Nevada, Florida and The Alliance of Women Film Journalists Like 'The Lobster,' Annette Bening

More critics, but happily, there are some surprises from the Nevada and Florida groups, which went against the grain in Best Picture.

NEVADA

Will Annette Bening get her fifth Oscar nomination?

• Best Film – Hell or High Water 
• Best Actor – Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea 
• Best Actress – Annette Bening, 20th Century Women 
• Best Supporting Actor – Ben Foster, Hell or High Water 
• Best Supporting Actress – Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women 
• Best Youth Performance – Alex Hibbert, Moonlight 
• Best Director – David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water 
• Best Original Screenplay – Hell or High Water 
• Best Adapted Screenplay – Arrival 
• Best Ensemble – Moonlight 
• Best Documentary – O.J.: Made in America
• Best Animated Movie – Moana 
• Best Production Design – La La Land 
• Best Cinematography – La La Land 
• Best Visual Effects – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Hell or High Water ruled the day here, with some love shown for 20th Century Women in two acting races, and Ben Foster in supporting actor, who gave a better performance than Jeff Bridges, even though I'm sure he'll be the Oscar nominee. Good on NV for standing out from the pack.

FLORIDA

The offbeat sci-fi comedy 'The Lobster' wins Best Picture from the FL film critics

• BEST PICTURE: The Lobster 
• BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle – La La Land 
• BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea 
• BEST ACTRESS: Isabelle Huppert – Elle 
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water 
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea 
• BEST ENSEMBLE: American Honey 
• BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The Lobster 
• BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Love & Friendship 
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: La La Land 
• BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Arrival 
• BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION: La La Land 
• BEST SCORE: La La Land 
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: Cameraperson 
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Elle 
• BEST ANIMATED FILM: Kubo and the Two Strings 
• BEST FIRST FILM: The Edge of Seventeen 
• PAULINE KAEL BREAKOUT AWARD: Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

The Lobster wins a Best Picture award! That's awesome. Well, why not? It's certainly one of the most original movies I've seen in a long time, and it looks like FL wanted to spread the love around to several of the different frontrunners. Cool choice.

ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Ruth Negga is also on the cusp of a Best Actress nomination

• Best Film: Moonlight
• Best Director: Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
• Best Screenplay, Original: Manchester by the Sea 
• Best Screenplay, Adapted: Moonlight
• Best Documentary: 13th 
• Best Animated Film: Zootopia
• Best Actress: Ruth Negga – Loving
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis – Fences
• Best Actor: Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
• Best Ensemble Cast – Moonlight 
• Best Cinematography: Moonlight 
• Best Editing: Moonlight 
• Best Non-English-Language Film: The Handmaiden 
• Best Woman Director: Ava DuVernay – 13th 
• Best Woman Screenwriter: Kelly Reichardt – Certain Women 
• Best Animated Female (tie): Judy in Zootopia – Ginnifer Goodwin & Moana in Moana – Auli’i Cravalho 
• Best Breakthrough Performance: Ruth Negga – Loving
• Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry: Ava DuVernay – For 13th and raising awareness about the need for diversity and gender equality in Hollywood
• Actress Defying Age and Ageism (tie): Annette Bening – 20th Century Women & Isabelle Huppert – Elle and Things to Come
• Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award: Rules Don’t Apply – Warren Beatty (b. 1937) and Lily Collins (b. 1989) 
• Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent: Jennifer Aniston – Mother’s Day and Office Christmas Party
• Bravest Performance: Isabelle Huppert – Elle
• Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t have been Made: Ben Hur
• AWFJ Hall of Shame Award: Sharon Maguire and Renee Zellwegger for Bridget Jones’s Baby

The women film journalists loved Moonlight the most, but their best choices are the unconventional stuff, like actress in need of a new agent, which goes to Jennifer Aniston for what's either the second or third time. The age difference award is great too- god, did Warren Beatty really pair himself up with a 27 year old (who looks 16)? 

Lots of Love for 'Manchester By the Sea' From Vancouver Critics

Three more critics groups come in today, with results from Vancouver, the other Phoenix critics team, and the Black Film Critics Circle.

VANCOUVER

Michelle Williams has racked up the second most supporting actress wins next to Viola Davis

• BEST FILM: Manchester by the Sea
• BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
• BEST ACTRESS: Isabelle Huppert, Elle
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
• BEST DIRECTOR: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
• BEST SCREENPLAY: Manchester by the Sea
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Toni Erdmann
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: Cameraperson

Wow, these guys really fell all over themselves for Manchester, giving it Picture, Director, two acting awards and screenplay. Aside from that it appears Isabelle Huppert remains a critics darling still, but I wonder if her Oscar nomination is secure at this point.

PHOENIX FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

Viola Davis remains on her cruise to the Oscar stage for 'Fences'

• Best Picture: La La Land 
• Best Director: Damien Chazelle (La La Land) 
• Best Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone (La La Land) 
• Best Actor in a Leading Role: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) 
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis (Fences) 
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water) 
• Best Original Screenplay: Hell or High Water 
• Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material: Hacksaw Ridge 
• Best Cinematography: La La Land 
• Best Film Editing: Hacksaw Ridge 
• Best Production Design: La La Land 
• Best Costume Design: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 
• Best Visual Effects: Doctor Strange 
• Best Original Score: La La Land 
• Best Original Song: 'City of Stars' (La La Land) 
• Best Ensemble Acting: Hell or High Water 
• Best Animated Film: Zootopia 
• Best Documentary: Gleason 
• Best Foreign Language Film: Elle 
• Best Breakthrough Performance: Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) 
• Best Performance by a Youth: Alex R. Hibbert (Moonlight) 
• Overlooked Film of the Year: Sing Street

Like I said, there's a Phoenix Critics Circle and a Phoenix Film Critics Society, and I have no idea why. Judge for yourself which of them has better taste. This does mark Emma Stone's third win in as many days, so she appears to have some mini-momentum going now.

BLACK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

Barry Jenkins could make history if he wins the Best Director Oscar for 'Moonlight'

• Best Film: Moonlight
• Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
• Best Actor: Denzel Washington, Fences
• Best Actress: Ruth Negga, Loving
• Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences
• Best Original Screenplay: Moonlight
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Fences
• Best Cinematography: Moonlight
• Best Foreign Film: Elle 
• Best Documentary: 13th
• Best Animated Film: Zootopia
• Best Ensemble: Fences

So these three groups today split between the big three movies- Manchester, La La Land, and Moonlight. Aside from Best Actress, the other three acting frontrunners remain in place before the televised awards (Affleck, Ali and Davis), and I think the two screenplay awards are now solidified as well, with Moonlight having been moved into adapted, giving it an easy win there as well as Manchester in Original. I may do much better on my Oscar predictions this year.

The Rock Teams Up with Zac Efron for 'Baywatch' Movie

Well, I don't know who was clamoring for this, but since it really doesn't seem to even resemble the old show in anything but the title and occasional shots of random girls running in swimsuits, I guess they might as well take a mismatched buddy movie and slap it with a recognized brand name for a title, right? Basically, this looks like shit, which is most movies starring The Rock. Sorry if you're a fan but he hasn't starred in a decent movie since 2003's The Rundown.

REVIEW: "The Witch" (2016) Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson. Dir. Robert Eggars

A movie like The Witch is a strange thing to behold. On many levels, it’s unlike other films, which is almost always a good thing, knowing how hard it is for something to stand out from the pack. Yet an experimental project still has to work on its own level, and whether this does is an open question, depending on the viewer’s willingness to be receptive to this unorthodox experience and allow the film to wash over you. 

It doesn’t make it easy and it never feels normal. Yet the confidence from first time filmmaker Robert Eggars is astonishing in his intentions and ambition. We drop in on a Puritan family in the 1600’s, one that is banished from its presumably New England community and forced to make the trek to the outskirts of the village, setting up a new home in the dark, cold, fringe of a woods that’s rumored to be haunted by vague spooks and even witches. The protagonist of this eccentric film is the oldest daughter, played by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy, a teenager with saucer-sized eyes that give her an already otherworldly look that aids in bringing us under her spell. She feels vaguely trapped by this existence but cannot articulate her concerns, not that we’d necessarily understand them even if she did.

That brings me to the the barrier that may keep most people out of this movie’s entry points no matter what happens in the story, and that’s the dialogue itself. Eggars chose to use 17th century Latin influenced dialect- that’s right, there’s a lot of thees, thous and therefores, and the bold use of such an artificial construct is a risky move in terms of accessibility. Some people will never get used to hearing interactions in this manner, and no matter what the source material, there’s no historical assertions you can make to prove people actually spoke like this, even in another time. The effect is to make some of this feel like a stage play, which is yet another barrier to any sense of reality you may be expecting.

If you can get used to these constructs and throw yourself in head first, there’s a haunting and eery sense of atmosphere that floods the entire film. This isn’t exactly a horror movie, but a feeling of dread pervades every moment of it, partly brought about by the sense of a puritan lifestyle being terrorized by evils they cannot understand. The unknown actors do their best with the material, which necessarily inspires some downright histrionic acting when the horrors get ever worse and take their toll on the family. It’s hard to know whether to recommend this film to anyone, knowing very well that some will reject it from the first frame and others will fall in love. I’m a bit stuck on both sides. I was never quite pulled in by the dialogue, but some scenes are so well-directed that it’d be cinematic treason not to commend them. I scoffed in disbelief at certain turns of plot, yet was brought to Cloud 9 by the absolutely transcendent and audacious ending. The only solution is for everyone to see it for themselves. And I’m definitely intrigued by wherever it is Eggars goes next.

* * *

Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Utah and Southeastern Film Critics Make their Picks

Whew. Five more regional and third tier critics organizations today, but hey, Emma Stone's finally on the board! Yes, she finally wins Best Actress from some critics, with both Detroit and Utah going for her performance in La La Land. Maybe it's still a race after all.

KANSAS CITY

'Manchester By the Sea' gets a Best Picture prize

• Picture: Manchester by the Sea
• Director: Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
• Actress: Natalie Portman (Jackie)
• Actor: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
• Supporting Actress: (tie) Viola Davis (Fences) & Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
• Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
• Original Screenplay: Hell or High Water
• Adapted Screenplay: Arrival
• Foreign-Language Film: The Handmaiden
• Documentary: OJ: Made in America
• Animated Movie: Zootopia
• SciFi, Fantasy & Horror: Arrival
• LGBT Film: Moonlight

Kansas City's choices are pretty boring, although I believe aside from NBR, this is the first group of any kind to give Manchester the Best Picture win, which is interesting. It even got director here, too.

ST. LOUIS

'I Am Not Your Negro' is a favorite to be nominated in Documentary

• BEST FILM: “La La Land”
• BEST DIRECTOR: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
• BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
• BEST ACTRESS: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis, “Fences”
• BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: “Love and Friendship”
• BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: “Hell or High Water”
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “La La Land”
• BEST EDITING: “Jackie”
• BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: “The Handmaiden”
• BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: “The Jungle Book”
• BEST MUSIC SCORE: “La La Land”
• BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK: “Sing Street”
• BEST SONG: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land”
• BEST ACTION: “Captain America: Civil War”
• BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: “Zootopia”
• BEST COMEDY: “Hail, Caesar!”
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: “I Am Not Your Negro”
• BEST HORROR/SCI-FI: “The Witch”
• BEST FOREIGN FILM: “Elle”

Meanwhile, KC's sister city goes for La La Land all down the line, so maybe they were trying to be different. These guys also made a great pick in documentary, with I Am Not Your Negro taking the prize, along with an unconventional choice in Love & Friendship for Adapted Screenplay.

UTAH

Emma Stone finally wins a couple of Best Actress awards

• Best Picture: "La La Land"
• Directing: Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight"
• Lead Actor, Male: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea"
• Lead Actor, Female: Emma Stone, "La La Land"
• Supporting Actor, Female: Viola Davis, "Fences"
• Supporting Actor, Male: (tie) Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight," John Goodman, "10 Cloverfield Lane."
• Original Screenplay: "Hell or High Water"
• Adapted Screenplay: "Moonlight"
• Cinematography: "La La Land"
• Original Score: "La La Land"
• Documentary Feature: "Cameraperson"
• Animated Feature: "Kubo and the Two Strings"
• Non-English Language Film: "The Handmaiden" (South Korea)

Now here's where Emma finally picks up an award, with the Best Actress prize from the Utah film critics, who liked La La Land enough to reward its lead actress with it, making it her first win since the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival. Nice.

DETROIT

Greta Gerwig ties with Viola Davis in Supporting Actress for '20th Century Women'

• BEST PICTURE: LA LA LAND
• BEST DIRECTOR: DAMIEN CHAZELLE – LA LA LAND
• BEST ACTOR: CASEY AFFLECK – MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• BEST ACTRESS: EMMA STONE – LA LA LAND
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: JEFF BRIDGES – HELL OR HIGH WATER
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: VIOLA DAVIS - FENCES & GRETA GERWIG – 20TH CENTURY WOMEN (tie)
• BEST ENSEMBLE: 20TH CENTURY WOMEN
• BEST BREAKTHROUGH: KELLY FREMON CRAIG – THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN – DIRECTOR/WRITER
• BEST SCREENPLAY: LA LA LAND
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA

Another one for Stone! She had a good two days all of a sudden, even if these wins are from third tier critics organizations. The final group, the SE critics, went for Moonlight and divided up the rest among the usual suspects.

SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS

'Zootopia' continues to hold its position over 'Kubo and the Two Strings' as Animated frontrunner

• BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
• BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman (Jackie)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis (Fences)
• BEST ENSEMBLE: Moonlight
• BEST DIRECTOR: (tie) – Damien Chazelle (La La Land) & Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
• BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Manchester by the Sea
• BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Moonlight
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: I Am Not Your Negro
• BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: The Handmaiden
• BEST ANIMATED FILM: Zootopia
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: La La Land
• BEST PICTURE: Moonlight

Harrison Ford Returns in Sequel to 'Blade Runner'

So I guess Harrison Ford is just going to reprise every single one of his career-defining roles for their decades later sequels/reboots, etc? The sucky thing about him coming back for this one is that this confirms his character in the original was officially not a replicant. Right? Which takes away all that great ambiguity from the final scene. Arrival's Denis Villeneuve was tapped to direct this, and though he's actually not a bad replacement for Ridley Scott's cold, distant touch, I don't know how they can possibly recreate the most iconic thing about Blade Runner, which was its set design and special effects, some of the most influential of all time. It's now all CGI of course, but that can't possibly look the same as the effects from 1982. Even if they're technically "better," it won't be the same city.

Oscar Shortlists for Visual Effects and Foreign Film Are Out

The Academy has announced the shortlists for some of its specialized categories, and the one with the biggest omissions has got to be its foreign-language film list. Here are the nine films to advance in the foreign film race for this year:

• Tanna (Australia)
• It's Only the End of the World (Canada)
• Land of Mine (Denmark)
• Toni Erdmann (Germany)
• The Salesman (Iran)
• The King's Choice (Norway)
• Paradise (Russia)
• A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
• My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland)

Okay, so the big snub here is Paul Verhoeven's Elle, from France. It was universally acclaimed and Isabelle Huppert is still considered to have a good chance for the Oscar nomination, but I was never totally sure that would make it in here. The Academy's foreign-language film committee is still pretty stuffy, and ever since I saw it I doubted that a black comedy with such violent rape scenes (and that a lot of people frankly consider to be pulp) would make the cut. So I was less shocked about that omission than others. It's also apparent that South Korea really should have submitted The Handmaiden instead of The Age of Shadows, which didn't even make it to the shortlist, while the former won great acclaim at Cannes, is now being hailed by critics everywhere and probably could have. Finally, the animated My Life as a Zucchini (above) is a surprise to see here, as I figured that one was going to be a sure bet from the animated branch, but I'd be shocked to see it nominated in Foreign-Language as well. The frontrunner for this category remains Germany's Toni Erdmann though, which has won many critics prizes and just swept the European Film Awards as well.

VISUAL EFFECTS

• Arrival
• The BFG
• Captain America: Civil War
• Deepwater Horizon
• Doctor Strange
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• The Jungle Book
• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Passengers
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Meanwhile, the Oscar race for visual effects has advanced ten films to the finals, and I have a strong feeling that The Jungle Book is probably the frontrunner in this category, given that the whole film is basically a visual effect, aside from Mowgli himself. My prediction for the final five is Arrival, Doctor Strange, Jungle Book, Fantastic Beasts and....Rogue One? Well, it's between that and The BFG to be honest. The latter was a massive flop, but the effects played such a huge role, and on the other hand, how many times have we seen the same Star Wars effects?

Phoenix, Chicago and Vegas Critics Weigh In With Love for Natalie Portman, 'The Handmaiden'

More critics groups, coming steadily from now through January (or at least the end of the month). They split up two for Moonlight, one for La La Land this time, but you'll notice there does now appear to be a consensus emerging among the regional critics groups for Natalie Portman in Best Actress. Hmm. I may be flat out wrong about Emma Stone's chances after all.

CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

'The Handmaiden' is racking up critics wins all over the place

• Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT 
• Best Original Score: JACKIE 
• Best Cinematography: LA LA LAND
• Best Editing: LA LA LAND
• Best Art Direction/Production Design: THE HANDMAIDEN
• Most Promising Performer: Lucas Hedges, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Most Promising Filmmaker: Robert Eggers, THE WITCH
• Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Best Foreign Language Film: THE HANDMAIDEN
• Best Documentary: OJ: MADE IN AMERICA
• Best Animated Feature: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
• Best Original Screenplay: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Best Adapted Screenplay: THE HANDMAIDEN
• Best Actor: Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Best Actress: Natalie Portman, JACKIE
• Best Director: Barry Jenkins, MOONLIGHT
• Best Picture: MOONLIGHT

Not a lot to note in this picks, except the ongoing love for The Handmaiden, which clearly should have been South Korea's Oscar entry. These guys loved it so much they gave it the screenplay award.

LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

Natalie Portman appears to be gaining momentum in Best Actress

• Best Picture: La La Land
• Best Actor: Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
• Best Actress: Natalie Portman – Jackie
• Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
• Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis – Fences
• Best Director: Damian Chapelle - La La Land
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Nocturnal Animals
• Best Original Screenplay: La La Land
• Best Cinematography: La La Land
• Best Film Editing: Moonlight
• Best Score: La La Land
• Best Song: “City of Stars” – La La Land
• Best Action Film: Captain America: Civil War
• Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
• Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings
• Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden
• Best Costumes: The Witch
• Best Art Direction: La La Land
• Best Visual Effects: The Jungle Book
• Best Comedy: The Nice Guys
• Best Horror/Sci-Fi: The Witch
• Best Family Film: The Hunt for the Wilderpeople
• Best Ensemble: Hidden Figures
• Breakout Filmmaker: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
• Youth in Film: Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
• William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award: Kirk Douglas

Vegas goes all in for La La Land, but still chooses Portman in Actress, which is now giving me pause, as I said earlier. I have a feeling Emma Stone is being perceived as playing herself in the movie- will the Academy agree and make Natalie Portman a two-time winner over the lead in the Best Picture frontrunner?

PHOENIX CRITICS CIRCLE

'The Lobster' has won several critics' prizes and could be a dark horse contender for an Original Screenplay Oscar nomination

• Best Picture: Moonlight
• Best Comedy Film: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
• Best Science Fiction Film: Arrival
• Best Horror Film: The Witch
• Best Mystery or Thriller Film: Hell or High Water
• Best Animated Film: Kubo and the Two Strings
• Best Foreign Language Film: The Handmaiden
• Best Documentary: O.J.: Made in America
• Best Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
• Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Jackie
• Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences
• Best Director: (Tie) Damian Chazelle, La La Land and Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
• Best Screenplay: The Lobster
• Best Score:  La La Land

Oddly, there are two critics groups in Phoenix, so we haven't heard the last out of that city, but this one chose Moonlight and the consensus four acting winners, with a tie for the two directors in the running. I like the screenplay win for The Lobster, one of the most wildly original movies I've seen in years.

Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn Team Up for 'Snatched'

Amy Schumer was really excited to make this mother-daughter comedy romp with Goldie Hawn and basically pulled her out of retirement to do so, but...I don't know. It doesn't look that great to me. Despite that I can imagine it possibly doing well on Mother's Day weekend, if people are interested in the pairing and everything.

REVIEW: "Sully" (2016) Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart. Dir. Clint Eastwood

Tom Hanks is easy to take for granted by now, but this later stage of his career sees him inhabiting American heroes in that easy, understated, un-actorly way of his that makes him most natural in all of them, whether it’s Richard Phillips in Captain Phillips, lawyer James B. Donovan in Bridge of Spies or the latest, Captain Chesley Sullenberger in Clint Eastwood’s Sully. This one may be his most convincing yet- as the grizzled, serious, very modest professional, he comes across as a decent man befuddled at his recent celebrated hero status while he comes to grips with post-traumatic flashes of the event and prepares to defend his own actions on that fateful day of January 15th, 2009.

We remember this of course. That was the day that Captain Sully rescued all 155 people aboard US Airways Flight 1549 by successfully executing a water landing in the Hudson River after a flock of birds hit the plane less than 15 minutes after takeoff, blowing out both engines. All of New York’s rescue workers immediately came together to save the people stranded on the wings of the airplane as it balanced on the water in subzero temperatures, taking 24 minutes total to get everyone to safety. We remember the pictures, we remember the famous headline (“Miracle on the Hudson”) and we remember the pilot himself. 

We may remember the event like it was yesterday, but I have to admit to wondering how they would stretch that event into a 90-minute movie, unless maybe it was going to go down in real time, Paul Greengrass-style. But that’s not Clint Eastwood’s MO of course, who films it as an unconventionally structured docudrama, following Sully and his co-pilot (Aaron Eckhart) on their media travails, while Hanks brings Sully’s uneasiness with his new celebrity, his money woes, and his professionalism to life. The plane crash itself takes place in three different flashbacks from three different angles, which does lend some credence to the idea that they had to stretch this out to feature film length. The phone calls between Sully and his wife (Laura Linney in a somewhat thankless woman-on-the-phone role) also feel like filler here. But the crash and rescue sequence delivers, as the intensity of the moment feels real and vivid, especially as the rest of New York’s emergency workers come together like a well-oiled machine to pull off the miracle. 

Sully’s meetings with the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) took place eighteen months after the crash, but for economy’s sake are written into the film to happen within weeks of the incident, and behind closed doors during the ensuing media frenzy. Aside from the riveting crash sequences, it’s Hanks who holds the movie together, and by letting Sully be played by such an automatically sympathetic and inherently watchable screen star, we see once again what has made Hanks such a long lasting presence in American cinema. It’s his everyguy specialness, his ability to make the ordinary and every day occurrences seem bigger than that, therefore when one of his heroes pulls off the extraordinary, it’s that much more believable. When you see him like this it’s a reminder that his talent lies not so much in being himself as in being one of us. And you see again what a rare gift that is.

* * *

More Critics Love for 'Moonlight,' 'Hell or High Water'

More critics! The African-American Film Critics Association weighed in with a lot of love for Moonlight, while Dallas Ft. Worth agreed and San Diego went their own way, choosing to award Hell or High Water with the top spot.

AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

• Best Picture: Moonlight
• Best Director: Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
• Best Actor: Denzel Washington, Fences
• Best Actress: Ruth Negga, Loving
• Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences
• Best Ensemble: The cast of Hidden Figures
• Breakout Performance: Janelle Monae, Moonlight and Hidden Figures
• Best Independent Film: Moonlight
• Best Animation Film: Zootopia
• Best Song: "Victory," Hidden Figures
• Best Documentary: 13th
• Best Foreign Film: Tanna
• Best Screenplay: Fences

Moonlight, Fences, and Hidden Figures did very well here, as well as Ruth Negga (above) for Loving in Best Actress, which is nice to see. And a deviation in documentary towards Ava Duvernay's 13th, which is on Netflix right now for those interested.

SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

• Best Picture: HELL OR HIGH WATER
• Best Director: David Mackenzie, HELL OR HIGH WATER
• Best Actor, Male: Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Best Actor, Female: Sonia Braga, AQUARIUS
• Best Supporting Actor, Male – Tied: Ben Foster, HELL OR HIGH WATER & Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT
• Best Supporting Actor, Female: Michelle Williams, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• Best Comedic Performance: Ryan Gosling, THE NICE GUYS
• Best Ensemble: HELL OR HIGH WATER
• Breakthrough Artist: Lily Gladstone, CERTAIN WOMEN
• Best Original Screenplay: HELL OR HIGH WATER
• Best Adapted Screenplay: LOVE & FRIENDSHIP
• Best Documentary: WEINER
• Best Animated Film: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
• Best Foreign Language Film: MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART
• Best Editing: SULLY
• Best Cinematography: HELL OR HIGH WATER
• Best Production Design: HAIL, CAESAR! 
• Best Visual Effects: THE JUNGLE BOOK
• Best Costume Design: LA LA LAND
• Best Use of Music in a Film: SING STREET
• Body of Work: Michael Shannon – NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, LOVING, ELVIS & NIXON

The San Diego critics really loved Hell or High Water and became the first critics group to give Best Picture to something besides the big three, which is a nice change. They also went for some interesting, outside the box choices in the techs as well.

DALLAS FT. WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

• BEST PICTURE: MOONLIGHT
• BEST DIRECTOR: Barry Jenkins, MOONLIGHT
• BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, JACKIE
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis, FENCES
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: THE HANDMAIDEN
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: TOWER
• BEST ANIMATED FILM: ZOOTOPIA
• BEST SCREENPLAY: MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: LA LA LAND
• BEST MUSICAL SCORE: LA LA LAND

And Dallas Ft. Worth really didn't stray outside the norm at all, except for the animated movie Tower (above) in documentary. 

Christopher Nolan Tackes WWII in 'Dunkirk' Trailer

I don't know about anybody else but this kinda looks like your generic WWII action movie to me. Probably more serious-minded, like with Oscar contention in mind, but where's the story and the characters? Is the whole thing set at the battle of Dunkirk, kind of like Black Hawk Down or something? I don't know- this doesn't seem like a Nolan movie, and I can't help but wonder if he really is trying to get the Academy's attention after their continual overlooking of him for his genre fare.