National Board of Review names "Green Book" Best Film and "Cold War" Best Foreign Language Film

Awards season has officially begun! And the National Board of Review has already published their 2018's favorites. There's lot of love for A Star Is Born, but it seems they decided to give the top prize to Green Book. And If Beale Street Could Talk is also doing quite well, while Thomasin McKenzie gets recognized (once again) for her amazing breakthrough performance in Leave No Trace.

Surprise, surprise... Cold War is named Best Foreign Language Film, beating Alfonso Cuarón's critically acclaimed (and Venice winner) Roma: the game is on!

Glenn Close (The Wife) misses another early award season prize... after losing the Gotham to Toni Collette (Hereditary), she loses to Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) in this one, which is kind of unexpected since the National Board of Review is a much more conservative institution and Close's work in The Wife fits their tastes better on paper.

Plus, really nice to see movies like We the Animals, Leave No Trace, The Death of Stalin or You Were Never Really Here getting some love. And The Old Man & The Gun having a mention here might also be an indicator people are seeing (and loving) Robert Redford's swan song which might lead to a final Oscar nomination (as I predict).

And what a joy having the cast of Crazy Rich Asians winning Best Ensemble!

Just have a look at the National Board of Review winners:

Best Film: GREEN BOOK

Best Director: Bradley Cooper, A STAR IS BORN

Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen, GREEN BOOK

Best Actress: Lady Gaga, A STAR IS BORN

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott, A STAR IS BORN

Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, FIRST REFORMED

Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Best Animated Feature: INCREDIBLES 2

Breakthrough Performance: Thomasin McKenzie, LEAVE NO TRACE

Best Directorial Debut: Bo Burnham, EIGHTH GRADE

Best Foreign Language Film: COLD WAR

Best Documentary: RBG

Best Ensemble: CRAZY RICH ASIANS

William K. Everson Film History Award: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: 22 JULY

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: ON HER SHOULDERS

TOP 10 FILMS (in alphabetical order)

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Mary Poppins Returns
A Quiet Place
Roma
A Star Is Born

TOP 5 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS (in alphabetical order)

Burning
Custody
The Guilty
Happy as Lazzaro
Shoplifters

TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES (in alphabetical order)

Crime + Punishment
Free Solo
Minding the Gap
Three Identical Strangers
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS (alphabetical order)

The Death of Stalin
Lean on Pete
Leave No Trace
Mid90s
The Old Man & the Gun
The Rider
Searching
Sorry to Bother You
We the Animals
You Were Never Really Here

TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today - 2017

The almost annual TOP 35 Actors and Actresses Under 35 Working Today is out, with me considering the performers' performances of 2016 also. We have a few changes since last year's list, with Greta Gerwig toping the list thanks to her last 3 great performances in Mistress America , Maggie's Plan and the Oscar buzzy acting turn in 20th Century Women . Scarlett Johansson comes second with her latest distinguished performance being in 2014 ( Under the Skin ), but she managed to be at the spotligh this year thanks to her fine turns in critically acclaimed movies: Hail, Caesar! , Captain America: Civil War , The Jungle Book (voice) and Sing (voice). Emily Blunt adds another great performance to her resume in The Girl on the Train and she comes third, while Elle Fanning 's turning into one of the finest actresses and she's getting to play more adult and complex parts like The Neon Demon and 20th Century Women 's (her two best performances since Super 8 ). Finall...

TOP 10 Most Promising Movie Actors (under 30)

Today I discussed about how awful some "teen icons" are and then we talked about some exceptions. So, I decided to make a little list, a TOP 10, with the male actors that I think that will become music in an ocean of noise somewhere in the future (I did one list before, but it was a little bit pathetic and I didn't justify my choices). Let's start... 1 - Ryan Gosling He may not have a huge list of movies in his body of work, but the few times he makes something, all the time he almost carries the movie. In fact, Gosling is a proof that talent does exist and that you don't need excentrical characters to receive raves. He rose to fame after the big screen adaptation of The Notebook (2004) and then received lots of critical praise for his performances in movies like Half Nelson (that gave him an Oscar, a SAG Award and other major awards nominations), Lars and the Real Girl (that gave him a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and other major awards nominations) and Fractur...

TOP 35 Actors and Actresses with or under 35 years old: 2018

I think it was my TOP 35 under 35 list I've ever done since I remember: so many great performers emerged last year with distinguished performances that elevated their previous works (I'm talking about Elizabeth Olsen , Lucas Hedges , Robert Pattinson , Gaspard Ulliel , Tessa Thompson or Jamie Bell , for example). I'm kinda sad I felt "forced" at letting Jonah Hill ( Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street ) and Emma Watson ( The Perks of Being a Wallflower , The Bling Ring and 2017's Beauty and the Beast ) out of the list. Congratulations to Kirsten Dunst , who turned 35 last year so she can not be included in this year's list - such an amazing child actress turned movie star, who delivered memorable performances in Interview with the Vampire (1994), The Virgin Suicides (1999), The Cat's Meow (2002) or Melancholia (2011). This year, Saoirse Ronan tops the list thanks to two great performances: On Chesil Beach and an iconic acting turn in Lad...

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