"Carol" Review (****)

Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett star in "Carol."

Directed by Todd Haynes ("Far From Heaven," "I'm Not There"), “Carol” tells the story of a young shop girl in the 1950s who falls in love with an older, married woman. The film is based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. Haynes navigates this forbidden love story gracefully and gorgeously while infusing some of the best cinematography and set design of 2015.

Our Oscar predictions, 2014

By the time the big night rolls around, it always seems like Oscar season has taken an extra long time to wrap up. This year is no different, although the schedule has shifted a bit this year due to the Winter Olympics. Nonetheless, it's hard to mind a long deliberation time when the quality of content you are considering is this high.

This year in film has given us so much quality to celebrate, and literally several of the nominees would be worthy 'Best Pictures' in any given year, despite how it may seem if you are championing a singular selection. Personally, I can't imagine anything besting "Gravity"—a film that contributes more to the art and craft of cinema than any other title in recent years. However, it would be silly of me to discount "12 Years a Slave," "American Hustle" or "Her" as perfectly acceptable titles in the Oscar cannon, should they be bestowed the honor. They are all much better than "Argo," after all.

All three of us—Cameron, Christo and Lucy—have given you our personal picks, be they 'will win' predictions or 'should win'/'want to win'/'should be here instead' favorites. We've abstained from the Documentary and Animated Short categories, as none of us have seen any of these nominees.

[Edit] RESULTS: Christo wins! Though our final picks might have changed by the time the telecast started, the results from our picks below are:

• Cameron: 17 correct, 4 incorrect, 1 abstain
• Christo: 19 correct, 2 incorrect, 1 abstain
• Lucy: 16 correct, 5 incorrect, 1 abstain

Christo's Best Films of 2013

10

“Frances Ha”

Directed by Noah Baumbach

Reminiscent of some of Woody Allen’s early work, "Frances Ha" is a charming and endlessly surprising little film with amusing dialogue and one fantastic lead performance. Greta Gerwig, star and co-writer, is perfect in the role of Frances, an impulsive 20-something struggling to find her place in a world where rent isn’t cheap and all of her friends seem to have everything together. Directed by Noah Baumbach and shot in crisp black and white, “Frances Ha” is playful, smart and potent.

"Her" wins Best Picture from the Georgia Film Critics Association

"Gravity," "12 Years a Slave" and the Spike Jonze love story each won three awards; "American Hustle" recognized for Best Ensemble.

Joaquin Phoenix stars in "Her," winner of the 2013 Georgia Film Critics
Award for Best Picture.

The Georgia Film Critics Association has wrapped up their third year by announcing the winners for their 2013 awards. "12 Years a Slave" led the nominations with ten mentions earlier this week, but it was "Her" that won the top prize. Spike Jonze wasn't even nominated for Best Director, but did win an award for Best Original Screenplay, as did Arcade Fire for the film's score. "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave" also won three awards each. Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for "Gravity" and the film also snagged Best Cinematography and Production Design awards. "12 Years a Slave" won three acting awards—Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Fassbender and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o—but lost Best Ensemble to "American Hustle."

The Best Ensemble award marks the only win for "American Hustle," after earning seven nominations. Also with seven nods, "Inside Llewyn Davis" only took home one—Best Original Song. Despite its use of sampling disqualifying the track from Academy Award consideration, the GFCA obviously sees no problem with the song. "Short Term 12" won for Best Adapted Screenplay and star Brie Larson won the Breakthrough Award—although credit is not directly given to any of her films in particular.

Other winners include Cate Blanchett as Best Actress in "Blue Jasmine," "No" as Best Foreign Film, "Stories We Tell" as Best Documentary and "Frozen" as Best Animated Feature. "The Spectacular Now" was honored with the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema, a special recognition for the year's best feature or short film produced in Georgia.

Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

The Goods: Cate Blanchett's 10 Best Performances

With Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" continuing to expand in theaters across the country, more and more people have been knocked upside the head with Cate Blanchett's latest performance—in a good way, of course. Having built an impressive film career upon her start as a classically trained thespian, Cate has earned a reputation as both an actor's actor as well as a full-fledged A-list headliner. Her work ranges from Australian theater and independent features to Spielbergian blockbusters and ensemble work under international auteurs. Her diversity has proved as useful as her magnetic screen presence; her beauty and poise magnified by a talent we have yet to see the boundaries of.

Obviously, we are pretty big fans around here. We've ranked our personal lists and tallied up the totals for a top ten countdown of Cate Blanchett's best performances.

Review: "Lawless" (****)

Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star in "Lawless"

Step one: Get director John Hillcoat and writer/musician Nick Cave back together. Step two: Assemble names like Chastain, Hardy, LaBeouf, Oldman, Pearce and Wasikowska. Step three: Convince Emmylou Harris to work with Cave and Warren Ellis on some new music. Step four: Film in Georgia. This is a perfect recipe to gain my interest.

With my curiosity at an all time high, "Lawless" premiered at Cannes. While it didn't knock any socks off, it didn't receive many bad marks either. When the trailer hit a few weeks later, my expectations were put in check. I remained enthusiastic, but some wind was let out of my sails upon seeing what appeared to be more of a commercial play than an exercise in artistry. Now, having seen the film, I confess to being very pleased with the final product.

AJFF: "The Flood" (****)

Michael Moshonov and Yoav Rotman star in "The Flood"

A good film is even better when it wasn't on your radar to begin with. Although I had heard of "Mabul" (released here as "The Flood"), my knowledge was limited. Perhaps it got lost in the wave of strong films that came out of Israel in 2010, featuring the likes of "The Human Resources Manager," "Intimate Grammar" and "The Matchmaker."

Savannah: "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (****1/2)

Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly star in "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Ever since Scottish director Lynne Ramsay's “We Need to Talk About Kevin” premiered to critical acclaim in Cannes this past May, I've been one of many with high, high hopes. Going back to 2008 when star Tilda Swinton won her Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for “Michael Clayton,” I was a bit of a sore loser over her beating out Cate Blanchett's Bob Dylan in “I'm Not There.” I think Swinton is a gifted actress, but I've only really become a fan with her post-Oscar roles. Her stunning performance in “Kevin” is all the more rewarding because it anchors such a powerful film.