MORE AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENTS

With the passing of each day, more cinematic gifts are being handed out. The American Film Institute, Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics announced their picks for the best of the year in film while the Screen Actor Guild have released their nominees. As usual, these groups are all over the place. The AFI selections were safe and predictable while the LA critics did a big cop-out by having a tie in three (!!!) categories. The strangest of all were the SAG Award nominations where the overrated "Lee Daniels' The Butler" received not only a nod for Best Cast but Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey received acting noms. This is very surprising to me as this was hardly the "best" work of any of these noted actors. And how did Daniel Bruhl of the little-seen "Rush" make it on enough people's radar did receive a nomination? At least the great Judi Dench made the cut for her amazing performance in the wonderful, "Philomena".

The 10 AFI Movies of the Year:

"12 Years a Slave,"
"American Hustle,"
"Captain Phillips,"
"Fruitvale Station,"
"Gravity,"
"Her,"
"Inside Llewyn Davis,"
"Nebraska,"
"Saving Mr. Banks"
"The Wolf of Wall Street."

2013 Boston Society of Film Critics Winners:

Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave"
Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Best Supporting Actor: James Gandolfini, "Enough Said"
Best Supporting Actress: June Squibb, "Nebraska"
Best Director: Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"
Best Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener, "Enough Said"
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, "Gravity"
Best Documentary: "The Act of Killing"
Best Foreign-Language Film: "Wadjda"
Best Animated Film: "The Wind Rises"

2013 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Winners:

Best Picture (tie): "Gravity" and "Her"
Best Actor: Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
Best Actress (tie): Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine" and Adele Exarchopoulos, "Blue Is the Warmest Color"
Best Supporting Actor (tie): James Franco, "Spring Breakers" and Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave"
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
Best Screenplay: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, "Before Midnight"
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, "Gravity"
Best Foreign Film: "Blue Is the Warmest Color"
Best Documentary: "Stories We Tell"
Best Animation: "Ernest & Celestine"

2013 Nominations for The Screen Actor Guild Awards (Film)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

"12 Years a Slave"
"American Hustle"
"August: Osage County"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Lee Daniels' The Butler"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:

Bruce Dern,"Nebraska"
Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"
Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips"
Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Forest Whitaker, "Lee Daniels' The Butler"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:

Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
Judi Dench, "Philomena"
Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"
Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr. Banks"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:

Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"
Daniel Brühl, "Rush"
Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"
James Gandolfini, "Enough Said"
Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:

Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"
Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave"
Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"
June Squibb, "Nebraska"
Oprah Winfrey, "Lee Daniels' The Butler"