The Golden Schmoos

My picks for the very best in film in the year 2010 (not that anyone cares about 2010 anymore).

Best Makeup:
1. BLACK SWAN
2. THE WOLFMAN*
3. SPLICE

* Rick Baker for the win.

Best Costume Design:
1. THE WOLFMAN
2. THE KING'S SPEECH
3. HARRY POTTER 7
4. BLACK SWAN*

Best Sound:
1. INCEPTION*
2. TRON: LEGACY
3. THE FIGHTER
4. BIUTIFUL
5. HARRY POTTER 7

Best Visual Effects:
1. SPLICE
2. INCEPTION*
3. TRON: LEGACY
4. HARRY POTTER 7
5. SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

Best Score:
1. BLACK SWAN
2. TRON: LEGACY*
3. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
4. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
5. THE AMERICAN

Best Art Direction:
1. TRON: LEGACY*
2. INCEPTION
3. SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
4. THE KING'S SPEECH
5. BLACK SWAN

Best Cinematography:
1. BLACK SWAN
2. INCEPTION
3. THE AMERICAN
4. WINTER'S BONE
5. BIUTIFUL*

Best Editing:
1. HOWL
2. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
3. BLUE VALENTINE*
4. INCEPTION
5. HARRY POTTER 7
6. ANIMAL KINGDOM

*There was some very good non-linear filmmaking this year that made this list. It seems that, often enough, editing award nominations are earned by films with lots of action, which is reasonable, but films like HOWL, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and BLUE VALENTINE are great examples of films that bravely play with the way we process their plots.

Best Documentary Feature:
1. GASLAND
2. CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER*
3. I'M PAT FUCKING TILLMAN
4. EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
5. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

*This was definitely a highly competitive category this go-around. Each expose dark yet important truths about the world we're living in (specifically the America we're living in). Each also bravely take to task influential forces that would often seem untouchable - the military, Wall Street, teacher's unions, the natural gas industry and even street-art collecting yuppies. I hope this trend keeps up because it's starting to seem as though documentary filmmakers are the only people willing to stand up and say something important about anything.

My affection for the man aside (which began with this film), CLIENT 9 is deserving of this award. Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) created a doc that's both informative and more importantly - entertaining. Spitzer's story and the intrigue behind it coupled with the director's unique style make this one of the most compelling titles of 2010.

Best Original Screenplay:
1. ANIMAL KINGDOM*
2. BLACK SWAN
3. BIUTIFUL
4. THE KING'S SPEECH
5. BLUE VALENTINE

Best Adapted Screenplay:
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK*
2. THE AMERICAN
3. WINTER'S BONE
4. 127 HOURS
5. TOY STORY 3
6. HARRY POTTER 7

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Jackie Weaver - ANIMAL KINGDOM*
2. Melissa Leo - THE FIGHTER
3. Mila Kunis - BLACK SWAN
4. Helena Bonham Carter - THE KING'S SPEECH
5. Dale Dickey - WINTER'S BONE
6. Maricel Alvarez - BIUTIFUL

*Leo was great, but not as great as 2010's award season would suggest. Weaver rocks this role.

Best Supporting Actor:
1. John Hawkes - WINTER'S BONE
2. Christian Bale - THE FIGHTER*
3. Ben Mendelsohn - ANIMAL KINGDOM
4. Vincent Cassel - BLACK SWAN
5. Geoffrey Rush - THE KING'S SPEECH
6. ARMIE HAMMER - THE SOCIAL NETWORK

* This is another highly-competitive category. Hawkes and Mendelsohn had career performances that, in any other year, would be worthy of a win here or at any major award show. However, unfortunately for them, Christian Bale took on the role of Dick Ecklund last year and blew everyone away. Not only was Bale's turn as the drug-addled former-boxer the best supporting performance of the year, it's probably the best overall performance by anyone from 2010. Hell, I'd have to watch it again, but it might just be one of the best performances I seen on film EVER.

Best Actress:
1. Natalie Portman - BLACK SWAN*
2. Jennifer Lawrence - WINTER'S BONE
3. Julianne Moore - THE KID'S ARE ALL RIGHT
4. Michelle Williams - BLUE VALENTINE
5. Sally Hawkins - MADE IN DAGENHAM

Best Actor:
1. Jesse Eisenberg - THE SOCIAL NETWORK
2. Javier Bardem - BIUTIFUL*
3. James Franco - 127 HOURS
4. Colin Firth - THE KING'S SPEECH
5. Ryan Gosling - BLUE VALENTINE

* Last year Firth was my pick for the Best Actor category for his outstanding performance in A SINGLE MAN. This year, he caught a lot more fanfare with a higher-profile role and film. His performance was (again) amazing, certainly one of the year's best, but this year he takes on, to me, Jeff Bridges role as the mildly-undeserving Oscar winner. Bardem's powerful turn as a father and career criminal dying of cancer could not be topped. Vastly different, but just as impressive as his career-making performance in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

Best Ensemble Cast:
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK*
2. ANIMAL KINGDOM
3. WINTER'S BONE
4. BLACK SWAN
5. INCEPTION
6. THE FIGHTER

Best Director:
1. David Fincher - THE SOCIAL NETWORK
2. David Michod - ANIMAL KINGDOM*
3. Debra Granik - WINTER'S BONE
4. Darren Aronofsky - BLACK SWAN
5. Tom Hooper - THE KING'S SPEECH
6. Alejandro González Iñárritu - BIUTIFUL

* Part of me wants to give this award to a more seasoned director; it only seems logical that they would be able to put in a better showing than a man making his debut feature, but that's just not the case this year. Fincher, Aronofsky and Iñárritu are all due for awards in this category, but Michod's work in ANIMAL KINGDOM is something to marvel at. One scene came to mind in particular when making this decision: Our protagonist, Jay, has just found out about the death of his girlfriend and visits the home of her parents before they learn about it too. Here, he keeps his cool when her father questions him about her whereabouts, but when Jay takes a seat in the bathroom and sees an article of her clothing hanging in front of him, he breaks down. Great stuff.

Best Feature Film:

1. ANIMAL KINGDOM*
2. BIUTIFUL
3. WINTER'S BONE
4. BLACK SWAN
5. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
6. THE AMERICAN
7. THE KING'S SPEECH
8. THE FIGHTER
9. INCEPTION
10. TOY STORY 3

*These films are in order of their place on my top-10 of 2010 list. Many of these have received a large amount of fanfare, but films like BIUTIFUL, THE AMERICAN and ANIMAL KINGDOM still need to be viewed by a greater audience. ANIMAL KINGDOM likely also has the other distinction of having its trailer posted on my site more than any other film, so for good measure - here's 2010's Golden Schmoo winner for Best Feature Film: