This is going to be a very interesting awards season. There are a number of really quality films this year, and absolutely no clear cut favorite like we have in recent years. A number of really strong contenders this time out, and I think we’re probably going to see all the various awards bodies handing out the top honors to a lot of different films.
Starting us off this year is the National Board of Review which has decided to give this year’s “Best Picture” award to “No Country For Old Men“. This is certainly a film I’d put on the nominees list for the Oscars this year… although I wouldn’t personally give it the top prize (I found three irritating flaws with the film made it simply a “Great” movie to me, but not quite worthy of an “all time great” sort of status… I’ll talk about those flaws as we get closer to Oscar time). One thing is for certain… this film has one of the most riveting “bad guys” I’ve seen in a movie in a LONG LONG time. Watch for Javier Bardem to be nominated for either Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor… he was just amazing.
Some of the awards given out:
BEST PICTURE
No Country For Old Men
BEST DIRECTOR
Tim Burton – Sweeney Tood
BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Ben Affleck – Gone Baby Gone
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – Michael Clayton
BEST ACTRESS
Julie Christie – Away From Her
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Body of War
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Ratatouille
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor – Emile Hirsch, Into The Wild
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress – Ellen Page, Juno
Best Original Screenplay (tie): Diablo Cody, Juno and Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl.
