Alex in Movieland

my Alex In Movieland awards, 6th edition

My annual “awards” (LOL) will be announced right now, in one single gigantic post. :) Some thoughts on this year:

•   It’s more like a festival than anything else, since I’ve only seen a bunch of films (mentioned below)
•  This might just be the last year I hand out such distinctions – I’ve realized my loyalty is with Oscars and Oscar films and I am missing a lot of old ones by wasting time with crap like Pacific Rim and Spectacular Now. We’ll see.
• It was a good year for films, but no 10/10 from me. Sorry. The last 10/10 or even 9.5/10 I’ve awarded was The Tree of Life (2011).
• It was an EXCELLENT year for male performances, especially the leading ones. I can’t believe the great ones that missed Top 10. The men did it again.
• No distinction for performance or achievement of the year, since I ADORE my #1 picks for Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and I just couldn’t compare them. And the overall achievement of the year IS in the acting.

This is the list of eligible/seen films (only 56, if I counted correctly):

All Is Lost, American Hustle, August: Osage County, Before Midnight, The Bling Ring, Blue Is the Warmest Color, Blue Jasmine, The Book Thief, The Broken Circle Breakdown, Captain Phillips, Child’s Pose, The Counselor, The Croods, Dallas Buyers Club, Despicable Me 2, Enough Said, Ernest and Celestine, Frances Ha, Frozen, Fruitvale Station, The Grandmaster, Gravity, The Great Beauty, The Great Gatsby, The Heat, Her, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunt, I’m So Excited, Inside Llewyn Davis, Iron Man 3, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, The Lone Ranger, Lone Survivor, Man of Steel, Nebraska, Only God Forgives, Out of the Furnace, Oz the Great and Powerful, Pacific Rim, The Past, Philomena, The Place Beyond the Pines, Prisoners, Rush, Saving Mr. Banks, Short Term 12, The Spectacular Now, Star Trek Into Darkness, Stoker, Stories We Tell, To the Wonder, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, World War Z,

And here we go:

BEST PICTURE

My number one was an easy choice because there’s no boring moment in it. 80-something minutes of pure, fascinating movie experience. Perfectly directed, beautifully acted (Sandra!!!), and even the 3D made sense (and I usually hate that).

1. Gravity

2. 12 Years a Slave

3. Nebraska

4. Frances Ha

5. The Great Beauty

And also:

6. Before Midnight

7. Inside Llewyn Davis

8. Short Term 12

9. Captain Phillips

10. The Wolf of Wall Street

Runner-ups:

11. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

12. The Grandmaster

13. The Hunt

14. The Croods

15. August: Osage County

Almost there (16-20): Her, The Heat, Child’s Pose, Blue Jasmine, World War Z

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

2. Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

3. Paolo Sorrentino – The Great Beauty

4. Noah Baumbach – Frances Ha

5. Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips

Runner-ups:

6. Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis

7. Spike Jonze – Her

8. Thomas Vinterberg – The Hunt

9. Kar Wai Wong – The Grandmaster

10. Alexander Payne – Nebraska

Almost there: Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street, Sarah Polley – Stories We Tell, Richard Linklater – Before Midnight, J.C. Chandor – All Is Lost, Destin Cretton – Short Term 12

BEST ACTOR

1. Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club

It’s not about losing the weight, it’s about impressing me with all the right emotional punches. I felt like I knew this man, because Matthew allowed him to be vulnerable. Incredible honesty and lack of vanity. Holds his own to Jared’s scene-stealing performance.

2. Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

3. Joaquin Phoenix – Her

4. Mads Mikkelsen – The Hunt

5. Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis

6. Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips

7. Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

8. Bruce Dern – Nebraska

9. Hugh Jackman – Prisoners

10. Christian Bale – Out of the Furnace

Almost there: Toni Servillo – The Great Beauty, Robert Redford – All Is Lost, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight, Christian Bale – American Hustle, John Gallagher Jr. – Short Term 12

BEST ACTRESS

1. Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Technically, it’s flawless. With multiple viewings you discover the relatable person behind the characters’ hysteria, and that’s all in the actress’ choices. Takes it from absurd and laughable to overwhelmingly dramatic. One for the ages. More on Cate and the Oscar’s Best Actress 2013 race HERE.

2. Sandra Bullock – Gravity

3. Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

4. Luminita Gheorghiu – Child’s Pose

5. Julia Roberts – August: Osage County

6. Julie Delpy – Before Midnight

7. Adèle Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Color

8. Emma Thompson – Saving Mr. Banks

9. Judi Dench – Philomena

10. Ziyi Zhang – The Grandmaster

Almost there: Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha, Melissa McCarthy – The Heat, Amy Adams – American Hustle, Veerle Baetens – The Broken Circle Breakdown

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Creates a magnificent villain, in his cruelty, flaws and relatable elements. A diabolically fascinating performance and grabbed my attention in every scene. Owns every emotion of the character and plays it beyond what the screenplay required.

2. Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

3. Ryan Gosling – The Place Beyond the Pines

4. Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street

5. Matthew Goode – Stoker

6. Lasse Fogelstrom – The Hunt

7. Thomas Bo Larsen – The Hunt

8. Keith Stanfield – Short Term 12

9. Benedict Cumberbatch – Star Trek Into Darkness

10. Stacy Keach – Nebraska

Almost there: Bobby Cannavale – Blue Jasmine, Tahar Rahim – The Past, John Goodman – Inside Llewyn Davis, Chris Cooper – August: Osage County, Tom Hanks – Saving Mr. Banks

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Lea Seydoux – Blue Is the Warmest Color

Regardless how I feel about the film, this performance stands out, often through its stability and consistency, as a balance to a very green leading performance. The break-up scene is masterfully acted and she brings much needed dramatic effect to the film. Gives layers to the character, leaving room for intriguing questions.

2. Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

3. Shailene Woodley – The Spectacular Now

4. Mickey Sumner – Frances Ha

5. Julianne Nicholson – August: Osage County

6. Nicole Kidman – Stoker

7. Sarah Paulson – 12 Years a Slave

8. Margo Martindale – August: Osage County

9. Kaitlyn Dever – Short Term 12

10. Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine

Almost there: Carey Mulligan – Inside Llewyn Davis, Amy Adams – Her, Susse Wold – The Hunt, June Squibb – Nebraska, Oprah Winfrey – Lee Daniels’ The Butler

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Nothing to get excited about, but there are strong elements to each of the Top 5 screenplays.

1. Nebraska (Bob Nelson)

2. Frances Ha

3. The Past

4. Her

5. Inside Llewyn Davis

Runner-ups:

6. The Croods

7. Child’s Pose

8. The Hunt

9. Dallas Buyers Club

10. The Great Beauty

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Just as weak as the Original category. Nothing that interesting beyond Top 4.

1. Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, based on characters previously created)

2. Short Term 12

3. 12 Years a Slave

4. The Wolf of Wall Street

5. August: Osage County

Runner-ups:

6. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

7. Ernest and Celestine

8. The Bling Ring

9. The Broken Circle Breakdown

10. Blue is the Warmest Color

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)

2. The Great Beauty (Luca Bigazzi)

3. The Grandmaster (Philippe Le Sourd)

4. Stoker (Chung-hoon Chung)

5. Inside Llewyn Davis (Bruno Delbonnel)

Runner-ups:

6. Only God Forgives

7. Her

8. 12 Years a Slave

9. Prisoners

10. All Is Lost

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. All Is Lost (Alex Ebert)

2. Gravity (Steven Price)

3. 12 Years a Slave (Hans Zimmer)

4. Philomena (Alexandre Desplat)

5. The Place Beyond the Pines (Mike Patton)

Recap of the winners of the Alex In Movieland Awards 2013:

Best Film: Gravity
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, for Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor:  Michael Fassbender, for 12 Years a Slave
Best Supporting Actress: Lea Seydoux, for  Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Original Screenplay: Nebraska
Best Adapted Screenplay: Before Midnight
Best Cinematography:  Gravity
Best Original Score: All Is Lost

To check out previous editions, click somewhere on the right.

To see how I rated the Oscar nominated films I’ve seen, go to My Latest Oscar Film.