Oscars Watch: 2023 Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards

January 12, 2024 / Leave a Comment

Best Picture

“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Directed by Greta Gerwig
Produced by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner

—
“American Fiction” (Orion Pictures)
“Ferrari” (NEON)
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony + Columbia Pictures)

Best Director

Christopher Nolan
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan

—
Bradley Cooper – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Greta Gerwig – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Cord Jefferson – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures)
Yorgos Lanthimos – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Actor

Cillian Murphy
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan

—
Bradley Cooper – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Adam Driver – “Ferrari” (NEON)
Paul Giamatti – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
Jeffrey Wright – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures)

Best Actress

Greta Lee
“Past Lives” (A24)

Directed by Celine Song
Produced by David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, and Pamela Koffler

—
Lily Gladstone – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Paramount Pictures + Apple Original Films)
Carey Mulligan – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Margot Robbie – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Emma Stone – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Supporting Actor

Ryan Gosling
“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Directed by Greta Gerwig
Produced by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner

—
Robert De Niro – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Paramount Pictures + Apple Original Films)
Robert Downey Jr. – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
John Magaro – “Past Lives” (A24)
Mark Ruffalo – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Supporting Actress

Da’Vine Joy Randolph
“The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

Directed by Alexander Payne
Produced by Mark Johnson, Bill Block, and David Hemingson

—
Penelope Cruz – “Ferrari” (NEON)
Viola Davis – “Air” (Amazon Studios)
Jodie Foster – “Nyad” (Netflix)
Rachel McAdams – “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (Lionsgate)

Best Original Screenplay

“Past Lives” (A24)

Written by Celine Song

Directed by Celine Song
Produced by David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, and Pamela Koffler

—
“Barbie” – Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Holdovers” – David Hemingson (Focus Features)
“The Iron Claw” – Sean Durkin (A24)
“Maestro” – Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer (Netflix)

Best Adapted Screenplay

“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Written by Christopher Nolan
Based on “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan

—
“American Fiction” – Cord Jefferson (Orion Pictures)
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” – Kelly Fremon Craig (Lionsgate)
“Ferrari” – Troy Kennedy Martin (NEON)
“Poor Things” – Tony McNamara (Searchlight Pictures)

BEST ART DIRECTION

“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Art Direction by Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer

Directed by Greta Gerwig
Produced by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner

—
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Paramount Pictures + Apple Original Films)
“Maestro” (Netflix)
“Napoleon” (Columbia Pictures + Apple Original Films)
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Costume Design by Holly Waddington

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Produced by Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Ed Guiney, and Andrew Lowe

—
“Barbie” – Jacqueline Durran (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Ferrari” – Massimo Cantini Parrini (NEON)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Jacqueline West (Paramount Pictures + Apple Original Films)
“Napoleon” – Janty Yates and David Crossman (Columbia Pictures + Apple Original Films)

Best Cinematography

“Ferrari” (NEON)

Cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt

Directed by Michael Mann
Produced by Michael Mann, P.J. van Sandwijk, Marie Savare, John Lesher, Thomas Hayslip, John Friedberg, Laura Rister, Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi, Gareth West, Lars Sylvest, and Thorsten Schumacher

—
“Barbie” – Rodrigo Prieto (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Maestro” – Matthew Libatique (Netflix)
“Oppenheimer” – Hoyte van Hoytema (Universal Pictures)
“Poor Things” – Robbie Ryan (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Editing

“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Editing by Jennifer Lame

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan

—
“Barbie” – Nick Houy (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Ferrari” – Pietro Scalia (NEON)
“Maestro” – Michelle Tesoro (Netflix)
“Poor Things” – Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Animated Film

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
(Sony + Columbia Pictures)

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
Produced by Chris Miller, Phil Lord, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg

—
“The Boy and the Heron” (GKIDS)
“Elemental” (Walt Disney Pictures + Pixar Animation)
“Robot Dreams” (NEON)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Paramount Pictures)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”
(Apple Original Films)

Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Produced by Davis Guggenheim, Annetta Marion, and Jonathan King

—
“Albert Brooks: Defending Your Life” (HBO)
“American Symphony” (Netflix)
“Four Daughters” (Kino Lorber)
“Little Richard: I Am Everything” (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST MAKE-UP

“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Makeup by Nadia Stacey

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Produced by Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Ed Guiney, and Andrew Lowe

—
“Ferrari” (NEON)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Paramount Pictures + Apple Original Films)
“Maestro” – Michelle Tesoro (Netflix)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

BEST SOUND

“Ferrari” (NEON)

—
“Maestro” (Netflix)
“Napoleon” (Columbia Pictures + Apple Original Films)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony + Columbia Pictures)

Best ORIGINAL SCORE

“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)

Composed by Ludwig Göransson

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan

—
“American Fiction” – Laura Karpman
“Barbie” – Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Robbie Robertson (Paramount Pictures + Apple Original Films)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – Daniel Pemberton (Sony Pictures)

Best ORIGINAL SONG

“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Music and Lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

Directed by Greta Gerwig
Produced by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner

—
“Dance the Night” from “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Road to Freedom” from “Rustin” (Netflix)
“Peaches” from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Illumination + Universal Pictures)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“The Creator” (20th Century Studios)

Directed by Gareth Edwards
Produced by Gareth Edwards, Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, and Arnon Milchan

—
“Godzilla Minus One” (Toho International)
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount Pictures)
“Poor Things” “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony + Columbia Pictures)

BEST STUNT WORK

“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)

Stunt Coordinating by Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers

Directed by Chad Stahelski
Produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Chad Stahelski

—
“Extraction 2” – Noon Orsatti (Netflix)
“The Iron Claw” – Chavo Guerrero, Jr. (A24)
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” – Wade Eastwood (Paramount Pictures)
“Silent Night” (Lionsgate)

BEST NEW FILMMAKER

Celine Song
“Past Lives” (A24)

Directed by Celine Song
Produced by David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, and Pamela Koffler

—
Cord Jefferson – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures)
Adele Lim – “Joy Ride” (Lionsgate)
Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou – “Talk To Me” (A24)
A.V. Rockwell – “A Thousand And One” (Focus Features)

Best First Film

“American Fiction” (Orion Pictures)

Directed by Cord Jefferson
Produced by Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson, and Jermaine Johnson

—
“Joy Ride” – Adele Lim (Lionsgate)
“Past Lives” – Celine Song (A24)
“Talk To Me” – Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou (A24)
“A Thousand And One” A.V. Rockwell (Focus Features)

BEST OVERLOOKED FILM

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
(Lionsgate)

Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig
Produced by Julie Ansell, James L. Brooks, Julie Ansell, Richard Sakai, Kelly Fremon Craig,
Judy Blume, Amy Brooks, and Aldric La’Auli Porter

—
“Joy Ride” (Lionsgate)
“Shortcomings” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“They Cloned Tyrone” (Netflix)
“A Thousand And One” (Focus Features)

Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance

Jason Schwartzman
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
(Sony + Columbia Pictures)

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
Produced by Chris Miller, Phil Lord, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg

—
Jack Black – “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Illumination + Universal Pictures)
Bradley Cooper – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3” (Marvel Studios + Walt Disney Pictures)
Kumail Nanjiani – “Migration” (Illumination + Universal Pictures)
Robert Pattinson – “The Boy and the Heron” (GKIDS)

BEST HORROR FILM

“Talk To Me” (A24)

Directed by Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou
Produced by Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton

—
“Evil Dead Rise” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Godzilla Minus One” (Toho International)
“M3GAN” (Universal Pictures)
“Totally Killer” (Amazon Studios)

BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
(Sony + Columbia Pictures)

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
Produced by Chris Miller, Phil Lord, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg

—
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3” (Marvel Studios + Walt Disney Pictures)
“The Marvels” (Marvel Studios + Walt Disney Pictures)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Paramount Pictures)

BEST SCI-FI FILM

“Godzilla Minus One” (Toho International)

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Produced by Minami Ichikawa, Kazuaki Kishida, Keiichiro Moriya, and Kenji Yamada

—
“The Creator” (20th Century Studios)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3” (Marvel Studios + Walt Disney Pictures)
“The Marvels” (Marvel Studios + Walt Disney Pictures)
“Robot Dreams” (NEON)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“Anatomy of a Fall” (France) (NEON)

Directed by Justine Triet
Produced by Marie-Ange Luciani, Philippe Martin, and David Thion

—
“Godzilla Minus One” (Japan) (Toho International)
“The Taste of Things” (France) (IFC Films)
“The Three Musketeers:- Part I: D’Artagnan” (France) (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
“The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom) (A24)

BEST HAWAIIAN FILM

“Growing Up Local” (Kinetic Films)

Directed by James Sereno
Produced by James Sereno and Ryan Kawamoto

—
“Decade of the Dead” – dir. Adam Deyoe, Fairai Richmond
“Hokulea: Finding the Language of the Navigator” – dir. Ty Sanga
“My Partner” – dir. Keli’I Grace
“Uncle Bully’s Surf School” – dir. Leah Warshawski, Todd Soliday

WORST FILM OF 2023

“80 for Brady” (Paramount Pictures)

Directed by Kyle Marvin
Produced by Donna Gigliotti and Tom Brady

—
“65” (Columbia Pictures)
“Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantum-Mania” (Marvel Studios + Walt Disney Pictures)
“The Flash” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Meg 2: The Trench” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Hawaii Film Critics Society

Best Picture:
Best Director:
Best Actor:
Best Actress:
Best Supporting Actor:
Best Supporting Actress:
Best Original Screenplay:
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Best Art Direction:
Best Costume Design:
Best Cinematography:
Best Editing:
Best Animated Film:
Best Documentary:
Best Makeup:
Best Sound:
Best Score:
Best Song:
Best Visual Effects:
Best Stunt Work:
Best New Filmmaker:
Best First Feature:
Best Overlooked Film:
Best Vocal/Mocap Performance:
Best Horror Film:
Best Comic Book Movie:
Best Sci-Fi Film:
Best Foreign Language Film:
Best Hawaiian Film:
Worst Film:

“Barbie”
Christopher Nolan — “Oppenheimer”
Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer”
Greta Lee — “Past Lives”
Ryan Gosling — “Barbie”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers”
“Past Lives” — Celine Song
“Oppenheimer” — Christopher Nolan
“Barbie” — Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer
“Poor Things” — Holly Waddington
“Ferrari” — Erik Messerschmidt
“Oppenheimer” — Jennifer Lame
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”
“Poor Things”
“Ferrari”
“Oppenheimer” — Ludwig Göransson
“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
“The Creator”
“John Wick: Chapter 4”
Celine Song — “Past Lives”
“American Fiction”
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
Jason Schwartzman — “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
“Talk To Me”
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
“Godzilla Minus One”
“Anatomy of a Fall” (France)
“Growing Up Local”
“80 for Brady”

ABOUT THE Hawaii Film Critics Society

A non-profit organization of Hawaii-based film critics who are regularly published, either in print or online, within the Hawaii island chain.

The purpose of creating this critics group is

I. To showcase Hawaii film critics, their work and output. The HFCS website will provide links to film-related articles, books, YouTube/online filmed reviews, podcasts and interviews by members of our group.

II. To encourage professional film critics, current and beginning, to hone their craft and know there is a place for them and their work, to be recognized.

III. To form and be a part of the first ever Hawaii Film Critics Society, in which our varying/shared views of film, old and new, can find greater exposure and a wide platform. At year’s end, we will vote and create our own Year’s Best list to share with the press.

Like other film critics groups, one can’t apply but must be chosen. Entrance into the HFCS is free. The criteria for admittance is simply having written a substantial amount of polished film reviews for a magazine, newspaper, blog or website.