2017 Golden Globe Nominations Revealed

The Golden Globe nominations have been announced today and all I can say is, Wow! I am so disappointed with these results. I mean, they do nominate some good stuff. I liked seeing Colin Farrell there for The Lobster and Moonlight doing well.

But plenty of the snubs today were absolutely hideous: No Lucas Hedges for Supporting Actor, The Handmaiden for Foreign Language Film, or, and this one actually had my jaw drop, Sally Field for Best Actress-Musical Or Comedy. Seriously, Lily Collins for Rules Don't Apply, one of the biggest flops of the year, over Sally Field who single handedly carried arthouse hit Hello, My Name Is Doris? Really?

Anyhow, some other shockers include Silence and Sully being a no-show despite them having significant star power behind them, Nocturnal Animals performing better than expected as well as both Hacksaw Ridge and Hell Or High Water. If there's anything we learned, it's that Hacksaw Ridge and Hell Or High Water are now legitimate Best Picture contenders. Also, La La Land has the most nominations with 7 while Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight performed well.

Here is the full list of nominees in case you want to observe this mess for yourself:

Best Motion Picture-Drama:
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell Or High Water
Lion
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight

Best Motion Picture-Musical Or Comedy:
20th Century Women
Deadpool
Florence Foster Jenkins
La La Land
Sing Street

Best Director:
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Best Actor In A Motion Picture-Drama:
Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
Joel Edgerton, Loving
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress In A Motion Picture-Drama:
Amy Adams, Arrival
Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie

Best Actor In A Motion Picture-Musical Or Comedy:
Colin Farrell, The Lobster
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Jonah Hill, War Dogs
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Best Actress In A Motion Picture-Musical Or Comedy:
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Lily Collins, Rules Don't Apply
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge Of Seventeen
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor In A Motion Picture:
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell Or High Water
Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins
Dev Patel, Lion
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress In A Motion Picture:
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea

Best Screenplay:
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea
Taylor Sheridan, Hell Or High Water

Best Foreign Language Film:
Divines (France)
Elle (France)
Neruda (Chile)
The Salesman (Iran)
Toni Erdmann (Germany)

Best Animated Feature:
Kubo And The Two Strings
Moana
My Life As A Zucchini
Sing
Zootopia

Best Original Score:
Arrival
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight

Best Original Song:
"Can't Stop The Feeling" from Trolls
"City Of Stars" from La La Land
"Faith" from Sing
"Gold" from Gold
"How Far I'll Go" from Moana

"Moonlight" and "La La Land" Continue Their Critical Dominance With The Boston Society Of Film Critics And New York Film Critics Online

Today has been a hectic day when it comes to critics awards. The Critics Choice Awards are tonight and FOUR critics groups have announced their winners: The San Francisco Film Critics Circle, Toronto Film Critics Association, and both the winners for the Boston Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Online that you can see down below. I'll post the winners for the other two critics groups when I post a tally of all the different critics groups that have announced their winners. Anyhow, here are the winners for the BSFC and NYFCO. Take a look!

Boston Film Critics Society:
Best Picture: La La Land
(Runner-Up) Manchester By The Sea

Best Director: Damien Chazelle, La La Land
(Runner-Up) Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea
(Runner-Up) Joel Edgerton, Loving

Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert, Elle & Things To Come
(Runner-Up) Natalie Portman, Jackie

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Best Supporting Actress: Lily Gladstone, Certain Women

Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea
(Runner-Up) Jim Jarmusch, Paterson

Best Ensemble: Moonlight
(Runner-Up) Certain Women

Best Documentary Feature: OJ: Made In America
(Runner-Up) Cameraperson

Best Foreign Film: The Handmaiden
(Runner-Up) Things To Come

Best Animated Film: Tower
(Runner-Up): Kubo and the Two Strings

Best Cinematography: The Handmaiden, Chung Hoon-Chung
(Runner-Up): James Laxton, Moonlight

Best Editing: Tom Cross, La La Land
(Runner-Up) Nels Bangerter, Cameraperson & John Gilbert, Hacksaw Ridge

Best Score: Mica Levi. Jackie
(Runner-Up) Dustin Hurwitz, La La Land

Best New Director: Robert Eggers, The Witch
(Runner-Up): Kristen Johnson, Cameraperson

New York Film Critics Online:

Best Picture: Moonlight

Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Screenplay: Moonlight

Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences

Breakthrough Performer: Ruth Negga, Loving

Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden

Best Animated Feature: Kubo And The Two Strings

Best Documentary: 13th

Best Ensemble Cast: Moonlight

Best Cinematography: Moonlight

Best Use Of Music: La La Land

Best Debut Director: Robert Eggers, The Witch

'Nocturnal Animals' Is Beautifully Chaotic

After making a splash with his 2009 directorial debut A Single Man which netted Colin Firth a Best Actor nomination, fashion designer turned director Tom Ford makes a return to the director's chair with Nocturnal Animals which not only demonstrates his distinctive visual flare he had demonstrated in A Single Man but has me hoping that we don't have to wait another 7 years for his next film.

Nocturnal Animals is told through three nonlinear storylines: Art gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) who reads a manuscript of a violent novel dedicated to her by her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal); Edward and Susan's crumbling marriage; the story within the story involving Tony (Jake Gyllenhaal), a Southern everyman who finds himself on the brink of vengeance after a tragic occurrence involving his family.

Normally, a film that has a nonlinear structure can scramble with an audience member's mind because the story can get all over the place. But I think in this case, director Tom Ford and editor Joan Sobel trust the audience enough for them to know when the film is at what storyline. So kudos to them. The screenplay by Tom Ford also aids the film's nonlinear structure and is packed with intrigue, having you ask questions like "How will the novel end?" and "Why would her husband dedicate this novel to her?" Even if some questions aren't answered, that's still the beauty of if because it is interesting when a film has you revisit it to continue to try and piece the puzzle yourself.

Also, much like A Single Man, the cinematography manages to feel like it is its own character and manages to keep your eyes glued to the screen. The cinematographer is different with Seamus McGarvey behind the lens this time around after Eduard Grau lensed A Single Man but the palette is just as colorful. McGarvey's cinematography manages to capture the mood of each storyline: The main "Susan" storyline is very bleak to capture the mundanity of the empty fashion world she lives in, the "Edward and Susan" storyline has rather normal lighting with tints of red to hint at the darkness that'll follow, and the "Tony" storyline has yellowish lighting to capture the sweaty raw feel of the deserted Texas landscape.

Another reason this film keeps you engaged throughout is the actors. Amy Adams delivers yet another knockout performance as the rather chilly Susan, using her eyes to capture a woman who is trapped in the rubble of her current yet hollow high scale world while also showcasing her initial lovelorn nature that she once displayed. Jake Gyllenhaal is also fantastic in his dual roles: the lovelorn yet betrayed Edward and the kindly everyman turned agent of vengeance Tony. Exemplary work from both lead actors who consistently keep upping their game.

Even though she literally has one scene, Laura Linney leaves you wanting more as Susan's hard nosed Manhattanite matron. From her sorrowful yet scornful eyes to the way she comically sips her wine, she packs plenty of large detail about her character into so little. Michael Shannon is also a scene stealer as Texan sheriff Bobby Andes from the "Tony" storyline. Through his dry comic relief and sinister penance stare, Shannon manages to keep you glued to him whenever he's on screen as a loose cannon cop with little moral regard.

Overall, Nocturnal Animals is a chaotic visual experience mixed with flawless acting performances that had me hooked from beginning to end. It proves that A Single Man was not just a one-off and director Tom Ford has a very keen eye for storytelling.

Grade: A

"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.

"Manchester By The Sea" Is The Most Realistic Family Drama In Years

    Grief is something that follows us around in numerous ways. Whether we are grieving the loss of a loved one, grieving over a breakup, or grieving over the fact that we have to get up every morning to do the same tired routine. It is also the main theme for Manchester By The Sea which also successfully deals with the humor, joy, and the heartbreak that come with life itself.

    Manchester By The Sea follows the story of a misanthropic janitor named Lee, played by Casey Affleck, who finds his life in turmoil when his distant brother Joe, played by Kyle Chandler, passes away. Lee is left to be the guardian to his young nephew Patrick, played by Lucas Hedges, while he also tries to confront demons of his past.

    One main reason this film works so well is Casey Affleck who successfully carries it on his shoulders. Rather than portray his grief-stricken character with caricatural histrionics, Affleck plays Lee as a neurotic everyman. Someone who just wants to fight his way from one day to the next and not worry about emoting his inner turmoil while avoiding any connection to those around him.

    As terrific as Affleck is though, Lucas Hedges is a scene stealer as Patrick. For such a young actor at about 19 years old, he matches his veteran co-star tit for tat while possessing a potent mix of light youthful charm with dramatic vulnerability. Thanks to the chemistry that he and Affleck have, even as their characters are at odds with one another, I still wanted them to find some kind of happiness in the end. I look forward to what the future holds for this amazing young talent.

    There's also a lot of awards hype around Michelle Williams for her brief work as Lee's ex-wife Randi. While she has a small amount of screentime, whenever she is on screen, she does have an impact so i'd say her buzz is pretty warranted. Especially during her penultimate scene where she expresses shock, sadness, and regret in just a span of minutes.

    Not only do the actors make their characters true to life, but writer/director Kenneth Lonergan writes the film close to life as well. His writing flourishes in its simplicity, showcasing a portrait of dealing with grief along with a portrayal of normal family life. Lee and Patrick fight, make up, and then have a few laughs the way a regular family does. Lonergan even manages to weave in constant flashbacks that deal with Lee's backstory. Some of them weren't always necessary yet they still reveal why Lee is the way he is.

   Overall, Manchester By The Sea is a masterful and subtlely complex portrayal of dealing with grief and the power of family love brought to life by its naturalistic performances by Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, and Michelle Williams along with the screenplay by Kenneth Lonergan. It shows the tears, laughs, joys, and heartbreak of life itself and does it seamlessly.

Grade: A

"Manchester" and "Moonlight" Win Big At NYFCC, But "La La Land" Nabs Top Prize

The New York Film Critics Circle has announced their list of winners today and even though they don't vote in the actual Oscars like people in the industry do, they do have a major influence in the awards race. For example, when Marcia Gay Harden made her march to win her surprise Oscar for Pollock, one of the few awards she won beforehand was the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Anyhow, this list of winners has given an interesting demonstration of how the race is shaping up.

Best Film: La La Land

Very interesting win. I'm guessing they want to spread the wealth since Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight were already quite taken care of. But now that this won Best Film here, Manchester won Best Film at the National Board of Review, and Moonlight won Best Feature at the Gotham Awards, it should be a three way battle between those three for the top prize at this point in the race.

Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Jenkins' second directing award thus far. He already won Best Director at the National Board of Review and Screenplay at the Gotham Awards. He's probably Damien Chazelle's biggest competition unless Martin Scorsese has something to say about it.

Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester By The Sea

No surprise here. Affleck is probably going to sweep through the critics awards. So expect this trend to continue. We could see a critical/industry divide between him and Denzel Washington for Fences, though. Early word on Washington is very strong.

Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert, Elle & Things To Come

Huppert is looking stronger and stronger each day. She's already won at the Gotham Awards, is an Independent Spirit nominee, just got a Critics Choice nomination and now this. The fact that they awarded her for her one-two punch of Elle and Things To Come, signifying the banner year she's having, will only help her cause. Worked for Marion Cotillard a few years ago when she won this award for both The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night.

Best Supporting Actor: Mahershalal Ali, Moonlight
Nice win. He's looking stronger for a nomination. I don't knpw if he'll win because he doesn't have a big emotive scene that often clinches an acting win for some people. But a nomination is looking like it'll be in the cards.

Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams, Manchester By The Sea & Certain Women

After missing out at the Independent Spirit Awards, this was a much needed boost that Williams needed. I will say, though, that I don't fully agree with her also winning for Certain Women because Lily Gladstone was much better and it would've been nice to see her honored here.

Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea

This one will probably battle it out with Moonlight for Best Original Screenplay. But as of now, it seems positioned to be the frontrunner.

Best Animated Feature: Zootopia

Awesome choice!!!! I figured they would go for something artistic like The Red Turtle from Sony Pictures Classics. But this looks to only help Zootopia's case to win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.

Best Documentary Feature: OJ: Made In America

Still have to see it. But it may be looking likely to at least make the final shortlist if it can overcome the fact that it's technically a TV movie.

Best Foreign Language Film: Toni Erdmann

The Cannes sensation starts to make waves with critics stateside.

Best Cinematography: James Laxton, Moonlight

Soooo well-deserved.

Best First Film: (TIE) Edge of Seventeen & Krisha

Neat tie. Still need to see both films, though. Frustratingly, despite its aggressive marketing, Edge of Seventeen never made its way near me. But Krisha is now available on streaming. So I'll likely catch it soon.

Kathleen Kennedy Wants More Experienced Women Directors For Star Wars

The recent Star Wars films have made plenty of progress in terms of representation in front of the camera. But representation behind the camera has proven to be very difficult. Recently, Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm which is the studio behind all the upcoming Star Wars films, has spoken about why there aren't any female directors in line to helm a Star Wars film, saying that they're waiting to hire a woman director with more experience.

Having read those comments, I found them to be rather unfortunate. Mainly because we have recently seen plenty of male directors with little studio experience or directing experience make an immediate jump to blockbusters. For example, Marc Webb landed the Amazing Spider-Man films right after 500 Days Of Summer, Colin Trevorrow got Jurassic World after the Sundance wonder Safety Not Guaranteed, David Lowery went right from Ain't Them Bodies Saints to the more commercial Pete's Dragon, Joe and Anthony Russo landed the Captain America sequels after directing episodes of the series Community, and even Cedric Nicolas-Troyan who is a visual effects supervisor helmed The Huntsman: Winter's War which was his directing debut.

So if men with little or no directing experience can make the jump to blockbusters, why can't women do the same? It shouldn't feel like that much of a challenge to find a right director because the Star Wars franchise is tevlon. Those movies will always have big openings and make boatloads of dough. So even if they got an inexperienced woman director, she'll at least be allowed more opportunities going forward because she had that guaranteed box office win on her resume.

Also, we are starting to see female directors with little blockbuster experience make that transition. Patty Jenkins, whose previous credits include Monster and a few episodes of The Killing, will be coming out with Wonder Woman next year while Ava DuVernay has just become the first African-American woman to direct a $100 million film with A Wrinkle In Time for Disney (And FYI, Lucasfilm is a part of The Walt Disney Company). So for Kennedy to say that they're waiting for a woman with more experience just makes her look bad.

While representation in front of the camera is very important and is something that Kennedy and co. have worked on as mentioned in the beginning of this post, representation behind it is just as important. For example, Shonda Rhimes, a woman of color who is a TV executive producer, is behind shows like Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder which center around women of color.

What do you guys think? Are you as saddened by these comments as I am? Please be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!