This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2023

Independent Spirit Award nominations

Best Feature
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
May December
Passages
Past Lives
We Grown Now

Best International Film
Anatomy of a Fall – France
Godland – Denmark, Iceland
Mami Wata – Nigeria
Totem – Mexico
The Zone of Interest – U.K., Poland, U.S.A.

Best Documentary
Bye Bye Tiberias
Four Daughters
Going to Mars
Kokomo City
The Mother of All Lies

Best Director
Andrew Haigh – All of Us Strangers
Todd Haynes – May December
William Oldroyd – Eileen
Celine Song – Past Lives
Ira Sachs – Passages

Best Lead Performance
Jessica Chastain – Memory
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Trace Lysette – Monica
Natalie Portman -May December
Judy Reyes – Birth/Rebirth
Franz Rogowski – Passages
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Tiana Taylor – A Thousand and One
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Teo Yoo – Past Lives

Best Supporting Performance
Erika Alexander – American Fiction
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Noah Galvin – Theater Camp
Anne Hathaway – Eileen
Glenn Howerton – Blackberry
Marin Ireland – Eileen
Charles Melton – May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Catalina Saavedra – Rotting in the Sun
Ben Whishaw – Passages

Best Breakthrough Performance
Marshawn Lynch – Bottoms
Atibon Nazaire – Mountains
Tia Nomore – Earth Mama
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Anaita Wali Zada – Fremont

Best Screenplay
American Fiction
Birth/Rebirth
Bottoms
Past Lives
The Holdovers

Best First Screenplay
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
May December
The Starling Girl
Theater Camp
Upon Entry

Best First Feature
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
Earth Mama
A Thousand and One
Upon Entry

John Cassavetes Award
The Artifice Girl
Cadejo Blanco
Fremont
Rotting in the Sun
The Unknown Country

Best Cinematography
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
The Holdovers
Monica
We Grown Now

Best Editing
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Rotting in the Sun
Theater Camp
Upon Entry
We Grown Now

Robert Altman Award
Showing Up

That is an extremely gay (male) best director slate

Happy as I am to see Belton and Brown gaining traction, to nominate Whishaw and not Rogowski is some perverse shit.

They did nominate Rogowski?

Catalina Saavedra – Rotting in the Sun

This is an inspired nomination imo

oh, oops!

I watched Eileen last night: I appreciated its brevity but it had none of the book's strangeness despite Moshfegh as co-scenarist. Unlike Natalie Portman in May-December Anne Hathaway's ability to present herself as an AI version of herself isn't put to shrewd use.

Congrats to Marshawn Lynch on his first ISA nomination.

National Board of Review unambiguously adds to the Scorsese gangpile:

Best Film: Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Breakthrough Performance: Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best International Film: Anatomy of a Fall
Best Documentary: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Best Ensemble: The Iron Claw
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Director Chad Stahelski and Stunt Coordinators Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers, John Wick: Chapter 4
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, Barbie & Killers of the Flower Moon
NBR Icon Award: Bradley Cooper

Top Films (in alphabetical order):
Barbie
The Boy and the Heron
Ferrari
The Holdovers
The Iron Claw
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things

Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):
La Chimera
Fallen Leaves
The Teachers’ Lounge
Tótem
The Zone of Interest

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
20 Days in Mariupol
32 Sounds
The Eternal Memory
The Pigeon Tunnel
A Still Small Voice

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
All of Us Strangers
BlackBerry
Earth Mama
Flora and Son
The Persian Version
Scrapper
Showing Up
Theater Camp
A Thousand and One

I’d be interested to know if the RS list is based on points/votes, or the staff just sitting on a Zoom and arranging 20 movies to make a point

Putting Barbie at 10 and Oppenheimer at 20 is kinda on the nose

gaws that NBR list

RS list is just David Fear's own list, is my understanding

Yeah, the Board is year-in, year-out the most detrius-y of the established "big 4" crix groups

I've found this year good to great; this consensus is a garbage bag of mayo.

"We are also thrilled to honor Bradley Cooper with the NBR Icon Award — an equally impressive actor, writer, producer, and director, who brings his passion, artistry, and dedication to everything he does, including his latest beautifully sublime film, ‘Maestro.'”

I mean, that's why it's called "detrius" (sic, for those new to the room)

This beautifully sublime thread.

That Cooper award is absolutely "no notes" perfect

Right up there with the top 8 categories getting split between only 3 films

i find Bradley Cooper impossible to take seriously, maybe i'm being unfair.

i see clips of him in Maestro being particularly "impassioned" while conducting and i just think of

https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExa2hteXNvZmp2NHdmOTJ4ODhvOTY1enV6YmRmOHE4Y2UzdXZ0M3hkZiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/iuHIqpwpp0gwg/giphy.gif

i find Bradley Cooper impossible to take seriously, maybe i'm being unfair.

― omar little, Wednesday, December 6, 2023 bookmarkflaglink

I watched him on a recent episode of Stephen Colbert, where Colbert was weirdly VERY fawning... like really overdoing it even for a talk-show host trying to make his guest feel comfortable. But the funniest thing about it was how Cooper kept emphasizing how long he's been working on this film - he's been working with a speech coach "every day for 8 hours, for six years"... he's been working with his co-star for five years... and then later in the interview he says they didn't have a script until 4 years ago. Like, this seems like a super inefficient way to prepare for a movie!!

John Waters returns! I hate his #1! He was missed!

https://www.vulture.com/article/john-waters-best-movies-of-2023.html

01. Beau Is Afraid (Ari Aster)
02. A Prince (Pierre Creton)
03. Master Gardener (Paul Schrader)
04. Full Time (Éric Gravel)
05. Last Summer (Catherine Breillat)
06. Sparta (Ulrich Seidl)
07. Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismäki)
08. Strange Way of Life (Pedro Almodóvar)
09. Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
10. Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World (Radu Jude)

I missed the screening for the Kaurismäki.

Loved it, but I'm Scandinavian so my mileage did NOT vary

Today's dumbest list:

AFI Top 10

American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
May December
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Too many international films.

Given the context surrounding it, almost shocked to see May December in there, as opposed to like The Color Purple or something

Oscar detrius in the form of the VFX shortlist:

https://variety.com/2023/film/awards/oscars-visual-effects-finalists-rebel-moon-wonka-spider-verse-barbie-1235827647/

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quanumania” (Marvel Studios)
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (Warner Bros.)
“Barbie” (Warner Bros.)
“The Boys in the Boat” (Amazon MGM Studios)
“The Creator” (20th Century Studios)
“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount Pictures)
“Godzilla: Minus One” (Toho)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Marvel Studios)
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (Walt Disney Pictures)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
“The Marvels” (Marvel Studios)
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount Pictures)
“Napoleon” (Apple Original Films/Sony Pictures)
“Nyad” (Netflix)
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
“Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire” (Netflix)
“Society of the Snow” (Netflix)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (Paramount Pictures)
“Wonka” (Warner Bros.)

Sight and Sound

https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/polls/50-best-films-2023

10. May December
9. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
8. Anatomy of a Fall
7. Passages
6. Barbie
5. Oppenheimer
4. Poor Things
3. Past Lives
2. The Zone of Interest
1. Killers of the Flower Moon

Not a bad list.

I'm definitely getting to "that part of the season." Other than #9, that list feels a bit white noisy to me. We'll see what Film Comment comes up with

I do love seeing Barbenheimer permanently locked in a tie there, tho

Oh, maybe only three of those films at most would make my top 20

I do love that S&S evidently uses ILX film poll rules regarding eligibility. If you wanna list it, go ahead

Chicago does their "too much" thing (nominations, instead of just handing out some damned awards right off the bat):

BEST PICTURE
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
May December
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST DIRECTOR
Greta Gerwig, Barbie
Todd Haynes, May December
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Teo Yoo, Past Lives

BEST ACTRESS
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall
Natalie Portman, May December
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Emma Stone, Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Glenn Howerton, Blackberry
Charles Melton, May December
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jodie Foster, NYAD
Sandra Huller, The Zone of Interest
Rachel McAdams, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Julianne Moore, May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anatomy of a Fall by Arthur Harari & Justine Triet
Barbie by Greta Gerwig
The Holdovers by David Hemingson
May December by Samy Burch
Past Lives by Celine Song

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Kelly Fremon Craig
Killers of the Flower Moon by Eric Roth & Martin Scorsese
Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan
Poor Things by Tony McNamara
The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron
Leo
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

BEST DOCUMENTARY
20 Days in Mariupol
Beyond Utopia
Kokomo City
Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Anatomy of a Fall
The Boy and the Heron
Godzilla Minus One
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest

MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Kyle Edward Ball, Skinamarink
Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One
Celine Song, Past Lives

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Milo Machado Graner, Anatomy of a Fall
Charles Melton, May December
Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers
Teo Yoo, Past Lives

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Asteroid City
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Asteroid City, Robert D. Yeoman
Killers of the Flower Moon, Rodrigo Prieto
Oppenheimer, Hoyte Van Hoytema
Poor Things, Robbie Ryan
The Zone of Interest, Lukasz Zal

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Asteroid City, Milena Canonero
Barbie, Jacqueline Durran
Killers of the Flower Moon, Jacqueline West
Poor Things, Holly Waddington
Priscilla, Stacey Battat

BEST EDITING
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
John Wick: Chapter 4
Killers of the Flower Moon
Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One
Oppenheimer

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Barbie, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt
Killers of the Flower Moon, Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer, Ludwig Goransson
Poor Things, Jerskin Fendrix
The Zone of Interest, Mica Levi

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Barbie
Godzilla Minus One
Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Florida does that too, missy.

Sorry to say it, but just hand out the awards

I will say this, if you're gonna nominate All of Us Strangers for only one thing, Chicago got that one thing right

Hey, I'm not the boss. It mean two press releases.

Best Hair -- Paul Mescal
Best Use of Body Fluid -- Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott

Best Hair -- M3GAN

I completely forgot the creepy robot movie even happened

LA and Boston (first runner up of the “not NY/LA/Nat’l Soc” groups imo) are voting today. Boston’s already given its first two awards (music and editing) to KILLER FLOWERS.

Both groups gave best director (and seem poised to give best film) to The Zone of Interest.

and LA loved Huller

LAFCA:

Best Picture: “The Zone of Interest” (A24)

Runner-up: “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Best Director: Jonathan Glazer — “The Zone of Interest” (A24)

Runner-up: Yorgos Lanthimos — “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Leading Performances: Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon) and “The Zone of Interest” (A24); Emma Stone, “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Runners-up: Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers” (Searchlight Pictures); Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction” (MGM)

Supporting Performances: Rachel McAdams, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate); Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

Runners-up: Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures); Ryan Gosling, “Barbie” (Warner Bros.)

Best Screenplay: “All of Us Strangers” (Searchlight Pictures) — Andrew Haigh

Runner-up: “May December” (Netflix) — Samy Burch

Best Cinematography: “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) — Robbie Ryan

Runner-up: “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) and “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures) — Rodrigo Prieto

Best Editing: “Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon) — Laurent Sénéchal

Runner-up: “All of Us Strangers” (Searchlight Pictures) — Jonathan Alberts

Best Production Design: “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) — Sarah Greenwood

Runner-up: “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) — Shona Heath, James Price

Best Music Score: “The Zone of Interest” (A24) — Mica Levi (with special recognition of the contribution of sound designer Johnnie Burn)

Runner-up: “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) — Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt

Best Foreign Language: “Anatomy of a Fall” (Neon)

Runner-up: “Tótem”

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: “Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros” (Zipporah Films) — dir. Frederick Wiseman

Runner-up: “The Eternal Memory” (MTV Documentary Films)

Best Animation: “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids)

Runner-up: “Robot Dreams” (Neon)

New Generation Award: Celine Song for “Past Lives” (A24)

Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Prize: “Youth (Spring)” — Wang Bing

Career Achievement Award: Agnieszka Holland

I haven't seen any of these, but the LAFCA awards just look better than the NYFCC awards this year

I don't know - they mostly leaned on films that left me with very mixed feelings (i.e. none I'd call favorites). The Zone of Interest, Oppenheimer, Anatomy of a Fall...

Regardless, I thought it was a pretty solid year, if not spectacular.

It's a wonderful year! And my top twenty will likely only include Anatomy... in that list.