OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Timothee Chalamet as Elio Perlman in “CALL ME BY YOUR NAME”

Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock in “PHANTOM THREAD”

Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington in “GET OUT”

Josh O’Connor as Johnny Saxby in “GOD’S OWN COUNTRY”

Robert Pattinson as Constantine "Connie" Nikas in “GOOD TIME”

AND THE WINNER IS:

TIMOTHEE CHALAMET AS ELIO PERLMAN IN “CALL ME BY YOUR NAME”

This is the first win and nomination for Timothee Chalamet.

I took notice of Chalamet in Julia Hart's Miss Stevens last year which is why he was never in contention for my breakthrough award. Thankfully this year he has proved to be a great new talent with his work in Call Me By Your Name. At the age of 21 Chalamet has showed so much that his work bests some of the greats this year. When I think about him in this film my mind returns to the film's finale with the extended closeup as his character Elio experiences a deep loss for possibly the first time in his life. This take really relies on Chalamet to express a wide variety of emotions which he executes expertly. His performance in this particular scene highlights the film that came prior as we really see how much this relationship mattered to him. Well done to Chalamet who has now been noticed by the rest of the world and I look forward to what comes next as we've only experienced a small section of his film career.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR

Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled

Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird

Luca Guadagnino for Call Me By Your Name

Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk

Dee Rees for Mudbound

AND THE WINNER IS:

GRETA GERWIG FOR LADY BIRD

This is the second win and fourth nomination for Greta Gerwig, She has already won screenplay for Lady Bird (2017). She was nominated for writing and acting in the ensemble of Frances Ha (2013).

Many who've critized Lady Bird say that Gerwig's direction is nothing special. I personally don't get the criticisims because when I think of great direction I think of the entire product. Lady Bird has beautiful shot compositions, an expert ensemble of actors, a perfect screenplay and so many other great elements. Sure this film doesn't an entire sequence filmed in one shot or a man sleeping in a animal skeleton but it does feature a cast of character that I care about. Ensemble direction is what I consider to be one of the most difficult tasks for any director because most films contain great leading performances but far fewer feature large ensembles of characters whose names or faces I really remember. Gerwig with her solo feature film debut has made a name for herself and I look forward to what she does next whether that be acting or other.

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Kogonada for Columbus

Francis Lee for God’s Own Country

Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird

Olivier Assayas for Personal Shopper

Paul Thomas Anderson for Phantom Thread

AND THE WINNER IS:

GRETA GERWIG FOR LADY BIRD

This is the first win and third nomination for Greta Gerwig, She was nominated for writing and acting in the ensemble of Frances Ha (2013).

Greta is a wonderful screenwriter as she takes her time between projects. She has talked in many places of the origins of this project, turning an over 300 page script to the 90 minute movie that it ended up being and still presenting well rounded characters is a skill. We rarely see coming of age female films so to see one this great made the film even greater. The narrative moved at the perfect pace and that has to be attributed to Gerwig. Also I must praise her for creating the character of Lady Bird who is one of the most unique characters created in recent memory. She may not be the most dramatic or comedic character but she acts and speaks in a way that is much more different then any character her age would.

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Screenplay by Sofia Coppola; Based on A Painted Devil by Thomas P. Cullinan, The Beguiled

Screenplay by James Ivory; Based on Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, Call Me By Your Name

Screenplay by James Gray; Based on The Lost City of Z by David Grann, The Lost City of Z

Screenplay by Dee Rees & Virgil Williams; Based on Mudbound by Hilary Jordan, Mudbound

Screenplay by Brian Selznick; Based on Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck

AND THE WINNER IS:

SCREENPLAY BY JAMES IVORY; BASED ON CALL ME BY YOUR NAME BY ANDRE ACIMAN, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

This is the first win and nomination for James Ivory.

The probable Oscar winner, James Ivory's adaptation of Call Me by Your Name was the best screenplay in it's category. The source material was already powerful literature but Ivory by altering the ending of the novel slightly made this film of love and growing up one with an all to realistic ending as things usually never work on. Ivory through collaborating with director Luca Gudagnino crafted this tender story of two women finding each other. There are two moment that I must give particular praise to Ivory, the first being the conversation between Elio and his father that closes the main section of this film. Every word is beautiful delivered through Stuhlberg to create one of those monologue scenes that feels filmic as well as theatrical. The other scene I loved was the epilogue of the film where we see Elio still recovering from Oliver until he hear's his voice again. These two ending scenes together pushed this film further into my heart and all thanks goes to Ivory one of my favourite filmmakers from his work in the 90's now finally getting his due respect with an Oscar this coming week I'm pretty sure.

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG

Call Me By Your Name, “The Mystery of Love” (Music and Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens)

Call Me By Your Name, “Visions of Gideon” (Music and Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens)

A Ghost Story, “I Get Overwhelmed” (Music and Lyrics by Daniel Hart)

Good Time, “The Pure and the Damned” (Music by D. Lopatin; Lyrics by Iggy Pop)

The Lure, “Miej mnie w swojej opiece” (Music and Lyrics by Barbara Wrońska, Zuzanna Wrońska & Marcin Macuk)

AND THE WINNER IS:

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, “VISIONS OF GIDEON” (MUSIC AND LYRICS BY SUFJAN STEVENS)

This is the first win and nomination for Sufjan Stevens.

Music was one of the key elements of Call Me By Your Name. The story itself included scenes where characters would play classical music. Original music featured in the film was composed by the great artist Sufjan Stevens and all music he composed was brillant. While Mystery of Love (also nominated) has been getting most of the attention for me it's the finale's song Visions of Gideon which I connected with much more. The song plays behind an extended take where we watch Elio come to terms with the end of a relationship he held in such a high regard. The lyrics mix so well with the emotions that Elio is going through and together makes one of the great scenes of film this year. Brillant work by Sufjans that has been thankfully rewarded.

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE

Daniel Hart for A Ghost Story

OnehtrixPoint Never for Good Time

Jonny Greenwood for Phantom Thread

Michael Giacchino for War for the Planet of the Apes

Carter Burwell for Wonderstruck

AND THE WINNER IS:

DANIEL HART FOR A GHOST STORY

This is the first win and second nomination for Daniel Hart. He was previously nominated for Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013).

I saw the film about the half way point of the year and the score really made it's stamp in my mind that I never forgot Hart's work and even when other great scoring was done I always returned to this piece of music. A Ghost Story as a concept is pretty simple where we follow a ghost watching life continue on without him and because of this there are multiple scenes of silence where we only heart underscore of characters alone not fully aware of the ghost watching over them. Hart and Lowrey have now formed a tight bond as collaborators and I look forward to future collaborations between the pair. 

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY

Philippe Le Sourd for The Beguiled

Roger Deakins for Blade Runner 2049

Hoyte van Hoytema for Dunkirk

Rachel Morrison for Mudbound

Edward Lachman for Wonderstruck

AND THE WINNER IS:

ROGER DEAKINS FOR BLADE RUNNER 2049

This is the third win and seventh nomination for Roger Deakins. He previously won for Fargo (1996) & Skyfall (2012). He was also nominated for O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) & True Grit (2010).

It's no surprise that Deakins one of the best in the business showed great work. The new sequel to Blade Runner almost acts like a showcase for beautiful cinematography. The colour scheme is especially strong in the film with the blues, yellows, oranges, reds and every other colour in the rainbow being so powerful that i really kept my attention even if I had some problems with how the narraive progressed. Each and every year many hope that this will be his year for Deakins to finally win and I do to, however if he is not rewarded I'm good with the fact that he yet again does great work and continues to with so many new film makers.

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT

Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip)

Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer)

Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread)

Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth)

Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck)

AND THE WINNER IS:

FLORENCE PUGH (LADY MACBETH)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR

Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name, Hostiles, Lady Bird)

Woody Harrelson (The Glass Castle, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, War for the Planet of the Apes, Wilson)

Riley Keogh (The Discovery, It Comes at Night, Logan Lucky, Lovesong)

Jason Mitchell (Detroit, The Disaster Artist, Kong: Skull Island, Mudbound)

Michael Stuhlberg (Call Me By Your Name, The Post, The Shape of Water)

AND THE WINNER IS:

RILEY KEOUGH (THE DISCOVERY, IT COMES AT NIGHT, LOGAN LUCKY, LOVESONG)

Riley Keough came to many people's attention for her golden globe nominated work on Starz's The Girlfriend Experience a couple of years ago but for me it was her work in last year's American Honey. I did not watch her tv work but after her work in the Arnold feature I instantly knew her face and to my surprise in her four films this year I was in the bag for being impressed by her. Her work in Lovesong stands out, the film itself was under seen because it was released an entire year after it's Sundance premier which might have been a mistake for the film to be any type of hit. Riley and Jena are just so wonderful together in this film and it's the performance that made me see the range of her talent. Another impressive turn by her this year was her supporting role in Logan Lucky. One of the least known actors really was an advantage to Riley in this film as she was completely charming and wonderful each moment she popped up on the screen. I wish that people made a bigger deal about her with all her features but sadly she's still not as beloved as I feel she should be. Congrats to you and I look forward to all your upcoming work.

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING

Kogonada for Columbus

Lee Smith for Dunkirk

David Lowery for A Ghost Story

Nick Houy for Lady Bird

Marion Monnier for Personal Shopper

AND THE WINNER IS:

LEE SMITH FOR DUNKIRK

This is the third win and fourth nomination for Lee Smith. He previously won for The Truman Show (1998) & The Dark Knight (2008) and was also nominated for Inception (2010).

Dunkirk was one of the pitch-perfect films from this film. The time concept in anybody else's hands could've been messy but Nolan was the perfect man for the job. He and his longtime collaborator Lee Smith provided beautiful editing, this is particularly noticeable in the beach segment of Dunkirk where we follow these characters through a week of suffrage on the battlefront. This entire film itself is an example of editing done well because each of the segments collides with another so effortlessly well.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS

John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert & Richard R. Hoover for Blade Runner 2049

Robert Musnicki, Jak Osmond & Phil Jones for Colossal

Erik De Boer, Jeon Hyoung Lee, Jun Hyoung Kim & Stephen Clee for Okja

Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan & Chris Corbould for Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Joe Letteri, Daniel Barnett, Dan Lemmon & Joel Whist for War for the Planet of the Apes

AND THE WINNER IS:

JOHN NELSON, GERD NEFZER, PAUL LAMBERT & RICHARD R. HOOVER FOR BLADE RUNNER 2049

These are the first wins for John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert & Richard R. Hoover. Nelson was previously nominated for Gladiator (2000) & Iron Man (2008). Hoover was previously nominated for Armageddon (1998).

Making a sequel to a film 35 years after it's original release is always going to be risk and while this film mightn't not been a financial hit similar to the original the creative aspects of the film were extremely successful. While I didn't nessarily love Blade Runner I have to appreciate the great talent that went into every department of the film. In particular the visual effects, the standout image featured above is a beautiful moment where reality mixes with fantasy and is beautiful crafted (the budget of the film shows in a scene like this). Great work by this team and while it's not reinventing the wheel I have to give credit where credit is due.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN

Production Design by Dennis Gassner; Set Design by Alessandra Querzola for Blade Runner 2049

Production Design by Jean-Vincent Puzos; Set Design by Maria Andrea Rangel & Naomi Moore for The Lost City of Z

Production Design by Philip Messina; Set Design by Larry Dias & Martine Giguère-Kazemirchuk for mother!

Production Design by Rick Heinrichs; Set Design by Richard Roberts for Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Production Design by Mark Friedberg; Set Design by Debra Schutt for Wonderstruck

AND THE WINNER IS:

PRODUCTION DESIGN BY PHILIP MESSINA; SET DEISGN BY LARRY DIAS & MARTINE GIGUERE-KAZEMIRCHUK FOR MOTHER!

These are the first wins for Philip Messina, Larry Dias and Martine Kazermirchuk. Messina and Dias were previously nominated together for art directing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). Dias was also nominated for Inception (2010).

The fact that team had to build the entire house because they couldn't find a location that would allow the team to completly demolish it during filming is itself a great achievement. This house is another character in this film as the action takes place completely in it and throughout the film the state the house is in is affected by the characters featured. The staircase, the basement, the kitchen and so many more sections of this house are beautiful at the beginning of the film and as the story progresses each becomes a shell of themselves and this impressive job at through destruction is done by these guys vision for how it would look. Truly great work.

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Coco (Directed by Lee Unkrich)

The Lego Batman Movie (Directed by Chris McKay)

Loving Vincent (Directed by Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman)

My Life as a Zucchini (Directed by Claude Barras)

Your Name. (Directed by Makoto Shinkai)

AND THE WINNER IS:

COCO (DIRECTED BY LEE UNKRICH)

This is the third win and nomination for Lee Unkrich. He previously won for directing Finding Nemo (2003) and Toy Story 3 (2010).

A weak year for animation ruled by a top contender. Coco is best and I agree with much about it’s quality. I was unsure whether the film would hit with me at the beginning however I have to admit that by the end of the year they managed to get to me emotionally. The story itself is great and the family of dead characters are delightful to follow, it’s the twists this film has which I find most affective. These plot twists are made greater by the voiceover cast featured. I really loved this film and it puts Pixar back on top after a few stumbles within the last decade of their films.

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR

The Beguiled (Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell, Emma Howard, Oona Laurence, Nicole Kidman, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke)

Get Out (Erika Alexander, Betty Gabriel, Marcus Henderson, Richard Herd, Lil Rel Howary, Caleb Laundry Jones, Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Stephen Root, Lakeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Allison Williams)

Girls Trip (Deborah Ayorinde, Mike Colter, Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Queen Latifah, Kofi Sirboe, Jada Pinkett Smith, Larenz Tate, Kate Walsh)

Lady Bird (Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Karna, Tracy Letts, Laura Marano, Jake McDorman, Laurie Metcalf, Kathryn Newton, Jordan Rodriguez, Saoirse Ronan, Lois Smith)

Mudbound (Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan)

AND THE WINNER IS:

LADY BIRD (TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, BEANIE FELDSTEIN, LUCAS HEDGES, STEPHEN MCKINLEY HENDERSON, JOHN KARNA, TRACY LETTS, LAURA MARANO, JAKE MCDORMAN, LAURIE METCALF, KATHRYN NEWTON, JORDAN RODRIGUEZ, SAOIRSE RONAN, LOIS SMITH)

This is where my love of Lady Bird is first going to show itself this awards announcement. Boy, I was blown away by the film and one of the lasting elements which I take away from the film is even in a runtime of 90 minutes the film was filled with an ensemble of characters who each in there one way could've been the lead character of this film. This attention to character comes in the script and direction but the cast in those roles shine to making the collaboration so great. Characters played by Stephen Henderson and Lois Smith are small roles in the story of Lady Bird but each make a strong impression when they are given attention and to me, this shows the power of a cast ensemble to make me completely care about every character featured in the film.

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

After the Storm (Directed Horokazu Koreeda)

The Death of Louis XIV (Directed Albert Serra)

Graduation (Directed Cristian Mungiu)

The Lure (Directed Agnieszka Smoczyńska)

The Salesman (Directed Asghar Farhadi)

AND THE WINNER IS:

THE LURE (DIRECTED BY AGNIESZKA SMOCZYNSKA)

This is the first win and nomination for Agnieszka Smoczyńska.

A polish language musical is a film I didn't know I need in my life. I was mistaken and in fact, this crazy and unique film turned into one of my faves from the entire year. The original music was incredible, the risky plot and odd tone was also something else I appreciated because I knew whenever I was watching any of this film that I was witnessing a creative team entirely in control of the story they wanted to tell. I also appreciated the fact that this was an original musical even though it was a reworking of a classic fable it was still something odd and European that no American studio would ever finance for its newness and oddness.

OUTSTANDING FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Tiffany Haddish as Dina in “GIRLS TRIP”

Nicole Kidman as Anna Murphy in “THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER”

Lesley Manville as Cyrill in “PHANTOM THREAD”

Laurie Metcalf as Marion McPherson in “LADY BIRD”

Michelle Pfeiffer as Woman in “MOTHER!”

AND THE WINNER IS:

TIFFANY HADDISH AS DINA IN “GIRLS TRIP”

This is the first win and nomination for Tiffany Haddish.

It’s so rare for me that a comedic performance in a summer blockbuster becomes instantly iconic that I consider it to be one of the greatest performances of that given year. Tiffany’s work as Dina in Girls Trip was such a revelation that I find myself returning to scenes from the film that feature her because this is a performance unlike any other before. Haddish takes complete control as we watch an actress so knowing of her strengths and exploding them to comedic gold. I only hope the best for Tiffany’s future career because her work in Girls Trip is just unarguably the greatest comedic performance in 5 years. Just think of her line delivery of “Bootywhole” or her recreation of how to grapefruit your man. Not many actresses in comedy films would be able to say that they delivered one of these iconic moments but Haddish as Dina delivered both and more so expertly that all I can say is brava to this wonderful turn.

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING

Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin & Mary H. Ellis for Baby Driver

Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill & Mac Ruth for Blade Runner 2049

Paula Fairfield, Simon Poudrette, Noyan Coaster & Craig Henighan for mother!

Olivier Goinard & Matthieu Lasausa for Personal Shopper

Christopher Scarabosio, John Midgley, Adrian Bell & David Acord for Phantom Thread

AND THE WINNER IS:

PAULA FAIRFIELD, SIMON POUDRETTE, NOYAN COASTER & CRAIG HENIGHAN FOR MOTHER!

This is the first win and nomination for Simon Poudrette & Noyan Coaster. Paula Fairfield was previously nominated for sound mixing Sin City (2005). Craig Henighan was also nominated for Requiem for a Dream (2000), Sin City (2005) & sound editing/mixing Black Swan (2010).

Another great film this year filled with impressive sound that you might not expect to feature it was mother! The Darren Aronofsky feature was a polarizing one that many hated as well as loved. I loved the film and have to call attention to one of it's best elements. The exploration of the narrative of the creation of the world required some unique sound work from the first half where we follow the mother character through her home where sounds of oddity set her off. The second half, however, is where the sound mix really hits its height where a full on war took place and crowds of people flooded this small space. The work by this team distinguished the greatness of each half of the film and made the tense interactions between characters work very effectively.

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING

Mark Mangini & Theo Green for Blade Runner 2049

Richard King & Alex Gibson for Dunkirk

Coll Anderson, Craig Henighan & Jill Purdy for mother!

Coya Elliott, Trey Turner & Matthew Wood for Phantom Thread

Will Files & Douglas Murray for War for the Planet of the Apes

AND THE WINNER IS:

COYA ELLIOTT, TREY TURNER & MATTHEW WOOD FOR PHANTOM THREAD

This is the first win and nomination for both Coya Elliott & Trey Turner. Matthew Wood previously won for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) & Wall-E (2008). He was also nominated for There Will Be Blood (2007).

Phantom Thread a 1950's relationship drama is not the film that you would typically expect to have amazing sound work, however, this film did. The louder noises of discomfort especially at breakfast time made the tension building between Woodcock and Alma so playable. I've never heard buttering toast be so loud and so uncomfortable but the work by this sound editors really was impressive. Every added sound effect in this film pushed the story forward as this central relationship was built with walls and stumbles with the sound adding to the believability of this hard relationship.

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY

All These Sleepless Nights (Directed by Michal Marczak)

All This Panic (Directed by Jenny Gage)

Five Came Back (Directed by Laurent Bouzereau)

Kiki (Directed by Sara Jordeno)

Tickling Giants (Directed by Sara Taksler)

AND THE WINNER IS:

ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS (DIRECTED BY MICHAL MARCZAK)

This is the first win and nomination for Michal Marczak. He wins for directed the documentary All These Sleepless Nights.

Oddly enough I didn’t get to see as many documentary films as I’ve seen in previous years and my best five of the year are so different than what others might consider the year’s best it makes for a great odd year in documentary film making. I rather enjoyed this winning film and by rewarding it I can only beg people to go out and watch the film because it’s one of this films that is not as watched as others but should be.

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Cindy Evans for Atomic Blonde

Stacey Battat for The Beguiled

Jürgen Doering for Personal Shopper

Mark Bridges for Phantom Thread

Sandy Powell for Wonderstruck

AND THE WINNER IS:

MARK BRIDGES FOR PHANTOM THREAD

This is the first win and fourth win for Mark Bridges. He was previously nominated for costuming Boogie Nights (1997), The Master (2012) and Inherent Vice (2014).

A film about a 1950’s couture costume designer, I mean the film was locked to win every costume design mention this year. Having seen the film I completely agree that it is the best. It is a film devoted to a love of costume and features standout pieces worn by both men and women. I just was blown away by Bridges work because each piece had my mouth watering. The choice of having Reynolds wear layers upon layers really spoke to the characters issues with intimacy as he worth these coats on top of shirts on top of so many other individual pieces. It goes without saying that the perfectly fitted dresses worn by Alma and every other model like women in the film are also beautiful to look at. From the colour to the style each costume adds to the characters journey throughout this twisted love story.

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Enso Angileri, Csilla Blake-Horvath, Paul Pattinson & Francesca Tolot for Atomic Blonde

David Malinowski, Ivana Primorac, Lucy Sibbick & Kazuhiro Tsuji for Darkest Hour

Marion Vissac & Antoine Mancini for The Death of Louis XIV

Makeup Department for The Lure

Olivier Afonso, Karine Atalia, Amelie Grossier, Laura Ozier & Marin Tesson for Raw

AND THE WINNER IS:

ATOMIC BLONDE (ENSO ANGILERI, CSILLA BLAKE-HORVATH, PAUL PATTINSON & FRANCESCA TOLOT)

So often the makeup category is awarded mainly for makeup work but hairstyling is as much a part of this award as makeup which is why I’ve chosen to award the action flick Atomic Blonde with this award. The majority of the work I want to focus on is obviously everything Charlize Theron. From her wigs and wigs and wigs to her bloody bodily harm that occurs throughout her characters various fight scenes. The work is rough and gorgeous like this film is. The biggest compliment I want to give to the film’s hairstyling is that the Theron spy characters wigs both act as believable hairstyling and like a wig that a spy would wear. This is great work that would probably go unnoticed by most but not by me.

OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Tracy Letts as Larry McPherson in “LADY BIRD”

Jason Mitchell as Ronsel Jackson in “MUDBOUND”

Benny Sadie as Nick Nikas In “GOOD TIME”

Alec Secereanu as Gheorghe Ionescu in “GOD’S OWN COUNTRY”

Michael Stuhlberg as Mr. Perlman in “CALL ME BY YOUR NAME”

AND THE WINNER IS:

BENNY SAFDIE AS NICK NIKAS IN “GOOD TIME”

This is the first win and nomination for Benny Safdie. He wins for his performance as Nick Nikas in Good Time.

From the very first frame of the Safdie brothers Good Time I knew that Safdie’s performance was special. I was thrown by his performance not sure whether I liked it or not. Ultimately it was such a singular work that I in retrospect even while watching the film was coming back to his work. The way Safdie and his brother place the camera so close to his face allows us to completely read his performance. It’s such a wonderful turn that while I do agree with most that Pattinson is stunning in this film, however it’s Safdie’s performance as his brother Nick that sticks longer in my memory. The opening is stellar for Safdie but the later scenes which feature him are also great and it’s so wonderful to see Sadie deliver both in front of and behind the camera.

22nd "An Irish Boy" FILM Awards ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

Hello to anyone new and to anyone old welcome to my blog. For the next 3 weeks on a daily occurrence, I will be posting what I consider to be the best of the cinema in 2017. I will present 24 separate categories as a sort of the lead up to the Academy Awards on the 4th of March. I want to make a disclaimer before I start announcing nominees and winners starting on the 7th. I have seen a total of 155 films released in the United States of America. That may seem like a large number which it is but sadly there are a couple of films I haven't seen yet whether it's that I missed it during its release or the film hasn't come anywhere near me to see it. This year there were eight films that I've not seen. Those films are BPM, The Breadwinner, Ex Libris: New York Public Library, Faces Places, A Fantastic Woman, Foxtrot, Jane & Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982. I'm sure I will see these films at some stage but to keep in time with the Academy Awards I have to start announcing my favourite in film now and I just haven't managed to see these yet.