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

Awards 2010: Independent Spirit Award Winners

And with that, the precursor season is now officially over, and I think I'll be more happy with the results here than with the results of tonight's Oscar showcase. Black Swan was the big winner of the night, taking home four awards and making it easier to get through the film not winner Best Picture tonight. James Franco was the most deserving actor of the group nominated, so he quite obviously took the award. Winter's Bone took home a few awards too, mostly in the supporting acting categories. The Kids Are All Right took home Best Screenplay, and Exit Through the Gift Shop won Best Documentary. Now lets go this exact way tonight, we'll finally be done!

Best Feature: Black Swan
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
Best Actor: James Franco (127 Hours)
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey (Winter's Bone)
Best Screenplay: The Kids Are All Right
Best First Screenplay: Tiny Furniture
Best Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Foreign Film: The King's Speech
Best First Feature: Get Low
Best Cinematography: Black Swan

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Lead Actress

I don't really think in a way that can be deemed as rational, as my brother keeps telling me of my fascination with Cougar Town. Of the nominees for Best Actress, the one I think is least deserving of recognition is Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole, and this is for a few reasons. The least important reason is that she's been pretty much absent from awards contention for the past few years, and her return feels a little awkward. There's a coldness to her performance, and it comes off as a bit forced if you ask me. It's still great, but less so than the other nominees. That's the critical perspective, and somehow that perspective can't take apart Emma Stone's performance in Easy A. Somehow her mannerisms in the film came off to me so radically that they brought me to tears with her. Don't call me pathetic!

Unfortunately, Emma Stone isn't nominated this year, which leaves a field of mistresses to sleep with deal with. Michelle Williams is an actress I have been observing rather closely, because I feel she's got the sort of talent that could explode across the screen in spectacular fashion. Somehow, and this has been nagging on me, she doesn't quite do that in Blue Valentine. She comes extremely close, and the raw intensity of her performance does warrant a nomination, but I can't really go any further for her yet. Her and Kidman are in something of the same boat, albeit in completely different ways.

The rest of the actresses here deserve to be here 100%, and it'd be so difficult to pick one out of the bunch if it hadn't been made so obvious already. Natalie Portman's iconic performance in Black Swan topped of the tragic tale of fragility and duality in a way that never once feels forced or exaggerated. She manages the transition from innocent child to sensual being of destruction so flawlessly, and that's not even to speak of the subtle nuances to the performance aspect of it. The physical brutality of the ballet world pushes the actress to emphasize every move in a way she wasn't capable of before. Any performance she gives from here on out will be better because of what she learned here. That's definitely worthy of reward.

The only actress with any hope or chance of beating Portman, though I pray that doesn't happen, is Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right. She's definitely at the point in which she's just waiting for the day she gets her award. I would've said this was her year before I saw Black Swan, and it's still worthy of note how she manages to make the character so believable in a way Julianne Moore didn't quite achieve. Perhaps that was just the way the characters were formatted, but you're definitely put on Bening's side by the end of the film, and there has to be a reason for that. Topping everything off, Jennifer Lawrence is the breakout star of the year, no matter what case you make for Hailee Steinfeld or Andrew Garfield. Lawrence shows a maturity beyond her years in this role, and if there's a film with such a solid ensemble this year, I'd say it was Winter's Bone.

1. Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
2. Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
3. Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
4. Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
5. Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)

Will & Should Win: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Potential Upset: Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Should Have Been Nominated: Emma Stone (Easy A)

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Original Screenplay

Here is yet another case of determining what should win in opposition to what actually will win. The only film nominated for Best Original Screenplay that I haven't seen is Another Year, and as things are right now, most people haven't gotten around to it. That's probably the main reason it didn't get any more nominations than this, and that's clearly a shame. However, we can't really do anything about that now, so we can only deal with what we've been given. The film that's undoubtedly going to win is The King's Speech, which is prepping to tie with Inception and The Social Network for most wins next Sunday. Going over the film again, things are rather predictable, and the dialogue a bit forced. It has the touch of experience from a former stammerer, but not much more than that.

There is a chance that Inception could come in for the win here, seeing as it already won the WGA award about two weeks ago. That was the greatest glimmer of light in this predictable awards season, and if anything's going to upset The King's Speech, it will be Nolan's film. That's something I'm desperately hoping for. If the world were to go by my own specific plan, as I sometime imagine it should, The Kids Are All Right would walk away with this specific prize. Across the past several months, the one thing that has stayed a constant is Lisa Cholodenko's suburban comedy, and I remain steadfastly in love with the film. The only lacking bit of the script is Julianne Moore's still heart-rendering confession to the family at the end of the film, but everything other than that is gold.

The only other contender in this race, and the one that doesn't stand a single chance in hell, is The Fighter. Since seeing the film, I have greatly lightened up on it, and it's been making its way up the ranks over the past few weeks, but the predictable story remains predictable. I would much rather have had Black Swan be nominated here, because there are some wonderfully original ideas employed in Aronofsky's latest work of art. It's a pity that isn't nominated.

1. The Kids Are All Right
2. Inception
3. Another Year
4. The King's Speech
5. The Fighter

Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win: The Kids Are All Right
Potential Upset: Inception
Should Have Been Nominated: Black Swan

Oscar 2010: 83rd Annual Academy Award Nominations

Here we are, right up in the morning for the hectic awesomeness of the Academy Award nominations, and they didn't skimp on more than a few surprises. I'll comment on those later on this morning, but for now, here are the nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards!

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"

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

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

Oscar 2010: Final Oscar Predictions (Part 3: Films, Writers, and Directors)

The nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards are announced early tomorrow morning, and seeing as I don't have to be up early tomorrow morning, expect me to report on those around noon. There's bound to be more than a few surprises, omissions, and upsets, but I can't say I'm really planning for those. I'm predicting what I think has the greatest chance at being nominated, so it's probably easiest to start at the top, because the nominations are pretty much locked in for Best Picture. Black Swan, Inception, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and True Grit are all sturdy bets in terms of nominations. It's that tenth spot you have to worry about, and anything other than The Town or Winter's Bone would be a surprise. I'm betting on the latter, leaving Ben Affleck out in the cold.

The easiest category to predict is animated feature, seeing as there will only be three nominees. Toy Story 3 will make it in without a doubt, and How to Train Your Dragon still has some heat going towards a nomination. That leaves the final slot up to The Illusionist and Tangled, and I'd expect Sylvain Chomet's silent traditionally animated film to make the cut. Tangled seems just a bit too modern and new age for the Academy, and I expect them to go for something a bit more authentic. I'd really like for Megamind to be nominated, but the horrible choice of songs in the film kind of alienates those chances. As for Foreign Language Film, do you honestly expect me to make an informed decision on this one? I haven't seen any of these films, so that's truly impossible. Therefore, I'm just going to make a wild guess and say that Incendies, In A Better World, Dogtooth, Biutiful and Life, Above All will be nominated. It's going to be really funny if those all end up being nominated.

The documentary race is especially competitive this year, and yet I still haven't seen most of the films that have been shortlisted. It's pretty straightforward that Waiting for "Superman" and Inside Job will make it in, although I realize that any prediction I make in this case will be slightly off. I'm going to take a guess that the Academy reacted to Exit Through the Gift Shop the same way I did. I hardly believe it to be close to the best film of the year, despite how true it may be, so I'm going to say that Gasland, Restrepo, and The Tillman Story fill out my list. I'm keeping Waste Land in the back of my mind as an alternate, but I'm not counting on it.

The race for Best Director is a little more clear cut, because it was obvious this year which films had a powerful vision. Technically speaking, Tom Hooper shouldn't even be nominated for this, because he barely had any presence in The King's Speech. The ones that should be locks are David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle, and Christopher Nolan. David O' Russell could be an alternate, but everything in The Fighter lacks that uniqueness that is required to make it in this category. I'm pulling for Aronofsky to come out on top with the win for Black Swan, but there's quite some unlikelihood of that actually happening. The last two races are for the screenplay categories, and though that seems like a less climactic end than Best Picture, this year's nominations for that category aren't all that climactic.

In the Original Screenplay race, the two films fighting for the win are Inception and The King's Speech, so they are both reasonable locks. Black Swan may have less to go with in terms of dialogue, but the ideas presented in the screenplay are spectacular enough to merit a nod. The Kids Are All Right should make it in for the authentic and fun dialogue, as well as the sprightly and unconventional narrative. I'd like to say that Another Year should fill out this category, but that film has been disappearing at an alarming rate. The next film after that would be The Fighter, so I'm sticking to my guns in hope that Mike Leigh's British drama makes the cut. As for Adapted Screenplay, it's pretty impossible for any other film to beat out Aaron Sorkin's flawless screenplay for The Social Network, but those slots nonetheless need to be filled. Toy Story 3, True Grit, and Winter's Bone are all practically locks for the category, which leaves that much maligned fifth slot. Even though most expect 127 Hours to come through with that nomination, I expect Rabbit Hole to surprisingly end up making the cut, or at least I'm hoping it does. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see if I'm right.

Awards 2010: Golden Globe Winners

My Golden Globe party turned out to be a lot more competitive than I anticipated going into the weekend. The telecast wasn't that stressful, but I was thrust into a predicting competition on who will win with a bunch of new friends that I just met. None of them already knew who was going to win, so I was prepped to take them all down. On the other hand, I hadn't a clue who was going to win the television categories, so I got most of those wrong. I didn't expect Boardwalk Empire to be as big a hit as it was last night, and I thought the HFPA would choose something radically different for Best Motion Picture (Drama). Instead, they stayed with The Social Network to make an entirely too predictable evening. Ricky Gervais did a great job, so I'll give the evening that.

~Film~

Best Motion Picture (Drama): The Social Network
Best Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical): The Kids Are All Right
Best Actor (Drama): Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical): Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)
Best Actress (Drama): Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical): Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Best Original Score: The Social Network
Best Original Song: "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" from Burlesque

~Television~

Best Series (Drama): Boardwalk Empire
Best Series (Comedy/Musical): Glee
Best Miniseries/TV Movie: Carlos
Best Actor (Drama): Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire)
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical): Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Best Actor (Miniseries/TV Movie): Al Pacino (You Don't Know Jack)
Best Actress (Drama): Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy)
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical): Laura Linney (The Big C)
Best Actress (Miniseries/TV Movie): Claire Danes (Temple Grandin)
Best Supporting Actor: Chris Colfer (Glee)
Best Supporting Actress: Jane Lynch (Glee)

Awards 2010: American Cinema Editors (ACE) Nominees

More guild award nominations, and this time it's a little more interesting than usual. The ACE have announced their nominations, and I'm pretty impressed for the most part. The Social Network and Inception made it in, as should be pretty obvious, and the rest of the dramatic field was filled by The King's Speech, Black Swan, and The Fighter, who definitely deserves the nomination. One of my favorite things about the film was the aggressive way it was cut together, adding on to the brutality of it. As for the Comedy or Musical department, there is the obvious exception of Alice in Wonderland, but I was still really impressed. Easy A and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World made the cut, which is a nice victory to me. The Animated and Documentary editing categories are pretty straightforward, but no less deserving.

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
“Black Swan"
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The King’s Speech"
“The Social Network”

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Easy A”
“The Kids Are All Right”
“Made in Dagenham"
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”

Best Edited Animated Film
“Despicable Me”
“How to Train Your Dragon"
“Toy Story 3″

Best Edited Documentary
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
“Inside Job”
“Waiting for Superman”

Oscar 2010: As It Should Be

The Oscar season has really calmed down in terms of tension and excitement, and I at the moment it would be pretty easy to take a solid guess at who would win. As for the nominees, I think we've gotten pretty well settled on who will make the cut. The Social Network, The King's Speech, True Grit, Inception, and Toy Story 3 are all locks based on critical acceptance and their success with the precursors. As a matter of fact, in a field of five nominations, those would be the films most would predict. Inception and Toy Story 3 are closest to the edge of that range, and there would be some serious doubt on whether or not they'd make it in if we were still operating on a five nomination basis.

The Fighter is also a pretty safe bet on being nominated, but it would have a much tougher time being one of five nominees. If I have an enemy in this race, that would probably be it, as I find it too familiar, even if the performances are spectacular. Black Swan's chances are slightly better, and I would be surprised if the nominations were announced and Darren Aronofsky's film was not in the pot. 127 Hours and The Kids Are All Right are pretty unanimous nominations, though neither of them have gotten much awards buzz recently so that's slightly up in the air.

Another Year isn't really much of a contender anymore, so the two films in a dog fight for the final slot are The Town and Winter's Bone. My guess and favoritism lies with latter, but they both have shown strong presence in the precursors. However, by now we're far past the argument of who will be nominated, and we're in the heat of who should ultimately win. A lot of people are hoping for a backlash against The Social Network, and after seeing it a few more times, I think that would be horrible. The film is fully deserving of the honor, and I certainly wouldn't be in opposition. I'm not sure if I'd say that it's my horse in this race, but I definitely have a massive fondness for it. The King's Speech seemed like it was the main competitor in the Best Picture race, but it has only secured a few precursors and it'll take something huge to change the tides.

True Grit doesn't have much chance outside the Supporting Actress and Cinematography races, and it deserves to do well in those races. I wouldn't count it as a horrible thing if it went home with only two. It would be a tragedy if it went home with nothing at all, like Up in the Air did last year. It's not fitting of such an authentic and textured western to earn nothing in return. I can't say I'm one of the people who thinks that Toy Story 3 should be considered more of a frontrunner in the top race, because I just don't think we've reached that point of acceptance for it to have a chance. As for Inception, I don't think Christopher Nolan will get his major win with this piece. He'll probably do much better in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises.

If I have a horse in this race, it would be the unlikely contender of Black Swan. I've warmed up to the film so immensely since I first saw it. I guess I cherished the opportunity to pay complete attention to the film more than I did when my brother was chattering off for the entire duration. It would be something beautiful if this film ended up winning the main race, and I think that's the film I will be most promoting in the coming weeks. The odds are placed against it, but it was an uphill battle from the moment it premiered at Venice Film Festival. It's practically secured a nomination at this point, and I don't believe it's about to deflate, so there's nowhere else to go but up. So, while I adjust my Oscar predictions page to include winner predictions, please let me know what you think. Who is your horse in this race, and who is your chosen enemy?

If I Had An Oscar Ballot...

Orange = Winner

Blue = Runner Up

Best Picture
"Black Swan"
"Easy A"
"Winter's Bone"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1"
"Inception"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
"Toy Story 3"
"True Grit"

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan")
Lisa Cholodenko ("The Kids Are All Right")
Joel & Ethan Coen ("True Grit")
David Fincher ("The Social Network")
Christopher Nolan ("Inception")

Awards 2010: Writer's Guild of America Nominations

Well, the annual list of films snubbed from the WGA didn't seem to stop a consistent stream of quality coming in, although there are two rather interesting horses in this race. Please Give and I Love You Phillip Morris were nominated for their Original and Adapted Screenplays respectively. The winners ought to be rather obvious, with Inception and The Social Network coming out on top in their respective categories. It's not a great glimpse at what to expect from the Oscar nominations, but it's something different to say the least.

Awards 2010: Producer's Guild of America Nominations

We're finally getting somewhat past the repetitive critics awards, and into the guild award part of the season. The PGA is one of the more important awards, because it gives us a reliable idea of what to expect when the Oscar nominations for Best Picture are released. On the other hand, we already had a clear idea of what was probably going to make the list. Another Year's chances have dwindled by far. The Town is seeming like a more likely candidate, but I'm still pulling for Winter's Bone to make the cut. Ultimately, there isn't much diversion from what we already suspected. The major surprise for me is that Exit Through the Gift Shop didn't make the cut for the documentary category.

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Best Male Performances of 2010

To tell you the truth, of all the best of the year segments that I've written, the next two were probably the most difficult. It's much harder to sit down and compare specific performances than it is to compare films, or even aspects of films. Each actor has their own style, and I completely appreciate that. There were some actors who did fantastic jobs this year, but they weren't the best. Geoffrey Rush gave a fantastic and hilarious performance as Lionel Logue in The King's Speech, and his chemistry with Colin Firth gave such a great dynamic for the duo to work off of. Also just barely edged off the list is Jeremy Renner, who chose to follow up his performance in The Hurt Locker with an unnerving turn as the loose cannon of the group in The Town, Jem.

There's also the fact that some films aren't really acting showcases, so you have to do a bit of digging in order to find the best of the group. Inception was one of those films, and even though I really liked the work Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt did, Tom Hardy was the guy who won over me. His character of Eames is practically the man most important to making the act of Inception work, and that sarcastic charm of his doesn't hurt either. Even though it was a team effort, giving Watanabe, Gordon-Levitt, and Murphy all a chance to shine, it's worth noting that Tom Hardy is the man Christopher Nolan's carrying on into The Dark Knight Rises, where I hope he will do even better work.

Awards 2010: London Film Critics' Circle Nominations

Draw your own interpretations from these nominations.

Best Film
- Black Swan
- The Kids Are All Right
- The King's Speech
- The Social Network
- Toy Story 3

Best British Film
- 127 Hours
- The Arbor
- Another Year
- The King's Speech
- Monsters

Best Director
- Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
- Ethan & Joel Coen (True Grit)
- David Fincher (The Social Network)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives)

Best Actor
- Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
- Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
- Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
- Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
- Edgar Ramirez (Carlos)

Best Actress
- Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
- Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
- Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
- Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
- Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

Best British Actor
- Riz Ahmed (Four Lions)
- Christian Bale (The Fighter)
- Jim Broadbent (Another Year)
- Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
- Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)

Best British Actress
- Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech)
Lesley Manville (Another Year)
Rosamund Pike (Barney’s Version)
Ruth Sheen (Another Year)
Tilda Swinton (I Am Love)

British Supporting Actor
- David Bradley (Another Year)
- Pierce Brosnan (The Ghost Writer)
- Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
- Tom Hardy (Inception)
- Peter Wright (Another Year)

British Supporting Actress
- Helena Bonham Carter (Alice in Wonderland)
- Christine Bottomley (The Arbor)
- Minnie Driver (Barney’s Version)
- Rosamund Pike (Made in Dagenham)
- Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer)

Best Screenplay
- The Kids Are All Right
- True Grit
- Four Lions
- The King's Speech
- The Social Network

Oscar 2010: "True Grit" and Others Ineligible for Original Score

\The Oscar race for Best Original Score is often prone to skepticism, not only in regards to what shall be nominated, but also in regards to what qualifies. There were many who were disappointed that the score for Where the Wild Things Are didn't make it last year. The same sort of thing happened the year before when the score for The Dark Knight was disqualified. So, it was quite obvious that the same sort of thing would happen this year. The biggest casualties are also the most apparent ones, with the scores for True Grit and Black Swan being ineligible for the award on the basis that they use variations of pre-existing music.

Also in the massive death pot are Carter Burwell's score for The Kids Are All Right, and Michael Brook's score for The Fighter. They got the boot because their respective films rely less on score and more on songs to set the mood. On the other hand, they weren't really big contenders in the first place. So it seems that Burwell won't be a presence in this year's awards, which seem to be dominated by the likes of Hans Zimmer and Alexandre Desplat.

Awards 2010: Screen Actors Guild Nominations

The Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations yesterday, and that The Town was probably the biggest thing that I missed. There were quite a few notable occurrences, such as being left out of Best Ensemble Cast, though it has been playing well in that category during critics awards. John Hawkes deservedly made it into the Supporting Actor race for Winter's Bone, though it was at the loss of Andrew Garfield who was snubbed. I'm surprised Prince of Persia didn't make the stunt ensemble, because that was one of the only outstanding qualities that film had. Also worth noting, Mila Kunis is getting some heat going for her turn in Black Swan. This could lead to a bigger nomination this January. As for my guesses at who will win, they are, in order of the categories below, The Kids Are All Right, Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and Inception.

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Black Swan
The Fighter
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Robert Duvall (Get Low)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
James Franco (127 Hours)

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Hilary Swank (Conviction)

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)
Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE
Green Zone
Inception
Robin Hood

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: Golden Globe Nominations

Once again, as per usual, the Golden Globes prove that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. It's impossible to ever predict what will be let in and left out, so lets start with those major surprises. The Motion Picture Comedy category let in plenty of undeserving films, but not Easy A, which probably deserved it more. Instead, what do they nominate? Obviously the newly released The Tourist. The film recently opened to mediocre reviews, so I don't understand what the Hollywood Foreign Press saw in it. For that matter, I don't get why they nominated Alice in Wonderland at all. I understand Burlesque, but only because it's a musical, and sometimes they just can't resist.

I don't think that Red really belonged in that category, but it's better than most of the films nominated. The Kids Are All Right got quite a few nominations, but Mark Ruffalo was shut out of Best Supporting Actor for some nonsensical reason. The Original Song category isn't even worthy of note, so go ahead and find it on your own. You're not getting any help from me in that case. One last thing to notice, True Grit was shut out completely. None of this really means anything in the grand scheme of things, because nobody should really care about the Golden Globes. Take a look at the nominations, and weigh in on your opinion in the comments section!

BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
-Black Swan
-The Fighter
-Inception
-The King's Speech
-The Social Network

BEST MOTION PICTURE COMEDY
-Alice in Wonderland
-Burlesque
-The Kids Are All Right
-Red
-The Tourist

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
-Hally Berry (Frankie and Alice)
-Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
-Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
-Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
-Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
-Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
-Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs)
-Angelina Jolie (The Tourist)
-Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right)
-Emma Stone (Easy A)

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
-Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
-Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
-James Franco (127 Hours)
-Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
-Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
-Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
-Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
-Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)
-Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
-Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
-Despicable Me
-How to Train Your Dragon
-The Illusionist
-Tangled
-Toy Story 3

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE
-Biutiful
-The Concert
-The Edge
-I Am Love
-In a Better World

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
-Amy Adams (The Fighter)
-Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
-Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
-Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
-Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
-Christian Bale (The Fighter)
-Michael Douglass (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)
-Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
-Jeremy Renner (The Town)
-Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

BEST DIRECTOR
- Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
- David Fincher (The Social Network)
- Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- David O. Russell (The Fighter)

BEST SCREENPLAY
- Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
- Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- David Seidler (The King's Speech)
- Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- The King's Speech
- Alice in Wonderland
- 127 Hours
- The Social Network
- Inception