Monday, December 11, 2006

NYFCC United Behind "93"

The New York Film Critics' Circle has chosen "United 93" as the year's best film, says Variety. The LAFC had named its director Paul Greengrass as Best Director, while NY splits its award by giving its Best Director nod to Martin Scorsese for "The Departed." No movie with the lame final shot of "The Departed" should win Best Director, but if Scorsese is gonna win the Oscar finally, I'm glad it's for a movie far more typical of his career than "Gangs Of New York" or "The Aviator." Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker again won Best Actress and Actor. (I assumed the NYFCC would be Ryan Gosling's best chance at a Best Actor award, so I'm bummed, but at least "Half-Nelson" deservedly won Best First Feature.) Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress, Jackie Earle Haley of "Breaking Away" won Best Supporting Actor for Little Children (which I still haven't seen) and -- in a move that will strengthen its chances at the prestigious IRAs -- "Army Of Shadows" won Best Foreign Film.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How much longer before you think you can predict with some accuracy what the five Oscar nominees will be (as opposed to what they should be)?

I'd like to see as many of them as possible before the show but have limited time to do so...and by the time the nominations come out I imagine some or all of them won't be in theaters anymore.

I think the only hopefuls that I've seen so far are The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine. So how should I prioritize my viewing when there are so many possibilities out there?

Seems like Dreamgirls, Letters from Iwo Jima, and The Queen would be my best bets at this point, with Babel, Volver, Bobby, and a few others as possibilities.

Thanks

Michael in New York said...

You can skip Babel and Bobby at this point. I'd say The Departed, The Queen, Letters From Iwo Jima, Dreamgirls, Volver, United 93 and Little Miss Sunshine are at the top of the list. Even though two of them will slip off, they're sure to be nominated in lots of categories. I'd throw in The Last King of Scotland, Half Nelson (a super long shot), and Pan's Labyrinth (which I loved) to stay on top of acting and tech awards. You'll also have to choose which animated flick is better: Happy Feet or Cars.

RC said...

do you really see volver entering the top 5...i don't.

I don't even really see United 93 doing it...I think the directors branch and the best pictures will be different maybe with Greengrass and Almodovar represented as directors, but not there films.

--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com

Michael in New York said...

I definitely see Volver as a strong contender for the Top 5. It's been on most critic lists short list if not the top pick for foreign film, penelope cruz has lost a little momentum for Best Actress but the Globes will change that. (There isn't a chance in hell the Globes will pass up the oppportunity to have the glamorous Cruz at their shindig.) All the reports I get from LA are that the rank and file love Volver, which is easily Almodovar's most entertaining film in years. And the Oscars LOVE Almodovar. With the wide open year we have, frankly I'd be surprised if Volver didn't make it. All you need is a very passionate minority to get on the ballot. It's also on my best of the year list, but none of this has anything to do with quality. The Queen will definitely be on in many categories and I think it's merely an excellent TV movie.