and the winner is...

Houston Film Critics Society unveils 'favourites' for upcoming movie awards

The Favourite is a Houston critics' favorite.

Photo by Yorgos Lanthimos

It appears the film critics of Houston have a thing for movies about 18th-century English royalty being bitchy to one another.

That would explain why the period piece The Favourite, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Olivia Colman and Oscar winners Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, has a whopping seven nominations in the 12th Annual Houston Film Critics Society Movie Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.

The monster Marvel hit Black Panther and If Beale Street Could Talk, the James Baldwin-adapted latest from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, are both tied with six nominations, while the Bradley Cooper-directed remake of A Star is Born and the Dick Cheney biopic Vice each have five. All these films are nominated for best picture, along with BlacKkKlansman, Eighth Grade, First Reformed, Green Book, Hereditary, and Roma.

“Once again, the HFCS nominations tell the story of the year in film,” Joshua Starnes, president of the organization (which this writer is a member), said in a statement. “By celebrating popular blockbusters as well as acclaimed independent films, the nominations remind us why we love to go to the movies.”

The winners will be announced on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at a free "Oscar-style" ceremony (with promotional assistance from ESPN 97.5 FM and SportsMap 94.1 FM, which is owned by Gow Media, which also owns CultureMap) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, starting at 7 pm.

There will also be awards given out the Best Poster (BlacKkKlansman and Suspiria both have two nominations) as well as Worst Picture (yes, Venom is in there). A silent auction benefitting the HFCS will include movie industry collectables and will be staged at the after-party at Hotel ZaZa, located in the Houston Museum District. Tickets are required to ensure a manageable level of attendance.

Here is a full list of the nominees:

Best Picture

A Star is Born

Black Panther

BlackKklansman

Eighth Grade

If Beale Street Could Talk

The Favourite

First Reformed

Green Book

Hereditary

Roma

Vice

Best Director

Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born

Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Adam McKay, Vice

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born

Ethan Hawke, First Reformed

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Best Actress

Glenn Close, The Wife

Toni Collette, Hereditary

Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Lady Gaga, A Star is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy

Adam Driver, BlackKklansman

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, Vice

Claire Foy, First Man

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Best Screenplay

Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade

Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara, The Favourite

Paul Schrader, First Reformed

Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

Adam McKay, Vice

Best Cinematography

Rachel Morrison, Black Panther

Linus Sandgren, First Man

Robbie Ryan, The Favourite

James Laxton, If Beale Street Could Talk

Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Best Animated Film

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Original Score

Ludwig Göransson, Black Panther

Justin Hurwitz, First Man

Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk

Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs

Thom Yorke, Suspiria

Best Original Song

All the Stars from Black Panther

Ashes from Deadpool 2

Hearts Beat Loudfrom Hearts Beat Loud

Revelation from Boy Erased

Shallow from A Star is Born

Best Foreign Language Film

Burning

Border

Cold War

Roma

Shoplifters

Best Documentary Feature

Free Solo

Minding the Gap

RBG

Three Identical Strangers

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Texas Independent Film Award

1985

An American in Texas

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek

Support the Girls

Tejano

Visual Effects

Black Panther

First Man

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Best Poster

BlacKkKlansman (two different posters)

Mandy

Suspiria (two different posters)

Best Worst Film of the Year

The 15:17 to Paris

The Happytime Murders

Life Itself

Peppermint

Venom

awards movies

Movie Review

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple enhances the zombie franchise

Photo by Miya Mizuno

Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

It’s not often that a return to a franchise after years of no activity results in an actual good movie, but 2025’s 28 Years Later proved successful by reuniting director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, who made the original 28 Days Later. Another sequel, The Bone Temple, was filmed back-to-back with last year’s film, with Nia DaCosta taking over for Boyle in the directing chair.

The movie picks up soon after the end of the first film, with the young Spike (Alfie Williams) now an unwilling member of a group called the Jimmies, which are led by a man who calls himself Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). Unlike the main group in the first film that was just looking to survive the zombie apocalypse, the Jimmies are a bloodthirsty bunch who gleefully attack any zombies they find and brutalize other survivors they come across.

The story also returns to Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whose solitary time at his self-built bone temple is interrupted by a massive zombie he has dubbed Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Against the odds — and with the help of some morphine — Kelson is able to bond with Samson, giving Kelson some strange but welcome companionship. But with the Jimmies lurking nearby, any peace he’s found may soon be shattered.

DaCosta, working from a script by Garland, ably steps into Boyle’s shoes, putting the emphasis on the story rather than trying for lots of stylistic flourishes. That’s not to say that she doesn’t do great work, however. The creepiness and sadistic nature of the Jimmies comes through loud and clear under her direction, and she brings out the campy comedy that comes from the unexpected pairing of Kelson and Samson.

Like the first 28 Years Later, the story is somewhat of a slow burn. The film doesn’t have many plot developments over its 109 minutes, and so DaCosta must get by on mood rather than action for the most part. But when things do get ramped up, they can get very uncomfortable as the film does not shy away from extreme gore. The damage inflicted by Samson and other zombies is one thing, but when it’s sentient humans going savage, it becomes even more difficult to look at the screen.

The juxtaposition between the chaos of the Jimmies and the quiet existence of Dr. Kelson works well for the film. Their separation for the bulk of the story gives them plenty of time to have the characters come into their own. Sir Jimmy Crystal is the ringleader, but Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) gets her own showcase. Samson was already a (literally) big presence from the first film, but this film gives him a degree of humanity that gives the story more depth.

O’Connell made a big impression as the lead vampire in Sinners, and he’s just as interesting/intimidating here. Fiennes plays a character where being over-the-top is the natural reaction, and yet he keeps Kelson grounded in a number of ways that make him much more than one-note. Lewis-Parry was likely cast for his physique, but he brings out more from a zombie than you’d ever expect. Williams fades into the background a bit after his starring role in the first film, but he’s still strong.

Releasing The Bone Temple in January was not a great sign given the month’s reputation as a dumping ground for bad movies, but it actually proves to be a great choice. With most other releases being Oscar hopefuls or truly awful films, it stands out for being another compelling entry for the franchise, one that will make anticipation high for whenever the third film in the 28 Years Later series comes out.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theaters on January 16.