Film Awards

A collection of 32 posts

On Movies & Media

2015's best films for a church basement film club?

If you were starting a "Looking Closer Movie Club" in your church basement, inviting adventurous viewers from your congregation, which films might be best to consider sharing with them? Discover the 2015 Arts and Faith Ecumenical Jury Awards.

On Movies & Media

Not Gonna Bow: Notes on the Oscars

It appears that a lot of people have completely misunderstood what cinema is for, concluding that it's all some big cockamamie competition.

On Movies & Media

Wait... how did I end up in The New Yorker?

I've just been informed that Sam Sweet at The New Yorker has published a piece about "The Christian Oscars." I play a supporting role — not in the "Christian Oscars" (thank goodness) but in the article. I'm as surprised about this development as

On Movies & Media

Another Year, Another Bunch of Meaningless Awards

A lot of people are talking about last night's Golden Globes awards. And why not? How often do we get to drown out any substantial conversation about movies with a tsunami of meaningless celebrity buzz? Why not pretend that we're doing the world some good by pretending that art is a contest!

On Movies & Media

The Best Films of 2012? Here's the Indiewire 2012 Critics Poll

So… was The Master a good movie, or not? What about Lincoln or The Avengers? What about This is 40 or Zero Dark Thirty? 204 film critics voted in this year’s Indiewire critics’ poll. Their choices do not resemble the Box Office Top 10 or the movies likely to be honored by the Golden Globes. Why is t

Of Gods and Men

So It Begins: National Board of Review Honors

The National Board of Review's awards for 2010 have been announced. The always-dubious affair has some typically excellent examples of "Wow! Awesome!" and "What the...?" And, as always, this sparks a season of everybody else coming up with better selections than these. A few

On Movies & Media

Preach It, Andrew Stanton!

Andrew Stanton, writer/director of WALL•E, accepting the award for Best Picture from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association last night: Toy Story

On Movies & Media

The Los Angeles Film Critics: "WALL-E is the Best Movie of 2008"

Something is happening. Among American film critics, WALL-E is emerging as a favorite for the year's Best Picture. The L.A. Film Critics just joined TIME's Richard Corliss and The New Yorker's Anthony Lane, heralding Pixar's movie as the Best Film of

On Movies & Media

Lists 2008: National Board of Review

And so it begins. (Via USA Today) The National Board of Review kicks off the award season with their picks for 2008: Film:Slumdog Millionaire Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Actor: Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married Supporting actor: Josh Brolin, Milk

On Movies & Media

The Best Films of 2007 - according to the Faith and Film Critics Circle

Ratatouille, Into Great Silence, Lars and the Real Girl and... yes... There Will Be Blood all won awards in the Faith and Film Critics Circle awards for 2007, announced yesterday at The Matthews House Project. There were also ties in the Best Supporting Actor and Actress contests. Discover the winners

On Movies & Media

The Faith and Film Critics: Preparing the Best of 2007 Awards

Thanks to Ron Reed for making it public! This year's nominees for the best films of 2007 according to the Faith and Film Critics Circle are quite surprising! That is to say, when the critics were polled, their favorite narrative films did not include one of the titles

On Movies & Media

CTMovies: The Top 10 Most Redeeming Movies of 2007

Okay, here's the first of CTMovies' two annual movie lists... The Top 10 Most Redeeming Movies of 2007! What do you think? What did the ten participating critics* miss? What did we get right? *The ten voters are part of this diverse group of moviegoers.

On Movies & Media

The Top Ten Films of 2006, According to Christianity Today

The film critics of Christianity Today Movies have voted. And these are the Cream of the Crop ... the Top 10 Films of 2006. Quite a few critics contributed here, and we all had strikingly different opinions, so it's interesting to see how it all worked out. And hey,

On Movies & Media

The OFCS Awards - 2006

The Online Film Critics Society... otherwise known as the Rotten Tomatoes gang... have just posted their film awards for 2006. Since I'm a voting member, I'm happy to share them here: The winners of the 10th annual OFCS Awards are as follows: * BEST PICTURE: “United 93”

On Movies & Media

Awards! Awards! Awards! (Updated Tues. 12/12/06)

The Boston Film Critics pick The Departed. (Runner-up: United 93) My favorite Boston picks: Best Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen (Runner-up: Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal) Best Supporting Actor - Mark Wahlberg, The Departed Best Supporting Actress - Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson Best Foreign Language Film- Pan'

On Movies & Media

So It Begins: National Board of Review's Top Ten of 2006

The National Board of Review, a secretive and suspicious society of film reviewers, have come up with their Top Ten of 2006. Their best picture pick? Letters from Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood's follow-up to Flags of Our Fathers. Looking at the rest of their choices, I think it

On Movies & Media

2006 Faith and Film Critics Circle Nominations

Bookmark this blog entry! The Faith and Film Critics Circle (FFCC) - more than a dozen Christian film critics taking films seriously as works of art - are already busy suggesting and considering films for next year's FFCC Awards. The cool thing about the FFCC awards ... YOU are

On Movies & Media

The Most Redeeming Movies of 2005?

Christianity Today Movies has posted The 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2005. Mark Moring explains the definition: What do we mean by "redeeming" films? They're all stories of redemption—sometimes blatantly, sometimes less so. Several of them literally have a character that represents a redeemer. And

On Movies & Media

The Online Film Critics Society awards: The Rotten Tomatoes gang decides!

Wow... some real surprises here. And a few of the names that got my votes WON! Best Director: David Cronenberg, “A History of Violence” Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Capote” Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line” Best Supporting Actor: Mickey Rourke, “Sin City” Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bello, “A

Anthony Lane

Specials: "Bourne 3... 3 as the Wind..." Plus: Indy 4, Jurassic 4, "Capote" beats "Brokeback." Praising "The New World."

Monday is Sequel News Day! "BOURNE THREE... THREE AS THE WIND..." For updates on The Bourne Ultimatum, Indy 4, and Jurassic Park 4, click here. (Looks like Jason Bourne may have a new main squeeze. And no, it's not Ben Affleck.) NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS

On Movies & Media

My Favorite Films of 2005

I've just published the Looking Closer "Favorite Films of 2005" list. This list will very likely be revised in the next month, as I catch up to some of those hard-to-reach 2005 releases. But I'll be required to turn in my list to various

On Movies & Media

The Chicago Film Critics Nominations

As these critical nominations roll out this year, there's far more love for King Kong than I ever expected. Here are the nominations by the Chicago Film Critics... one of the groups that don't seem to be hasty, waiting until most of the 2005 films have

Film Awards

Specials: David Brooks on "Munich." Plus, NY Online Critics' Awards, LA Critics' awards.

Sunday's specials: David Brooks reviews Munich! In Spielberg's Middle East the only way to achieve peace is by renouncing violence. But in the real Middle East the only way to achieve peace is through military victory over the fanatics, accompanied by compromise between the reasonable elements

On Movies & Media

Tell us what should win in the 2005 Faith and Film Critics Circle Awards

Time to resurrect this post again. We're closing in on the year's mid-point. What have you seen that's worth remembering when the Faith and Film Critics Circle cast their votes for the best of 2005? Can you think of any suggestions we've

On Movies & Media

2005 Film Nominations for [AFC]2 ... so far ...

Time to resurrect this post, if only to point out how lame the year 2005 is when it comes to movies in U.S. theaters. (Notice how carefully I said that. Elsewhere in the world, there are, no doubt, amazing films being revealed, films that U.S. distributors don'