I'm worried that nothing I like will win any major awards at this year's Oscars. Which is why I voice my own opinion with the Sammys!
Let's get one thing out of the way: "La La Land" is definitely no where near my top ten films of the year. I think its charming with some great music, but has considerable flaws and doesn't belong in a Best Picture conversation. Hollywood loves itself, hence its Oscar tally. I also partly blame awards pundits for hyping the film to no end, and maybe I'll watch the musical years removed from the buzz and appreciate it more. As it stands, it isn't winning anything in my awards.
It was a striking year for film however. I've watched "The Witch" several times and remained terrified. It's score and striking visuals still give me nightmares. "Arrival" was one of the best surprises of the year, with a smart script and Amy Adams' best performance to date. "Deadpool" surpassed expectations to show that the superhero genre still has a few tricks up its sleeve. I wanted to hate the milking of Star Wars, fearing the standalone films would water down the series. But Gareth Edwards clearly felt freed by the lack of an episode number, and turned in a heart wrenching war film with some of the best sequences in the saga. "Moana" is by far the best musical film of the year and solidify that Lin-Manuel Miranda can do no wrong. Two queer films, "Other People" and French indie "Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo" delivered powerful depictions of gay life through naturalistic dialogue and clever camerawork.
But the year will come down to three films for me. "20th Century Women", a beautiful portrait and tribute to three women in writer/director Mike Mills' life. Annette Bening will break your heart over and over again, and it should be considered criminal that the Oscars ignored her. No actress plays such complex emotions with her ease. "Hell or High Water" is a modern western packed with enough layers to warrant multiple viewings. It has a sort of apocalyptic feel, as if its characters are some of the last inhabitants on earth, and reminds us why Jeff Bridges is one of our greatest living actors. But it is "Moonlight", Barry Jenkins' stunning story of a black gay man's evolution in Miami that struck me the most. The three actors playing Chiron are intrinsically linked in emotion and physicality, and Jenkins chooses an artful way to depict his point of view without appearing stuffy or snobby. It will go down as a classic and is a movie I can't wait to watch over and over again.
The Sammy nominees and winners below:
Best Picture
10. Deadpool
9. Other People
8. Arrival
7. Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo
6. Moana
5. The Witch
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
3. 20th Century Women
2. Hell or High Water (runner-up)
1. Moonlight (winner)
Best Director
Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Robert Eggers, The Witch
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (winner)
David Mackenzie, Hell or High Water (runner up)
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women
Lead Actor
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Jesse Plemons, Other People (runner up)
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool
Denzel Washington, Fences (winner)
Lead Actress
Amy Adams, Arrival
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (winner)
Isabelle Huppert, Elle (runner up)
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water (winner)
Ben Foster, Hell or High Water
Trevante Rhodes, Moonlight (runner up)
Ashton Sanders, Moonlight
Supporting Actress
Viola Davis, Fences (winner)
Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women
Kathryn Hahn, Bad Moms (runner up)
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Molly Shannon, Other People
Original Screenplay
Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo
Guy Hibbert, Eye in the Sky
Chris Kelly, Other People (runner up)
Mike Mills, 20th Century Women (winner)
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water
Adapted Screenplay
Eric Heisserer, Arrival (runner up)
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (winner)
Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, Deadpool
August Wilson, Fences
Animated Feature
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings (runner up)
Moana (winner)
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
Film Editing
Arrival
Hell or High Water
Moonlight
Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo (runner up)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (winner)
Cinematography
Arrival
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight (winner)
The Witch (runner up)
Production Design
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Kubo and the Two Strings (winner)
La La Land (runner up)
The Witch
Costume Design
Florence Foster Jenkins
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (runner up)
Hidden Figures
Jackie (winner)
The Witch
Makeup/Hair
Deadpool (winner)
Florence Foster Jenkins
Hidden Figures
Jackie
Star Trek: Beyond (runner up)
Score
Hell or High Water (Nick Cave and Warren Ellis) (runner up)
Jackie (Mica Levi)
La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Michael Giacchino)
The Witch (Mark Korven) (winner)
Song
'No Dames' from Hail, Caesar!
'Runnin' from Hidden Figures
'Audition (Fools Who Dream)' from La La Land (runner up)
'How Far I'll Go' from Moana (winner)
'We Know the Way' from Moana
Sound Editing
Deadpool
Hacksaw Ridge (runner up)
Hell or High Water (winner)
Jason Bourne
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Sound Mixing
Arrival (winner)
Hacksaw Ridge (runner up)
The Jungle Book
Moana
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Visual Effects
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book (runner up)
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (winner)
Ensemble
Fences
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
Moonlight (winner)
20th Century Women (runner up)
Winners
5 - Moonlight (Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Ensemble)
2 - 20th Century Women (Lead Actress, Original Screenplay)
2 - Fences (Lead Actor, Supporting Actress)
2 - Hell or High Water (Supporting Actor, Sound Editing)
2 - Moana (Animated Feature, Song)
2 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Film Editing, Visual Effects)
1 - Arrival (Sound Mixing)
1 - Deadpool (Hair/Makeup)
1 - Jackie (Costume Design)
1 - Kubo and the Two Strings (Production Design)
1 - The Witch (Score)
