Award Season Reaction

 


The last year was a great year for films. There were a number of films that I enjoyed that were thoughtful, well-made and highly engaging. I'm also blessed to be part of two critics groups--The Denver Film Critics Society and the North American Film Critics Association. Both announced their slate of awards this weekend. Below are my thoughts.

DFCS:

It was a big year for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy. All three were my choices in voting as well. In the end, Oppenheimer won four awards. I think it will do well with the Academy Awards, as it did with the Golden Globes.

Among the other acting awards, Ryan Gosling won Best Supporting Actor, Da'Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress and Emma Stone won Best Actress. I loved all the choices. I think Randolph and Stone are front-runners for the Oscars, too. Meanwhile, Gosling and Robert Downey, Jr., will be going back-and-forth the rest of Awards season.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie won for documentary, while Godzilla Minus One won for horror/sci-fi and tied with The Zone of Interest for Best International Film. I haven't seen Godzilla, but I'm curious. I thought The Zone of Interest was solid, but it wasn't my favorite International Film. But Still winning made me excited. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Feature, and was my choice.

The Screenplay awards went to Barbie and Poor Things, and I think both are great choices.

NAFCA:

It was also a big day for Oppenheimer here, as it won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Downey, Jr. In all, the film won seven awards to lead the way. I was happy to see it. I loved the film and agreed with all the wins.

The rest of the acting slate saw Zac Efron win Best Actor, Lily Gladstone win Best Actress, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph win Best Supporting Actress. All are contenders. People were pumped to see Efron win, but I had voted for Cillian Murphy.

Barbie won four awards, including Best Blockbuster, which I was happy to see. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie won here, too, while Anatomy of a Fall won for Best International Feature. I enjoyed that film as well. Across the Spider-Verse was a winner, too!

Overall, it was a fun night. It's been a long awards season, with more to come as I vote for the Independent Spirit Awards and see how the Oscar race shapes up. But I'm proud of my critics groups!

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