“The Power of the Dog” has to be this year’s front-runner for the Oscars, as it is definitely the critical darling. The Phoenix Critics Circle names it their Best Picture, along with Jane Campion winning Best Director and Jonny Greenwood winning Best Score. It also won a pair of acting awards with Actor going to Benedict Cumberbatch and Supporting Actress going to Kirsten Dunst, both of which I would say are easy contenders for Oscar nominations. “Licorice Pizza” took Screenplay along with the genre award of Best Comedy.
BEST PICTURE
“The Power of the Dog”
Directed by Jane Campion
Produced by Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Jane Campion, and Tanya Seghatchian
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Drive My Car” (Janus Films) |
| “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| “Spencer” (Neon) |
| “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
BEST DIRECTOR
Jane Campion
“The Power of the Dog”
Produced by Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Jane Campion, and Tanya Seghatchian
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Paul Thomas Anderson — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| Wes Anderson — “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| Ryûsuke Hamaguchi — “Drive My Car” (Janus Films) |
| Steven Spielberg — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch
“The Power of the Dog”
Directed by Jane Campion
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Nicolas Cage — “Pig” (Neon) |
| Andrew Garfield — “tick, tick…Boom!” (Netflix) |
| Joaquin Phoenix — “C’mon C’mon” (A24) |
| Denzel Washington — “The Tragedy of Macbeth” (A24) |
BEST ACTRESS
Kristen Stewart
“Spencer”
Directed by Pablo Larraín
Neon
NOMINEES
| Olivia Colman — “The Lost Daugghter” (Netflix) |
| Lady Gaga — “House Of Gucci” (MGM) |
| Alana Haim — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| Nicole Kidman — “Being the Ricardos” (Amazon Studios) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mike Faist
“West Side Story”
Directed by Steven Spielberg
20th Century Studios
NOMINEES
| Bradley Cooper — “Licorice Pizza” (MGM) |
| Ciarán Hinds — “Belfast” (Focus Features) |
| Kodi Smit-McPhee — “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix) |
| Jeffrey Wright — “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kirsten Dunst
“The Power of the Dog”
Directed by Jane Campion
Netflix
NOMINEES
| Catriona Balfe — “Belfast” (Focus Features) |
| Ariana DeBose — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
| Rita Moreno — “West Side Story” (20th Century Studios) |
| Ruth Negga — “Passing” (Netflix) |
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Searchlight Pictures
NOMINEES
| “Flee” (Neon) |
| “The Sparks Brothers” (Focus Features) |
| “Val” (Amazon Studios) |
| “The Velvet Underground” (Apple Original Films) |
BEST ANIMATED FILM
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Directed by Michael Rianda
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Encanto” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “Luca” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “Raya and the Last Dragon” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “Vivo” (Netflix) |
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Drive My Car”
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Janus Films
NOMINEES
| “The Hand Of God” (Netflix) |
| “Petite Maman” (Canal+) |
| “Titane” (Neon) |
| “The Worst Person in the World” (Neon) |
BEST COMEDY FILM
“Licorice Pizza”
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
NOMINEES
| “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” (Lionsgate) |
| “The French Dispatch” (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “Red Rocket” (A24) |
| “Shiva Baby” (Utopia) |
BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM
“Dune”
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Warner Bros. Pictures
NOMINEES
| “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” (Netflix) |
| “A Quiet Place Part II” (Paramount) |
| “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (Walt Disney Pictures) |
| “The Suicide Squad” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
BEST HORROR FILM
“Titane”
Directed by Julia Ducournau
Neon
NOMINEES
| “Candyman” (Universal) |
| “Last Night in Soho” (Focus Features) |
| “Malignant” (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The Night House” (Searchlight Pictures) |
BEST SCREENPLAY
“Licorice Pizza”
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
NOMINEES
| “Being the Ricardos” — Aaron Sorkin (Amaon Studios) |
| “C’mon C’mon” — Mike Mills (A24) |
| “Drive My Car” — Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Haruki Murakami, and Takamasa Oe (Janus Films) |
| “The Power of the Dog” — Jane Campion and Thomas Savage (Netflix) |
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
Cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel
A24
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Greig Fraser (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “Nightmare Alley” — Dan Laustsen (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Power of the Dog” — Ari Wegner (Netflix) |
| “West Side Story” — Janusz Kaminski (20th Century Studios) |
BEST SCORE
“The Power of the Dog”
Composed by Jonny Greenwood
Netflix
NOMINEES
| “Dune” — Hans ZImmer (Warner Bros. Pictures) |
| “The French Dispatch” — Alexandre Desplat (Searchlight Pictures) |
| “The Harder They Fall” — Jeymes Samuels (Netflix) |
| “Spencer” — Jonny Greenwood (Neon) |
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN ACTION CINEMA
Sonny Chiba
QUICK LIST
Best Picture: “The Power of the Dog”
Best Comedy Film: “Licorice Pizza”
Best Science Fiction Film: “Dune”
Best Horror Film: “Titane”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Drive My Car”
Best Animated Film: “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Best Documentary: “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
Best Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch — “The Power of the Dog”
Best Actress: Kristen Stewart — “Spencer”
Best Supporting Actor: Mike Faist — “West Side Story”
Best Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst — “The Power of the Dog”
Best Director: Jane Campion — “The Power of the Dog”
Best Screenplay: “Licorice Pizza” — Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Cinematography: “The Tragedy of Macbeth” — Bruno Delbonnel
Best Score: “The Power of the Dog” — Jonny Greenwood
Phoenix Critics Circle
The Phoenix Critics Circle is dedicated to promoting both the larger film industry and our local film community. We are writers, reviewers, and cinema historians moving the conversation forward, through print, broadcast, and online media both within Arizona and nationwide.
