Boston loves "The Holdovers" but "American Fiction" takes Washington DC

by Cláudio Alves

Are we underestimating Dominic Sessa in Best Supporting Actor?

With some big wins right off the gate, Killers of the Flower Moon seemed to emerge as the consensus pick for Best Picture among critics. As much as I love Scorsese's latest, watching it sweep would have been boring beyond belief and a discredit to the tremendous cinematic year. Thankfully, an onslaught of awards this weekend changed the tide. No single title is rising above the rest as an absolute favorite, with multiple pictures nabbing top honors. Indeed, while the LAFCA voted for The Zone of Interest, other organizations announced their winners. The BSFC fell head over heels for The Holdovers, while WAFCA went for American Fiction. Apart from some categories, it seems "spreading the wealth" is the season's unofficial motto…

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Friday Awards Wrap-Up: BIFA, AFI, and more!

by Cláudio Alves

With the awards race heating up, there's much to discuss. Maybe too much. Da'Vine Joy Randolph is proving a sweeper in Best Supporting Actress, taking every single one of those awards so far. Her The Holdovers costar, Paul Giamatti, is also doing well for himself, somehow scoring better results than some of the supposed Oscar frontrunners. Then there's Lily Gladstone taking the lead in Best Actress, while Killers of the Flower Moon adds some more victories to go alongside its NYFCC wins. The Color Purple has struggled to make an impression, but that might be due to late screenings, while Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is making a good case for itself as a Best Picture contender. 

In any case, here's a small compendium of prizes and top ten announcements from this week, plus some additional commentary…

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NYFCC Winners: "Killers," Nolan, Rogowski, and more!

by Cláudio Alves

The first major critics award of the season is upon us in the form of the New York Film Critics Circle. Killers of the Flower Moon was the big favorite, scoring two wins in Best Film and Actress, while a couple of other productions also won themselves a pair of prizes. Oppenheimer and May December were warmly embraced by the New York set, as was Franz Rogowski, whose Best Actor victory is this year's biggest surprise. The multiple winners and lack of disclosed runners-up means many of the season's hottest titles were left empty-handed. They include Maestro, Poor Things, Barbie, and The Zone of Interest, which many pegged as likely darlings among critics. Time will tell if other groups take the NYFCC's lead.

Though these things aim to celebrate cinema, one must recognize their fame as Oscar predictors. With that in mind, let's delve into numbers and trivia, history and percentages galore, as one explores this year's complete list of winners…

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Critics Awards Sunday Results!

So many prize announcements today: Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA), Philadelphia Film Critics Circle (PFCC), and Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA). Spoiler: It's been a very good day for Parasite.

LAFCA is always the most exciting critics group to watch when it comes to Best Actress because year after year they surprise and usually in good ways. This year is no exception as they've gotten behind Mary Kay Place's wonderful performance as Diane in Kent Jones underseen film of the same name. 

More winners after the jump...

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Dorian Awards Favor 'The Favourite'

by Murtada Elfadl

The Favourite lived up to its title with GALECA’s Dorian Award voters, who named the audacious historical romp Film of the Year and bestowed its star, Olivia Colman, with the Film Performance of the Year—Actress tiara for her funny and heartbreaking turn as Queen Anne. Two results that we suspect will be popular with The Film Experience community. The movie talso scored Screenplay of the Year honors for Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara.

However for the three other acting awards for film, The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics followed the critical consensus. Ethan Hawke in First Reformed, Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk and Richard E Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, added another award to their heavy mantles. Roma and Alfonso Cuaron continued their dominance of the critics awards by winning Foreign Language Film of the Year and Best Director.

GALECA’s unique categories made space for films that have not been recognized widely...

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