DETROIT CRITICS STAKE THEIR CASE WITH 2016 NOMINATIONS

Now this is more like it! This is what I've been craving, here in the heart of the critics-led section of awards season! A bit of variety, courtesy of the Detroit Film Critics Society. Not a lot of categories, but with choices such as The Edge of Seventeen in Best Picture, Elle Fanning in Best Supporting Actress, and Alden Ehrenreich and Ralph Fiennes in Best Supporting Actor, there's plenty in their nominees on which to reflect. Winners announced on the 19th of December. All the info below:

Best Picture

The Edge of Seventeen

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Director

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

David MacKenzie (Hell or High Water)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Actress

Amy Adams (Arrival)

Annette Bening (20th Century Women)

Rebecca Hall (Christine)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Best Actor

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Joel Edgerton (Loving)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis (Fences)

Elle Fanning (20th Century Women)

Greta Gerwig (20th Century Women)

Felicity Jones (A Monster Calls)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!)

Ralph Fiennes (A Bigger Splash)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Screenplay

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Eric Heisserer (Arrival)

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)

Best Ensemble

20th Century Women

Everybody Wants Some!!

Hell or High Water

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Best Documentary

13th

Gleason

Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America

Tickled

Weiner

Best Breakthrough

Mahershala Ali (Hidden Figures / Moonlight) - actor

Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen) - director / writer

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea) - actor

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) - director / writer

Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight) - actor

Trey Edward Shults (Krisha) - director / writer

REVIEW - HAIL, CAESAR! (ETHAN COEN AND JOEL COEN)

A featherweight farce from the Coen brothers that seems to spite its own best qualities, Hail, Caesar! is a most dysfunctional feature - remarkably so, and regrettably so. It burgeons over with inspiration, such that Ethan and Joel almost appear afraid of the potential consequences of relenting to the demands of any one particular component, and proceed instead to waffle on with something else. There's trepidation to their approach here, papered over with political intrigue that's second nature to these boys, and whose aggressive intellectualism only reconfigures the rest of the film's flippancy as fluff. And yet Hail, Caesar! thrives on this dichotomous side to its character, procuring strange suspense at each juncture, whether the film will veer right or left, good or bad, dead funny or deadly serious. The skill in the screenplay shows up in superb characterisations from a brilliant ensemble, relishing their withering one-liners with flair as fleet-footed as Channing Tatum, whose choreographed sequence is among the film's finest. And there's plenty more to find in Hail, Caesar!, from a wondrous recreation of an old aquatic picture, to virtually every single scene featuring the excellent Alden Ehrenreich, harnessing a level of comedic motivation he's never before even had the chance to hint at. Ehrenreich and his co-stars keep the film afloat, as the Coens themselves threaten to sink it - even their most permissible impulses, such as the studio sheen of the visual scheme, or the inherent ephemerality of the concept, don't quite fit together as flush as they surely should. Hail, Caesar! fully intends to be disposable; it's a slight, but certain disappointment that it's as easy to dispose of as this.

ALDEN EHRENREICH AND RALPH FIENNES IN NEW HAIL, CAESAR! TRAILER

The new trailer for the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar! is even better than the first one. It's tempting, in any way you think about it (thank you, movie gods, for the gift that is Alden Ehrenreich). It's funny and fabulous in equal measure. It's sure to be remembered as one of the best trailers of the year, for a film that's sure to be remembered as one of the best features of the year... surely. Out in North America on the 5th of February and in the UK on the 4th of March wtf.