La La Land continued its extended victory lap Friday — two days before the Golden Globe Awards — by picking up top prizes at the 10th annual Houston Film Critics Society Awards extravaganza. The HFCS (of which I am a member) named La La Land the Best Picture of 2016, and filmmaker Damien Chazelle the year’s Best Director, during a program presented at H-Town’s MATCH performing and visual arts center. La La Land also picked up awards for cinematography (Linus Sandgren) and technical achievement (production design).
The acclaimed modern-day western Hell or High Water picked up a pair of
prizes: Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges) and Best Screenplay (Taylor
Sheridan).
Elsewhere on the list of HFCS Award
Winners:
Actor — Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Actress — Natalie Portman, Jackie
Supporting Actress — Viola Davis, Fences
Animated Film — Kubo and the Two Strings
Documentary — O.J.: Made in America
Foreign Film — The Handmaiden
Texas Independent Film Award — Tower
Outstanding Cinematic Contribution — The Alamo Drafthouse
Lifetime Achievement — Margo Martindale
And
to counterbalance all the honors, HFCS announced a dishonor: Zoolander 2 was named Worst Picture of
2016. Which, of course, should greatly enhance its chances at this year's Razzie Awards.
