DAVID LYNCH (1946 - 2025)

David Lynch, the visionary filmmaker who utilized provocative style and surreal imagery to create some of the most memorable cinema, has passed away on January 15th. He had recently been diagnosed with emphysema after smoking heavily for most of his life. Lynch was seventy-eight.

He began studying art at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C., later transferring in to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Lynch left after a year, deciding he wasn't getting much out of academia, and set about traveling Europe with friend, Jack Fisk who would later become a production designer and director. Upon his return, Lynch enrolled to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where Fisk was attending. This was when he became interested in filmmaking and made his first short. Lynch applied for a grant with the recently formed American Film Institute to help him finance another short film. He was accepted and made "The Grandmother" in 1970.

Later that year, Lynch moved to Los Angeles to begin studying with AFI Conservatory, making more short films before attempting his first feature film. After several production problems and having to take a loan from his father to help finish the film, "Eraserhead", a bewildering yet intriguing, black & white body horror drama, was completed in 1977. This low-budget indie was intially met with viewer disinterest and negative reviews. But a successful midnight screening run in New York, spreading to San Francisco and Los Angeles, turned "Eraserhead" into a popular cult film.

The comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks saw "Eraserhead" and loved it. He offered Lynch an opportunity to direct "The Elephant Man", an adapatation of the successful Broadway production which Brooks held the film rights, based on the real-life story of a severely deformed man in Victorian London saved from a life in a freak show by a symphathic doctor. The film was a critical and box-office hit, earning eight Academy Award nominations including Best Director.

Following this achievement, Lynch was offerd a chance to turn Frank Herbert's science fiction novel, "Dune" into a movie. Since the film was set in the future, the director added more eccentric touches to the screenplay and production design. However the producer, Dino de Laurentiis was not at all happy with the results, deciding to remove footage from the final cut which dramatically altered the plot. Despite these changes in an ill-fated attempt to salvage the film, "Dune" was a commercial failure upon it's release.

Lynch was still contractually obligated to make another film for De Laurentiis. This lead to an original work from Lynch: a strange, mystery thriller called "Blue Velvet". Set in quiet, small town, a college student discovers a severed human ear in a field which leads him deep into a criminal conspiracy and a romance with a troubled lounge singer. "Blue Velvet" became a critical sensation at the time and now considered a cinematic masterpiece, earning Lynch another Oscar nomination for Best Director.

After his dark romantic-comedy, "Wild at Heart" with Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern (which won the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival), Lynch decided to explore television and created "Twin Peaks", a dreamlike, murder-mystery drama. The show only lasted two seasons but has since become a cult classic and had a feature film in 1992, "Twin Peaks: Fire Walks With Me" which served as prequel to the series. His next two films, a surreal neo-noir drama, "Lost Highway" and "The Straight Story", a true story of a man traveling across states only on a lawn mower, received largely mixed reviews.

But it would be his next film that would go on to be thought of as the finest in his illustrious career. Described as "A love story in the city of dreams", "Mulholland Drive" had originally been conceived as a television pilot. But after executives rejected the program, Lynch set about turning it into a feature film. This Los Angeles set story involves a struggling actress (in a career breakthrough for Naomi Watts) who finds a dazed woman (Laura Harring), suffering from amnesia, living in her home and in grave danger. Mesmerizing, atmospheric and odd, "Mulholland Drive" was very well received (later considered by many films groups to be one of the greatest films of all-time) and won Lynch the Best Director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and earned his final Best Director Oscar nomination.

Despite this incredible success, Lynch struggled to get another movie made. It would take six years later for him to complete "Inland Empire" with Laura Dern, a one hundred and eighty minute mystery-thriller shot entirely on digital video that is more dense, fragmented and experimental than "Mulholland Drive" and would end up being his final feature film.

What I have loved about Lynch is that he had always refused to offer explanations about his intentions in each of his films, preferring to let the work speak for itself and enjoying the various intepretations that have been expressed. Lynch boldly created dark edged cinema that challenged and provoked yet still featured an optimistic undercurrent that was also an undeniable part of his work.

WINNERS OF THE 2024 GOLDEN GLOBES AND OTHER AWARD NEWS

The 2024 Golden Globes were given out on January 5th and you would have never known they had been away. Now in their 82nd year, the Globes have found their way back on solid ground once again after the last few years embroiled in messy scandals which had distracted them from their mission to glamorously kick off award season. The comedian, Nikki Glaser, making her debut as host of the Globes, proved to be a perfect fit, keeping the show upbeat and lively while gently teasing the stars in attendance with funny yet largely inoffensive jokes.

As for the awards, "Emilia Pérez" had entered this race with the most nominations with ten and took home four awards including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). Two unexpected yet well-deserved winners were Demi Moore receiving Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the body-horror satire, "The Substance" and Fernanda Torres won Best Actress in a Drama for her turn in "Ainda Estou Aqui (I'm Still Here)", the Brazilian political drama from filmmaker, Walter Salles. Brady Corbet and his over three hour, dramatic epic, "The Brutalist" was another big winner receiving awards for Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director and Best Actor for star, Adrien Brody. And the winner of the first "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement" movie category was "Wicked". I still have no clear idea what this dubious award really means ("It's not good enough for Best Drama or Best Musical or Comedy but it made money so it should get an award too") but congratulations to the witches.

Here is the list of winners from the 2024 Golden Globes (Motion Picture):

Best Motion Picture (Drama): "The Brutalist"
Best Motion Picture (Musical Or Comedy): "Emilia Pérez"
Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement: "Wicked"
Best Director (Motion Picture): Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"
Best Screenplay (Motion Picture): Peter Straughan, "Conclave"
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama): Fernanda Torres, "I’m Still Here"
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture: Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama): Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): Sebastian Stan, "A Different Man"
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language): "Emilia Pérez" (France)
Best Motion Picture (Animated): "Flow"
Best Original Song (Motion Picture): "El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez" Music & Lyrics By: Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
Best Original Score (Motion Picture): Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "Challengers"

The Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations on January 8th with these awards focused on honoring the best acting performances of the year. "Anora", "A Complete Unknown", "Emilia Pérez" and "Wicked" each received three nominations including Outstanding Performance By a Cast in a Motion Picture. "Conclave" is the other film in that category along with Ralph Fiennes as a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor. The 31st Annual SAG Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 23, 2025 live on Netflix and hosted by actress Kristen Bell.

Here is the list of nominations of the 2024 SAG Awards (Film):

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:

"Anora"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Wicked"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:

Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl"
Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:

Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
Daniel Craig, "Queer"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:

Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown"
Jamie Lee Curtis, "The Last Showgirl"
Danielle Deadwyler, "The Piano Lesson"
Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:

Jonathan Bailey, "Wicked"
Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:

"Deadpool & Wolverine"
"Dune: Part Two"
"The Fall Guy"
"Gladiator II"
"Wicked"

And the National Society of Film Critics, a group that counts amongst its members many of the country’s leading film critics, have made their selections of the best in the year of cinema. Announced on January 4th, the NSFC awarded "Nickel Boys", RaMell Ross' moving drama that follows the lives of two African-American boys who try to survive at an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida, as their pick of Best Picture with “All We Imagine as Light” and “Anora” as the runner-ups.

Here is the list of winners from the 2024 National Society of Film Critics:

Best Picture: "Nickel Boys"
Best Director: Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine as Light"
Best Screenplay: Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Hard Truths"
Best Supporting Actress: Michele Austin, Hard Truths"
Best Actor: Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Film Not in the English Language: "All We Imagine as Light"
Best Nonfiction Film: "No Other Land"
Best Experimental Film: "The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire"
Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray, Nickel Boys"
Film Heritage Award: To Save and Project: The MoMa International Festival of Film Preservation; IndieCollect and Scott Eyman

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (2024)

Written by James Mangold and Jay Cocks



Directed by James Mangold



Where & When: Landmark Theatres Sunset, West Hollywood, CA. December 25, 2024 10:00 PM



Bob Dylan has been known as a rock and roll poet, a musical artist who was able to intuitively use the social and political upheaval that was beginning to happen at the time in the early 1960's and capture it into an momentous anthem. His thoughtful and uplifting words would go on to make a deep connection with his youthful peers. Beginning with his arrival to New York's Greenwich Village, rumpled, eccentric and essentially homeless, Dylan found inspiration all around him. And while many people didn't know what to make of this peculiar individual, they did realize he was an exceptionally, gifted talent. With "A Complete Unknown", James Mangold's riveting biopic, the film traces this brief period of Dylan making a powerful impact on folk music and how this crushing fame made him want to explore another musical avenue, much to the emphatic objections by folk purists.

The initial reason Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) had come to New York was to seek out his musical hero, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) who was suffering from a neurodegenerative disease and convalescing at a psychiatric hospital. After sneaking in to the hospital late one evening, Dylan finds Guthrie, no longer able to communicate verbally, and his good friend, Pete Seeger (Edward Norton). He performs a song he wrote that was inspired by Guthrie, making a deep impression on them. An intrigued Seeger, who was also a prominent musician of folk music and social activist, invites the young vagabond to stay with him and his family until he can get settled in the city.

Seeger has Dylan perform at open mics, introduces him to other musicians and industry figures which created a swirl of interest around the fledgling performer. Albert Grossman (Dan Fogler) leaps at the chance to manage Dylan and helped get him signed to Columbia, still one of the biggest record labels on the planet. For his self-titled debut album in 1962, the producer, John Hammond (David Alan Basche) insisted Dylan should record mostly covers of traditional folk and blues songs. This album only sold modestly but while on tour, audiences responded well to Dylan's original compositions, encouraging Hammond to allow him to record them for his follow-up album.

Mangold is well known as a proficiently versatile filmmaker, dabbling in various genres throughout his career and excelling at many of them. He has worked his magic on dramas ("Girl, Interrupted"), romantic-comedies ("Kate & Leopold"), comic-book adventures ("Logan") and action-thrillers ("Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"). And while some where not major box-office hits, these films had been expertly crafted and efficiently stimulating. Mangold had made a musical bio previously, taking on the life of country music legend, Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix) and his love affair with fellow performer, June Carter in "Walk The Line". This drama received five Academy Award nominations with Reese Witherspoon winning for Best Actress. Cash makes an appearance in "A Complete Unknown" (played here by Boyd Holbrook) who connects with Dylan first as a fan and later as a confidant.

The script by Mangold and Jay Cocks is not entirely successful in escaping the overly familiar beats of the Hollywood-styled biopic yet the solid direction and compelling, intimate performances help make this film a rewarding experience. Not surprisingly, music plays a strong part of "A Complete Unknown", effectively energizing the film with thrilling full-length performances of some of Dylan's greatest songs sung by Chalamet. The actor perfectly captures the essence of Dylan; a midwestern enigma who allowed people to only get so close to him, revealing as little about himself as possible and making up the rest. And while Chalamet's singing doesn't sound much like the musician, he does manage to find the emotional force of each song performed.

Dylan was consumed with getting each song just right, largely shutting out the world during his laser-focused, creative process. And while the world would benefit greatly by his passionate drive, the people who where closest to him would suffer the most by his lack of consideration. He first met Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), a popular folk singer, following one of her performances. Having dismissed him after he clumsily flirted with her, Dylan captured her attention once seeing him on stage much like the rest of the audience. Baez would record some of his songs and these temperamental musical artists would begin an on-again, off-again affair, made more complicated because he was living with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning). Based on Dylan's real-life girlfriend, Suze Rotolo (who he had requested for this character's name to be changed), Russo was a New York born activist who influenced him on politics, art and music and ended up being on the cover with him on his second album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan". But once she had to start sharing him with the world, Sylvie began to feel less important in their relationship and Dylan didn't do nearly enough to reassure her.

The real drama in the film occurs after Dylan achieves great fame a few years later, abandoning his casual look of jeans and work shirts and taking on a more upscale style of a rock & roller. He would begin to chafe under the never ending glare by an adoring public and took on wearing black sunglasses, day and night, using them as a shield against constant prying eyes. It was also during this time Dylan started experimenting musically with the electric guitar during the recording of his next album. Word spread to the committee of the Newport Folk Festival who grow concerned since Dylan is supposed to headline their next event and strongly opposed to anyone deviating from the theme.

I'll admit I have never been much of a fan of the music by Bob Dylan, not really connecting to any of his songs and finding his nasal singing voice to be grating. But "A Complete Unknown" has certainly opened my eyes to recognize and appreciate what Dylan brought to music and the culture, expanding the idea of what a pop song can achieve through reflective, artistic expression. His vocal abilities may have been limited yet he was able to communicate through his colorful lyrics in a way that was distinctive and original.

2024 NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY

This year's selections for the National Film Registry have been announced and twenty-five films have been inducted, ranging from Hollywood blockbusters, independent films and historical footage. Some of these films include "Ganja & Hess", an African-American vampire film by Bill Gunn that is as sensual as it is horrifying; the low budget, influential horror movie, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" that would ignite a franchise; "Up In Smoke", the stoner comedy starring the stand-up act, Cheech & Chong; The sci-fi classic, "Invaders from Mars" which is notable for being one of the first films to show aliens and their spacecraft in vivid color; "Chelsea Girls", an experimental underground feature directed by the pop artist, Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey which was presented in a split screen, alternating between soundtracks, black-and-white and color photography; the wildly popular, romantic drama, "Dirty Dancing"; "The Miracle Worker", the film adaptation of the Broadway play based on the life of the blind-deaf child, Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, winning acting Oscars for the stars, Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke; "Beverly Hills Cop" was the breakout film that made former SNL comedian, Eddie Murphy a major movie star; Gary Cooper starred as NY Yankees first baseman, Lou Gehrig in the inspirational sports tribute, "The Pride of the Yankees"; the early, queer cult classic by Gus Van Sant, "My Own Private Idaho" that featured River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves; "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is the first of the enduring, science-fiction adventure franchise created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966 to be entered into the Registry and the 2007 Best Picture Oscar winner, "No Country for Old Men" from the Coen Brothers and based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy.

The Library of Congress has added these movies this year to the National Film Registry which recognizes their artistic significance while helping to ensure their preservation for generations to come. These films, which must be at least ten years old, have been named because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance and with these selections brings the number of films in the registry to 900.

This is the complete list of films selected for the 2024 National Film Registry:

"Annabelle Serpentine Dance" (1895)
"KoKo's Earth Control" (1928)
"Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938)



"Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
"Invaders from Mars" (1953)



"The Miracle Worker" (1962)
"The Chelsea Girls"(1966)
"Ganja & Hess" (1973)



"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)
"Uptown Saturday Night" (1974)



"Zora Lathan Student Films" (1975-76)
"Up in Smoke" (1978)



"Will" (1981)
"Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan" (1982)



"Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)
"Dirty Dancing" (1987)
"Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt" (1989)



"Powwow Highway" (1989)
"My Own Private Idaho" (1991)



"American Me" (1992)



"Mi Familia (1995)
"Compensation" (1999)
"Spy Kids" (2001)



"No Country for Old Men" (2007)
"The Social Network" (2010)

COMING SOON

Since his breakthrough with the indie drama, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" way back in 1989, Steven Soderbergh has always had some of the best and intriguing actors appearing in his films. For his thirty-sixth feature film, Soderbergh has impressively teamed-up Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in "Black Bag", a thrilling spy drama. They play married British intelligence agents, George and Kathryn Woodhouse. When Kathryn is under investigation for betraying their country, George must struggle between loyalty to his marriage or to the commonwealth. There are elements here that bring to mind the dark action-comedy, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" that also featured two physically stunning actors, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie but "Black Bag" appears to be far less humorous and intensely violent. Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris and Pierce Brosnan also star.

"Black Bag" is due in US theaters on March 14, 2025

THE GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATIONS AND MORE AWARD NEWS

Although they have lost some of their luster over the last few years due to several scandals, the Golden Globes are back to reclaim their status as the first major awards organization to start shaping the conversation for which films could potentially win awards. "Emilia Pérez" leads in film nominations with ten, following with "The Brutalist" at seven and "Conclave" with six. There is a new film category this year (which the Oscars had flirted with but backed away from a few years ago) with Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, which apparently is supposed to honor movies that made a lot of money in theaters last year but wouldn't be recognized in the Best Motion Picture categories. I guess it's not much different from separating the Drama and Musical/Comedy in some of the categories but this addition still seems silly to me.

Viola Davis, the Oscar and a Golden Globe winning performer, will receive this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award. The 80th Golden Globes will be hosted by Nikki Glaser on January 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton and presented live on CBS.

Here is a partial list of the nominations for the 2024 Golden Globes Awards (Film):

Best Motion Picture – Drama:

"The Brutalist"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Nickel Boys"
"September 5"

Best Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy:

"Anora"
"Challengers"
"Emilia Pérez"
"A Real Pain"
"The Substance"
"Wicked"

Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement:

"Alien: Romulus"
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"
"Deadpool & Wolverine"
"Gladiator II"
"Inside Out 2"
"Twisters"
"Wicked"
"The Wild Robot"

Best Director – Motion Picture:

Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
Sean Baker, "Anora"
Edward Berger, "Conclave"
Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"
Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine as Light"

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture:

Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
Sean Baker, "Anora"
Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, "The Brutalist"
Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
Peter Straughan, "Conclave"

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:

Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl"
Angelina Jolie, "Maria"
Nicole Kidman, "Babygirl"
Tilda Swinton, "The Room Next Door"
Fernanda Torres, "I’m Still Here"
Kate Winslet, "Lee"

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:

Amy Adams, "Nightbitch"
Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Zendaya, "Challengers"

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:

Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
Daniel Craig, "Queer"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:

Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
Hugh Grant, "Heretic"
Gabriel Labelle, "Saturday Night"
Jesse Plemons, "Kinds Of Kindness"
Glen Powell, "Hit Man"
Sebastian Stan, "A Different Man"

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture:

Selena Gomez, "Emilia Pérez"
Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
Margaret Qualley, "The Substance"
Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"
Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role In Any Motion Picture:

Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist"
Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"
Denzel Washington, "Gladiator II"

Best Motion Picture – Animated:

"Flow"
"Inside Out 2"
"Memoir of a Snail" "Moana 2"
"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"
"The Wild Robot"

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language:

"All We Imagine as Light" (USA/France/India)
"Emilia Pérez" (France)
"The Girl With The Needle" (Poland/Sweden/Denmark)
"I’m Still Here" (Brazil)
"The Seed of the Sacred Fig" (USA/Germany) 

"Vermiglio" (Italy)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture:

Volker Bertelmann, "Conclave"
Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
Kris Bowers, "The Wild Robot"
Clément Ducol and Camille, "Emilia Pérez"
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "Challengers"
Hans Zimmer, "Dune: Part Two"

Best Original Song – Motion Picture:

"Beautiful That Way" from "The Last Showgirl" (Music & Lyrics By Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus and Lykke Zachrisson)
"Compress / Repress" from "Challengers" (Music & Lyrics By Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Luca Guadagnino)
"El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez" (Music & Lyrics By Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard)
"Forbidden Road" from "Better Man" (Music & Lyrics By Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek)
"Kiss the Sky" from "The Wild Robot" (Music & Lyrics By Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack and Ali Tamposi)
"Mi Camino" from "Emilia Pérez" (Music & Lyrics By: Clément Ducol and Camille)

For the 50th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, "Anora" went away with three awards including Best Picture. The film's star, Mickey Madison received Best Leading Performance along with Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her turn in "Hard Truths". The Best Supporting Performance went to Yura Borisov as a sympathetic thug in "Anora" and Kieran Culkin for his work in "A Real Pain".

Here are the winners of the 2024 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards:

Best Picture: "Anora"
Best Director: Mohammad Rasoulof, "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"
Best Screenplay: Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
Best Leading Performances: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Hard Truths" and Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Best Supporting Performances: Yura Borisov, "Anora" and Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Film Not in English Language: "All We Imagine as Light"
Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: "No Other Land"
Best Animation: "Flow"
Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray, "Nickel Boys"
Best Editing (Tie): Nicholas Monsour, "Nickel Boys" and Hansjörg Weißbrich, "September 5"
Best Production Design: Judy Becker, "The Brutalist"
Best Music Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, "Challengers"
New Generation Award: Vera Drew, "The People’s Joker"
Career Achievement Award: John Carpenter

Jacques Audiard’s "Emilia Pérez" was the big winner at the 37th annual European Film Awards, winning all five of its nominations including Best Film. Held on December 7th in Lucerne, Switzerland, Audiard won Best Director and Best Screenplay while Karla Sofia Gascón received the Best Actress prize, making her the first trans actor to win this award.

Here are the winners of the 2024 European Film Awards:

Best European Film: "Emilia Pérez" (France)
Best European Director: Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" (France)
Best European Screenplay: Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" (France)
Best European Actress: Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez" (France)
Best European Actor: Abou Sangare, "L'Histoire de Souleymane (Souleymane's Story)" (France)
Best European Documentary: No Other Land (Palestine, Norway)
Best European Animated Feature Film: "Straume (Flow)" (Latvia, France, Belgium)
Best European Cinematography: Benjamin Kračun, "The Substance" (UK, United States, France)
Best European Editing: Juliette Welfling, "Emilia Pérez" (France)
Best European Production Design: Jagna Dobesz, "Pigen med nålen (The Girl With The Needle)" (Denmark, Poland, Sweden) 

Best European Original Score: Frederikke Hoffmeier, "Pigen med nålen (The Girl With The Needle)" (Denmark, Poland, Sweden)
Best European Sound: Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak, Samuel Aïchoun and Rodrigo Diaz, "L'Histoire de Souleymane (Souleymane’s Story)" (France)
Best European Costume Design: Tanja Hausner, "Des Teufels Bad (The Devil's Bath)" (Germany)
Best European Make-up & Hair: Evalotte Oosterop, " Ljósbrot (When The Light Breaks)" (Iceland)
Best European Visual Effects: Bryan Jones, Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky, Chervin Shafaghi and Guillaume Le Gouez, "The Substance" (UK, United States, France)
European Achievement in World Cinema: Isabella Rossellini

And the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honors the best of the year in indie cinema, unveiled their nominations with "Anora" and "I Saw the TV Glow" leading the field with six noms apiece including Best Feature. The other nominees for Best Feature are the historical drama based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "Nickel Boys"; the prison reform through the arts drama, "Sing Sing" and the body-horror movie, "The Substance". The 40th annual Spirit Awards will be held on February 22, 2025, at the Santa Monica beach with former SNL member, Aidy Bryant returning as host.

Here are the 2024 nominations of the Film Independent Spirit Awards (Cinema):

Best Feature:

"Anora"
"I Saw The TV Glow"
"Nickel Boys"
"Sing Sing"
"The Substance"

Best Director:

Ali Abbasi, "The Apprentice"
Sean Baker, "Anora"
Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"
Alonso Ruizpalacios, "La Cocina"
Jane Schoenbrun, "I Saw the TV Glow"

Best Screenplay:

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, "Heretic"
Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
Megan Park, "My Old Ass"
Aaron Schimberg, "A Different Man"
Jane Schoenbrun, "I Saw the TV Glow"

Best First Feature:

"Didi"
"In the Summers"
"Janet Planet"
"The Piano Lesson"
"Problemista"

Best First Screenplay:

Joanna Arnow, "The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed"
Annie Baker, "Janet Planet"
India Donaldson, "Good One"
Julio Torres, "Problemista"
Sean Wang, "Dìdi"

Best Lead Performance:

Amy Adams, "Nightbitch"
Ryan Destiny, "The Fire Inside"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Keith Kupferer, "Ghostlight"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Hunter Schafer, "Cuckoo"
Justice Smith, "I Saw the TV Glow"
June Squibb, "Thelma"
Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best Supporting Performance:

Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Joan Chen, "Dìdi"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Danielle Deadwyler, "The Piano Lesson"
Carol Kane, "Between the Temples"
Karren Karagulian, "Anora"
Kani Kusruti, "Girls Will Be Girls"
Brigette Lundy-Paine, "I Saw the TV Glow"
Clarence Maclin, "Sing Sing"
Adam Pearson, "A Different Man"

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Isaac Krasner, "Big Boys"
Katy O’Brian, "Love Lies Bleeding"
Mason Alexander Park, "National Anthem"
René Pérez Joglar, "In the Summers"
Maisy Stella, "My Old Ass"

Best International Film:

"All We Imagine as Light" (France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
"Black Dog" (China)
"Flow" (Latvia, France, Belgium)
"Green Border" (Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium)
"Hard Truths" (United Kingdom)

Best Documentary:

"Gaucho Gaucho"
"Hummingbirds"
"No Other Land"
"Patrice: The Movie"
"Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat"

Best Cinematography:

Dinh Duy Hung, "Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell"
Jomo Fray, "Nickel Boys"
Maria von Hausswolff, "Janet Planet"
Juan Pablo Ramírez, "La Cocina"
Rina Yang, "The Fire Inside"

Best Editing:

Laura Colwell and Vanara Taing, "Jazzy"
Olivier Bugge Coutté and Olivia Neergaard-Holm, "The Apprentice"
Anne McCabe, "Nightbitch"
Hansjörg Weißbrich, "September 5"
Arielle Zakowski, "Dìdi"

The Producers Award:

Alex Coco
Sarah Winshall
Zoë Worth

Truer Than Fiction Award (presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition):

Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, "Sugarcane"
Carla Gutiérrez, "Frida"
Rachel Elizabeth Seed, "A Photographic Memory"

John Cassavettes Award (presented to the best feature made for under $1,000,000):

"Big Boys"
"Ghostlight"
"Girls Wille Be Girls"
"Jazzy"
"The People’s Joker"

Robert Altman Award (presented to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast): "His Three Daughters"

2024 AWARD SEASON BEGINS

Award season has officially begun and the prizes are coming fast and furious for the best in this year's cinema. Here is a round-up of some of the award winners from various groups:

The Gothams are the first awards out of the gate, announced on December 2nd at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, and "A Different Man" was chosen as Best Feature. This dark, comedic drama from Aaron Schimberg features Sebastian Stan as a facially disfigured actor who undergoes a medical procedure to transform his appearance. But this causes him to lose an opportunity to play a dream role. While there were ten nominees in each of the two non-gender specific acting categories, only one winner was selected for the lead and supporting prizes. And it was Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin winning for their performances in "Sing Sing", a drama directed by Greg Kwedar involving a group of incarcerated men involved in the creation of theatrical shows through the prison's arts program. This indie-focused awards organization removed a budget cap on eligibility last year, opening larger budgeted films to be considered for prizes. 

Here is the complete list of nominees of the 2024 Gotham Awards (with the winners highlighted):

Best Feature:

"Anora"
"Babygirl"
"Challengers"
"A Different Man"
"Nickel Boys"

Best Director:

Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine as Light"
Sean Baker, "Anora"
Guan Hu, "Black Dog"
Jane Schoenbrun, "I Saw the TV Glow"
RaMell Ross, "Nickel Boys"

Best Breakthrough Director:

Shuchi Talati, "Girls Will Be Girls"
India Donaldson, "Good One"
Alessandra Lacorazza, "In the Summers"
Vera Drew, "The People’s Joker"
Mahdi Fleifel, "To a Land Unknown"

Best Screenplay:

Nathan Silver and C. Mason Wells, "Between The Temples"
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, "Evil Does Not Exist"
Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, "Femme"
Azazel Jacobs, "His Three Daughters"
Annie Baker, "Janet Planet"

Best Outstanding Lead Performance:

Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl"
Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Hard Truths"
Nicole Kidman, "Babygirl"
Keith Kupferer, "Ghostlight"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Saoirse Ronan, "The Outrun"
Justice Smith, "I Saw the TV Glow"

Best Outstanding Supporting Performance:

Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Danielle Deadwyler, "The Piano Lesson"
Brigette Lundy-Paine, "I Saw the TV Glow"
Natasha Lyonne, "His Three Daughters"
Clarence Maclin, "Sing Sing"
Katy O’Brian, "Love Lies Bleeding"
Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"
Adam Pearson, "A Different Man"
Brian Tyree Henry, "The Fire Inside"

Best Breakthrough Performer:

Lily Collias, "Good One"
Ryan Destiny, "The Fire Inside"
Maisy Stella, "My Old Ass"
Izaac Wang, "Dìdi"
Brandon Wilson, "Nickel Boys"

Best International Feature:

"All We Imagine as Light"
"Green Border"
"Hard Truths"
"Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell"
"Vermiglio"

Best Documentary Feature:

"Dahomey"
"Intercepted"
"No Other Land"
"Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat"
"Sugarcane"
"Union"

"The Brutalist", Brady Corbet’s over three-hour long, epic saga (plus a built-in intermission), received the top prize of Best Film from the New York Film Critics Circle. In their 90th year, making this organization the oldest film critics group in the US, the NYCC announced their selections on December 3rd. Adrien Brody, who plays a World War II Hungarian refugee architect landing in America, won Best Actor for his performance in "The Brutalist". The Best Director Award went to RaMell Ross for his inventive work on "Nickel Boys", a drama involving two young Black men who form a bond while trying to survive at a brutal Florida reform school, and Best Cinematography went to Jomo Fray for his innovative camerawork for this film. Sean Baker won Best Screenplay for his latest, "Anora", a dark, dramatic comedy about a whirlwind romance between a stripper and the son of a Russian oligarch. 

The rest of the acting winners by the NYCC are inspired choices: Best Actress went to Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her hilarious turn as a severely prickly wife and mother in Mike Leigh’s "Hard Truths"; Kieran Culkin was awarded Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "A Real Pain", directed by his co-star, Jesse Eisenberg and Carol Kane was recognized as Best Supporting Actress in Nathan Silver’s comedy, "Between the Temples" where she plays an adult Bat Mitzvah student of a cantor (Jason Schwartzman) who was her grade school student.

Here are the winners of the 2024 NYCC Awards:

Best Film: "The Brutalist"
Best Director: RaMell Ross, "Nickel Boys"
Best Screenplay: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Hard Truths"
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain"
Best Supporting Actress: Carol Kane, "Between Two Temples"
Best First Film: Annie Baker, "Janet Planet"
Best International Film: "All We Imagine As Light"
Best Non-Fiction Film: "No Other Land"
Best Animated Film: "Flow"
Best Cinematography: Jomo Fray, "Nickel Boys"

The National Board of Review has selected "Wicked", the Broadway hit musical turned into a recent filmed box-office smash, as the Best Film of the year. John M. Chu won Best Director for his work on the film. The acting categories also offered some unexpected yet commendable selections with Nicole Kidman receiving Best Actress for her mesmerizing turn in the upcoming sexually-charged drama, "Babygirl" while Daniel Craig completely sheds his former spy character in the drama, "Queer", helping him win Best Actor by the NBR. Elle Fanning received Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the Bob Dylan bio, "A Complete Unknown" and Kieran Culkin adds another award for his mantle for his comedic yet moving work in "A Real Pain".

Here are the winners of the 2024 National Board of Review awards:

Best Film: "Wicked"
Best Director: Jon M. Chu, "Wicked"
Best Original Screenplay: Mike Leigh, "Hard Truths"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, "Sing Sing"
Best Directorial Debut: India Donaldson, "Good One"
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, "Babygirl"
Best Actor: Daniel Craig, "Queer"
Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning, "A Complete Unknown"
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Ensemble: The cast of "Conclave"
Best Breakthrough Performance: Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Best Animated Feature: "Flow"
Best International Film: "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"
Best Documentary: "Sugarcane"
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, "Nosferatu"
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga"
NBR Spotlight Award: The Creative Collaboration of Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: "No Other Land"

And we have the top ten films of the year selected by the American Film Institute. Since AFI usually deems most international or foreign films ineligible, this list is not as expansive to recognize all of the great works that were released this year yet these picks still remain impressive.

Here are the Best Films of 2024 by the AFI:

"Anora"
"The Brutalist"
"A Complete Unknown"
"Conclave"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Nickel Boys"
"A Real Pain"
"Sing Sing"
"Wicked"