I must admit, I’m not really clear on what, or who, the Online Film Critics Society are — there are just so many critics’ awards these days, I can’t really keep up. I can say, however, that they have pretty commendable taste, as they became the latest group to give “WALL-E” their top honour, and handed four awards apiece to “The Dark Knight” and “Let the Right One In.”
Their acting awards strike me as particularly on the money, with Mickey Rourke, Heath Ledger and Marisa Tomei all adding to their well-deserved hauls. Meanwhile, I’m pleased to see they looked beyond the usual Best Actress favourites and recognised the wonderful work of Michelle Williams in “Wendy and Lucy” — surely one of the most under-rewarded performances of the season.
What do these mean? Nothing, of course, but it’s a fun list of winners nonetheless. (Full list below the cut.) I keep wanting to crawl back onto that “WALL-E” limb for the Oscars, but can’t quite go there.
Best Picture: “WALL-E”
Best Director: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Best Actress: Michelle Williams, “Wendy and Lucy”
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Best Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Best Original Screenplay: Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, “WALL-E”
Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ajvide, “Let the Right One In”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Let the Right One In”
Best Animated Film: “WALL-E”
Best Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire”
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, “The Dark Knight”
Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Original Score: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, “The Dark Knight”
Best Breakthrough Filmmaker: Tomas Alfredson, “Let the Right One In”
Best Breakthrough Performance: Lina Leandersson, “Let the Right One In”
Comments
22 responses to “Another gong for ‘WALL-E’”
If these would be the results on Oscar night, I’d be more than happy.
why so many societies? why not party or federation? bring back the “f”! sorry. off-topic
I hear ya, Guy. I get the sad feeling that this will be WALL-E’s last Best Picture citation of the year. At least it had a good (very good) run.
Oh, come on! Keep hope alive, Guy! Don’t give up hope on WALL-E just yet!
On these awards, whoever they may be, the Online Film Critics Society do have good taste, indeed. This is a fine list of winners.
Yay! Michelle Williams is finally getting some recognition for Wendy and Lucy! Congrats!
Yeah, I know, aside from director every winner here was pretty good IMO. Logically, Wall-E probably will miss a nom, but I have a gut feeling and I’m just gonna go with it, sure that can be completely off but my best predictions were in 06 when I went with some unpopular choices like Letters over Dreamgirls and DiCaprio for Blood Diamond over Departed (since he was always pushed lead there).
I think WALL-E will squeeze in, somehow. And that’s a wonderful awards slate, however inconsequential.
OK, I just gotta ask, because the terminology has been bugging me for a while. Why do I keep seeing (particularly on these awards blogs) people referring to a “gong” for a film in a positive light? Since my immediate association is with The Gong Show, where you DON’T want to hear the gong, I’m somewhat confused. I’m sure it makes sense, I just need to hear the logic once and I’ll be fine.
The Online Film Critics Society can be joined by anyone. Just publish 50 reviews a year of 400 words or more, and be pretty good. So I would say they are the least impressive of the guilds.
“So I would say they are the least impressive of the guilds.”
I call real people and not snobbish critics much more impressive than guilds that won’t let an animated film in. That said, this isn’t a guild, it’s a “society” as it’s clearly labeled. But again: real people don’t suck as hard as snobbish critics.
Anyway speaking of WALL-E and awards, one thing’s been bugging me since another poster at another forum brought it up:
Why does anyone think Frost/Nixon is a shoe-in? Just because of Ron Howard? Gimme a break, it’s barely won anything and is seen as more of a novelty than anything. It was a good film, but I don’t think anyone legitimately thinks of it as Best Picture material. I’d honestly be less surprised to see WALL-E *and* The Dark Knight make it in than Frost/Nixon.
Any sensible person knows that Frost/Nixon isn’t a shoe-in. Just because Kris and others predict it will make the cut doesn’t mean that it is a shoe-in.
They are the least impressive because not one single person in their right mind waits every year for this award. We gauge the clout of the awards by the number of people who care.
“Real people don’t suck as hard as snobbish critics.”
Why all the critic hate? I personally think a lot of the critics’ groups did a fine job this year with their awards — it was the LA critics who got the ball rolling for “WALL-E,” remember. Hardly snobbish.
It’s the Guilds who really failed us this year, I think. (Not to mention BAFTA.)
Adam: I could be wrong, but I think the use of the word ‘gong’ in this context has its origins in British military slang, where it refers to a medal.
I still don’t see Wall-E making the cut, not instead of TDK at least. I would wheep.
Thanks, Guy.
Have to love the OFCS. I generally approve of the Academy’s choices — with the notable exception of “Crash”, every Best Picture winner of the past 20 years has been a good movie — but they don’t stretch their horizons as they should. Check out some of the winners from this decade: Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, A History of Violence, and now Wall-E. All terrific movies, and all largely shunned by the Academy except for a minor nomination here or there. Kudos to the online critics.
http://moviemanifesto.blogspot.com
“With the notable exception of “Crashâ€, every Best Picture winner of the past 20 years has been a good movie.”
I beg to differ. “Driving Miss Daisy”? (I won’t even get into “Forrest Gump” or “Braveheart” … I know they have their champions.)
I agree on “Driving Miss Daisy” — I just thought “20 years” sounded a lot more powerful than “18 years”. Caught me.
And I am, in fact, a champion of both “Forrest Gump” and “Braveheart”. Especially “Braveheart”. Let’s not go there.
“Why does anyone think Frost/Nixon is a shoe-in? Just because of Ron Howard? Gimme a break, it’s barely won anything and is seen as more of a novelty than anything. It was a good film, but I don’t think anyone legitimately thinks of it as Best Picture material.”
The same reasons movies like “Seabiscuit”, “Finding Neverland”, “The Green Mile”, “Chocolat”, “The Cidar House Rules”, “Ray” and so many MANY others can lay claim to forever being known as Best Picture nominees.
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