It’s with great pride that I get to write about the Critic’s Choice Movie Awards nominations. As a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association I feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction in these nominations and I feel strongly that once again the Critic’s Choice Movie Awards offers a unique and wide variety of films to be honored.
Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Drive”
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
The only film from my ballot not on this list is “Rango” which disappoints me but doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been a lonely champion of “Rango” as one of the two best films of 2011, along with “Midnight in Paris.” I’m very glad to see both “Moneyball” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” on this list, I truly loved both of those movies.
Best Actor
George Clooney “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender “Shame”
Ryan Gosling “Drive”
Brad Pitt “Moneyball”
While I had hoped to see Owen Wilson’s name on this list for his terrific performance in “Midnight in Paris,” and I really didn’t care for Fassbender in Shame, this is still a solid list. My money is on Pitt for “Moneyball” because the performance is wonderfully complex and engaging and he seems to have momentum in his favor.
Best Actress
Viola Davis “The Help”
Elizabeth Olson “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams “My Week with Marilyn”
This list of nominees is my favorite. Each of the three actresses on my ballot are on this list, Swinton, Theron and Williams, along with Elizabeth Olson who I didn’t vote for but is an exceptionally unique choice by the BFCA as Olson has been buzzed about but had not yet garnered the kind of buzz that has accompanied Michelle Williams and Meryl Streep. Tilda Swinton is my favorite name on this list. “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is a powerful piece of work and Swinton has been ignored each of the last two years for some very powerful work.
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh “My Week with Marilyn”
Albert Brooks “Drive”
Nick Nolte “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer “Beginners”
Andy Serkis “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Here I have a problem and must respectfully disagree with my colleagues. While I appreciate the hard work of Andy Serkis in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” I think nominating his performance is a novelty. This is partially influenced by my preference for Corey Stoll’s exceptional work as Ernest Hemingway in “Midnight in Paris” but mostly it is because Motion Capture simply doesn’t impress me.
Andy Serkis as Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is a technical marvel. Corey Stoll in “Midnight in Paris” is a human marvel filled with emotional complexity, parody and the joy of performance.
Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain “The Help”
Melissa McCarty “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan “Shame”
Octavia Spencer “The Help”
Shailene Woodley “The Descendants”
While I was hoping to see Sandra Bullock in this category for her heart rending work in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” this is a solid field. Jessica Chastain gave my favorite performance in this category but I could see Melissa McCarthy win here as her “Bridesmaids” work was a comic tour de force.
“The Artist” and “Hugo” received the most nominations overall with 11. Find out who wins on January 12th on VH1.