Every year I get really excited about the Oscars, and every year I am disappointed. Every year I think it will be different, and that the most deserving films will win, but they rarely do.
Because of this, I have decided to hold my own Academy Awards. While I have absolutely no actual power to give out awards, I like to think that a deserving filmmaker, sound editor or costume designer will be at least a little bit pleased to know that someone appreciates there work, even if it's not the academy.
So here goes! I have chosen a winner for each category except for the shorts, because there aren't any theaters near me that show them until after the Oscars. There are some instances where I think that people who weren't even nominated should win, and those people will be considered as well.
Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
This is kind of a shout out to how upset I was that he didn't win last year for "A Single Man" when he delivered the most moving performance I have seen in years.
Actor in a Supporting Role: Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
Garfield is a phenomenal actor, in this film and others (Never Let Me Go, Red Riding series, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasuss) and it is a crime that he wasn't even nominated. Since it obviously isn't possible for him to actually win, I will be rooting for John Hawkes instead.
Actress in a Leading Role: Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
This was probably the best performance of anyone this year. Unfortunately, the award will most likely be thrown to Natalie Portman because she has lesbian sex with MIla Kunis (which somehow means- great performance). Not that Portman isn't talented, but the best part of the film was Vincent Cassil, not her.
Actress in a Supporting Role: Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Wow. She's only 14, but this girl has some serious acting chops. I'm also excited because I think, for once, that someone I'm rooting for actually has a shot.
Animated Feature Film: "The Illusionist"
I normally don't like animated films, but the whole tone of this movie was wonderful. Everything about it, from the color pallet, to the story was very real and charming.
Art Direction: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
While the film wasn't great overall (not bad either, though), Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan really outdid themselves. The visuals in this film were truly stunning! The forest of Dean, Malfoy Manor, Bill and Fluer's cottage- all of the scenes from the books were even better than I had imagined.
Cinematography: Roger Deakins, "True Grit"
While Inception had some pretty nifty tricks, the sweeping pans and tricky angles of True Grit were far more impressive. Maybe it's just that the genre is so apt for gorgeous cinematography, but Deakins did a wonderful job here. The shot of Hailee falling down the well was my favorite.
Costume Design: Colleen Atwood, "Alice in Wonderland"
This one seems obvious. I mean really, every character in this film was outfitted perfectly! I was quite impressed, and I am usually very apposed to fashion.
Directing: David Fincher, "The Social Network"
While I firmly believe that the Coen brothers can do no wrong, I was really impressed with Fincher's work on this film. He made a film about a website, not only interesting, but captivating and gorgeous and exciting. That takes some serious talent.
Documentary Feature: "Gasland"
Not only was this film informative, but it was quite powerful in both it's message and it's presentation. I was stunned and intrigued the whole way through.
Film Editing: "127 Hours"
The editing in this film was unusual, but that's what caught my eye. The mixture of handheld and sweeping professional shots worked perfectly for the film. Sometimes too much handheld can seem to Blairwitch, but this was just the right mix. The beautiful scenery didn't hurt either...
Foreign Language Film: "In A Better World", Denmark
Everything Susana Bier touches turns to gold. Really. I have yet to see a film of hers that doe not deserve an oscar win, and I have seen all of her films (my family has a thing for Danish films...)
Original Score: "The Social Network"
a film's score, like it's editing, can often go completely unnoticed, even if it's good. And that was what I liked about the score in "The Social Network"- I noticed it. It wasn't the dramatic typewriter clicking of "Antonement", but it was there, and it accented the film's tone perfectly.
Best Picture: "Winter's Bone"
This. FIlm. Is. Amazing. End of story. Many of the other films have their merits (True Grit, The Social Network, The King's Speech) and some of them are ones I would even give a second shot (Black Swan, 127 Hours), but none of them accomplish what Winter's Bone does. And that is make a film so gritty, so realistic and heart breaking that you almost don't even want to watch it again. In that way it reminded me of Susana Bier's "Brothers", which is one of the only other films that does this so well.
Sound Editing: Richard King, "Inception"
The sound effects for when time was slowed down, sped up or just plain old messed around, were excellent in this film. Stretching and altering the sound patterns the match the unusual pace of the film must have been difficult, but King makes it look (well, sound...) easy.
Sound Mixing: Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John MIdgely, "The King's Speech"
The mixing involved for this film was probably more extensive than any of the other's nominated. The film focuses on speech, and sound, and the sounds mixing team held up their end, making the film wonderfully engaging.
Visual Effects: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb, "Inception"
DUH! I almost don't even feel the need to qualify this choice. While there were many things that were imperfect about Inception, the visual effects (and JGL) wasn't one of them.
Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
I LOVED the screenplay for this film. Seriously, after that opening scene with Zuckerberg and his girlfriend, I wanted to shout out "this is so well written!" but didn't because I was in a theater...
Original Screenplay: Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, "The Kids Are Alright"
The dialogue in this film was phenomenal. The characters were believable and interesting, and when they ran into obstacles I actually cared (this is rare).
I will probably still watch the Oscars this year, even though I know I'll get upset. I guess I could see it as motivation to keep working on my own films, in the hopes of eventually becoming a part of, and changing, the currently corrupt Oscar nominating system.
