Savannah Film Festival Opens With Victor Levin's "5 to 7" (**½)

Crowds wait below the Trustees Theatre marquee on Broughton Street.

The 2013 Savannah Film Festival showcased a few strong films—"The Past," "The Invisible Woman," "Hank & Asha"—and honored some worthy guests—Alexander Payne, Jeremy Irons, Abigail Breslin. The overall quality of content, however, was down from in years past. The 2013 opening night film, "Nebraska," certainly had the right pedigree and was attended by both director Payne and star Bruce Dern. Previous opening night films have included "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Artist," so you could have colored me surprised when I learned this year's opening night film was one that wasn't even on my radar—Victor Levin's "5 to 7."

With Oscar-hunting films like "The Imitation Game," "Whiplash" and "Foxcatcher" included in the lineup, I'm surprised that "5 to 7" was chosen as the film to kick it off. The movie premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival and features Anton Yelchin and Bérénice Marlohe as lead players with Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Olivia Thirlby and Lambert Wilson in supporting roles.

My Oscar predictions, 2013 (Update: 16/24)

Christopher Denham, Clea DuVall, Kerry Bishé, Rory Cochrane, Ben Affleck,
Tate Donovan and Scoot McNairy star in "Argo"

Here it comes! This year is harder to predict than most years– a good thing. I'm sure I'll have more to say post-ceremony, but for now, here are my predictions.

Update: Well, a record bad year for my predictions, but at least us Oscar watchers were kept on our toes. I don't really feel that "Argo" belongs in the Best Picture cannon, despite being a good film. But plenty of Best Picture winners shouldn't have been Best Picture winners and the world hasn't stopped turning yet. The Sound Editing tie was a beautiful double-surprise. I'm thrilled Jennifer Lawrence has an Oscar, especially for "Silver Linings Playbook," but my heart breaks for Emmanuelle Riva. I'm sure Ms. Riva is just fine, however. Not thrilled with either of the wins for "Django Unchained." Tarantino has done a lot better without being rewarded and Christoph Waltz was likely the fourth best in his category (and second best in his film). I didn't see any of the Documentary Short or Animated Feature nominees (I know, I know), so I'm not surprised I missed those. The win for "Lincoln" in Production Design is a welcomed surprise for what I was certain would go to "Anna Karenina" or "Life of Pi." Seth MacFarlane was an adequate host, but I don't know that he'll be back. I live-tweeted the show and participated in Paste Magazine's liveblog. Check them out for a few laughs.

Best Picture

"Argo" WINNER (alt. "Lincoln")

Best Director
Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln" (alt. Ang Lee, "Life of Pi" WINNER)

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln" (alt. Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook")

Best Actress
Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour" (alt. Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook" WINNER)

Georgia Film Critics Association 2012 winners

Jennifer Lawrence wins one of four GFCA awards for "Silver Linings Playbook"

The 2012 Georgia Film Critics Association nominations were just announced Monday, but winners have already been declared. Just as "Silver Linings Playbook" led the pack with eight nominations, David O. Russell's film walked away with four wins, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Ensemble.

"Skyfall" was another big winner, taking home awards for Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), Best Cinematography and Best Original Song. "Beasts of the Southern Wild" won two awards; Best Production Design and Best Score. Director Benh Zeitlin also took the Breakthrough Award, beating the likes of his star Quvenzhané Wallis, Zal Batmanglij, Derek Connolly, Bart Layton and Scoot McNairy. Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director for "Zero Dark Thirty." Other films that took home awards include "Lincoln," "The Master" and "Moonrise Kingdom."

Check out the full list of winners after the jump.