Critics roundup, part 6: The Stragglers
The year draws to an end, and so does our series on the lower rung critics organizations, with Florida, Las Vegas, and Nevada weighing in with their winners. Fatigue is kicking in, and we certainly hope not more of these groups come forward (though we will duly report on them, don’t fret).
So it’s time for a recap of at least the major categories, to see who the critics have anointed their darlings this year. In Best Picture and Best Director, the image is pretty clear: Boyhood has taken most of the prizes, with Birdman also taking a fair bite out of the critics pie. The Academy will likely align with the critics here, as 12 Years A Picture is the favourite to win both categories.
In the lead acting categories, both have seen awards reasonably split down the middle. In Best Actor, Michael Keaton (Birdman) and the surprising Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) have dominated. Keaton is one of the hot favourites to win the Oscar, though his film may ultimately prove too ‘difficult’ (will they go the easy route with Redmayne or Oyelowo?). Gyllenhaal is only on the cusp of being nominated, but that position is surely a hell of a lot better than where he was before the season started.
In Best Actress, the split has been between Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night mostly, The Immigrant at times) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), with a dash of Witherspoon (Wild) here or there. The latter two look certain to be nominated, while Cotillard is fighting for her nomination (is she really though? She doesn’t seem to be campaigning). Relatively quiet so far has been Julianne Moore (Still Alice), but she remains the favourite to win the televised awards, including the big one. Critics were never going to award her for what is by a lot of them perceived as a TV movie. Guilds and AMPAS will have less trouble doing so, especially given her narrative.
The supporting categories have been dominated by J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood). Sure, somebody else picked up a win here or there, but they have won the lion’s share, and look relatively unbeatable on Oscar night.
Other notable facts from the critics portion of the season: The Grand Budapest Hotel is strong across the board, and many feel this will translate to 7 to 9 nominations. Under The Skin‘s score was really loved by the critics. Will the notoriously insular music branch follow suit? We sure hope so, if only because it would be great to have a female composer (Mica Levi) among the nominees. Best Documentary is a battle between CITIZENFOUR and Life Itself. And The Lego Movie wowed critics most when it comes to animation.
FLORIDA FILM CRITICS CIRCLE
BEST PICTURE
Birdman
BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST ENSEMBLE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Interstellar
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Interstellar
BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST SCORE
Under the Skin
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Life Itself
BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Raid 2
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Lego Movie 2
BREAKOUT AWARD
Damian Chazelle
LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS
BEST PICTURE
Birdman
BEST DIRECTOR
Innaritu, Birdman
BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman
BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman
BEST SCREENPLAY
Birdman
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Ida
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The LEGO Movie
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
BEST EDITING
Edge of Tomorrow
BEST ART DIRECTION
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST SCORE
Birdman
BEST SONG
“I Love You All” from Frank
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Guardians of the Galaxy
BEST FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR
Damien Chazelle
BEST YOUTH PERFORMANCE
Jaeden Lieberher, St Vincent
BEST HORROR/SCI-FI FILM
The Babadook
BEST COMEDY
Top Five
BEST FAMILY FILM
The LEGO Movie
BEST ACTION FILM
Guardians of the Galaxy
NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
BEST FILM
Gone Girl
BEST DIRECTOR
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
BEST ACTOR
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
BEST ACTRESS
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (TIE)
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST YOUTH PERFORMANCE
Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
BEST SCREENPLAY
Nightcrawler
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Guardians of the Galaxy
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
BEST ANIMATED MOVIE
Big Hero 6
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Interstellar
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Interstellar
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