2012 senior class photos
2012 West Carrollton graduation
Home of the Week
Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2007 > December > 10
Monday, December 10, 2007
Film awards are reeling in, No Country a favorite
Various film critics’ groups have been naming their best-ofs for this year, so I’d like to round up the picks in the major categories so far and see what might lead down the path to Oscar.
A roundup of awards so far is here.
LATE ENTRY: The Broadcast Film Critics Association, who hand out the Critics Choice awards, just announced their nominations, which can be found here. Although this group isn’t as well known, they do tend to be rather predictive of the Oscars.
BEST PICTURE
National Board of Review: No Country for Old Men
New York Film Critics: No Country
LA Film Critics: There Will Be Blood
Boston Critics: No Country
Washington, DC Critics: No Country
No Country is the clear victor here. Only the LA critics dissent, picking, as is their wont, the more iconoclastic choice of Paul Thomas Anderson’s oil-drilling drama. No Country will almost certainly be Oscar-nominated, but I’m not sure I see it winning; the film doesn’t go down easily and its abrupt “what was that” ending tends to alienate a lot of people who like their stories to end on a more definitive note. It’s my second favorite film of this calendar year, after the luminous Once.
BEST DIRECTOR
NBR: Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd
NYC: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country
LA: Paul Thomas Anderson, There WIll be Blood
Boston: Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
DC: The Coens
More spreading of the wealth here. Although I have my reservations about No Country winning the Best Picture Oscar, I think its distinctly possible the Coens could get a directing trophy as kind of a “you’ve done a good job all these years” award. Anderson and Burton have good shots at nominations; I’m less convinced about Schnabel.
BEST ACTOR
NBR: George Clooney, Michael Clayton
NYC: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
LA: Day-Lewis
Boston: Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening
DC: Clooney
Clooney picks up some well-deserved honors and will probably score an Oscar nom, but having won recently for Syriana, I don’t expect him to win. Day-Lewis, who hasn’t won since 1990 for My Left Foot, has an excellent shot.
BEST ACTRESS
NBR: Julie Christie, Away from Her
NYC: Christie
LA: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Boston: Cotillard
DC: Christie
Christie is a legend, so an Oscar nomination is certain; a win not quite so since she won for 1965’s Darling, but she still seems to be the strongest contender out there. Cotillard, who played Edith Piaf, will most likely score a nomination, but foreign-language performances rarely win.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
NBR: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
NYC: Javier Bardem, No Country
LA: Vlad Ivanov, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
Boston: Bardem
DC: Bardem
Bardem’s a pretty clear favorite here, although personally I think he’s more of a lead. He’s in. Affleck has no shot, nor does Ivanov. The former’s film is polarizing, the latter’s isn’t on enough radars.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
All: Amy Ryan in Gone, Baby Gone
I knew Ryan would pick up some awards, and that’s fine with me, she’s far and away the best thing about the film. However, I didn’t expect her to sweep; some people were already saying Cate Blanchett would WIN for playing Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. However, since Blanchett won an Oscar recently for The Aviator, I think you have to call Ryan the front-runner now.
Watch this space for commentary on the Golden Globe nominations Thursday; I’ll unveil my own ten-best list Dec. 28.
Meanwhile, whom do you like in these categories so far?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Movie awards
