Many people spend December singing, celebrating, buying gifts, and admiring pretty lights. In contrast, film critics use the month to sort out the year’s best, watching movies so incessantly that we skip a few parties and perhaps fail to meet post office deadlines for family gifts. Ultimately, our negligence of other scheduling needs means Top Ten movie lists abound throughout all media sources. The Las Vegas Film Critics Society features my vote since members include a couple of Reno reviewers. All of us pitched five of our favorite movies, with our biggest vote getters making the final cut. Our top five: Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, The Killer, Maestro, and Barbie. Whether serious historical studies or popcorn fare, the finalists deserve a look. Meanwhile, whittling down that mix of styles, Nevada’s critics chose Oppenheimer as top film, helped by my vote to commend a complicated yet clear presentation of a significant man and his impact on the world. While I appreciate the Nevada film critic’s list, I personally would have switched out The Killer and Maestro for American Fiction and Poor Things….or maybe May/December. At least we recognized those films with the chance to vote for them in acting and/or directing and screenwriting categories. Still, only Emma Stone of Poor Things made our final cut as best actress for her unrestrained leap off a cliff into the story’s strange world. She and others put surprises into 2023, making it an often challenging and many times rewarding year at the movies.
Here's the complete list:
Las Vegas Film Critics Society - Sierra Awards Winners 2023 (with my differences noted)
Best Picture: Oppenheimer
Best Actor"Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Best Actress:Emma Stone, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Best Original Screenplay: Maestro (I voted for American Fiction)
Best Adapted: ScreenplayAmerican Fiction
Best Cinematography: Oppenheimer (I voted for Killers of the Flower Moon)
Best Film Editing: Oppenheimer
Best Score: Oppenheimer (I voted for Killers of the Flower Moon)
Best Song: I’m Just Ken, Barbie (I voted for Road to Freedom from Rustin)
Best Documentary: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Best Animated Film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best International Movie: Godzilla Minus One
Best Costume: Poor Things
Best Art Direction: Barbie
Best Visual Effects:The Creator (I voted for Spider-Man)
Best Action Movie: John Wick: Chapter 4 (I voted for The Killer)
Best Comedy: Barbie
Best Horror/Sci-FI Movie: Godzilla Minus One
Best Family Film: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Best Ensemble: Oppenheimer (I voted for Killers of the Flower Moon)
Breakout Filmmaker: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Stunts: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Youth In Film (Male)Jude Hill, A Haunting in Venice
Youth in Film (Female)Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There God? It’s Me, MargaretThe William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award: Nicolas Cage
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