"Moonlight" Continues To Shine As It Dominates The LAFCA Awards

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association isn't often predictive of the Oscars yet they still are instrumental in a film's Oscar momentum much like the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review which announced their winners as well. While there are some surprises to be found below, you can see which films and performances are still gaining traction in this race.

Best Picture: Moonlight
(Runner-up): La La Land

Moonlight continues its slayage. La La Land may be a frontrunner but the race is far from over. Especially after it didn't win in a critics circle based in

Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
(Runner-up): Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Jenkins' dominance continues once more. He is now three for three, having won here, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the National Board of Review.

Best Actor: Adam Driver, Paterson
(Runner-up): Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

I was so sure Casey Affleck would take this because of the run he's been having. But while Paterson might be too small, Driver's win here should at least help his Supporting Actor bid for Silence. 

Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert, Elle & Things To Come
(Runner-up) Rebecca Hall, Christine

Huppert's reign continues....Gotham Awards, New York Film Critics, and now this. I feel like it's going to happen for her. Also, I really have to check out Christine now.

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
(Runner-up): Issei Ogata, Silence
Ali continues to steamroll his way through awards season. Ogata picking up mentions is quite interesting, though, considering you have Adam Driver and Liam Neeson also competing for Supporting Actor and I figured because of their star power, they

Best Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
(Runner-up): Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea

Lily Gladstone!!! Yes!!!!! I am so glad she is getting such recognition. I thought she was the MVP of Certain Women and I hope she can not only be a dark horse in the Supporting Actress race but that Hollywood takes note of her tremendous talent.

Best Screenplay: Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou, The Lobster
(Runner-up): Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Very deserving. As terrific as Lonergan's script is, The Lobster has the most original and inventive screenplay this year.

Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden
(Runner-up): Toni Erdmann

This is a very neat win. The Handmaiden won't make it to this category because South Korea didn't select it to represent them for Best Foreign Language Film. But I love seeing it get cited and hopefully, it'll make it in some craft categories.

Best Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro
(Runner-up): O.J.: Made In America

Very interesting given the fact that O.J. won Best Film Editing. Have to see both of these.

Best Animated Feature: Your Name
(Runner-Up): The Red Turtle

Apparently, Your Name was a big hit in Japan. Never heard of it until now. Zootopia is probanly going to steamroll its way into

Best Music/Score: Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, La La Land
(Runner-up: Mica Levi, Jackie)
No surprise here. It is a musical about Hollywood. This trend will likely continue throughout the season.

Best Cinematography: James Laxton, Moonlight
(Runner-Up: Linus Sandgren, La La Land)

Excellent choice. It has the best cinematography I've seen all year thus far. Haven't seen La La Land yet but judging by the beautifully shot trailers, it looks like it'll put up a good fight for the Oscar. Also, Moonlight picking up citations for its cinematography means it should contend for below-the-line categories as well as Picture, Director, etc..

Best Editing: Bret Granato, Maya Mumma, Ben Sozanski, O.J.: Made In America
(Runner-up): Tom Cross, La La Land

Very interesting win. But La La Land at least being a runner-up in the techs indicates its strength as an overall contender.

Best Production Design: Ryu Seong-hee, The Handmaiden
(Runner-up): David Wasco, La La Land

Absolutely no complaints about this win.