The National Bored of Review. They are predictable.
The NBR is a fan group whose members pay big annual fees and also pay to be at their annual dinner.
They chose Universal’s “Wicked” as Best Picture. They ignored “The Brutalist,” which just won Best Picture from the NY Film Critics Circle. They also completely snubbed “Dune Part Two.”
Their 10 other Best Films include Clint Eastwood’s “Juror Number 2,” which was dumped by Warner Bros and never got a proper release. The NBR’s 501 c3 loves Eastwood and has been underwriting his archives at Wesleyan University for years.
The 10 Best films include: Anora, Babygirl, A Complete Unknown, Conclave,
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Gladiator II, Juror #2, Queer, A Real Pain, Sing Sing.
A24 got three Best Picture nods: Babygirl, Sing Sing, and Queer are each from A24 Films. This is no surprise since an exec from that studio has been on the NBR board of directors for years. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, stars of those respective films, are Best Actress and Actor.
“The Brutalist” is also an A24 film, but I guess Annie Schulhof really didn’t like it. But A24 also got mentions for “A Different Man” and “Love Lies Bleeding” on the NBR’s Top 10 Indie Films list.
The National Board of Review is a joke. I’ve written about it for years. Like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association their choices are based purely on their own needs. But people eat this stuff up, and the studios love the attention for their films.
The NBR is really leaning on Universal Pictures. They also gave an extra award to “Wicked,” included “Conclave” as their Best Ensemble.
Best documentary went to pro-Palestinian “No Other Land.”
Completely wiped out: Netflix’s big three movies “Maria,” “Emilia Perez,” and “The Piano Lesson.” I guess Netflix finally stopped entertaining the NBR.
Best Film: Wicked
Best Director: Jon M. Chu, Wicked
Best Actor: Daniel Craig, Queer
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning, A Complete Unknown
Best Ensemble: Conclave
Breakthrough Performance: Mikey Madison, Anora
Best Directorial Debut: India Donaldson, Good One
Best Original Screenplay: Mike Leigh, Hard Truths
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, Sing Sing
NBR Spotlight Award: Creative Collaboration of Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: No Other Land
Best Animated Feature: Flow
Best International Film: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Best Documentary: Sugarcane
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Top Films (in alphabetical order):
Anora
Babygirl
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Juror #2
Queer
A Real Pain
Sing Sing
Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):
All We Imagine As Light
The Girl with the Needle
I’m Still Here
Santosh
Universal Language
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
Black Box Diaries
Dahomey
Look Into My Eyes
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
Bird
A Different Man
Dìdi
Ghostlight
Good One
Hard Truths
His Three Daughters
Love Lies Bleeding
My Old Ass
Thelma
