My Awards nominations: Hair and Makeup

In this digital age it always does me good to see that this dying art is still kicking its legs. The best Hair and Makeup achievements of the year are:

Captain America: The First Avenger
(David White, Lisa Westcott):

Redskull is a creepy and iconic creation, but let's not forget all the detailing that goes into those WWII battle scars and period hairdos.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows 2
(Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin):

Okay, so not everybody was convinced by the epilogue aging, but that doesn't diminish the quality and quantity of the other fantastical character designs.

Green Lantern (Joel Harlow, Felicity Bowring):

Wonderful alien creations and Peter Saarsgard's pronounced forehead are appropriately cartoonish but also convincingly done.

The Iron Lady (Mark Coulier, Marese Langan):

Nuanced aging work takes us through Thatcher's glory days to her desiccated "golden years" with tangible authenticity.

Thor (Luisa Abel, Janice Alexander):

The frost giants are particularly elaborate designs, but let's not forget all that robust Asgaardian facial hair.

Just missed: Captain America, Harry Potter 8, Hugo, War Horse

Review - Green Lantern

“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let all who worship evil's might, Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!” Thus decrees the Green Lantern Corps, a mighty intergalactic police force and the subject of Warner Bros' contribution to the Superhero Summer That Never Ends. But despite that stirring mantra, and despite charismatic flyboy Ryan Reynolds burning up the marque with green computer-generated flames, Green Lantern turns out to be a flightless bird. Perhaps a colourfully plumed one, but bulky and awkward nonetheless.

Green Lantern begins with an old school narration describing the cosmic origins of the Green Lantern Corps so that average Joe Moviegoer can understand what the heck the deal is with these little rings energized by the power of will (which is coloured green, as everyone knows). The stylized storyboarding of this prologue seems to recall conventional comic book artwork, making it an appropriate start to the film. But it isn't long until we're dropped (literally) into a sensory-overloading chain of events that are both catalytic and cataclysmic. First, we witness the escape of the villain, Parallax, a terrifying entity that feasts and grows fat on the power of fear (which is coloured yellow, as everyone knows). Next we meet revered Green Lantern Abin Sur, fatally wounded during a close encounter of the Parallactic kind, hastening to Earth to find a worthy successor. His magic ring seems to think cocksure pilot Hal Jordon (Reynolds) is the man for the job, although we are meant to believe, by storyteller's design, that he's no hero. The writers and director Martin Campbell take much delight in depicting Hal as childish and irresponsible – probably more delight than we the audience take in actually watching Ryan Reynolds clowning around for two hours.