National Board of Review

[Big Magilla]

The Midnight Sky is total garbage.

It wasn't universally panned, actually. Some critics gave it passing grades, even praising certain elements of it, but it is a little odd that a movie with such a mixed reception would wind up on a best-of-the-year list. However, the Academy has done this too in the past, notoriously nominating movies like "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" for best picture.

From what I recall, the praise it did get was for its cinematography, but nice compositions aside, the lethargic pace and Clooney's sleep-walking through the whole thing were complete turn-offs for me.

And I liked Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

[criddic3]

I thought the Midnight Sky was panned by critics. Who exactly voted for it to be among the ten best of the year?

They've been big Clooney fans in the past (gave him Best Actor three times, gave Confessions of a Dangerous Mind a special award, gave Good Night and Good Luck Best Film, put Ides of March on their top ten), so I guess that fandom is still around. The Midnight Sky is a terrible movie.

Well, NBR is not comprised of critics. Its membership is supposedly made up of highly knowledgeable film fans. They do have favorites, though. Clooney seems to have succeeded Clint Eastwood as their guy who can do do no wrong. The Midnight Sky is total garbage.

It wasn't universally panned, actually. Some critics gave it passing grades, even praising certain elements of it, but it is a little odd that a movie with such a mixed reception would wind up on a best-of-the-year list. However, the Academy has done this too in the past, notoriously nominating movies like "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" for best picture.

[Big Magilla]

From Wikipedia:

The National Board of Review was formed in 1909 as a protest against the then current mayor's censorship of film in direct response to his revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908.

The Board's stated purpose was to endorse films of merit and champion the new "art of the people", which was transforming America's cultural life. In an effort to avoid government censorship of films, the National Board became the unofficial clearinghouse for new movies. From 1916 into the 1950s, thousands of motion pictures carried the legend "Passed by the National Board of Review" in their main titles. The board was a de facto censorship organization. Producers submitted their films to the board before making release prints; they agreed to cut any footage that the board found objectionable, up to and including destroying the entire film.

They began their ten best lists with 1930.

From their website:

Qualifying films must be released in the U.S. during the calendar year, and be made available to members in the New York area. The membership is comprised of "a select group of knowledgeable film enthusiasts, academics, and filmmakers in the New York metropolitan area."

How those members are selected remains a mystery. At one point in the early days of this board, as chronicled by Damien at the time, the average age of the membership was over 80. That's when they began recruiting younger members.

One thing that has always puzzled me is why they would occasionally include a film like Picnic that had not been released in New York during the calendar year. The answer seems to be in the rules. A film has to be released in the U.S. and be made available to members in the New York area. Apparently, the film, which did not open in New York until 1956, was screened for members in 1955 so it could be included on that year's list.

That does not explain, however, why Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, Cries and Whispers and Stavisky were included on their lists in the year following their New York premiere.

[dws1982]

I remember many years ago someone (maybe former/occasional board member Zach) was at a screening in New York and someone asked if he was there as a NBR member. He was a college student at the time. And apparently their membership includes several older members as well. It's a strange group. Other than the fact that they've been around forever and used to be the group to announce their awards first, I have no idea why they get attention.

[Big Magilla]

I thought the Midnight Sky was panned by critics. Who exactly voted for it to be among the ten best of the year?

They've been big Clooney fans in the past (gave him Best Actor three times, gave Confessions of a Dangerous Mind a special award, gave Good Night and Good Luck Best Film, put Ides of March on their top ten), so I guess that fandom is still around. The Midnight Sky is a terrible movie.

Well, NBR is not comprised of critics. Its membership is supposedly made up of highly knowledgeable film fans. They do have favorites, though. Clooney seems to have succeeded Clint Eastwood as their guy who can do do no wrong. The Midnight Sky is total garbage.

[Big Magilla]

Since Da 5 Bloods is the Best Picture of the Year, why isn't it listed as one of the Top Ten Films? Maybe they should call the top ten" Ten More Top Films".

You just noticed this? They've been doing it that way for the better part of the last decade.

I should have known. It's the reporting. Their website correctly lists the ten as "Top Films", not "Top Ten Films".

Interesting, how the bloggers have been pushing all the other Netflix entries for several months, while ignoring Da 5 Bloods, which has had now had way more awards-voted-visibility.

In fact, I'd posit that, had Boseman not so tragically died, a narrative might be emerging for Lindo to win the best actor Oscar -- "Hopkins has already won, Ahmed and Boseman are young and will be back, this might be Lindo's only shot"

I found Da 5 Bloods to be extremely overrated. Aside from Delroy Lindo's performance, I didn't find anything award worthy. It's a *** film in my estimation. I was disappointed in most of the Netflix streamers this year, although Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Trial of the Chicago 7 will probably make the second half of my top ten list.

I much preferred Sound of Metal and One Night in Miami, both of which are streaming on Amazon, not Netflix. Of the less impactful streamers, I also preferred Amazon's Herself to Netflix's Pieces of a Woman. I'm waiting for Hulu to showNomadland and hoping for one of them to show Minari and The Father. I'd hate for it to go to pay-per-view.

I am still smarting over the cost of Promising Young Woman on pay-per-view. $21 and change with tax is an outrageous rental fee.

[Mister Tee]

Since Da Five Bloods is the Best Picture of the Year, why isn't it listed as one of the Top Ten Films? Maybe they should cal lthe top ten" Ten More Top Films".

You just noticed this? They've been doing it that way for the better part of the last decade.

Interesting, how the bloggers have been pushing all the other Netflix entries for several months, while ignoring Da 5 Bloods, which has had now had way more awards-voted-visibility.

In fact, I'd posit that, had Boseman not so tragically died, a narrative might be emerging for Lindo to win the best actor Oscar -- "Hopkins has already won, Ahmed and Boseman are young and will be back, this might be Lindo's only shot"

[dws1982]

I thought the Midnight Sky was panned by critics. Who exactly voted for it to be among the ten best of the year?

They've been big Clooney fans in the past (gave him Best Actor three times, gave Confessions of a Dangerous Mind a special award, gave Good Night and Good Luck Best Film, put Ides of March on their top ten), so I guess that fandom is still around. The Midnight Sky is a terrible movie.

[taki15]

I thought the Midnight Sky was panned by critics. Who exactly voted for it to be among the ten best of the year?

[Sabin]

We have no idea how much or if at all the Hollywood Foreign Press or the Screen Actor's Guild will go for Da 5 Bloods as a film so this certainly helps to boost its profile and keep it in memory. I think it's easily the biggest winner of the day.

Riz Ahmed looks pretty secure at this point. Carey Mulligan continues her momentum as a contender for the main prize.

Any other year, Paul Raci would pick up an award from the Indie Spirits and maybe get runner up at the National Society of Film Critics but this year he is fast becoming the consensus pick among critics. Youn Yuh-jung isn't quite there for Minari but she's easily runner up beyond an even weirder contender (Maria Bakalova).

And of course, they remind us that News of the World was in fact a movie.

Biggest loser? The Social Network alums, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin.

This group is fairly positive on both of these two, honoring Aaron Sorkin previously for A Few Good Men and The American President, while David Fincher was honored for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl. Either way, both film went bust with this group. It's very possible that the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Screen Actor's Guild will be far more hospitable but that doesn't change the fact that neither film were quite as rapturously received as expected and if there was one critic's group that they were going to go over well it was this one.

[Big Magilla]

Since Da Five Bloods is the Best Picture of the Year, why isn't it listed as one of the Top Ten Films? Maybe they should cal lthe top ten" Ten More Top Films".

Similarly, inasmuch as most of the films on their ten best list are independent films, shouldn't they call their Top Independent Films "Ten More Top Independent Films"?

Good acting choices, but here's a chicken or the egg question. Which do they select first, their standard category picks or their special awards recipients?

Interestingly, they chose to give Chadwick Boseman the NBR Icon Award, invented last year to honor Pacino, De Niro and Scorsese but was it because they failed to win in their obvious choice categories for Actor, Supporting Actor and Director or were they pre-selected exclude them from the competition?

The Freedom of Expression award goes back a few years, but heretofore has been given to mostly obscure films. One Night in Miami is a bit high profile to be given that distinction. Was it pre-selected or compensation for its being shut out of the top ten?

[anonymous1980]

I was way off.

Best Film: “Da 5 Bloods”
Best Director: Spike Lee - “Da 5 Bloods”
Best Actor: Riz Ahmed - “Sound of Metal”
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan - “Promising Young Woman”
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Raci - “Sound of Metal”
Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung - “Minari”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies - “News of the World”
Best Original Screenplay: Lee Isaac Chung - “Minari”
Breakthrough Performance: Sidney Flanigan - “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Best Directorial Debut: Channing Godfrey Peoples - “Miss Juneteenth”
Best Animated Feature: “Soul”
Best Foreign Language Film: “La Llorona”
Best Documentary: “Time”
NBR Icon Award: Chadwick Boseman
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “One Night in Miami”
NBR Spotlight Award: Radha Blank for writing, directing, producing and starring in “The Forty-Year-Old Version”
Best Ensemble: “Da 5 Bloods”
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Joshua James Richards - “Nomadland”

Top Films (in alphabetical order):
First Cow
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Midnight Sky
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Soul
Sound of Metal

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order):
Apples
Collective
Dear Comrades
The Mole Agent
Night of the Kings

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
All In: The Fight for Democracy
Boys State
Dick Johnson is Dead
Miss Americana
The Truffle Hunters

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
The Climb
Driveways
Farewell Amor
Miss Juneteenth
The Nest
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
The Outpost
Relic
Saint Frances
Wolfwalkers

[anonymous1980]

They come out in 24 hours. Let me do last minute predictions.

BEST PICTURE: Mank
BEST DIRECTOR: Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
BEST ACTOR: Anthony Hopkins, The Father
BEST ACTRESS: Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amanda Seyfried, Mank
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Soul
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Bacurau
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Time
BEST ENSEMBLE: One Night in Miami...
NBR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: A Thousand Cuts and Small Axe

TOP 10 FILMS:
Da 5 Bloods
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami...
Promising Young Woman
Tenet
The Trial of the Chicago 7

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS:
The 40 Year Old Version
The Assistant
Farewell, Amor
First Cow
Malcolm & Marie
Miss Juneteenth
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Pieces of a Woman
Sound of Metal
The Vast of Night

TOP 5 FOREIGN FILMS
Another Round
Beanpole
Collective
The Life Ahead
Martin Eden

TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES
Boys State
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
Dick Johnson is Dead
MLK/FBI
Totally Under Control