The awards season has begun, whether any of us is ready or not. It's a lot more taxing and time consuming for me than it is for you. The Gotham Awards has announced their nominations, and it almost easy to forget that this was a spectacular year for independent films. There are certainly a few films I haven't heard of, mostly in the Documentary category. For the most part though, I'm surprised to find myself engaged by these nominations. I'm happy that Let Me In was given representation, small though it is. However, The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone are the true spotlight for these nominations.
As for my predictions on who will come out on top, I'm putting The Kids Are All Right on top for both Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance. Until the fall season, that was my favorite film of the year. If only because it's the only one I've heard of, I'm putting Inside Job on top for Best Documentary. Breakthrough Director is a complete wild card, for who can say who will win. Finally, though Greta Gerwig's turn in Greenberg was my favorite thing about the film, Breakthrough Actress is going to go to Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone. It may reignite Oscar potential for her once again. Take a look at the nominees, and make your own predictions in the comment section.
Best Feature
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
The Kids Are All Right
Let Me In
Winter’s Bone
Best Documentary
12th & Delaware
Inside Job
The Oath
Public Speaking
Sweetgrass
Best Ensemble Performance
The Kids Are All Right
Life During Wartime
Please Give
Tiny Furniture
Winter’s Bone
Breakthrough Director
John Wells, (The Company Men)
Kevin Asch, (Holy Rollers)
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, (I Love You Phillip Morris)
Tanya Hamilton, (Night Catches Us)
Lena Dunham, (Tiny Furniture)
Breakthrough Actor
Prince Adu (Prince of Broadway)
Ronald Bronstein, (Daddy Longlegs)
Greta Gerwig, (Greenberg)
Jennifer Lawrence, (Winter’s Bone)
John Ortiz, (Jack Goes Boating)
The man certainly has his own opinion, I'll give him that. Yesterday, I made it known what my top 10 favorite films of last year were, and of five of those films made Quentin Tarantino's top 20 list of films in 2010. Topping the list was the universally adored Toy Story 3, an honest choice given the events of the past year. After all, Tarantino did have to say good friend of his in the loss of Sally Menke. Second on the list is The Social Network, also universally agreed upon, but he does throw in a few interesting cogs. Tangled makes its way into the top five, just above True Grit. Knight and Day, a critically mixed thriller starring Tom Cruise, ended up coming in at #12, far ahead of The Kids Are All Right. Then again, who are we to judge a man on his opinions?
