HCA's MidSeason Awards

Saturday, July 1, 2023 at 9:00PM
NATHANIEL R in Hollywood Critics Association, Year in Review, film critics

by Nathaniel R

Hello readers. Can you believe we're halfway through 2023? We feel like it's barely started (probably because we live by such an Oscar season calendar) but it's already time to assess the first half of 2023's cinematic output. A few members of The Film Experience belong to The Hollywood Critics Association. The HCA does a midseason awards in several categories and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the big winner taking three prizes. The nominees and winners are after the jump with a few comments. That said, I won't comment too very much right now since my own "halfway mark" articles are coming next weekend (trying to cram in 10 more movies - yikes), so the opinions can wait for that...

 

Best Picture 

• Air (Amazon Studios)
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Asteroid City (Focus Features)
• BlackBerry (IFC Films)
• Creed III (MGM)
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures)
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Walt Disney Pictures)
• John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)
• Past Lives (A24)
• WINNER: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)

As you'll see throughout the nominations, the choices are extremely mainstream. 

 

Best Actor

• Joaquin Phoenix - Beau Is Afraid (A24)
• WINNER: Matt Damon - Air (Amazon Studios)
• Michael B. Jordan - Creed III (MGM)
• Taron Egerton- Tetris (Apple TV+)
• Teo Yoo - Past Lives (A24)

 

Best Actress

• Abby Ryder Fortson - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• WINNER: Greta Lee - Past Lives (A24)
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus - You Hurt My Feelings (A24)
• Mia Goth - Infinity Pool (Neon) 
• Teyana Taylor - A Thousand and One (Focus Features)

 

Best Supporting Actor

• Ben Affleck - Air (Amazon Studios)
• Chris Messina - Air (Amazon Studios)
• WINNER: Glenn Howerton - BlackBerry (IFC Films)
• Jason Momoa - Fast X (Universal Pictures)
• John Magaro - Past Lives (A24)

 

Best Supporting Actress

• Kathy Bates - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Patti LuPone - Beau Is Afraid (A24)
• Rachel McAdams - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Scarlett Johansson - Asteroid City (Focus Features)
• WINNER: Viola Davis - Air (Amazon Studios)

 

Best Director

• Ben Affleck - Air (Amazon Studios)
• Celine Song - Past Lives (A24)
• Chad Stahelski - John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)
• WINNER: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson - Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
• Kelly Fremon Craig - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)

 

Best Stunts

• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures)
• Extraction 2 (Netflix)
• Fast X (Universal Pictures)
• WINNER: John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)
• Polite Society (Focus Features)

Best Screenplay

• Alex Convery - Air (Amazon Studios)
• WINNER: Celine Song - Past Lives (A24)
• Kelly Fremon Craig - Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)
• Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Dave Callaham - Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
• Wes Anderson - Asteroid City (Focus Features)

Best Horror Film

• Evil Dead Rise (Warner Bros)
• Infinity Pool (Neon)
• Knock at the Cabin (Universal Pictures)
• WINNER: M3GAN (Universal Pictures)
• Scream VI (Paramount Pictures)

Best Indie Film

• A Thousand and One (Focus Features)
• BlackBerry (IFC Films)
• WINNER: Past Lives (A24)
• Rye Lane (Searchlight)
• You Hurt My Feelings (A24)

Most Anticipated Film For The Second Half of 2023

 

• WINNER: Barbie (Warner Bros)
• Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros)
• Killers Of The Flower Moon (Apple TV+)
• Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures)
• Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)

 

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).