Oscars 2011 - Personal Picks

Now that the 2011 Academy Awards show is almost upon us, it's about time I chimed in with my own favorites. Of course, any list is completely subjective, and we all know that the odds-on favorite to sweep the awards is the Oscar-bait feature The King's Speech. Not a bad film, by any means, just not a true standout for 2010. So here are my choices:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Social Network: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ceán Chaffin

Superb, smart, exhilarating, enthralling work. Inception would be a close second.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
James Franco for 127 Hours

Firth may win for a technically challenging role, but Franco did the most convincing performance.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman for Black Swan

Is there even an argument?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale for The Fighter

A very calculated, over-the-top performance from Bale, but clearly the best one amongst the nominees.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo for The Fighter

Frightening, sobering and multifaceted - a bravura example of acting.

Best Achievement in Directing
David Fincher for The Social Network

For technical savvy, polished production, cinematic visuals and solid directing of his cast, Fincher is the man.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Inception: Christopher Nolan

A complete mindfuck, no other film came close.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin

Ever since The West Wing, Sorkin has no peer in clever script-writing and crackling dialogue.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
How to Train Your Dragon: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Heck, it was just plain fun and still is after multiple viewings.

So there you have it. Now go out and watch those movies!

Are the Academy Awards Still Relevant?

Another Oscar show has come and gone. Did anyone notice? There's seems to have been less buzz this year than previous ones, and it's clear that our attention was focused elsewhere - indeed, this year's edition had the third-lowest ratings ever. Yet it was perhaps one of the most successful shows, in my opinion; forget the fact that Slumdog Millionaire felt like a shoo-in based on buzz alone - Hugh Jackman was a stellar host (and how many past hosts can say they could really sing and dance?), the presentations stylish, the mood jovial, the musical numbers Broadway-fun and it almost ran on time. Sign of the times, perhaps?

Or perhaps most people were just not interested in seeing otherwise barely-mainstream fare battling out - had most viewers even seen the nominated pictures? If The Dark Knight had been in nomination, for example, would more people have tuned in to root for the critically acclaimed box-office champ?

And for that matter, why wasn't The Dark Knight nominated for best picture? Some will say it wasn't Best Picture material (wrong!), others that it wasn't the type of movies that gets nominated (Lord of the Rings did, however), or that the nomination system is so bizarre and Byzantine-ly complex that the right movies get lost in the shuffle (indeed, there's been a lot of controversy of late on how movies do get nominated). A real shame. At least Hugh Ledger got his statue, posthumously, though one wonders if there would have been more competition if he had been still alive... Still, well deserved for an unnerving, unrecognizable performance.

Of course, the Oscar for Best Picture has always had a bumpy track record ever since How Green Was My Valley trumped Citizen Kane, the movie that has since been on every Best Of list since 1942. Not that the winning films were bad, but better ones sometimes didn't get their due. And of course, there is no way that the Academy ever watched every single film that came out that year and found just the perfect one.

Are the Oscars irrelevant? Maybe they always were. But we can't resist an awards show as extravagant and glitzy as this one, or the idea that there is one, unique best picture of the year. Until then, we'll still be watching.