66th Annual British Academy Film Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced their awards on February 10th, 2013 with giving away the Best Film award to none other than ARGO, directed and co-produced by Ben Affleck who also won the Best Director award. THIS IS SO AWESOME. So happy for him.

There were two surprises today.

• The first and the biggest surprise was David O. Russell's win in the Best Adapted Screenplay for Silver Linings Playbook, no one saw it coming and it's actually an achievement for him because Playbook has such a beautiful screenplay.


• The second surprise was Emmanuelle Riva's win in the Best Leading Actress category. Apparently, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain are the most favorites and strong contenders but Riva's win surprised everyone including me and I'm glad that she won the award, she deserves it.

Rest of the wins were predictable and most of my predictions proved to be right. Here is the complete list of winners along with the nominations:

BEST FILM:

• WINNER: ARGO (Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney)


• LES MISÉRABLES (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh)


• LIFE OF PI (Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark)


• LINCOLN (Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy)


• ZERO DARK THIRTY (Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison)

BEST DIRECTOR:

• MICHAEL HANEKE (Amour)


• WINNER: BEN AFFLECK (Argo)


• QUENTIN TARANTINO (Django Unchained)


• ANG LEE (Life of Pi)


• KATHRYN BIGELOW (Zero Dark Thirty)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

• BEN AFFLECK (Argo)


• BRADLEY COOPER (Silver Linings Playbook)


• WINNER: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS (Lincoln)


• HUGH JACKMAN (Les Misérables)


• JOAQUIN PHOENIX (The Master)

BES ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

• WINNER: EMMANUELLE RIVA (Amour)


• HELEN MIRREN (Hitchcock)


• JENNIFER LAWRENCE (Silver Linings Playbook)


• JESSICA CHASTAIN (Zero Dark Thirty)


• MARION COTILLARD (Rust and Bone)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

• ALAN ARKIN (Argo)


• WINNER: CHRISTOPH WALTZ (Django Unchained)


• JAVIER BARDEM (Skyfall)


• PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (The Master)


• TOMMY LEE JONES (Lincoln)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

• AMY ADAMS (The Master)


• WINNER: ANNE HATHAWAY (Les Misérables)


• HELEN HUNT (The Sessions)


• JUDI DENCH (Skyfall)


• SALLY FIELD (Lincoln)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

• WINNER: QUENTIN TARANTINO (Django Unchained)


• MICHAEL HANEKE (Amour)


• PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON (The Master)


• WES ANDERSON, ROMAN COPPOLA (Moonrise Kingdom)


• MARK BOAL (Zero Dark Thirty)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

• CHRIS TERRIO (Argo)


• LUCY ALIBAR, BENH ZEITLIN (Beasts of the Southern Wild)


• DAVID MAGEE (Life of Pi)


• TONY KUSHNER (Lincoln)


• WINNER: DAVID O. RUSSELL (Silver Linings Playbook)

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM:

• ANNA KARENINA (Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard)


• THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker)


• LES MISÉRABLES (Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer)


• SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS (Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin)


• WINNER: SKYFALL (Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan)

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER:

• WINNER: BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) — THE IMPOSTER


• DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) — McCULLIN


• DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) — WILD BILL


• JAMES BOBIN (Director) — THE MUPPETS


• TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) — I AM NASRINE

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

• WINNER: AMOUR (Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz)


• HEADHUNTERS (Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn)


• THE HUNT (Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann)


• RUST AND BONE (Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux)


• UNTOUCHABLE (Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun)

BEST DOCUMENTARY:

• THE IMPOSTER (Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis)


• MARLEY (Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel)


• McCULLIN (David Morris, Jacqui Morris)


• WINNER: SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn)


• WEST OF MEMPHIS (Amy Berg)

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

• WINNER: BRAVE (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman)


• FRANKENWEENIE (Tim Burton)


• PARANORMAN (Sam Fell, Chris Butler)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

• SEAMUS McGARVEY (Anna Karenina)


• DANNY COHEN (Les Misérables)


• WINNER: CLAUDIO MIRANDA (Life of Pi)


• JANUSZ KAMINSKI (Lincoln)


• ROGER DEAKINS (Skyfall)

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC:

• DARIO MARIANELLI (Anna Karenina)


• ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (Argo)


• MYCHAEL DANNA (Life of Pi)


• JOHN WILLIAMS (Lincoln)


• WINNER: THOMAS NEWMAN (Skyfall)

BEST EDITING:

• WINNER: WILLIAM GOLDENBERG (Argo)


• FRED RASKIN (Django Unchained)


• TIM SQUYRES (Life of Pi)


• STUART BAIRD (Skyfall)


• DYLAN TICHENOR, WILLIAM GOLDENBERG (Zero Dark Thirty)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

• SARAH GREENWOOD, KATIE SPENCER (Anna Karenina)


• WINNER: EVE STEWART, ANNA LYNCH-ROBINSON (Les Misérables)


• DAVID GROPMAN, ANNA PINNOCK (Life of Pi)


• RICK CARTER, JIM ERICKSON (Lincoln)


• DENNIS GASSNER, ANNA PINNOCK (Skyfall)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

• WINNER: JACQUELINE DURRAN (Anna Karenina)


• BEATRIX ARUNA PASZTOR (Great Expectations)


• PACA DELGADO (Les Misérables)


• JOANNA JOHNSTON (Lincoln)


• COLLEEN ATWOOD (Snow White and the Huntsman)

BEST MAKE UP & HAIR:

• IVANA PRIMORAC (Anna Karenina)


• JULIE HEWETT, MARTIN SAMUEL, HOWARD BERGER (Hitchcock)


• PETER SWORDS KING, RICHARD TAYLOR, RICK FINDLATER (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)


• WINNER: LISA WESTCOTT (Les Misérables)


• LOIS BURWELL, KAY GEORGIOU (Lincoln)

BEST SOUND:

• MARK ULANO, MICHAEL MINKLER, TONY LAMBERTI, WYLIE STATEMAN (Django Unchained)


• TONY JOHNSON, CHRISTOPHER BOYES, MICHAEL HEDGES, MICHAEL SEMANICK, BRENT BURGE, CHRIS WARD (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)


• WINNER: SIMON HAYES, ANDY NELSON, MARK PATERSON, JONATHAN ALLEN, LEE WALPOLE, JOHN WARHURST (Les Misérables)


• DREW KUNIN, EUGENE GEARTY, PHILIP STOCKTON, RON BARTLETT, D. M. HEMPHILL (Life of Pi)


• STUART WILSON, SCOTT MILLAN, GREG P. RUSSELL, PER HALLBERG, KAREN BAKER LANDERS (Skyfall)

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS:

• PAUL FRANKLIN, CHRIS CORBOULD, PETER BEBB, ANDREW LOCKLEY (The Dark Knight Rises)


• JOE LETTERI, ERIC SAINDON, DAVID CLAYTON, R. CHRISTOPHER WHITE (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)


• WINNER: BILL WESTENHOFER, GUILLAUME ROCHERON, ERIK-JAN DE BOER (Life of Pi)


• Marvel’s Avengers Assemble


• RICHARD STAMMERS, CHARLEY HENLEY, TREVOR WOOD, PAUL BUTTERWORTH (Prometheus)

BEST SHORT ANIMATION:

• HERE TO FALL (Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath)


• I’M FINE THANKS (Eamonn O’Neill)


• WINNER: THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD (Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson)

BEST SHORT FILM:

• THE CURSE (Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries)


• GOOD NIGHT (Muriel d’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir)


• WINNER: SWIMMER (Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw)


• TUMULT (Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews)


• THE VOORMAN PROBLEM (Mark Gill, Baldwin Li)

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public):

• ELIZABETH OLSEN


• ANDREA RISEBOROUGH


• SURAJ SHARMA


• WINNER: JUNO TEMPLE


• ALICIA VIKANDER

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA: TESSA ROSS

10th Annual Iowa Film Critics Association Awards

The Iowa Film Critics Association (IFCA) announced its awards on January 9th, 2013 with giving away the Best Film award to LINCOLN, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg who also won the Best Director award.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film: Lincoln

Best Director: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Best Animated Film: Brave

Best Film That Has Yet to Open in Iowa: Amour

8th Annual North Texas Film Critics Association Awards

The North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) announced their awards on January 7th, 2012 with giving away the Best Picture award to LINCOLN, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg who also won the Best Director award, thus making his film the biggest winner with total 4 awards including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Another interesting and surprising win is the Best Foreign Language Film award which went to French comedy-drama film THE INTOUCHABLES. FINALLY!

Here is the complete list of winners:

BEST PICTURE: Lincoln

BEST DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)

BEST ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)

BEST ANIMATED: Wreck-It Ralph

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Bully

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Intouchables

19th Annual Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards

The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association (DFWFCA) announced their awards on December 18th, 2012 with giving away the Best Film award to LINCOLN, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg. Whereas the Best Diretor award went to Kathryn Bigelow for ZERO DARK THIRTY.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film: Lincoln

Top Ten Films:

1. Lincoln


2. Argo


3. Zero Dark Thirty


4. Life of Pi


5. Les Misérables


6. Moonrise Kingdom


7. Silver Linings Playbook


8. Skyfall


9. The Master


10. Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

Runner-ups:

• Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)


• Ben Affleck (Argo)


• Ang Lee (Life of Pi)


• Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Runner-ups:

• Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)


• John Hawkes (The Sessions)


• Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)


• Denzel Washington (Flight)

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Runner-ups:

• Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)


• Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)


• Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)


• Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)


• Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

Runner-ups:

• Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)


• Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)


• Alan Arkin (Argo)


• Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field (Lincoln)

Runner-ups:

• Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)


• Amy Adams (The Master)


• Helen Hunt (The Sessions)


• Ann Dowd (Compliance)

Best Foreign Film: Amour

Runner-ups:

• A Royal Affair


• The Intouchables


• Holy Motors


• The Kid With a Bike

17th Annual Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

The Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) announced their awards on December 18th, 2012 with giving away the Best Picture award to ARGO, directed by Ben Affleck who also won the award for Best Director.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Picture: Argo

Director: Ben Affleck (Argo)

Leading Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Leading Actress: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio (Argo)

Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson (Looper)

Cinematography: Roger Deakins (Skyfall)

Visual Effects: Life of Pi

Art Direction/Production Design: Thomas Brown, et. Al, and Sarah Greenwood (Anna Karenina)

Foreign Language Film: The Intouchables

Animated Film: Frankenweenie

Documentary Film: The Queen Of Versailles

Breakout Performance: Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

46th Annual Kansas City Film Critics Circle Loutzenhiser Awards

The Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC) announced their 46th annual Loutzenhiser awards on December 16th, 2012 with giving away the Best Film award to Paul Thomas Anderson’s direction THE MASTER. Best Director award went to Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI.

Here is the complete list of the winners:

Best Film: The Master

Robert Altman Award for Best Director: Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio (Argo)

Best Original Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)

Best Foreign Language Film: Amour (Austria/France)

Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film: The Cabin in the Woods

Best Animated Film: Frankenweenie

Best Documentary: The Imposter

11th Annual Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards

The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) announced their awards on December 10th, 2012 with giving away the Best Film award to the strongest contender so far, Kathryn Bigelow’s direction and co-production ZERO DARK THIRTY, which also won her the Best Director award as well as Best Actress for Jessica Chastain.

Best Original Screenplay went to Rian Johnson’s Looper, which also won the same award at 84th National Board of Review Awards. Same is the case with the Best Adapted Screenplay which went to David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook who also won the same award at the 84th National Board of Review Awards.

Best Foreign Language Film went to none other than the French drama film AMOUR, making it one of the strongest contenders or THE strongest contender for Foreign Language Films awards.

Best Cinematography went to Claudio Miranda, making it his second win, the other one being in the 10th New York Film Critics Online Awards.

Best Actor went to rather obvious, Daniel Day-Lewis who have won every single award so far except at 84th National Board of Review Awards where the winner was Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and 38th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards where the winner was Joaquin Phoenix (The Master).

Here is the complete list of the winners:

Best Film: ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (LINCOLN)

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman (THE MASTER)

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (LES MISÉRABLES)

Best Acting Ensemble: LES MISÉRABLES

Best Adapted Screenplay: David O. Russell (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK)

Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson (LOOPER)

Best Animated Feature: PARANORMAN

Best Documentary: BULLY

Best Foreign Language Film: AMOUR

Best Art Direction: Uli Hanisch, Hugh Bateup - Production Designers; Peter Walpole, Rebecca Alleway - Set Decorators (CLOUD ATLAS)

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda (LIFE OF PI)

Best Score: Jonny Greenwood (THE MASTER)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Youth Performance: Quvenzhané Wallis (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD)

12th Annual New York Film Critics Online Awards

The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) announced their awards on December, 9th, 2012 with giving away the Best Picture award to obviously, ZERO DARK THIRTY, directed and co-produced by Kathryn Bigelow, who has also won the Best Director award.

This is Emmanuelle Riva’s second win today, the other one being in 33rd Boston Society of Film Critics Awards. In addition, this is Daniel Day-Lewis’ second win today as well. Another most important win is the Best Cinematography to Claudio Miranda for his great camera work in Life of Pi.

Best Animated Feature goes to Chico and Rita, instead of ParaNorman or Frankenweenie. Best Ensemble Cast goes to Argo which is quite unexpected with so many great ensembles in town.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Picture: ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Debut Director: Benh Zeitlin (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD)

Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva (AMOUR)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (LINCOLN)

Best Ensemble Cast: ARGO

Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones (LINCOLN)

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (LES MISÉRABLES)

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda (LIFE OF PI)

Best Screenplay: Mark Boal (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Use of Music: Mary Ramos (DJANGO UNCHAINED)

Breakthrough Performance: Quvenzhane Wallis (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD)

Best Animated Feature: CHICO AND RITA

Best Documentary: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

Best Foreign Language Film: AMOUR

1st Annual Boston Online Film Critics Association Awards

The Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) announced their awards today, on December 8th, 2012, with giving away the Best Picture award to rather obvious Kathryn Bigelow’s direction and co-production, ZERO DARK THIRTY.

Interesting thing to notice here is that the Best Foreign Language Film award went to Norwegian drama film Oslo, August 31st instead of French drama film and winner of 84th National Board of Review Awards and 78th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Amour. Amour has found itself in competition with other movies now. Another interesting thing and quite great one is that Roger Deakins won the award for Best Cinematography for his amazing camera work in 23rd James Bond film Skyfall. Deakins really deserves a nomination as well as a real win in the Academy Awards. Jonny Greenwood won the award for Best Original Score for the film The Master. Let’s see how far he goes in this season.

Here is the complete list of winners:

BEST PICTURE: ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis (LINCOLN)

BEST ACTRESS: Jessica Chastain (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tommy Lee Jones (LINCOLN)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway (LES MISÉRABLES)

BEST SCREENPLAY: Tony Kushner (LINCOLN)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: OSLO, AUGUST 31ST

BEST DOCUMENTARY: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

BEST ANIMATED FILM: PARANORMAN

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Roger Deakins (SKYFALL)

BEST EDITING: William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Jonny Greenwood (THE MASTER)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST: MOONRISE KINGDOM

THE TEN BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR:

1. ZERO DARK THIRTY


2. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD


3. LINCOLN


4. MOONRISE KINGDOM


5. DJANGO UNCHAINED


6. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST


7. HOLY MOTORS


8. THE MASTER


9. ARGO


10. CLOUD ATLAS

CLOUD ATLAS was announced as the TOP WORST MOVIE of 2012 by TIME Magazine, considering that it is a pretty bold move by BOFCA to include it in their top 10 films of the year.

LIFE OF PI still haven’t won anything but as we know that the best is yet to come, so let’s hope for the best!

84th Annual National Board of Review Awards

84th National Board of Review (NBR) Awards took place yesterday, December 5th, 2012 with giving away the BEST FILM prize to Kathryn Bigelow’s ZERO DARK THIRTY, obviously. My predictions were that either Ben Affleck’s ARGO, Tom Hooper’s LES MISÉRABLES or Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN would win the BEST FILM award but NBR gave it away to Zero Dark Thirty. I’m still not disappointed by their decision because I’m pretty sure Kathryn Bigelow has done a wonderful job just like she did with THE HURT LOCKER.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film:  ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK)

Now, this is a bit surprising. I wasn’t hoping to see that Cooper would win this award with so many strong contenders with their strong and powerful performances. But I’m quite happy that Cooper won the award, he is a talent actor and can perform really well, either it is comedy or drama.

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (DJANGO UNCHAINED)

If it means something then it means that DiCaprio is getting a nomination in the 85th Academy Awards, for sure. And maybe, he’d win it as well.

Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd (COMPLIANCE)

Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson (LOOPER)

I cannot explain how happy I am to see Looper winning an award for Original Screenplay. Would it be too much if I hope to see Looper in Academy Awards and Golden Globes nomination for the Original Screenplay? I don’t think so.

Best Adapted Screenplay: David O. Russell (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK)

Best Animated Feature: WRECK-IT RALPH

Special Achievement in Filmmaking: Ben Affleck (ARGO)

My wish has come true, I wanted Affleck to win a Special Achievement award in NBR and he finally won!

Breakthrough Actor: Tom Holland (THE IMPOSSIBLE)

Breakthrough Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD)

Best Directorial Debut: Benh Zeitlin (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD)

Mr. Zeitlin deserves all the appreciation for directing such a beautiful film.

Best Foreign Language Film: AMOUR

Best Documentary: SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

William K. Everson Film History Award: 50 YEARS OF BOND FILMS

Best Ensemble: LES MISÉRABLES (very obvious)

Spotlight Award: John Goodman (ARGO, FLIGHT, PARANORMAN, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE)

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: PROMISED LAND

These two Freedom of Expression awards are given to the deserving films. Promised Land discusses the topic of fracking while The Central Park Five is an outstanding documentary about a girl who was raped by five black and Latino teenagers in 1989.

Following are the lists of TOP films selected by the National Board of Review:

Top Films (In Alphabetical Order):
ARGO
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISÉRABLES
LINCOLN
LOOPER
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
PROMISED LAND
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

(TOTALLY SATISFIED WITH THEIR TOP FILMS SELECTION FOR 2012)

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (In Alphabetical Order):
BARBARA
THE INTOUCHABLES
THE KID WITH A BIKE
NO
WAR WITCH

Top 5 Documentaries (In Alphabetical Order):
AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY
DETROPIA
THE GATEKEEPERS
THE INVISIBLE WAR
ONLY THE YOUNG

Top 10 Independent Films (In Alphabetical Order):
ARBITRAGE
BERNIE
COMPLIANCE
END OF WATCH
HELLO I MUST BE GOING
LITTLE BIRDS
MOONRISE KINGDOM
ON THE ROAD
QUARTET
SLEEPWALK WITH ME

(REALLY HAPPY TO SEE ARBITRAGE, END OF WATCH, BERNIE AND MOONRISE KINGDOM IN TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS)

As it is now clear that Zero Dark Thirty is the strongest contender this year, followed by Lincoln and maybe Les Misérables. Another interesting point is that LIFE OF PI haven’t won anything yet, either they are saving the film for the BIG win or they’re just not impressed with the work of Ang Lee. Well, let’s see what happens in upcoming awards.

78th Annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards

78th New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) took a good start on December 3rd, 2012 with giving away the BEST FILM award to much anticipated film, co-produced and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY. It was a little obvious to me that Zero Dark Thirty would win the Best Film title because of the topic of the film and for the reason that Kathryn Bigelow’s THE HURT LOCKER also won the Best Film award in NYFCC in 2009. Bigelow won almost everything that year, she is going to repeat the history this year as well.

Here is the complete list of 78th New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Awards winners:

Best Film: ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (LINCOLN)

Best Actress: Rachel Weisz (THE DEEP BLUE SEA)

Best Supporting Actor: Matthew McConaughey (BERNIE, MAGIC MIKE)

Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field (LINCOLN)

Best Animated Feature: FRANKENWEENIE

Best First Film: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary): THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

Best Foreign Language Film: AMOUR (This film is going to do really well in awards season)

Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser (ZERO DARK THIRTY)

Best Screenplay: Tony Kushner (LINCOLN)

Special Award: Milestone Films