The Hawaii Film Critics Society released its list of nominations for their year’s end, Best of 2018 list today. The nominations reveal a selection of the expected awards-favorites, many audience-favorite blockbusters and a handful of genuine surprise picks. Bradley Cooper’s blockbuster music drama, “A Star Is Born,” Ryan Coogler’s Marvel milestone “Black Panther” and Yorgos Lanthimos’ art house costume drama, “The Favourite” all received the most nominations, with nine each. Alfonso Cuaron’s critics-favorite, “Roma,” followed with seven nominations, Damien Chazelle’s astronaut biopic “First Man” received six nominations, while “Green Book,” “Widows,” “BlackKklansman,” “A Quiet Place,” “Hereditary” and “Isle of Dogs” all received four nomination each.
As always, the Hawaii Film Critics Society selections tend to skewer a wide variety of tastes, as hits like “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (both nominated for three awards each) were recognized, but so is the WWII-horror film “Overlord” (up for Best Make-up and Best Sci-Fi Horror Film), “Tomb Raider” (nominated for Best Stunt Work), “A Wrinkle in Time” (nominated for Best Song) and “Deadpool 2” (also up for Best Song). Current box office champ “Aquaman” received two nominations (for Best Stunt Work and Best Visual Effects), while “Avengers: Infinity War,” currently the top-grossing film of 2018, is also up for two awards (Best Vocal/Motion-Capture Performance and Best Visual Effects).
The Best Hawaiian Film continues to be a surprising category for it versatile picks. Past winners in this category include Cameron Crowe’s “Aloha” and Pixar’s “Moana.” This year, the nominees are Ciara Lacy’s acclaimed documentary, “Out of State,” Mitchel Viernes’ sci-fi short film “Kalewa” (a favorite at this year’s Ohina Short Film Showcase) and Brian Kohne’s Maui-made “Kuleana.” The latter was nominated in this category last year, after appearing on the festival circuit (this year, “Kuleana” received an island-wide limited release and reportedly is having its name changed to “Maui” for its mainland run).
At the other end of the spectrum, surprise hits “The Nun” and “The MEG” are also nominated, though their producers likely won’t be sending flowers- they’re both up for Worst Film of 2018, where they “compete” against “Breaking In,” “Slender Man” and “The HappyTime Murders.”
The Hawaii Film Critics Society, which was founded in 2015 and recently added its newest member (MAUIWatch film critic Aron Medeiros), will vote on the established nominees this coming week and release their final list of winners on Saturday, January 12th.
BEST PICTURE:
A Star Is Born
Roma
Black Panther
Green Boook
First Man
BEST DIRECTOR:
Alfonso Cuaron/ Roma
Spike Lee/ BlackKklansman
Bradley Cooper/ A Star Is Born
Yorgos Lanthimos/ The Favourite
John Krazinski/ A Quiet Place
BEST ACTOR:
Rami Malek/ Bohemian Rhapsody
Bradley Cooper/ A Star Is Born
Christian Bale/ Vice
Viggo Mortensen/ Green Book
John David Washington/ BlacKkKlansman
BEST ACTRESS:
Olivia Coleman/ The Favourite
Toni Collette/ Hereditary
Charlize Theron/ Tully
Claire Foy/ First Man
Elsie Fisher/ Eighth Grade
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Sam Elliot/ A Star Is Born
Mahershala Ali/ Green Book
Adam Driver/ BlacKkKlansman
Richard E. Grant/ Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Daniel Kaluuya/ Widows
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Emma Stone/ The Favourite
Rachel Weisz/ The Favourite
Emily Blunt/ A Quiet Place
Elizabeth Debicki/ Widows
Amy Adams/ Vice
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Roma
The Favourite
Green Book
Sorry To Bother You
Isle of Dogs
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
BlackKklansman
Black Panther
A Star is Born
First Man
Love, Simon
BEST ART DIRECTION:
Black Panther
The Favourite
Roma
Mary Poppins Returns
Crazy Rich Asians
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Black Panther
The Favourite
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary Poppins Returns
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Roma
First Man
The Favourite
Black Panther
A Star Is Born
BEST EDITING:
Roma
The Favourite
Widows
First Man
Mission: Impossible- Fallout
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Ralph Breaks the Internet
The Grinch
BEST DOCUMENTARY:
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Three Identical Strangers
Whitney
Shirkers
They Shall Not Grow Old/ dir. Peter Jackson
Best Make-Up
Vice
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
Overlord
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat/ Isle of Dogs
Justin Hurwitz/ First Man
A Quiet Place
Crazy Rich Asians
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Best Song
“Shallow”/ A Star is Born
“Trip a Little Light Fantastic”/ Mary Poppins Returns
“All the Stars”/ Black Panther
“Ashes”/ Deadpool 2
“Flower of the Universe”/ A Wrinkle in Time
Best Visual Effects
Ready Player One
First Man
Black Panther
Aquaman
Avengers: Infinity War
Best Stunt Work
Mission: Impossible- Fallout
Tomb Raider
Widows
Black Panther
Aquaman
BEST NEW FILMMAKER
Ari Aster/ Hereditary
Bo Burnham/ Eighth Grade
Boots Riley/ Sorry to Bother You
Bradley Cooper/ A Star is Born
The Baker Brothers/ Kin
BEST FIRST FILM
Eighth Grade
Sorry to Bother You
Hereditary
A Star is Born
Kin
BEST OVERLOOKED FILM
Chappaquidick
Mandy
First Reformed
You Were Never Really Here
A Simple Favor
BEST VOCAL/MOTION CAPTURE PERFORMANCE
Josh Brolin/ Avengers: Infinity War
Benedict Cumberbatch/ The Grinch
Taraji P. Henson/ Ralph Breaks the Internet
Bryan Cranston/ Isle of Dogs
Ben Whishaw/ Paddington 2
Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film
A Quiet Place
Hereditary
Annihilation
Halloween
Overlord
Best Foreign Language Film
Roma (Mexico)
Cold War (Poland)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Burning (South Korea)
I Am Not a Witch (United Kingdom)
Best Hawaiian Film
Out of State/ dir. Ciara Lacy
Kuleana/ dir. Brian Kohne
Kalewa/ dir. Mitchel Viernes
Worst Film of 2018
The MEG
The Happytime Murders
Slenderman
Breaking In
The Nun