Thursday, December 30, 2010

2010: The Year in Box Office

The top ten grossing films in of 2010 are:
  1. Toy Story 3- $415.0
  2. Alice in Wonderland- $334.1
  3. Iron Man 2- $312.1
  4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse- $300.5
  5. Inception- $292.5
  6. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1- $277.2
  7. Despicable Me- $250.9
  8. Shrek Forever After- $238.3
  9. How to Train Your Dragon- $217.5
  10. The Karate Kid- $176.5
There's two probable Oscar overlaps (three if How to Train Your Dragon beats the odds), four animated features, five sequels, two remakes, or whatever the term, five features released in 3-D for added inflation, and one true original film.  Business as usual, and for a list on terms of popularity this one is I think a bit more favorable in comparison to many years (even though the ghastly and ugly Alice in Wonderland needn't be remembered for anything, in my opinion.)  And as receipts and analysis gets plugged in and reverberated throughout the Hollywood machine, the fact remains that 2010 was the second highest grossing year in box office history, while actual movie theater attendance took a hefty decline.  Does one outweigh the other; is movie theater viewing already becoming culturally passe?



And now for a more micro view of 2010 box office; the films that played limited engagements.  Over the past few years, many have noted, the in-flux state of independent films.  What with many indie studios closing it's doors the past years, along with the specialty divisions of top Hollywood studios (Miramax! Warner Independent!-- all gone.)  2010 was, at least as of late, kind of booming...

Top Ten Theater Averages of 2010 (opening weekend only):
  1. The King's Speech (averaged $88,863 on 3 screens)
  2. Black Swan (averaged $80,212 on 17 screens)
  3. The Fighter (averaged $75,003 on 4 screens)
  4. The Kids Are All Right (averaged $70,282 on 7 screens)
  5. 127 Hours (averaged $66,213 on 4 screens)
  6. The Ghost Writer (averaged $45,752 on 4 screens)
  7. Cyrus (averaged $45,429 on 4 screens)
  8. The Secret of Kells (averaged $39, 826 on 1 screen)
  9. Greenberg (averaged $39,384 on 3 screens)
  10. Hereafter (averaged $36,720 on 6 screens)
To put into perspective, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, which had the best opening screen average in wide release, averaged $30,000-- it didn't even crack the top ten.

Ineligible

Every year, the same old drill.  Rules, either seemingly abstract or utterly invented, come into play to damper into certain film's eligibility in certain categories.  The first cause of this rant comes in the form of the Writers Guild of America, who will announce their nominations next week.  Year after year the WGA disqualifies films because they don't comply with the rules of their organization-- screenplays written by non-members or non-affiliates.  This years unacceptable include:
  • The King's Speech
  • Toy Story 3
  • Winter's Bone
  • Blue Valentine
  • Another Year
  • The Ghost Writer
  • Nowhere Boy
  • The Way Back
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Love & Other Drugs
  • Made in Dagenham
  • Green Zone
  • Biutiful
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  • How to Train Your Dragon
That's a lot of movies right off the bat out of running.  Some, like The King's Speech and Toy Story 3, need not worry, Oscar will have their backs-- The King's Speech is likely far and away the frontrunner for Best Original Screenplay.  Others, like smaller, richer, less lavishly lauded films-- like The Ghost Writer, Winter's Bone and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, or Blue Valentine, which has had little precursor love as of late-- could have used WGA nominations to build up steam for actual Oscar nominations.  Those two in particular would be awesome if Academy-approved.  I get that rules are rules, but this feels discriminatory-- why shame good films because their writers aren't members of your guild; seems unfair and unjust.  For a little backstory, no film has won a writing Oscar without a corresponding WGA nomination since 2002-- Pedro Almodovar's Talk to Her, and no film has won Best Picture without a WGA nomination since 2000-- Gladiator.  Makes me kind of sad to think of an awards body (just like a constitutional amendment) limiting the possibility of a film-- should not all films be treated equally.


The next tangent is perhaps more complex and has do with the music department of the Academy.  Recently a decision was made to bar the original musical scores of True Grit, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right and Black Swan from Oscar nominations.  The rules of such, I think, are highly suspect and perhaps reason enough for the Academy to end music-driven Oscars altogether-- they clearly have little eye (or ear) for it, and suck at it (here's my own bitterness coming out after they ignored Bruce Springsteen's great song for The Wrestler in 2008.)  The Fighter and The Kids Are All Right were deemed ineligible because there were too many pop songs intermingled with original music (kind of like the 2006 Oscar winning score to Babel?!)  True Grit and Black Swan were disqualified because their original scores were deemed to dependent on other sources (Grit was influenced and intermingled with hymnals and Swan was infused with Tchaikovsky.)  Of course, a greater question is asked, why wouldn't a film like True Grit feature music inspired by 19th century hymnals, feels fairly appropriate, and how could one do a revisionist take on Swan Lake without some of the composer's inspiring music?  Does that take away from the memorable music originally and creatively composed by Carter Burwell and Clint Mansell, respectively?  It all harkens back to the sad Oscar season day when Jonny Greenwood's interesting and volcanic music for 2007's There Will Be Blood was omitted for the same reasons.  I suppose I beg, or at the very least, kindly ask the members of the Academy, as a loyal and humble servant, why this insanity continues.  Enough with the rules-- I get it, you like what you like and will continue to honor the violin-soaked sad scoring that who've honored in the past, as well as the ballast-prone John Williams-like melodies, but stop with the omissions.  Nominate what you would like, but acknowledge more out there before totally shutting them down!  Either that, or please leave music to the Grammys!

My favorites scores of 2010:
  • Black Swan
  • The Ghost Writer
  • I Am Love
  • Inception (probable Oscar favorite)
  • Rabbit Hole
  • The Social Network
  • Somewhere
  • True Grit
 Tangent completed...

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

National Film Registry

The Library of Congress has made it selection's for it's admissions to the National Film Registry.  The 2010 selected titles are noted for historic, cultural significance.

  • Airplane (1980)
  • All the President's Men (1976)
  • The Bargain (1914)
  • Cry of Jazz (1959)
  • Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)
  • The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • The Exorcist (1973)
  • The Front Page (1931)
  • Grey Gardens (1976)
  • I Am Joaquin (1969)
  • It's a Gift (1934)
  • Let There Be Light (1946)
  • Lonesome (1928)
  • Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
  • Malcolm X (1992)
  • McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
  • Newark Athlete (1891)
  • Our Lady of the Sphere (1969)
  • The Pink Panther (1964)
  • Preservation of the Sign Language (1913)
  • Saturday Night Fever (1977)
  • Study of a River (1996)
  • Tarantella (1940)
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
  • A Trip Down Market Street (1906)

Phoenix Film Critics Awards

BEST PICTURE
The King's Speech



Top 10 of 2010:
  • The King's Speech
  • 127 Hours
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Shutter Island
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit
  • Toy Story 3
  • Winter's Bone
BEST DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan, Inception
BEST ACTOR: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
BEST ENSEMBLE: The Social Network
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Inception
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Social Network
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Restrepo
BEST FOREIGN FILM: Biutiful
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: True Grit
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Inception
BEST FILM EDITING: Inception
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Alice in Wonderland
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Inception
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," Burlesque
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Inception
BEST STUNTS: Inception
BEST MALE YOUTH: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In
BEST FEMALE YOUTH: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Chloe Moretz, Kick-Ass
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR: Debra Granik, Winter's Bone
BEST LIVE ACTION\FAMILY FILM: Alice in Wonderland
THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR: Never Let Me Go


Damn, Phoenix, have more awards than the Grammys!

The King's Speech wins it's first American critical prize (it topped the British Independent Film Awards previously), and unseats The Social Network, which has topped all expect three and half of the thousand critics groups that have announced.  A question arises, as January nears, the critics have said their say-- what will become of the ridiculous, nearly unanimous praise of Fincher's Facebook tale?  Will the guilds crush, and lean more towards King's Speech?

The King's Speech, aside from actually quality, might be hot this month thanks to wide release and the Weinstein awards help.

Utah Film Critics Association


BEST PICTURE
(tie) 127 Hours
The Social Network

BEST DIRECTOR
(tie) Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Fincher, The Social Network

BEST ACTOR: James Franco, 127 Hours
BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
BEST SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: 127 Hours
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Catfish
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
BEST FOREIGN FILM: (tie)
Micmacs
A Prophet

It's fitting that the Utah film critics would acknowledge 127 Hours since the film showcases it's beautiful national parks so well, at least up until the point where he has to saw his arm off.

This marks the second and a half time that The Social Network wasn't quite at top!

Women Film Critics Circle

BEST MOVIE ABOUT WOMEN
Mother & Child

BEST MOVIE BY A WOMAN
Winter's Bone

BEST WOMAN STORYTELLER (Screenwriting Award)
The Kids Are All Right- Lisa Cholodenko

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King's Speech

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

BEST COMEDIC ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

BEST FOREIGN FILM BY OR ABOUT WOMEN
(tie) Mother
Women Without Men

BEST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Conviction

WORST FEMALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Black Swan

BEST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
(tie) Another Year
The King's Speech

WORST MALE IMAGES IN A MOVIE
Jackass 3-D

BEST EQUALITY OF THE SEXES:
(tie) Another Year
Fair Game

BEST ANIMATED FEMALES
Despicable Me

BEST FAMILY FILM
Toy Story 3

*ADRIENNE SHELLY AWARD:
(For a film that most passionately opposes violence against women)
Winter’s Bone

*JOSEPHINE BAKER AWARD:
(For best expressing the woman of color experience in America)
For Colored Girls

*KAREN MORLEY AWARD:
(For best exemplifying a woman’s place in history or society, and a courageous search for identity)
Fair Game

COURAGE IN ACTING
[Taking on unconventional roles that radically redefine the images of women on screen]
Helen Mirren, The Tempest

THE INVISIBLE WOMAN AWARD
[Performance by a woman whose exceptional impact on the film dramatically, socially or historically, has been ignored]
Q’Orianka Kilcher, Princess Kaiulani

BEST DOCUMENTARY BY A WOMAN
A Film Unfinished

WOMEN’S WORK: BEST ENSEMBLE
Mother and Child

BEST SCREEN COUPLE
Another Year: Jim Broadbent/Ruth Sheen as Tom and Gerri

Oklahoma Film Critics Circle

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network

TOP TEN OF 2010:
  1. The Social Network
  2. Inception
  3. Black Swan
  4. The Fighter
  5. Winter's Bone
  6. True Grit
  7. The King's Speech
  8. Toy Story 3
  9. The Kids Are All Right
  10. 127 Hours
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
ACTOR: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPP. ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPP. ACTRESS: Mila Kunis, Black Swan
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Inception- Christopher Nolan
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: Exit Through the Gift Shop
FOREIGN FILM: A Prophet
FIRST FEATURE: Four Lions
OBVIOUSLY WORST MOVIE: Sex and the City 2
NOT-SO-OBVIOUSLY WORST MOVIE: Alice in Wonderland

Austin Film Critics

BEST PICTURE
Black Swan



Top Ten of 2010:
  1. Black Swan
  2. The Social Network
  3. Inception
  4. Toy Story 3
  5. The King's Speech
  6. True Grit
  7. The Fighter
  8. A Prophet
  9. Winter's Bone
  10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
DIRECTOR: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
ACTOR: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Black Swan
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Social Network
FOREIGN FILM: A Prophet
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: Exit Through the Gift Shop
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Black Swan
ORIGINAL SCORE: TRON: Legacy- Daft Punk
FIRST FILM: Monsters
BEST AUSTIN FILM: Winnebago Man

ROBERT R. McCURDY MEMORIAL BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST AWARD:
Chloe Grace Moretz, Let Me In; Kick-Ass

For those keeping score, this is only the second critics group not to give their top prize to The Social Network (San Diego bestowed there's to Winter's Bone!)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cinema 2010

Awww, memories...


Which of course prompts the question: Was this a good year or not?

Somewhere

The wistful, dreamlike Somewhere starts with a man going in circles.  And for a good, long (some may find way too long) while the film appears to be doing just that.  This being the fourth feature from Sofia Coppola (following The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette), there are a few staples that one may expect, including the penchant for indulgent, artsy preciousness and a general lack of plot.  All this is true of Somewhere, in some way I feel it's Coppola x 4, but for the patient, observant moviegoer who likes to linger in complete sensory filmmaking, there's much to admire, and quite possibly a deeper subtext here than in her previous movies.  I say all this as long admiring fan of Ms. Coppola, and make no mistake, a conversion process for the non-devoted isn't likely here in this drippy, flaky, and relaxed ode to Hollywood, and especially the Chateau Marmont, a hangout of the hip and rich on Los Angeles' famed Sunset Strip.  Coppola was allowed access to film at the hotel (which has a reputation for catering to the famous; one of it's most notorious claims to fame was when John Belushi died of an overdose while residing), and while the it's certainly not the coup of being granted permission to film on the grounds of Versailles (which Coppola did in Marie Antoinette), it marks a far more personal filmmaking ground for the gifted writer\director.

The star of the picture is Stephen Dorff, who has the grizzled unshaven face of a forgotten matinee idol perhaps long past his prime.  He plays Johnny Marco, the matinee idol long past his prime lodging and hanging in the hotel, not doing much of anything.  We follow his daily ritual at the start of the film, which involves getting threatening text messages from an anonymous caller, drinking beer and chain-smoking, casual skirt chasing.  He ends most days watching two blonde pole dancers prance around his room-- they provide their own poles.  When asked at a party by an interloper what his acting methods are, he says he doesn't have any, and that's the feeling come across by Dorff's performance.  He isn't quite acting, he just is, and with the utmost minimalism, he carries Somewhere quite beautifully, going along for the sparkly little mood piece that Coppola has so tenderly rendered.

The first reel, I would suggest, is going to be hardest to sit through, especially for the audience not completely embracing of Coppola's consummate style and control.  It's largely dialogue-free, and more of a series of vignettes than a cohesive beginning.  What's successful about it is in slowly unraveling the hermetic, melancholy, albeit very pampered existence (or lack thereof) of it's leading man.  Whether living the life of solitary leisure at the Marmont, or driving around Los Angeles in his nifty black sports car, he always appears trapped in something, including the obligatory press for his latest movie, which while no details are given about the nature of the film itself, the general sense is Johnny's not to pleased with it.  What drives in the movie is a slow and thoughtful reveal of his daughter Cleo (played with disarming grace by Elle Fanning.)  Cleo who is perhaps just as hermetically sealed as Johnny with her regimented ice staking lessons, ballet, and upcoming summer camp, is introduced signing her father's arm cast (his injury stems from doing his own movie stunts.)

Through a small bit of plot contrivance (it's really Coppola's first, so she should be forgiven), Cleo is locked in to spend more time with dad, after mom abruptly leaves for a while to go through "stuff."  This is meat of Somewhere, watching the bond between father and daughter develop for perhaps the first time in these characters lives.  They rock out to Guitar Hero, and have underwater tea parties, jet off to Italy so Johnny can receive silly prize (in a scene that nearly as witty and ridiculous as Bill Murray's Japanese talk show appearance in Lost in Translation.)  For a film that is both an inside Hollywood folk tale and meditative father\daughter love story, credit must be given to Coppola, who never goes into bitter satire or schmaltzy, overly sentimental territory.  And while, I would suggest that Somewhere is far from a thinker's film, one must wonder who the filmmaker more identifies with: before becoming an Oscar-winning writer\director, Coppola herself was seen as a party girl, a girl famous for being famous, hanger on at places like the Chateau Marmont, possibly living an overly privileged, shallow Hollywood lifestyle (Johnny), or as the daughter of a movie icon (Francis Ford Coppola), being jetted around, possibly without much of a substantial rapport. 

Either way, in some levels, Somewhere might be her fullest achievement as filmmaker to date, and potentially her most experimental.  The dialogue is even more minimal here than ever before, making each line reading stand out more, carefully and delicately written, by turns throwaway, witty and sad.  The score is almost always integral and playing directly in the scene itself, without heavy orchestration, and a restraint to Coppola's past penchant for indie-pop songs-- the few here are courtesy of the French band Phoenix.  In truth, it's easily her most naturalistic film; just as Johnny Marco doesn't have a method to his acting, it appears like Coppola is really going for the fly-in-the-wall experience here more so than before, and more times than not, it actually works.  The small comedic beats are also effective-- a sequence at a press junket with Michelle Monaghan is my favorite; another scene where Cleo explains the plot of the Twilight books to her dad is nifty as well.  Of course none of the this would work with the easy-going, natural rapport of Dorff and Fanning, who succeed in making characters that feel like they started way before the first shot and will end long after the last one.

I suppose the best quality of Somewhere, the one that makes it it's own, unique artful film, the one I'm sure Coppola intended to make (her director of photography, Harris Savidas deserves much praise as well) is that the simple, delicate finale is probably where most Hollywood hacks would start their movie.  That she's a filmmaker more interested in the human emotional journey, but stopping right before the grand epiphany takes place in the central character makes us question, but hopeful that they will get there.  And that graceful subtlety, along with the beatific imagery makes me hopeful in the spirit of American independent filmmaking.  A-

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Director's Roundtable

Indiewire's Best of 2010

The folks at Indiewire have made their best of 2010 choices:

Top Ten Films:

1) The Social Network
2) Carlos
3) Winter's Bone
4) Black Swan
5) Everyone Else
6) Dogtooth
7) The Ghost Writer
8) Mother
9) I Am Love
10) Another Year
(tie) Wild Grass


Best Lead Performance:

1) Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
2) Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
3) Natalie Portman, Black Swan
4) Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
5) Kim Hye-ja, Mother
6) Tilda Swinton, I Am Love
7) Jeon Do-yeon, Secret Sunshine
8) Isabelle Huppert, White Material
9) Lesley Manville, Another Year
10) Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine


Best Supporting Performance: 

1) John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
2) Christian Bale, The Fighter
3) Michael Fassbender, Fish Tank
4) Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
5) Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
6) Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
7) Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
8) Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
(tie) Olivia Williams, The Ghost Writer
9) Lesley Manville, Another Year
10) Melissa Leo, The Fighter

contributing critics\bloggers 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Chicago Film Critics Association

PICTURE
The Social Network

DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network

ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King's Speech

ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This marks the fifth critics prize, and highest profile win for both Steinfeld and True Grit, which has been oddly separated from the awards race as of late, in spite of it's leading stature.  As discussed, I'm far from a fan, but Steinfeld's steadfast and strong leading performance is one of the strengths.  I'm a case of pure, unadulterated category fraud, she's been saddled in the supporting category.  A number of reasons: supporting actress is far weaker than leading this year (which distributor Paramount appears acutely aware of) and the factor of age.  She's a teenager, and a she's a she.  A strong performance to be sure, but she's stealing away prizes from my favorite, true supporting performers like Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) who unlike Steinfeld doesn't have a lofty, big-scaled Christmas release date.  I expect at this point that the bigger guilds and such would buy into such category frauds, but the critics should be shrewder!

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Inception- Christopher Nolan

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin

ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 3

DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop

FOREIGN FILM
A Prophet

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inception- Wally Pfister

ORIGINAL SCORE
Black Swan- Clint Mansell

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Derek Cainfrance, Blue Valentine

The Swan Went Wide


Over the weekend, Darren Aronofsky's mad and crazy Black Swan went wide across the country, and the results were good, not great, not bad...okay pretty good, yes, sure, let's go with that.  Playing on 959 screens, with a screen average of $8,600, the film earned $8.3 million over the weekend.  It might appear to be a mixed bag, considering the bang-up numbers the film posted in limited release, but a #7 ranking for a Red Shoes on acid trip is quite amazing; this isn't a happy, little crowd-pleaser, but a rattling, tense melding of genre style chills with mad auteur-ish flourishing.

What surprises me however, is the consistence dominance of Black Swan in the awards derby, especially considering some of the more polarizing notices the non-subtle film has attracted.  The dominance of Natalie Portman's awardage is the film easiest get, but that the film has merited so much behind her performance is fairly spectacular-- the 11 nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the 4 Golden Globe nominations, 3 Screen Actors Guild nominations, and technical achievements from various critics societies.  It's shocking that this crazy directorial fantasia has thus far achieved such mainstream plaudits.  The fact that surprises such as Mila Kunis' role earned Globe and SAG nominations proves the film was seen and admired in more areas than expected.

In an effort from Fox Searchlight Pictures, they've struck while the movie was hot, and it's certainly hot, especially while breaking limited release records in it's first two weeks.  Now, here's the biggest test-- the critical elite have had they're say (and some of what they've said is less than stellar), the cool coastal cinephilles have spoken up (this film was always going to be a hit with hip, young, art-house crowd), now a real challenge-- the populist.  While the cynic in me predicts a cold, sad couple of months ahead for the brainy, nervy ballet freak out, but I'm hopeful it will branch out and hook those who might not be the target audience for this.  It's still lost in my dreams.

Flordia Film Critics Circle

PICTURE: The Social Network
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
ACTOR: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPP. ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPP. ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
ORIG. SCREENPLAY: Inception- Christopher Nolan
AD. SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: The Tillman Story
FOREIGN FILM: I Am Love
ART DIRECTION: Inception
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Inception
VISUAL EFFECTS: Inception
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

All the usual suspects, and I'm fairly bored...

St. Louis Film Critics Awards

BEST FILM
The Social Network
runner-up: The King's Speech

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network
runner-up: Christopher Nolan, Inception

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
runner-up: James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
runner-up: Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
runner-up: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King's Speech- David Seidler
runner-up: Inception- Christopher Nolan

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
runner-up: Winter's Bone- Debra Granik & Anne Rosselini

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 3
runner-up: How to Train Your Dragon

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Micmacs
runners-up: Buitiful, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, A Prophet

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Tillman Story
runner-up: Waiting for 'Superman'

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
True Grit- Roger Deakins
runner-up: 127 Hours- Enrique Chediak & Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST MUSIC
The Social Network
runners-up: Inception, Black Swan

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Inception
runner-up: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

BEST COMEDY
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
runner-up: Micmacs

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Film Comment's Top 50 of 2010

  1. Carlos (Olivier Assayas)
  2. The Social Network (David Fincher)
  3. White Material (Claire Denis)
  4. The Ghost Writer (Roman Polanski)
  5. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard)
  6. Winter's Bone (Debra Granik)
  7. Inside Job (Charles Ferguson)
  8. Wild Grass (Alain Resnais)
  9. Everyone Else (Maren Ade)
  10. Greenberg (Noah Baumbach)
  11. Mother (Joon-bon Bong)
  12. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
  13. Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl (Manoel de Oliveira)
  14. Another Year (Mike Leigh)
  15. The Strange Case of America (Nicholas Tucker)
  16. The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko)
  17. Shutter Island (Martin Scorcese)
  18. Around a Small Mountain (Jacques Rivette)
  19. Our Beloved Month of August (Miguel Gomes)
  20. Ne change rien (Pedro Costa)
  21. Dogtooth (Giorgos Lanthimos)
  22. I Am Love (Luca Guadagnino)
  23. Sweetgrass (Ilisa Barbash)
  24. Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)
  25. The Father of My Children (Mia Hansen-Love)
  26. Boxing Gym (Frederick Wiseman)
  27. Secret Sunshine (Chang dong-Lee
  28. Bluebeard (Catherine Breillat)
  29. Enter the Void (Gasper Noe)
  30. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
  31. Alamar (Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio)
  32. The Oath (Laura Poitras)
  33. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy)
  34. World on a Wire
  35. Animal Kingdom (David Michod)
  36. Vincere (Marco Bellocchio)
  37. Daddy Longlegs (Ben Safdie)
  38. Lourdes (Jessica Hausner)
  39. Life During Wartime (Todd Solondz)
  40. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold)
  41. Please Give (Nicole Holofcener)
  42. True Grit (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
  43. Lebanon (Samuel Maoz)
  44. The King's Speech (Tom Hooper)
  45. I Love You, Phillip Morris (Glenn Ficarra & John Requa)
  46. Last Train Home (Lixin Fan)
  47. Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance)
  48. Hadewijch (Bruno Dumont)
  49. The Anchorage (Anders Edstrum)
  50. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (Ruxandra Medrea)

Golden Satellites Winners

BEST PICTURE (Drama)
The Social Network

BEST PICTURE (Musical or Comedy)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network

BEST ACTOR (Drama)
Colin Firth, The King's Speech

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)
Noomi Rapace, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo


BEST ACTOR (Musical or Comedy)
Michael Cera, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

BEST ACTRESS (Musical or Comedy)
Anne Hathaway, Love & Other Drugs

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King's Speech- David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin

The ghetto-ized!


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 3

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Restrepo

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inception- Wally Pfister

BEST FILM EDITING
Please Give- Robert Frazen

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Inception- Guy Hendrix Dyas, Luke Freeborn, Brad Ricker & Dean Wolcott

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland- Colleen Atwood

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Inception- Hans Zimmer

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," Burlesque

BEST SOUND
Unstoppable

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice in Wonderland

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Houston Film Critics Awards

PICTURE: The Social Network
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
ACTOR: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: Restrepo
FOREIGN FILM: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Inception- Wally Pfister
SCORE: Inception- Hans Zimmer
SONG: "We Are Sex Bob-Omb!," Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (music & lyrics by Beck)


It's a sad day in awards land when the most fun award goes to Best Song, alas those are the times.  Unfortunately, the fun Beck ditty from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World isn't one of the 41 songs eligible for the Oscar, so it's all in vein.

One thing that strikes me is the impressive awards season it's been for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the Swedish sensation of the year that I personally just don't get.  The leading lady, Noomi Rapace garnered a few nominations, as has the film nabbed a few foreign film critics prizes; I'm confused...was the foreign film selection that weak this year?  My take is that it's a fairly competent made television procedure show; I suppose if you throw in the misogynistic violence it would have to be a premium cable one, but outside of the interesting leading actors (which I believe says more about them, then the material), I don't get it!  We shall see of course, what David Fincher does with it next year around this time.

The Tree of Life Trailer

Friday, December 17, 2010

Dallas\Ft. Worth Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network

Top Ten of 2010
  1. The Social Network
  2. The King's Speech
  3. Black Swan
  4. 127 Hours
  5. Winter's Bone
  6. Inception
  7. The Fighter
  8. True Grit
  9. The Town
  10. The Kids Are All Right
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
ACTOR: James Franco, 127 Hours
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: Waiting for 'Superman'
FOREIGN FILM: Biutiful
CINEMATOGRAPHY: 127 Hours
RUSSELL SMITH AWARD: Winter's Bone

Detroit Film Critics Awards


BEST PICTURE: The Social Network
BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
BEST ACTOR: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
BEST ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Adams, The Fighter
BEST ENSEMBLE: Winter's Bone
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Las Vegas Film Critics Society

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network

Top Ten of 2010
  1. The Social Network
  2. Inception
  3. Black Swan
  4. 127 Hours
  5. The King's Speech
  6. The Fighter
  7. True Grit
  8. Winter's Bone
  9. The Town
  10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
ACTOR: James Franco, 127 Hours
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Adams, The Fighter
SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: Waiting for 'Superman'
FOREIGN FILM: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
ART DIRECTION: Black Swan
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Inception
COSTUME DESIGN: Alice in Wonderland
FILM EDITING: Inception
SCORE: The Social Network
SONG: Tangled- "I See the Light"
VISUAL EFFECTS: Inception
FAMILY FILM: Toy Story 3

Screen Actors Guild Nominations

BEST ENSEMBLE
Black Swan
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network


BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Robert Duvall, Get Low
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Hilary Swank, Conviction

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

BEST STUNTS
Green Zone
Inception
Robin Hood

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

San Diego Film Critics Society

Leave it to the San Diego Film Critics to offer a change; they're are so far really the only critics group that's shown a personality:

BEST PICTURE
Winter's Bone

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell, Ondine

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lesley Manville, Another Year

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Four Lions- Jesse Armstrong, Sean Bain & Chris Morris

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 3

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop

BEST FOREIGN FILM
I Am Love

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inception- Wally Pfistor

BEST FILM EDITING ------>
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World- Jonathon Amos & Paul Machliss

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Shutter Island- Dante Ferrati

BEST SCORE
Never Let Me Go- Rachel Portman

BEST ENSEMBLE
44-Inch Chest


This notes the first win of the season for something other than The Social Network...

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Golden Globe Nominations

BEST PICTURE (Drama)
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The King's Speech
  • The Social Network 
 

BEST PICTURE (Musical or Comedy)
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Burlesque
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • Red
  • The Tourist 



BEST DIRECTOR
  • Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
  • David Fincher, The Social Network
  • Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
  • Christopher Nolan, Inception
  • David O. Russell, The Fighter

BEST ACTOR (Drama)
  • Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
  • Colin Firth, The King's Speech
  • James Franco, 127 Hours
  • Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
  • Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)
  • Halle Berry, Frankie & Alice
  • Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
  • Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
  • Natalie Portman, Black Swan
  • Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST ACTOR (Musical or Comedy)
  • Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
  • Johnny Depp, The Tourist
  • Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, Love & Other Drugs
  • Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

BEST ACTRESS (Musical or Comedy)
  • Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
  • Anne Hathaway, Love & Other Drugs
  • Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
  • Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
  • Emma Stone, Easy A

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
  • Christian Bale, The Fighter
  • Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
  • Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
  • Jeremy Renner, The Town
  • Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
  • Amy Adams, The Fighter
  • Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
  • Mila Kunis, Black Swan
  • Melissa Leo, The Fighter
  • Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST SCREENPLAY
  • 127 Hours- Simon Beaufoy & Danny Boyle
  • Inception- Christopher Nolan
  • The Kids Are All Right- Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko
  • The King's Speech- David Seidler
  • The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
  • Despicable Me
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • The Illusionist
  • Tangled
  • Toy Story 3

BEST FOREIGN FILM
  • Biutiful
  • The Concert
  • The Edge
  • I Am Love
  • In a Better World

BEST SCORE
  • 127 Hours
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Inception
  • The King's Speech
  • The Social Network

BEST SONG
  • "Bound to You," Burlesque
  • "Coming Home," Country Strong
  • "I See the Light," Tangled
  • "There's a Place for Us," The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  • "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," Burlesque

Surprises: Burlesque, Mila Kunis, Michael Douglas, The Tourist, Red, Alice in Wonderland, oh my!

Toronto Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network
runners-up: Black Swan; Uncle Boomne Who Can Recall His Past Lives

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network
runners-up: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan; Christopher Nolan, Inception

BEST ACTOR
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
runners-up: Colin Firth, The King's Speech; James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
runners-up: Natalie Portman, Black Swan; Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Armie Hammer, The Social Network
runners-up: Christian Bale, The Fighter; Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
runners-up: Amy Adams, The Fighter; Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
runners-up: The King's Speech; True Grit

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Exit Through the Gift Shop
runners-up: Get Low; Monsters

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
How to Train Your Dragon
runners-up: Despicable Me; Toy Story 3

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
runners-up: Inside Job; Marwencol

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Uncle Boomne Who Can Recall His Past Lives
runners-up: Mother; Of Gods & Men

San Francisco Film Critics

PICTURE
The Social Network

DIRECTOR: (tie) Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network


ACTOR: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
ACTRESS: Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
SUPPORTING ACTOR: John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The King's Speech
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Social Network
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: The Tillman Story
FOREIGN FILM: Mother
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Black Swan

New York Film Critics Circle

BEST PICTURE 
The Social Network

BEST DIRECTOR 
David Fincher, The Social Network

BEST ACTOR 
FINALLY!
Colin Firth, The King's Speech

BEST ACTRESS 
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Kids Are All Right- Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Illusionist

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Inside Job

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Carlos

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan- Matthew Libatique

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Animal Kingdom- David Michod

A nice, and much needed boost for The Kids Are All Right and Annette Bening.  For those keeping track-- the New York Film Critics Circle are the first awards group not give their screenplay award to The Social Network.

Southeastern Film Critics Association

BEST PICTURE
The Social Network

Top Ten of 2010
  1. The Social Network
  2. The King's Speech
  3. Winter's Bone
  4. Black Swan
  5. Inception
  6. True Grit
  7. Toy Story 3
  8. 127 Hours
  9. The Fighter
  10. The Kids Are All Right




BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network
runner-up: Christopher Nolan, Inception

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
runner-up: James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
runner-up: Christian Bale, The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
runner-up: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Social Network
runner-up: Winter's Bone

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King's Speech- David Seidler
runner-up: Inception- Christopher Nolan

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
runner-up: Winter's Bone- Debra Granik & Anne Rosselini

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 3
runner- How to Train Your Dragon

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Inside Job
runner-up: Exit Through the Gift Shop

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Mother
runner-up: Biutiful

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
True Grit- Roger Deakins
runner-up: Inception- Wally Pfistor

GENE WYATT FOR FILM THAT EVOKES THE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH
Winter's Bone
runner-up: Get Low

Broadcast Film Critics Association Nominations

or the Critics Choice Awards:

Black Swan leads with 12 nominations!

BEST PICTURE
  • 127 Hours
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The King's Speech
  • The Social Network
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit
  • Winter's Bone

BEST DIRECTOR
  • Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
  • Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
  • Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, True Grit
  • David Fincher, The Social Network
  • Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
  • Christopher Nolan, Inception

Gosling, Blue Valentine
BEST ACTOR
  • Jeff Bridges, True Grit
  • Robert DuVall, Get Low
  • Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
  • Colin Firth, The King's Speech
  • James Franco, 127 Hours
  • Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine ----->

BEST ACTRESS
  • Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
  • Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
  • Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
  • Natalie Portman, Black Swan
  • Noomi Rapace, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
  • Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Rockwell, Conviction
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
  • Christian Bale, The Fighter
  • Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
  • Jeremy Renner, The Town
  • Sam Rockwell, Conviction ----->
  • Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
  • Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
  • Amy Adams, The Fighter
  • Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
  • Mila Kunis, Black Swan
  • Melissa Leo, The Fighter
  • Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
  • Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST YOUNG ACTOR\ACTRESS
  • Elle Fanning, Somewhere
  • Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
  • Chloe Grace Moretz, Kick-Ass
  • Chloe Grace Moretz, Let Me In
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In
  • Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
  • The Fighter
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King's Speech
  • The Social Network
  • The Town

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
  • Another Year- Mike Leigh
  • Black Swan- Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz & John McLaughlin
  • The Fighter- Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
  • Inception- Christopher Nolan
  • The Kids Are All Right- Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko
  • The King's Speech- David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
  • 127 Hours- Simon Beaufoy & Danny Boyle
  • The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
  • The Town- Ben Affleck, Peter Craig & Sheldon Turner
  • Toy Story 3- Michael Arndt
  • True Grit- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
  • Winter's Bone- Debra Granik & Anne Rosselini

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
  • Despicable Me
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • The Illusionist
  • Tangled
  • Toy Story 3

BEST DOCUMENTARY
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop
  • Inside Job
  • Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
  • Restrepo
  • The Tillman Story
  • Waiting for 'Superman'

BEST FOREIGN FILM
  • Biutiful
  • I Am Love
  • The Girl With Dragon Tattoo

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
  • 127 Hours- Anthony Dod Mantle
  • Black Swan- Matthew Libatique
  • Inception- Wally Pfistor
  • The King's Speech- Danny Cohen
  • True Grit- Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
  • Alice in Wonderland- Stefan Dechant
  • Black Swan- Therese DePrez & Tora Peterson
  • Inception- Guy Hendrix Dyas
  • The King's Speech- Netty Chapman
  • True Grit- Jess Goncher & Nancy Haigh

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
  • Alice in Wonderland- Colleen Atwood
  • Black Swan- Amy Westcott
  • The King's Speech- Jenny Beaven
  • True Grit- Mary Zophres

BEST FILM EDITING
  • 127 Hours- Jon Harris
  • Black Swan- Andrew Weisblum
  • Inception- Lee Smith
  • The Social Network- Angus Wall & Kirk Baxter

BEST SCORE
  • Black Swan- Clint Mansell
  • Inception- Hans Zimmer
  • The King's Speech- Alexandre Desplat
  • The Social Network- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
  • True Grit- Carter Burwell

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
  • "If I Rise," 127 Hours
  • "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," Burlesque
  • "I See the Light," Tangled
  • "We Belong Together," Toy Story 3
  • "Shine," Waiting for 'Superman'

BEST SOUND
  • 127 Hours
  • Black Swan
  • Inception
  • The Social Network
  • Toy Story 3

BEST MAKEUP
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Black Swan
  • Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • True Grit

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  • Inception
  • Tron: Legacy

BEST ACTION MOVIE
  • Inception
  • Kick-Ass
  • Red
  • The Town
  • Unstoppable

BEST COMEDY
  • Cyrus
  • Date Night
  • Easy A
  • Get Him to the Greek
  • I Love You, Phillip Morris
  • The Other Guys

Big day for Black Swan which leads all nominees with 12 altogether, and big leaps for 127 Hours, The King's Speech, The Town, and The Social Network (not that it needed it), and a huge slap in the face for The Kids Are All Right, which despite love for Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, and it's screenplay failed to get a best picture nod....boooooo!

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Mania in Full Bloom

With the announcement of several major critical prizes (Los Angeles, Boston, New York Online, AFI) and more to come in the next couple of days (New York proper, Golden Globe nominations, Critics Choice nominations) we in the eye of the storm so to speak.  To the truly obsessive types, like myself, I'm giddy and tired and overwhelmed; this is my time of year-- forget Christmas, who going to win actress for the New York Film Critic Circle is on my mind.  Of course with it comes disappointment- a sort of five stages of grief with each announcement:
  • Denial- The Social Network can't possibly win everything
  • Anger- The Kids Are All Right hasn't won anything, yet!
  • Bargaining- I'll take Christian Bale winning supporting actor; but give at least one, measly runner-up prize to Mark Ruffalo...
  • Depression- it seemingly never ends!
  • Acceptance- The King's Speech may prevail in the end, and that's OK, sort of...
And so as each major American city, or every city with a post office makes its bids for the best of everything cinematic in 2010, I know from past experience, that I will lose my cool every now and again; I know I will get bored in the mid section, when every guild\critical society gives up on free thinking, and I know that it really doesn't affect me personally at all.  I suppose I'm too slavish to season of giving.

What we know at this point:
  • The Social Network is the big winner...as is director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin; the films excellent praise, exciting media hook, and popularity ($90 million plus for a talky adult drama is huge, even if it's disguised as a young person's film), the question is when inevitably The King's Speech attempts it's big takeover, will The Social Network come back into the conversation at the right time (ideally when Oscar ballots are due.)  I have a feeling, an intuition that when the Golden Globes, Critic's Choice Award, BAFTA (the British Academy), and perhaps even SAG (Screen Actors Guild) will heed more King's Speech than Social Network-- will that matter in the end?
  • Christian Bale is a bona fide contender for best supporting actor for The Fighter, David O. Russell's Beantown biopic.  Bale's character-- Dicky Eklund, a real-life pugilist with a crack problem and brotherly adoration for Mark Wahlberg could play right into the Academy wheelhouse.  Raves have been buzzing for Bale, and he's dominated the critics prizes (save for Los Angeles, who went their own way in all categories except best picture.)  Bale lost tons of weight, a professional norm for the lean and scarily trim\beefy and muscular intensity driven actor.  It also may show a nice, new director for supporting actor, which for the past three years has been dominated by screen villains: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007), Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008) and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009.)  The question mark for The Fighter isn't so much in the critics (they seem to support the film highly), it may come from how popular the film becomes...it opened in limited release this past weekend to an excellent per-screen average of $80,000 on four screens, but the real question will find answers next week when the film opens wide.  Surprisingly The Fighter has done very well in the early rounds of awards, not just with Bale, but also with Melissa Leo (who plays his mom) as well as the film placing in the National Board of Review's top ten of 2010.
  • Black Swan appears to starting out just fine, with Boston film critics going for Natalie Portman's bravura performance, (as well as New York Online), and well as mentions so far for cinematography, and a runner-up director nod for Darren Aronofsky from Boston.  With the film doing such grand business in limited release at the moment (#6 this weekend, on 90 screens; that's bat-shit craziness!), the question turns to the future-- will it hold up; already the divisive following around the film has raised some potential Oscar questions-- it may be too cool for the fussier types-- a mention on AFI's top ten list doesn't hurt however.  Good news for Black Swan's studio-- Fox Searchlight, 127 Hours appears to have a bit of life in it (after AFI's mention, and James Franco's best actor win from New York Online) and Conviction surprised by winning a best supporting actress laurel for Juliette Lewis from Boston film critics.
  • Even though it's still early, I'm worried about The Kids Are All Right, which has been knocked off a little at the start.  It's plethora of Indie Spirit nominations is good, but where's the critical love-- is it too much of a comedy, too gay, too feminine?  It's still early, but if the New York Film Critics Circle, Golden Globes or Critics Choice don't bring the film back into the conversation, it's in trouble!  Which is shameful since it's easily one of the most joyful surprises of 2010.  On a side note, I'm truly surprised by the mentioning of The Town in best ensemble prizes thus far, and not the glorious ensemble work from The Kids Are All Right-- it's the most jarring thing I've noticed so far in award watch 2010.  Same might appear to be true for the newly more viable R-rated Blue Valentine, which hasn't registered much heat so far, and I fear it's late release date (December 31st) won't help.
  • I'm loving that Jacki Weaver's estimable, smartly sneaky role in the itty-bitty Aussie crime drama Animal Kingdom is getting much needed heat.  Big wins from the National Board of Review and Los Angeles Film Critics are just what it needs-- it's distributor Sony Pictures Classics will hopefully be smart enough to work it. Below is her adorable acceptance speech for winning best actress from the Australian Film Institute Awards.


In truth, however many theories aside, we don't know much of anything, and as I descent into end of the year movie madness, I invite you all to journey down the rabbit hole (and not the Nicole Kidman awards contender) with me.

Indiana Film Journalist Awards

PICTURE
The Social Network
runner-up: Inception 
other finalists:
  • 127 Hours
  • Black Swan
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop
  • The Fighter
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  • True Grit
  • Winter's Bone
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan, Inception
runner-up: Debra Granik, Winter's Bone

ACTOR: James Franco, 127 Hours
runner-up: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
runner-up: John Hawkes, Winter's Bone

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
runner-up: Melissa Leo, The Fighter



SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
runner-up: Inception- Christopher Nolan

ANIMATION: How to Train Your Dragon
runner-up: Toy Story 3

FOREIGN FILM: Lebanon
runner-up: Biutiful

DOCUMENTARY: Exit Through the Gift Shop
runner-up: The Tillman Story

ORIGINAL VISION AWARD: Inception
runner-up: 127 Hours

Los Angeles Film Critcs Association

LA's big winners: Carlos, Mother, The Social Network, Black Swan
BEST PICTURE
The Social Network
runner-up: Carlos

BEST DIRECTOR
(tie) Olivier Assayas, Carlos 
David Fincher, The Social Network

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
runner-up: Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

BEST ACTRESS
Kim Hye-ja, Mother
runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Niels Arestrup, A Prophet
runner-up: Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
runner-up: Olivia Williams, The Ghost Writer

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
runner-up: The King's Speech- David Seidler

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Toy Story 3
runner-up: The Illusionist

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Last Train Home
runner-up: Exit Through the Gift Shop

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Carlos
runner-up: Mother

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan- Matthew Libatique
runner-up: True Grit- Roger Deakins

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
(tie) The Ghost Writer- Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Inception- Guy Hendrix Dyas
runner-up: The King's Speech- Eve Stewart

NEW GENERATION AWARD
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture

DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT\EXPERIMENTAL FILM\VIDEO
Film Socialism

LEGACY OF CINEMA AWARD
the restoration of Metropolis

FILM ACHIEVEMENT
Paul Mazursky

  • Leave it to the Los Angeles Film Critics (my home turf; so I always feel anxious when they announce) to open their cinematic hearts to not one, not two, but three film not even eligible for this years Oscars-- Carlos, Mother and A ProphetCarlos, the five-hour French film that's been a critical favorite since debuting at Cannes in May was shown on television's Sundance Channel and thus not eligible, whilst Mother and A Prophet were eligible last year as they were the official foreign language candidates from their respective countries-- S. Korea and France.
  • The other front is predictable, if still nice-- The Social Network wins big, and proves it's the critics pick.  The awards showering for the films music confuses me since I don't remember any of it at all...
  • I get the impression that Black Swan will be the critical pet in the cinematography department, and well be ghettoized as the "Children of Men" of 2010, which won a buttload of critical cinematography prizes only to wind up an Oscar bridesmaid when the day finally happens; I hope not-- Libatique's beautifully gritty, naturalistic work here is ballsy yet controlled, just like the film itself.

New York Film Critics Online

Franco wins his first award of the season; Bale his fourth!

PICTURE: The Social Network
DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
ACTOR: James Franco, 127 Hours
ACTRESS: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
SCREENPLAY: The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER: Noomi Rapace, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: John Wells, The Company Men
ENSEMBLE CAST: The Kids Are All Right
ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3
DOCUMENTARY: Exit Through the Gift Shop
FOREIGN FILM: I Am Love
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Black Swan- Matthew Libatique
SCORE: Black Swan- Clint Mansell

AFI Top Ten of 2010

 
  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • 127 Hours
  • The Social Network
  • The Town
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit
  • Winter's Bone

    Boston Society of Film Critics

    BEST PICTURE
    The Social Network
    runner-up: Toy Story 3

    BEST DIRECTOR
    David Fincher, The Social Network
    runner-up: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

    BEST ACTOR
    Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
    runner-up: Colin Firth, The King's Speech (by one vote)

    BEST ACTRESS
    Natalie Portman, Black Swan
    runner-up: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
    Christian Bale, The Fighter
    Surprise!
    runner-up: Andrew Garfield, The Social Network

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
    Juliette Lewis, Conviction
    ----------------->
    runner-up: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

    BEST SCREENPLAY
    The Social Network- Aaron Sorkin
    runner-up: Please Give- Nicole Holofcener

    BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
    Toy Story 3
    runner-up: The Illusionist

    BEST DOCUMENTARY
    Marwencol
    runner-up: Inside Job

    BEST FOREIGN FILM
    Mother
    runner-up: I Am Love

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
    True Grit- Roger Deakins
    runner-up: Black Swan- Matthew Libatique

    BEST FILM EDITING
    Black Swan- Andrew Weisblum
    runner-up: Inception- Lee Smith

    BEST NEW FILMMAKER
    Jeff Malmberg, Marwencol
    runner-up: David Michod, Animal Kingdom

    BEST USE OF MUSIC IN FILM
    The Social Network- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
    runner-up: True Grit- Carter Burwell

    BEST ENSEMBLE
    The Fighter
    runner-up: The Kids Are All Right
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