The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association -- of which I am a member, though perhaps not for long -- this morning released its (our?) list of the year's best film, actor, actress, etc., and the top movie of 2006 turns out to be...United 93. Got no problem with that; it was No. 2 or 3 on my list. And the best actor and actress? Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland and Helen Mirren for The Queen--two fact-to-fiction films written by Brit Peter Morgan, jolly good. But, c'mon...Martin Scorsese as best director for the flabby, on-the-nose junk that is The Departed? He shouldn't have even been on the list, much less at the top of it.
Anyway, the entire release is after the jump. You might notice most of the great movies of 2006 didn't even make the list. And what are those? Check out the paper version of Unfair Park next week. (Hint: One's named Brick. Another's about a woman who sucks off a dog. Is that too much of a hint?) --Robert Wilonsky
December 18, 2006 Contact: Todd JorgensonFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS NAME "UNITED 93" BEST PICTURE OF 2006
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted the true-life drama UNITED 93 as the best film of 2006, according to the results of its 13th annual critics' poll released today.
Rounding out the composite list of the top 10 films of the year were THE DEPARTED (2), LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (3), THE QUEEN (4), BABEL (5), LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (6), DREAMGIRLS (7), BLOOD DIAMOND (8), LITTLE CHILDREN (9) and FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (10).
For Best Actor, the association named Forest Whitaker for THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Runners-up included Leonardo DiCaprio for THE DEPARTED (2), Ryan Gosling for HALF NELSON (3), Peter O'Toole for VENUS (4) and Leonardo DiCaprio for BLOOD DIAMOND (5).
Helen Mirren was voted Best Actress for THE QUEEN. Next in the voting were Judi Dench for NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2), Meryl Streep for THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (3), Kate Winslet for LITTLE CHILDREN (4) and Penelope Cruz for VOLVER (5).
In the Best Supporting Actor category, the winner was Jackie Earle Haley for LITTLE CHILDREN. He was followed by Jack Nicholson for THE DEPARTED (2), Eddie Murphy for DREAMGIRLS (3), Djimon Hounsou for BLOOD DIAMOND (4) and Michael Sheen for THE QUEEN (5).
For Best Supporting Actress, the association named Cate Blanchett for NOTES ON A SCANDAL. Runners-up included Jennifer Hudson for DREAMGIRLS (2), Adriana Barraza for BABEL (3), Rinko Kikuchi for BABEL (4) and Emily Blunt for THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (5).
Martin Scorsese was voted Best Director for THE DEPARTED. Next in the voting were Paul Greengrass for UNITED 93 (2), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for BABEL (3), Clint Eastwood for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (4) and Stephen Frears for THE QUEEN (5).
The association voted LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA as the best foreign-language film of the year. Runners-up were PAN'S LABYRINTH (2), WATER (3), VOLVER (4) and APOCALYPTO (5).
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH won for Best Documentary over DELIVER US FROM EVIL (2), SHUT UP AND SING (3), NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD (4) and THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (5).
HAPPY FEET was named the best animated film of 2006, with MONSTER HOUSE as runner-up. Michael Arndt won the Best Screenplay award for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE over Guillermo Arriaga for BABEL.
The award for Best Cinematography went to Dean Semler for APOCALYPTO, followed by a tie between Rodrigo Prieto for BABEL and Emmanuel Lubezki for CHILDREN OF MEN.
The association voted HALF NELSON as the winner of the Russell Smith Award, named for the late Dallas Morning News film critic. The honor is given annually to the best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association consists of 35 broadcast, print and online journalists from throughout North Texas. # # #
