Critics roundup, part 4: Beyond our borders
For this installment of our roundup series, we look across US borders to some international critics organizations, more specifically those in Toronto and London, but we also have the fine folks from Houston and Florida in our midst. The London Film Critics Circle is interesting to watch, because much like BAFTA, they have separate categories for ‘Best British’, so keep an eye out for the Brit contenders who are relegated to these categories. Hint: one of them is three months pregnant.
Elsewhere, it’s important to note that Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure is quietly challenging early favorite Ida for foreign langauge critics darling of the year. It already picked up a couple of wins earlier, and adds another one today in Toronto, with more nominations from the two American organizations. Sweden might very well be looking at a nomination for the Oscars this year (where Poland seems like a given).
Finally, Marion Cotillard scores another win, but where it has mostly been her role in Two Days, One Night that gained her recognition so far, this time it’s James Gray’s The Immigrant that is her winning vehicle. One has to wonder what could have happened if Harvey Weinstein would have thrown his considerable weight behind this performance instead of the seemingly dead-in-the-water Amy Adams in Big Eyes.
TORONTO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST FILM
Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater
BEST ACTOR
Tom Hardy, Locke
BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
BEST FIRST FEATURE
The Lunchbox
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Overnighters
FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTOR
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Emma Stone, Birdman
BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
Into the Woods
BEST SCORE
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Under the Skin
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Life Itself
Jodorowsky’s Dune
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Ida
Force Majeure
The Raid 2
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
PAULINE KAEL BREAKOUT AWARD
Jennifer Kent, The Babadook
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle/Beyond the Lights
HOUSTON FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST PICTURE
A Most Violent Year
Birdman
Boyhood
Guardians of the Galaxy
Inherent Vice
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ACTOR
Bendict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Eddie Redmayne, Theory Of Everything
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Tom Hardy, Locke
BEST ACTRESS
Essie Davis, The Babadook
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emma Stone, Birdman
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
BEST SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Whiplash
Nightcrawler
Boyhood
The Grand Budpest Hotel
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Book of Love
The Boxtrolls
The Lego Movie
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
Interstellar
Nightcrawler
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Unbroken
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself
The Overnighters
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
The Raid 2
Two Days, One Night
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Interstellar
The Theory of Everything
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Big Eyes, Big Eyes
Everything is Awesome, The Lego Movie
Glory, Selma
I’m Not Going to Miss You, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Lost Stars, Begin Again
LONDON FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
FILM OF THE YEAR
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Leviathan
Mr Turner
Nightcrawler
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
Whiplash
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Ida
Leviathan
Norte, The End of History
Two Days, One Night
Winter Sleep
BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Imitation Game
Mr Turner
Pride
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
20,000 Days on Earth
Citizenfour
Manakamana
Next Goal Wins
Night Will Fall
ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Timothy Spall, Mr Turner
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Essie Davis, The Babadook
Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Marion Bailey, Mr Turner
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Agata Kulesza, Ida
Emma Stone, Birdman
BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Tom Hardy, Locke, The Drop
Jack O’Connell, Starred Up, ’71 & Unbroken
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Timothy Spall, Mr Turner
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods & Edge of Tomorrow
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game, Begin Again & Say When
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl & What We Did on Our Holiday
YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Daniel Huttlestone, Into the Woods
Alex Lawther, The Imitation Game
Corey McKinley, ’71
Will Poulter, The Maze Runner & Plastic
Saoirse Ronan, The Grand Budapest Hotel
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin
Alejandro G Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Mike Leigh, Mr Turner
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Alejandro G Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILMMAKER
Hossein Amini, The Two Faces of January
Elaine Constantine, Northern Soul
Yann Demange, ’71
Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, 20,000 Days on Earth
James Kent, Testament of Youth
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
’71, Chris Wyatt, editing
Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematography
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Joe Letteri, visual effects
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Adam Stockhausen, production design
Inherent Vice, Mark Bridges, costumes
Leviathan, Mikhail Krichman, cinematography
Mr Turner, Dick Pope, cinematography
A Most Violent Year, Kasia Walicka-Maimone, costumes
Under the Skin, Mica Levi, score
Whiplash, Tom Cross, editing
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.
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