I’ve been referencing the Oscars more and more in my reviews lately. Despite the differences I may have with them, to win an Oscar is still the highest acting achievement, and will be recognised as so for some time to come. But then, through reliable sources, I hear about the uproar surrounding Emelia Perez – how the trans community hate it, how Mexican people hate it, and how critics are split, while it’s still managed to garner a whopping 13 nominations. I hear about Karla Sofia Gascón’s past, and how some want her Best Actress nomination rescinded; how her funding to the Oscars ceremony has been revoked too. And I’m just reminded how political and money-led through essential campaigning the Oscars appear to be, leaving a sour taste in my mouth again. Just as I was seemingly putting my troubles aside. I thought these awards should be about the art.
Luckily – and I feel like I say this every year – I do the work, and make my own nominations, quarrel free. No quotas, minimal politics; just my evaluation of the very subjective format that is cinematic art. Take it or leave it, but for me the Slice Awards are 👑 To know where to look, of course I used the Oscars as reference, as well as the Golden Globes, Spirit Awards, and also YouTube favourites, Dan Murrell and The Awards Contender. I usually steer clear of foreign language films (since there’s already so much to see anyway), so potential nominations for Emelia Perez and I’m Still Here are excluded here through ignorance.
From 89 eligible movies, I’d whittled my choices down to six across as many categories. And for those that are new here, that’s as far as I go – bugger picking a winner, for to be nominated among the best of any given year is the honour in itself. The 2024-2025 Slice Awards, ladies and gentlemen…
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BEST DIRECTOR
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Jane Schoenbrun – I Saw the TV Glow
Jon M. Chu – Wicked
Luca Guadagnino – Challengers
Sean Baker – Anora
This has been a difficult category – I had twelve on my short-list. Yes, I’ve left out the best-of-the-best in terms of atmospheric genre movies this year, so affective in replicating a chosen style as they were, and including Robert Eggers for Nosferatu, Osgood Perkins for Longlegs. Harshly, I remember I didn’t agree with all the choices Denis Villeneuve made for Dune: Part Two, although I definitely did nominate him for the first Dune in 2021-2022, which is more than can be said for other… “big shows” 👀 The Substance, by Coralie Fargeat, is a technically beautiful movie, but c’mon guys – I still feel like I’m on the outer missing something with that motion picture, or do people not care that the plot doesn’t fit together? 💁♂️ As for those that I did pick, I think Brady Corbet with The Brutalist and James Mangold with A Complete Unknown are all-encompassing, getting their arms around every element of their movies to produce a satisfying whole. I think Sean Baker (Anora) and Jon M. Chu (Wicked) manage emotional triumphs, playing like master conductors of large symphonies. Luca Guadagnino brings an expressive flare to Challengers that elevates what is already a fantastic story. And I Saw the TV Glow is just weird, and has stuck with me through its style and patience; like a Lynchian or upper-class episode of freakout TV. I loved it.
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BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Daniel Craig – Queer
Keiran Culkin – A Real Pain
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
At the very last minute, Daniel Craig comes into my nominations, for Queer – I think he is at his best, and enthusiastic again, inhabiting the dented drunkard there. Best Actor just always seems to be the simplest category, and comes together on its own, and I do agree with four of the five nominations from the big show – Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), and Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown). I was prepared to go along with this award season’s insistence that Keiran Culkin in A Real Pain is a supporting performance up to a point… but he’s simply not! Not only is Culkin’s character the focus of the movie, but he begins the movie, and ends the movie, essentially present for the entire movie 🤷♂️ Anway, I found a way to fit him in here, and he sits quite comfortably amongst the big dogs for a top honour Best Actor Slice Award. This is a powerhouse of a collection this year.
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BEST ACTRESS
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Demi Moore – The Substance
Florence Pugh – We Live in Time
Kate Winslet – Lee
Mikey Madison – Anora
Zendaya – Challengers
Best Actress proves yearly to be the toughest category in the biz, and that’s because there are so many movies for women to lead each year, and many fantastic performances. I thought early that I might smile upon Kirsten Dunst for Civil War, but she was ultimately pushed out. Naomi Scott, Lupita Nyong’o, and Amy Adams are all good in horror performances; but I do accept the common consensus that Demi Moore is the best, spotlighted in The Substance, and deserved of her choccies. Zendaya for Challengers, and Mikey Madison for Anora, were locks for me as soon as I saw their movies, as well as Ariana Grande, where I absolutely see her as a co-lead performance in Wicked, similarly to Keiran Culkin in A Real Pain, while they’ve been in Supporting elsewhere 🙃 I also think Kate Winslet illuminates in Lee, showcasing why she’s a consummate professional. And I’ve given the sixth spot to Florence Pugh for We Live in Time. Nicole Kidman stiff for Babygirl.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Catherine O’Hara – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Carrie Coon – His Three Daughters
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Elle Fanning – A Complete Unknown
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Jack Haven – I Saw The TV Glow
While I caught up late with The Piano Lesson, Danielle Deadwyler came straight in 👏 Carrie Coon, similar, for His Three Daughters, and I thought long and hard about bringing the wonderful Natasha Lyonne along with her. Sorry, everyone, sorry, but I wasn’t as taken by Monica Barbaro as most – no, my eye was on Elle Fanning in A Complete Unknown, who has been entirely overlooked elsewhere accept for New York’s National Board of Review, it seems 🤯 Felicity Jones in The Brutalist speaks for herself, although it’s amazing how much of the movie goes by before she even shows up! And nobody made me laugh as much as Catherine O’Hara in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice this year – which is funny, considering I despised Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and revolted against choices made about other legacy characters. But, to me, O’Hara was perfect 🙌 Jodie Comer was also on my short-list through The Bikeriders, and might’ve lost out here due to some recency bias. Jack Haven, formerly Bridget Lundy-Paine, may not be too happy to be recognised in a female category, but they round out my six, transfixing in I Saw the TV Glow.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Dev Patel – The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar and Three More
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pierce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Josh O’Connor – Challengers
I backtracked to The Apprentice to pick up Jeremy Strong, and it was well worthwhile. Edward Norton and Guy Pierce seem to have the best of it; I loved Norton in his second-fiddle role, lifting up Chalamet’s Dillon in A Complete Unknown. And Pierce gets quite a lot of screentime, just as The Brutalist is such a long God-damn movie 😄 I’m really surprised Clarence Maclin isn’t in for Best Supporting Actor everywhere, just for the journey behind Sing Sing, and the remarkable transformation undergone by his character. And Josh O’Connor is completely wonderful in Challengers – sympathetic and sniggering. I am personally affronted by anyone who disagrees 😤 Lastly, and go with me on this, but while Dev Patel had a wonderful year with Monkey Man, he stayed in my consciousness for The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar and Three More, the anthology of Wes Anderson shorts on Netflix. Patel’s quick talking narration makes for a theatrical style, which I felt outshone his more famous co-stars, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Ben Kingsley… There’s a few I’ve left out – Hugh Grant in Heretic, Nicolas Hoult in Nosferatu, as well as a few boys from Anora, and a couple of impersonators from Saturday Night. Nic Cage is eye-catching in Longlegs, but not in it enough.
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BEST ENSEMBLE
A Complete Unknown
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked
Yes, it is a travesty to leave out Anora, since I haven’t honoured Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian, or Yura Borisov’s performances in any other way. And it’s a travesty to leave out The Brutalist, which is precision perfection in every area, including performance. But I always love this award category, because it gives me an opportunity to mention movies from a different angle, and often bigger movies than have come before. The gigantic casts that work in Deadpool & Wolverine, Dune: Part Two, and Saturday Night, are included here. Then I just think Wicked was magical, from Ariana to every extra. Sing Sing was amazing for what it was – ex-cons playing themselves as actors, and each supporting cast member got their own moment to shine. A Complete Unknown works completely because of the performances. And that’s that 🥳 The Today Junior 2024-2025 Annual Slice Awards done and dusted!
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I love the spread I’ve managed for this year’s Slice Awards – it’s 21 movies by my count, that have earned their place in this post. I’m planning on another forced rest soon before 2025 can truly get underway, but I have a few reviews to complete looking backwards. Life – oh life – obstructing and stealing my time when it comes to beloved movie emersion and my accompanying reviews. Peace out.
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