THE LISTS: Duncan's 25 Greatest Films of All Time

Two days ago marked the enormous milestone of Sight and Sound Magazine's poll of the greatest films of all time. It wasn't quite a matter of what was most at the top, and more of what was on the most Top 10 lists. Given that, it's rather unsurprising what landed at the top, given that it's a much more unanimously acclaimed film than "Citizen Kane", which has suffered from a "top dog fatigue" that most associate it with. Being hailed as the end-all-be-all of cinema takes away some of the wonder from it, like you're not coming upon something fresh for you specifically. It becomes a corporatized experience instead of a personal one. For that reason, "Citizen Kane" just didn't figure into my Top 10, or even 25.

But hey, it's a personal list after all. Not everyone operates under the same criteria, and nobody sticks with the same criteria on every approach at a list. Egregious amounts of ranking with years, decades, and trying to meld those two lists together, ultimately fell apart to a rather hollow and uninteresting list. Going film-by-film asking "Is this better than this?", quickly grew rather tiresome and became an overwhelming chore. A list like this shouldn't come across so mechanically, and it should be a pleasant experience in arriving on certain films rising to the front. So I attempted for a much simpler, far less foolproof approach.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Picture

The votes have been tallied, and there's nothing I can say now that can change any heads about where they're going. So going into this evening, there's a great chance that the inevitable winner of this prize is going to be The King's Speech. Even after everything, I can still say I at least like the film, because it is inspirational and funny, but a feat of immense filmmaking, it is not. All the same, if by some miracle The King's Speech doesn't win, I don't think we'll be able to predict which feature will win. Sure, The Social Network is runner-up in the books, but things have changed so immensely that I can't tell what will happen.

What I truly hope happens, and this is if only the wildest of dreams come true, is that Black Swan takes home Best Picture, matching it up with its Indie Spirit Award last night. The film is an undeniable feat of advanced filmmaking that shakes you to your core, which is what a film should do. Although, the Academy may still be too apprehensive to let such an off-the-wall trinket as this walk away with the top prize. To be honest, I feel like the odds for an upset would be in The Fighter's favor, and I think that I'd be fine with that. Sure, I'm not a huge fan of Mark Wahlberg, but everyone else in the cast gives tops performances, it's nicely directed, and aggressively edited. My mindset is in the mood for a change.

Of course, The Social Network isn't totally out of the cards. They amassed a ridiculous amount of critics awards, and that heft should be able to push them over the threshold. There are probably a few Academy members who are out rooting for Fincher's film to win. It's a little strange how I'm not one of them. True Grit is another potent possibility, given the authentic nature of it, it seems like exactly the sort of carefully drawn out film that the Academy would honor. I'm sure it's not going to happen, but I think it'd definitely be nice. Toy Story 3 has been gaining some steam that hasn't really gone anywhere. If tonight were the night that the first animated feature took home Best Picture, I think there'd be more rapturous applause. And I quite honestly don't see a reason why it shouldn't be in the cards. It's one of the best features of 2010. That's undeniable. What's with the apprehension?

The rest of the field is filled out by films that don't really stand a chance. 127 Hours was perhaps as great as any film this year, but it's all packed into a smaller package, and I think the Academy would go for something bigger. I'm sure that the Academy isn't exactly a bunch of Inception fans, seeing as they didn't see fit to nominate Nolan for Best Director. I don't see much success for the film beyond the technical categories, sad as it is to say. The Kids Are All Right would be a sweet winner, but does anybody really believe this could happen? Same answer for Winter's Bone, as unfortunate as that is. It's a shame how sometimes the best aren't recognized as such through strange technicalities.

1. Black Swan
2. The Kids Are All Right
3. Winter's Bone
4. The Social Network
5. Toy Story 3
6. True Grit
7. The Fighter
8. Inception
9. 127 Hours
10. The King's Speech

Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win (My Pick): Black Swan
Potential Upset: The Social Network
Should Have Been Nominated: The Illusionist

The Top 10: Best Animated Feature Nominees

With all the bustle of awards season, it's easy to forget that this is the tenth year of the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars, and the nominees have been diverse and mostly rewarding. So here is my compilation of the ten best nominees in this category to date, stretching all the way back to 2001. And I can promise you that it's not all Pixar.

10. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Directed by Wes Anderson

I'm not really a great fan of Wes Anderson, because most of his work is far more miss than hit. He does have an enthusiasm about him and that energy shows in his work. So what better medium for his to try his hand at than animation, or more specifically stop-motion. After Henry Selick left the project for bigger and quite honestly better things (see #4), Anderson became the unlikely director, and brought so much to it. Authenticity is something that always impresses me, and this is undeniably the most authentic animated feature of the past decade. Everything feels so real and untarnished, from the aesthetic of the dolls that make up the characters, to witty script that rivals The Hangover in terms of screwball antics. It definitely feels like the sort of film that would be passed down through the years.

9. Persepolis (2007)
Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

A French animated adaptation of an autobiographical graphic novel about the Iranian revolution. That's a description that will only ever be suited to this film, and you can overlook how unique this film is at first glance. From the basic and simple animation style, this film is more than just a look into the way the government of Iran changed, but also a spry and emotional tale of the way a little girl changes as she grows up. It has an ironic comic timing to it, and that's very much amplified by the constantly changing atmosphere of Marjane Satrapi's mindset. The film moves at such a clip that you can feel that change of mind that zigzags around so frantically. It's like catching lightning in a bottle, and how it bounces around from there.

8. Finding Nemo (2003)
Directed by Andrew Stanton

When thinking of Pixar's achievements over the past decade, the mind always seems to shift to the film that truly put them on the map. Toy Story, A Bugs Life, and Monster's Inc. could all be seen as Pixar's precursor work, very much like Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige could be seen as Christopher Nolan's precursor work to The Dark Knight. Both didn't truly hit worldwide renown until their greatest hits yet premiered. Finding Nemo is very much the film most responsible for Pixar's impeccable track record. It didn't stray too far away from the harshness of life, nor the cruelty of the sea. It has plenty humorous anecdotes along the way, and to this day there ceases to be a voice performance that reaches the same heights as Ellen Degeneres as Dori. The men and women over at Pixar still had plenty greater works to unveil, but this was the perfect beginning.

Awards 2010: New York Film Critics Circle

It would be an extremely frustrating week if I was constantly reporting on all the critic awards at once, so I'm going to let them trickle onto my site over the next few days, rather than let them all in at once. I actually needed the New York Film Critics Circle's choices after that unfortunate little spat I had at the BFCA's nominations yesterday. Many of the wins were rather routine, but Colin Firth was able to nail out a win, and The Kids Are All Right got some more proper consideration. I think Best Screenplay may have been a stretch, but I'm still glad it happened. And since I'm striving for pictures, here's one from the Best Foreign Film choice, Carlos.

Best Film: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Actress: Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Best Screenplay: The Kids Are All Right
Best Cinematography: Black Swan
Best Animated Feature: The Illusionist
Best Documentary: Inside Job
Best Foreign Language Film: Carlos

Awards 2010: Annie Award Nominations

Today has included a massive unloading award wins and nominations, and I can't help but hope this is the last one we'll be seeing today. The Annie Awards are often a mixed bag, as they have a tendency to skew towards Dreamworks rather than Pixar. These nominations are rather routine, and I feel hurt that Randy Newman didn't get a music nomination for Toy Story 3. Check them out below, that is if you have any sustained interest left at this point.

Best Animated Feature:
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
Tangled
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Directing in a Feature Production:
Sylvain Chomet (The Illusionist)
Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me)
Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars)
Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois (How To Train Your Dragon)
Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3)

Music in a Feature Production:
Sylvain Chomet (The Illusionist)
David Hirschfelder (Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole)
John Powell (How To Train Your Dragon)
Harry Gregson Williams (Shrek Forever After)
Pharrell Williams, and Heitor Pereira (Despicable Me)

Voice Acting in a Feature Production:
Jay Baruchel as Hiccup (How To Train Your Dragon)
Gerard Butler as Stoick (How To Train Your Dragon)
Steve Carrell as Gru (Despicable Me)
Cameron Diaz as Fiona (Shrek Forever After)
Geoffrey Rush as Ezylryb (Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole)

Writing in a Feature Production:
Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3)
Sylvain Chomet (The Illusionist)
William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon)
Dan Fogelman (Tangled)
Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons (Megamind)

Oscar 2010: 15 Films Qualify for Best Animated Feature

Yesterday, after talk had begun to disperse about whether or not we'd have a five film Best Animated Feature race, the official list of films that qualifies showed up to disappoint everyone. Everything that we expected would get in, did make it in, including Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, The Illusionist, and Tangled. As a matter of fact, the only notable film that didn't make it in was Yogi Bear, and that's for probably two obvious reasons. The first of which is that it isn't animated. The second is that the film will most likely suck. I challenge anyone who dares disagree with me. Anyway, here's the list in case you want to see it for yourself. I do find it surprising that Cats and Dogs 2 made it in, but in all honesty, it won't get far.

-Alpha and Omega
-Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
-Despicable Me
-The Dreams of Jinsha
-How to Train Your Dragon
-Idiots and Angels
-The Illusionist
-Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
-Megamind
-My Dog Tulip
-Shrek Forever After
-Summer Wars
-Tangled
-Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
-Toy Story 3