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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Natalie Portman: Queen of Artifice

by Cláudio Alves

Some actors thrive through mimesis, reaching for realism when performing. In cinema, they bring the actuality of everyday life to the screen, psychology and material terms. Or they replicate others like straight mirrors. Since midcentury developments, that approximation of off-screen life has been standardized into what most recognize as "good acting." It's the mainstream, the rule, the de facto way of doing things. But is it the only way? I would think not and have grown to appreciate those who step outside those lines, whether deliberately, through their director's influence, or by mere accident.

When done right, embracing fakery may feel more honest and insightful than the attempt to copy - realer than real, truer than truth. All this to say, I love Natalie Portman at her most artificial and absurd…

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Cannes Finale Pt 1 (Personal Choices / Predictions)

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Benoit Magimet & Juliette Binoche star in "La Passion de Dodin Bouffant"

Another edition of the Cannes Film Festival is close to the finish line. It's time for some 'for your considerations', some praise for my favourites, and the impossible task of predicting the Palme d'Or winner. Predictions which will quickly be outdated by the actual winners at the closing ceremony. 

How was this Cannes Film Festival overall? I managed to see all of the Competition titles (a couple more reviews coming), a large chunk of Out of Competition titles and a couple each from Quinzaine and Un Certain Regard. The general impression is that this Cannes edition lacks a masterpiece that everyone agrees upon. This absence is perceived only in these final hours, when we're all trying to guess the big winner. But the competition did feature a large group of excellent movies. There was only one terrible movie (sorry Sean Penn, but Black Flies in competition was a bad joke)...

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