Sam C. Mac 2012

Sam C. Mac 2012

"For the last six years or so, I've been a film and music (and occasionally theater) critic in some capacity or another. I've freelanced for some local print publications as well as a slew of online outlets (The Playlist, Pop Matters), and through it all I've run my own site, In Review Online, as its Editor-in-Chef. In October of 2012, however, I stepped down at InRO. And in February 2013, I moved to China to begin fulfilling a one-year contract as an English teacher at the D.D. Dragon School in Jinhua; as I write this bio, I've only been living in the city for about a week. This has little to do with my "career" in the film world -- at least, aside from being able to see Wong Kar-Wai's "The Grandmaster" a good half-dozen months before the rest of you. The goal is to save a bit of money during this period, have a unique life experience, and eventually, find my way back to New York, hopefully when the jobs market is a little better and I'm a lot more financially well off. Despite all of that, though, I know film will remain a big part of this new phase in my life. And, as ever, I'm honored to be again invited to participate in the Muriels annual poll. Check the space below to find the information you've probably come seeking -- my favorites of 2012, spanning a whole range of Oscar-y categories." -- Sam

Sam on Tabu

Best Feature-Length Film

1. "Tabu"

2. "The Turin Horse"

3. "The Deep Blue Sea"

4. "Holy Motors"

5. "Lincoln"

6. "The Day He Arrives"

7. "This Must Be the Place"

8. "Domain"

9. "Vamps"

10. "Keep the Lights On"  

Best Lead Performance, Male

1. Sean Penn, "This Must Be the Place"

2. Denis Lavant, "Holy Motors"

3. Clarke Peters, "Red Hook Summer"

4. Thure Lindhurst, "Keep the Lights On"

5. Channing Tatum, "Magic Mike"

 Best Lead Performance, Female

 1. Rachel Weisz, "The Deep Blue Sea"

2. Michelle Williams, "Take This Waltz"

3. Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

4. Leah Seydoux, "Sister"

5. Alicia Silverstone, "Vamps"

  Best Supporting Performance, Male

1. Matthew McConaughey, "Magic Mike"

2. Matthew McConaughey, "The Paperboy"

3. Yu Jun-Sang, "In Another Country"

4. Dwight Henry, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

5. Ezra Miller, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

  Best Supporting Performance, Female

1. Emma Watson, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

2. Alison Brie, "The Five-Year Engagement"

3. Krysten Ritter, "Vamps"

4. Sarah Gadon, "Cosmopolis"

5. Ana Moreia, "Tabu"

  Best Direction

1. Miguel Gomes, "Tabu"

2. Terrence Davies, "The Deep Blue Sea"

3. Paolo Sorrentino, "This Must Be the Place"

4. Ira Sachs, "Keep the Lights On"

5. Bela Tarr, "The Turin Horse"

 Best Screenplay

 1. Tony Kushner, "Lincoln"

2. Amy Heckerling, "Vamps"

3. Joseph Kahn & Mark Palermo, "Detention"

4. Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, "Moonrise Kingdom"

5. Miguel Gomes & Mariana Ricardo, "Tabu"

  Best Cinematography

 1. Florian Hoffmeister, "The Deep Blue Sea"

2. Dariusz Wolski, "Prometheus"

3. John Davey, "Crazy Horse"

4. Emad Burnat, "5 Broken Cameras"

5. Mark Lee Ping Bin, "Norwegian Wood"

Best Editing

1. Mary Ann Bernard, "Haywire"

2. Mary Ann Bernard, "Magic Mike"

3. Frederick Wiseman, "Crazy Horse"

4. Ronald Sanders, "Cosmopolis"

5. Sidney Wolinski, "Not Fade Away"

Best Music

 1. Jon Brion, "ParaNorman"

2. Arthur Russell, "Keep the Lights On"

3. Various Artists, "The Paperboy"

4. Various Artists, "Moonrise Kingdom"

5. Thomas Newman, "Skyfall"

 Best Cinematic Moment

1. "The Five-Year Engagement": Cookie Monster and Elmo

2. "This Must Be the Place": THAT'S IT DAVID THAT'S IT

3. "Magic Mike": Pony

4. "Flying Sword of Dragon Gate": Sword Fighting Inside a Fucking Tornado

5. "Take This Waltz": Video Killed the Radio Star

6. "Skyfall": Shadow Boxing in Shanghai

7. "This Is Not a Film": Floorplan for a Film

8. "The Deep Blue Sea": Train Reverie/Molly Malone

9. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower": Sam's Letter of Acceptance

10. "21 Jump Street": Fuck You Miles Davis

 Best Cinematic Breakthrough

1. Matthew McConaughey

2. Clarke Peters

3. Channing Tatum

4. Krysten Ritter

5. Josh Trank

 Best Body of Work

 1. Hong Sang-soo

2. Matthew McConaughey

3. Channing Tatum

4. Jennifer Lawrence

5. Denis Lavant

 Best Ensemble Performance

 1. "Silver Linings Playbook"

2. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

3. "Moonrise Kingdom"

4. "The Paperboy"

5. "Damsels in Distress"

10th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 2002

 1. "On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate"

2. "Unknown Pleasures"

3. "The Son"

4. "Spider"

5. "Sex Is Comedy"

  25th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1987

1. "Law of Desire"

2. "Full Metal Jacket"

3. "Yeelen"

4. "RoboCop"

5. "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll"

 50th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1962

1. "The Exterminating Angel"

2. "Lolita"

3. "Jules and Jim"

4. "To Kill a Mockingbird"

5. "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"

 Special Award: Best Film of the 1970s

 1. "Nashville" 

2. "Days of Heaven" 

3. "Killer of Sheep" 

4. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"

5. "Celine and Julie Go Boating"

6. "Badlands"

7. "Hi, Mom!"

8. "The Godfather"

9. "Claire's Knee"

10. "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul"

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