VIMooZ

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) announced its top picks for the year, and “Boyhood”  won the coveted “Best Film” spot.  “Boyhood” also won for Best Director (Richard Linklater), Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette), and Best Youth Performance by Ellar Coltrane, the young boy who literally becomes a man before audiences’ eyes. However, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” was the big winner with five awards. “Birdman,” directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and marking the explosive return of ’80s star Michael Keaton (winner of this year’s Best Actor award), also snatched Best Acting Ensemble, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. 

Under the Skin

The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking announced the five nominees for its annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award. The Cinema Eye Heterodox Award honors a narrative fiction film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. The five films nominated this year for the Cinema Eye Heterodox Award are:

The 2015 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were announced this morning and Birdman, lead the list with four nominations, including Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for Michael Keaton, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for EdwardNorton, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for EmmaStone and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Following closely, Boyhood, The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything each snagged 3 nominations including for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.  The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony will take place on January 25, 2015.

WHIPLASH

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the official selections of AFI AWARDS 2014 – 11 outstanding films and 10 outstanding television programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image. 

“We celebrate these films and television programs as more than just milestones in a year of excellence.” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “They are a part of our American cultural heritage – collectively, a new chapter in the story of the art form and of our nation.”

Boyhood

The Online Film Critics Society announced the nominees for the 18th annual OFCS awards for excellence in film. “Boyhood” lead the field with 6 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for Richard Linklater. Other nominees for Best Picture include  “The Grand Budapest Hotel,”  “Ida,” “The Lego Movie,” “Mommy,” “Nightcrawler,” “Selma,” “Two Days, One Night,” “Whiplash,” and “Under the Skin.”  The 2014 OFCS award winners will be announced on Monday, December 15th.

Snowpiercer

The Boston Online Film Critics Association picked Snowpiercer, directed by Bong Joon-ho, and starring Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, and Ed Harris, as Best Picture of 2014. In this sci-fi epic from director Bong Joon Ho (The Host, Mother), a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet.  The final survivors board the SNOWPIERCER, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine. When cryptic messages incite the passengers to revolt, the train thrusts full-throttle towards disaster.