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      The National Board of Review Names Green Book the Best Film of 2018

      November 27, 2018

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      by Jeff Beck

      Awards season has officially kicked off today with the National Board of Review naming Peter Farrelly's delightful comedy-drama "Green Book" as the best film of 2018. The film was also awarded Best Actor for Viggo Mortensen.

       

      Other big winners included "A Star is Born," which took Best Director (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (Lady Gaga), and Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott), in addition to being named one of the year's ten best films, and "If Beale Street Could Talk," which was awarded Best Supporting Actress (Regina King) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Barry Jenkins).

       

      Probably the single biggest surprise of the lot is the complete absence of Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Favourite," which is still assumed to be a major player in the upcoming awards. Very curious as to how films like "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "A Quiet Place," "Black Panther," and "A Star is Born" managed to be named to the top ten list, and yet Lanthimos' incredible film was left off.

       

      However, you have to remember that the NBR doesn't exactly have the best track record when matching The Academy. After all, just last year, Guillermo del Toro's "The Shape of Water" missed out on the top ten list and ended up winning the Best Picture Oscar. This is not to mention that they've only matched Best Picture three times in the last 20 years and only once in the last ten, which would seem to effectively eliminate "Green Book" from winning The Academy's top prize.

       

      However, things are just getting started. Next up, we have The New York Film Critics Circle announcing on Thursday, so be sure to check back to see who wins as awards season continues. In the meantime, please see below for a complete list of today's NBR winners:

       

      Best Film: GREEN BOOK
      Best Director: Bradley Cooper, A STAR IS BORN
      Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen, GREEN BOOK
      Best Actress: Lady Gaga, A STAR IS BORN
      Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott, A STAR IS BORN
      Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
      Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, FIRST REFORMED
      Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
      Best Animated Feature: INCREDIBLES 2
      Breakthrough Performance: Thomasin McKenzie, LEAVE NO TRACE
      Best Directorial Debut: Bo Burnham, EIGHTH GRADE
      Best Foreign Language Film: COLD WAR
      Best Documentary: RBG
      Best Ensemble: CRAZY RICH ASIANS
      William K. Everson Film History Award: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD
      NBR Freedom of Expression Award: 22 JULY NBR
      NBR Freedom of Expression Award: ON HER SHOULDERS

       

      Top Films (in alphabetical order)
      The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
      Black Panther
      Can You Ever Forgive Me?
      Eighth Grade
      First Reformed
      If Beale Street Could Talk
      Mary Poppins Returns
      A Quiet Place
      Roma
      A Star Is Born

       

      Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
      Burning
      Custody
      The Guilty
      Happy as Lazzaro
      Shoplifters

       

      Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
      Crime + Punishment
      Free Solo
      Minding the Gap
      Three Identical Strangers
      Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

       

      Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
      The Death of Stalin
      Lean on Pete
      Leave No Trace
      Mid90s
      The Old Man & the Gun
      The Rider
      Searching
      Sorry to Bother You
      We the Animals
      You Were Never Really Here

       

      Follow me on Twitter @BeckFilmCritic.

      Tags:

      National Board of Review

      Green Book

      A Star is Born

      If Beale Street Could Talk

      First Reformed

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