We suppose the awards season has officially begun when the ‘Best Of’ lists start arriving in our mailbox, though it certainly feels like the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association has managed to get theirs out at a conspicuously early time each year since it began giving awards in 2002. Maybe they’re just trying to be the first out of the gate, and thus guaranteeing themselves a little ink in the inevitable pre-Oscar roundups. Or maybe WAFCA organizer and FOX 5 personality Willie Waffle has just now consumed enough coffee to bring his enthusiam alert level up to orange.
Whatever the reasons behind their timing, D.C.’s film critics have officially spoken, which means we can all now officially declare them to be lemmings or leaders, sentimental saps or jaded junketeers, accurate prognosticators or wishful thinkers. Here’s their list, and like we said, it’s out real real early, so if you’re like us, you might not have had a chance to see some of these films yet.
As far as we’re concerned, the list is a mixed bag — Philip Seymour Hoffman is both the obvious and correct choice for Best Actor, and Amy Adams is an absolutely inspired choice for Supporting Actress (though it’s doubtful she’ll take home the Oscar). But giving out an award for anything involved with the film Cinderella Man (even if it is for Paul Giamatti) strikes us as dubious, and we still haven’t had a chance to screen Munich, so who knows? But what do you think, dear readers?
Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman — CapoteBest Actress
Reese Witherspoon — Walk the LineBest Supporting Actor
Paul Giamatti — Cinderella ManBest Supporting Actress
Amy Adams — JunebugBest Director
Steven Spielberg — MunichBest Screenplay, Original
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco — CrashBest Screenplay, Adapted
Dan Futterman — CapoteBest Film
Munich
