Aurel)
Klaus (Sergio Pablos)
The Nose Or The Conspiracy Of Mavericks (Andrey Khrzhanovsky)

European Short Film

All Cats Are Grey In The Dark (Lasse Linder)
Genius Loci (Adrien Mérigeau)
Past Perfect (Jorge Jácome)
Sun Dog (Dorian Jespers)
Uncle Thomas, Accounting For The Days (Regina Pessoa)

...there's a new Berlin Alexanderplatz?

Here are John Waters’ picks for the Best Films of 2020, as sent to Artforum subscribers this week. His article appears in the December issue of Artforum, out December 1.

Butt Boy, directed by Tyler Cornack. “A jaw-dropping, deadpan, bowel-bonkers thriller” about a heterosexual dad who turns into a serial killer and “inhales” his victims through his rear end, all following a routine visit to his proctologist. During several online conversations with his fans this summer, Waters marveled at the final scene, which takes place inside the man’s rectum.

Swallow, directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis. A psychological horror film about an unhappily married woman who eats objects that aren’t usually considered edible, such as marbles and thumbtacks and batteries, eliminates them, washes them, and puts them on display in her home. And there’s a happy ending.

The Hunt, directed by Craig Zobel. A political satire about a group of liberal ‘elites’ from big cities who hunt down blue-collar types from flyover country for kicks. It’s the film that caused an uproar with certain Republicans who saw it as an allegory about the fight between red states and blue states and thought it was an attack on them when it actually made liberals out to be the villains. After the movie’s 2019 premiere was cancelled because of the controversy about it and mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, Blumhouse Productions and Universal Studios released it in March with the tagline: “The most talked about movie of the year is the one that no one’s actually ever seen.” Waters nominates Betty Gilpin, who plays one of the Hunted, for “Best Deplorable Actress of the Year.”

Why Don’t You Just Die!, written and directed by Kirill Sokolov. According to IMDb, this is a Russian film in which a detective and horrible father, his resentful actress daughter, an angry thug and a cheated cop, all seeking revenge, come together for a violent version of Meet the Parents. Due to budget limitations, the wallpaper in the parents’ residence was xeroxed on a color printer. Waters calls it a “blood-drenched, seat-ripping, Tarantino-influenced Russian grindhouse family revenge comedy,” ideal to see in a packed movie theater. It’s now out on Prime Video.

The Audition, directed by Ina Weisse. A drama from France and Germany about a violin teacher who takes an intense interest in a student, while neglecting her own son, also a violinist. Waters calls it an “Ingmar Berman-meets-Joanna Hogg melodrama” that “will fill you with arty masochistic inner peace.”

Deerskin, directed by Quentin Dupieux. A horror-comedy about a more-than-slightly-unhinged wannabe filmmaker who becomes so obsessed with a vintage deerskin jacket he buys that he sets out to murder anyone who might copy him. The fringed jacket, you see, is his imaginary friend who talks to him and wants to be the only jacket in the world. Waters, who models Saint Laurent jackets, calls it “the fashion film of the year.”

The Human Voice, written and directed by Pedro Almodovar. Tilda Swinton stars as a woman abandoned by her ex-lover, who never comes to pick up his suitcases. Based on a 1930 play by Jean Cocteau, filmed over nine days in Madrid, it’s Almodovar’s first American-language film, and it would be believable in today’s pandemic. It was shown this year at the New York Film Festival, for which Waters designed the poster. Waters says Swinton’s 30-minute emotional crack-up is “pure cinematic enjoyment.”

True History of the Kelly Gang, directed by Justin Kurzel, with Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunnam and George MacKay. Based on a novel by Peter Carey and filmed in Australia, it’s the story of bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang of robbers in the 1870s. Waters describes it as a “gory, insane, homoerotic, historical western” about Outback outlaws who sometimes dress in drag just to mess with the authorities. He says George MacKay’s performance “gives new meaning to the word butch.”

American Murder: The Family Next Door, directed by Jenny Popplewell, is a true-crime Netflix documentary about the Watts family murders that took place in Colorado in 2018. Waters was impressed by how well the story is told, without resorting to “cheesy reenactments,” and found it both powerful and depressing to discover who the real killer was.

And a tie for No. 10 between two docudramas, The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, and Mangrove, directed by Steve McQueen. The first is a courtroom drama about the 1969 trial of seven defendants charged with conspiracy to incite a riot after the countercultural protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The second, part of the Small Axe series on Amazon Prime, follows The Mangrove Nine, a group of West Indian immigrants in Britain who clashed with London police in 1970, revealing systemic racism on the part of officers there. Waters recommends that viewers watch them together as a double feature and then go out and film themselves getting arrested at a protest rally. “Then you’ll be the best movie of the year.”

You can pinpoint the exact moment when it goes from one type of John Waters list to the other type of John Waters list. Still, best #1 pick in many years.

Sight and Sounds/BFI'S best DVD and Blu-Rays of 2020:

https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/best-blu-rays-dvds-2020

https://www.bfi.org.uk/best-films-2020

Good to see David Byrne's American Utopia getting some year-end love even with two Lee's to chose from (I liked both).

First year I couldn't contribute because my day job ate up almost all of my time this year. Here's Slant's top 50:

https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-50-best-films-of-2020/

Also, missed this ... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/movies/best-movies.html

As per Ward Fowler's suggestion, posting the Sight & Sound end of year list here too: https://www.bfi.org.uk/best-films-2020

The Zoom movie was absolutely unwatchable to me

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Saturday, 12 December 2020 00:27 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Watched this today and thought it was fantastic. I've rarely rooted against an entire cast so much, which I'm sure was intentional. Seriously technically impressive, tense, and a necessary externalisation of all the universal fears that have surfaced during a time of intense claustrophobia. That feeling of indoor spaces stagnating with dread. But way more fun than that sounds. Also an hour long.

I've got the link to City Hall but not the time.

Boston's first up this year. So far ...

Best Actor: Anthony Hopkins, THE FATHER
Best Actress: Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL
Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI
Best Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman, I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS
Best Documentary: COLLECTIVE (Alexander Nanau)
Best Animated Film: THE WOLF HOUSE (Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña)
Best First Film: THE FATHER (Florian Zeller)
Best Cinematography: Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND
Best Editing: Robert Frazen, I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS.
Best Score: Emile Mosseri, MINARI

Best Picture: NOMADLAND
Best Director: Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND
Best Film in a Foreign Language: LA LLORONA (Jayro Bustamante)

Not even sure Film Comment will do a survey this year, so this might have to do:

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/best-movies-2020-critics-survey-poll-performances-nomadland-riz-ahmed-1234604554/

Best Film

1. “Nomadland”
2. “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
3. “First Cow”
4. “Lovers Rock”
5. “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
6. “Beanpole”
7. “Time”
8. “Da 5 Bloods”
9. “Martin Eden”
10. “Bacurau”

Best Performance

1. Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal”
2. Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
3. Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
4. Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods”
5. Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
6. Jessie Buckley, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
7. Luca Marinelli, “Martin Eden”
8. Gary Oldman, “Mank”
9. Carrie Coon, “The Nest”
10. Mads Mikkelsen, “Another Round”

ugh Oldman

I'm glad Marinelli got recognition.

Otherwise many of those films will make my own list.

I'm reasonably sure I've not seen a more idiosyncratic collective #1 pick than Slant's this year -- Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets.

I liked "Beanpole" a lot

Good to see Carrie Coon on any list (she's really good in The Nest). I looked over a list of her awards and nominations, and she's won almost nothing, not even an Emmy for The Leftovers.

Who handles this year's movie poll? Sic? Gotta be the first annual morbies imo.

I’ve seen three 2020 releases

I guess I could rank them

what are your 3 favorite movies of 2020 so far?

Yes to "the morbies"

Who handles this year's movie poll? Sic? Gotta be the first annual morbies imo.

David Fincher's MORB.

"in a world...where all the movies are bad..."

Not even sure Film Comment will do a survey this year

Based on the list of participants, this might actually be the closest cousin:

https://www.screenslate.com/articles/457
https://www.screenslate.com/articles/454

BEST ACTOR: Delroy Lindo for "Da 5 Bloods" #NYFCC

— Falco Ink (@Sidney_Falco) December 18, 2020

And Chadwick for supporting actor for the same film. And a special award to Spike Lee for his short about NYC.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Maria Bakalova for "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" #NYFCC

— Falco Ink (@Sidney_Falco) December 18, 2020

^ hell yeah

Two for two...

BEST ACTRESS: Sidney Flanigan for "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" #NYFCC

— Falco Ink (@Sidney_Falco) December 18, 2020

I watched and reviewed this film and have no memry f it.

oh no hell YES -- just remembered. Excellent.

Not positive but I think this is the first time any critics' group has handed out a five-way tie?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "Small Axe" (All Films) #NYFCC

— Falco Ink (@Sidney_Falco) December 18, 2020

BEST FILM: "First Cow" #NYFCC

— Falco Ink (@Sidney_Falco) December 18, 2020

Full list:

Best Film: “First Cow” (A24)
Best Director: Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Actor: Delroy Lindo, “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)
Best Actress: Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
Best Supporting Actor: Chadwick Boseman, “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)
Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Studios)
Best Screenplay: Eliza Hittman for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
Best Animated Film: “Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS)
Best Cinematography: “Small Axe” – All films (Prime Video)
Best First Film: Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” (Netflix)
Best Foreign Language Film: “Bacarau”
Best Non-Fiction Film: “Time” (Amazon Studios)

Respectable. I wanted to see the Bacarau love.

lol at "all films"

I guess Chicago Film Critics did their nominations thing today too:

BEST PICTURE
Da 5 Bloods
First Cow
Lovers Rock
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman

BEST DIRECTOR
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Spike Lee – Da 5 Bloods
Steve McQueen – Lovers Rock
Kelly Reichardt – First Cow
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

BEST ACTOR
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods
Steven Yeun – Minari

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Carrie Coon – The Nest
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods
Bill Murray – On the Rocks
Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
David Strathairn – Nomadland

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Toni Collette – I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Letitia Wright – Mangrove
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Da 5 Bloods – Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman
Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell
Soul – Pete Docter, Mike Jones & Kemp Powers
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Father – Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller
First Cow – Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt
I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Charlie Kaufman
Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
One Night in Miami – Kemp Powers

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Onward
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
The Wolf House
Wolfwalkers

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Collective
David Byrne’s American Utopia
Dick Johnson is Dead
The Social Dilemma
Time

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
(A tie in the nominations process resulted in six nominees in this category)
Another Round
Bacurau
Beanpole
Collective
La Llorona
Vitalina Varela

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
First Cow – Christopher Blauvelt
Lovers Rock – Shabier Kirchner
Mank – Erik Messerschmidt
Nomadland – Joshua James Richards
The Vast of Night – Miguel Ioann Littin Menz

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Da 5 Bloods – Terence Blanchard
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Branford Marsalis
Mank – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Soul – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
Tenet – Ludwig Göransson

BEST ART DIRECTION
Birds of Prey
Emma.
First Cow
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Mank

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Birds of Prey
Emma.
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
The Invisible Man
The Midnight Sky
Possessor
Tenet

BEST EDITING
I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Robert Frazen
Lovers Rock – Chris Dickens & Steve McQueen
Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
Tenet – Jennifer Lame
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Alan Baumgarten

Sidney Flanigan missing out seems to be about the only anomaly.

Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format. pic.twitter.com/a8BS8jDkSs

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 18, 2020

Martin eden on o's list has me shook i admit

Let Him Go is a stranger than you think it’s going to be. Good performances, becomes a gothic western. Made me curious about the novel it’s based on.

LA Film Critics announced today.

Best Picture:
1. Small Axe 2. Nomadland

Best Director:
1. Chloe Zhao - Nomadland, 2. Steve McQueen - Small Axe

Best Actress:
1. Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman, 2. Viola Davis - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Best Actor:
1. Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 2. Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal

Best Documentary:
1. Time, 2. Collective

Best Screenplay:
2. Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Womsn, 2. Eliza Hittman - Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Animation:
1. Wolfwalkers, 2. Soul

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Youn Yuh-jung - Minari, 2. Amanda Seyfried - Mank

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Glynn Turman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 2. Paul Raci - Sound of Metal

Best Production Design:
1. Donald Graham Burt - Mank, 2. Sergey Ivanov - Beanpole

Best Music/Score:
1. Soul, 2. Lovers Rock

Best Cinematography:
1. Shabier Kirchner - Small Axe, 2. Joshua James Richards - Nomadland

New Generation:
Radha Blank - The 40 Year Old Version

Best Foreign Language Film:
1. Beanpole, 2. Martin Eden

The five way tie was cute when it was NY’s cinematography prize. It’s a little less cute when it’s LA’s best picture prize.

As much as I love Lovers Rock the other two I've seen (RW&B, Education) look v much made for television

I've read that Small Axe is not eligible for Oscars having been submitted for TV awards, but I'm kinda thinking Amazon might try to reverse course on that.

Anyway, this group I've never heard of -- Greater Western New York Critics Association -- so seems to approximate the general consensus that it may as well mark the inevitable moment when detrius starts ossifying.

Best Picture

Da 5 Bloods
Driveways
The Father
First Cow
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Mank
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Nomadland
Small Axe: Lovers Rock
Sound of Metal

Best Director

Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods
Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
Steve McQueen, Small Axe: Lovers Rock
Kelly Reichardt, FirstCow
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
Steven Yeun, Minari

Best Actress

Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Brian Dennehy, Driveways
Bill Murray, On the Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Ellen Burstyn, Pieces of a Woman
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Youn Yuh-jung, Minari

Best Original Screenplay

Hannah Bos & Paul Thureen, Driveways
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Womn
Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Darius Marder & Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal

Best Adapted Screenplay

Eleanor Catton, Emma.
Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller, The Father
Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Best Animated Film

Onward
Soul
The Wolf House
Wolfwalkers
World of Tomorrow Episode Three

Best Documentary

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Boys State
Collective
Dick Johnson Is Dead
Time

Best Film in a Foreign Language

Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round (Denmark)
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Bacurau (Brazil)
Pablo Larraín’s Ema (Chile)
Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari (USA)
Christian Petzold’s Undine (Germany)

Best Cinematography

Christopher Blauvelt, First Cow
Erik Messerschmidt, Mank
Martin Ruhe, Midnight Sky
Joshua James Richards, Nomadland
Shabier Kirchner, Small Axe: Lovers Rock

Best Editing

Andy Canny, The Invisible Man
Kirk Baxter, Mank
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, Sound of Metal
Alan Baumgarten, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Score

Terence Blanchard, Da 5 Bloods
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Mank
Alexandre Desplat, Midnight Sky
Emile Mosseri, Minari
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Soul

Breakthrough Director

Max Barbakow, Palm Springs
Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
Florian Zeller, The Father

Breakthrough Performance

Kiera Allen, Run
Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Talia Ryder, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Isabel Sandoval, Lingua Franca

My group should announce soon. My cohort in that group did its best to quash the detrius.

Detrius can not be quashed. Best to play dead and avoid eye contact until it gets bored and saunters away.

Critics need to figure out a different way to adjudicate animation; pitting Onward and Wolfwalkers against World of Tomorrow and Wolf House is just absurd.

it would be like having a best oscar category for "sports movies"

I did my best, y'all.

BEST PICTURE
First Cow
Runner up: Nomadland/Trial of the Chicago 7/Minari

BEST ACTOR
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Runner up: John Magaro, First Cow

BEST ACTRESS
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Runners up: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom/Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Runner up: Brian Dennehy; Driveways

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Runner up: Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

BEST ENSEMBLE
Mangrove
Runner up: The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Runner up: Kelly Reichardt, First Cow, Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Runner up: Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Charlie Kaufman, I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Runners up: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland/ Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

BEST CINEMATOGRPHY
Erik Messerschmidt, Mank
Runner up: Shabier Kirchner, Lovers Rock

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Murray Barber, Possessor
Runner up: Andrew Jackson, Tenet

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTIOIN
Dan Webster, Mank
Runner up: Adam Marshall, Lovers Rock

BEST SCORE
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross/Jon Batiste, Soul
Runner up: Ludwig Göransson, Tenet

BEST DOCUMENTARY
You Don’t Nomi
Runner up: Dick Johnson is Dead

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Los Fuertes
Runner up: Minari

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Soul
Runner up: Wolfwalkers

BEST FIRST FILM
Promising Young Woman
Runner up: The Father

BREAKOUT AWARD
Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Runner up: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

yikes @ the chiacgo 7 love

BEST DOCUMENTARY
You Don’t Nomi

Dear god...

Chicago critics announced its winners last night (nominations are upthread):

BEST PICTURE: "Nomadland"
BEST DIRECTOR: Chloe Zhao, "Nomadland"
BEST ACTOR: Chadwick Boseman, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
BEST ACTRESS: Frances McDormand, "Nomadland"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Paul Raci, "Sound of Metal"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Maria Bakalova, "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: "Nomadland" by Chloe Zhao
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" by Eliza Hittman
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: "Wolfwalkers"
BEST DOCUMENTARY: "Dick Johnson is Dead"
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Another Round"
BEST ART DIRECTION: "Mank"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "Nomadland," Joshua James Richards
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: "Emma.," Alexandra Byrne
BEST EDITING: "I'm Thinking of Ending Things," Robert Frazen
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: "Soul," Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS: "The Invisible Man"
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER: Sidney Flanigan, "Never Rarely Sometimes Always"
MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR PROMISING FILMMAKER: Emerald Fennell, "Promising Young Woman"

yikes @ the chiacgo 7 love

― stylish but illegal (Simon H.)

Inexplicable.

I liked You Don't Nomi a lot but to call it the best doc of the year when wiseman has something new out...
It's really more of an alt-TED talk.

No one finished it except me.

In South Florida Time was our pick.

The Orlando voting bloc strikes again!

and I've got no right
to take my place
in the awards race

My wife made me watch that recent Miranda July feature with her. Better than I thought if it maybe didn’t build to much. Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger having this perfectly conceived and executed evil yet non-threatening deal going on.

I like a good mood piece, but good god, I found The Assistant slow.

Sight and sound made the right call in singling out lovers rock. The rest of the films are marginally better than your average BBC drama. In some ways they're actually worse, they just feature stories not often seen in the BBC Sunday night format, which elevates them above the usual fare. Mags like little white lies putting small axe at number one,ibv dont watch any BBC dramas to know this, or are just desperate to look like they're on the right side of history.

I like a good mood piece, but good god, I found The Assistant slow.

― clemenza, Wednesday,

That's disappointing. By the time the HR meeting happened I couldn't bear the tension.

HR meeting was the best scene, IMO

I really really enjoyed The Climb

a buddy comedy for adults basically? also, continues the unexpected George Wendt renaissance

Sight & Sound's top 50:
https://www.bfi.org.uk/best-films-2020

er disregard! (unless you missed it earlier too)

Walter Chaw's year-end wrap-up: https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/ffc/2021/01/the-50-best-films-of-2020-by-walter-chaw.html

I'm curious about A Sun, Spontaneous, High Tide, and The True History of the Kelly Gang, in case anyone has anything to say about them, pro or con.

I bailed on the latter tbh

A masterclass in employing negative space and housing perhaps the single best performance of the year (Elisabeth Moss), it is everything a film should be: meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upstanding.

is that about invisible man? i thought that movie was dumb as hell and bailed early.

I liked it fine but gtfo with that "movies should be socially responsible / morally upstanding" angle (especially galling in the context of a horror movie!)

Moss was also, alas, in Shirley, which I found even worse.

meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upstanding

Quite literally, the lowest-hanging fruit I've ever seen from a film critic. Even Bosley Crowther would have winced.

meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upstanding

^^^ what it says on my OKCupid profile.

After reluctantly passing on "partying maskless with Rudy Giuliani and Vanilla Ice," I am again badly tempted to change my display name.

You guys immediately picked up on the one sentence in that whole piece that I grimaced at! I suspect--if I'm being generous-- that Chaw was trying to make some point about the function of art in 2020, but as a long time reader of his work, I could easily point to countless examples of film's he's endorsed that are anything but "socially responsible" or "morally upstanding."

(I thought The Invisible Man was great, btw)

The line was too good to resist...Didn't read the piece; I'm sure it's fine. (I liked Moss--I always do--the film somewhat.)

going by his top 50, Chaw likes a lot more movies than I do (Guns Akimbo...awful)

here's some detrius i can get behind: https://screenrant.com/impetigore-movie-2021-best-foreign-language-oscar-win-reason/

ok, well the article is horribly written, but i can get behind the sentiment!

I liked reading Justin Chang’s article in the LA Times a few weeks ago

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-12-11/10-best-movies-2020-justin-chang

Chaw is the only critic I can think of who could make a yearly Top 50 list, but whom I would still consider discriminating. For what its worth, he hated Wonder Woman 1984, Promising Young Woman, and The Midnight Sky, and he was "meh" on Tenet, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and Mank. He notes in the introduction to the list the notable absences of things like Nomadland and First Cow, yet he finds space for The Rhythm Section and Bad Boys For Life. I ain't saying I'm going to watch everything on this list--Guns Akimbo does indeed look dreadful--but it is clear that he is reviewing not movies out of fanboy enthusiasm or contrarian zeal (*cough*Armond*cough*).

Promising Young Woman does look awful, like Teeth minus the lols

I had problems with Promising Young Woman : tries too hard, like Young Adult, though Charlize Theron is better at this sort of thing than Carey Mulligan.

The Twentieth Century

National Society of Film Critics, no headlines here.

Best Picture: NOMADLAND (52 points)
Runners-up: FIRST COW (50 points); NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS (41 points)

Best Foreign-Language Film: COLLECTIVE (38 points)
Runners-up: BACURAU and BEANPOLE (36 points, tie); VITALINA VARELA (32 points)

Best Nonfiction Film: TIME (46 points)
Runners-up: CITY HALL (28 points); COLLECTIVE (22 points)

Best Director: Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND (58 points)
Runners-up: Steve McQueen, SMALL AXE (41 points); Kelly Reichardt, FIRST COW (30 points)

Best Actress: Frances McDormand, NOMADLAND (46 points)
Runners-up: Viola Davis, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (33 points); Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS (29 points)

Best Actor: Delroy Lindo, DA 5 BLOODS (52 points)
Runners-up: Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (47 points); Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL (32 points)

Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM (47 points)
Runners-up: Amanda Seyfried, MANK (40 points); Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI (33 points)

Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL (53 points)
Runners-up: Glynn Turman, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (36 points); Chadwick Boseman, DA 5 BLOODS (35 points)

Best Screenplay: Eliza Hittman, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS (38 points)
Runners-up: Jon Raymond and Kelly Reichardt, FIRST COW (35 points); Charlie Kaufman, I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (29 points)

Best Cinematography: Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND (47 points)
Runners-up: Shabier Kirchner, LOVERS ROCK (41 points); Leonardo Simões, VITALINA VARELA (34 points)

FILM HERITAGE AWARD: Women Make Movies, which, since the 1970s, has been releasing daring and distinctive female-directed movies that more conventional distributors wouldn’t touch.

FILM HERITAGE AWARD: Film Comment, founded in 1962 and currently on hiatus, which has long been the most substantial and wide-ranging American film magazine.

FILM HERITAGE AWARD: the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, among America’s premier repertory houses, showing arthouse movies steadily since 1953, and holding strong in continuing the time-honored tradition of daily double features.

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7237-long-live-the-microcinema

hey is there a reason "detritus" is always misspelled in these threads?

why because it look intersting

it also make search function intersting

yes, it makes it almost certain that you will find a detrius thread!

source: this is how I have found detrius threads

Village Voice writers-in-exile poll:

1. First Cow
2. Lovers Rock
3. Nomadland
4. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
5. The Assistant
6. Time
7. Dick Johnson Is Dead
8. Martin Eden
9. Bacurau
10. Vitalina Varela
11. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
12. Collective
13. Da 5 Bloods
14. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
15. City Hall
16. Sound of Metal
17. The Nest
18. Kajillionaire
19. Beanpole
20. Promising Young Woman
21. American Utopia / Another Round (tie)

Click through for #22-50, the compiler's notes, and individual ballots.

hey is there a reason "detritus" is always misspelled in these threads?

I've been wanting to ask that for years but was too afraid!

I just assumed it was spelled wrongly one year and that stuck

not-VV list is good

I really like the "writers in exile" idea. Instead of trying to replace P&J with this, that, and the other, that would have been a better idea (albeit much more cumbersome and scattered).

I can see where Lover's Rock would be the film to emerge from the Small Axe series. But Education, my own favourite, not getting a single mention does surprise me.

"Detrius" is entirely my bad. I actually thought that was how the word was spelled the first year I started this thread, and the word stuck because of how dumb I looked.

Promising Young Woman was SO bad. Wow

Has more in common with Reefer Madness or Duck and Cover than a real movie

i heard how it ended and that's good enough for me
I am excited to try Gunda tonight if I can calm down enough to let it into my life. Will need to put my phone in another room i think.

I'm stoked for Gunda, yeah

Here's our list of @NBRfilm Honorees for 2020! (1/2) #NBRawards #NBRgala #NBRtop10 pic.twitter.com/aLWcqPPmyb

— NBR (@NBRfilm) January 26, 2021

xp Aquarela was one of the best things I saw in 2019 and I was completely entranced by Svyato.

nice to see The Climb get a shout, anyway

Also the Independent Spirit Award nominations are also in...

The 36th Film Independent Spirit Awards are just under three months away, and this morning the nominations for the 2021 ceremony arrived. Last year’s Spirit Awards were dominated by “Uncut Gems,” which won the prizes for Best Actor (Adam Sandler), Best Director (Josh and Benny Safdie), and Best Editing. Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” took home the honor for Best Feature. The lead actress prize was awarded to “Judy” star Renee Zellweger, who went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress.

This year’s most nominated film is “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” which picked up 7 total nominations. “Minari” also preformed strong with 6 nominations, while “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Nomadland” each picked up 5 nominations. Netflix was the most nominated studio with 16 nominations, followed by Focus Features with 10 and A24 with 9.

As always, the budget cutoff for films to be eligible for the Spirit Awards is $22.5 million. For this reason, several high profile Netflix Oscar contenders such as “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Da 5 Bloods, and “Mank” are not eligible for the 2021 ceremony.

RELATED
2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards Expand to Honor Television
Indie Spirits Set for April 2021 After Oscars Date Shift
The 36th Independent Spirit Awards will take place Thursday, April 22. The ceremony will be broadcast live on IFC at 10 p.m. ET. In addition to the linear broadcast, the Spirit Awards will also stream simultaneously on AMC+. Following the broadcast, the full awards ceremony will be made available on demand across AMC+ and IFC platforms starting Friday, April 23.

Best Feature
“First Cow”
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
“Minari”
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
“Nomadland”

Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Eliza Hittman,” Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow”
Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland”

Best First Feature
“I Carry You With Me”
“The 40 Year Old Version”
“The Sound of Metal”
“Miss Juneteenth”
“Nine Days”

Best Female Lead
Nicole Beharie, “Miss Juneteenth”
Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Julia Garner, “The Assistant”
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”

Best Male Lead
Riz Ahmed, “The Sound of Metal”
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Rob Morgan, “Bull”
Steven Yeun, “Minari”
Adarsh Gourav, “The White Tiger”

Best Supporting Female
Alexis Chikaeze, “Miss Juneteenth”
Yeri Han, “Minari”
Valerie Mahaffey, French Exit”
Talia Ryder, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Yuh-jung Youn, “Minari”

Best Supporting Male
Colman Domingo, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Orion Lee, “First Cow”
Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal”
Glynn Turmann, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Benedict Wong, “Nine Days”

Best Screenplay
“Bad Education”
“Minari”
“The Half of It”
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
“Promising Young Woman”

Best First Screenplay
Kitty Green, “The Assistant”
Noah Hutton, “Lapsis”
Channing Godfrey Peoples, “Miss Juneteenth”
Andy Siara, “Palm Springs”
James Sweeney, “Straight Up”

Best Cinematography
Jay Keitel, “She Dies Tomorrow”
Shabier Kirchner, “Bull”
Michael Latham, “The Assistant”
Hélène Louvart, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland”

Best Editing
“I Carry You With Me”
“The Invisible Man”
“Residue”
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
“Nomadland”

Robert Altman Award
“One Night in Miami”

Best Documentary
“Collective”
“Crip Camp”
“Dick Johnson Is Dead”
“Time”
“The Mole Agent”

Best International Film
“Bacurau”
“The Disciple”
“Night of the Kings”
“Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time”
“Quo Vadis, Aida?”

Piaget Producers Award
Kara Durrett
Lucas Joaquin
Gerry Kim

Someone to Watch Award
David Midell, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Ekwa Msangi, “Farewell Amor”
Annie Silverstein, “Bull”

Truer Than Fiction Award
Cecilia Aldarondo, “Landfall”
Elegance Bratton, “Pier Kids”
Elizabeth Lo, “Stray”

John Cassavetes Awards
“The Killing of Two Lovers”
“La Leyenda Negra”
“Lingua Franca”
“Residue”
“Saint Frances”

Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children”
“City So Real”
“Immigration Nation”
“Love Fraud”
“We’re Here”

Best Scripted Series
“I May Destroy You”
“Little America”
“Small Axe”
“A Teacher”
“Unorthodox”

Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Shira Haas, “Unorthodox”
Abby McEnany, “Work in Progress
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, “Never Have I Ever”
Jordan Kristine Seamón, “We Are Who We Are”

Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series
Conphidance, “Little America”
Adam Ali, “Little America”
Nicco Annan, “P-Valley”
Amit Rahav, “Unorthodox”
Harold Torres, “Zero, Zero, Zero”

Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“I May Destroy You”
Ensemble Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Wruche Opia,
Stephen Wight

I have yet to see Promising Young Woman but I can't shake the feeling it's one of those movies destined to act as a time capsule in the worst way possible (see also American Beauty), as in, "huh, people in 2020 sure did like this sort of thing for some reason"

I'm still a little surprised at the extent of the love for Bacurau, which struck me as a pretty decent middlebrow grindhouse movie

same tbh but i would call it a very good middlebrow grindhouse movie

Bacurau sucked. and you're otm about Promising Young Woman, too. Mulligan getting any awards, even nominations, for her performance is completely fucking insane. She's a disaster in the movie. As I said, she's been very good before. Sidney Flanigan should've gotten that award, but iirc Flanigan identifies as non-binary, but that was the best performance in a 2020 movie I've seen.

I love it when I'm right about things I know nothing about

it was too long, too serious, and the gore was too realistic for a grindhouse movie. it wanted to be a dozen things and ended up being nothing.

Bacurau will likely end up on my top ten. It's too quiet for grindhouse.

i liked bacuarau a lot more than you did obviously; it kept me engaged from start to finish and i found the village hunt sequence great fun

Promising Young Woman reminds me of what Charlize Theron joints like Young Adult and Tully.

...did better

Not enough love for Beanpole or Days.

xxxxxp re: Bacurau. as far as PYW goes, I don't think even a year will go by before people pull their heads out of the sand and see what a joke this thing is. if this is the price we have to pay for an English filmmaker making one of the best films about America in the mid/late-2010s (Andrea Arnold with American Honey), then so be it. Fennell's film wants to be universal but just ends up generic and fundamentally dysfunctional on a narrative level. Its profound incoherence does its ostensible subject (survivors) a disservice.

xxp Yes, so quiet I barely remember any of it. I didn't hate it though. Really that's a movie I would've appreciated more in a theater, I just got tired with it early on. One thing that really sticks with me in a bad way is the hyper-realistic gore. Just a personal preference-- I prefer the gushing dummy Fulci school of gore as opposed to this recent trend of, um, vivisection students taking up cinematography...

Young Adult would definitely have more of a rep today if it hadn't had the bad fortune to be made by one of the worst directors alive

hey, I would love to love Days but it's nowhere near me! Beanpole is on my list (and Obama's)

I remember preferring Bad Teacher that year (whatever happened to Cameron Diaz?)

Beanpole was really good, reminded me of the intense Euro arthouse dramas that got me into movies in the first place without being derivative or totally hopeless.

You're def gonna upset some ILXers with that rave for American Honey (which I liked a lot).

lol I only caught Days in October when a friend shared it with me

(whatever happened to Cameron Diaz?)

quit acting, after publishing two wellness books, to concentrate on investing in biotech startups

BTW, with the Board making it official, this is one of the years where the four main film critics' groups picked four different movies (well, eight, more accurately):

NY: First Cow
LA: Small Axe
SOC: Nomadland
BOR: Da 5 Bloods

kind of looks like 4 films in a series

looks like an only connect sequence

I watched Promising Young Woman because I hate myself. "Stars Are Blind" was the best part

this movie is so bad I swear I wrote it myself

in better news GUNDA whips

Noted on Gunda

(whatever happened to Cameron Diaz?)

quit acting, after publishing two wellness books, to concentrate on investing in biotech startups

― shivers me timber (sic), Tuesday, January 26, 2021 2:16 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

This is so depressing (for me)

spoilers for promising young woman

the more I think about this movie the more infuriating it is. the characters are, without fail, cartoons, straw(wo)men, or story props. the dialogue sounds like someone fed mid-aughts tumblr to a neural network. the final 20 minutes are jaw-droppingly misconceived. cool how it subverts the rape-revenge movie.....by having the only people who die be women and by having its female protagonist terrorize other women! I also love it when a would-be angry grindhouse pastiche has the runtime and jokeresque self-seriousness of any other contemptible fest/awards bait. the only thing that could have almost saved this piece of shit would have been anna faris

oh and another thing that pissed me off was the parade of hip hollywood liberals (all comics or sitcom stars, do you see????) lining up to smugly mug it up as one-dimensional creeps

Simon so OTM altho I thought the casting of those guys was the only clever thing about it. Would've been great in a better movie.

It was more clever than the rest of the movie I'll give it that

in other news, will not be checking out Malcom & Marie, thanks

Malcolm and Marie’s fraught relationship history proves so disengaging that Levinson’s fixation on critical reception becomes almost impossible to ignore. Not all of his objections are unfounded. In Malcolm & Marie’s best scene, Marie raises the hypothetical yet believable scenario of Malcolm getting hired to direct a Lego movie, and the waves of hyper-politicized discourse that would follow entirely because of his race. Levinson’s right, too, that some critics fumble with technical language or too narrowly focus on a film’s progressive messaging at the expense of everything else. Yet the sheer amount of time Malcolm & Marie devotes to Malcolm raving about the ineptitude of critics betrays a consuming anxiety. He reserves much scorn for a “white lady from The L.A. Times,” which either refers to a fictional straw(wo)man or real-life L.A. Times critic Katie Walsh. Is it because Walsh gave a negative review to Levinson’s debut feature, Assassination Nation, much like the film’s unnamed critic did to Malcolm’s previous film? Or is it another smokescreen for Levinson to hide behind so that he can insist that critics fall into the trap of assuming intentions they don’t understand? Either way, this petty film puts hoary clichés about critical misunderstanding—updated for the online think-piece era—into the mouth of a character who asserts that Do The Right Thing was revolutionary because it was “made at a time when politics weren’t cool.”

fuck off, son of Barry

whatever else is going on there aside,

hired to direct a Lego movie, the waves of hyper-politicized discourse that would follow entirely because of his race

...did this happen when the writer/directors of the Lego Movie hired the directors of Into The Spider-Verse, which they produced and one of them wrote?

I wish this had been a somber black-and-white retelling of the writing process for Spider-Verse, tbh

In hindsight, it was kind of hilarious that people were actually thinking, “Hey, maybe *this* is the kind of year where a movie like FIRST COW will actually be taken seriously as an awards contender.” Lucy, football, etc.

— Scott Renshaw “at” Sundance (@scottrenshaw) February 3, 2021

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7

BEST ACTOR – DRAMA
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Gary Oldman – Mank
Tahar Rahim – The Mauritanian

BEST ACTRESS – DRAMA
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL/COMEDY
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Hamilton
Music
Palm Springs
The Prom

BEST ACTOR – MUSICAL/COMEDY
Sacha Baron Cohen – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
James Corden – The Prom
Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton
Dev Patel – The Personal History of David Copperfield
Andy Samberg – Palm Springs

BEST ACTRESS – MUSICAL/COMEDY
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Kate Hudson – Music
Michelle Pfeiffer – French Exit
Rosamund Pike – I Care a Lot
Anya Taylor-Joy – Emma.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Bill Murray – On the Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman – The Father
Jodie Foster – The Mauritanian
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Helena Zengel – News of the World

BEST DIRECTOR
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
David Fincher – Mank
Regina King – One Night in Miami
Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of Chicago 7
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of Chicago 7

BEST SCORE
Mank
The Midnight Sky
News of the World
Soul
Tenet

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Fight For You” – Judas and the Black Messiah
“Hear My Voice” – The Trial of the Chicago 7
“Io Sì (Seen)” – The Life Ahead
“Speak Now” – One Night in Miami
“Tigress & Tweed” – The United States vs. Billie Holiday

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED
The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

BEST MOTION PICTURE – FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Another Round
La Llorona
The Life Ahead
Minari
Two of Us

Of all the Golden Globes, this year's the Golden Globe-iest.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Jared Leto – The Little Things

When did they stop giving out the New Star of the Year Award? All those future Pia Zadoras left undiscovered.

bleak

do I even like movies

Didn't recognize the title but looked up Music and of course it's that Sia movie. That must be the Globe-iest one.

and yet

BEST ACTOR
James Corden – The Prom

If Leto gets an Oscar nomination over Paul Raci, I will lose my goddamn mind.

— Josh Spiegel (@mousterpiece) February 4, 2021

SAG AWARD NOMINATIONS

Cast in a Motion Picture
“Da 5 Bloods”
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
“Minari”
“One Night In Miami”
“Trial of the Chicago 7”

Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”)
Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”)
Gary Oldman (“Mank”)
Steven Yeun (“Minari”)

Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams (“Hillbilly Elegy”)
Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)
Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”)
Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”)
Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”)

Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”)
Chadwick Boseman (“Da 5 Bloods”_
Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
Jared Leto (“The Little Things”)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (“One Night in Miami”)

Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”)
Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”)
Olivia Colman (“The Father”)
Youn Yuh-Jung (“Minari”)
Helena Zengel (“News of the World”)

So, Golden Globes are treating Hamilton as a movie and SAG is treating it as TV?

And the Oscars are passing entirely.

these oscar noms are gonna be singularly abysmal hahaha

As ever.

award season is the worst except on ILX

James Corden acts gay for two hours and gets a Golden Globe nomination, I act straight for 23 years and all I get is trauma

— Justin Randall (@imjustinrandall) February 3, 2021

WGA nods:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros) – Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King, Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
“Palm Springs” (Hulu/Neon) – Screenplay by Andy Siara, Story by Andy Siara & Max Barbakow
“Promising Young Woman” (Focus Features) – Written by Emerald Fennell
“Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios) – Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder, Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Written by Aaron Sorkin

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Studios) – Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern, Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad, Based on Characters Created by Sacha Baron Cohen
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix) – Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Based on the Play Written by August Wilson
“News of the World” (Universal Pictures) – Screenplay by Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies, Based upon the Novel by Paulette Jiles
“One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios) – Screenplay by Kemp Powers, Based on the Stage Play “One Night in Miami” by Kemp Powers
“The White Tiger” (Netflix) – Screenplay by Ramin Bahrani, Based on the Book “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
“All In: The Fight for Democracy” (Amazon Studios) – Written by Jack Youngelson
“The Dissident” (Briarcliff Entertainment) – Written by Mark Monroe and Bryan Fogel
“Herb Alpert Is…” (Abramorama) – Written by John Scheinfeld; Abramorama
“Red Penguins” (Universal Pictures) – Written by Gabe Polsky
“Totally Under Control” (Neon) – Written by Alex Gibney

I don't think I've ever seen the phrase "documentary screenplay" before. They must have some line for how much a documentary is scripted to be eligible (someone like Wiseman would check in at 0%).

promising young woman and chicago 7 nods are predictable but infuriating

whatever, no one saw any of these movies anyway

I swear the only movie I saw in the last year I even remotely liked was the Soderbergh divas cruise one ... maybe the hot Riz Ahmed is deaf one.

are you saying riz ahmed is hotter when deaf

wow -- not a single innaresting film in the bunch

Judas was better than I expected, but my bar was really low.

Minari's turned up a few times on this thread--thought it was good. I could see someone finding the grandmother a little precious, but for me, she was a nice cross between Pather Panchali's grandmother and Aunt Lotte from Stranger Than Paradise.

Well then ... BAFTA weighs in:

Best Film
“The Father”
The Mauritanian”
“Nomadland”
“Promising Young Woman”
“The Trial Of The Chicago 7”

Leading Actress
Bukky Bakray, “Rocks”
Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version”
Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces Of A Woman”
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Wunmi Mosaku, “His House”
Alfre Woodard, Clemency”

Leading Actor
Riz Ahmed, “Sound Of Metal”
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Adarsh Gourav, “The White Tiger”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Father”
Mads Mikkelsen, “Another Round”
Tahar Rahim, “The Mauritanian”

Supporting Actress
Niamh Algar, “Calm With Horses”
Kosar Ali, “Rocks”
Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Dominique Fishback, “Judas And The Black Messiah”
Ashley Madekwe, County Lines”
Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari”

Supporting Actor
Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas And The Black Messiah”
Barry Keoghan, “Calm With Horses”
Alan Kim, “Minari”
Leslie Odom Jr., “One Night In Miami…”
Clarke Peters, “Da 5 Bloods”
Paul Raci, “Sound Of Metal”

Outstanding British Film
“Calm With Horses”
“The Dig”
“The Father”
“His House”
“Limbo”
“The Mauritanian”
“Mogul Mowgli”
“Promising Young Woman”
“Rocks”
“Saint Maud”

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
“His House,” Remi Weekes (Writer/Director)

“Limbo,” Ben Sharrock (Writer/Director), Irune Gurtubai (Producer) [Also Produced By Angus Lamont]

“Moffie,” Jack Sidey (Writer/Producer) [Also Written By Oliver Hermanus And Produced By Eric Abraham]

“Rocks,” Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson (Writers)

“Saint Maud,” Rose Glass (Writer/Director), Oliver Kassman (Producer) [Also Produced By Andrea Cornwell]

Film Not In The English Language
“Another Round”
“Dear Comrades!”
“Les Misérables”
“Minari”
“Quo Vadis, Aida?”

Documentary
“Collective”
“David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet”
“The Dissident”
“My Octopus Teacher”
“The Social Dilemma”

Animated Film
“Onward”
“Soul”
“Wolfwalkers”

Director
Another Round, Thomas Vinterberg
Babyteeth, Shannon Murphy
Minari, Lee Isaac Chung
Nomadland, Chloé Zhao
Quo Vadis, Aida?, Jasmila Žbanić
Rocks, Sarah Gavron

Original Screenplay
Another Round, Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
Mank, Jack Fincher
Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell
Rocks, Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson
The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin

Adapted Screenplay
The Dig, Moira Buffini
The Father, Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller
The Mauritanian, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani, M.B. Traven
Nomadland, Chloé Zhao
The White Tiger, Ramin Bahrani

Original Score
Mank, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Minari, Emile Mosseri
News Of The World, James Newton Howard
Promising Young Woman, Anthony Willis
Soul, Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

Casting
Calm With Horses, Shaheen Baig
Judas And The Black Messiah, Alexa L. Fogel
Minari ,Julia Kim
Promising Young Woman, Lindsay Graham Ahanonu, Mary Vernieu
Rocks, Lucy Pardee

Cinematography
Judas And The Black Messiah, Sean Bobbitt
Mank, Erik Messerschmidt
The Mauritanian, Alwin H. Küchler
News Of The World, Dariusz Wolski
Nomadland, Joshua James Richards

Editing
The Father, Yorgos Lamprinos
Nomadland, Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman, Frédéric Thoraval
Sound Of Metal, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Alan Baumgarten

Production Design
The Dig, Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana Macdonald
The Father, Peter Francis, Cathy Featherstone
Mank, Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale
News Of The World, David Crank, Elizabeth Keenan
Rebecca, Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

Costume Design
Ammonite, Michael O’connor
The Dig, Alice Babidge
Emma, Alexandra Byrne
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth
Mank, Trish Summerville

Make Up & Hair
The Dig, Jenny Shircore
Hillbilly Elegy, Patricia Dehaney, Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Matiki Anoff, Larry M. Cherry, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal
Mank, Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams
Pinocchio, Mark Coulier

Sound
Greyhound, Tbc
News Of The World, Michael Fentum, William Miller, Mike Prestwood Smith, John Pritchett, Oliver Tarney
Nomadland, Sergio Diaz, Zach Seivers, M. Wolf Snyder
Soul, Coya Elliott, Ren Klyce, David Parker
Sound Of Metal, Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Phillip Bladh, Carlos Cortés, Michelle Couttolenc

Special Visual Effects
Greyhound, Pete Bebb, Nathan Mcguinness, Sebastian Von Overheidt
The Midnight Sky, Matt Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, David Watkins
Mulan, Sean Faden, Steve Ingram, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury
The One And Only Ivan, Santiago Colomo Martinez, Nick Davis, Greg Fisher
Tenet, Scott Fisher, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley

British Short Animation
The Fire Next Time, Renaldho Pelle, Yanling Wang, Kerry Jade Kolbe
The Owl And The Pussycat, Mole Hill, Laura Duncalf
The Song Of A Lost Boy, Daniel Quirke, Jamie Macdonald, Brid Arnstein

I get a new hive every time PYW gets a screenplay citation

I would object to Sorkin getting slotted in Original Screenplay since he had court transcripts to work from, but there's zero reality in that movie, so

Whoa, the acting noms are pretty good! Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali, Wunmi Mosaku... really loved all those performances.

https://deadline.com/2021/05/golden-globes-canceled-nbc-2022-hfpa-1234753314/

(Not sure if I should even start a detrius thread for 2021 given awards shows' days are numbered.)

No idea where to post this--there's like 40 Netflix threads.

I did feel like work, but I didn't hate Malcolm & Marie. First half, pretty good; many, many words, but it felt more or less real, or at least as real as Virginia Woolf. The first speech where it turned into what I thought it'd be was John David Washington's long post-review rant. Anyway, I liked it better than the last movie I saw, about future people harvesting the sand. Some good music--an early Dionne Warwick song I'd never heard, also this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enX9Fr-I8MA