End-Of-Year: Favorite Films #11-25

This was a long time coming, but last year I didn't post my top films until the middle of February, so based on that I'm actually a bit ahead of schedule. Unlike last year as well, instead of building up to my top films by doing postings on the worst films and the "in-between" films, I'm going to start off with my Top 25 right away (#11-25 now and top 10 tomorrow). Maybe down the line, I'll do a quick post ranking all of the 83 films (12 more than I saw since my nominations) that came out in 2010.

Without further a due...


25. Nowhere Boy - Even though I've not been a fan of Aaron Johnson, he does solid work here as the young John Lennon. As expected though he gets upstaged by the awesome work being done by Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne Marie Duff and even Thomas Sangster, who plays the young Paul McCartney, steals his scenes. With that said, the whole film is packaged beautifully and with lots of heart.

24. The Kids Are All Right - Truth be told, I was left a bit cold by the film when I first saw it. After some time, I've come to warm up to it a bit, but for me I just wasn't enamored by the adult characters as much as I was with the kids, who unfortunately, weren't the focus as the title would have you believe. Still, solid work from all involved!

23. Shutter Island - It was the mind-bending movie of the year before Black Swan and Inception came into the scene and Martin Scorsese delivered a great one with great work from Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of the talented ensemble. Fantastic atmosphere, and at least to me, a thoroughly thought-provoking ending.

22. Date Night - This was my first film of the year and the combination of Tina Fey and Steve Carrell proved wonderful. Did they play Liz Lemon and Michael Scott as a married couple? Yes, but so what, doesn't that sound AMAZING? Shout out to first-time Oscar nominees Mila Kunis and James Franco with their bit role.

21. I Am Love - An impeccably gorgeous movie from beginning to end headlined by yet another wonderful leading performance from Tilda Swinton. It's the type of film that begs to be seen again if only for its breathtaking beauty, but the drama that unfolds within this aristocratic Italian family is also damn delicious.


20. Somewhere - I actually tried to lower my expectation for this film especially since the trailer looked uber pretentious. I, however, ended up really enjoying the film, even with its plot as light as it is, mostly due to the charms of Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning as father and daughter. Oh, but the strippers were totally the highlight.

19. City Island - The film made me nostalgic for the summer days in my youth I spent in City Island with family. And this film is all about family with some great performances from Julianna Margulies and Andy Garcia. It's the kind of small film that never gets any attention, but really should get some. Just a lovely yarn about family and following one's dream.

18. The Ghost Writer - It's one of those films where I didn't really have any expectations and the beginning was a bit slow. Not to mention I wasn't really into some of the characters, but Ewan McGregor was a solid lead and Olivia Williams was radiant. You are somehow swept into this world that you hardly notice the movie ending, until you do and you reflect on how awesome it was.

17. Patrik Age 1.5 - A sweet Swedish flick about two guys adopting a baby boy, but due to clerical error actually adopted a homophobic teenager. Of course it all ends happily and rainbows, but the journey was well worth it and is my highest rated gay film of the year!

16. The Fighter - I was going to open this up by saying I don't really like boxing films, but I loved Rocky and Million Dollar Baby so go figure. This film, like those two, was very good punctuated by amazing performances from Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. In fact it was the relationship of all of these people with each other that really elevated the film.


15. True Grit - Not a big Western fan so I was a bit apprehensive at first before I saw this film. But somehow the Coen brothers made probably their most accessible film to date with a fantastic debut performance by Hailee Steinfeld which is like my new hero, or at least her character Mattie Ross. Such a quality film that I wouldn't mind watching again at this minute.

14. Never Let Me Go - This was such a deliberately paced film that packed such an emotional wallop that I literally was unprepared for. Three of Britain's most talented actors working right now--Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield--really sold the emotions required from them (mostly heartbreak, lonliness, confusion, and anger) acting as the viewer's guideposts in the dystopian world of the film.

13. How to Train Your Dragon - Brilliant visuals and a fantastic score aside (they really were amazing), this film was breathtaking also for its simple message of being true to who you are and keeping an open mind. The friendship between Toothless and Hiccup is one of my favorites this year in film and end of the film made me all teary.

12. Exit Through the Gift Shop - Such an irreverent and fun documentary from none other that street artist legend Banksy. Who knows how "real" this is, but it was still chock full of information and was probably in turn the most interesting film I saw this year.

11. The King's Speech - Right now, it's the Oscar front-runner, and I can't really complain. It has a phenomenal cast who pretty much knocks it out of the park with a classic story of our hero overcoming his struggles in the end. It was all the more effective for me because I have suffered through lifelong stuttering problems and Colin Firth really was aces in that aspect of the role.

Tomorrow my top 10 list and maybe I can finally focus on 2011!

Video: 2010 Salute to Cinema

Kind of taking a breather from the blogging after an insanely crazy and busy January.

Working on my full list of movie rankings from 2010 and I'll get that list up before the end of the week. In the mean time, just wanted to share my favorite year-end film montage I've seen to date:


Love the breadth of films featured, how expertly it was edited , and the pitch-perfect choice of music for the last third of the montage. Just breathtaking.

SAG Awards Winners

Yesterday I said that if The King's Speech ended up winning Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards then the awards season was "all over." They did and in one weekend, the film went from co-favorites with The Social Network to the lone top dog. In fact the film also picked up Best Actor for Colin Firth while The Social Network walked home empty-handed. Birthday boy Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, and Melissa Leo also took home wins. All of them, including Firth, should cruise to their first Oscar wins in a month's time. Not only have they all won everything under the sun, but they all deserve it as well.

The film winners are:

Best Ensemble: The King's Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter


The TV awards were a bit all over the place as per usual. They went with the new hot thing in Boardwalk Empire giving it Ensemble and Actor. It was the only TV show that got more than one award. Betty White unexpectedly took home a trophy capping off an eventful awards season for her during the past year while Julianna Marguilies and Alec Baldwin repeated their wins from last year. Claire Danes and Al Pacino won the same awards they won at the Golden Globes. Finally, Modern Family took home Best Ensemble over last year's winner Glee.

The TV winners are:

Best Ensemble, Drama: Boardwalk Empire
Best Ensemble, Comedy: Modern Family
Best Actress, Drama: Julianna Marguilies, The Good Wife
Best Actress, Comedy: Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Best Actor, Drama: Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Best Actor, Comedy: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Best Actress, Miniseries: Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Best Actor, Miniseries: Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack

Now just to go back to the movie awards, it really has been something to witness the stark shift this award season has taken in regards to the fortunes of The King's Speech. Of course this award show also solidified the winners of four acting categories at the Academy Awards. The only possible "drama" might be in the actress categories. First, Annette Bening is Hollywood royalty so if there's anyone who could upset Portman, it'd be her. Then there's the case with Melissa Leo. The Academy showed their love for True Grit giving it 10 nominations, and they might want to honor the film in a big category by giving it to Hailee Steinfeld. So that sentiment plus possibly vote splitting with Amy Adams may do Leo in. It's important to note that Leo is not nominated for the BAFTAs which would be the next big award show.

Australian Open: The Finale

As I said before, as amazing for tennis as it would have been if China produced its first major winner or for Britain to have a homegrown champion after many unsuccessful years, it just wasn't meant to be down under. Instead, Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic, both third seeds in the tournament, won the Australian Open for their 4th and 2nd Grand Slam title respectively. For Clijsters, it was her first major title outside of New York. For Djokovic, he became the first multi-slam winner not named Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal since Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002.


Clijsters was able to overcome being down a set against Na Li who ate up the pace that Clijsters was feeding her in the first set. Clijsters started to vary her balls in the last two sets unnverving Li who also started getting frustrated by the crowd, the noise, the cameras, everything. Both players were broken a few times during the match, but Clijsters was the more stable of the two in the last couple of sets ultimately winning 6-3 3-6 6-3. For Li, it was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but here's to hoping she'll have more chances. For Clijsters, her comeback is already one of the most successful in sports. She was 1-5 in slam finals before her retirement and now she's 3-0 and with a good result in another tournament, it's likely she'll take over the #1 ranking from Caroline Wozniacki.


Both Djokovic and Andy Murray knew that with Nadal and Federer out of the tournament, it was a huge opportunity for both of them. Unfortunately for Murray, Djokovic was on fire as he was the rest of the tournament. For the first eight games or so, it was pretty even between the two and it looked the the match was going to be a long one. It wasn't until Murray was broken while serving to stay in the set 4-5 where the momentum shifted, permanently, to Djokovic who then went on a tear of games into the second set and led 5-0. Murray finally held and broke, but Djokovic took the second set and then the third set with ease en route his straight sets victory of 6-3 6-2 6-4. Murray's second serve massively let him down, but it was Djokovic who really stepped up to the challenge playing unbelievable tennis from start to finish making it impossible for the Brit to gain any foothold on the match. The result must have been disheartening for Murray who not only has lost his first three slam finals, but has also yet to win a set.

In doubles, the top seeds prevailed with Bob and Mike Bryan defeating the reunited team of Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes for the Men's Doubles Title and Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta beating Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko for the Women's Doubles Title. Finally, the second seed team of Katarina Srebotnik and Daniel Nestor claimed the Mixed Doubles Title. And with that the first Grand Slam tournament of 2011 is done.

Directors Guild Choose Hooper; Social Network Fading

The King's Speech takes another guild award at the expense of former Oscar front-runner The Social Network as King's director Tom Hooper wins the DGA award over Network's David Fincher. Suddenly, the outlook for Oscars is completely different from just two weeks ago.

What happened two weeks ago? Well, The Social Network, still high on its unprecedented dominance with critic groups, won four Golden Globe awards including wins for Picture, Directing, and Writing. At that moment, it was the overwhelming favorite heading into "phase 2" of awards season. But then suddenly, it wasn't. First, in a shocker, it lost the PGA Award to The King's Speech. Then it only managed a lower-than-expected tally of 8 Oscar nominations compared to 12 for The King's Speech and 10 for True Grit.

But even with its front-runner status being slightly challenged, it was still favored to pick up wins with the DGA (for Fincher) and the WGA (for Aaron Sorkin). So it was thought that those wins plus its critical love plus its zeitgeistic buzz would make it still the one to beat at the Oscars. Tom Hooper's win tonight, however, seemingly changed all of that and now it's not even "Will The Social Network win Best Picture?" but "Will it win any Oscars at all in a few weeks?" Yikes!

Here are the complete list of winners at the DGA:

Feature Film: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
TV Drama Series: Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire
TV Comedy Series: Michael Spiller, Modern Family
TV Movie/Mini-Series: Mick Jackson, Temple Grandin
Documentary: Charles Ferguson, Inside Job
Musical Variety: Glenn Weiss, Tony Awards
Reality Programs: Eytan Keller, The Next Iron Chef
Daytime Serials: Larry Carpenter, One Life to Live
Children's Programs: Eric Bross, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
Commercials: Stacy Wall

There are only three other big precursor awards to be given which are the WGA, SAG, and BAFTA. The King's Speech is favored to win at the BAFTAs as expected and since it wasn't eligible at the WGA, the only other award it needs to really take a stranglehold of "phase 2" would be the SAG Ensemble Award. If it wins that, it's all over. But even if the cast of The King's Speech don't win it, it seems like it only needs the cast of The Social Network to also not win the prize to keep their winning momentum. An insanely predictable Oscar year is suddenly anything but.

TV Report: 1/23-1/28

Thankfully lots of shows were in reruns or preempted for one reason or another since with the Oscar nominations coming on Tuesday and the Australian Open still happening full swing, my brain couldn't have handled it all. With that said...

I realized this week that I'm going to hold off on any of the new mid-season shows. Maybe wait to see if they get canceled then catch up with them over the summer. This means I'm putting a hiatus on The Cape and Off the Map. I already sort of gave up on Skins as soon as I saw, but oddly enough I think I'm going to keep watching Being Human. The second episode still felt like an encore showing of the UK version, but I'm intrigued enough by what they're doing and a good story is a good story. With that said, I'm stoked to have the UK version also back. The third season premiere packed all the humor and the tears I've come to expect from the show and they delivered in spades. I'm so pumped for the new season now!

For two shows, it was all about the past. In Castle, Beckett is forced to go back to learn more about her mom's murder. It was a fairly dramatic episode that surprisingly didn't feel out of place in this mostly comedic show. My favorite part was the deepening of the Castle/Beckett relationship. Of course, there was that kiss, but his "It's more than just about books." was wonderful. Though if I had one complaint, who did Stana Katic's hair? Because it was so beautiful and perfect, I really was distracted throughout! The other show was White Collar and it was a full-blown flashback episode complete with silly hair pieces and mustache. It was quite a hoot to see all of the regular character back to when they first met as well as setting up the "big bad" of the season in Neal's mentor awesomely played by McCarthy.

The comedies weren't as on fire as they were last week. Well that's not completely true, because Parks & Recreation probably delivered one of their best episodes ever. Can Rob Lowe and Amy Poehler play sick ALL THE TIME. I could not stop laughing. And who isn't shipping Ben/Leslie? They are adorable together and he made her homemade soup and it's all rainbows and puppies and I love it. I'm also really enjoying Ann this season. 30 Rock was also pretty good actually and in fact the episodes in 2011 so far have been above average so go them! The impromptu benefit was perfection complete with Jenna singing and Robert DeNiro with a Cockney accent. Now I still enjoyed Community and Cougar Town, but personally they weren't the strongest episodes. Both felt just a bit unfinished to me.

Finally, Fringe was again brilliant this week. I said the same thing last week, but this week we got more into Peter's head and it's scary. The machine has weaponized him? What does that mean? And when Walter said that and all we got was Peter slightly smiling, I got chills. Of course Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson are still conveying that complicated emotions they should be feeling regarding Fauxlivia's deception and it is amazing to watch week after week. Next week the gang gets to dress to the nines and I'm just counting down until then!

Australian Open Report: Finals Preview

It's been a crazy few days down under as the stage was set for the women and the men's finals to take place this weekend.


Even before the tournament started, a lot of people saw this Grand Slam as an incredible chance for world no. 3 Kim Clijsters to finally get that major title away from New York especially with Serena Williams out and all of her other competitions either not as experienced or not 100%. Her opponent, 9th seed Li Na, also was fully aware that this is a big chance for somebody to breakthrough with Serena gone and so WHY NOT HER?

Both players showed incredible form leading up to the finals. Between the two of them, they had only lost one set and that was Li Na who lost the first set against her thrilling semifinal match against world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Li Na showed wonderful guts overcoming a match point to even the match in the second and winning the third. Her victory there meant she was the first Chinese player, man or woman, to reach a Grand Slam final. For Clijsters, she put the brakes on the great run from world no. 3 Vera Zvonareva, dominating the match with her bigger and more penetrating shots.

Their H2H is 4-2 in Clijsters' favor, but since her comeback it's been 1-1 with their last meeting happening just a few weeks ago in Sydney where Li Na had another amazing comeback being down 0-5 to win the final in straight sets. But as historically amazing it would be for China and the world of tennis, I'm predicting Kim Clijsters to win in two sets.


It was also going to be a toss-up match, more than a lot of people were willing to admit, but the fact that world no. 3 Novak Djokovic was able to take out defending champion Roger Federer in straight sets is an amazing result for him. Sure, he took out Federer in that epic 5-set match in their last Grand Slam meeting in Flushing Meadow, but to gut this out says a lot about his focus, his intensity, and his desire to win his second major. Federer fans, such as myself, should take heed that even though this is the first time since 2003 that Federer isn't holding a major title, he is far from over.

But with Federer (and Rafael Nadal) out of the tournament, not only can this be a fairytale slam for Djokovic, but to slamless world no. 5 Andy Murray as well. The two times Murray had reached a slam final prior, he was soundly defeated by Federer and while Djokovic is probably playing better than ever, he'll probably like his chances a little better against the Serbian. Of course, he had to first get through a tough four-set win against indefatigable 7th seed David Ferrer who pushed Murray every single game, making the Brit earn his second consecutive Australian Open finals appearance.

Their H2H is fascinatingly tight with Djokovic leading it 4-3 (3-3 in hard courts), but Murray has won their last three meetings, with Djokovic's last win on hard courts going back to 2007. Interestingly enough, they actually haven't played each other since the spring of 2009, so there's a lot of unknowns in this match-up. Frankly, this adds much excitement to the grand finale of the tournament. I'm predicting Djokovic to win in four sets just because he'll be the more steady of the two and Murray's need to win this might overwhelm him. I'm hoping for an epic duel.

Australian Open Report: Quarterfinals

While it didn't have as many twists and turns and drama that last year's insane quarterfinal match-ups brought, there were still a lot to talk about.


David Ferrer [7] d. Rafael Nadal [1] 6-4 6-2 6-3

The biggest story to come out of this round is Rafael Nadal sustaining an injury during his match against David Ferrer. Apparently the injury came very early, in that epic 16-min+ second game, but instead of retiring, like he did last year, he played on clearly not 100%. His loss also meant that his quest for a "Rafa Slam" has ended. Credit to Ferrer though for playing his game and staying focused while his fellow Spaniard was suffering.

Roger Federer [2] d. Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 6-3

With Rafa's injury, suddenly Roger Federer is the favorite again. Even though he hasn't shown his best form in the middle rounds, he brought his A-game against fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka. There was a point late in the match where you could've been forgiven for thinking you were watching an exho as Federer (and Wawrinka) delighted the fans with a few trick shots. Federer will need to be on top form for his next opponent...

Novak Djokovic [3] d. Tomas Berdych [6] 6-1 7-6(5) 6-1

Many thought this would be a much closer match especially since both players have similar styles and have been playing excellent tennis. Much credit to Novak Djokovic for dismantling Tomas Berdych in such a straightforward manner. It definitely sent a message to the rest of the field that he's ready to win his second Australian Open championships.

Andy Murray [5] d. Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3

Finally, newcomer and hard-hitting Alexandr Dolgopolov provided the first real test Andy Murray has faced all tournament. Murray admitted that it took him awhile get used to the style of play of the Ukrainian, but with this win, his quest to get his first major title is still alive.


Caroline Wozniacki [1] d. Francesca Schiavone [6] 3-6 6-3 6-3

There are champions and there are CHAMPIONS and Francesca Schiavone showed us she was the latter this tournament. After winning the longest women's Grand Slam match two days prior, Schiavone was able to give world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki trouble from the get go. Even when she was down in the last two sets, she never gave up and her commitment and fire endeared her to so many. Now is Wozniacki ready for her maiden slam? Two more matches to go. She'll yet again to put to the test against...

Na Li [9] d. Andrea Petkovic [30] 6-2 6-4

Na Li hasn't lost a single match this year and hasn't lost a set in this tournament. To say she's on fire would be an understatement. With this win here, she makes the Australian Open semifinals two years in a row. Can she finally be the first Chinese player to reach the finals of a Grand Slam? Can she be the first Chinese player to WIN a Grand Slam?

Kim Clijsters [3] d. Agnieszka Radwanska [12] 6-3 7-6(4)

The best bet for the women's title though is Kim Clijsters who, unlike the others left, have actually won some. This tournament is squarely on her racket and if the form she showed this round was any indication, it's not a done deal. She made it out in straight sets (she hasn't lost a set this tournament so far like Na Li), but she looked sluggish and committed way too many errors. Still, her non-US Open Grand Slam history is a bit dubious so anything can still happen.

Vera Zvonareva [2] d. Petra Kvitova [25] 6-2 6-4

I actually didn't get to see this match, but Vera Zvonareva has shown strong form in the last two Grand Slam tournaments she has played, reaching the finals at last year's US Open and Wimbledon. She's now en route to her third straight major finals and with Clijsters not feeling 100%, it doesn't look impossible at all.

Thoughts on Oscar Nominations

Out of the 56 films nominated, I have seen 22 films including all ten Best Picture nominees. If I had seen Another Year, Rabbit Hole, and Biutiful then I would've seen every film or performance nominated in Picture, Directing, Acting, and Writing categories. Out of the 120 nominations, I've seen 85 of them i.e. 70.8% of the nominees. If you ignore all of the short films, my percentage goes up to a lovely even 80%.

I've bolded the films and performances I have seen below:

BEST PICTURE

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

This is probably the first time I have seen every film nominated for a Best Picture before nominations came out. It wasn't that hard since most of these films I really wanted to see and then some others were made readily available on DVD. These ten films plus the snubbed The Town were the films to make any real impact all awards season including critically and even at the box office so absolutely NO ONE was shocked when these ten were announced. And as someone who has seen them all, I can say there's not a single stinker. The King's Speech lead with 12 nominations followed by True Grit with 10 nominations.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
• David O. Russell, The Fighter
• Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
• David Fincher, The Social Network
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit

The big shocker here is the absence of Christopher Nolan who is still looking for his first Academy Award nomination as a director. The snub is even more glaring when you think about the fact that he's been nominated by the Directors Guild three times, including for his work this year with Inception. His other DGA nominees made the shortlist here with the Coen brothers presumably taking Nolan's spot. It's worth noting that while last year gave us a woman and an openly gay black man, this year we have five white men in the lineup. David Fincher is the current front-runner, but his film's lower-than-expected nomination count (8 nominations), is putting to question the strength of the film. Then again his biggest competition, Nolan, is out so that should only help him.

BEST LEAD ACTOR

• Javier Bardem, Biutiful
• Jeff Bridges, True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
• Colin Firth, The King's Speech
• James Franco, 127 Hours

The Academy decided to stick with the SAG nominations with the exception of Robert Duvall being left out on the list. In his place is Javier Bardem who came from nowhere thanks to lots of A-list people campaigning for him. Also shafted were Ryan Gosling and Mark Wahlberg. The former, in my opinion, gave the performance of the year while the latter had to settle seeing the rest of his cast be nominated. Colin Firth is the favorite to win here, especially with Jeff Bridges already winning last year.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS

• Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
• Natalie Portman, Black Swan
• Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Even with Gosling's snub, the Academy had the decency to nominate his co-star Michelle Williams. This whole category is actually pretty good even though I was a bit more partial to Julianne Moore over Annette Bening, but it's all pretty moot now. The award is Natalie Portman's to lose as everything has just been going perfectly for her. Only Bening can possibly take it away from her. Also very happy to see Nicole Kidman back in the limelight.

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

I still can't believe Andrew Garfield got snubbed here as not only did he give one of my favorite performances of the year in The Social Network, but he delivered a second fantastic (supporting) performance in Never Let Me Go. I suppose everyone should've seen it coming, as the Academy went 5 for 5 here with the SAG. For the win, this is Christian Bale's unless the Academy really loves The King's Speech and decides to give Rush another statue.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Amy Adams, The Fighter
• Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
• Melissa Leo, The Fighter
• Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
• Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

The question here was whether or not Hailee Steinfeld would garner enough votes since many consider her role as lead. The category fraud worked though and she should be seen as the co-favorite to win alongside Melissa Leo. Jacki Weaver was able to sneak into the shortlist knocking off SAG nominated Mila Kunis. My Hail Mary wish for a surprise nomination in the form of Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer didn't pay off at all.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Illusionist
• Toy Story 3

These were widely known to be the three to get nominated, so no big shocker. Though Despicable Me (and Tangled) were holding up well enough in the precursors that it made fans of The Illusionist (and even How to Train Your Dragon) nervous. Pixar fans though should never ever be nervous. Pixar will again win here.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Another Year
• The Fighter
• Inception
• Kids Are All Right
• King's Speech

The Academy decided to throw Mike Leigh's Another Year a bone here presumably at the cost of WGA-nominated Black Swan. They also honored Christopher Nolan here hoping he's not too upset for that directing snub. Nolan's film is actually the front-runner here based on the precursors, but The King's Speech seems to be much more the Academy's taste. Then again, maybe they feel so bad about snubbing Nolan in directing, they'll almost be forced to give him this win.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• 127 Hours
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

Even thought the films foothold on award's season have been lessened the past few days, The Social Network is still the film to beat MOST ESPECIALLY in this category as I'm sure the Academy is just dying to give Aaron Sorkin this award. The rest of the nominees were also widely expected replacing WGA nominees Phillip Morris and The Town with Best Picture hopefuls Toy Story 3 and Winter's Bone.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• Biutiful, Mexico
• Dogtooth, Greece
• In A Better World, Denmark
• Incendies, Canada
• Outside the Law, Algeria

The precursors have been immensely unhelpful with this category, but it seems these are not at all shocking nominations. Many are pleasantly surprised that Dogtooth made it in. The slight favorite might be Golden Globe winner In A Better World, but it's worth noting that the only film to have a nomination outside of this category is Biutiful with its lead actor also nominated.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• How to Train Your Dragon
• Inception
• The King's Speech
• 127 Hours
• The Social Network

Sadly, I don't really remember the score for 127 Hours, but I do like A.R. Rahman's work in Slumdog Millionaire, so I probably really liked it. The other four scores are fantastic and like every year, I'm just absolutely in love this category. A few people are bemoaning the fact that Daft Punk's work in TRON: Legacy were not honored, but honestly I couldn't even say which one I'd want them to replace it with. Click here to sample of all of these wonderful scores.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• Coming Home, Country Strong
• I See the Light, Tangled
• If I Rise, 127 Hours
• We Belong Together, Toy Story 3

The fact that Cher and her wonderful "You Have Not Seen the Last of Me" solo in Burlesque was not nominated is another egregious snub on the Academy's part. Burlesque is no Citizen Kane, but it had some Oscar-worthy songs. If that were to have been nominated, it would've been the favorite. As of now, this category is wide open.

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Alice in Wonderland
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
• Inception
• The King's Speech
• True Grit

Tough to figure out where the tech nominations will go. Inception is a good bet, but it didn't receive nearly as much love as many had expected. Anyone have a clue?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Black Swan
• Inception
• The King's Speech
• The Social Network
• True Grit

Can acclaimed Roger Deakins finally FINALLY get his first Oscar win for his work on True Grit? Well, this year is as good as any. The closest competition is probably Wally Pfister for his work on Inception. I'd be shocked if neither these two men win this.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Alice in Wonderland
• I Am Love
• The King's Speech
• The Tempest
• True Grit

Was thinking Burlesque could've appeared here, but I guess not. I Am Love and The Tempest get their lone nominations here and methinks deservedly show. I have no clue who is the front-runner here.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Gasland
• Inside Job
• Restrepo
• Waste Land

I've only seen Exit Through the Gift Shop which I really loved and is one of my favorite films of the year. It's hilarious to me that Banksy might actually be a presence at this year's award. I'm expecting something crazy if anything happens regarding him. I'll probably get to see Inside Job and Restrepo before the big night. The winner is likely from those three aforementioned films with Inside Job the likeliest option.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• Killing in the Name
• Poster Girl
• Strangers No More
• Sun Come Up
• The Warriors of Qiugang

My yearly tradition of picking the winner by how awesome the name is continues. This year that is The Warrior of Qiugang especially since I'm totally picture a queer film in my head. God, I don't even know what that film is about. I hope I didn't just make an inappropriate joke.

BEST EDITING

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• The King's Speech
• 127 Hours
• The Social Network

The big exclusion here is once again Inception. Lee Smith's work was thought to be the front-runner here, but alas no mas. With this award becoming in recent year a sort of barometer for Best Picture winners, these films become the slight front-runners in that race, though realistically, only The Fighter, The King's Speech, and The Social Network are probably in the running.

BEST MAKEUP

• Barney's Version
• The Way Back
• The Wolfman

What an odd list of nominees. Not exactly undeserving, but just really out-of-the-blue considering these are the lone nominations for all three films. But as far as I can tell, there's no man in drag wearing a fat suit, so it's one of the better years.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• Day & Night
• The Gruffalo
• Let's Pollute
• The Lost Thing
• Madagascar, a Journey Diary

My favorite title is The Gruffalo. Now, please tell me this is not some animated short based on Mark Ruffalo? Or if it is, someone give me the link now! but anyway, I did see Day & Night. Not the best Pixar short, but still good.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

• The Confession
• The Crush
• God of Love
• Na Wewe
• Wish 143

Kind of boring titles, but I kind of really like Wish 143. Of course I'll find out later it's some heinous movie or something.

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Inception
• Toy Story 3
• Tron: Legacy
• True Grit
• Unstoppable

Inception should get this unless they really don't like the film.

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Inception
• The King's Speech
• Salt
• The Social Network
• True Grit

Again, Inception, but with four Best Picture nominees here, this award will be worthy to pay attention to early on to see how the evening might go.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Alice in Wonderland
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
• Hereafter
• Inception
• Iron Man 2

And finally, we get to this category which is a little painful to look at because I know fully well that the two films they snubbed was TRON: Legacy and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The latter would've been such an inspired choice and would've given the cult-favorite film its one and only nomination. Alas they picked dull and inexplicable choices such as Iron Man 2, Hereafter, and Eyesore in Wonderland (via Nathaniel). Remember last year when Avatar, District 9, and Star Trek were the three nominees? Good times.

The big night is on February 27th and will be hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

Oscar Nominations

BEST PICTURE
Black Swan (5 nominations)
The Fighter (7 nominations)
Inception (8 nominations)
The Kids Are All Right (4 nominations)
The King's Speech (12 nominations)
127 Hours (6 nominations)
The Social Network (8 nominations)
Toy Story 3 (4 nominations)
True Grit (10 nominations)
Winter's Bone (4 nominations)

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit

BEST LEAD ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

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
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST ANIMATED FILM
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
Kids Are All Right
King's Speech

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Biutiful, Mexico
Dogtooth, Greece
In A Better World, Denmark
Incendies, Canada
Outside the Law, Algeria

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Coming Home, Country Strong
I See the Light, Tangled
If I Rise, 127 Hours
We Belong Together, Toy Story 3

BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King's Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More
Sun Come Up
The Warriors of Qiugang

BEST EDITING
Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

BEST MAKEUP
Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Day & Night
The Gruffalo
Let's Pollute
The Lost Thing
Madagascar, a Journey Diary

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
The Confession
The Crush
God of Love
Na Wewe
Wish 143

BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception
The King's Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2