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: 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

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

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.