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Cinema Fanatic’s Favorite Fifteen Films of 2011
While, for me, 2011 was not as a great a year in cinema as 2009 (many of the films I loved from that year I didn’t get to see until Jan of 2010, but still), I found myself loving more films this year than I did last year. In fact, you may notice that although I claim this is a list of fifteen films, it in fact contains sixteen films. There is one tie and I will explain my choice when I get to it. Last year before the year ended I managed to watch 53 new releases; this year I saw 57 (which is kind of pitifully low when you consider how many new-to-me films I saw this year; but that’s neither here nor there and you have to wait until tomorrow to read about that cinematic odyssey). I want to point out that my top five films have not changed since October, but the ten (eleven) that follow have been shifted and adjusted many, many times since then. Probably when I rewatch those films late on this list might still evolve some. I also want to mention that there were at least two films that I wanted to see before the end of the year that I was not able to see (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn); as always, there is no way to know whether those films would have even made the list had I seen them, but I wanted to point out that I’ve yet to see them so that comments of “where is ***?!” didn’t ensue. Okay, enough chatter, on to the list.
“Hugo” Named Best Picture, Nicolas Winding Refn Best Director By Austin Film Critics
Best Film
Hugo, directed by Martin Scoresese
Best Foreign Language Film
I Saw the Devil, South Korea, directed by Jee-woon Kim
Best Director
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Best Actor
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Best Original Screenplay
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay
Drive, Hossein Amini
Best Cinematography
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Original Score
Attack the Block, Steven Price
Best Documentary
Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia
Best Animated Feature
Rango, directed by Gore Verbinski
Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter/The Tree of Life/The Help/The Debt/Coriolanus/Texas Killing Fields
Best First Film
Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish
Austin Film Award
Take Shelter, directed by Jeff Nichols
Southeastern Film Critics Association Name “The Descendants” Best Picture, Scorsese Best Director
Top Ten Films
The Descendants
The Artist
Hugo
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
Drive
Midnight in Paris
Win Win
War Horse
The Help
Best Actor
Winner – George Clooney (The Descendants)
Runner-up – Michael Fassbender (Shame)
Best Actress
Winner – Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Runner-up – Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor
Winner – Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runner-up – Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress
Winner – Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Runner-up – Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Ensemble
Winner – The Help
Runner-up – The Descendants
Best Director
Winner – Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Runner-up – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Original Screenplay
Winner – Midnight in Paris
Runner-up – The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner – The Descendants
Runner-up – Moneyball
Best Documentary
Winner – Project Nim
Runner-up – Tabloid
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner – A Separation
Runner-up – The Skin I Live In
Best Animated Film
Winner – Rango
Runner-up – The Adventures of Tintin
Best Cinematography
Winner – The Tree of Life
Runner-up – Hugo
The Gene Wyatt Award
Winner – The Help
Runner-up – Undefeated
2011 Golden Globe Nominations
Best Motion Picture – Drama
- The Descendants
- The Help
- Hugo
- The Ides of March
- Moneyball
- War Horse
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- 50/50
- The Artist
- Bridesmaids
- Midnight In Paris
- My Week With Marilyn
Best Actor – Drama
- George Clooney – The Descendants
- Michael Fassbender – Shame
- Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
- Ryan Gosling – The Ides of March
- Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Best Actress – Drama
- Glenn Close, – Albert Nobbs
- Viola Davis – The Help
- Rooney Mara – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
- Tilda Swinton – We Need To Talk About Kevin
Best Actor – Musical or Comedy
- Jean DuJardin – The Artist
- Brendan Gleeson – The Guard
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 50/50
- Ryan Gosling – Crazy, Stupid, Love.
- Owen Wilson – Midnight In Paris
Best Actress – Musical or Comedy
- Jodie Foster – Carnage
- Kate Winslet – Carnage
- Charlize Theron – Young Adult
- Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids
- Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
Best Supporting Actor
- Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
- Albert Brooks – Drive
- Jonah Hill – Moneyball
- Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method
- Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Best Supporting Actress
- Bérénice Bejo – The Artist
- Jessica Chastain – The Help
- Octavia Spencer – The Help
- Shailene Woodley – The Descendants
- Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Best Director
- Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
- George Clooney – The Ides of March
- Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
- Alexander Payne – The Descendants
- Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Best Screenplay
- Midnight In Paris
- The Ides of March
- The Artist
- The Descendants
- Moneyball
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
- “Hello Hello” – Gnomeo and Juliet
- “The Keeper” – Machine Gun Preacher
- “Lay Your Head Down” – Albert Nobbs
- “The Living Proof” – The Help
- “Masterpiece” – W.E.
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
- The Artist
- W.E.
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Hugo
- War Horse
Best Foreign Language Film
- The Flowers of War (China)
- In The Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
- The Kid With The Bike (Belgium)
- A Separation (Iran)
- The Skin I Live In (Spain)
Best Animated Feature Film
- The Adventures of Tin Tin
- Arthur Christmas
- Cars 2
- Puss In Boots
- Rango
Films About Film Lead The Critics’ Choice Awards Nominations
Both Hugo and The Artist lead the nominations with 11 each. Nice to see Drive pop up in a few categories. It’s also interesting to notice Andy Serkis’ motion capture performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes is appearing in several critics’ nominations. I don’t think the Academy will jump on that bandwagon though.
BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “Drive”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”
BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen – “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Andrew Serkis – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan – “Shame”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – “Hugo”
Elle Fanning – “Super 8”
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Ezra Miller – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Saoirse Ronan – “Hanna”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
“50/50” – Will Reiser
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“Win Win” – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
“Young Adult” – Diablo Cody
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – Eric Roth
“The Help” – Tate Taylor
“Hugo” – John Logan
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Artist” – Guillaume Schiffman
“Drive” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“Hugo” – Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” – Janusz Kaminski
BEST ART DIRECTION
“The Artist” – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
“War Horse” – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales
BEST EDITING
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
“Drive” – Matthew Newman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“War Horse” – Michael Kahn
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“The Help” – Sharen Davis
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“My Week With Marilyn” – Jill Taylor
BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life
BEST SOUND
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
BEST ACTION MOVIE
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
BEST COMEDY
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated
BEST SONG
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets
BEST SCORE
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
“Drive” – Cliff Martinez
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“War Horse” – John Williams
Boston Society of Film Critics Names “The Artist” Best Picture
Best Picture – “The Artist”
Best Actor – Brad Pitt for “Moneyball”
Best Actress – Michelle Williams for “My Week with Marilyn”
Best Supporting Actor – Albert Brooks for “Drive”
Best Supporting Actress – Melissa McCarthy for “Bridesmaids”
Best Director – Martin Scorses for “Hugo”
Best Screenplay – Moneyball
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki for “The Tree of Life”
Best Documentary – “Project Nim”
Best Foreign-Language Film – “Incendies”
Best Animated Film – Rango
Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer) – Christian Marclay for “The Clock”
Best New Filmmaker (awarded in memory of David Brudnoy) – Sean Durkin for “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Best Ensemble Cast – Carnage
Best Use of Music in a Film – Tie: “Drive” and “The Artist”
The Artist, Scorsese Winners At Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards
Looks like the race is off to be more of the same film winning over and over again. At least the acting categories are a little different for this critics group. The winners are after the cut; you can see the full list of nominees here.
Scorsese’s “Hugo” Named Best Film of the Year by the National Board of Review
I very rarely agree 100% with the NBR, but this year’s list is pretty decent, though I still need to see a handful of their choices.. They always include Eastwood, no matter what the consensus is on his films, though. I still haven’t seen J. Edgar, so I can’t comment just yet. I’m happy to see Drive on their list, but a little miffed to see the final Harry Potter on there, because from a stand-alone film point-of-view it failed miserably.