my Alex In Movieland awards, 5th edition
The 5th edition of my personal film awards is here. Funny, I know. :) Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see that many 2012 films, but I have enough here to fill each category with quality stuff. Unlike previous years I
- No masterpiece of the size of The Tree of Life, but a couple of
solid films. Overall it was an average year, but with specific highlights
in specific categories.
- It was the year of INCREDIBLE male
performances & the year of category confusion. Going with only 15
leading male performances was so-so difficult. My Top 10 for this category
might be the most solid I’ve ever had. And the Supporting actors are just as
great, with a lot of delicious villains and scene stealing players.
- So many performances were just in the
middle of leading & supporting, and I’ve changed my mind in more than
one case. I think Philip Seymour Hoffman is just as leading as Joaquin, I
think Dame Judi is supporting in Marigold
Hotel, just like Helen Hunt in The
Sessions and Christoph Waltz in Django.
I was most confused on what to do with Nicole Kidman in Paperboy. I initially said Leading,
but in the end I went for Supporting… But not sure it feels right after
all.
This is the list of
eligible/seen films (to my shame only 54):
Amour, Anna Karenina, Arbitrage, Argo, The Avengers, Beasts of the
Southern Wild, Bernie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Beyond the Hills, Brave,
Cloud Atlas, The Dark Knight Rises, Dark Shadows, The Deep Blue Sea, Django
Unchained, Flight, Frankenweenie, The Grey, Hitchcock, The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey, Holy Motors, Hope Springs, Hotel Transylvania, The Hunger
Games, Hyde Park on Hudson, The Impossible, The Intouchables, John Carter,
Killing Them Softly, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Looper, Magic Mike,
The Master, Mirror Mirror, Moonrise Kingdom, No, On the Road, The Paperboy,
ParaNorman, Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, The Pirates! Band of Misfits,
Pitch Perfect, Prometheus, Rust and Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall,
Snow White and the Huntsman, To Rome with Love, The Sessions, Ted,
Wreck-It-Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
And here we go:
BEST PICTURE
Choosing this year’s
number 1 was more difficult than usual because I also like number 2 quite a
lot. Both of them are seriously in front of their competition. The one I went
for is a film I’ve seen twice and, just like any of my winners, it’s one for
the heart & soul. A moving, mature drama that says a lot with few words. A
classic. Also good to note: 4 of my top 5 are in a language other than English.
1. Amour
2. Zero
Dark Thirty
3. Beyond
the Hills
4. Rust
and Bone
5. No
And also:
6. Silver
Linings Playbook
7. Django
Unchained
8. Wreck-It-Ralph
9. The
Impossible
10. Skyfall
Runner-ups:
11. The Grey
12. The Intouchables
13. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
14. The Dark Knight Rises
15. The Paperboy
BEST DIRECTOR
1. Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
2. Michael Haneke – Amour
3. Cristian Mungiu – Beyond the Hills
4. Jacques Audiard – Rust and Bone
5. Pablo Larrain – No
Runner-ups:
6.
David O. Russell – Silver Linings
Playbook
7.
Joe Carnahan – The Grey
8.
Juan Antonio Bayona – The Impossible
9.
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern
Wild
10.
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
Also:
11.
Sam Mendes – Skyfall
12.
Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
13.
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
14.
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight Rises
15.
Rian Johnson – Looper
BEST ACTOR
1. Philip
Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Of the two I give a slight advantage to the more grounded one. The
conviction of this performance is unmatchable: from the smooth talk to the
angry delusion, it’s done with easiness, power and ultimately perfection.
2. Joaquin Phoenix –
The Master
A performance of delicious madness, with a certain perversity that makes
it hard to look away. He owns the camera like no other.
3. Liam Neeson – The Grey
It’s like I felt hurt while watching this performance. The acting put in
the context of Neeson’s own personal drama makes for a heartbreaking result and
a solid portrayal of a broken man.
4. Matthias
Schoenaerts – Rust and Bone
I will say that not since Brando has a male performance been so sexually
brilliant and haunting. Matthias is a beast in this role, but allows us to see
beyond the carnality and into the heart of the character.
5. Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
He is the main reason
the film works. No doubt. He carries it with a mixture of vulnerability,
adorable-factor and charm. He’s in control throughout the screenplay, doesn’t
miss a beat.
6. Francois Cluzet – The
Intouchables
7. John Hawkes – The Sessions
8. Jean-Louis Trintignant – Amour
9. Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
10. Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Almost there: Jack Black – Bernie, Richard Gere – Arbitrage, Channing Tatum – Magic Mike, Gael Garcia Bernal – No,
Tom Holland – The Impossible
BEST ACTRESS
1.
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Pure European natural acting combined with a delicate character in the
hands of top-class director. It’s fascinating as it’s pure, natural and
unmistakably heartbreaking.
2. Naomi Watts – The Impossible
She gets the difficult task of making it all look believable, and it’s a
complete success. The film drops in quality when she’s not on screen, and when
she does show up – it’s a monumental performance, about pain, loss, fear and
will to live.
3. Marion Cotillard
– Rust and Bone
This is a performance that you need to sleep on before fully
appreciating it. Marion
holds back in key moments, but her eyes tell the story. She takes an unlikeable
character and makes her seem like the hero.
4. Jessica Chastain
– Zero Dark Thirty
She manoeuvres the wordy screenplay like a pro. She’s like the good
pupil, so the intelligence and the determination of the character feel natural.
The lack of hesitation makes it a success.
5. Jennifer Lawrence
– Silver Linings Playbook
While I am not in love
with the performance, it has its own special merits: she too has tricky
dialogue to work with, and manages it beautifully, helping to narrowly avoid
some scenes from falling into abstract. She’s real.
6. Cosmina Stratan – Beyond the
Hills
7. Rachel Weisz – The Deep Blue
Sea
8. Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger
Games
9. Noomi Rapace – Prometheus
10. Laura Linney – Hyde Park on Hudson
Almost there: - .
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained
What might just be my favorite performance of his: a delicious villain
role that suits him perfectly. He is the star of every scene, because he knows
how to play to the camera. Brings fun where it wasn’t necessarily required.
2. Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Another iconic villain, but one with a more of a soft side. Beautifully
balances the trauma of the character with the homoerotic flirting and the
masterful mind of a true bad guy.
3. Tom Hardy – The Dark Knight Rises
In a year with breathtaking villains, here’s a performance I like more
than other people: it has heart in its most unexpected moments. Hardy gets it
right: both the physicality of the role and also the ability to grab attention.
Extra cool.
4. Ewan McGregor – The Impossible
An underrated performance that could easily top this ranking. To his own
fault: he makes it look so damn easy,
doing something that most actors his age won’t achieve in their entire careers:
creating heartbreaking scenes, believable, with such easiness for tears.
5. Dwight Henry – Beasts of the Southern Wild
A first time acting job? I would’ve never have guessed. While everyone
was focused on the kid, I only saw his truly emotional performance as a dying
father. I got it, because he made it coherent and believable.
6. Matthew McConaughey – Bernie
7. Christoph Waltz – Django
Unchained
8. Ben Whishaw – Cloud Atlas
9. Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
10. Scoot McNairy – Killing Them
Softly
Almost there: James D’Arcy – Cloud
Atlas, Hal Holbrook – Lincoln,
Samuel L. Jackson – Django Unchained,
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook,
James Gandolfini – Killing Them Softly
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Nicole
Kidman – The Paperboy
A sweaty, sexy, brave, unforgettable performance from one of the most
versatile actresses of her generation. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with Charlotte ?!
2. Judi Dench – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Yes, of course it’s Judi Dench doing a performance she could play in her
sleep. But how comforting it feels to see her on screen, how beautifully she
portrays this delicate, intelligent woman.
3. Emily Blunt – Looper
She took me by surprise in this role because I didn’t expect such a
strong performance in this action flick. She’s the heart of the film, creating
a strong female character the audience can relate to.
4. Doona Bae – Cloud Atlas
She’s head and shoulders above her female co-stars because she’s the
only one really comfortable in each of the roles. While surprising in various
scenes, she is clearly breathtaking in the futuristic segment, beautifully capturing
vulnerability and pain.
5. Isabelle Huppert
– Amour
Every times she enters the film, the fragile balance of it all is
somehow shaken. Her character doesn’t belong there, she’s an outsider, but
Isabelle plays her so convincingly, alternating from charmingly clumsy to a
woman that’s in over her head.
6. Helen Hunt – The Sessions
7. Maggie Smith – The Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel
8. Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings
Playbook
9. Susan Sarandon – Arbitrage
10. Sally Field – Lincoln
Almost there: Brit Marling – Arbitrage,
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables, Anna
Camp – Pitch Perfect, Macy Gray – The Paperboy, Amy Adams – The Master
BEST ORIGINAL
SCREENPLAY
Not the greatest year
for original screenplays, so it was a bit difficult to put together the top 5,
even more so the top 10. But the ones on the highest 3 positions are quite
strong.
1. Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal)
2. Amour
3. Wreck-It-Ralph
4. The Intouchables
5. The Impossible
Runner-ups:
6. Django
Unchained
7. Looper
8. Arbitrage
9. The
Pirates! Band of Misfits
10. The
Master
BEST ADAPTED
SCREENPLAY
Just like the Original
screenplay category, it lacks real stars, but I’m fairly happy with the top 5.
1. No (Pedro Peirano, based on a play by
Antonio Skármeta)
2. Beyond the Hills
3. Rust and Bone
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. Lincoln
Runner-ups:
6. The
Sessions
7. Bernie
8. The
Paperboy
9. Skyfall
10. The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Lincoln (Janusz Kaminski)
2. Skyfall (Roger
Deakins)
3. The Grey (Masanobu
Takayanagi)
4. Life of Pi (Claudio
Miranda)
5. The Master (Mihai
Malaimare Jr)
Runner-ups:
6. Django
Unchained
7. The Dark
Knight Rises
8. Zero Dark
Thirty
9. Killing
Them Softly
10. Anna
Karenina
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
1. The Dark Knight Rises (Hans Zimmer)
2. Life of Pi (Mychael
Danna)
3. Cloud Atlas (Reinhold
Heil, Johnny Klimek & Tom Tykwer)
4. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Dan
Romeo & Benh Zeitlin)
5. Lincoln (John
Williams)
Runner-ups:
6. The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
7. Anna
Karenina
8. The Master
9. Skyfall
10. The
Impossible
Final thoughts:
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR:
(tough to pick one, but it’s the one I’d most likely come back to)
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR:
(tough to pick one, but it’s the one I’d most likely come back to)
Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained
BEST ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR (ANY CATEGORY):
Kathryn Bigelow as the Director of Zero Dark Thirty.
Recap of the winners of the Alex In Movieland Awards 2012:
Best Film: Amour
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, for The Master
Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, for Amour
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, for Django Unchained
Best Supporting Actress: Nicole Kidman, for The Paperboy
Best Original Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Adapted Screenplay: No
Best Cinematography: Lincoln
Best Original Score: The Dark Knight Rises
To check out previous editions, click on a year.
BEST ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR (ANY CATEGORY):
Kathryn Bigelow as the Director of Zero Dark Thirty.
Recap of the winners of the Alex In Movieland Awards 2012:
Best Film: Amour
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, for The Master
Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, for Amour
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, for Django Unchained
Best Supporting Actress: Nicole Kidman, for The Paperboy
Best Original Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Adapted Screenplay: No
Best Cinematography: Lincoln
Best Original Score: The Dark Knight Rises
To check out previous editions, click on a year.
AIM AWARDS 2008
Thanks for reading :)
Thanks for reading :)
