comment #1

sardine says ...

NBR is as wierd as ever.

comment #2

kammy says ...

The NBR does love Japan-centric movies. Both THE LAST SAMURAI and MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA were in their top ten list (different years.)

comment #3

PanTheFaun says ...

Aside from the shocking snubs for "Dreamgirls" and "The Queen," I was surprised there was no love for "Little Children." I know it's not a supposed lock like those two are/were, but it seemed like exactly the type of movie NBR would embrace, and it's also supposedly doing well with BFCA members. I have a feeling this one isn't done yet

comment #4

actionman says ...

wow, what a retarded list!

comment #5

Colin says ...

Interesting implications for Dreamgirls. As far as I know, since 1988 ("Rain Man"), the only movies to win Best Picture after not being in the NBR's Top 10 are "A Beautiful Mind" and "Return of the King," although the latter did win Best Acting by an Ensemble

comment #6

MoisesChiu says ...

On the top of Arthouse Cowboy, I've got the complete list as printed in Variety. Adaptation 2: Stranger Than Fiction and The Painted Veil for screenplay? Odd...

comment #7

Colin says ...

Wow, it's great to see even more love for "The Painted Veil." It looks like Norton has come through yet again this year.

comment #8

The Movie Man says ...

Eastwood may win the Oscar he's been due for quite some time now...

comment #9

Josh Martin says ...

Yeah, 2005 was so long ago...

comment #10

bipedalist says ...

"Eastwood may win the Oscar he's been due for quite some time now..." LOL. Good one.

Yay Clint! I was happy and surprised to see both Letters and Flags honored, surprised that The Queen was off the list. And Departed is looking strong. The NBR is better at predicting a BP nominee than it is a winner. I'm just wondering how it will all shake down, vis a vis Eastwood.

comment #11

Geoff says ...

The theatrical cut of Miami Vice is better than the new "unrated" cut.

comment #12

MoisesChiu says ...

I think Iwo Jima turning out a better standalone performer may actually shift the studio mentality on foreign language films a bit. Then again, that may be hope in vain....

comment #13

Colin says ...

bipedalist, according to your site:

"This is a group that prefers heavy dramas, political ones especially, to anything else and they are notoriously not fans of musicals."

"I did predict that Dreamgirls would be there but I wasn't that surprised it wasn't (Chicago had Harvey and Moulin Rouge was heavy on emotion)."

"Dancer in the Dark" was also in the NBR's Top 10 the year it came out. John Cameron Mitchell won Best New Director for "Hedwig." Emmy Rossum won best newcomer for "Phantom of the Opera." And "Tom Burton's The Corpse Bride" won best animated feature last year. And, yeah, Moulin Rouge had a lot of emotion, but it actually won the NBR's Best Picture and wasn't solely in the top 10.

Frankly, I don't know what to think about the NBR's picks, but I wouldn't say they're anti-musical.

comment #14

bipedalist says ...

Colin, good point. I actually knew someone would challenge me on that - seems like, though, the majority of their picks tend more towards drama and less towards anything else. But hey, what the fuck do I know? Are you saying you think Dreamgirls is out?

The Queen is the one I'm scratching my head about.

comment #15

kammy says ...

The NBR is NOT anti-musical. CHICAGO was in the NBR's top 10, and DREAMGIRLS isn't. The former was an Oscar BP winner.

comment #16

MASON says ...

Interesting. I guess Dreamgirls isn't exactly the slam dunk the town is saying. How will Poland and the rest of the mafia react?

comment #17

C. Atwell says ...

NPR gave their best picture award to Quills. I think Dreamgirls can breath easy.

comment #18

C. Atwell says ...

I meant NBR, obviously.

comment #19

MASON says ...

Good point.

comment #20

ilovethemovies says ...

Letters from Iwa Jima is a worthy NBR winner, and Ken Watanabe's performance is pretty outstanding, as well.

comment #21

ilovethemovies says ...

Letters from Iwa Jima is a worthy NBR winner, and Ken Watanabe's performance is pretty outstanding, as well.

comment #22

EDouglas says ...

The NBR are old and Letters must have reminded them of when they used to pay a nickel to go see a movie...much like Good Night, Good Luck last year. (Surprised Good German didn't make it in their Top 10... maybe they didn't realize it was a new movie and that it was eligible.)

Fortunately, NBR haven't been on the same wavelength as the Academy since 1999 in terms of BP... I'd expect that Mirren and Whitaker's win means more than anything based on their track record.

comment #23

MASON says ...

The backlash against Dreamgirls, rightfully or not, is just getting underway. There is a feeling out there that it was deemed best picture of the year before anyone saw it. That feeling has led to some resentment in the industry.

comment #24

lawnorder says ...

Where the fuck is UNITED 93?!!!!!!!!

comment #25

Colin says ...

I don't think Dreamgirls is out; it's just no longer the lock many people thoght it would be. I also agree that The Queen being left off is even more mystifying.

comment #26

miltonlawson says ...

This year's NBR news is even more worthless than it usually is. In any given year, other than providing a good belly laugh at their expense, the one good thing that the mainstream media news reports on the NBR are usually good for is a casual mention at the end of the story revealing the date for the NY Film Critics and/or LA Film Critics award announcements. Has anyone seen that info creep into one of the wire accounts?

comment #27

p.Vice says ...

Twenty-some posts and nobody has speculated what the fuck might be up with BLOOD DIAMOND as their #3 movie? Talk about putting a spotlight on your lack of credibility, not to mention taste.

comment #28

Dan Revill says ...

p. Vice, the NBR love them some Edward Zwick!

While I thought it was a decent action flick with some good performances, it definitely isn't top ten of the year material. Let alone 20. Oh well.

comment #29

corey3rd says ...

NBR was formed as a censorship organization. they're just a group of folks that have weaseled their way into freebie screenings.

comment #30

Liz says ...

Nice to see some recognition for Catherine O'Hara. Odd, but nice.

comment #31

The Movie Man says ...

From my position, it seems that Eastwood is doing the tried and true MDB strategy of holding Iwo Jima until the last possible eligilbe moment with little fanfare and hype and then just unleashing it, causing the critics to fight each other over who gets to be the first person to call it a masterpiece, which leads to an awards sweep. I've said it once before, but I think Eastwood is at a point where he would have to campaign against his own film not to get nominated and it may not even happen then.

comment #32

Mickey says ...

BLOOD DIAMOND is not their #3 film. Other than their top pick, NBR releases their list in non-preferential, alphabetical order. Take another look at the list.

comment #33

bipedalist says ...

"The NBR is NOT anti-musical. CHICAGO was in the NBR's top 10, and DREAMGIRLS isn't. The former was an Oscar BP winner."

No, really? Was Chicago really a best picture winner? Oh my god. I had no idea. Jeez, honey, get a fucking clue will you? Chicago had Harvey. It was a totally different vibe from DG. I'm not defending DG but I am saying the fact that NBR snubbed it can't dampen the buzz it's been getting. Ihave been saying Departed for the big win for weeks now (I think it will win the top awards, all) so the fact that DG will be a nominee doesn't change how I've been predicting/seeing the race. Others elsewhere have been predicting it for the win. All I'm concerned with is, will it be nominated, which I still feel it will be.

I am worried about The Queen, though. I thought they would go for it in a big way and I was sure it would be the one film, along with Departed, that would sail through these early awards. So I'm taken aback by that one.

comment #34

PaulKolas says ...

The National Board of Review is to movies what the National Book Award is to books...irrelevant and instantly forgettable. Let's see what the NY and LA critics...and the always interesting National Society of Film Critics... have to say. Wouldn't it be wild if Manhola Dargis had enough clout to make the National Society of Film Critics pick "Inland Empire" as Best Picture? After all, they did vote "Blue Velvet" as Best Film of 1986. I'd love it!!! Anything but "Babel" for crying out loud...a movie straining so hard for "profundity" it's herniating. I'm so sick of pretentious, heavy-handed garbage being mistaken for great moviemaking. The last truly great film to win Best Picture was "Schindler's List", and before that, "Godfather 2", which beat out another truly great film, "Chinatown". I'd say "The Deer Hunter" is near that category, and the last decent film to win Best Picture was "American Beauty". Since then...swill. Let the naysayers come at me, I really don't care. They really don't make 'em like they used to, and I'm not one of those dried up Academy members who thinks Gloria Swanson is sill waiting for her closeup.

comment #35

PaulKolas says ...

Shame on me...Manohla Dargis...not Manhola Dargis...what was I thinking? And yes, the omission of "The Queen"...astounding. Also, if "Inland Empire" is too much of a stretch for even the adventurous National Society of Film Critics, I'd be plenty happy with if they chose "Little Children" as Best Picture.

comment #36

Walter Sobchak says ...

"The Devil Wears Prada"?!?!? How high are they? That movie was like a an episode of "Sex and the City" and "Ab Fab".... except without all the bothersome comedy or annoyingly interesting characters.

comment #37

le corbeau says ...

The only reason the NBR get any attention at all is because they're first. That's it. They're like a primary in Guam six months before Iowa. If you want to know something about what will actually win, watch for the LA critics-- that's where Oscar folks get ideas for things to nominate, or get a sense of what everyone else must be thinking.

comment #38

Hallick says ...

A wonderfully self-defeating list, but most ludicrous award of the year has to be...

Ryan Gosling as the Breakthrough Actor of 2006?!? They're shitting themselves more than the headline performers at scat dot com. Wow. Who knew there was another Ryan Gosling who isn't the well-known and much lauded actor from The Believer (Gosling's critical breakthrough) and The Notebook (Gosling's popular breakthrough. The man won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, for the love of hell!). How goddamn (and I'm not putting down Gosling's performance) stupid. And all I need to know about the NBR to forget the NBR.

Otherwise, however good Letters From Iwo Jima is (and for all I know, it's monumental), being at the top of a pack like this one (which includes The Devil Wears Prada and The History Boys) isn't exactly a magna cum laude achievment.

comment #39

jjgittes says ...

To those out there who think this bodes ill for "Dreamgirls"........it doesn't. There may be a group of dissenters out there, but this movie is going to play extremely well with the public and national media outlets.

Dreamgirls is the best picture winner - it's a slam dunk.

comment #40

Thrudvangar says ...

Bye pedalist you're an ass. Stay over at Poland's site.

comment #41

sardine says ...

Manhola Dargis is the worst critic writing for a major newspaper. She is not liked by fellow critics either.