When Oscar season started to ramp up, and more recently with Billy Crystal filling the void left by Eddie Murphy to emcee next February’s ceremony, I have acknowledged that for this year “everything that’s old is new again.” My saying holds water with the releases of both Hugo and The Artist, two films that put an emphasis on how films were made in the early days of cinema versus today. And in recent days, both films have been named Best Film of the Year by different critic circles. The New York Film Critics Circle praised The Artist and its director, Michel Hazanavicius. Now the National Board of Review shows its support for Paramount’s Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese.
George Clooney, not his Ocean’s 11 co-star Brad Pitt, was tapped for Best Actor and Tilda Swinton as Best Actress for her performance in We Need to Talk About Kevin.
Regarding the selection of Hugo as its Film of the Year, NBR president Annie Schulhof remarked, “It is a tribute to the early years of cinema that uses today’s cutting-edge technology to bring the audience into a completely unique and magical world. It is visually stunning and emotionally engaging.”
Best Film: Hugo
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Best Ensemble: The Help
Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)
NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime
NBR Freedom of Expression: Pariah
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise – A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film
Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Tree of Life
War Horse
Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(in Alphabetical Order)
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank
Top 5 Documentaries
(in Alphabetical Order)
Born to be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna
Top 10 Independent Films
(in Alphabetical Order)
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win
