Best Picture
Inception
127 Hours
Rabbit Hole
The Social Network [winner]
Toy Story 3
Like I said in my top 10 of this year, The Social Network was the best film of 2010. I was debating at first wether I should give this award to Inception, but because this film tells a more direct story with snappy dialogue and terrific acting, it goes to The Social Network.
Best Popcorn Flick
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hot Tub Time Machine
Inception [winner]
Kick-Ass
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Toy Story 3
No question here, Inception is DEFINITELY the Popcorn Flick of 2010 and so far a contender for this decade as well. I don't think I've ever been more excited in a theater for any other action movie I've seen cause I was really into it from start, and knowing it's a 2 and a half hour film it really didn't feel that long. That's what I call good pacing. Fantastic job, Nolan.
Best Animated Film
How to Train Your Dragon
Tangled
Toy Story 3 [winner]
Easy call, Toy Story 3 was a movie I had high hopes for, and it delivered perfectly. Now I will admit, I'm a little hesitant for their next film, Cars 2. I kind of understand why Toy Story needed sequels, but why Cars? Why not The Incredibles? Either way, I'm interested to figure out their logic with sequels and can only hope that they'll all be as good as Toy Story 3.
Best Director
Inception (Christopher Nolan) [winner]
127 Hours (Danny Boyle)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright)
The Social Network (David Fincher)
Teenage Paparazzo (Adrien Grenier)
Once again, here's another no brainer. After I saw Inception twice in one day which was opening day, I really thought Nolan was going to get his Oscar finally or at least a directors nomination from the Academy. I never thought that he would end up getting NEITHER! Damn you, Academy! Well thank God that me and a bunch of other blogging movie buffs are making up our own awards and giving Nolan the true recognition he deserves. Also, seeing that the unknown film Teenage Paparazzo got the nomination for Best Director gives an even bigger reason to go see it. It's that good. Just thought I'd put that out there.
Best Actor
The King’s Speech (Colin Firth)
127 Hours (James Franco) [winner]
Rabbit Hole (Aaron Eckhart)
Shutter Island (Leonardo DiCaprio)
The Social Network (Jesse Eisenberg)
People may say that Colin Firth deserved the Oscar, but I say James Franco is the true winner. To give a one-man performance for 90 minutes isn't easy, only Tom Hanks has been able to do better with Cast Away, but Franco was trapped in one small area which is still as challenging. Even with the flashbacks and premonitions in-between the film, it's still Franco that leads the story. Also I wish Leo DiCaprio could've been nominated this year cause his performance in Shutter Island was unforgettable. And props as well to Eisenberg and Eckhart. All five give fantastic performances.
Best Actress
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Noomi Rapace)
The Kids Are All Right (Annette Bening)
The Kids Are All Right (Julianne Moore)
Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman) [winner]
Winter’s Bone (Jennifer Lawrence)
This was a pretty weak year for female leads, but at least the Academy recognized Kidman for the critically acclaimed Rabbit Hole. She was the only one that played a totally believable character out of the ones nominated and I mean all respect to the other ones nominated, they were good as well but I never saw much of their character as I did Kidman's. You're also probably wondering why Natalie Portman isn't on here, well in my personal opinion I thought she only gave a one note performance in Black Swan. Her dancing was great but she acted like just a regular twenty-something-year old you'd see in a Friday the 13th horror flick. I still think Portman's a great actress, just not great in Black Swan, sorry.
Best Supporting Actor
The Fighter (Christian Bale)
Hot Tub Time Machine (Rob Corddry)
The Social Network (Andrew Garfield) [winner]
The Social Network (Armie Hammer)
The Town (Jeremy Renner)
I'm surprised Garfield didn't get recognized by the Academy. Did they really think John Hawkes was better? Well I digress, cause I really thought Garfield nailed the character perfectly, same thing goes for Hammer who had the right note and voice for the Winklevoss twins. I can't ignore Christian Bale or Jeremy Renner either for nailing their Boston character's accents perfectly. I'm glad Jeremy Renner already got his second nomination cause I was hoping The Hurt Locker wouldn't be his only one hit wonder. I did have Bill Murray in this list originally for Get Low, but after watching Hot Tub Time Machine I realized Rob Corddry put a lot of effort into his performance than most people give him credit for.
Best Supporting Actress
The Fighter (Amy Adams)
The Fighter (Melissa Leo)
Kick-Ass (Chloe Moretz)
Rabbit Hole (Dianne Wiest) [winner]
True Grit (Hailee Steinfeld)
I am kind of sad Dianne Wiest's performance was over-looked. I mean I know she has two Oscars but it's not really easy to play a mother helping her daughter get over the death of her son while still being haunted by the death of her own son. So many layers to her character bring out the best in Wiest. I must also say I was really impressed with Moretz as Hit-Girl, as weird as this sounds it's also not easy to be 11 years old and make themselves cursing sound so believable to an audience. That's not the highlight to her character from my perspective, but it did add easier development to her character that most movies tend to avoid.
Best Original Screenplay
The Fighter
Get Low
Hereafter
Hot Tub Time Machine
Inception [winner]
When I first heard the plot to this film, I thought it was a joke. After I saw the film, I declared it to be one of the best original concepts ever created. A good enough reason to give it this award if it manages to turn my thoughts in a whole other direction. Also, Hot Tub Time Machine is better than most time traveling movies you see know today, it deserves a nomination.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Kick-Ass
127 Hours
Rabbit Hole
The Social Network [winner]
Toy Story 3
I am so glad Aaron Sorkin FINALLY got the recognition he deserved since 1992 when he wrote A Few Good Men. Didn't think it would take 18 years to 1-UP to another level where it meets the Academy's vote. I must say, I love all these scripts, but The Social Network is at the highest level compared to the rest. I will always be pulling for you Aaron Sorkin!
Technical Categories
Cinematography: The American
Art Direction: Inception
Costume: The King’s Speech
Film Editing: Inception
Sound: Inception
Visual Effects: Inception
Makeup: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 1
Score: Inception
Song: “Coming Home” (Country Strong)
Now even if you don't like the film The American, I wouldn't be dissing it's cinematography, it's THAT good. Inception was an easy call for Best Art Direction especially if more than half the movie is in a dream sequence. The King's Speech had a nice enough production to where I knew it had to earn something and luckily it picked up Best Costume. Inception was that great of an effects film to where you know it would have to pick up editing, sound, and effects though I still don't know why it never got the Oscar nomination for Best Editing, I'm convinced the Academy was on drugs that year. Makeup isn't as big of a deal to me as it is to most people but I believe Harry Potter deserved at least one award. Inception's score wasn't just epic but original, I like that in most scores so take a bow Mr. Zimmer. Now since I judge by song details and not just wether it matched up with the movie, I thought the song "Coming Home" was the best conducted among all others and therefore I give it's award it deserves.
Best Ensemble
The Fighter
Hot Tub Time Machine
Inception
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The Social Network [winner]
I don't think there was a single actor throughout this whole film that did a bad job with their role. Every character was well performed and had more than one dimension. I am very happy for newcomers Garfield and Hammer getting roles for future projects. I am now very interested in seeing the Spiderman reboot knowing it will be Garfield behind the mask.
Best Film Debut
Teenage Paparazzo [winner]
Toy Story 3
TRON: Legacy
Adrien Grenier showed how big of a brain he really had when he made Teenage Paparazzo. And to think he was just a not-so-bright TV star judging by his role in Entourage... THINK AGAIN.
Most Overrated/Underrated
Overrated: Black Swan
Underrated: Teenage Paparazzo
All right, Black Swan wasn't a bad movie. It was still well-shot, but it seems like the writers mixed up the movies Mulholland Dr. and The Turning Point into a blender, it still came out well, but I wasn't blown away by ANY twist throughout the movie because I totally saw it all coming. Now for Teenage Paparazzo... hell it actually talks about something new. Something I'm surprised wasn't brought up 5 to 10 years before this film was made. Thank you Adrien for finally shooting something that actually needed getting out in the open.
Best Hero/Villain
Hero: Aron Ralston (127 Hours)
Villain: Mark Zuckerberg (The Social Network)
It is kind of interesting that my top hero and villain for this year are both real life people, but hey if their characters are portrayed on screen by actors for the public to see, they count. Ralston was a no brainer for my hero pick. The way James Franco portrays him is so intriguing, a climber who gets his arm caught in a boulder and makes all the right decisions by using his brain on what to do and tries to make the best of it by having a good attitude. We sympathize with his character so deeply. Now for Mark Zuckerberg, it's a little different. He's not exactly portrayed like he is in real life, but the character that Eisenberg played was who I consider to be a villain. Most audiences would call him an asshole or a tragic hero, but I consider him a villain by his actions, by what he did to get where he sits at the end of the movie. Unnecessary actions that he could've avoided if he just listened to "who were" his friends instead of getting carried away with himself. Another reason would be his court scenes with the Winklevoss twin. He addresses to his associate that he doesn't hate anybody (which I do believe is true about his character), but he doesn't like to be around people that say he's wrong or a liar like that one scene where you see his most villainous where he tells the Winklevoss' lawyer that he only has part of of his attention and the rest of it lays at a place where his clients have no business being because they're incapable of it. That's a villain in my book, and trust me it comes off better in the movie.
Best Scene
Inception (Rotating Hall Fight) [winner]
Inception (The Vault Climax)
Kick-Ass (The Jet Pack Scene)
The Social Network (Creating Facemash)
Toy Story 3 (Goodbye Ending)
I do love all these scenes, every one of them I could watch a million times and still have the same feeling, but the rotating hall fight from Inception is one of the best scenes ever created in the history of modern filmmaking. That's enough right there to be the winner. A scene like that should be studied in film schools everywhere because I never would've guessed they used a real rotating room and tied to actors on invisible ropes. The way its choreographed and shot plays out so well that I have watched this scene over and over on TV, mini DVD player, YouTube, and am just still amazed how its done no matter what quality its in.
Best Quote
Cobb: Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize things are actually strange.
(Inception)
I love this quote because it's a science fiction film addressing what we feel in reality. It makes you feel like you're literally in the movie. I'm so glad Nolan thinks these things out so well.
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