Critics roundup, part 5: Because Phoenix really needs two awards

Erik Anderson December 17, 2014

We’re nearing the end of this series, we think. How many critics organizations can be left, right? Well, they are starting to throw us curveballs now. Starting this year, the city of Phoenix, Arizona (population: 1.5 million) deems it necessary to have not one, but two critics organizations dole out awards. Okay, we’ll bite. And we will be nice, since this is your inaugural year, Phoenix Film Critics Circle. But next year, please refrain from including nonsense categories like ‘Best Mystery or Thriller Film’, okay?

All kidding aside, most noticable of these is Rosamund’s Pike continuing conquest of the heartland of America, moving ever more west. Will she actually go all the way to the coast and the Academy Awards? Most likely not (in fact, we are quite certain about it), but a case can be made that she is the runner-up to Julianne Moore in the race now.

In terms of other wins, the major categories of Best Picture and Best Director is now officially the territory of Boyhood and Birdman. Both start with a ‘B’, just like ‘boring’. Which is our way of saying: shake it up, critics. Think out of the box for once.

UTAH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Runner-up
The Imitation Game

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Runner-up
Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin

BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Runners-up (tie)
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game and Ralph Fiennes, Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Runner-up
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Runner-up
Edward Norton, Birdman

BEST SUPPORTING ACRESS
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Runner-up
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Runner-up
Nightcrawler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (TIE)
INHERENT VICE
SNOWPIERCER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit, Nightcrawler
Runner-up
Daniel Landin, Under the Skin

BEST DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR
Runner-Up
The Overnighters

BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM
We Are The
Best!
Runner-up
Two Days, One Night

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie
Runner-Up
The Boxtrolls

PHOENIX FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST PICTURE
Birdman

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman

BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
JK Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emma Stone, Birdman

BEST SCREENPLAY
Birdman

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (TIE)
Force Majeure and Ida

BEST COMEDY FILM
Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST HORROR OR SCI-FI FILM
Snowpiercer

BEST MYSTERY OR THRILLER FILM (TIE)
Gone Girl
Nightcrawler

AUSTIN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
BEST FILM
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

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
Nightcrawler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman

BEST SCORE
Birdman

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure

BEST DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie

BEST FIRST FILM
Nightcrawler

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Jennifer Kent, The Babadook

BEST AUSTIN FILM
Boyhood

SPECIAL HONORARY AWARD
Gary Poulter, for his outstanding performance in Joe

Author
Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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.