Friday, January 04, 2008

Houston crix pick pix


The recently formed Houston Film Critics Society – of which I am a member – has announced its very first list of year-end accolades. And while I don’t agree with every selection, hey, I got outvoted in some categories, so I’ll just have get over it, after a reasonable amount of pouting.

But seriously, folks:

BEST PICTURENo Country for Old Men.

BEST DIRECTOR OF A MOTION PICTURE – Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE – Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE – Julie Christie, Away from Her.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CASTHairspray.

BEST SCREENPLAY – Diablo Cody, Juno.

BEST ANIMATED FILMRatatouille.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATUREThe King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – Dario Marianelli, Atonement.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – "Falling Slowly" from Once.

HFCS president Nick Nicholson (no, I don’t believe that’s his real name, either, but that’s his story, and he’s sticking with it) also announced a special prize for HONORARY TEXANS: Joel and Ethan Coen, co-directors of No Country for Old Men. “We were so impressed with No Country,” Nicholson said, “that we wanted to let the Coen Brothers know they are welcome to shoot in our state any time they want, as long as they don’t let their pit bulls anywhere near us.”

But wait, there’s more: HFCS members also voted to bestow special prizes for OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMA. The winners: Philip Seymour Hoffman, for being so damn good in no fewer than three 2007 movies (Charlie Wilson’s War, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and The Savages); and the late, lamented Greenway 3 Theatre, the revered Houston art-house that closed on New Year’s Eve.

The top ten movies of 2007, voted by HFCS members:


1. No Country for Old Men

2. Juno

3. Atonement

4. Michael Clayton

5. Into the Wild

6. Sweeney Todd

7. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

8. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

9. Charlie Wilson’s War

10. I’m Not There

1 comment:

Toto said...

Can I join your critics' group? Love the selections - from confirming Day-Lewis' genius in "Blood" to trumpeting the most beautiful scene in "Once" via the song selection.