The San Francisco Film Critics Circle – an organization to which I do not belong – announced Sunday its 2018 awards. Here they are, with my commentary in purple.
Not all of these films have yet played in Bay Area theaters outside of festivals, but they all will play before December 31.
Best Picture
Roma
Absolutely! My review.
Roma won Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film
Best Director
Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
He did an excellent job, but Alfonso Cuarón did a better one with Roma.
Best Actor
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
I agree completely.
Best Actress
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
I didn’t see the film, so I don’t have an opinion on her performance. Among films I have seen, I’d go for Yalitza Aparicio in Roma, or
Emma Thompson in The Children Act (a film that barely played in the Bay Area).
Best Supporting Actor
Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther
He gave a very good performance, but I’d go for Adam Driver in BlacKKKlansman.
Adam Driver should have won Best Supporting Actor for BlacKkKlansman
Best Supporting Actress
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
I agree.
Best Foreign Language Film
Roma
Of course. Absolutely!
Best Animated Feature
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
I haven’t seen it, so I have not opinion. I liked Isle of Dogs very much.
Best Documentary
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
I liked this doc very much, but it’s not the best of the year by a long shot. I would take Three Identical Strangers over this one.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? won Best Documentary, but didn’t deserve it
Best Cinematography
Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
Absolutely!
Best Production design
Black Panther – Hannah Beachler
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Best Editing
The Other Side of the Wind – Bob Murawski and Orson Welles
No! No! No!
Best Screenplay (original)
First Reformed – Paul Schrader
One could argue that this screenplay isn’t all that original – it sticks surprisingly closely to Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light – but it is an exceptional screenplay.
First Reformed won Original Screenplay, even if it wasn’t all that original
Best Screenplay (adapted)
BlacKkKlansman – Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee
The four screenwriters twisted a non-fiction memoir into a beautifully thrilling and funny entertainment, while highlighting America’s ugly underbelly.
Best Original Score
BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
I’m going neutral on this one. I don’t remember being excited by any movie score this year.
Special Citation (for that underappreciated indie gem)
The Endless
I haven’t seen The Endless. But my underappreciated indie gem was The Rider (my review).
Almost no one saw The Rider, one of the best films of the year
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