Online Film Critics' Poll - The Nominees Are...

Just after the Golden Globes ceremony and only a few days before Oscar nominations are announced, we have the nominees for the International Online Film Critics' Poll. These film awards like the others mentioned, award excellence in all the major categories, such as Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Cinematography, etc. But what makes them different is the fact that this is a biannual award, so for this year, the eligible films are from 2013 and 2014. That means along with such current films as The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher and Birdman, such celebrated films from last year such as 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska and Her are also eligible.

This is the fourth time for these awards and this is the first time I have been asked to vote for them. I'm honored to be part of this process and it was quite a difficult decision coming up with only five nominees for each of the 14 categories. It was even more difficult to select a winner in many of these categories, although a few of them were relatively easy choices for me (such as Best Editing, see below). As a critic involved in these awards, I was able to nominate the films a few weeks ago and now this week, vote on the final nominees. Again, with only five nominees from each category over the course of two years, there were going to be numerous omissions. Take Best Actor for example. Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) and Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) were not even among the final five choices - talk about a strong category!


So without further ado, here are the nominees. My selection is in bold:


Best Picture

12 Years a Slave
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Wolf of Wall Street


Best Director

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Paolo Sorrentino - The Great Beauty
Roman Polanski - Venus in Fur


Best Actor

Michael Keaton - Birdman
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Mads Mikkelsen - The Hunt
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street


Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Adele Exarchopolous - Blue is the Warmest Color
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Marillon Cotillard - The Immigrant


Best Supporting Actor

Edward Norton - Birdman
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash


Best Supporting Actress

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Emma Stone - Birdman
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
June Squibb - Nebraska


Best Ensemble Cast

12 Years a Slave
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game


Best Original Screenplay

Birdman
Boyhood
Calvary
Her
The Grand Budapest Hotel


Best Adapted Screenplay

12 Years a Slave
Gone Girl
Snowpiercer
The Imitation Game
The Wolf of Wall Street


Best Cinematography

Birdman
Gravity
Ida
Nebraska
The Great Beauty


Best Production Design

Gravity
Her
Mr. Turner
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game


Best Editing

Birdman
Boyhood
Gravity
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game


Best Original Score

Gravity
Her
Interstellar
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game


Best Visual Effects

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Gravity
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies



I'll report on the winners when they are announced in late January.