Sunday, March 15, 2020

The 45th Annual IRAs -- Argentine film "End Of The Century" Tops All, but "Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood" Wins The Most Awards

The 45st Annual IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS -- 2019 Releases

The IRAs are a mysterious but august film society launched in 1976 when it proudly named Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon the best film of the previous year. Officially known as the New York Independent Film Critics Awards -- but lovingly nicknamed the IRAs -- they are more international and indie focused than the Oscars, more mercurial than the LA Film Critics and more loyal to their favorites than the Golden Globes. The IRAs are proud to announce their picks for the best movies released commercially on any platform in 2019.

Without further ado, the IRA goes to... 




Best Picture: End Of The Century
Best Director: Lucio Castro for End Of The Century
Best Actor: Antonio Banderas for Pain And Glory
Best Actress: Lupita Nyong'o for Us
Best Supporting Actor: Asier Etxeandia for Pain And Glory 
Best Supporting Actress: Shuzhen Zhao for The Farewell 
Best Nonfiction Film: American Factory 
Best Screenplay:  Pedro Almodóvar for Pain And Glory
Best Cinematography: David Gallego for Birds Of Passage
Best Production Design: Barbara Ling for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood 
Best Score/Use Of Music: Mary Ramos for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Best Editing: Kim Horton for 63 Up 
Best Costumes: Arianne Phillips for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Lighthouse 
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): Joker
Mechanical Actress: Renee Zellwegger for Judy  
Mechanical Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for Joker


In 2019, the IRAs braved a pandemic to cover both the best films of the 1980s and the best of 2019. True, handshakes and hugs were not to be seen, while snacks were available in individual bowl servings. A small gathering, following the protocols established by Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN and the evening was both medically responsible and a stirring example of "the show must go on." Reasons large and small kept four+ anticipated members from attending but we trust the influx of new members that made 2018 the start of a new, vibrant era for the IRAs will come through in 2021.  

And now a blow-by-blow description of the night, in order of voting. We begin, as always, with the category of Best Costumes and the first voter of the night, Ira. Dressed to the nines, as always, Ira juggled two absentee ballots and offered up the votes of both Adam Orman and Joe Smith. Uncannily, without makeup or changing his voice in any notable fashion, IRA seemed to become, to embody each member as he delivered their choices in each category. The IRA goes to...


BEST COSTUME

1. Arianne Phillips for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- by acclamation 
2. Catherine Rodríguez for Birds Of Passage -- 19 pts. (out of a possible 50 pts.)
3. Julian Day for Rocketman -- 16 pts.
4. Mayes C. Rubeo for Jojo Rabbit -- 11 pts.
5. Jacqueline Durran for Little Women, 1917 and Peterloo -- 10 pts.

POINT OF ORDER: This year ten ballots were in play. With a top score for each nominee of 5 pts, the maximum any one nominee could achieve in any category was 50 pts. However, voting begins with each member naming their top pick. If a majority of the ballots name the same winner, this triumph is acknowledged as a win "by acclamation." However a winner is chosen (by acclamation or by a complete vote), this is followed by the automatic vote to rescind.

The Vote To Rescind is offered after every single category. Why? Once the totals are in, members may feel the actual winner doesn't reflect the best choice. Or perhaps they prefer the runner-up. After the winner is announced, members are asked to consider a Vote To Rescind. If a majority of the members actively voting support it, the winner is rescinded and the runner-up is made the official champion. This is followed by another vote to rescind until the victor is confirmed. It's a somewhat controversial tactic. But it rarely comes into play more than once a year. During the 45th Annual IRAs, only one category winner will be rescinded, much to the displeasure of the group's most ardent critic of Vote To Rescind and ardent supporter of Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood.


NOTE: Half the fun of the IRAs is trying to figure out in advance which films might be contending and then campaigning for your favorite and blocking the one you like least by talking it down or simply ignoring the offending flick altogether. (That film? Hardly worth discussing, you sniff.) This year, four films widely recognized by other critics' groups and the Oscars threatened to make the IRAs part of the echo chamber of awards season. Those films are The Irishman, Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood, Pain and Glory and Parasite. Or, if you prefer, foreign language fare like Pain and Glory and Parasite which the IRAs have always celebrated are finally breaking through to the rest of those lesser bodies. However, it was an excellent year for documentary films. Might 2019 prove the first year since the still-hotly debated win of Eyes On The Prize triumphed in 1986 that a doc will take the top prize. Or will other films like Birds of Passage or the last-minute, where-did-that-come-from surge for End Of The Century outflank the aging auteurs? After just one category, it's clear that Quentin Tarantino is going to be a force to be reckoned with.


BEST EDITING

1. Kim Horton for 63 Up  -- 24 pts.
2. Nicholas Monsour for Us -- 14 pts.
3. Chris Dickens for Rocketman -- 11 pts.
4. Fred Raskin for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 10 pts.
5. Lee Smith for 1917 -- 8 pts.


NOTE: When editing was added to the list of categories that the IRAs vote on, some concern arose it might be dominated by nonfiction films. Even though many docs have a script, by nature they are often discovered after filming has ended. Happily, the recent trend of the editing category being dominated by docs has been snapped. However, the winner is the latest entry in the documentary epic Up series. Interestingly, it will not win the Nonfiction Film category, proving that editing will not just allow a doc to double on wins and that the best edited film won't necessarily win the top prize as well. In this case, the deep appreciation and respect for the Up series gave it a deserved leg up here.


BEST SCORE/USE OF MUSIC

1. Mary Ramos for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood  -- 17 pts.
2. Michael Abels for Us -- 14 pts.
3. Jean-Baptise de Laubier and Arthur Simonini for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire -- 11 pts.
4. Leonard Heiblum for Birds Of Passage --10 pts.
5. (three way tie) American Factory, Atlantics and Wild Rose  -- 8 pts.


NOTE: The category of Best Score was recently renamed Best Score/Use Of Music to accommodate the endless ways in which films make use of music. More proof that Once Upon A Time means business. On the other hand, Tarantino's movies are always known for their great use of music and its win here wasn't nearly so dominant as in Costumes. But the real news is the runner up. This makes two categories in a row where the horror film Us takes second place, presaging the film's win of a major category. In third place, we list the official composers are correctly honored. However, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire is being singled out not for its modest score but for how music is so sparingly and strikingly used in the film. Indeed, there is NO score at all until halfway through the film when women gathered outside around a fire begin to chant an a cappella tune. (Turns out this seeming folk song was actually given lyrics by director Celine Sciamma when she couldn't find the right ancient tune with the rhythm she needed.) And at the end of the film the other key use of music is a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. We always list those mentioned in the credits but in this case it could as easily be Sciamma and Vivaldi.


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Barbara Ling for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood  -- 31 pts.
2. Angélica Perea (art direction) and Juan David Bernal (set decoration) for Birds Of Passage -- 25 pts.
3. Ha-Jun Lee for Parasite -- 15 pts.
4. Dennis Gassner for 1917 -- 13 pts.
5. Bob Shaw for The Irishman -- 8 pts.


NOTE: Well, who can dispute that the production design of Once Upon was a triumph, recreating Los Angeles to perfection? Not the IRAs, certainly. However, it's worth noting that Birds Of Passage was a very close second indeed. The house in Parasite and the trenches of WW I were also honored, with The Irishman bringing up the rear. That film once seemed a comer but proved to be a non-factor throughout the night. Martin Scorsese was rightly honored by seeing Raging Bull make the top 10 of the IRA's list of the 100 Best Films of the 1980s (see below, waaaay below). The Irishman? Not so much.


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. David Gallego for Birds Of Passage -- 26 pts.
2. (tie) Claire Mathon for Atlantics and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire -- 22 pts.
    (tie) Robert Richardson for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 22 pts.
4. Roger Deakins for 1917 -- 15 pts.
5. Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma for Honeyland -- 9 pts.


NOTE: Hmm, it's a close battle but the night is proving interesting. Once Upon A Time has won three of the first five categories and had a fighting chance in the other two. Here it's tied for second. But Birds of Passage is proving a contender and wins its first category after being runner up in two more. And the gorgeously shot Portrait Of A Lady On Fire gave that a tie for second, thanks to the work of Claire Mathon, a rare DP who also did excellent work on Atlantics. The great stunt of 1917 got some appreciative nods while the stunning work of the documentary film Honeyland should have ranked higher. So far, End Of The Century isn't capitalizing on its buzz, but that's probably because the low budget indie wasn't going to be a factor in flashy tech categories like Production Design and Costumes.

FOOD ALERT: Pizza is ordered.


BEST SCREENPLAY

1. Pedro Almodóvar for Pain And Glory  -- 24 pts.
2. Lucio Castro for End Of The Century -- 22 pts.
3. Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 21 pts.
4. Joe Talbot & Rob Richert for The Last Black Man In San Francisco --18 pts.
5. Greta Gerwig for Little Women -- 11 pts.


NOTE: Speak of the devil. Suddenly End Of The Century makes its move. And what a move. It doesn't win Best Screenplay; the autumnal Almodovar speaks too strongly to the admittedly august members of the IRAs. But writer-director Lucio Castro edges out Tarantino by a hair for second place. The complete absence of Birds of Passage is just as telling a sign of weakness for that film.


BEST NONFICTION FILM 
1. American Factory -- 28 pts.
2. Honeyland -- 23 pts.
3. Leaving Neverland -- 13 pts.
4. 63 Up -- 12 pts.
5.  Le Livre d'image -- 7 pts.


NOTE: The Best Nonfiction Film is a recent add to the IRAs and not without controversy (of course), since creating a category like this almost ensures a nonfiction film won't win the much-desired top prize for Best Film.  Nonetheless, it was a rich year indeed. Honeyland scored a nomination in Cinematography, 63 Up won Editing and American Factory scored a mention in Best Use Of Music and won the top prize. All were eligible for Best Picture but failed to break through. Just as sadly, the Obamas were not on hand to accept their award.


FOOD BREAK

Pizza is eaten. Career highlights and lowlights are dissected, recent marriages are announced (Mazel tov!), career advancements are planned (tenure, here we come), various medical aches and pains are probed, the pandemic is analyzed ad nauseum and so on and so forth.  And then action resumes!



BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Shuzhen Zhao for The Farewell  -- 28 pts.
2. (tie) Carmiña Martínez for Birds Of Passage -- 17 pts.
    (tie) Margot Robbie for Bombshell and Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 17 pts.
4. (tie) Luàna Bajrami for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire --9 pts.
5. Julieta Serrano for Pain And Glory -- 9 pts.


NOTE: The delightful grandmother "Nai Nai" proved the role of a lifetime for Zhao, easily besting a strong group. The Freudian analysts in the crowd noted an IRA propensity for awarding this prize to women who serve others as mothers, wives and the like with no agency of their own. Perhaps an issue to raise with their analysts in the months ahead?


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Brad Pitt for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 20 pts. RESCINDED

2. Asier Etxeandia for Pain And Glory -- 19 pts. WINNER
3. Noah Jupe for Ford v Ferrari and Honey Boy -- 18 pts.
4. Dean-Charles Chapman for 1917 --14 pts.
5. Choi Woo-shik for Parasite -- 9 pts.

NOTE: Heartbreak for the fans of Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood. Tensions rose as various people rightly insisted Brad Pitt's role in the film was a leading role, Oscar win or no Oscar win. A hasty compromise ensured the two leading supporters of Pitt would both give him five points (the maximum) when he competed for Supporting and Lead. And it worked! Pitt won for his excellent turn in the film. However, whether because they felt he really wasn't a supporting actor or simply for a desire not to repeat a win at the Oscars, a majority of voters present voted to rescind, cruelly taking back the prize. it was thus awarded to the heroin addict actor portrayed in Pain And Glory. 

                                            
BEST ACTRESS

1. Lupita Nyong'o for Us -- 22 pts.
2. (tie) Awkwafina for The Farewell -- 16 pts.
    (tie) Camilla Morrone for Mickey And The Bear -- 16 pts.
4. Saoirse Ronan for Little Women --15 pts.
5. (tie) Adèle Haenel for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire -- 9 pts.
    (tie) Beanie Feldstein for Booksmart -- 9 pts.

NOTE: The bubbling under passion for Us came to a boil here with Lupita Nyong'o triumphing for her turn in that horror film. Michael stuttered and stammered with confusion and anger, insisting the film was complete nonsense and what was with the rabbits and that Hands Across America finale? It made no sense and no one could defend it. In a Hands Across The Internet moment of solidarity, Aaron agreed wholeheartedly. The film's ardent supporters were ready with theories, but the late hour prevented a thorough airing of the dispute. Michael was heartened by the runner-up status of his passion project for the year: championing the indie film Mickey and the Bear and its terrific lead Camilla Morrone. His attempt to champion a vote to rescind since second place was a tie with the very popular Awkwafina ready for her closeup along with Morrone was met with sneers of indifference by the Us contingent. Nice try, they laughed.



BEST ACTOR

1. Antonio Banderas for Pain And Glory -- 28 pts.
2. Brad Pitt for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood  -- 24 pts.
3. Shia LeBeouf for Honey Boy-- 17 pts.
4. (tie) Juan Barberini for End Of The Century --12 pts.
    (tie) Leonardo DiCaprio for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 12 pts.


NOTE: Pedro Almodovar's late career triumph hit its peak with the win of Antonio Banderas for Best Actor, a notable achievement alongside its trophies for Supporting Actor and Screenplay. Brad Pitt almost won as Supporting and Lead, but it wasn't meant to be. In an act of integrity admired by all, Pitt's most fervent and disgruntled champion Andy refused to vote to rescind the win by Banderas. He objects to the Vote To Rescind tool and introduced a measure to end it last year. That measure was rejected. But even when a Vote To Rescind would give Andy his most cherished win, he refused to bite the apple tantalizingly offered to him. A tear or two of admiration was discreetly wiped away by his fellow IRA members. And hmm, the lead actor Juan Barberini popped onto the list. A last gasp or an indication of better things to come?


BEST DIRECTOR

1. Lucio Castro for End Of The Century -- 28 pts.
2. (tie) Pedro Almodóvar for Pain And Glory -- 21 pts.
    (tie) Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 21 pts.
4. Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra for Birds Of Passage -- 14 pts.
5. Bong Joon Ho for Parasite -- 13 pts.

NOTE: And here it is. Thanks to auteur slant of the IRA members (not officially but present nonetheless), a win for Best Director often presages a win for Best Picture. And indeed, End Of The Century wins here and again in a moment. You can see it's close with Almodovar and Tarantino breathing down its neck as they tie for second. But neither contingent would sacrifice their favorite to ensure the top prize for an aging hero.


BEST PICTURE

1. End Of The Century -- 26 pts.
2. Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -- 24 pts.
3. Pain And Glory -- 21 pts.
4. Birds Of Passage -- 19 pts.
5. Parasite  -- 15 pts.

And so End Of The Century  wins the top prize, beating out Once Upon by a mere two points.  Fans of Tarantino will surely take comfort in that film's dominant performance in the tech categories. It won three and competed everywhere, with two actors in the mix for Lead, an actress popping into Supporting and the heartbreak of a technical victory for Brad Pitt that was rescinded. Nonetheless, history remembers best the film that won and this year it's the enigmatic Argentinian puzzler End Of The Century, a film that subtly combines Grindr with The Twilight Zone in a way that Rod Serling would appreciate. Only time will tell if Lucio Castro can deliver on this early promise. But for now, he's beginning the century very nicely indeed.


FOOD BREAK 

Best of all, the great night fell on the birthday of IRA member in good standing David. A birthday cake procured by Andy proved a delicious capper to the evening. The sugar high may be partially responsible for the harsh tone of the "negative" awards, which spared neither small children nor (in an outburst by Michael that seemed more like a brain aneurysm) beloved filmmakers like Errol Morris. (Michael was not a fan of American Dharma.) 



SOMINEX (The movie that put you to sleep)


1. The Lighthouse -- 14 pts.
2. The Irishman -- 10 pts.
3. The Souvenir -- 9 pts.
4. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire -- 8 pts.
5. (tie) Judy -- 6 pts.
    (tie) Marriage Story -- 6 pts.
             

DRAMAMINE (The film that made you sick)

1    1. Joker -- 37 pts.
2. A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood -- 10 pts.
3. Uncut Gems -- 9 pts.
4. (tie) In Fabric -- 8 pts.
    (tie) The Irishman -- 8 pts.


MECHANICAL ACTRESS

1. Renee Zellwegger for Judy -- By Acclamation
2. Florence Pugh for Little Women -- 14 pts.
3. Meryl Streep for The Laundromat and Little Women -- 12 pts.
4. Dakota Johnson for The Peanut Butter Falcon -- 8 pts.
5. Mindy Kaling for Late Night -- 7 pts.

NOTE: Like our Mechanical Actor winner, comments throughout the night made clear Renee Zellwegger would not be going home empty-handed...unfortunately for her. The buzz surrounding Florence Pugh puzzled the IRA members, who instead singled her out in the worst way possible. Tellingly, both Meryl Streep and Dakota Johnson repeated as Mechanical Actress winners...and exactly in the same slots they occupied one year earlier.   

MECHANICAL ACTOR

1. Joaquin Phoenix for Joker -- 32 pts.
2. Adam Driver for The Dead Don't Die, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Marriage Story, The Report and Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker -- 16 pts.
3. Robert De Niro for The Irishman -- 16 pts.
4. Azhy Robertson for Marriage Story -- 14 pts.
5. Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood -- 6 pts.


THE 2019 FILMS HONORED BY THE IRAS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

American Factory 
Atlantics 
Birds Of Passage 
Bombshell 
Booksmart 
End Of The Century 
The Farewell 
Ford v Ferrari 
Honey Boy 
Honeyland
The Irishman 
Jojo Rabbit 
The Last Black Man In San Francisco 
Leaving Neverland 
Le Livre d'image
Little Women 
Mickey And The Bear 
1917 
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood  
Pain And Glory  
Parasite
Peterloo 
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire 
Rocketman
63 Up 
Us 
Wild Rose


WHO OR WHAT ARE THE IRAS? A HISTORY

The IRAs are a mysterious but august film society that has voted on the best films of the year since 1976. Officially known as the New York Independent Film Critics Awards -- but lovingly nicknamed the IRAs -- they are more international and indie focused than the Oscars, more mercurial than the LA Film Critics, more loyal to their favorites than the Golden Globes. 

The IRAs began when passionate film students and friends complained about the parade of annual awards shows, declaring, "We could do better!" What followed was an all-night, knock-down, drag-out fight to establish the very first winners of the IRAs. (One of the members is named Ira, but how his name became the name of the award is a story lost in the mist of time, alcohol and since it was the 1970s perhaps cannabis.) The IRAs group has been profiled in The New Yorker, so it is officially a New York institution, though no one has ever heard of it. Over the years, its rotating cast of voting members have included Oscar-winning writers, major directors, top studio execs, best-selling and critically acclaimed authors of books on movies, critics, screenwriters, budding playwrights, film scholars, plain old movie buffs and so on. 

Every year, the IRAs shine a light on some of the best movies of the year. The secret reason the IRAs flourish is that its members are passionate film lovers. Many have careers involving the arts, but it's not always easy to stay in the swim of things, to keep on top of the flood of new releases every year, especially when the movies favored by IRA members are not always playing at your local multiplex for weeks at a time. The movies they appreciate tend to be harder to catch, playing in theaters only briefly before popping up (hopefully) eventually on some streaming service or DVD. Quite simply, the IRAs force them to stay committed to seeing new movies with the same fervor they felt in their college days when going to see a film was the only purpose in life, before jobs and family made frivolous claims on their time. So if you want to stay on top of great cinema every year or explore its history, there's no better place to start than the award winners of the IRAs. 

True, the IRAs have no more claim to pronounce the best films of the year than anyone else. But they've been doing it for decades so hey, it's tradition! 


PAST IRA WINNERS 



THE COMPLETE IRA MOVIE AWARD WINNERS

1975 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Barry Lyndon
Best Director: Claude Chabrol for La Rupture and Just Before Nightfall
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Best Actress: Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Best Supporting Actor: François Perrier in Just Before Nightfall
Best Supporting Actress: Blythe Danner in Hearts Of The West
Best Screenplay: Tom Stoppard and Thomas Wiseman for The Romantic Englishwoman
Best Cinematography: John Alcott for Barry Lyndon


1976 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) Lipstick and The Marquise Of O
Best Director: Eric Rohmer for The Marquise Of O
Best Actor: Sean Connery in Robin And Marian
Best Actress: Sissy Spacek in Carrie
Best Supporting Actor: Jason Robards in All The President’s Men
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Bancroft in Lipstick
Best Screenplay: Alain Tanner and John Berger for Jonah Who Will Be 25 In The Year 2000
Best Cinematography: Nestor Almendros for The Marquise Of O


1977 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Annie Hall
Best Director: Wim Wenders for The American Friend
Best Actor: John Gielgud in Providence
Best Actress: Dianne Keaton in Annie Hall and Looking For Mr. Goodbar
Best Supporting Actor: G. D. Spradlin in One On One
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave in Julia
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman for Annie Hall
Best Cinematography: Robby Müller for The American Friend


1978 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Days Of Heaven
Best Director: Terence Malick for Days Of Heaven
Best Actor: Jon Voight in Coming Home
Best Actress: Jane Fonda in Coming Home
Best Supporting Actor: Dom DeLuise in The End
Best Supporting Actress: Stephane Audran in Violette
Best Screenplay: Eric Rohmer for Perceval
Best Cinematography: Nestor Almendros for Days Of Heaven


1979 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Fedora
Best Director: Blake Edwards for 10
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz
Best Actress: Hanna Schygulla in The Marriage Of Maria Braun
Best Supporting Actor: Denholm Elliott in Cuba and Saint Jack
Best Supporting Actress: Frances Sternhagen in Fedora and Starting Over
Best Screenplay: Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond for Fedora
Best Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto for Last Embrace and Remember My Name
Best Music: Miklos Rozsa for Fedora and Last Embrace
Best Production Design: Dean Edward Mitzner for 1941


1980 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Big Red One
Best Director: Sam Fuller for The Big Red One
Best Actor: Lee Marvin for The Big Red One
Best Actress: Jodie Foster for Carny and Foxes
Best Supporting Actor: (tie) Joe Pesci in Raging Bull and Harry Dean Stanton in The Black Marble, The Long Riders, Private Benjamin and Wise Blood
Best Supporting Actress: Pamela Reed in The Long Riders and Melvin And Howard
Best Screenplay: Sam Fuller for The Big Red One
Best Cinematography: Jordan Cronenweth for Altered States
Best Music: Dana Kaproff for The Big Red One
Best Production Design: Tambi Larsen for Heaven’s Gate


1981 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Cutter’s Way
Best Director: Ivan Passer for Cutter’s Way
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in Cutter’s Way
Best Actress: Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest
Best Supporting Actor: Jack Nicholson in Reds
Best Supporting Actress: Mona Washbouurne in Stevie
Best Screenplay: John Guare for Atlantic City
Best Cinematography: Jordan Cronenweth for Cutter’s Way
Best Music: Georges DeLerue for The Last Metro, Rich and Famous, True Confessions and The Woman Next Door
Best Production Design: Ken Adam for Pennies From Heaven
Best Costume Design: Shirley Russell for Reds


1982 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Victor/Victoria
Best Director: Blake Edwards for Victor/Victoria
Best Actor: Jack Lemmon in Missing
Best Actress: (tie) Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria and Jessica Lange in Frances
Best Supporting Actor: Robert Preston in Victor/Victoria
Best Supporting Actress: Lesley Ann Warren in Victor/Victoria
Best Screenplay: Blake Edwards for Victor/Victoria
Best Cinematography: Xaver Schwartzenberger for Lola and Veronika Voss
Best Music: Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse for Victor/Victoria
Best Production Design: Rodger Maus for Victor/Victoria
Best Costume Design: Patricia Norris for Victor/Victoria


1983 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Berlin Alexanderplatz
Best Director: Andrzej Wajda for Danton
Best Actor: Eric Roberts for Star ’80
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine for Terms Of Endearment
Best Supporting Actor: Jerry Lewis for The King Of Comedy
Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis for Trading Places
Best Screenplay: Bill Forsyth for Local Hero
Best Cinematography: Sven Nykvist for Star ’80
Best Music: Peer Raben for Berlin Alexanderplatz
Best Production Design: Fernando Scarfiotti for Scarface
Best Costume Design: Yvonne Sassinot DeNestle for Danton
Sominex Award: The Dresser
Dramamine Award: The Big Chill
Mechanical Actor: Matt Dillon for The Outsiders and Rumble Fish 
Mechanical Actress: Nastassja Kinski for The Moon In The Gutter and Exposed


1984 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) L’Argent and Once Upon A Time In America
Best Director: Sergio Leone for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood in Tightrope
Best Actress: Helen Mirren in Cal
Best Supporting Actor: Jean-Luc Godard in First Name: Carmen
Best Supporting Actress: Christine Lahti in Swing Shift
Best Screenplay: Franco Arcalli, Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Franco Ferrini, Sergio Leone, Enrico Medioli for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Cinematography: Robby Müller for Paris Texas and Repo Man
Best Music: Ennio Morricone for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Production Design: James Singelis for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Costume Design: Mic Cheminal for Entre Nous
Sominex Award: 
Dramamine Award: 
Mechanical Actor:  
Mechanical Actress: 


1985 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Prizzi’s Honor
Best Director: Martin Scorsese for After Hours
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson in Prizzi’s Honor
Best Actress: Mia Farrow in The Purple Rose Of Cairo
Best Supporting Actor: William Hickey in Prizzi’s Honor
Best Supporting Actress: Anjelica Huston in Prizzi’s Honor
Best Screenplay: Joseph Minion for After Hours
Best Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak for Prizzi’s Honor
Best Music: Brian Gascoigne and Junior Hamrich for The Emerald Forest
Best Production Design: Jeffrey Townsend for After Hours
Best Costume Design: Ann Roth for The Jagged Edge and Sweet Dreams
Sominex Award: 
Dramamine Award: 
Mechanical Actor:  
Mechanical Actress: 


1986 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Eyes On The Prize
Best Director: David Lynch for Blue Velvet
Best Actor: (tie) Daniel Day-Lewis in My Beautiful Laundrette and Jeff Goldblum in The Fly
Best Actress: Laura Dern in Smooth Talk
Best Supporting Actor: Steve Buscemi in Parting Glances
Best Supporting Actress: Mary Stuart Masterson in At Close Range
Best Screenplay: Hanif Kureishi for My Beautiful Laundrette
Best Cinematography: Frederick Elmes for Blue Velvet
Best Music: (tie) George Delerue for Platoon and Herbie Hancock for Round Midnight
Best Production Design: Patricia Norris for Blue Velvet
Best Costume Design: Jenny Beaven and John Bright for A Room With A View
Sominex Award: Brighton Beach Memoirs
Dramamine Award: Crocodile Dundee
Mechanical Actor: Jon Cryer for Pretty In Pink 
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep for Heartburn


1987 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Housekeeping
Best Director: Bill Forsyth for Housekeeping
Best Actor: Gary Oldman in Prick Up Your Ears
Best Actress: Christine Lahti in Housekeeping
Best Supporting Actor: John Mahoney in Moonstruck and Tin Men
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave in Prick Up Your Ears
Best Screenplay: Bill Forsyth for Housekeeping
Best Cinematography: Phillippe Rousselot for Hope And Glory
Best Music: David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su for The Last Emperor
Best Production Design: Santo Loquasto for Radio Days
Best Costume Design: Mary-Jane Reyner for Housekeeping
Sominex Award: Dark Eyes
Dramamine Award: Fatal Attraction
Mechanical Actor: Eddie Murphy for Beverly Hills Cop II 
Mechanical Actress: Sean Young for No Way Out and Wall Street


1988 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Dead Ringers
Best Director: David Cronenberg for Dead Ringers
Best Actor: Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers
Best Actress: Jodie Foster in The Accused
Best Supporting Actor: Divine in Hairspray
Best Supporting Actress: Claudia Karvan in High Tide
Best Screenplay: Christopher Hampton for Dangerous Liaisons
Best Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro for Tucker: The Man And His Dream
Best Music: George Fenton for Dangerous Liaisons
Best Production Design: Dean Tavoularis for Tucker: The Man And His Dream
Best Costume Design: Van Smith for Hairspray
Sominex Award: Wings Of Desire
Dramamine Award: Mississippi Burning (by acclamation!)
Mechanical Actor: William Hurt for Broadcast News 
Mechanical Actress: Maria Conchita Alonso for Extreme Prejudice and The Running Man


1989 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Story Of Women
Best Director: Claude Chabrol for Story
Of Women

Best Actor: John Hurt in Scandal
Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert in Story Of Women
Best Supporting Actor: Ethan Hawke in Dad and Dead Poets Society
Best Supporting Actress: Anjelica Huston in Enemies: A Love Story
Best Screenplay: Blake Edwards for Skin Deep
Best Cinematography: Jeff Preiss for Let’s Get Lost
Best Music: Michael Kamen for The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
Best Costume Design: Jane Robinson for Scandal
Sominex Award: Batman
Dramamine Award: Steel Magnolias
Mechanical Actor: Spike Lee for Do The Right Thing 
Mechanical Actress: Roseanne Barr for She-Devil


1990 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: GoodFellas
Best Director: Martin Scorsese for GoodFellas
Best Actor: Michel Blanc in Monsieur Hire
Best Actress: Anjelica Huston in The Grifters
Best Supporting Actor: Joe Pesci in GoodFellas
Best Supporting Actress: Lorraine Bracco in GoodFellas
Best Screenplay: Craig Lucas for Longtime Companion
Best Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton for The Grifters
Best Music: Elmer Bernstein for The Grifters
Best Production Design: Dennis Gassner for The Grifters
Best Costume Design: Richard Bruno for The Grifters
Sominex Award: 
Dramamine Award: 
Mechanical Actor:  
Mechanical Actress: 


1991 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Man In The Moon
Best Director: Robert Mulligan for The Man In The Moon
Best Actor: River Phoenix in Dogfight and My Own Private Idaho
Best Actress: Judy Davis in Barton Fink, Impromptu, and Naked Lunch
Best Supporting Actor: Harvey Keitel in Bugsy, Mortal Thoughts, and Thelma (ampersand) Louise
Best Supporting Actress: Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear
Best Screenplay: Michael Tolkin for The Rapture
Best Cinematography: Freddie Francis for Cape Fear and The Man In The Moon
Best Music: Ennio Morricone for Bugsy
Best Production Design: Dennis Gassner for Barton Fink and Bugsy
Best Costume Design: Albert Wolsky for Bugsy
Sominex Award: 
Dramamine Award: 
Mechanical Actor:  
Mechanical Actress: 


1992 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Raise The Red Lantern
Best Director: Robert Altman for The Player
Best Actor: Tim Robbins in Bob Roberts and The Player
Best Actress: Emma Thompson in Howards End
Best Supporting Actor: Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game
Best Supporting Actress: Judy Davis in Husbands And Wives
Best Screenplay: Michael Tolkin for The Player
Best Cinematography: Zhao Fei and Lun Yang for Raise The Red Lantern
Best Music: Lenny Niehaus for Unforgiven
Best Production Design: Marc Caro for Delicatessen
Best Costume Design: Alexander Julien for The Player
Sominex Award: A Few Good Men
Dramamine Award: Basic Instinct
Mechanical Actor: Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct
Mechanical Actress: ****


1993 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Six Degrees Of Separation
Best Director: Nancy Savoca for Household Saints
Best Actor: Dennis Quaid in Flesh And Bone
Best Actress: Stockard Channing in Six Degrees Of Separation
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in A Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
Best Supporting Actress: Regina Tourney in Like Water For Chocolate
Best Screenplay: Mike Leigh for Naked
Best Cinematography: Michael Balhaus for The Age Of Innocence
Best Music: Elmer Bernstein for The Age Of Innocence and The Cemetery Club
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Age Of Innocence
Best Costume Design: Gabriella Pescucci for The Age Of Innocence
Sominex Award: Heaven And Earth
Dramamine Award: Falling Down
Mechanical Actor: Richard Gere in Sommersby
Mechanical Actress: Madonna in Body Of Evidence


1994 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Red
Best Director: Krzyzstof Kieslowski for Red and White
Best Actor: Terence Stamp in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Best Actress: Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale in Little Women
Best Supporting Actress: Kristin Scott Thomas in Four Weddings and a Funeral
Best Screenplay: Steve Baranczek for The Last Seduction
Best Cinematography: Stephen Czapsky for Ed Wood
Best Music: Zbigniew Preissner for Red and White
Best Production Design: Dennis Gastner for The Hudsucker Proxy
Best Costume Design: Lizzie Gardiner and Tim Chappel for Priscilla, Queen of The Desert
Sominex Award: Wyatt Earp


1995 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Exotica
Best Director: Terry Zwigoff for Crumb
Best Actor: John Travolta in Get Shorty
Best Actress: (A three-way tie) Mia Kershner in Exotica; Alicia Silverstone in Clueless; Nicole Kidman in To Die For
Best Supporting Actor: Tim Roth in Rob Roy
Best Supporting Actress: Mare Winningham in Georgia
Best Screenplay: (tie) Atom Egoyan for Exotica and Buck Henry for To Die For
Best Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel for The Usual Suspects
Best Music: John Ottman for The Usual Suspects
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for Casino
Best Costumes: Mona May for Clueless
Sominex Award: The Brothers McMullen
Dramamine Award: Braveheart
Mechanical Actor: Dennis Miller in The Net and the cast of The Brothers McMullen
Mechanical Actress: Annette Bening in The American President


1996 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: La Ceremonie
Best Director: Claude Chabrol for La Ceremonie
Best Actor: Ewen McGregor in Trainspotting
Best Actress: (tie) Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient and Emily Watson in Breaking The Waves
Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm in Big Night
Best Supporting Actress: Mary Kay Place in Citizen Ruth and Manny and Lo
Best Screenplay: John Sayles for Lone Star
Best Cinematography: (tie) Darius Khondji for Stealing Beauty and Oliver Stapleton for Kansas City
Best Music: Tiffany Anders, Burt Bacharach, David Baerwald, Carole Bayer Sager, Ed Berghoff, Elvis Costello, Gerry Goffin, Louise Goffin, Tonio K, Larry Klein, J. Mascis, Joni Mitchell, Boyd Rice, David A. Stewart, and J. Mayo Williams for Grace Of My Heart
Best Production Design: Harley Jessup for James And The Giant Peach
Best Costume Design: Dona Granata for Kansas City
Sominex Award: The English Patient
Dramamine Award: A Time To Kill
Mechanical Actor: All the men in She’s The One
Mechanical Actress: Maxine Bahns in She’s The One


1997 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) Crash and Grosse Pointe Blank
Best Director: David Cronenberg for Crash
Best Actor: John Cusack for Grosse Pointe Blank
Best Actress: Julie Christie in Afterglow
Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Spacey in L. A. Confidential
Best Supporting Actress: Christina Ricci in The Ice Storm
Best Screenplay: Neil LaBute for In The Company Of Men
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins for Kundun
Best Music: (tie) Eleni Karaindrou for Ulysses’ Gaze and Michael Nyman for Gattaca
Best Production Design: (tie) Dan Weil for The Fifth Element and Jan Roelfs for Gattaca
Best Costume Design: Denise Cronenberg for Crash
Sominex Award: The Pillow Book
Dramamine Award: Con Air
Mechanical Actor: Billy Zane in Titanic
Mechanical Actress: Elisabeth Shue in Deconstructing Harry and The Saint


1998 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Gods And Monsters
Best Director: (tie) Bill Condon for Gods And Monsters and Todd Solondz for Happiness
Best Actor: Ian McKellen in Gods And Monsters
Best Actress: Christina Ricci in The Opposite Of Sex
Best Supporting Actor: Dylan Baker in Happiness
Best Supporting Actress: Lisa Kudrow in The Opposite Of Sex
Best Screenplay: Bill Condon for Gods And Monsters
Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti for Happiness and Velvet Goldmine
Best Music: Carter Burwell for Gods And Monsters
Best Production Design: Thérèse DePrez for Happiness
Best Costume Design: Bruce Finlayson for Gods And Monsters
Sominex Award: Dangerous Beauty
Dramamine Award: Stepmom
Mechanical Actor: Bruce Willis in Armageddon, The Siege and Mercury Rising
Mechanical Actress: Jena Malone in Stepmom


1999 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Fight Club
Best Director: (tie) David Fincher for Fight Club and Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich
Best Actor: Terence Stamp in The Limey
Best Actress: (tie) Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut and Hillary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Magnolia and The Talented Mr. Ripley
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich
Best Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for Election
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson for Bringing Out The Dead and Snow Falling On Cedars
Best Music: Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman for South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Best Production Design: Owen Paterson for The Matrix
Best Costume Design: Michael Kaplan for Fight Club
Sominex Award: The World Is Not Enough
Dramamine Award: The Green Mile
Mechanical Actor: Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
Mechanical Actress: Annette Bening in American Beauty


2000 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: L’ Humanite
Best Director: (tie) Terence Davies for The House Of Mirth and Jim Jarmusch for Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai
Best Actor: Forrest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai
Best Actress: (tie) Severine Caneele in L’ Humanite and Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Supporting Actor: Jack Black in High Fidelity and Jesus’s Son
Best Supporting Actress: Lupe Ontiveros in Chuck And Buck
Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonnergan for You Can Count On Me
Best Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin for The House Of Mirth
Best Music: RZA for Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai
Best Production Design: Gideon Ponte for American Psycho and Hamlet
Best Costume Design: Monica Howe for The House Of Mirth
Sominex Award: Mission Impossible 2
Dramamine Award: The Replacements (aka The Scabs)
Mechanical Actor: Ian Holm in Joe Gould’s Secret
Mechanical Actress: Charlize Theron in Reindeer Games


2001 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Werckmeister Harmonies
Best Director: Bela Tarr for The Werckmeister Harmonies
Best Actor: John Cameron Mitchell for Hedwig And The Angry Inch
Best Actress: Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive
Best Supporting Actor: Steve Buscemi in Ghost World
Best Supporting Actress: Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World and The Man Who Wasn’t There
Best Screenplay: Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff for Ghost World
Best Cinematography: (tie) Peter Deming for From Hell and Mulholland Drive and Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin for In The Mood For Love
Best Music: Mihály Vig for The Werckmeister Harmonies
Best Production Design: Edward T. McAvoy for Ghost World
Best Costume Design: Mary Zophres for Ghost World
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award:
Mechanical Actor:
Mechanical Actress:


2002 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) Far From Heaven and The Son’s Room
Best Director: (tie) Todd Haynes for Far From Heaven and Aleksandr Sokurov for Russian Ark
Best Actor: Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus
Best Actress: (tie) Emmanuelle Devos in Read My Lips and Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven and Samantha Morton in Minority Report and Morvern Callar
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Izzard in The Cat’s Meow
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Clarkson in Far From Heaven
Best Screenplay: Bill Condon for Chicago
Best Cinematography: Tilman Büttner for Russian Ark
Best Music: Elmer Bernstein for Far From Heaven
Best Production Design: Mark Friedberg for Far From Heaven
Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell for Far From Heaven and Gangs Of New York
Sominex Award: Naqoyqatsi
Dramamine Award: Bowling For Dollars
Mechanical Actor: Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon
Mechanical Actress: Catherine Keener in Lovely And Amazing


2003 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Decasia
Best Director: Bill Morrison for Decasia
Best Actor: Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The Caribbean
Best Actress: Hope Davis in American Splendor and The Secret Lives Of Dentists
Best Supporting Actor: Max Pirkis in Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Best Supporting Actress: Ludivine Sagnier in Swimming Pool
Best Screenplay: Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini for American Splendor
Best Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky for Spider
Best Music: Michael Gordon for Decasia
Best Production Design: Andrew Laws for Down With Love
Best Costume Design: Daniel Orlandi for Down With Love
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award: In My Skin
Mechanical Actor: Anthony Hopkins in The Human Stain
Mechanical Actress: Nicole Kidman in The Human Stain


2004 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Kinsey
Best Director: Bill Condon for Kinsey
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke in Before Sunset
Best Actress: Laura Linney in Kinsey and P.S.
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Sarsgaard in Kinsey
Best Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Best Screenplay: Bill Condon for Kinsey
Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle for Hero, Last Life In The Universe and Days Of Being Wild
Best Music: Alberto Iglesias for Bad Education
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Aviator
Best Costume Design: Emi Wada for Hero and House Of The Flying Daggers
Sominex Award: The Village
Dramamine Award: The Passion Of The Christ
Mechanical Actor: Cate Blanchett in The Aviator
Mechanical Actress: Anthony Hopkins in Alexander


2005 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Mysterious Skin
Best Director: Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin
Best Actor: Joseph Gordon-Leavitt in Mysterious Skin
Best Actress: Maria Bello in A History Of Violence
Best Supporting Actor: Paddy Constantine in My Summer Of Love
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener in Capote
Best Screenplay: Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit for Good Night And Good Luck and Syriana
Best Music: Howard Shore for A History Of Violence
Best Production Design: William Chang Suk Ping for 2046
Best Costume Design: William Chang Suk Ping for 2046
Sominex Award: Saraband
Dramamine Award: Crash
Mechanical Actor: Tom Cruise for War Of The Worlds
Mechanical Actress: Dakota Fanning for War Of The Worlds 
Complete coverage of the 2005 IRAs here.


2006 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: L’Enfant
Best Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for L’Enfant
Best Actor: Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson
Best Actress: Maggie Cheung in Clean
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Mackie in Half Nelson
Best Supporting Actress: Carmen Maura in Volver
Best Screenplay: (tie) Guillermo Del Toro for Pan’s Labyrinth and Jean- Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for L’Enfant
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for Children Of Men
Best Production Design: Eugenio Caballero for Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Music: Philip Glass for Notes On A Scandal and The Illusionist
Best Costume Design: Sharon Davis for Dreamgirls
Sominex Award: The Da Vinci Code
Dramamine Award: Babel
Mechanical Actor: Robert Downey, Jr. in Fur and A Scanner Darkly
Mechanical Actress: Julianne Moore in Children Of Men 
Complete coverage of the 2006 IRAs here.


2007 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Director: Andrew Dominik for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Actor: Casey Affleck in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby Gone
Best Actress: Marina Hands in Lady Chatterley
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Schneider in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Lars And The Real Girl
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone
Best Screenplay: Corneliu Porumboiu for 12:08 East Of Bucharest
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, In The Valley Of Elah and No Country For Old Men
Best Production Design: Patricia Norris for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Music: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Costume Design: Patricia Norris for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Sominex Award: Youth Without Youth
Dramamine Award: Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
Mechanical Actor: John Travolta in Hairspray
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep in Lions For Lambs and Rendition 
Complete coverage of the 2007 IRAs here.


2008 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Edge Of Heaven
Best Director: Fatih Akin - The Edge Of Heaven
Best Actor: Michael Shannon - Shotgun Stories
Best Actress: Anamaria Marinca - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Best Supporting Actor: Emile Hirsch - Milk
Best Supporting Actress: Hanna Schygulla - The Edge Of Heaven
Best Screenplay: Fatih Akin - The Edge Of Heaven
Best Cinematography: Jody Shapiro - My Winnipeg
Best Production Design: Rejean Labrie - My Winnipeg
Best Music: Carter Burwell for In Bruges and Burn After Reading
Best Costumes: Danny Glicker - Milk
Sominex: The Happening
Dramamine: The Reader
Mechanical Actor: Mark Wahlberg for The Happening
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep for Doubt 
Complete coverage of the 2008 IRAs here.


2009 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Hunger
Best Director: Olivier Assayas - Summer Hours
Best Actor: Sharlto Copley - District 9
Best Actress: Catalina Saavedra - The Maid
Best Supporting Actor: Liam Cunningham - Hunger
Best Supporting Actress: Anna Faris - Observe And Report
Best Screenplay: Olivier Assayas - Summer Hours
Best Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt - Hunger
Best Production Design: Philip Ivey - District 9
Best Music: Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!
Best Costumes: Janet Patterson - Bright Star
Sominex: Public Enemies
Dramamine: Anti-Christ
Mechanical Actor: Peter Sarsgaard for An Education
Mechanical Actress: Hilary Swank for Amelia


2010 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Director: Jacques Audiard - A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Actor: Edgar Ramirez - Carlos
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton - I Am Love
Best Supporting Actor: Niels Arestrup - A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey - Winter's Bone
Best Screenplay: Thomas Bidegain and Jacques Audiard - A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Cinematography: Yorick Le Saux - I Am Love
Best Production Design: Francesca Balestra Di Mottola - I Am Love
Best Music: John Adams - I Am Love
Best Costumes: Antonella Cannarozzi - I Am Love
Sominex: Cairo Time
Dramamine: Black Swan
Mechanical Actor: Vincent Cassel for Black Swan
Mechanical Actress: Natalie Portman for Black Swan
The Governor Scott Walker Award For Achievement In Political Thuggery: Waiting For "Superman" 
Complete coverage of the 2010 IRAs here.


2011 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: The Tree Of Life
Best Director: Terrence Malick - The Tree Of Life
Best Actor: Peyman Moadi - A Separation
Best Actress: Leila Hatami - A Separation
Best Supporting Actor: Hunter McCracken - The Tree Of Life
Best Supporting Actress: Sareh Bayet - A Separation
Best Screenplay: Ashgar Farhadi - A Separation
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki - The Tree Of Life
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti - Hugo
Best Score: Alberto Iglesias - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Skin I Live In
Best Editing: Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa - The Tree Of Life
Best Costumes: Jacqueline Durran - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): Midnight In Paris
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Help
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Mechanical Actor: Owen Wilson - Midnight In Paris 
Complete coverage of the 2011 IRAs here.


2012 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
Best Actor: Jean-Louis Trintignant - Amour
Best Actress: Rachel Weisz - The Deep Blue Sea
Best Supporting Actor: Taner Birsel - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
Best Supporting Actress: Cecile De France - The Kid With A Bike
Best Screenplay: Ebru Ceylan and Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Ercan Kesal - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
Best Cinematography: Gokhan Tiryaki - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
Best Production Design: Arvinder Grewal - Cosmopolis
Best Score: Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin - Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Best Editing: Todd Woody Richman and Tyler H. Walk - How To Survive A Plague
Best Costumes: Kari Perkins - Bernie
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): (tie) Les Miserables and Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Intouchables
Mechanical Actress: Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Mechanical Actor: Russell Crowe - Les Miserables 
Complete coverage of the 2012 IRAs here.


2013 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Laurence Anyways
Best Director: Xavier Dolan for Laurence Anyways and I Killed My Mother
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for Her
Best Actress: Hadas Yaron for Fill The Void
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Bruhl for The Fifth Estate and Rush
Best Supporting Actress: Nathalie Baye for Laurence Anyways
Best Screenplay: Sarah Polley for Stories We Tell
Best Cinematography: Asaf Sudri for Fill The Void
Best Production Design: K.K. Barrett for Her
Best Score: (tie) Alex Ebert for All Is Lost and Arcade Fire for Her
Best Editing: Mike Munn for Stories We Tell
Best Costumes: Francois Barbeau, Xavier Dolan for Laurence Anyways
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): Faust
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Great Gatsby
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep for August: Osage County
Mechanical Actor: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club  
Complete coverage of the 2013 IRAs here. 


2014 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Nightcrawler
Best Director: Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler
Best Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler
Best Actress: Essie Davis for The Babadook
Best Supporting Actor: Ethan Hawke for Boyhood
Best Supporting Actress: Agata Kulesza for Ida
Best Screenplay:  Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit for Nightcrawler and Inherent Vice
Best Production Design: Suzie Davies for Mr. Turner
Best Score: Mica Levi for Under The Skin
Best Editing: (tie) Simon Njoo for The Babadook; Jay Cassidy, Stuart Levy and Conor O'Neill for Foxcatcher
Best Costumes: (tie) Kasia Walicka-Maimone for Foxcatcher and A Most Violent Year (but not St. Vincent);       Jacqueline Durran for Mr. Turner
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Monuments Men
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Imitation Game
Mechanical Actress: Lilla Crawford for Into The Woods
Mechanical Actor: The Entire Cast of The Monuments Men  
Complete coverage of the 2014 IRAs here. 


2015 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Tangerine
Best Director: Miroslav Slaboshpytski for The Tribe
Best Actor: Jason Segel for The End Of The Tour 
Best Actress: (tie) Anne Dorval for Mommy
                   (tie) Kitana Kiki Rodriguez for Tangerine
Best Supporting Actor: Alexander Skarsgård for The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
Best Supporting Actress: Mya Taylor for Tangerine by acclamation
Best Nonfiction Film: In Jackson Heights 
Best Screenplay:  Donald Margulies for The End Of The Tour
Best Cinematography: Sean Baker and Radium Cheung for Tangerine
Best Production Design: (tie) Judy Becker for Carol
                                    (tie) Colin Gibson for Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Score: (tie) Junkie XL for Mad Max: Fury Road
                 (tie) Atticus Ross and Brian Wilson for Love And Mercy 
Best Editing: Sean Baker for Tangerine
Best Costumes: Shih-Ching Tsou for Tangerine
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Assassin
       Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): Chi-Raq
Mechanical Actress: Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl
Mechanical Actor: John Cusack for Chi-Raq and Love And Mercy 
Complete coverage of the 2015 IRAs here.


2016 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS

Best Picture: Moonlight
Best Director: Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Best Actor: Antonythasan Jesuthasan for Dheepan
Best Actress: Annette Bening for 20th Century Women
Best Supporting Actor: Ralph Fiennes for A Bigger Splash and Hail, Caesar!
Best Supporting Actress: Linda Emond for Indignation
Best Nonfiction Film: O.J.: Made In America
Best Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan for Hell Or High Water
Best Cinematography: James Laxton for Moonlight
Best Production Design: (tie) Craig Lathrop for The Witch
                                            (tie) Ryan Warren Smith for Green Room
Best Score: Nicholas Britell for Moonlight
Best Editing: Andrey Paperniy for Under The Sun
Best Costumes: Madeline Fontaine for Jackie
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): Girl On A Train
       Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): Nocturnal Animals
Mechanical Actress: Nicole Kidman for Lion
Mechanical Actor: Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Nocturnal Animals 
Complete coverage of the 2016 IRAs here.


2017 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS

Best Picture: BPM
Best Director: Robin Campillo for BPM
Best Actor: Michael Keaton for The Founder
Best Actress: Daniela Vega for A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)
Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project
Best Supporting Actress: Lesley Manville for Phantom Thread
Best Nonfiction Film: Dawson City: Frozen Time
Best Screenplay:  Robert Siegel for The Founder
Best Cinematography: Alexis Zabe for The Florida Project
Best Production Design: Stephonik Youth for The Florida Project
Best Score: Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never for Good Time
Best Editing: Robin Campillo, Stéphanie Léger and Anita Roth for BPM
Best Costumes: Pascaline Chavanne for Frantz
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Post
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): mother!
Mechanical Actress: Emma Watson for Beauty and the Beast and The Circle
Mechanical Actor: James Franco for The Disaster Artist, et. al 
Complete coverage of the 2017 IRAs here.


2018 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS 

Best Picture: Capernaum
Best Director: Nadine Labaki for Capernaum
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot; Mary Magdalene; The Sisters Brothers; You Were Never Really Here
Best Actress: Sakura Andô for Shoplifters
Best Supporting Actor: Brian Tyree Henry for Hotel ArtemisIf Beale Street Could Talk, Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse, White Boy Rick, Widows 
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Nonfiction Film: Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Best Screenplay:  Barry Jenkins for If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuaron for Roma
Best Production Design: Eugenio Caballero for Roma
Best Score/Use Of Music: Nicholas Britell for If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Editing: Nick Fenton, Chris Gill and Julian Hart for American Animals
Best Costumes: Caroline Eselin for If Beale Street Could Talk
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): On The Basis Of Sex
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Favourite
Mechanical Actress: Tilda Swinton for Suspiria 
Mechanical Actor: Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody 
Complete coverage of the 2018 IRAs here. 



2019 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS 

Best Picture: End Of The Century
Best Director: Lucio Castro for End Of The Century
Best Actor: Antonio Banderas for Pain And Glory
Best Actress: Lupita Nyong'o for Us
Best Supporting Actor: Asier Etxeandia for Pain And Glory 
Best Supporting Actress: Shuzhen Zhao for The Farewell 
Best Nonfiction Film: American Factory 
Best Screenplay:  Pedro Almodóvar for Pain And Glory
Best Cinematography: David Gallego for Birds Of Passage
Best Production Design: Barbara Ling for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood 
Best Score/Use Of Music: Mary Ramos for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Best Editing: Kim Horton for 63 Up 
Best Costumes: Arianne Phillips for Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Lighthouse 
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): Joker
Mechanical Actress: Renee Zellwegger for Judy  
Mechanical Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for Joker


IRA BEST PICTURE WINNERS

Barry Lyndon (1975)
Lipstick and The Marquise Of O (tie) (1976)
Annie Hall (1977)
Days Of Heaven (1978)
Fedora (1979)

The Big Red One (1980)
Cutter’s Way (1981)
Victor/Victoria (1982)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1983)
L’Argent and Once Upon A Time In America (tie) (1984)
Prizzi’s Honor (1985)
Eyes On The Prize (1986)
Housekeeping (1987)
Dead Ringers (1988)
Story Of Women (1989)

GoodFellas (1990)
The Man In The Moon (1991)
Raise The Red Lantern (1992)
Six Degrees Of Separation (1993)
Red (1994)
Exotica (1995)
La Ceremonie (1996)
Crash (the David Cronenberg film) and Grosse Pointe Blank (tie) (1997)
Gods And Monsters (1998)
Fight Club (1999)

L’ Humanite (2000)
The Werckmeister Harmonies (2001)
Far From Heaven and The Son’s Room (tie) (2002)
Decasia (2003)
Kinsey (2004)
Mysterious Skin (2005)
L’Enfant (2006)
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
The Edge Of Heaven (2008)
Hunger (2009)

A Prophet/Un Prophete (2010) 
The Tree Of Life (2011)
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (2012)
Laurence Anyways (2013)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Tangerine (2015)
Moonlight (2016)
BPM (2017)
Capernaum (2018)
End Of The Century (2019) 


THE IRA AWARDS: THE TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1940S

1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
2. Letter From An Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
3. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
4. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
5. The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946)
6. Shadow Of A Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943)
7. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
8. It's A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
9. To Have And Have Not (Howard Hawks, 1944)
10. The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges, 1942)

See the complete list of the Top 100 Films Of The 1940s here.


THE IRA AWARDS: THE TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1950s

1. The Earrings of Madame de… (Max Ophüls, 1953)
2. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
4. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) 
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) 
6. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950) 
7. Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) 
8. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) 
9. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) 
10. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959) 

See the complete list of the Top 100 Films Of The 1950s here. 


THE IRA AWARDS: THE TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1960s

1. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
2. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
5. Chimes At Midnight (Orson Welles, 1965)
6. Once Upon A Time In The West (Sergio Leone, 1968) 
7. The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963) 
8. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964) 
9. When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (Mikio Naruse, 1960)
10. Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)....

See the complete list here.


THE IRA AWARDS: THE TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1980s


1. Dekalog 
2. Shoah  
3. Housekeeping 
4. Berlin Alexanderplatz
5. Raging Bull
6. Fanny and Alexander
7. Once Upon A Time In America  
8. Eyes On The Prize
9. Danton
10. Crimes and Misdemeanors



THE IRA AWARDS: THE BEST FILMS OF THE 2000s (voted in 2010)

1. The Son/Le Fils (Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, 2002)
2. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
3. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)
4. The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
5. The Edge Of Heaven (Fatih Akin, 2007) (tie)
    In The Mood For Love 
(Kar Wai Wong, 2000) (tie)
7. The Heart Of The World 
(Guy Maddin, 2001)
8. Mysterious Skin 
(Gregg Araki, 2004) (tie)
    Bus 174 
(José Padilha and Felipe Lacerda, 2002) (tie)
10. The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005) (tie)
      Head-On (Fatih Akin, 2004) (tie)
      Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) (tie)


THE IRA AWARDS: THE BEST FILMS OF THE 2010s 

Coming soon! Watch this space!


THE IRA AWARDS: THE TOP 100 FILMS OF ALL TIME (voted in 2012)

1. The Rules Of The Game (Jean Renoir, 1939)
2. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
4. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
6. Letter From An Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
7. The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946)
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
9. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
10. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)

See the complete list of the Top 100 Films Of All Time here.

Saturday, March 14, 2020

THE IRA AWARDS -- THE TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1980s


The IRAs gathered together in the midst of a pandemic. Now that's devotion to cinema! Eight were present and two more wisely skipped the hugs and kisses and buffet line by taking part via the internet. (Using Zoom if you're interested in the details.) Aaron positioned himself behind two classic movie posters while Greg went high-tech with an ever-changing backdrop of his choice
(which paid dividends during his tribute to "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial") Our host Alex provided a lovely buffet dinner and alcohol in copious amounts. For those attending digitally, the exclamations of pleasure over the banana pudding procured by Andy was especially hard to bear.

Like all group votes, the list is inherently compromised. Not one group of movies from the bottom ten even to the top ten was immune from someone disparaging a film and wondering why it was on the list at all. Despite having four films on the list, Woody Allen suffered repeated blows...as a director! The even number of voters meant some ties could not be broken on the big night, so certain films share a slot and are presented alphabetically.

Months of debate, along with watching and re-watching of films led to the Master List, which was then voted on to come up with the final 100, locked into groups of ten (91-100, 81-90 and so on up to the Top Ten.) On the big night, we voted on each group of ten. Some scandalously wondered why we bother -- the movies don't move around that much and most remain almost exactly where they were. But the final vote led to a new movie at the top, a new movie at the bottom, and in seven out of the ten groups a new film took over the top spot for that section.

Each member would quickly steer you away from this entry and urge you to see that entry (which should have been higher!). But anyone looking to see a significant chunk of 1980s films can rest assured the one hundred films listed here are worth your time.

And so the IRAs are pleased to present:


THE TOP 100 FILMS OF THE 1980S


1. DEKALOG
2. SHOAH
3. HOUSEKEEPING
4. BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ
5. RAGING BULL
6. FANNY AND ALEXANDER
7. ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
8. EYES ON THE PRIZE
9. DANTON
10. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS


11. VICTOR/VICTORIA
12. FULL METAL JACKET
13. BLUE VELVET and RAN (tie)
14. --
15. THE KING OF COMEDY
16. WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
17. REDS
18. DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES
19. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
20. THE DEAD


21. THE THIN BLUE LINE
22. DO THE RIGHT THING
23. THE BIG RED ONE
24. THE FLY
25. ENEMIES, A LOVE STORY
26. PARTING GLANCES
27. EMPIRE OF THE SUN
28. AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS
29. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
30. AFTER HOURS



31. CUTTER’S WAY AKA CUTTER AND BONE
32. ANOTHER COUNTRY and THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (tie)
33. --
34. DEAD RINGERS
35. THE RIGHT STUFF
36. TAMPOPO
37. THE SHINING
38. BLADE RUNNER
39. L’ARGENT
40. A ROOM WITH A VIEW


41. ALIENS
42. GALLIPOLI
43. HIGH HOPES
44. THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK
45. SANS SOLEIL and WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE? (tie)
46. --
47. BABETTE’S FEAST
48. MATEWAN
49. MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR
50. WINGS OF DESIRE


51. KOYAANISQATSI: LIFE OUT OF BALANCE
52. THIS IS SPINAL TAP
53. HOPE AND GLORY
54. BRAZIL 
55. EIGHT MEN OUT
56. STORY OF WOMEN
57. FITZCARRALDO
58. MAURICE
59. MOONSTRUCK
60. MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE


61. LOST IN AMERICA
62. MY FAVORITE YEAR
63. RIVER’S EDGE
64. PRIZZI’S HONOR
65. A FISH CALLED WANDA
66. LAW OF DESIRE
67. BACK TO THE FUTURE
68. THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO
69. THE NIGHT OF SHOOTING STARS
70. ZELIG


71. VIDEODROME
72. FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
73. THE VANISHING
74. RISKY BUSINESS
75. TOOTSIE
76. DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and GREMLINS (tie)
77. --
78. A PASSAGE TO INDIA
79. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
80. HAIRSPRAY


81. sex, lies and videotape
82. RAISING ARIZONA
83. MATADOR
84. THE LAST METRO AKA LE DERNIER METRO
85. PRICK UP YOUR EARS
86. WITNESS
87. LOCAL HERO
88. DANGEROUS LIAISONS and LOLA (tie)
89. --
90. THEY ALL LAUGHED


91. BLOOD SIMPLE
92. HEATHERS
93. ATLANTIC CITY
94. SECRET HONOR
95. MON ONCLE D’AMERIQUE aka MY AMERICAN UNCLE
96. TAXI ZUM KLO
97. THE ELEPHANT MAN
98. THE BREAKFAST CLUB
99. S.O.B.
100. BEETLEJUICE

Friday, February 07, 2020

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019 (AND ONE FROM 2018)

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019 (AND 2018 AND SOME FOR 2020) 


Where are the protest songs, you say? Why aren't more artists releasing them in these tumultuous times? Well maybe they aren't releasing them in your language. This year I've listened to psychedelic rock songs by Umut Adan of Turkey, who protests that country's fascist-adjacent government. I've watched videos of brave men, women and children repurposing the show tune "Do You Hear The People Sing" from Les Miserables -- they've sung it at school events and when marching in the streets of Hong Kong and China. Not a new song, but still...how awesome is that? (So you might want to delete that cast album from your phone if you're visiting Shanghai on business.)

Best of all, the song of the summer in Puerto Rico was "Afilando Los Cuchillos" (aka "Sharpening The Knives"), a caustic tune mocking the incompetent and offensive Governor of Puerto Rico. It was created by Residente, Bad Bunny and iLe. Like most protest songs, it probably won't reverberate a decade from now. But mass protests set to a thumping beat and with the prominent support of artists like them sent the governor and his wife packing. Now THAT'S an effective protest song.

Bad Bunny delivered one of my favorite albums of the year...but it came out in December of 2018, so I'll be moving it to that year's list after touting it here. His new album just dropped and it's pretty great right out of the gate. And that brings me to iLe and the best albums of 2019. First, the albums, then a breakdown of each album and why it caught my ear. And here's a link to my favorite albums of all time, year by year.



THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019

iLe -- Almadura 
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nostalgique Porto Rico (Puerto Rican Roots 1940-1960) 
BAD BUNNY -- X100PRE  (out Dec 2018)
BAD BUNNY AND J BALVIN -- Oasis 
LIZZO -- Cuz I Love You 
ARI LENNOX -- Shea Butter Baby
BRANFORD MARSALIS -- The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul 
SOLANGE -- When I Get Home 
NICK CAVE -- Ghosteen 
ANDY BURROWS AND MATT HAIG -- Reasons To Stay Alive 
DORI FREEMAN -- Every Little Star 
TINARIWEN -- Amadjar 
MDOU MOCTAR -- Ileana (The Creator)  
WEYES BLOOD -- Titanic Rising 
JULIA JACKLIN -- Crushing 
KEVIN MORBY -- Oh My God 
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS -- Become Desert 
ANDREW NORMAN -- Sustain 


TANYA TUCKER -- While I'm Living 
JUDY COLLINS -- Winter Stories (w Jonas Fjeld and Chatham County Line) 
MANSION HARLOTS -- All Around A Fairground 
TYLER, THE CREATOR -- IGOR   
CAROLINE SHAW -- Orange 
DEREK BERMEL -- Migrations   
STURGILL SIMPSON -- Sound & Fury  
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood  
MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS -- De Ayer Para Siempre  
THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- I Love You. It's A Fever Dream 
BILLIE EILISH -- When We All Fall Asleep 
VAMPIRE WEEKEND -- Father Of The Bride  
LAKOU MIZIK -- HaitiNola 
CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH -- Ancestral Blues 


ANGELIQUE KIDJO -- Celia  
NEIL YOUNG -- Colorado 
FRANK TURNER -- No Man's Land   
STILE ANTICO -- In A Strange Land: Elizabethan Composers in Exile  
BECK -- Hyperspace  
MICHAEL KIWANUKA -- Kiwanuka 
ALLISON MOORER -- Blood   
DAVE MALLOY --- Octet (Original Cast Recording)  
THE GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE -- Aban   
WILCO -- Ode To Joy 
JOE JACKSON -- Fool 
JEFF LYNNE'S ELO -- From Out Of Nowhere  
PAUL KELLY -- Songs From The South: Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits 1985-2019   
LOS LOBOS -- Llegó Navidad 
STILE ANTICO -- A Spanish Nativity  
ROBBIE WILLIAMS -- The Christmas Present 


EARLY FAVORITES FOR 2020 

BAD BUNNY -- YHLQMDLG 
BRANDY CLARK -- Your Life Is A Record 
TEDDY THOMPSON -- Heartbreaker Please (out in May)
MARIA MCKEE -- La Vita Nuova 
MOSES SUMNEY -- grae, Part 1
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- Quickies (out in May)
GREEN DAY -- Father Of All Motherfuckers 





THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019 -- THE BREAKDOWN

iLe -- Almadura 
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nostalgique Porto Rico (Puerto Rican Roots 1940-1960) -- iLe is short for Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar. She feels like both a new artist and a veteran at the same time. iLe was the female voice of Calle 13, alongside her step-brothers known as Residente and Visitante. She was so young at the time iLe's nickname was PG-13.  As a solo act, she has just two albums: iLevitable, which won the Grammy for Best Latin Alternative Album and now Almadura. iLe turns 31 in April and that maturity shines through on this album. It's not the up-to-the-minute alternative rap or reggaeton or Latin trap or whatever you want to label the music of Bad Bunny and Residente. But it's certainly not "traditional" music either, a label as meaningless as world music or pop or any other you want to use. iLe showcases the great pianist Eddie Palmieri, uses the romantic form of the bolero to decry violence against women and sidesteps trendy sounds and gestures with ease. But Almadura indeed sounds exactly like an "Alternative Latin" Grammy-nominated album should: it recognizes the past, embraces the present and looks to the future in every way. iLe speaks up and out about injustice, discrimination, hopefulness, love and more with a captivating directness. She's too busy changing the world to get on a soapbox, so it's not a shock when she ends with love on "De Luna." Before she gets there, iLe vows to reclaim and defend her territory in "Contra Todo." Whether that territory is her body, her beloved Puerto Rico or the entire world is purposefully vague, but I'm going  to play it safe and assume she will defend it all.

While grooving to iLe's righteous rhythms, I also dove into a compilation of the music her grandparents probably grooved to decades ago. Nostalgique Poerto Rico (Puerto Rican Roots 1940-1960) is one of those invaluable resources that can send you into a dozen different directions, discovering world class talents who are household names in "P FCKN R" (as Bad Bunny sings on his new album) but little known to the rest of us. It's fun catching up.

BAD BUNNY -- X100PRE   
BAD BUNNY AND J BALVIN -- Oasis -- Ok, I had a lot of Bad Bunny to catch up on. While iLe's music sounds like it would be at home on NPR or any cool college radio station, Bad Bunny should be blasting out of the biggest boom box or loudest car on the block. He's been guesting here there and everywhere until at the last minute of 2018 he dropped his debut. X100PRE is tight and utterly infectious. You can call it Latin trap or reggaeton or whatever you want, but to me it's pure pop of the best sort. How could anyone resist it? Even before ignorant folk like me need to drop the lyrics into Google Translate to decipher what he's singing about, the hilariously cool vibe of Bad Bunny comes shining through. And no one since James Brown has put so much style and sass into a monosyllabic grunt like BB. I've made an absolute fool of myself bobbing my head and grunting as I drive down the road jamming to X100PRE as well as his almost-as-good collaboration with fellow Latin star J. Balvin of Colombia. And Bad Bunny's new album just dropped. I Do What I Want aka Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana aka YHLQMDLG is just as ear-catching, body-moving, infectious-sounding as his first album.

LIZZO -- Cuz I Love You 
ARI LENNOX -- Shea Butter Baby -- More protest music, people! I named iLe's album as the best of the year because I think it will age well and is more consistent. But no one offered higher highs or more good spirits for me than Lizzo. Her sheer good humor, smarts and no-nonsense directness is a protest against anyone who tries to insist she shouldn't love herself. And anyone else she wants and who would say no? The title track and opener "Cuz I Love You" establishes without a doubt that she can sing, full stop. Put that track last and it would seem a stunt; you'd think wow, why doesn't she sing like that all the time. Do it upfront and Lizzo's saying, "Don't put limits on me; I can do it all." And then she raps and sings and her remarkably funny line readings pop up and put a smile on your face. The lines are so quotable even I and my born-again white boy pal in upstate New York text each other "Why men great till they gotta be great?" and laugh ourselves silly. Heck, even the cover is a wonderfully in-your-face embrace of her big, beautiful self. The truth hurts and the truth is I wish she'd won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Even though Billie Eilish's bedsit music is deservedly on my list too, Lizzo felt more rebellious. I paired Lizzo and Ari Lennox even before I realized they toured together. Lennox is the first signing to J Cole's record label and she took her own sweet time releasing an EP in 2016 and this debut album in 2019. Unlike Lizzo's very modern vamping, Lennox strikes an old school pose here. Not the marvelous retro classic soul of Sharon Jones: Lennox comfortably quotes Motown/Philly and Erykah Badu on numerous tracks here. Cross Lizzo and you can imagine her saying, "What? WHAT??!!" whereas Lennox would cut you down with a simple stare. Neither one is to be messed with, but the mood here is definitely crazy sexy and cool.

BRANFORD MARSALIS -- The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul 
SOLANGE -- When I Get Home -- Critics pretend they're experts on everything, but really we just tell you what catches our ear. I've loved the brother Branford (versus Wynton; and yes, they're brothers so of COURSE there's competition) for many years. The Marsalis family clearly is leaving its mark on jazz but I've often idly wondered of W will be seen as a preserver and historian while the less lauded B will prove the bolder recording artist. My attention flits to jazz only occasionally, so what do I know? Well, I know I put on The Secret Between The Shadow and The Soul and immediately sat up straight. WTF? Is this that good? It sure as hell sounds that good. My God, that was an album, I thought, blissfully unaware if I was just in the right frame of mind or the rest of the jazz world felt the same. Come the end of 2019 and I kept seeing his album appearing on list after list after list of the best jazz albums of the year. So it wasn't just my own wayward opinion but the consensus of a lot of folk who listen to a lot more jazz than me. I don't mind touting some unknown quantity, but when it's a well known artist like Branford Marsalis, it's nice to realize everyone else agrees with me. The Secret Between The Shadow and the Soul is worth your time. So is Solange's new album, which flirted with the top spot for much of the year. It has a modestly jazzy vibe as Solange takes a sentimental journey to her hometown of Detroit and what it was, is and might have been. Her previous album A Seat At The Table is upfront protest music of the clearest, most undeniable sort. Here the Knowles sister who doesn't demand the spotlight again demurs being front and center as she turns her gaze on family and friends and memories and the world. It's a little gauzy and hard to pin down but equally hard to shake, like a daydream.

NICK CAVE -- Ghosteen 
ANDY BURROWS AND MATT HAIG -- Reasons To Stay Alive -- Sometimes you just want to protest the pain of being alive. I've fallen in love with Nick Cave recently and I mean that literally. Not his music, but Nick Cave himself as a warm, thoughtful, kind and open-hearted human. It happened because of The Red Hand Files. Fans send in questions from the banal to the painful to the theological to the typical what's-that-song-about sort and Nick (I'm sure he'd say, "Call me Nick") answers them. You can subscribe to this newsletter and every once in a while (but not too often and not nearly often enough) an email will pop up with a fan's question and Nick's invariably funny, sweet, inspiring response. I've always admired his music and he's popped onto my lists over the years. But just as seeing someone live in concert can bond you to them like never before, this communication between Nick and his friends around the globe has bonded me to him. Now here's his new album, Ghosteen, an album whose songs are still reeling from the death of Nick's 15 year old son in 2015. It's painful to casually mention such an awful event, one that took place during the recording of his previous, also excellent album Skeleton Key. But it's not painful to listen to this sadly beautiful, resolutely hopeful album, one untethered by drums and percussion, resulting in music so slippery and wistful it can float away at times. I know people who can't bear films about sad stories or books that tackle sad events. But the very act of creating that art -- however much sadness it may express -- is an act of hopefulness, an act of inspiration, an act of love. How else can one go one? Andy Burrows and Matt Haig are also protesting, this time against despair and depression. Novelist Matt Haig lives with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, the subject of his memoir Reasons To Stay Alive. He and musician Andy Burrows befriended each other online and soon collaborated. Haig does the lyrics, Burrows does the music and the rest of us do what we can to stay alive, despite the awful tragedies that can befall or the health problems like depression that seem insurmountable and whose very purpose seems to be to tell us life is unendurable and why bother? Music like Ghosteen and Reasons To Stay Alive are why, the art that proves what a lie despair can be, the shared pain that can be so wonderful you'll stand in a crowd of thousands and just know the singer is singing your song and telling your story and you're not alone and never will be. Here's the kicker. The sound of Ghosteen is mournful but there's an undercurrent of joy. The sound of Reasons To Stay Alive is so AM radio-friendly I almost paired it with the new ELO album and yet it is threaded with glimpses of the abyss. Go figure.

DORI FREEMAN -- Every Little Star -- Deceptively simple and straightforward, the songs of Dori Freeman lodge in your brain and won't go away. She is ably supported by the sympathetic/empathetic talents of producer Teddy Thompson on this clutch of mature, thoughtful, open songs of adulthood. You play this country-ish, indie-ish, folk-ish, pop-ish music and think, "Nice." Then you play it again and think, "Very nice." Then you play it again and again and every element feels so right you can't imagine it any other way.

TINARIWEN -- Amadjar 
MDOU MOCTAR -- Ileana (The Creator)   -- Sometimes you just want to rock out. Usually, one turns to American rock gods for that sort of thing. This year I headed to the Sahara Desert where the marvelous group Tinariwen appears out of the desert like Laurence of Arabia to save the day. I dream of sitting by a fire in the middle of a pitch black night in the middle of nowhere (to me, but home to them) and hearing this music in person. For now, I'll have to settle for yet another excellent album of world music, by which I mean rock music that should conquer the world. Also rocking out is the fellow Tuareg artist Mdou Moctar. Just crank it up and enjoy.

WEYES BLOOD -- Titanic Rising 
JULIA JACKLIN -- Crushing 
KEVIN MORBY -- Oh My God  -- Three young talents to get very excited about. Weyes Blood is Natalie Laura Mering and she's got a 70s vibe, some wonderfully eccentric combo of layered vocals a la The Carpenters along with pop arrangements worthy of Todd Rundgren or Burt Bacharach or somebody. Let's face it, she's unique and even has the good historic sense to end an album called Titanic Rising with a song called "Nearer To Thee." Julia Jacklin is an Aussie with somewhat of an indie/folk/country vibe. But I'll latch on to the fact that her new album was produced by Burke Reid of Courtney Barnett fame to intrigue you. And Kevin Morby is a piano-based wonder, a spiritual godchild of Randy Newman and Lindsey Buckingham who won me over right from the start with the opening title track "Oh My God," which I can't stop playing. It has three movements in just about four minutes, transitioning from a simple melody and arresting vocals to mix in a choir of background voices and then somehow a sax solo finale that has the gorgeous glow of Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" outro. Indeed, the obvious namechecks for his vocal style and lyrics are Reed and Bob Dylan, so don't ask me why I also think of Newman and Buckingham. Maybe I just don't want to burden him with mentioning Dylan. Anyway, that sax dips in and out of the album and is a beautiful constant throughout. Put any of these albums on and they will grab you by the collar and demand your attention.


JOHN LUTHER ADAMS -- Become Desert 
ANDREW NORMAN -- Sustain -- I find classical music daunting. Hey, when the music has a 400 year head start, there's a lot of catching up to do! I long to dive in, but imagine I'd have to abandon all other genres for a long, long time just to move beyond amateur status. Until I do, I try to stay on top of living composers. Philip Glass, Steve Reich, John Cage, new operas and so on. I don't feel quite out of my depth there because hey, Mozart is a legend but Glass is the guy down the block playing with his ensemble and doing scores for horror films. Here are two new talents I feel comfortable tackling. For one thing, they seem to have as much in common with Brian Eno as with Shostakovich. Their music is not the typical symphonic work (Da-Da-Da-DUM!) but ambient as all get out. Neither one of them builds up like Beethoven's Fifth, for example. They just...appear, full formed but out of reach until you suddenly take in their form in its entirety and step back with pleasure. And Become Desert led me to Adams' Pulitzer Prize winner Become Ocean, which is even better.




TANYA TUCKER -- While I'm Living -- I've never given Tanya Tucker a lot of thought and certainly never thought of her as one of those country legends I needed to catch up with sometime. As a 13 year old, she enjoyed an out of nowhere hit with "Delta Dawn," a song already sung by Bette Midler and many others, including Helen Reddy (who followed up Tucker's recording with her own that went to #1.) Improbably, Tucker stuck around and enjoyed a pretty good career and hopefully never got too sick of singing that song again and again for the past 50 years. Still, I saw she had a new album coming out and it had a certain Van Lear Rose vibe, the look of a late career statement though I imagined Tucker was no Loretta Lynn. Still, thanks to streaming, if I listen to an album all it costs me is time. But boy, the first track "Mustang Ridge" is good. Her voice is rugged and sure a little ragged but like many singers who mature nicely, Tucker knows what the hell she's doing with her voice and makes every word count. "The Wheels Of Laredo" is good too; old-timey country (she's not playing catch up here) but the song is a gem and so is the third and the fourth and what the hell, has she written these songs? Is she more of a Loretta Lynn (that is, a great songwriter) than I'd heard? And the really good songs keep coming, until she sings the Carrie Underwood song "The House That Built Me," a tune so country you can't help but smile and I think, "Well, I'm pretty sure she didn't write that one" and on it goes right up to the killer final track "Bring My Flowers Now," which is just about as great a song an aging singer could ask for. When it's over, I scramble to find out the deal. And there's Brandi Carlisle, the terrific singer who delivered one of the best albums of 2018. Apparently, she followed that up with this labor of love which Carlisle produced with Shooter Jennings, not to mention co-writing most of the songs. And what do you know, Tucker co-wrote exactly one tune, but it's a doozy, that album closer. What a treat.

JUDY COLLINS -- Winter Stories (w Jonas Fjeld and Chatham County Line) -- I've known about Judy Collins for many years of course and thought I had her pegged. Pretty but dull voice. Great taste in songs. Pain in the neck interview. (My friend said it was the worst interview they ever did.) I dipped into some of her breakout early albums and while I appreciated the boost she gave to so many talented acts, I never for a moment preferred her versions to theirs. Admirable, but not for me. Still, I have a weakness for Christmas music and mistakenly thought that's what I had here. Nope, but this wintry themed album made in concert with Chatham County Line and Jonas Fjeld caught me unawares. Collins obviously doesn't have the ringing beauty of a voice she had so many years ago when leading the world to the joy of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and the like. But just like Tanya Tucker, Collins knows exactly what she's doing with it. She still has great taste in songs and now it's married to a wisdom and that values lyrical insight over surface prettiness. I kept playing this on, not quite trusting myself but it stuck with me. Reading up on her, it seems many feel Collins is enjoying a late career renaissance a la Cohen and Cash, so I've got some happy catching up to do.

Ok, I done ran out of time long ago. Let's get a little punchier in the comments, Michael.


MANSION HARLOTS -- All Around A Fairground -- My friend Sal at Burning Wood recommended this power pop treat and a treat it is.


TYLER, THE CREATOR -- IGOR  -- Hey, after all that labeling, I'm down for a little sexual ambiguity again. And it's certainly better than Tyler's previous gay-baiting. Take a win where you can. This hip-hop album is thoughtful, catchy, playful and a little uncertain, not a quality usually present in hip-hop.

CAROLINE SHAW -- Orange 
DEREK BERMEL -- Migrations  -- More classical music. Shaw's "Orange" is a treat, with Attaca Quartet performing music she wrote over the past decade, from one-off pieces to the multi-part Plan & Elevation. It's so good I immediately jumped to her vocal effort "Partita For 8 Voices" and THAT led me to her work with Roomful of Teeth. Throughout she has a strong melodic presence that makes this pop lover feel at home.  In contrast, Derek Bermel is all over the map -- it takes a jazz orchestra, a symphony and a singer to capture the many moods of the pieces on "Migrations." Just when you think you've got him pinned down (Copland-esque! Ellingtonia!), Bermel is off in another direction (Brazil??).

STURGILL SIMPSON -- Sound & Fury -- Ok, the anime companion piece threw me off. I keep thinking I should watch it, when this album stands on its own perfectly well. Yet I feel I'm missing the story so I hold off. And yet, when I do listen to it, the music is strong. Not quite as strong as "A Sailor..." which wasn't quite as strong as "Meta-Modern Sounds" but I don't think it's a trend. Sturgill is in it for the long haul.

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood  -- Everything a well-compiled soundtrack should be. Whatever one thinks of Tarantino as a director (he's pretty great, if not everyone's cup of tea), he's got great taste in music. The radio deejay patter, the random ads, the selections ranging from nicely obscure to spot-on create a sense of time and place as convincing as the production design and costumes in his well-made film. Plus it plays great on its own, movie or no movie.

MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS -- De Ayer Para Siempre -- I do miss Linda Ronstadt, one of the great restless voices in pop. She did it all and she did it well. One of the great groups she paired with is still at it, so anyone who savored her excellent mariachi albums should dive right in.

THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- I Love You. It's A Fever Dream 
BILLIE EILISH -- When We All Fall Asleep 
VAMPIRE WEEKEND -- Father Of The Bride  -- One new friend and two older ones. The Tallest Man on Earth and Vampire Weekend deliver the goods. Tallest always maintains high standards while for me, Vampire Weekend keeps getting better and better. I did NOT expect that from the collegiate band who cribbed their entire debut album from Paul Simon's Graceland! No cheating! They're both in fine form. I can't deny the appeal of newcomer Billie Eilish, though her Grammy win for Album of the Year felt like a make-good for ignoring Lorde, it's still a solid choice. I'll want her to do it again before I start to go crazy and this isn't quite as distinctive as Lorde's debut. But it's very good, very aware of what she wants to do and does it well. Plus, that Bond theme song is the perfect riposte to Adele's Bond masterpiece, so one more point in her favor.

LAKOU MIZIK -- HaitiNola 
CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH -- Ancestral Blues --  I mentioned my friend Sal, right? He provides great recommendations via his blog Burning Wood all the time. Plus he knows more about most music and especially New Orleans music than I ever will. So I sheepishly mentioned a New Orleans-centric album (assuming he'd already heard it, if not written the liner notes for it and attended the recording session) only to discover HaitiNola was news to him. It has a lot of stalwarts of the Crescent City and is a treat. So is Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah's out-there new album Ancestral Blues. Like Kamasi Washington and a host of others, Adjuah is breathing new life into jazz like nothing since Miles Davis whipped up his Bitches Brew in the 1970s. I could do without the brief rap passage, but when someone is going out on a limb, what do you expect? Playing it safe? Nope. Almost entirely successful? Absolutely.



ANGELIQUE KIDJO -- Celia -- Kidjo enjoyed a remarkable feat with her last album, a cover of the Talking Heads masterpiece Remain In Light that celebrated that album AND was brilliant in its own right. Now here she is again celebrating the great Celia Cruz. It's not quite as left field as the Talking Heads album, but it's great fun.

NEIL YOUNG -- Colorado -- Old Testament prophets do NOT predict the future or offer unexpected and inspiring insights. They look around, see what anyone with eyes and a brain and a heart can see and then -- this is what sets them apart -- they speak about it, loudly and repeatedly. They are pains in the ass and they won't shut up. Neil Young is an Old Testament prophet, decrying our treatment of the earth and each other with tuneful, beautiful, angry, harsh and inspiring music for decades now. We're destroying the planet! We're treating family farmers like dirt! The sound quality of MP3s SUCKS! And then he says it all again. And again. God bless him. Colorado is not as repetitive and tiresome as Greendale. It may not stand with his best (usually his albums grow on me and this one hasn't), but I'm not about to stop listening to him. It helps I did a deep dive into his 1970s catalog which is essentially one great album after another, just like Joni Mitchell.

FRANK TURNER -- No Man's Land  -- I keep listening to Frank Turner, a Brit who wowed me with Eight Track Heart (great title!) but hasn't quite put it together since. He does here, marvelously so, with an album whose every track celebrates great women throughout history. For those still weeping over Elizabeth Warren's collapsed campaign or anyone, really, who believes in a guy and a guitar and a clutch of good tunes.

STILE ANTICO -- In A Strange Land: Elizabethan Composers in Exile -- I'm a little tired of groups pandering to audiences, delivering a tired compilation of Cole Porter tunes or songs about cars. Do we REALLY need yet another album devoted to Elizabethan composers who were exiled or at least felt exiled for their Catholic beliefs? Haven't we seen this a hundred times before? Ok, not really. The a cappella group Stile Antico comes in the wake of Anonymous 4 and Tallis Scholars and other classical vocal groups celebrating Renaissance vocal music. Their unique tactic is to make creative decisions as a group, rather than being guided by a conductor. Experts will know better than I how this influences their choices and repertoire and so on. All I know is that I listen to precious little Renaissance a cappella music, but it's lovely and inspiring when I do, much like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and others carrying on the tradition of vocal music today. And while the addition of a Shakespearean piece is cheeky (it's questionable whether the Bard was Catholic), the album as a whole is quietly moving.

BECK -- Hyperspace 
MICHAEL KIWANUKA -- Kiwanuka 
ALLISON MOORER -- Blood  -- It's been a while since Beck has held my attention with an actual pop album, as opposed to his mellow side. He does that here and it's nice to hear. Kiwanuka is a new talent who delivers a soulful, acoustic debut that's good enough to let me hope he'll be even better in the future. Consider this mention an early investment in his career. And Allison Moorer has paid her dues. Unlike Beck, she never quite won me over before, not even on her duets album with sister Shelby Lynne. But it all comes together on Blood, stirringly so. So a veteran talent coming to new life, a new-comer who may be the start of something good and a journey-woman finally delivering after a career of trying.

DAVE MALLOY --- Octet (Original Cast Recording) -- This cast album is for the a cappella Off Broadway show Octet, from the creator of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Malloy undoubted has talent but his most popular work hasn't aged well for me. Every time I saw it I was less impressed. But his Ghost Quartet collection of tunes remains firmly lodged in my brain. And here he tackles the internet with this all vocal project. To be honest, it had more impact performed in person than it does on tape. But the arrangements are clever, the tunes consistently engaging and the one or two weak pieces can be easily skipped.

THE GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE -- Aban  -- The death of Belizean artist Andy Palacio was a huge setback for the Garifuna people and the music of theirs he celebrated. But the collective has continued since the glory days of their world-beating collaboration Watina. Dip into Aban and you'll be immediately won over. I sometimes feel like a tourist when it comes to music from other parts of the world. (One isn't supposed to say "world music" anymore.) Yet so what if I'm not deeply embedded into the music of other cultures and only dimly appreciate the traditions, the artists, the songs and what they draw upon in a culture? I go to Paris and love it without speaking the language. Why not visit this music and appreciate it on whatever level I can? I wouldn't regret a lifetime's devotion to bossa nova or the sitar, but the choice is not a major commitment or an inability to listen to it at all. I don't know much of anything about the Garifuna peoples but I know this music engages me and that can only be good.

WILCO -- Ode To Joy 
JOE JACKSON -- Fool 
JEFF LYNNE'S ELO -- From Out Of Nowhere 
PAUL KELLY -- Songs From The South: Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits 1985-2019 -- Four veterans delivering the goods. Wilco wakes up and delivers, as does the ever-caustic Joe Jackson. ELO's new album sounds EXACTLY like an album by ELO and by god, no one else can do that so enjoy it while Jeff Lynne still can. And Paul Kelly is a beloved fixture in Australia who never caught a break in the US. (His song "Dumb Things" threatened briefly to become a hit.) I'd compare him to the three Johns -- Mellencamp, Prine and Hiatt. He's got Prine's observational power, Mellencamp's social outlook and Hiatt's humor and everyman appeal. This is his third greatest hits set in the Songs From The South series and is perhaps a little overwhelming for newbies, what with 43 or so tracks. But the good to very good to great songs just keep on coming. Songs about great cricket players and tragic deaths and romance and bars. I came up for air at about track 30 and then decided I needed more. Very good stuff indeed.


LOS LOBOS -- Llegó Navidad 
STILE ANTICO -- A Spanish Nativity  
ROBBIE WILLIAMS -- The Christmas Present -- Ok, I love Christmas music. At one point, I owned hundreds of Christmas albums...and those were just the ones I kept. I make Christmas playlists. I dream of celebrating Christmas in July just so I can play Christmas music. When radio stations start playing nonstop Christmas music so soon after Halloween its shameful, I just smile. Me+Christmas music+happy. Here's the problem. Artists now keep up a constant stream of music so their fans don't forget them. In the age of streaming, they need product. So they don't stay quiet for two years while crafting a new album. They put out singles and EPs and live tracks and put songs on a soundtrack and on and on. Then two months later they panic because they need to put out something, anything. Recording music isn't the problem -- you can do it anywhere, anytime and it can sound great. But what to record? A-HA! A Christmas album!  And they do. This year the amount of Christmas music released exploded by a factor of ten. I powered through so many Christmas albums I almost despaired of losing my joy; the 113th rendition (that week!) of "Winter Wonderland" can do that to you. You can listen to a dozen Christmas albums and find nothing. If an artist delivers one distinctive cover of a Christmas classic, that's a serious win. An entire album? One you want to play again and again? That doesn't happen much. Well, so MANY albums were released in 2019, I have three to tout. Los Lobos have the clear winner with Llego Navidad, an album celebrating Christmas with songs that ranged all over Central and South America. Mostly new to me, they're a treat to hear delivered with passion by one of the great rock bands around. (And how have I never seen them in concert?) I have a strong preference for secular tunes. Not only are the religious ones less interesting, they bring out the worst in singers. But the Renaissance specialists Stile Antico present Spanish songs that might stump even Los Lobos. Their album A Spanish Nativity presents songs from a mass interspersed with traditional tunes...and I'm talking traditional hundreds of years ago. Their sound is inherently hush-inducing and spiritual -- human voices raised in unison is always powerful. So when you're driving to midnight mass, A Spanish Nativity will be perfect. On the way home, you can blast out The Christmas Present by Robbie Williams. Like eggnog with a LOT of liquor in it, Williams overstuffs this double album. You could quibble and start editing it to create the perfect single album, but don't be a jerk. He's shown up at your door with an armful of presents and that wicked smirk of his. Williams does proud by some classic tunes but he also co-wrote a LOT of new songs and the quality level is very high indeed. It may take me a year or two to sort them out and by then a whole bunch of new Christmas albums will be out but isn't that the wonderful thing about Christmas music and music in general? All that music can be a little overwhelming at times, but my god you hear some great stuff if you take a little time. Enjoy!


EARLY FAVORITES FOR 2020 

BAD BUNNY -- YHLQMDLG 
BRANDY CLARK -- Your Life Is A Record 
TEDDY THOMPSON -- Heartbreaker Please (out in May)
MOSES SUMNEY -- grae, Part 1
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- Quickies (out in May)
GREEN DAY -- Father Of All Motherfuckers