Special Movie Report: Writers Guild, BAFTA Award winners

With just one week to go before the Oscars, “Parasite” and “1917” set themselves up nicely for award season’s final night, taking home major prizes from two recent ceremonies.

On Saturday, “Parasite” won the Writers Guild of America award for Best Original Screenplay, and on Sunday, “1917” earned the top prize from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Best film was just one of several awards picked up by “1917” Sunday.

The full list of winners at the WGAs:

Best Original Screenplay

• Parasite, Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Jojo Rabbit, Screenplay by Taika Waititi.

Best Documentary Screenplay

• The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, Written by Alex Gibney

For the BAFTAs, the winners were:

Best Film

• 1917

Best British Film

• 1917

Outstanding debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

• Bait – Mark Jenkin (writer/director)

Best Film not in the English Language

• Parasite

Best Documentary

• For Sama

Best Animated Film

• Klaus

Best Director

• 1917 – Sam Mendes

Best Original Screenplay

• Parasite – Han Jin Won, Bong Joon-ho

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi

Best Actress

• Renée Zellweger – Judy

Best Actor

• Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

Best Supporting Actress

• Laura Dern – Marriage Story

Best Supporting Actor

• Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Score

• Joker

Best Casting

• Joker

Best Cinematography

• 1917

Best Editing

• Le Mans ’66 (Ford v Ferrari)

Best Production Design

• 1917

Best Costume Design

• Little Women

Best Makeup and Hair

• Bombshell

Best Sound

• 1917

Best Special Visual Effects

• 1917

Best British Short Animation

• Grandad Was a Romantic

Best British short film

• Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

EE rising star award (voted for by the public)

• Micheal Ward

BAFTA Fellowship Honor

• Kathleen Kennedy

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At the box office this weekend, it was the “Bad Boys” sequel once again taking the top spot, earning $17.6 million. It’s a fair amount for Super Bowl weekend and continues to build on what’s been a good run with ticket sales.

The full top five was:

1. Bad Boys for Life – $17,675,000
2. 1917 – $9,660,000
3. Dolittle – $7,700,000
4. Gretel & Hansel – $6,050,830
5. The Gentlemen – $6,010,000

For the upcoming weekend, new releases include the comic book movie “Birds of Prey” and the horror film “The Lodge.”

On the small screen, meanwhile, films available are:

• “Waves,” my rating: 2.9 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 83%, MetaCritic rating: 80.
• “Playing with Fire,” Rotten Tomatoes rating: 21%, MetaCritic rating: 24.
• “Last Christmas,” my rating: 1.75 out of 5, Large Association of Movie Blogs rating: 3.15 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 47%, MetaCritic rating: 50.
• “Doctor Sleep,” my rating: 3 out of 5, Large Association of Movie Blogs rating: 3.47 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 77%, MetaCritic rating: 59.
• “The Good Liar,” my rating: 1.5 out of 5, Large Association of Movie Blogs rating: 2.94 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 64%, MetaCritic rating: 55.
• “Arctic Dogs,” Rotten Tomatoes rating: 13%, MetaCritic rating: 28.