If Scrat Ran the Oscars: 2011 Edition

As is a yearly tradition; here’s the way that I thought the Academy Awards should have gone.  That is, if I were in charge of nominating/choosing.  I’ve left out a few categories like documentary (except I included one in the best picture section) and short film, but who really cares about those anyways?  Again, this year, I’ve included a “My reasoning” section for each category.  New feature this year is my “Prediction/Actual Winner/Should Have Won” section.  “Should Have Won” only applies to films that were nominated and should have won but were not in my list.  Oh, and again, the “®” indicates which film I would have chosen.  Enjoy!

BEST PICTURE

Black Swan

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Fighter

Get Low

®Inception

The King’s Speech

The Social Network

True Grit

Waiting for ‘Superman’

Winter’s Bone

Prediction: The Social Network

Actual Winner: The King’s Speech

My reasoning:  Look, I get the fact that The King’s Speech and The Social Network were both good movies.  I even understand the high praise that Black Swan, The Fighter, Winter’s Bone, and 127 Hours received.  However, The Kid’s Are All Right should not have even been considered, since it was one of the worst films of 2010.  Also, I still think that if you nominate an animated film for Best Picture, it should not be allowed to compete for Best Animated Film.  Take that, Toy Story 3.  True Grit was great, but Inception was by far the best film of the year. 

BEST DIRECTOR
Joel & Ethan Coen – True Grit

David Fincher – The Social Network

Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
®Christopher Nolan – Inception

David O. Russell – The Fighter

Prediction: David Fincher – The Social Network

Actual Winner: Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech

Should Have Won: Joel & Ethan Coen – True Grit

My reasoning: Fincher directed the trendiest film in Hollywood, so it’s naturally that he got the acclaim.  Both Hooper and Russell handled their subject matter with great attention, and the Coens delivered another standout film this year.  Darren Aronofsky pulled off another cerebral movie, but didn’t really stand out the way the other nominees did.  However, in what appears to be becoming an Academy trend for snubbing, they looked past the clear standout of the year by not nominating Nolan.  As they did with The Dark Knight, they apparently didn’t deem his direction worthy, even though he directed one of the best films in years.  I could really go on and on, but it would be for not.   

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges – True Grit
Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man 2

Robert Duvall – Get Low

Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

®Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

Prediction: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

Actual Winner: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

My reasoning:  I haven’t seen Biutiful, but I’m pretty convinced Javier Bardem was only nominated because he’s a past winner.  James Franco’s performance in 127 Hours was very similar to Ryan Reynolds’ in Buried, and Reynolds proved the better of the two when it came down to my decision between them.  Then I saw Get Low, just this week, and was blown away by Duvall.  He proved probably the best competition to Firth.  I had to include Downey, just because his charisma as Tony Stark is unrivaled by actors who play superheros.  Bridges was his own Rooster Cogburn, and didn’t try to channel John Wayne – an impossible feat – so he was justly nominated, instead of just because he won last year.  Eisenberg is a terrific actor, and really carried The Social Network, but it was Firth as King George VI that was rightfully the clear standout of the year.     

BEST ACTRESS

®Diane Lane - Secretariat
Emma Stone – Easy A

Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

Prediction: Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Actual Winner: Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Should Have Won: Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

My reasoning:  This was one of the more difficult lists to put together.  I haven’t seen Kidman or Williams’ performances yet, but I can assure you of this: Annette Bening did not belong on the list of nominees.  She plays a one-dimensional, stereotypical character in that awful film, and the only reason she got nominated is because she played a lesbian.  There I said it, now I’ll move on.  Don’t get me wrong, Portman’s turn (no pun intended) in Black Swan was one of her more challenging roles, but she deserved more accolades for V for Vendetta, The Other Boleyn Girl, and Leon: The Professional than she got (notice how I left out Closer, even though she was by far the best part of that terrible film).  However, Lawrence was the real powerhouse on the nominated list.  Stone was the filler, here, but she was hilarious in Easy A.  Steinfeld deserved to be nominated in this category; rather than having to take a back seat in the supporting block.  However, despite an active campaign, Lane was overlooked in lieu of Bening.  She carried Secretariat, but wasn’t deemed worthy by the snide Academy voters (which is surprising given they gave the award to Sandra Bullock last year). 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale – The Fighter

Sharlto Copley – The A-Team

Johnny Depp – Alice in Wonderland

Will Poulter - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
® Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

Prediction: Christian Bale – The Fighter

Actual Winner: Christian Bale – The Fighter

My reasoning:  Okay, I’ll just come out and say it.  What is Hollywood’s fascination with Jeremy Renner?  Seriously?  He’s not that great of an actor.  There, it’s said.  Oh, and Mark Ruffalo? Really?  I didn’t know playing a superdouche qualified you to be nominated for an Oscar.  The one guy on the actual list that isn’t in mine who actually did a noteworthy job was John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone.  But I digress.  Copley was the highlight of The A-Team, and Poulter is exactly how I imagined Eustace Scrubb to be in Narnia.  Depp deserved recognition for his far-out (which is kind of synonymous with the words “Johnny Depp”) turn as the Mad Hatter in his collaboration with Tim Burton.  Bale win makes him the only Batman to earn an Oscar (rather than get one by douchebaggery, George Clooney), but he was a highlight of The Fighter, as were his co-stars Amy Adams and Melissa Leo (Mark Wahlberg left a little to be desired).  However, Rush was fantastic in The King’s Speech.  He was hilarious, yet grounded – and remarkable to watch on screen.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard – Inception

Mila Kunis – Black Swan

Amy Adams – The Fighter

Helen Mirren - RED®Chloe Moretz – Kick-Ass

Prediction: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Actual Winner: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Should Have Won: Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

My reasoning:  Besides Adams, none of my nominees match the actual nominees (because I thought Steinfeld should have been nominated in the Best Actress category).  Carter and Leo were actually alternates to Mirren, because I thought she was fantastic in Red.  I also thought that Carter might get this award if The King’s Speech had a sweep, but Leo f---ing did.  :-P  However, Kunis was snubbed, and Cotillard’s work as the emotional center of Inception, was overlooked.  However, this was Moretz’s year.  Without her, Kick-Ass would have been a total flop.  Add the fact that she gave another good performance in Let Me In, and you’ve got a real winner here. 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Fighter

®Inception

The King’s Speech

Robin Hood

Secretariat

Prediction: The King’s Speech

Actual Winner: The King’s Speech

My reasoning:  The Kids are All Right was original?  Hardly.  Trendy, successful lesbian couple raises two kids and has problems but everything works out.  Hardly what I would deem “original”.  More along the lines of “pathetic” or “boring”.  Again, I digress.  I haven’t seen Another Year, so I can’t attest to its writing, and Robin Hood may have been a little long and historically inaccurate, but it’s nice to see a new take on the legend (with quasi-conservative undertones).  Secretariat was a nice surprise, and The Fighter and The King’s Speech were well written films in their own right.  It’s really no wonder that the latter film won.  However, once again, Christopher Nolan’s brainchild was the standout film of the year.  I can’t think of a more cerebral movie that I enjoyed more thoroughly (and that includes Nolan’s Memento).   

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

How to Train Your Dragon

The Social Network® True Grit

Winter’s Bone

Prediction: The Social Network

Actual Winner: The Social Network

My reasoning:  Yes, The Social Network is well written.  I get it.  But seriously, True Grit was masterful – even though I haven’t read the novel.  Toy Story 3, however, was just mediocre, and not really anything to write home about (pun intended).  But Winter’s Bone was deserving of the accolades it received.  Additionally, though it took artistic liberties with C.S. Lewis’ novel, the screenplay for Narnia stayed true to the book’s heart.  And How to Train Your Dragon had such heart to it, that I had to give it’s writers credit. 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Despicable Me

The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

®How To Train Your Dragon

Prediction: Toy Story 3

Actual Winner: Toy Story 3

My reasoning: I know, I’m evil because Toy Story 3 didn’t even make this list.  Whatever.  It was a good movie, but the predictability factor (and the fact that the series has never really done much for me) was too much.  Despicable Me and Guardians had real heart and great story, but didn’t quite live up to the epicness of How to Train Your Dragon.  It was better than Toy Story 3 on every level, and was definitely deserving of the top prize. 

BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Robin Hood

® TRON: Legacy

Prediction: The King’s Speech

Actual Winner: Alice in Wonderland

My reasoning:  How much do I actually know about Art Direction?  Well, obviously not much, so this list was my best shot.  I just assumed The King’s Speech had this one wrapped up, since there was so much momentum behind it.  My list includes Narnia, Harry Potter, and Robin Hood , which are just place holders, really.   Alice in Wonderland had great art design, given the period and fantastical aspects in which it’s set.  However, despite it’s techno-retro style, TRON: Legacy seemed to have more artistic design than the others. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Buried

The Fighter

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

® Inception

True Grit

Prediction: True Grit

Actual Winner: Inception

My reasoning:  This was the only truly surprising upset of the night – I really thought True Grit had this one wrapped up.  Honestly, I don’t know how Black Swan got nominated, other than the Academy fawning over it.  I understand the other actual nominations, but I thought The Fighter had great camera work given its subject.  Also, I think Buried was overlooked for its unique camera work, as was Harry Potter for its well balanced filming.  However, it really came down to choosing between Inception and True Grit.  The determining factor was one shot in True Grit near the end, which didn’t really work for me.  Otherwise, it was flawless, but the camera work in Inception was unblemished.  Hence my choosing it over True Grit. 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

The King’s Speech

Robin Hood

® True Grit

Prediction: The King’s Speech

Actual Winner: Alice in Wonderland

My reasoning: Let’s face it: period pieces usually win this award.  I was just surprised that Alice  won.  It’s just that there’s several to choose from this year.  I will give some credit to I Am Love for the costuming, but the fact that two of the characters liked shedding their costumes kind of makes me balk at the fact it was included.  I haven’t seen The Tempest yet, so I can’t render judgment.  Alice and Harry Potter both had great costuming given their fantasy settings, and The King’s Speech did well with the setting, but it was the simplistic costuming that won me over in True Grit.  It really feels authentic, thereby, it should be applauded for doing so. 

BEST EDITING
The Fighter

The King’s Speech

®Inception

The Social Network

True Grit

Prediction: The Social Network

Actual Winner: The Social Network

Should Have Won: The Fighter

My reasoning: Editing is a hard field to choose for, so I narrowed it down to films that I felt didn’t have anything unnecessary.  I felt that there were several scenes in 127 Hours and Black Swan that seemed unnecessary, thereby, they didn’t make my list.  However, I agreed with the Academy on the other three actual nominees.  The Fighter, The King’s Speech, and The Social Network (which apparently sniped this award from the momentum built behind The King’s Speech) worked well, and didn’t have anything that really could have or should have been cut.  However, True Grit outshined all three, but didn’t even compare to the laser focused narrative of Inception.  That film was overlooked in several major categories, a la The Dark Knight two years ago. 

BEST MAKEUP
® Alice in Wonderland

Black Swan

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Prediction: Barney’s Version

Actual Winner: The Wolfman

My reasoning: Again, this was a hard field, given my lack of knowledge surrounding it.  Having only seen The Wolfman in the list of actual nominees, I was a bit perplexed as to why the list didn’t include any of the films I thought had better makeup.  If for no other reason, Black Swan should have been nominated for the transformation Natalie Portman undergoes to become the title character.  The makeup team for Harry Potter proved again just how evil Ralph Finnes can look sans a nose.  However, it was the creative makeup team for Alice that transformed Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Anne Hathaway into larger than life characters.  Thereby, it should receive the accolades. 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – David Arnold

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I – Alexandre Desplat
® Inception – Hans Zimmer

 Let Me In – Michael Giachinno

Tron Legacy – Daft Punk

Prediction: The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Actual Winner: The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

My reasoning:  This was a relatively good year for scores, but the Reznor-Ross collaboration was the least deserving of nomination (the exception possibly being Rahman). John Powell’s score for How to Train Your Dragon was an alternate for my list, and Desplat’s score for The King’s Speech wasn’t as powerful as the one he did for Potter.  Of the five I chose, I own three.  I don’t own the scores for Potter or Let Me In, but they were still very good.  Arnold did a wonderful job with Narnia’s score, picking up where Harry Gregson-Williams left off.  Daft Punk’s techno-orchestral score provided the perfect element to the grid-tastic world.  However, it was Zimmer’s knock-out score that permeated my inner being during the IMAX presentation of Inception.  Truly, he is among the most gifted film composers of our time.    

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Give Into Me” by Garrett Hedlund and Leighton Meester – Country Strong

If I Rise” by Dido and A.R. Rahman – 127 Hours

® “There’s A Place For Us” by Carrie Underwood – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Prediction: “We Belong Together” by Randy Newman – Toy Story 3

Actual Winner: “We Belong Together” by Randy Newman – Toy Story 3

Should Have Won: “Coming Home” by Gwyneth Paltrow – Country Strong

My reasoning:  Despite the rich scores, this was kind of a lacking year for original songs, in my opinion.  I generally loathe Randy Newman, even though his songs have cute lyrics, and I haven’t seen Tangled yet.  Country Strong had surprisingly good music given its stars, but no real standouts besides “Give Into Me”.  “Coming Home” is good, but not that good.  I mean, did you see Paltrow sing that?  Sorry, Jennifer Hudson, she’s not country’s newest star.  Despite the lackluster music and the unsteadiness to the first two acts of the film, “If I Rise” was one of the redeeming elements in the third act of 127 Hours.  However, I still think that Rahman is just riding the Slumdog Millionaire train as far as it will go.  Still, Carrie Underwood’s theme for Narnia was the standout for the year, I guess.  She’s got the pipes to win me over. 

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Inception

Iron Man 2
®TRON: Legacy

Prediction: Inception

Actual Winner: Inception

My reasoning:  Since this is the editing portion of the sound design (of which I know not enough about), I went with TRON: Legacy.  The other nominees did very well editing sounds (particularly in Inception and Harry Potter), but the sheer volume of sounds required for TRON: Legacy gives it the edge in the editing department.

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Inception

Iron Man 2

®TRON: Legacy

Prediction: Inception

Actual Winner: Inception

My reasoning: Like the sound editing award, I know little to nothing about sound mixing.  However, again, like the editing award, when you think about how many sounds go into a film (voices, background noise, music, etc), the list is pretty easy to pick a winner from.  Mixing the amount of effects sounds in with the ADR and Daft Punk’s score gave TRON: Legacy the edge over the competition. 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice in Wonderland

Inception

Iron Man 2

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

®TRON: Legacy

Prediction: Inception

Actual Winner: Inception

My reasoning:  Look, I loved the practical meets visual effects in Inception, I really did.  The fantastical worlds of Wonderland and Narnia, also were at the pinnacle of effects this year.  Also, you couldn’t really go wrong with the effects from Iron Man 2.  However, when it comes to the sheer “wow” factor, look no further than TRON: Legacy. 

Wrap up: 

First off, the ceremony was kind of dull.  I missed about the first 45 minutes, because I had more important things to do.  Anne Hathaway is cute, but she’s pretty vapid.  Her number about Hugh Jackman was kind of funny, but she does have pipes.  James Franco, however, was lax.  The ceremony was overlong, overdull, and overkill.  The love for The King’s Speech and The Social Network was very evident, but there were a few surprises here and there.  There was the typical liberal bullet points (documentary filmmakers whining that things haven’t gone their way, a shout-out to unions amidst union unrest in Wisconson, and the homosexual underpinnings of Hollywood), but no real grandstanding to speak of.  The songs were lax, and the star power seemed to be lacking.  I could drone on, but there’s not really anything worth typing. 

2010 was a lull year for movies.  Some great ones (Inception, How to Train Your Dragon, and True Grit), some good ones (The King’s Speech, The Social Network, and The Fighter), some funny ones (RED, Kick-Ass, and Despicable Me), some undervalued ones (Get Low, Secretariat, and Robin Hood), some lackluster (Toy Story 3, Prince of Persia, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and some downright awful (Catfish, The Kids Are All Right, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse).  Of the movies that were actually nominated, I haven’t seen (sans the nominees in the categories I excluded from my list) the following: Biutiful, Rabbit Hole, Blue Valentine, Animal Kingdom, Another Year, The Illusionist, The Tempest, Barney’s Version, The Way Back, Tangled, and Unstoppable.   Of those films that were actually nominated, I found The Kids Are All Right completely undeserving of any accolades whatsoever.  I also thought that 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, and The Town to be a bit overrated.  I know that my list is sort of a love affair with Inception and True Grit, but is that any different from the Academy’s obsession with The King’s Speech and The Social Network?  Seriously, though, it is surprising how many films I actually enjoyed that ended up getting nominated this year.  I only rated one film on the actual nominated list below a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes – and I don’t need to mention that awful film again (and no, Eclipse wasn’t nominated).  I do wish the Academy would recognize the more popular films (i.e. Inception, Alice in Wonderland, and How to Train Your Dragon) a bit more, while not succumbing to the trends of Hollywood (i.e. The Social Network, Black Swan, and Toy Story 3) by overlooking superior works (i.e. Get Low, Waiting for ‘Superman’, and Narnia) and performances (Duvall in Get Low, Moretz in Kick-Ass, and Cotillard in Inception).  But then again, this is the disconnect between Hollywood and the general public.  But I could digress.  I’m looking forward to a slew of movies this year, including, but not limited to: The Adjustment Bureau, Battle: Los Angeles, Sucker Punch, Hanna, Soul Surfer, Priest, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2, Green Lantern, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Cowboys & Aliens, Immortals, and, of course, Thor, X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  Here’s hoping for an exciting year at the movies.