St Louis Film Critics Assn Announces Nominations for 2024 Awards

St Louis Film Critics Assn Announces Nominations for 2024 Awards

“Dune: Part Two” leads with 12 nominations, followed by “The Brutalist” with 9, “Wicked” and “Conclave” each with 8, “Nickel Boys” with 6, and “Sing Sing” with 5.

“Dune: Part Two” may have been released Feb. 25, but the St. Louis Film Critics Association recognized this action-science fiction epic with 12 nominations for Denis Villeneuve’s world-building visual artistry.

The massive spectacle was mentioned in film, director, ensemble, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, production design, music score, costume design, visual effects, action film, and best scene categories.

The epic historical drama “The Brutalist” earned nine nominations for film, director Brady Corbet, actor Adrien Brody, supporting actor Guy Pearce, original screenplay, cinematography, editing, production design and music score.

 The religious political thriller “Conclave” received eight nominations for film, director Edward Berger, actor Ralph Fiennes, supporting actor Stanley Tucci, ensemble, adapted screenplay, production design and music score.

Also with eight, the musical adaptation and pop culture phenomenon “Wicked” was nominated for film, actress Cynthia Erivo, supporting actress Ariana Grande, ensemble, adapted screenplay, costume design, production design, and soundtrack.

“Nickel Boys” was cited in six categories for film, director, supporting actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, adapted screenplay, cinematography and editing. “Sing Sing” received five – film, actor Colman Domingo, supporting actor Clarence Maclin, adapted screenplay, and ensemble.

“A Complete Unknown,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” and  “The Wild Robot” each garnered four nominations.

SLFCA announced nominations Dec. 8; awards will be announced Dec. 15.

In addition to determining nominations in 26 categories, the regional critics’ group recognized film industry professionals for three special merits

Mohammad Rasoulof at the Cannes Film Festival. Photo by Getty Images.

Special Merit: Iranian Director Mohammad Rasoulof and the cast/crew of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” for their courage and persistence in confronting political oppression in the pursuit of artistic expression and portraying truth through film.

Special Merit: Pete Timmermann, director of Webster University’s Film Series in St. Louis, for his exceptional, expert programming of international, restored, and independent films, including fiction and nonfiction, animation and live action, in addition to special events. His superb offerings for the St. Louis film community enriches and expands our cinematic world.  

Special Merit: Filmmakers who found creative uses for practical effects and were less reliant on digitized computer-generated graphics this year, such as hair and makeup artist Christine Brundell using puppetry and prosthetics, in collaboration with director Tim Burton, on “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”; makeup effects director Pierre Oliver Pierson on “The Substance” prosthetics; the micro budget DIY home computer effects from director Mike Cheslik for “Hundreds of Beavers”; the no-green-screen creature work on “Alien: Romulus” with animatronics and puppetry, among other collaborations by director Fede Alvarez; and the “Wicked” production design by Nathan Crowley where he merged practical imagery with CGI throughout, and grew 9  million tulips for Munchkinland.

Founded in 2004, the St. Louis Film Critics Association is a nonprofit organization of professional film reviewers who regularly publish current and timely film criticism, support local productions and festivals, and enhance public education, awareness, and appreciation of films. Vetted members are affiliated with qualifying media outlets in the St. Louis metropolitan region.

For the awards, eligible films are those that opened in the greater St. Louis area or had an online premiere during the 2024 calendar year – including those films that were given awards-qualifying runs but aren’t slated for release until early 2025.

For more information, visit the site: www.stlfilmcritics.org

Adrien Brody as “The Brutalist.” A24 Films.

Full List of Nominations:

BEST FILM

Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
September 5
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST DIRECTOR

Edward Berger “Conclave”
Brady Corbet “The Brutalist”
Mohammad Rasoulof “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
RaMell Ross “Nickel Boys”
Denis Villeneuve “Dune: Part Two”

Colman Domingo in “Sing Sing.” A24 Films.


BEST ACTOR

Adrien Brody “The Brutalist”
Timothee Chalamet “A Complete Unknown”
Daniel Craig “Queer”
Colman Domingo “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes “Conclave”
Hugh Grant “Heretic”


BEST ACTRESS

Pamela Anderson “The Last Showgirl”
Cynthia Erivo “Wicked”
Marianne Jean-Baptiste “Hard Truths”
Mikey Madison “Anora”
Demi Moore “The Substance”
Saoirse Ronan “The Outrun”

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg “A Real Pain.” Searchlight.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kieran Culkin “A Real Pain”
Clarence Maclin “Sing Sing”
Guy Pearce “The Brutalist”
Stanley Tucci “Conclave”
Denzel Washington “Gladiator II”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Monica Barbaro “A Complete Unknown”
Danielle Deadwyler “The Piano Lesson”
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor “Nickel Boys”
Ariana Grande “Wicked”
Zoe Saldana “Emilia Perez”

BEST ENSEMBLE

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Peter Straughan, “Conclave”
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, “Dune: Part Two”
RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, “Nickel Boys”
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield, “Sing Sing”
Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox “Wicked”

Saturday Night. Columbia Pictures.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Sean Baker, “Anora”
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, “The Brutalist”
Mike Leigh, “Hard Truths”
Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”
Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan, “Saturday Night”
Mohammad Rasoulo, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Lol Crawley, “The Brutalist”
Greig Fraser, “Dune: Part Two”
Edward Lachman, “Maria”
Jarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu”
Jomo Fray, “Nickel Boys”

BEST EDITING

Dávid Jancsó, “The Brutalist”
Joe Walker, “Dune: Part Two”
Nicholas Monsour, “Nickel Boys”
Nathan Orloff, Shane Reid, “Saturday Night”
Hansjörg Weißbrich, “September 5”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Judy Becker, “The Brutalist”
Suzie Davies, Roberta Federico, “Conclave”
Zsuzsanna Sipos, Shane Vieau, Patrice Vermette, “Dune: Part Two”
Beatrice Brentnerova, Paul Ghirardani, Craig Lathrop, “Nosferatu”
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales, “Wicked”

“Wicked.” Universal Pictures.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Jacqueline West, “Dune: Part Two”
Casey Harris, “Hundreds of Beavers”
Massimo Cantini Parrini, “Maria”
Linda Muir, “Nosferatu”
Paul Tazewell, “Wicked”

BEST MUSIC SCORE

Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, “Challengers”
Volker Bertelmann, “Conclave”
Hans Zimmer, “Dune: Part 2”
Kris Bowers, “The Wild Robot”

“A Complete Unknown.” Searchlight.

BEST SOUNDTRACK

A Complete Unknown
Deadpool & Wolverine
I Saw the TV Glow
Maria
Wicked


BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Maya Hawke “Inside Our 2”
Lupita Nyong’o “The Wild Robot”
Pedro Pascal “The Wild Robot”
Amy Poehler “Inside Out 2”
Sarah Snook “Memoir of a Snail”


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“Alien: Romulus” – Eric Barba, Shane Mahan, Nelson Sepulveda
“Dune: Part Two” – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” – Andrew Jackson, Dan Bethell, Eric Whipp, Andy Williams
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” – Erik Winquist, Danielle Immerman, Paul Story
“Nosferatu” – Angela Barso, Lisa Wakeley

BEST STUNTS

Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Monkey Man

“The Fall Guy.”

BEST ACTION FILM

Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Monkey Man

The Wild Robot. Dreamworks.


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

BEST COMEDY

Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Hundreds of Beavers
A Real Pain
Saturday Night

BEST HORROR

Heretic. A24 Films.

Heretic
I Saw the TV Glow
Late Night with the Devil
Longlegs
Nosferatu
The Substance

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Daughters
Will & Harper
Music by John Williams
No Other Land
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

“Emilia Perez.” Netflix

BEST INTERNATIONAL

All We Imagine as Light
Dahomey
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Emilia Perez
The Seed of The Sacred Fig


BEST FIRST FEATURE
Annie Baker “Janet Planet”
Anna Kendrick “Woman of the Hour”
Josh Margolin “Thelma”
Dev Patel “Monkey Man”
RaMell Ross “Nickel Boys”
Malcolm Washington “The Piano Lesson”


BEST SCENE

Civil War – “What kind of American are you?”
Dune: Part Two – Riding the Sandworm
The Substance – New Year’s Eve performance
Furiosa – War Rig battle
His Three Daughters – Dad’s Chair

“Civil War” – A24 Films.

Raunchy, Bloody, Funny – Two Stars’ Bromance in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Saves the World and MCU

Raunchy, Bloody, Funny – Two Stars’ Bromance in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Saves the World and MCU

By Lynn Venhaus
Propelled by personality and pizzazz, the very funny, very bloody and very meta “Deadpool & Wolverine” is an epic throwdown teaming two very different superheroes played by a pair of dynamic superstars.

Now a civilian, a listless Wade Wilson thinks his days as a morally flexible mercenary are behind him. But when his ‘homeworld’ faces an existential threat, he must suit up again as Deadpool and join an even more reluctant Wolverine to save his loved ones.

Full of Easter Eggs for comic book and superhero fans, another pleasant surprise is the clever casting, and a memorable soundtrack mix of sardonic needle drops. You likely have never heard Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” or The Goo-Goo Dolls’ “Iris” this way.

The plot, which is muddled and messy multiverse mayhem, is likely immaterial. One setting is The Void, apparently mentioned in Disney Plus’ “Loki” television series, and another is the often-used Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucratic agency that monitors timelines in the multiverse.

Since appearing in Marvel Comics in 1986 and in “Loki” in 2021-23, the TVA regulates reality and swiftly acts on temporal anomalies. I don’t understand it either. Are we in the Matrix or out?

Time rips, worlds must be saved so that these anti-heroes can matter, the very tall and muscular pair bicker like they’re in a buddy cop movie, the fight scenes are mind-numbing repetitive, and the saucy innuendo and no-filter in-jokes comprise a hefty chunk of the 2 hour, 7-minute runtime.

Don’t think too hard and you can follow up with the MCU backstories later.

Director and co-writer Shawn Levy and his four credited co-writers Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, star Ryan Reynolds and Zeb Wells have fun mocking the MCU – and new parent company Disney.

Reese and Wernick wrote the first two “Deadpool” movies (2016 and 2018) and Levy worked with Reynolds on the video game satire “Free Guy” in 2021 and the time travel family film “The Adam Project” in 2022. He also directed Jackman in “Real Steel” in 2011.

The fan service-focused writers aim for the audience to enjoy the comedic gifts of glib Reynolds, all in for the third time as Deadpool, aka “The Merc with the Mouth,” doing his signature fourth wall breaking and snappy repartee peppered with self-aware pop culture references.

This film is Wilson’s timeline, and I think we’re part of the portal that has discovered a grumpy version of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, the X-Men legend that he’s played 10 times on screen, and yes, was killed in 2017’s “Logan.”

If you haven’t seen a recent Marvel movie, they play loose with the multiverses, so really anything can happen – and does, as logic doesn’t matter.

Capitalizing on their viral social media faux feud, Reynolds and Jackman follow through with their odd-couple chemistry and amusing one-upmanship.

The charismatic duo, in frenemies mode, must use their specific sets of skills to thwart the foe, Cassandra Nova, Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister who benefits from telekinesis and telepathy.

Xavier is none other than the beloved Professor X, creator of the X-Men, and founder of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Logan taught a new generation of mutants there.

A bald, glowering Emma Corrin, best known for portraying a young Lady Diana Spencer on “The Crown,” is an unpredictable and dull villain that appears stuck in a scorched earth dystopian scenario reminiscent of another popular sci-fi fantasy franchise. 

The heavily banged-up, scraggly heroes are joined by faces both familiar and fresh, and while mentioning cameos would be a frowned-upon spoiler, those actors really perk up the proceedings.

Supporting characters include Emmy-Award winner Matthew Macfadyen (Tom on “Succession”) as a mysterious TVA manager-enforcer Mr. Paradox, Rob Delaney as Wade’s cheerful co-worker Peter who is eager to help save the world, Morena Baccarin returns as Wade’s sweet ex-girlfriend Vanessa, and Leslie Uggams is Wade’s cantankerous blind roommate Al.

With a torrent of F-bombs unleashed throughout – more than a 100, this is the first Disney-sanctioned Marvel movie to be rated R, and it’s also because of its gory slice-and-dice fights and raunchy, foul-mouthed humor.

If you’ve seen the previous two self-aware “Deadpool” movies, it follows that subversive-found family template.

Deadpool, a comic book figure created by Rob Leifeld and Fabian Nicieza, was a soldier dying of cancer when offered a lifeline by a shadowy agency – experimented on, which left him horribly disfigured but able to rapidly heal. He first showed up in the X-Men Origins movie “Wolverine” in 2009, and the bromance began.

This is also the first time Wolverine is seen in his comic book yellow-and-blue suit in 24 years of live-action films, and costume designers Graham Churchyard and Mayes C. Rubeo nail it.

The versatile Jackman, who is at home on both a Broadway stage and stabbing people with his mutant’s retractable adamantium claws, is in prime physical condition, and can capably handle his gruff character’s brute strength and animalistic rage, not to mention rock the mutton-chop sideburns.

Wolverine, aka James “Logan” Howlett, has been part of the X-Men, X-Force, Alpha Flight, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers. Depicted as a loner, he’s known for a long lifespan and therefore, many life experiences. Jackman has played the character since 2000.

We reviewers are contractually obligated not to give too much away in terms of spoilers, character development, cameos and major plot points, so this must suffice.

This film is going to be a huge box office champ, restoring the MCU’s luster after last year’s flops “Ant-Man vs. The Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels,” so does it matter if it’s really a rough patchwork quilt, enlivened by zippy quips and two pros giving fans what they want?

I doubt that anyone is going to remember this plot, or comprehend it, once people get home. But they will recall laughing a lot – and a very sentimental homage to the Fox era of “X-Men” films over the closing credits.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is a 2024 action-comedy-sci-fi movie directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corwin, Matthew MacFadyen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, and Leslie Uggams. It is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references and runs 2 hours, 7 minutes. It opened in theatres July 26. Lynn’s Grade: B-.