Florida Film Critics and Boston Online announce their prizes

by Nathaniel R

Florida Film Critics Circle is the fourth major critics group to announce prizes and they've handed First Cow the top honor. For the curious when we say "major" we mean critics groups that existed before the absolute explosion of awards bodies -- which took place all throughout the Aughts and into the 2010s as well -- since they have a solid awards history and are unlikely to suddenly vanish as occassionally happens with smaller regional critics groups. Plus they are never a spin-off or offshoot of an already existing much longer-running critics prize from the same locale. ANYWAY... there hasn't been as much variety as we were expecting in this strange year. Among single films (excluding LAFCA's "collection" curveball) Only First Cow and Nomadland have picked up Best Picture prizes. Nobody but Chloe Zhao has won Best Director. Florida stays very closely in line with what we've heard so far but since they have a few additional craft categories we get a couple of new winners, too...

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Gay Best Friend: Abby Gerhard in Carol (2015)

In this series by Christopher James we investigate the 'Gay Best Friend' trope in movies.

 

In honor of "Carol Day" (December 21st, the day Therese went to Carol’s house), the choice for Gay Best Friend was obvious! No Holiday Movie Watchlist is complete without a viewing of Carol, Todd Haynes’ romance masterpiece. A single sultry glance from Cate Blanchett’s Carol could keep you warm all winter long. As much as we’re transfixed by her and her love for Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), this article isn’t about them. In a sea full of lesbians in this film, there’s only one that's on our hearts and minds for this column.

Abby Gerhard (Sarah Paulson) is perhaps the greatest and most fully realized examples of a gay best friend... 

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The legendary Ann Roth does it again!

by Cláudio Alves

89-year-old Ann Roth is a living legend in the world of costume design. With a filmography that has long ago surpassed 100 productions and a curriculum further filled with numerous stage shows, the Oscar and Tony-winning Roth is a figure that demands respect and adoration. The best part is that she shows no signs of retiring and, this year, the designer is back with another showcase of her talents. The Denzel Washington-produced adaptation of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom features gorgeous 1920s fashion.

Every character in Ma Rainey is trying to say something with their clothes, be it to project self-worth as a shield or visualize their aspirations. No one does it more than the leads, Viola Davis' Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman's Levee...

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Doc Corner: The other Khashoggi film of 2020, 'The Dissident'

By Glenn Dunks — No column next week as I will be taking a week off for rest and relaxation over the Christmas season.

Not for the first time this year, the story of Jamal Khashoggi has been told in a documentary that tries—excessively, exhaustively—to be as thrill-a-minute as a Hollywood blockbuster. I wasn’t a fan of it last time and I’m not a fan of it this time, either. Bryan Fogel’s The Dissident is better than that earlier title, Rick Rowley’s Kingdom of Silence; it’s better than his 2018 Oscar winner, Icarus, too, but that isn’t saying much.

What is it about Khashoggi that makes filmmakers think they’re directing an episode of Homeland? Is it simply the key settings of Saudi Arabia and Turkey that inspires such busy and scattered movies?

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Showbiz History: Snow White premieres, The Graduate opens.

7 random things that happened on this day, December 21st, in showbiz history 

the program for Snow White's premiere printed in the Los Angeles Times on December 20th, 1937

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. You can read about the premiere here. It would play Christmas week in LA but not open for the nation until February when it was a smash, briefly becoming the highest grossing film of all time.

After the jump Samson & Delilah, The Graduate, Jane Fonda and Steven Yeun...

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