ACE winners clarify Best Film Editing race

Only one notable surprise at last night's American Cinema Editors awards. While The Artist predictably took home the Best Edited Feature prize in the Comedy/Musical category, and while Rango continued its precursor dominance in the Animated Feature category (I'd have liked to see Michael Kahn win that for Tintin), it was the subdued editing of The Descendants that beat out the Best Picture buzz of Hugo, flashier editing of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and superior editing of Moneyball in the Drama category.

VES winners

The Visual Effects Society Awards were held last night, where Rango cleaned up by sweeping the animation categories at the expense of Tintin's extensive and impressive effects work, which was shut out despite having six nominations. Harsh.

Oscar nominees Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Hugo, and Transformers each won two, and Captain America can nurse its Oscar snub with a consolatory win here for its excellent compositing (go 'Skinny' Steve!). Apes is the best bet for the Oscar, but it could face real heat from Hugo.

Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture: Hugo

Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture: Rango

Rango triumphs at Annie Awards

To the Annies' credit, they did a not-so-bad job of spreading the wealth at their annual awards. The Dreamworks-dominated voting body turned out to be more of a non-factor, chalking up only two wins for Kung Fu Panda 2 and nothing for Puss in Boots. Rango took five awards, including Best Animated Feature and Best Writing. Tintin, Rio, Winnie the Pooh, and Arthur Christmas also walked away with hardware in hand.

For kicks, I actually watched the show on live stream, and Oh. My. Lord. What an unmitigated train-wreck. Host Patton Oswalt was clearly having much more fun than anyone else in the room (he did confess to being "so high right now" at one point, but we'll never know if that was just his tongue in his cheek, or a concealed bag of weed). To be fair, he does seem unshakably at home on the stage, and with a bit more structure, I think he'd make a killer awards show host.

Structure, however, was in short supply at this affair. Bill Nighy was announced winner of the award for voice acting, only to walk out of the hall and never return! Tweets abound that he was in the bathroom at the time. True or not, he certainly wasn't in the room, leaving presenters Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall clumsily killing time while everyone waited. They eventually moved on, as Nighy made no appearance. Funnier still, the award was for Arthur Christmas, but they played the theme music from the PBS children's cartoon series Arthur.

I thought things couldn't possibly get more awkward than that, but the next presenter proceeded to read the winner for Best Preschool TV Program from the wrong envelope! This led to a confusing delay that was both hilarious and excruciating, while Patton himself marched out on stage to sort things out. Co-presenter Jason Marsden, meanwhile, delighted in photographing the awkward situation with his iPhone.

These are only the highlights from a shoddily put together evening. The whole thing kinda makes me appreciate the oft-maligned Oscars a little more. I may have high-standard complaints about the show every year, but at least it's done professionally.

Anyway, full list of feature film winners after the cut.

One Category at a Time: Sound Editing

Some odd inclusions and exclusions in Sound Editing this year, in which I only correctly anticipated two of the five nominees. Pretty dismal performance on my part, but with such high-profile snubs, perhaps that's understandable. Among the slighted films are Super 8, which dominated the guild announcements with three nods from the MPSE. No room was made for animated efforts Tintin or Rango either. Ditto Mission: Impossible. But enough of that griping; let's examine those that did make the cut

One Category at a Time: Animated Feature

I've already sounded off on how I perceive the state of animation this year, but allow me to reiterate: weak sauce. Not that any of these nominees are particularly bad, but I have a hard time mustering up much enthusiasm for most of them.

PGA winners

I wasn't around to offer up my thoughts on last night's PGA Awards this weekend, but it's not like there's much to discuss. The Artist is the defacto winner both with this group and with the Academy, as its pending Best Picture triumph will eventually confirm. If there was going to be a surprise upset of any kind, it would have happened with the Producers Guild, whose voting process mimics the Academy's.

The Documentary category offered up even less drama in terms of the Oscar race, going to the un-shortlisted Beats, Rhymes & Life, which I have not seen, so no comment.

A much more interesting development, however, came in the Animated category, where Spielberg's Tintin reprised its Golden Globe victory over presumed forntrunner Rango (much to my delight!). I still think the film's biggest hurdle in the way of Oscar is getting nominated, but if it does, things might not be as cut-and-dry in that category as we currently assume.

Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Artist - Thomas Langmann

Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Adventures of Tintin - Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest - Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks

My Award nominations: Animated Feature

I'm gonna be straight up: this was a weak year for animation. Despite enough releases to expand the Animated Feature category to a maximum five for the Oscars, I can barely find three that I feel can justify earning the nomination. Anyway, here they are:

The Adventures of Tintin (Steven Spielberg):

If the Academy is willing to qualify it as animation, then so am I (although I do acknowledge the grey area it falls into). Regardless, this is one of the most enjoyable adventures in years, signalling the start of a promising franchise.

A Cat in Paris (Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli):

This stylishly animated (and sparingly brisk) family thriller is a delightful diversion to take in when you've got an hour to kill. The story may be formulaic, but visuals are consistently engaging, like the pages of a picture book come to life.

Chico & Rita
(Tonno Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba):

A sensual romance between a jazz pianist and his female singing star that spans decades and continents; It's a lovely little movie spiced with vibrant colours and sultry latin rhythms (courtesy Cuban bandleader Bebo Valdes).

Puss in Boots (Chris Miller):

As much as I despair the relative lack of originality emanating from Dreamworks these days, it's at least a bit refreshing to see Puss carry his own story without the interference of other Shrek characters. This stand-alone adventure/comedy is enjoyable enough, and beautifully animated, as one would expect of the studio.

Rango (Gore Verbinski):

Assuming the traditional definition of "animation", Gore Verbinski's surreal Western homage is the best domestic animated production of the year. It's hard not to respond affectionately to the unbridled imagination with which the film brims.

Animation catch-up

I've been behind on reviewing a lot of movies this year, including some animated products. There have been plenty this year, enough to bump the Academy's maximum nomination field to five, but I have to admit I really haven't been thrilled at the state of the medium this year. I've only seen a hand-full so far, and for posterity I've given each a summarized mini review after the cut. Others I either haven't seen yet or have been scared off by weak reviews.

ANNIE nominees (there sure are a lot this year!)

The animation academy never fails to impress me with their irrelevance. As though their blatant Dreamworks predisposition isn't conspicuous enough, they've now gone and produced a slate of nominees by far more enormous than any they've produced before, and in what I consider to be the weakest year for animation in half a decade. Still, they're the only major awards body for the medium, so it bears acknowledgment.

It also bears acknowledgment that despite such a long Best Animated Feature shortlist, Rango is the only one that also grabbed nods for Writing and Directing. Is it still the frontrunner after all these months? I didn't love it by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly bests most of its fellow nominees (not that I've seen all of them yet).

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris – Folimage
Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.
Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
Chico & Rita – Chico & Rita Distribution Limited
Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation
Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies
Rio – Blue Sky Studios
Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Best Animated Short Subject

Adam and Dog – Lodge Films
I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat – Warner Bros. Animation
La Luna – Pixar Animation Studios
(Notes on) Biology – Ornana Films
Paths of Hate – Platige Image
Sunday – National Film Board of Canada
The Ballad of Nessie –Walt Disney Animation Studios
The Girl and the Fox – Base14
Wild Life – National Film Board of Canada and Studio GDS

Animated Feature submissions

So there are 18 official submissions for this year's Best Animated Feature Oscar, meaning there may be up to five nominees for the final prize. Of all years to have a potential five nominees, why this year? It has been a weak one up to now as far as I'm concerned. Even Gore Verbinski's Rango, an oasis of originality on a list of which 1/3 is made up of sequels or spinoffs, didn't entirely work for me. I'll shudder to see films like Cars 2, or Happy Feet Two, or Kung Fu Panda 2 get nominated, especially after last year's sad omission of the wonderful Tangled.

Anywho, one of the big question marks remains Steven Spielberg's Tintin. I've been cautious about putting in my predictions on account of the bias it might face from branch members who frown upon motion-capture encroaching upon the animators' turf. It's biggest hurdle may be getting nominated. If it does get in, it could become the frontrunner. Coupled with his War Horse bid, could Steven Spielberg win two or more Oscars for two separate films?

The list:

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Steven Spielberg
Alois Nebel Tomas Lunak
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Mike Mitchell
Arthur Christmas Sarah Smith, Barry Cook
Cars 2 John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
A Cat in Paris Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Chico & Rita Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba
Gnomeo & Juliet Kelly Asbury
Happy Feet Two George Miller
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil Mike Disa
Kung Fu Panda 2 Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Mars Needs Moms Simon Wells
Puss in Boots Chris Miller
Rango Gore Verbinski
Rio Carlos Saldanha
The Smurfs Raja Gosnell
Winnie the Pooh Steven Anderson, Don Hall
Wrinkles ???

One Category at a Time: Best Animated Feature

I'll be honest, I do not have high hopes for animation this year. About half of the contenders I see are either sequels or reboots or spin-offs, and what little original material there is just doesn't intrigue me much. Even the filmmaking Garden of Eden that is Pixar Studios is offering me little in the way of hope. So, what will be nominated?

Even though I find the upcoming Cars 2 a less-than-promising prospect, Pixar should never be counted out for the nomination. But after four consecutive years of dominating this category, I think this is where the streak ends. I just can't see them winning for a sequel to what is commonly cited as the studio's weakest film.

As if to directly challenge Pixar's reign, Happy Feet (the film that beat the original Cars) is coming out with its own sequel, directed again by George Miller, which may give us a repeat of the 2006 BEST ANIMATED FEATURE SHOWDOWN! Forgive all-caps hyperbole, but it's the only way I can muster up any excitement in either of these movies.

Oh, original material, why hast thou foresaken me!... But wait! We've already seen one of this year's original cartoons, the delightfully surreal Rango from Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski. Though not perfect, this film was an entertaining and kooky throwback to the great Westerns of yore, and could standout from the crowd by the mere virtue of being an original concept.

Predicted three:
Cars 2
Happy Feet 2
Rango

Also consider: Arthur Christmas, The Dreaming Machine, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Lion of Judah, Puss in Boots, The Rabbi's Cat, Rio, Tales of the Night, Winnie the Pooh