Critics roundup, part 3: Super Monday!
Critics of America, what is this? This is not the general election. Is this your Super Monday?
On Monday, seemingly all critics group collectively decided to announce their winners for 2014. Detroit, San Diego (a.k.a. The Nightcrawlers), St. Louis, Indiana, Dallas-Fort Worth, and the Onnine Film Critics. That’s a whole lot of winners. Of course it’s Boyhood and Birdman all over the place, but we also see the continuing trend of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Nightcrawler doing very well with critical America this year. Given the former’s early release date, that is certainly impressive. How does this bode for its Oscar chances? Certainly in the case of Budapest, with its possibility to score well in the tech categories, expect it to do better than most people did at the start of the season.
In the acting department, Amazing Amy had a good day, as Rosamund Pike nabbed three wins and a runner-up mention. Strongest competitor for Julianne Moore (who also got a win)? This looks most likely. On the male side, it’s mostly Michael Keaton, though it’s nice to see Ralph Fiennes pick up an award for his fine work in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Category confusion might be his biggest problem. In the supporting categories, J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette continue their reign, only relenting three awards between them to also-rans.
Wade through the lists at your pleasure, but don’t call us if you get RSI from all the scrolling.
DETROIT FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST FILM
Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman
BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
JK Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST ENSEMBLE (TIE)
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
BREAKTHROUGH
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash (director, screenplay)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST DOCUMENTARY
CitizenFour
ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST FILM
Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
BEST ACTOR
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Interstellar
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Birdman
BEST SOUNDTRACK
Guardians of the Galaxy
BEST ART DIRECTION
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie
BEST ART-HOUE OR FESTIVAL FILM
Whiplash
BEST COMEDY
Guardians of the Galaxy
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
BEST SCENE
X-Men Days of Future Past – Quicksilver Escape from the Pentagon
INDIANA FILM JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
BEST FILM
Boyhood
Runner-up: Whiplash
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Runner-up: Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
BEST ACTOR
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner-up: Tom Hardy, Locke
BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Runner-up: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Runner-up: Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Runner-up: Melissa McCarthy, St. Vincent
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner-up: Boyhood
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Whiplash
Runner-up: The Imitation Game
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Two Days, One Night
Runner-Up: Ida
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Life Itself
Runner-Up: An Honest Liar
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Lego Movie
Runner-Up: The Boxtrolls
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Under the Skin
Runner-up: The Grand Budapest Hotel
ORIGINAL VISION AWARD
Boyhood
Runner-up: Under the Skin
DALLAS FORT-WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST PICTURE
Birdman
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
BEST ACTOR
Michale Keaton, Birdman
BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Particia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST SCREENPLAY
Birdman
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
BEST SCORE
Interstellar
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
BEST DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie
ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST PICTURE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman
BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Edward Norton, Birdman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
BEST EDITING
Birdman
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Two Days, One Night
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Life Itself
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Lego Movie
CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST PICTURE
Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman
BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Lego Movie
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Life Itself
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
BEST EDITING
Tom Cross, Whiplash
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (TIE)
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Under the Skin
BEST ART DIRECTION
The Grand Budapest Hotel
MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Jack O’Connell (Starred Up, Unbroken)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November) - November 21, 2024
- 2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards - November 21, 2024
- Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives - November 21, 2024
2025 Oscar Predictions: SUPPORTING ACTOR (November) 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 72 – ‘Three Colours: Blue’ (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993) 
2025 Oscars: Eligibility Lists for Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards 
Nava Mau, Sean Wang Among 2024 BAFTA Breakthroughs Championing New ‘Must-Watch’ Creatives