The Critics’ Choice Awards were handed out on Sunday and unfortunately, the winners were a bit more traditional than fans of science fiction, fantasy and comic books may have wished. Though films like ‘Black Panther’ got great reviews, the majority of the winners in the film categories were more along the lines of the films that normally take home the gold.
On the plus side, ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ won for Best Animated Picture, besting ‘The Grinch’, ‘Incredibles 2’, ‘Isle of Dogs’, ‘Mirai’, and ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’. If that sounds familiar, the Sony superhero flick beat the same films to win the Golden Globe for Best Animated Picture last weekend. The only difference is that the Critic’s Choice Awards added another competitor, ‘The Grinch’. Disney and Pixar have dominated the animation awards for decades, so this is a coup but is completely deserved, considering the groundbreaking animation showcased in ‘Into the Spider-Verse’, not to mention the solid emotional script and excellent voice work.
In the category of Best Science Fiction or Horror Picture, last spring’s breakout hit ‘A Quiet Place’ took home the prize, besting ‘Annihilation’, ‘Halloween’, ‘Hereditary’, and ‘Suspiria’. ‘A Quiet Place’ was also nominated in the arenas of Best Young Actor/Actress for Millicent Simmonds, and Best Original Screenplay for Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski.
‘Black Panther’ took home several awards, but all were in the more technical categories. Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart took home the award for Best Production Design, while Ruth Carter won for her exquisite wardrobe, in the Best Costume category. The Marvel flick also won for Best Visual Effects, beating fellow Marvel entry ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, as well as ‘First Man’, ‘Mary Poppins Returns’, ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’, and ‘Ready Player One’.
However, ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’ won in the Best Action Movie race, besting ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, ‘Black Panther’, ‘Deadpool 2’, ‘Ready Player One’, and ‘Widows’.
‘Black Panther’ was up for the prestigious Best Picture prize but lost to ‘Roma’. Michael B. Jordan, who portrayed Erik Stevens/Killmonger lost the Best Supporting Actor crown to Mahershala Ali for the picture ‘Green Book’. ‘Black Panther’ also lost out in the fields of Best Acting Ensemble, Best Adapted Screenplay (for Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole), Best Cinematography (Rachel Morrison), Best Hair and Makeup, Best Song (“All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar ft. SZA), and Best Score (Ludwig Göransson).
In a genre-adjacent win, Tom Cross took home Best Editing for ‘First Man’. ‘Deadpool 2’ was up for Best Comedy and Best Actor In A Comedy for Ryan Reynolds, but both came up empty. The fantasy/musical ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ also failed to take home any prizes, despite being up for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Actress in a Comedy (Emily Blunt), Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Song (“The Place Where Lost Things Go” and “Trip a Little Light Fantastic”), and Best Score.
There were very few genre nominations in the TV categories, but ‘Westworld’s Thandie Newton did score the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series prize. Among those she beat were ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’s Yvonne Strahovski.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss lost the Best Actress in a Drama Series to Sandra Oh, who also won the Golden Globe for her role on ‘Killing Eve’. ‘The Good Place’ didn’t win, although it was up for Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series (Ted Danson), and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (William Jackson Harper).
I guess ‘BoJack Horseman’ kind of counts as “fantasy.” It won Best Animated Series, besting ‘Adventure Time’, ‘Archer’, ‘Bob’s Burgers’, ‘The Simpsons’, and ‘South Park’.
Below is the complete list of nominees and winners:
FILM NOMINEES
BEST PICTURE
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
The Favourite
First Man
Green Book
If Beale Street Could Talk
Mary Poppins Returns
WINNER: Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice
BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Christian Bale — Vice
Bradley Cooper — A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe — At Eternity’s Gate
Ryan Gosling — First Man
Ethan Hawke — First Reformed
Rami Malek — Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen — Green Book
BEST ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio — Roma
Emily Blunt — Mary Poppins Returns
WINNER (TIE): Glenn Close — The Wife
Toni Collette — Hereditary
Olivia Colman — The Favourite
WINNER (TIE): Lady Gaga — A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy — Can You Ever Forgive Me?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: Mahershala Ali — Green Book
Timothée Chalamet — Beautiful Boy
Adam Driver — BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott — A Star Is Born
Richard E. Grant — Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Michael B. Jordan — Black Panther
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams — Vice
Claire Foy — First Man
Nicole Kidman — Boy Erased
WINNER: Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone — The Favourite
Rachel Weisz — The Favourite
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
WINNER: Elsie Fisher — Eighth Grade
Thomasin McKenzie — Leave No Trace
Ed Oxenbould — Wildlife
Millicent Simmonds – A Quiet Place
Amandla Stenberg — The Hate U Give
Sunny Suljic — Mid90s
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Black Panther
Crazy Rich Asians
WINNER: The Favourite
Vice
Widows
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle — First Man
Bradley Cooper — A Star Is Born
WINNER: Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
Peter Farrelly — Green Book
Yorgos Lanthimos — The Favourite
Spike Lee — BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay — Vice
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade
Alfonso Cuarón — Roma
Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara — The Favourite
Adam McKay — Vice
WINNER: Paul Schrader — First Reformed
Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly — Green Book
Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, John Krasinski — A Quiet Place
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole — Black Panther
Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty — Can You Ever Forgive Me?
WINNER: Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk
Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters — A Star Is Born
Josh Singer — First Man
Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee — BlacKkKlansman
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: Alfonso Cuarón — Roma
James Laxton — If Beale Street Could Talk
Matthew Libatique — A Star Is Born
Rachel Morrison — Black Panther
Robbie Ryan — The Favourite
Linus Sandgren — First Man
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
WINNER: Hannah Beachler, Jay Hart — Black Panther
Eugenio Caballero, Barbara Enriquez — Roma
Nelson Coates, Andrew Baseman — Crazy Rich Asians
Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton — The Favourite
Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas — First Man
John Myhre, Gordon Sim — Mary Poppins Returns
BEST EDITING
Jay Cassidy — A Star Is Born
Hank Corwin — Vice
WINNER: Tom Cross – First Man
Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Gough — Roma
Yorgos Mavropsaridis — The Favourite
Joe Walker — Widows
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alexandra Byrne — Mary Queen of Scots
WINNER: Ruth Carter — Black Panther
Julian Day — Bohemian Rhapsody
Sandy Powell — The Favourite
Sandy Powell — Mary Poppins Returns
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Mary Queen of Scots
Suspiria
WINNER: Vice
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Infinity War
WINNER: Black Panther
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Mission: Impossible — Fallout
Ready Player One
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Grinch
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
WINNER: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
BEST ACTION MOVIE
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Deadpool 2
WINNER: Mission: Impossible — Fallout
Ready Player One
Widows
BEST COMEDY
WINNER: Crazy Rich Asians
Deadpool 2
The Death of Stalin
The Favourite
Game Night
Sorry to Bother You
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
WINNER: Christian Bale — Vice
Jason Bateman — Game Night
Viggo Mortensen — Green Book
John C. Reilly — Stan & Ollie
Ryan Reynolds — Deadpool 2
Lakeith Stanfield — Sorry to Bother You
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Emily Blunt — Mary Poppins Returns
WINNER: Olivia Colman — The Favourite
Elsie Fisher — Eighth Grade
Rachel McAdams — Game Night
Charlize Theron — Tully
Constance Wu — Crazy Rich Asians
BEST SCI-FI OR HORROR MOVIE
Annihilation
Halloween
Hereditary
WINNER: A Quiet Place
Suspiria
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Burning
Capernaum
Cold War
WINNER: Roma
Shoplifters
BEST SONG
“All the Stars” — Black Panther
“Girl in the Movies” — Dumplin’
“I’ll Fight” — RBG
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” — Mary Poppins Returns
WINNER: “Shallow” – A Star Is Born
“Trip a Little Light Fantastic” — Mary Poppins Returns
BEST SCORE
Kris Bowers — Green Book
Nicholas Britell – If Beale Street Could Talk
Alexandre Desplat – Isle of Dogs
Ludwig Göransson — Black Panther
WINNER: Justin Hurwitz — First Man
Marc Shaiman — Mary Poppins Returns
TV NOMINEES
BEST DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: The Americans (FX)
Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Homecoming (Amazon)
Killing Eve (BBC America)
My Brilliant Friend (HBO)
Pose (FX)
Succession (HBO)
