Yearly Archives: 2012

The San Diego Film Critics Society (of which Moviewallas is a member) had their final voting today and the winners have already been announced.

The final picks in almost every major category beat the popular consensus. The top prize for Best Film of the year went to ‘Argo’, a movie that has figured in year end nominations from most film critic bodies, but had not procured the final pick for any of them. Until now. The  Best Director selection went hand-in-hand with Best Picture, with Ben Affleck getting recognized for helming ‘Argo’. Its been a rather long time since the San Diego Film Critics awarded Best Film and Best Director to the same movie.

The picks in the acting categories were a mix of unconventional selections from smaller films (Michelle Williams in “Take This Waltz” for Best Female Actor) as well as the more obvious (Daniel Day Lewis in “Lincoln” for Best Male Actor). The San Diego Film Critics were also the first group to laud Emma Watson with a Best Female Supporting Actor award for her turn in ‘The Perks Of Being A Wallflower”, a fine film that has not found a larger audience. The film also nabbed honors in the Best Ensemble Performance category. For Best Male Supporting Actor, Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained” beat out more prominent competition including those from the same film (Leonardo diCaprio) to land the prize.

The best things about films is how one’s persons dream movie is another’s idea of torture. Be sure to post your reactions in the comments section below.

The full list of winners :

BEST FILM –
WINNER: ARGO


BEST DIRECTOR –
WINNER: Ben Affleck, ARGO

BEST ACTRESS –
WINNER: Michelle Williams, TAKE THIS WALTZ

BEST ACTOR –
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis, LINCOLN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS –
WINNER: Emma Watson, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR –
WINNER: Christoph Waltz, DJANGO UNCHAINED

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY –
WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson, THE MASTER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY –
WINNER: Chris Terrio, ARGO

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM –
WINNER: THE KID WITH A BIKE

BEST DOCUMENTARY –
WINNER: THE INVISIBLE WAR

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY –
WINNER: Claudio Miranda, LIFE OF PI

BEST ANIMATED FILM –
WINNER: PARANORMAN

BEST EDITING –
WINNER: William Goldenberg, ARGO

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN –
WINNER: Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch CLOUD ATLAS

BEST SCORE –
WINNER: Jonny Greenwood, THE MASTER

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE–
WINNER: THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

BODY OF WORK FOR 2012–
WINNER: Greig Fraser (cinematographer: ZERO DARK THIRTY, KILLING THEM SOFTLY, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN)

KYLE COUNTS AWARD–
Dan Bennett, Member Emeritus SDFCS, former North County Times Film Critic, Festival Director of the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival

Like it or not, the movie awards season is upon us.

And as part of the first step, film critics groups from around the country have started to announce their picks for the best achievements in cinema in 2012. And the chosen are starting to be anointed. The National Board of Review selections started things going with a strong showing for Zero Dark Thirty. The film received another pat on the back from the New York Film Critics Circle selections. Most recently the Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded the Michael Haneke film Amour with the top prize, combined with a surprisingly strong showing for The Master in other categories.

Closer home, the San Diego Film Critics Society announced its list of nominations in the major categories today. The society members (which includes the Moviewallas outlet) will cast their vote on December 11th, shortly after which the final picks will be announced. Below is the full list of nominations. Which nominated picks are you happy to see here, and which ones were criminally overlooked?

BEST FILM 

ARGO

DJANGO UNCHAINED

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

THE MASTER

ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST DIRECTOR 

Ang Lee, LIFE OF PI

Ben Affleck, ARGO

David O. Russell, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Paul Thomas Anderson, THE MASTER

BEST ACTRESS 

Helen Hunt, THE SESSIONS

Jennifer Lawrence, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Jessica Chastain, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Michelle Williams, TAKE THIS WALTZ

Naomi Watts, THE IMPOSSIBLE

BEST ACTOR 

Bradley Cooper, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Daniel Day-Lewis, LINCOLN

Hugh Jackman, LES MISERABLES

Joaquin Phoenix, THE MASTER

John Hawkes, THE SESSIONS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

Amy Adams, THE MASTER

Anne Hathaway, LES MISERABLES

Emma Watson, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

Rebel Wilson, PITCH PERFECT

Samantha Barks, LES MISERABLES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 

Alan Arkin, ARGO

Christoph Waltz, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Christopher Walken, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

Matthew McConaughey, KILLER JOE

Philip Seymour Hoffman, THE MASTER

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, MOONRISE KINGDOM

Sarah Polley, TAKE THIS WALTZ

Joss Whedon and Drew Godard, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Paul Thomas Anderson, THE MASTER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

Chris Terrio, ARGO

David Magee, LIFE OF PI

Tony Kushner, LINCOLN

David O. Russell, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Stephen Chbosky, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM 

AMOUR

HEADHUNTERS

HOLY MOTORS

THE INTOUCHABLES

THE KID WITH A BIKE

BEST DOCUMENTARY 

BULLY

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI

QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

SAMSARA

THE INVISIBLE WAR

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

 Ben Richardson, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Robert Richardson, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Danny Cohen, LES MISERABLES

Claudio Miranda, LIFE OF PI

Mihai Malaimare Jr., THE MASTER

BEST ANIMATED FILM 

BRAVE

FRANKIEWEENIE

PARANORMAN

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

WRECK-IT RALPH

BEST EDITING 

William Goldenberg, ARGO

Brian A. Kates and John Paul Horstmann, KILLING THEM SOFTLY

Tim Squyres, LIFE OF PI

Leslie Jones and Peter McNulty, THE MASTER

William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor, ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 

Sarah Greenwood, ANNA KARENINA

Sharon Seymour, ARGO

Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch, CLOUD ATLAS

Eve Stewart, LES MISERABLES

Adam Stockhausen, MOONRISE KINGDOM

BEST SCORE 

Alexandre Desplat, ARGO

Benh Zeitlin and Dan Romer, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Mychael Danna, LIFE OF PI

Alexandre Desplat, MOONRISE KINGDOM

Jonny Greenwood, THE MASTER

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

ARGO

DJANGO UNCHAINED

LES MISERABLES

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER