Picture from 2015 Critics Choice Awards—Best of 2014
Image ©Broadcast Film Critics Association

2015 Critics Choice Awards—Best of 2014

On January 15, 2015, the members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (which includes our Rod Gustafson) had their say about the best movies released in 2014. The winners were announced at the Critics Choice Movie Awards (CCMAs).

These awards are decided by over 300 broadcast film critics in the US and Canada. Unlike many other awards handed out this time of year, the broadcast film critics have been watching virtually every wide release movie (and many lesser known films) for the past year, while other awards often focus on their area of interest or expertise. The CCMAs also often have a history of accurately predicting the Oscar nominations and winners (the announcement of the Oscar nominations also happens January 15, 2015—at 5:30 AM PST).

Here are the winners and the list of contending titles in each category:

NOMINATIONS FOR THE 20th ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS

BEST PICTURE
Winner: Boyhood

Other Nominees:
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Michael Keaton – Birdman

Other Nominees:
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo – Selma
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Other Nominees:
Jennifer Aniston – Cake
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Other Nominees:
Josh Brolin – Inherent Vice
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Other Nominees:
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Winner: Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood

Other Nominees:
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Mackenzie Foy – Interstellar
Jaeden Lieberher – St. Vincent
Tony Revolori – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Quvenzhane Wallis – Annie
Noah Wiseman – The Babadook

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Winner: Birdman

Other Nominees:
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Into the Woods
Selma

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Other Nominees:
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay – Selma
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman
Angelina Jolie – Unbroken

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo

Other Nominees:
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel– Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy
Whiplash– Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Gone Girl– Gillian Flynn

Other Nominees:
The Imitation Game– Graham Moore
Inherent Vice– Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything– Anthony McCarten
Unbroken – Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson
Wild – Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Winner: Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki

Other Nominees:
The Grand Budapest Hotel– Robert Yeoman
Interstellar – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator

Other Nominees:
Birdman – Kevin Thompson/Production Designer, George DeTitta Jr./Set Decorator
Inherent Vice– David Crank/Production Designer, Amy Wells/Set Decorator
Interstellar – Nathan Crowley/Production Designer, Gary Fettis/Set Decorator
Into the Woods– Dennis Gassner/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Snowpiercer – Ondrej Nekvasil/Production Designer, Beatrice Brentnerova/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
Winner: Birdman – Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione

Other Nominees:
Boyhood – Sandra Adair
Gone Girl– Kirk Baxter
Interstellar – Lee Smith
Whiplash – Tom Cross

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Milena Canonero

Other Nominees:
Inherent Vice– Mark Bridges
Into the Woods– Colleen Atwood
Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard
Mr. Turner – Jacqueline Durran

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Winner: Guardians of the Galaxy

Other Nominees:
Foxcatcher
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Into the Woods
Maleficent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Other Nominees:
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: The Lego Movie

Other Nominees:
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Guardians of the Galaxy

Other Nominees:
American Sniper
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Fury

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Bradley Cooper – American Sniper

Other Nominees:
Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow
Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Brad Pitt – Fury
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow

Other Nominees:
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley – Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Other Nominees:
Birdman
St. Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Winner: Michael Keaton –Birdman

Other Nominees:
Jon Favreau – Chef
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Bill Murray – St. Vincent
Chris Rock – Top Five
Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Winner: Jenny Slate – Obvious Child

Other Nominees:
Rose Byrne – Neighbors
Rosario Dawson – Top Five
Melissa McCarthy – St. Vincent
Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Winner: Interstellar

Other Nominees:
The Babadook
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: Force Majeure

Other Nominees:
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
Wild Tales

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner: Life Itself

Other Nominees:
Citizenfour
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Last Days in Vietnam
The Overnighters

BEST SONG
Winner: Glory – Common/John Legend –Selma

Other Nominees:
Big Eyes – Lana Del Rey – Big Eyes
Everything Is Awesome – Jo Li and the Lonely Island – The Lego Movie
Lost Stars – Keira Knightley – Begin Again
Yellow Flicker Beat – Lorde – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

BEST SCORE
Winner: Antonio Sanchez –Birdman

Other Nominees:
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

More details about the movies mentioned in this post…

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

The rebels bunker down for the big fight.

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

Great minds must think alike.

Into the Woods

Into the Woods

Sometimes, when dreams come true, they're nightmares.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Trouble is about to check in.

Top Five

Top Five

There's no wedding like a reality-TV show wedding.

Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer

Going nowhere fast.

Leviathan

Leviathan

For the love of home and family.

Wild

Wild

How far do you need to walk to find yourself?

The Judge

The Judge

Like father, like son...

Two Days, One Night

Two Days, One Night

A desperate woman has to beg her co-workers to let her keep her job.

Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler

When does the footage become inappropriate for public viewing?

Whiplash

Whiplash

A teacher can either whip up or beat down a student.

Unbroken

Unbroken

Battered, beaten, but still unbroken.

The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything

Physical disability can't cripple mental ability.

Still Alice

Still Alice

A lost mind is hard to find.

St. Vincent

St. Vincent

When desperate for a friend, beggars can't be choosers.

Gone Girl

Gone Girl

Speculation runs wild when a married woman suddenly goes missing.

Selma

Selma

One man's dream can change history.

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie

Viewers will feel giddy as a kiddy with a new box of Legos

Neighbors

Neighbors

Thou cans't not love these neighbors.

Mr. Turner

Mr. Turner

This bio-drama paints the life of the British artist J.M.W. Turner.

A Most Violent Year

A Most Violent Year

1981 was a most violent year in New York City.

Ida

Ida

What's in a name?

Interstellar

Interstellar

Hope may only be possible in the vastness of space.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy

Bringing order to the galaxy -one disorderly super hero at a time.

Lucy

Lucy

It is hard to love this Lucy.

Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice

Trouble comes knocking...

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

A treasure is a dragon's best friend.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2

A dragon is a man's best friend.

Fury

Fury

With enough fury they might just win the war.

Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher

Hopes for Olympic glory is finished by a cheap shot.

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars

Cancer threatens to eclipse the teen love of Gus and Hazel.

Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow

Maybe tomorrow will never come.

Divergent

Divergent

All is well and good until some one decides not to, "get with the program".

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A new species is evolving.

Chef

Chef

Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) tries to serve up a better future by starting a food truck restaurant.

22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street

Jumping back into undercover work as partying college students.

American Sniper

American Sniper

He's got you in his sites.

Annie (2014)

Annie (2014)

The musical Annie features a black cast in this film version of the tale of an orphaned girl.

Begin Again

Begin Again

A has-been record maker and an un-tapped talent decide to make music together.

Big Eyes

Big Eyes

The eyes say it all.

Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6

Just because he's inflatable doesn't mean he's an airhead.

Birdman

Birdman

Life isn't over before the final curtain call.

The Book of Life

The Book of Life

All is fair in love and death.

The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls

A surprise in every box.

Boyhood

Boyhood

The boyhood of Mason (as played by Ellar Coltrane), from age 5 through 18.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

It may be a new season in his life, but the Captain is still determined to defend his country.

Cake

Cake

Dealing with chronic pain is no cakewalk.