Top Ten: Pixar Films

I've never committed to a definitive ranking of the films of Pixar Animation. Perhaps having relatively few feature titles under their banner made a top ten list kinda meaningless (although their ever growing roster of memorable characters is always ripe for sorting). Or perhaps the frequently high caliber of their movies made ranking them a more arbitrary exercise than ranking movies already is.

But with raves for their fifteenth feature Inside Out announcing a return to form after a few years of middling success, now seems like a good time to go on record as to which gems sparkle the brightest for me personally. Needless to say, this list is in constant flux and subject to positional shifts at any time – Probably as soon as I see Inside Out!

But which of the studio's first fourteen is on the bubble?...

Sunday Top Ten - Movie endings

It's hard to separate a movie from its ending. All films intend to end on their strongest note. Necessarily, all the great films have great endings. I could easily replicate my top ten movies of all time and make a strong case for them being my top ten endings of all time, but for the sake of variety, I limited myself to only one of those on this list. Besides, there are plenty of films out there for which the endings speak such perfection that they stand out above the endings of films I actually like more.

It should go without saying, some spoilers and all that ensue:

Sunday Top Ten - Pixar characters

This upcoming Friday, Pixar will release their annual animated feature, Cars 2. While I profess that this new entry in their portfolio has me less than excited, it still seems like an appropriate enough time to celebrate the proficient studio with an edition of my Sunday Top Ten that lists my favourite characters from their wonderful filmography.

One Category at a Time: Picture

A year ago, when the Best Picture ten and that damned preferential ballot were first upon us, I questioned whether or not the conventional rules of what "can" win Best Picture would still apply. I analyzed the key nominations that the ten nominees either possessed or lacked in order to narrow them down to three frontrunners, and those three (assumed) frontrunners went on to win six of the eight major categories between them, so I'd say those conventional rules are still a fairly accurate barometer of which films are in the best position.

Let's try it again, shall we? To win Best Picture, a film needs nominations for Directing, Writing, and especially Editing. Let's see which of this year's crop have all three necessary nominations:

127 Hours: Editing (Y), Directing (N), Writing (Y)
Black Swan: Editing (Y), Directing (Y), Writing (N)
The Fighter: Editing (Y), Directing (Y), Writing (Y)
Inception: Editing (N), Directing (N), Writing (Y)
The Kids Are All Right: Editing (N), Directing (N), Writing (Y)
The King's Speech: Editing (Y), Directing (Y), Writing (Y)
The Social Network: Editing (Y), Directing (Y), Writing (Y)
Toy Story 3: Editing (N), Directing (N), Writing (Y)
True Grit: Editing (N), Directing (Y), Writing (Y)
Winter's Bone: Editing (N), Directing (N), Writing (Y)

And lo, there you have your three frontrunners: The King's Speech, The Social Network, and The Fighter.

The King's Speech is obviously the one out ahead. With twelve nominations total (including three acting nods), it's poised to rule the night, likely winning between five and eight categories on its way to Best Picture. It's simply the movie that pleases across the board. Everyone will have it near, if not at the very top of their ballot.


The Fighter, with three acting bids of its own, might be considered the most formidable challenger, but The Social Network's critical respect is nothing to sneeze at, and big wins from ACE and BAFTA have given some people enough confidence to predict either a Picture/Director split or an outright upset. It might be a close race for 2nd place between those two. Sadly, we'll never know who wins.

True Grit might be in better position if it weren't for that lack of an Editing nod, but it's probably your fourth place finisher. Ten nominations is an impressive showing of support. It's troubling to imagine that it might be shut out completely. Our hopes are dangling on Roger Deakins' in Best Cinematography (gulp).

You can order the remaining six nominees however you like, but none of them stand much a shot:

-True, Black Swan and 127 Hours each have two of those three necessary nods, but they both deal with subject matter that many a conservative Academy member is simply not going to get behind. They can forget those valuable 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place votes.
-Winter's Bone and The Kids Are All Right have a Writing and two Acting nominations a piece, but nothing else. They're likely too small in scope to register with enough voters in order to pull off an upset.
-Toy Story 3 has that blasted animation bias to contend with, although sentimentality could go a long way in keeping it alive through the first few elimination rounds.
-Inception was probably never that well liked with this group, as the egregious snubs for Director and Editing seem to suggest. Genre bias is a bitch.

Will win (ranks):
#1 The King's Speech
#2 The Social Network
#3 The Fighter
#4 True Grit
#5 Toy Story 3
#6 Black Swan
#7 The Kids Are All Right
#8 Inception
#9 Winter's Bone
#10 127 Hours

Should win (ranks):
#1 The Social Network
#2 Black Swan
#3 Inception
#4 The Kids Are All Right
#5 Toy Story 3
#6 True Grit
#7 The King's Speech
#8 127 Hours
#9 The Fighter
#10 Winter's Bone

Should have been nominated (top five):
#1 Exit Through the Gift Shop
#2 The Illusionist
#3 Another Year
#4 Fish Tank
#5 Rabbit Hole

ACE Eddie winners!

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic): The Social Network
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical): Alice in Wonderland
Best Edited Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Best Edited Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop

We can all pretend that Alice in Wonderland winning over The Kids Are All Right and Scott Pilgrim in the Comedy category never really happened right? Right?... Good. Glad we agree.

So other than that bit of unpleasantness, this is a pretty terrific group of winners. I'm doing cartwheels right now for Tom Fulford and Chris King, who were rightfully recognized for what is the best editing job of the year on Exit Through the Gift Shop. Gotta hand it to Lee Unkrich and Ken Schretzmann as well on their hard-earned win for editing Toy Story 3.

But the most encouraging sign of the night was Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall's win for The Social Network. ACE has awarded the eventual Oscar winner for Film Editing for the last nine years in a row! This gives me hope. I love Tariq Anwar's cutting of The King's Speech and all, but I couldn't help but think what a shame it would be if it beat the most impeccably paced film of the year to that Editing Oscar. Now I feel I can safely call The Social Network in that category. Fingers crossed!

One Category at a Time: Original Song

This might be the most wide-open category at this year's Oscars. There's a case to be made for all four nominees. The two most convincing arguments come for the animated entries Tangled and Toy Story 3, for the songs "I See The Light" and "We Belong Together".

The former keeps very much in the vein traditional Disney; a lovely romantic ballad to accompany a beautifully animated sequence. I was already enjoying Tangled plenty before that, but this scene is when my heart really melted. It would make a great winner. Alan Menken is sort of my idol.

The latter is an equally plausible winner, simply because Toy Story 3 is the most beloved nominee in the category. The song itself is kinda derivative, and doesn't come close to the greatness of Randy Newman's previous two songs for the franchise, the heartbreaking "When She Loved Me" and the series-defining "You've Got A Friend In Me". That said, it's still bouncy and enjoyable enough to draw in votes. Being a Best Picture nominee certainly helps.

Another Best Picture nominee represented here is 127 Hours for A.R. Rahman's "If I Rise". He won this category two years ago for "Jai Ho" (a bit of a mistake if you ask me), but that was a high-energy finale with choreography to go with it, whereas "If I Rise" is more on the mellow side and plays so briefly during the film that I'd be surprised by anyone who could remember the tune without listening to the album version.

Or, if none of those options tickle the Academy's fancy, they could stick with the same type of winner they awarded last by voting for "Coming Home" from Country Strong. It's featured prominently enough in the film, but how many members have seen the film? A poor critical response truncated its already tiny release. But if they just listen to the song, that may be enough convince otherwise uninterested voters.

Will win: "We Belong Together", Toy Story 3
Runner-up: "I See The Light", Tangled

Should win: "I See The Light", Tangled
Should have been nominated: "Shine", Waiting for Superman

One Category at a Time: Original Screenplay

This will probably the second year in a row that the Oscar winner here was not eligible for the WGA. (Silly me. Totally thought Basterds won WGA last year. Doi!)
While last year's showdown between Inglorious Basterds and eventual Oscar winner The Hurt Locker was cause for legitimate indecision before the outcome, this year's perceived showdown between WGA winner Inception and Best Picture juggernaut The King's Speech is probably not much of a fight.

You can't help but be happy for David Seidler. Having long since overcome his own stammer, it's clear his attachment to the story he tells is a passionate and personal one. In spite of what more deserving nominees there are, his is still a droll and sincere script. You can't begrudge him his success.

At least Christopher Nolan can take his WGA victory as consolation. The mind-fucking originality of Inception lingers and improves with age, while also delivering an understated emotional cadence. It's great to see him recognized for this extraordinary filmmaking achievement.

It's highly unfortunate that Mike Leigh and Lisa Cholodenko are going unrewarded. The Kids Are All Right is the finest original screenplay of the year; genuinely emotional and emotionally genuine, tackling the complexity of human relationships with wit and insight. Though much different in tone, the devastating honesty of Another Year leaves an impression no less unshakable.

I could have done without The Fighter in this category, which is gradually becoming my most overrated film of the year, but you knew it would show up here. People like the movie, and I have to hand it to the writers for hammering a relatively messy collection of events into something relatively cohesive.

Will win: The King's Speech
Runner-up: The Kids Are All Right

Should win: The Kids Are All Right
Should have been nominated: Toy Story 3

One Category at a Time: Sound Editing

What to do, what to do? It's been many a year since I guessed both Sound categories correctly. The unprecedented split between Slumdog Millionaire and The Dark Knight in 2009 lead me to believe that it might happen again last year, only to end up being another two-for-one year with The Hurt Locker taking both Sound prizes away from Avatar. Methinks the split was just a flash in the pan. To have one film win both categories is the norm.

To that end, it didn't take much to convince me that Inception is the most typical winner in both, but especially Sound Editing. And it's a worthy winner. Richard King's distortion of sound for deepening dream levels is a nifty aural cue for the benefit of the audience. He also achieves bombastic full-bodied sounds by mixing together multiple recordings of the same sound from varying distances. It's terrific work that'll likely bring him his third Oscar.

Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of Gwen Whittle, who should have won last year for Avatar, and should also be winning this year for TRON Legacy. But there's nothing the poor woman can do. The sad fact of the matter is that the movie she's representing is bad, even though her work in it is exemplary. She'll win some day (I hope).

The possible spoiler is True Grit. The movie is quite loved and sound plays a big part, but if it were to steal one of Inception's Sound trophies it would probably be in Mixing.

The other two are just happy to be there, despite the fact that they both boast quality work. Toy Story 3 isn't sound-driven enough, and Unstoppable flew too low under the radar.

Will win: Inception
Runner-up: True Grit

Should win: TRON Legacy
Should have been nominated: How to Train Your Dragon

One Category at a Time: Adapted Screenplay

This past weekend saw the awards race continue to take a turn for the worse as The King's Speech strolled through the DGA and SAG awards that aught rightfully have gone to more deserving films. It's likely heading for a sweep of sorts, much to the detriment of the superior Social Network, but there's at least one category where Fincher's film won't be in direct competition with the kingly juggernaut.
Needless to say, anybody other than Aaron Sorkin nabbing the Adapted Screenplay prize would be an utter shock and embarrassment. What he accomplished with The Social Network is one of the finest pieces of intelligent and artful screenwriting in years.

That being said, the rest of the field is still a respectable bunch. True Grit is wonderfully written by the Coens, as always, featuring period-appropriate dialogue and an excellent sense of timing. Toy Story 3 is also one of the year's best scripts (although it should be competing in the Original category), lingering on the verge of greatness for the first 90 minutes, and then finally not only meeting it, but exceeding it with that potent, beautiful ending. Danny Boyle's innovation as a filmmaker continued exploring tricky and challenging territory with his and Simon Beaufoy's unique work in 127 Hours, and Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini did a fine job at building intrigue in the grainy Winter's Bone.

It's a shame David Lindsey-Abaire's Rabbit Hole or Polanski & Harris' The Ghost Writer couldn't find room here, but at the end of the day, it's a moot point.

The Academy 'Likes' Aaron Sorkin.

Will win: The Social Network
Runner-up: True Grit

Should win: The Social Network
Should have been nominated: Rabbit Hole

One Category at a Time: Animated Feature

Alright. Phase 1 is over and done with, and I think most will agree that despite The Social Network's unprecedentedly strong start with the critics, it's The King's Speech that came hurtling into Phase 2 with the most momentum at just the right time. So with 22 business days remaining until Oscar night, that leaves me just enough time to get down to what I love to do; a category-by-category breakdown of the nominees, who should win, who will win.
Starting off is Best Animated Feature. Regrettably, the list of submissions this year was one short of making that arbitrary magic number of 16, so the field of nominees could be no larger than three, resulting in the sad exclusion of the wonderful Tangled. As consolation, however, we still have a trio of terrific movies, any of which would make a deserving winner.

Obviously, Toy Story 3 is the one to beat. Its whimsical humour and heartstring-tugging finale were more than enough to push it into the Best Picture race. Much like Up last year, that should really be all the information we need to call it for a victory here.

But is it an "easy" victory?

The other two nominees will take some votes as well. Maybe not so much The Illusionist, which simply doesn't have as big an audience, but How to Train Your Dragon has its champions. Dreamworks showed us that they are capable of telling stories with genuine emotion behind them, and that's the sort of movie that gets votes. Probably not enough to topple the Toys, but hopefully this is a sign that Dreamworks is on the track for a creative hot streak.

Will win: Toy Story 3
Runner-up: How to Train Your Dragon

Should win: Toy Story 3
Should have been nominated: Tangled

The King's Speech steals PGA Award

Oh shit. I was afraid this might happen.

Operating under the same voting procedure as will the Academy when it decides on its Best Picture winner, The PGA and that damned preferential ballot have determined The King's Speech to be the year's best. Does this mean there are more people who think The King's Speech is THE best movie of the year than people who think it's The Social Network? Somehow I doubt it. But it does mean more people prefer The King's Speech to The Social Network. It gobbles up #2 and #3 slots on that ranked ballot of theirs, whereas if The Social Network isn't in a voter's #1 spot, he/she probably didn't like it enough to even put it in his/her top five. I don't like this. Not one bit.

Meanwhile, the PGA vexes me further by handing their Documentary prize to Lesley Chilcott for Waiting for Superman, which, while not a bad film, is quickly becoming the most overrated film the year, having already taken the Critics' Choice and poised to swipe several other industry awards away from Inside Job before finally usurping the Oscar.

The organization's one right decision this year is the predictable awarding of their Animated honour to Toy Story 3 producer (and soon-to-be Oscar nominee) Darla K. Anderson. Congrats!

My Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director

There's a 4/5 overlap between my Best Picture and Best Director nominations this year, so I'm lumping them into one big post:

Best Picture AND Best Director:

Black Swan, directed by DARREN ARONOFSKY:

Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan is a staggering work of cinema about the artist's odyssey and the self-consuming quest for perfection. Aronosfsky, who has a way of getting his actors to turn themselves inside-out, draws a career-best performance out of Natalie Portman, whose transformation from 'sweet girl' Nina Sayers to the confident but vicious Black Swan is one of the best descents into madness put on film. But this is still Aronofsky's show, and what a terrifying show it is. He puts us inside Nina Sayers' head for a stylized exploration of a tragic artistic process. The screenwriters deserve credit for providing a strong, thematically rich story, but it's more by Aronofsky's direction that we understand Nina's doomed journey.

Inception, directed by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN:

Christopher Nolan's dreamy extravaganza excels both on an emotional level and as pure action entertainment. Nolan pushes the envelope on the tried and true “race against time” technique by staging races against time within races against time within races against time! The entire final hour of the film is a masterstroke of bravura storytelling, executed with infallible clockwork precision. Inception earns the right to have its faults (and it does have faults) forgiven. As far as ambitious, committed, exhilarating, and above all, intelligent movie entertainment goes, it's a winner. Nolan's influences and sources of inspiration are apparent, but you've still never seen anything quite like this. It's a true original.

The Kids Are All Right, by LISA CHOLODENKO:

Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right is a wonderful dramedy of manners whose no-nonsense style delivers a perfectly measured emotional cadence by not drawing attention to itself. To try and pick a standout actor would be folly, as this is a true ensemble piece wherein all five principles give outstanding performances which add up to a whole that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. The film enjoys a genuine realism. Void of snappy one-liners or bold dramatic flare, the comedy and tragedy stem organically from the characters and the complex relationships they share with each other. Subtext abounds in every conversation, and Cholodenko's tactful direction lets it gleam through without ever relinquishing that realness of feeling.

The Social Network, directed by DAVID FINCHER:

Some may get hung up on the historical accuracy of the film (no one for sure knows the true story), but that would be missing the point. It's not a biopic. It can get away with taking creative liberties because of its unimpeachable trifecta of fine writing, intelligent direction, and authentic acting. Aaron Sorkin's screenplay slices through the perceived glory of the Internet with a cynical but perspicacious edge. Give David Fincher credit for extracting such terrific performances from all. He lets every character have just the right amount of exposure, and paces the story as only an expert can (with the help of his excellent film editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, of course). It may not have an auteurial feel, but that's probably just as well.

(just Best Picture):
Toy Story 3, directed by Lee Unkrich:
The third instalment of the Toy Story franchise might not have seemed like a good idea on paper, but credit veteran story men John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, and new-to-the-team Michael Arndt for putting together yet another engaging story that continues to push the many themes explored by the two originals while still preserving their charm and wit. What allows the Toy Story movies to continue to resonate after the novelty of the 1995 original concept has worn off is an increasingly direct approach to mature ideas. The script moves swiftly and with purpose before settling into an ending so poignant and emotional it reduced me to a teary mess. They could not have ended this series on a better note. Utter perfection.

(just Best Director):
Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by BANKSY:

The film threatens to end up as a one-note character study about a larger-than-life personality, but Banksy has bigger plans. By the end we realize that the real question Banksy has been posing is “what are the true natures of art and genius?”. He extrapolates from a wacky biography to a meditation on celebrity, culture, the death of a movement, and creative expression vs. creative pillaging. Is Giuetta a genius or a nut job? Is he the rabbit or the turtle? The answer proposed by Banksy to that small question is pretty obvious, but think about who won that fabled race, and you'll understand his definitive stance on the bigger issues.

Just missed:
Andrea Arnold Fish Tank, Charles Ferguson Inside Job, John Cameron Mitchell Rabbit Hole, Mike Leigh Another Year, Silvain Chomet The Illusionist, Peter Weir The Way Back

What to do about Sound...

Interesting factoid: The Academy has only been nominating five films for Sound Editing for the last five years (up until 2006 it was only three nominees), and every year those nominees have matched up 4/5 with the Sound Mixing nominees.

Assuming a continuation of that pattern, I might touch up my Sound predictions a bit, but that means that only six films can earn nominations for Sound, and as we know, there are many more contenders than six.

What are the locks? I'd say Inception is safe in both categories, and, despite its absence from the CAS nominees, so is TRON Legacy. What else is there?

Well, if there is a 4/5 matchup, then there can be only one film per category that is not nominated the other. For Sound Mixing, the hopeful that best fills that description might be The Social Network, which has a fine mix recognized by the CAS, but is highly unlikely to grab a Sound Editing nomination.

My Award nominations: Original Screenplay

It's a crowded field this year, and there are a couple of scripts I really wanted to include in Best Original Screenplay, but five is the limit, and they are:

Another Year (Mike Leigh):
A devastating study of middle class monotony, manifested by a handful of beautifully written characters. His humour feels organic and genuine, his tragedy equally so. The character arcs are a subtle extension of character bakcstories that sneak up on the audience before the final crushing scenes.

Four Lions (Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Christopher Morris, Simon Blackwell):
This wickedly funny farce about an incompetent quintet of British-Muslim suicide bombers not only features some of the year's most hilarious dialogue, but also a razor-sharp satirical edge, mocking the idiocy of multiple philosophies regarding terrorism in hysterically grotesque fashion!

Inception (Christopher Nolan):
An ingenious and wholly original concept from Nolan's head-spinning imagination is what gives rise to the roller coaster ride that is Inception. Beyond the cerebral heist storyline, his script is a complex and literally layered character study about grief, regret, and coming to terms with both, from which stems a surprisingly moving payoff.

The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg):
Void of snappy one-liners or bold dramatic flare, the comedy and tragedy of this story stem organically from the characters and the complex relationships they share with each other, lending the whole film an understated realism. The authenticity of the dialogue and characterizations is what makes the story so relatable and affecting.

Toy Story 3* (Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich):
Another wonderful yarn, brilliantly spun as always by Pixar's unrivaled storytellers. The script moves with purpose, pushing forward the many themes explored by the two originals while still preserving their charm and wit. A droll, insightful, and timeless fable that concludes with one of the most poignant and moving endings in recent memory.

Just missed: Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Fish Tank, The Illusionist, Inside Job

*Yes, I'm aware the Academy is classifying Toy Story 3 as Adapted, but I don't consider a sequel of an original concept to be an adaptation, especially since they had to concoct a completely new story for the film.

My Award nominations: Animated Feature

Best Animated Feature:

How to Train Your Dragon
(Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois):
Not since the first Shrek movie has Dreamworks attempted to make a film that's more about heart than it is about snark and pop culture references. Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois see to it that the evolving relationship between Hiccup and his new pet is done with tact, subtlety, and body language, which really is the most effective application of the animated medium. Technically, the film excels.

The Illusionist (Sylvain Chomet):
The film marks a wonderful meld of the endearing comedic stylings of classic French director/comedian Jacques Tati and the gorgeous visual film artistry of animator Sylvain Chomet. The story is beautifully told from adorable start to devastating finish with a gentle sense of humour and a meticulous attention to detail.

Megamind (Tom McGrath):
Easily the most cartoonish of this bunch, but who's to say there's not a place for cartoonishness when it's done well? Not all the jokes land but those that do are often laugh-out-loud funny, and the animation/character designs are (appropriately) absurdly over the top.

Tangled (Nathan Greno, Byron Howard):
Eschewing the more bankable style of obnoxious modernized humour that sells franchises like Dreamworks' Shrek, Disney has finally produced a completely charming family treat that can deservedly sit along side classics of the studio's 1930s-40s golden age and their 1990s renaissance. Warm, funny, blissful entertainment.

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich):
The film is just as witty and lovable as its two predecessors, but is even more upfront about complex themes. Its now-famous ending is more emotionally powerful than not only either of the previous films, but than any film in years. Toy Story 3 has elevated the series from a cute family franchise to one of the great movie trilogies of all time.

15 Animated Feature submissions

Just one shy of that magic 16, so those 15 films are stuck with only 3 available slots.

I'm gonna stick with the three I've been predicting since May; How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, and The Illusionist (which I can't wait to see).

See the list after the cut.

Disney FYC site up and running

Here is where to find it.

Walt Disney Pictures is taking a hefty swing at the curve-ball known as award season this year, with no less than five motion pictures boasting nomination prospects, including bona fide Best Picture contender Toy Story 3. Michael Arndt's screenplay for the film is available for download on the site. Going over it this morning reminded me of how witty and tightly-told the story is, and I was astonished that the emotional ending still choked me up in electronic text form. If you have time, it's a brisk and worthwhile read.