THE SHAPE OF WATER Named Best Picture by Dallas Critics

It's that time of year when we look back and celebrate the best films and, as a proud member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, I'm glad to say that Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water has named 2017's Best Picture.

Our group consists of 34 broadcast, print and online journalists from North Texas. (official site"Official site.) Listed below are all our picks, in order of votes received.

BEST PICTURE
Winner: THE SHAPE OF WATER

Runners-up: THE POST; LADY BIRD; CALL ME BY YOUR NAME; GET OUT; DUNKIRK; THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI; I, TONYA; THE FLORIDA PROJECT; DARKEST HOUR

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Gary Oldman, DARKEST HOUR

Runners-up: James Franco, THE DISASTER ARTIST; Daniel Day-Lewis, PHANTOM THREAD; Timothee Chalamet, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME; Tom Hanks, THE POST

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Sally Hawkins, THE SHAPE OF WATER

Runners-up: Frances McDormand, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI; Margot Robbie, I, TONYA; Saoirse Ronan, LADY BIRD; Meryl Streep, THE POST

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Sam Rockwell, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

Runners-up: Willem Dafoe, THE FLORIDA PROJECT; Richard Jenkins, THE SHAPE OF WATER; Armie Hammer, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME; Woody Harrelson, THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Allison Janney, I, TONYA

Runners-up: Laurie Metcalf, LADY BIRD; Mary J. Blige, MUDBOUND; Holly Hunter, THE BIG SICK; Octavia Spencer, THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Guillermo del Toro, THE SHAPE OF WATER

Runners-up: Greta Gerwig, LADY BIRD; Christopher Nolan, DUNKIRK; Steven Spielberg, THE POST; Jordan Peele, GET OUT

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: THE SQUARE

Runners-up: THELMA; BPM; FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER; IN THE FADE

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: CITY OF GHOSTS

Runners-up: JANE; AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL; EX LIBRIS: THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY; LAST MEN IN ALEPPO

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: COCO
Runners-up: LOVING VINCENT

BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: Greta Gerwig, LADY BIRD
Runner-up: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, THE SHAPE OF WATER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Dan Laustsen, THE SHAPE OF WATER
Runner-up: Roger Deakins, BLADE RUNNER 2049

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Alexandre Desplat, THE SHAPE OF WATER
Runner-up: Hans Zimmer, DUNKIRK

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)
Winner: THE FLORIDA PROJECT

I voted for some winners -- The Shape of Water, Sam Rockwell, Guillermo del Toro, The Square, Greta Gerwig (screenplay) -- and for some runners-up, including James Franco, Frances McDorman, Laurie Metcalf and Roger Deakins.

In catching up with many films over the past few weeks, I felt much better about the year in general.

As managing editor of this site, and coordinator of theatrical, home video and streaming reviews, it also has made me rethink our priorities on a week to week basis. We rely on an amazing team of contributing writers and editors, including Christopher Bourne, Dustin Chang, Jim Tudor, Pierce Conran, James Marsh, Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Michele 'Izzy' Galgana and J Hurtado. I'm grateful to work with them and our festival reviewers (led by Ryland Aldrich), and always fascinated to read their critical takes on a wide variety of independent films, world cinema, and Hollywood productions.

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