Yesterday I saw somebody predict Zootopia to be nominated for Best Picture by the BFCA. I tried my hardest not to get my hopes up, but I was still pretty disappointed when I saw that it wasn’t nominated. At this point, I just have to accept that this film’s Best Picture chances are officially DEAD.
Sorry, just wanted to lighten the mood.
Anyway, here are the nominations for the Critic’s Choice Awards.
BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell Or High Water
La La Land
Lion
Loving
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
Sully
Putting Zootopia aside, the biggest surprise is the absence of Jackie. Maybe the film isn’t as strong as people were thinking. There’s also no Silence, but that’s probably because they didn’t see it in time. Early reviews are extremely positive, and I’m sure it’ll show up at the Oscars.
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester By The Sea
David Mackenzie – Hell Or High Water
Denis Villenueve – Arrival
Denzel Washington – Fences
I recently saw Hell Or High Water, but I haven’t had the time to review it yet. The short review is that I enjoyed it tremendously and I’m so happy to see David Mackenzie here.
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
Joel Edgerton – Loving
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Tom Hanks – Sully
Denzel Washington – Fences
This is bad news for Viggo Mortensen, who was looking pretty strong for a while. Also, this is the point where I start to wonder just how strong Hacksaw Ridge is going to be overall.
BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams – Arrival
Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land
If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I actually predicted this category. You have my permission to bow.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges – Hell Or High Water
Ben Foster – Hell Or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester By The Sea
Dev Patel – Lion
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
Super stoked for Ben Foster, he’s currently my #1 of the year. But I’m a little surprised that Hugh Grant missed opting instead for the Best Actor in a Comedy nomination. Also, I wonder how this category will change once Liam Neeson enters the picture.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis – Fences
Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Nicole Kidman – Lion
Janelle Monae – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester By The Sea
Yep, that feels about right.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell Or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Loving
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
This is one category where they could have thrown Zootopia a bone, but whatever. At least I’ve seen five of the six nominees.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Nocturnal Animals
Sully
Fine, this category works. Silence could potentially win the Oscar, though.
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Alex R. Hibbert – Moonlight
Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls
Madina Nalwanga – Queen of Katwe
Sunny Pawar – Lion
Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen
I don’t really have much to say about this category.
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
20th Century Women
Fences
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
I’m a little surprised that La La Land didn’t get on, but the category looks fine. Look for Moonlight to take every ensemble prize that there is.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Arrival
Jackie
La La Land
Moonlight
Nocturnal Animals
I’m excited for Bradford Young, the DP on Arrival. Don’t hold me to this, but if he’s nominated, he could be the first black cinematographer to be nominated for an Oscar. That’s huge. Not only that, but he stands a very good shot at winning.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Jackie
La La Land
Live by Night
I’m guessing that La La Land sweeps most of the techs.
BEST EDITING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Moonlight
Sully
I would have liked to have seen Hell Or High Water get on over Hacksaw Ridge.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
Love & Friendship
All of these movies are in contention for the Oscar.
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
Jackie
Star Trek Beyond
I don’t really know what I was expecting, but this is another Oscar that Silence is firmly in the hunt for.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
A Monster Calls
Prepare for The Jungle Book to take this, and every other ‘Visual Effects’ award that exists.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Finding Dory
Kubo And The Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Trolls
Zootopia
That moment when you’re scrolling through the nominees, you think you’ve seen all five nominees, and you’re about to have a heart attack because Zootopia isn’t there. Only to realize there are six nominees. Oops.
BEST ACTION MOVIE
Captain America: Civil War
Deadpool
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Jason Bourne
A nice little bunch of nominees.
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange
Matt Damon – Jason Bourne
Chris Evans – Captain America: Civil War
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
People will want Reynolds to take this, but it’s gonna be Garfield.
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Gal Gadot – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Scarlett Johansson – Captain America: Civil War
Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad
Tilda Swinton – Doctor Strange
Someone on Twitter had the suggestion that the reason there are only four nominees is because they’re saving a spot for Felicity Jones in Rogue One. It seems plausible.
BEST COMEDY
Central Intelligence
Deadpool
Don’t Think Twice
The Edge of Seventeen
Hail, Caesar!
The Nice Guys
This is the second time this week that Hail, Caesar! has gotten a nod that should have gone to Zootopia. I hope this doesn’t become a running theme throughout awards season.
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Ryan Gosling – The Nice Guys
Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
Dwayne Johnson – Central Intelligence
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
This will be awfully close between Grant and Mortensen.
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship
Sally Field – Hello, My Name Is Doris
Kate McKinnon – Ghostbusters
Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins
This category is relatively new, which means Meryl hasn’t wont this award yet. That’ll be fixed this year.
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
10 Cloverfield Lane
Arrival
Doctor Strange
Don’t Breathe
Star Trek Beyond
The Witch
Oh, it’s gotta be arrival yet.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Elle
The Handmaiden
Julieta
Neruda
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann
I honestly don’t know what to make of this category. Whatever wins here is probably the one to beat for the Oscar.
BEST SONG
Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – La La Land
Can’t Stop the Feeling – Trolls
City of Stars – La La Land
Drive It Like You Stole It – Sing Street
How Far I’ll Go – Moana
The Rules Don’t Apply – Rules Don’t Apply
Oh come on! You couldn’t even give Zootopia a nomination in Best Song? You guys are jerks, you know that?
BEST SCORE
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Jackie
Moonlight
I’n betting on Arrival, but any of the others could potentially win.
And there you have it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have charts to update!