The top 10 shots of 2013: part one

Posted by · 10:45 am · February 11th, 2014

If you look here and there on the web these days, you might notice that more than a few outlets are now cooking up their own “top 10 shots of the year” pieces. Here we are in our seventh year of producing such a collective, and it’s nice to see others catch on to the idea: singular images and the thematic impact they make are as subjective as anything else we end up praising at the end of a given year.

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Dear Academy members: Don't forget these contenders

Posted by · 12:00 am · January 6th, 2014

Scarlett Johansson, Spike Jonze, Sally Hawkins, Oscar Isaac, James Franco and Amy Adams are just a few of the potential nominees that Academy members should give serious consideration to before submitting their nomination ballots this Wednesday.

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'Inside Llewyn Davis' dominates National Society of Film Critics honors

Posted by · 1:25 pm · January 4th, 2014

“Inside Llewyn Davis,” Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett and James Franco each earned big wins with the announcement of the 2013 National Society of Film Critics honors.

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'Gravity' wins Best Picture from Central Ohio critics

Posted by · 5:48 pm · January 2nd, 2014

“Gravity” picked up another Best Picture prize on the critics circuit today as the Central Ohio Film Critics Association handed it the year’s top honor. Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for the film and Emmanuel Lubezki won Best Cinematography. Top acting honors went to Chiwetel Ejiofor and Adèle Exarchopoulos and James Franco was recognized for his work in “Spring Breakers.”

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Off the Carpet: Could David O. Russell finally strike Oscar gold with frizzy 'American Hustle?'

Posted by · 6:37 am · December 23rd, 2013

The precursor film awards circuit seems to have rallied around “12 Years a Slave” as the year’s consensus pick, but could it be “American Hustle” that becomes the most generally agreeable movie of the year for the Academy?

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Roundup: On this year's not-quite-comic Globe nominees

Posted by · 1:45 am · December 20th, 2013

In today’s roundup of notable online news and views, a critic debates the pros and cons of this year’s unusually prestigious comedy races at the Globes. Meanwhile, Edgar Wright lists his favourite films of 2013.

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Kristopher Tapley's top 10 films of 2013

Posted by · 10:30 am · December 16th, 2013

HitFix Editor-at-Large Kristopher Tapley runs down his top 10 films including “Out of the Furnace,” “Spring Breakers,” “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “Gravity.”

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Roundup: Why an Oscar for James Franco is no laughing matter

Posted by · 3:45 am · December 16th, 2013

In today’s roundup of notable online news and views, James Franco speaks in defence of his and A24’s playful awards campaign for “Spring Breakers,” which is bearing fruit with the critics. Meanwhile, who has the best ‘do in “American Hustle?”

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'12 Years a Slave' tops with San Francisco critics, but 'Gravity' wins four

Posted by · 3:12 pm · December 15th, 2013

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” was a big favorite with the San Francisco Film Critics Circle this year, picking up four awards from the group including Best Director. But it was “12 Years a Slave” that the group named Best Picture of the year. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cate Blanchet took top acting honors, while James Franco nabbed his second prize of the critics circuit. “American Hustle” won two awards, for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Original Screenplay.

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Gregory Ellwood's top 10 films of 2013

Posted by · 12:18 am · December 15th, 2013

HitFix Editor-in-Chief Gregory Ellwood runs down his top 10 films including “Gravity,” “Under the Skin,” “Stories We Tell” and “12 Years A Slave.”

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Off the Carpet: The critics leave it wide open

Posted by · 10:21 am · December 9th, 2013

The chatter that has arisen in the wake of this initial precursor wave could have been predicted: it’s anyone’s game. New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other regional critics have had their say and there’s plenty of love being spread around so far.

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'Gravity' ties with 'Her' as LA critics' Best Picture winner

Posted by · 12:14 pm · December 8th, 2013

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association were in an indecisive mood today, as three categories ended in ties — most notably Best Picture, which was shared by two very different technological visions: “Gravity” and “Her.”

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'12 Years a Slave' and 'Her' lead the way with Washington D.C. critics nominations

Posted by · 10:42 pm · December 7th, 2013

Spike Jonze’s “Her,” Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” and especially Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” turned up great showings in the nominations stage for the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association this year. All three films were nominated for Best Film along with David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” and the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

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The Long Shot: Independents' day

Posted by · 2:52 pm · November 27th, 2013

Yesterday’s Independent Spirit Award nominations featured a number of films firmly in the hunt for Oscar glory — a crossover that has become standard in recent years. In his weekly awards column, Guy Lodge wonders if other independent cinema is getting short-changed.

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'Spring Breakers,' 'Short Term 12' and 'Mud' lead 2014 Spirit Awards snubs and surprises

Posted by · 4:30 pm · November 26th, 2013

HitFix’s Gregory Ellwood and Guy Lodge run down the snubs and surprises after Film Independent announced the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards this morning.

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Roundup: Truth and fiction in 'Dallas Buyers Club'

Posted by · 4:30 am · November 4th, 2013

In today’s roundup of notable online news and views, “Dallas Buyers Club” is the latest Oscar hopeful to get the fact-checking treatment. Meanwhile, Werner Herzog thinks highly of James Franco in “Spring Breakers,” and Netflix acquires potentially gets into the Oscar game with “The Square.”

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Performances on the lead-supporting bubble dance with category placement this season

Posted by · 11:19 am · August 14th, 2013

This week’s report about Meryl Streep potentially being campaigned in the supporting actress category for her performance in John Wells’ “August: Osage County” reminds of a slew of actors in a similar boat this year, dancing with category selection with arguments to be made on both sides.

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For Your Consideration: 15 deserving Oscar nominees from 2013 so far

Posted by · 6:48 am · June 27th, 2013

HitFix’s Gregory Ellwood, Guy Lodge and Kristopher Tapley spotlight 15 films, performances and accomplishments from the first half of 2013 that deserve recognition by year’s end.

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