2010 Film Awards: Part 1

That's right, part one.

This year, my annual film awards have been delayed and put off and just plain forgotten about, which is why I find myself here in the not so timely time of late April with nary a reflection on my part on the best that last year had to offer.  And come to think of it, last year turned out all right, despite whatever reservations I was still having in the fall.  Turns out that I spent the first half of the year watching all the wrong films, and between some stellar year-end releases and a few I was foolishly holding out on from earlier, things came together very nicely - almost too nicely - and I'm still in denial that 2010 may have been one of the better year for film in the last decade (still got nothing on 2007 though).  In fact, I went from initially planning to downgrade my usual Top 25 to a Top 20, but found that nothing short of 30 was going to cut it.

Top 30.  Out of how many, you ask?  I counted 67 for certain, but it's possible that a few others slipped through the cracks.  And so maybe it's excessive that almost half the films I saw last year are making my countdown (and more still will manage nominations in other categories), but what can I say, they were all worth mentioning.

Not quite yet with the Top 30 countdown, though.  We're saving that for the epic finale of Tristan's 2010 Film Awards: Part 3.  There's a lot of ground to cover before we get to that, although I'm doing my part to keep things interesting by judiciously choosing which categories are actually worth keeping around.

There are 13 in all.  Part 1 covers the technical awards - Editing, Cinematography, Score - as well as Ensemble, Screenplay (original and adapted combined) and Scene.  Oh, and a personal favorite that I like to call: Films That Weren't Supposed To Suck (But Totally Did). 

Part 2 will follow shortly (really, I promise) and consist of the acting awards - Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Actor and Actress - and I'll work Director in there somewhere.

Part 3 is all about Best Picture.

Oh, and in an effort to distance myself from every awards show ever, these categories will all unfold in list format, counting down from 5, 10, or in the case of Best Picture, 30 nominees.  So no more guessing who came in second or who barely made the cut.  My thought process is an open book.

One last note: I'm considering two films that I saw in 2009 (and listed, in fact, in my awards last year) as being fairly in play.  This is in an effort to synchronize my awards to US releases, so there's a very very small amount of repetition on my list from last year.  We cool with that?  No?  Oh, you don't care.  Shall we begin?



Films That Weren't Supposed to Suck 
(But Totally Did)
It's too easy to pick on the true disasters of 2010.  Alice in Wonderland was terrible.  Clash of the Titans didn't fair much better.  But this we all know, and seeing them show up again and again on worst lists just becomes redundant.  How about instead we have a round of applause for these films that aimed for something, whether that something was art or heart or social commentary, and failed spectacularly.  Okay, maybe not spectacularly, because that implies there's some joy in watching the catastrophe.  No, these films just didn't cut it for one reason or another, and while I only have outright contempt for my winner, I won't be revisiting this lot any time soon.  Runners up: Life During Wartime and Four Lions.

5. Shutter Island

4. I Am Love

3. Dogtooth

2. Somewhere

1. The Fighter

 

Best Ensemble

Not a weak category per se, but one where the choices were all pretty obvious to me right away.  All of the following films pulled in multiple acting nominations in my awards (one has four!) and I'm sure I could have worked in more members for every cast had I a few extra slots.  If I had to stretch this, I'd have included Black Swan and Carlos.

5. Ondine

4. Never Let Me Go

3. Animal Kingdom

2. The Social Network

1. Another Year

 

Best Editing

There's a few different approaches to the art of editing covered in my choices below, and I certainly had to make a few judicious cuts just to make it to these respectable five.  One selection brilliantly depicts the passage of time along with a growing cult of personality through nearly every trick in the book.  On the other hand, I've also chosen a rare minimalist masterpiece, the cuts never flashing, but extremely important to the overall mood.  Next comes a picture superbly cut in time to the grandiose score, followed by a trippy, kinetic comic book style adventure.  In all, editing was crucial to success.  But the winner, there's a case where editing (not performance, contrary to what you've read) carries the entire film on its shoulders.  I can't imagine any film last year being more deserving.  Runners Up: Mother, Carlos, A Prophet

 5. Vincere

4. Bluebeard

3. Black Swan

2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

1. 127 Hours

 

Best Score

Original/Adapted/Whatever.  I very rarely can think back on a film and recall the score.  It's rare.  I can count three times in the previous decade where this happened and that's about it.  That doesn't mean that I don't absolutely adore some compositions, and leave little notes to remind myself which ones are worth revisiting.  In the case of last year, I wrote five such notes, and from that am confident that these are the five scores most worth celebrating.  Runners Up: The Illusionist, The Social Network

5. Vincere

4. Night Catches Us

3. Black Swan

2. White Material

1. The Ghost Writer

 

Best Cinematography

Always my favorite of the technical categories, probably because I'm attracted to pretty pictures and shiny objects and things in general that distract me from boring, unimportant stuff like plot and content.  There were lots of stunning looking films last year, more than I could find room for fairly on a runners up list, but forced to narrow the field down to five, it would look something like what follows.  My winner here is one for the books.

5. The Ghost Writer

4. The American

3. Black Swan

2. Enter The Void

1. Ondine

 

Best Screenplay

Here's a category that I do think is a bit weaker than in most years.  Which isn't to say any of these is less than great, but it was an odd year where I found most of the landmark films owed very little of their success to the screenplay.  So, here's the ten I came up with, though the last few could probably have been swapped out for other favorite films of mine from last year just as easily.

10. A Prophet

 

 9. True Grit

8. Carlos

7. Mother

6. Winter's Bone

5. Animal Kingdom

4. The Social Network

3. Terribly Happy

2. Another Year

1. Never Let Me Go

 

Best Scene

Finally, our last category of Part 1 will countdown my 10 favorite scenes of last year (a few of them boasting quite a length).  There were definitely films that I wish I could have worked in here - and honestly I tried, but short of mentioning the entirety of Enter the Void, I just couldn't break it up - but I'm totally content with the 10 I came to choose and I hope you'll see why.  There's a lot here that come at the end of their films, and so I solemnly swear not to include anything approaching spoiler territory.  And I technically cheated with my winner, because it's really a set of two scenes, but they're thematically connected and in fact bookend the entire film.

10. Mary bonds with Ronnie - Another Year

9. Dean & Cindy sing and dance - Blue Valentine

8. Evil Doctor Porkchop - Toy Story 3

7. Passing the note/the end - The Ghost Writer

6. Target practice - The American

5. The extended O.P.E.C. takeover - Carlos

4. The Magician leaves a note and skips town - The Illusionist

3. Teardrop and the Sheriff have a standoff at the truck - Winter's Bone

2. The climactic performance of Swan Lake - Black Swan

1. The dance sequences bookending the film - Mother

 

Not bad, huh?  Part 2 will be along before you know it, so stay tuned kids.

Archer: Season 2

I've not found much love for cartoon TV since the heyday of Adult Swim, so it was only appropriate that Adam Reed's FX spy show Archer would be the one to bring me back into the fold.  I caught up late on the first season, taking it all in over the course of a week (at 10 episodes, hardly an accomplishment) but was ready to go by the time season two kicked in this past January.  Season one was a winner, enough to hook me on the concept and characters, and it managed a handful of truly hilarious episodes on part with some of Aquateen and Sealab's better work.  What I was fully expecting going into season two was more of the same: more of Archer's oedipal workplace struggle with Mallory, more of Cyril's pathetic freefall, more of Cheryl's erotic asphyxiation urges.  What I wasn't expecting was the drastic deepening of plot and character that makes season two of Archer one of (if not the) best seasons of comedy since Arrested Development was on air.

That's right, I skipped over comparisons to Archer's fellow animated shows and right straight for the AD mention.  Yes, it's an easy one since Jessica Walters, Judy Greer and occasionally Jeffrey Tambor are all on board, but no show since (and much as I liked them, I'm including 30 Rock and Community in this) has been more consistent in its hilarity week in and week out.  It's gotten even better this season, and that's because rather than being content with strictly standalone episodes that aim only for laughs, Archer has allowed the complexities of its character relationships, and the often drastic ramifications of its plot turns, to accumulate, creating not only stronger punchlines, but just plain good storytelling.

It's something that happened several times this season.  The introduction of the Wee Baby Seamus turns out to be something that Archer is going to have to live with, and instead of finding a way to disregard the little bundle of joy, the show finds a way to make it a recurring part of his character experience.  Same goes for the developments of "Stage Two" and the even better followup, "The Placebo Effect" - Archer is saddled with some serious baggage this season, and while it is never less than fucking hilarious, it's also not just going to be written off.

Same goes for the entire cast.  It was a treat this season to watch backstories unfold for the majority of the supporting cast, and nearly all of them (save for Cyril's undercooked father issues) really deepened our insight into what makes these characters tick.  Krieger, who this season overtook Cheryl as my favorite character on the show, turns out to have a rather dark and horrific past, but it all seems to so perfectly define who he is that it doesn't seem cooked up just for laughs.  We even got a much welcome expose on Woodhouse and his lifelong relationship with Archer.  These kind of stories are balanced out by the handful of world-traversing missions that Archer, Lana and Gillette embark on with usually mixed success.  Those episodes trade in some of the hearty laughs for amusing action set-pieces, but they are rarely a letdown and keep the show from slipping into a weekly routine.

Character development and plot aside, Archer is still at its heart just a very very funny show.  Jokes comes in all colors here, and can range from physical comedy (often out on missions) to repulsive humor (Pam) to the myriad out of nowhere pop culture references.  Then there are stunts such as Archer's gut-busting Family Feud interrogation of some warehouse goons all while hooked up to chemo, or Krieger's bizarre antics, especially the creation of his digital bride, and his unfortunate mishap with Len Trexler and Rabbert Klein.  If none of that makes much sense to you, then I envy you, because you clearly have a lot of Archer to catch up on.

Hanna

So here's my beef with action films - and as a 20-something male I feel obliged to speak up here - it is a broken genre, indifferent to the interests of half the audience while fooling the other half into thinking this is as good as it can get.  These films have lately devolved into simulacra of simulacra (when Bond starts copying Bourne that's a cry for help) and even some of the more ambitious outings recently have fumbled the through-lines on their stories because they're trying to be just too damn complicated.  You know the system is broken when they try to fix it just by rearranging the same pieces in a different order.  I really don't care to ever see another action flick with Jason Statham or Sylvester Stallone, and especially not when the story and direction take a backseat to serving star power.  The other problem here is the near total void of female-centric action films.  Sucker Punch you say?  Sucker Punch doesn't fucking count, and if you imagine what the porn on a 13-year-old's computer looks like, it will occur to you why.  Action heroines defined so shamelessly by the male gaze are neither progress nor worth any of your time, juvenile males excepted.

Ok, rant over.  Here's why Hanna is the remedy.

After a decade's worth of action films that feasted on the regurgitated remains of their former selves, it was high time for something fresh.  So here we have Joe Wright - as in, director of Atonement and Pride and Prejudice, Joe Wright - stepping up the the plate, and what do you know, he finds an even better home for his somewhat untethered stylistic extravagances.  Because much as I adore Atonement, flashy camerawork and period romance don't go hand-in-hand for many, but his impulses are perfectly suited to Hanna's modern day fairytale, with roughly equal measures of guns and Grimm.

His casting is another welcome sight.  Saorise Ronan, who's previous work with Wright is not so secretly one of my favorite performances of the last decade, is certainly not who jumps to mind when you imagine the next great action heroine.  Hanna may not quite be Ripley or The Bride, but she could hold her own against either, and frankly, the competition lately has been scarce.  She aces the role, quite apparently a physically demanding one, but not without some subtle emotional strain too.  The supporting players do exactly what fairytale characters (or, why not, action characters) ought to, each leaving a significant mark on the story as they intersect it.  Cate Blanchett plays a big bad wolf of a villain (seen earlier sharpening her teeth, figuratively, and later in the maw of a wolf, literally).  She relishes the part and it's a wonderfully devilish turn, far more threatening than her Soviet shtick in Indiana Jones and the Stupid Alien Ship.  There's also Tom Hollander, playing totally against type as an ambiguous German hitman with a song in his heart, and a terrific newcomer in Jessica Barden as Hanna's first and only friend, who hasn't quite figured out what lesbians are.  Eric Bana, as Hanna's rogue huntsman father, is fortunately not forgotten by Wright after his significant role in the opening scenes, and he's treated to a few nifty ambushes later on.  With so many actors - Bana excepted - playing against type, Hanna never once feels like something you've seen before.

But, mind you, I did say it's an action film, and a damn great one at that.  There's a simple, but more importantly unflawed storyline to carry any entertainment-hungry audience from thrill to thrill.  There's nothing needlessly complicated and no big surprise waiting at the end (the twist that does come is neither preposterous nor played up for wow-factor).  There's also a lot of fantastic action set-pieces, a few small ones that play out with the secondary characters, and a handful of epic chases that send Hanna across a futuristic underground holding center, a shipping yard under cover of night, and a decrepit theme park, among others.  What makes these sequences such thrills - on top of Ronan's unflappable presence - is the brilliant fusion of Wright's kinetic direction and the spot-on compositions by The Chemical Brothers.  The main theme in particular - which Hollander's character adapts into his own demented whistle after hearing it in a bar - is the kind of infectious tune that you actually don't mind getting stuck in your head.

 And just for those wondering, the comparisons to last year's Kick Ass are totally misguided.  Despite embracing the idea of a fairytale, Hanna appears to exist in the real world, one where characters, however exaggerated, still behave with some kind of logic.  It's also well aware of the moral ramifications of a teenage killing machine, and yet never resorts to the equally off-putting attempt to attach a message at the end.  It's not destined to be some great box office success, but my hope is that it can at least hold up against...I don't know, the greasy double-threat of Russell Brand...or whatever ever else it was that I've been staying clear of these last few weeks.  I don't know where it will rank among my favorites come the end of the year, but if I didn't see a better action film all year, I'd hardly be surprised...but to be fair, nor would I be disappointed.  And I think I'll sleep safe at night quite sure that they won't be attempting a sequel.

Certified Copy

One of the tragic realizations in the early stages of my movie fanaticism was the precious lack of great films that I had the chance to see in the theaters. For years, the only film that met that criteria for me was the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I'd call that a small consolation compared to what it must have been like to watch, oh, say Chinatown or The Third Man or The Red Shoes when they first hit the town. But I don't know if it's because of my move to Chicago (most likely) or that movies in general are just on the upswing (entirely possible) but the last few months in the theaters have been the best stretch I've ever had.

Yesterday's feature was Certified Copy, and those who know anything about my taste in film won't be surprised that this one's been on my most anticipated list for a very long time (for those who don't, the short and sweet of it is that I could watch Juliette Binoche remake Jeanne Dielman as an 8-part miniseries and stare wide-eyed every minute of it). Bias prevailed - as it often does - and already as soon as March, 2011 has a film to rival the three goodness-to-gracious masterpieces that 2010 produced (which ones those are, you'll have to wait a few weeks for my yearly awards to find out). But if I know I loved it, I'm not entirely sure why, and it's telling that the primary thought on my mind as I strolled out of the theater was "I've got to find time to re-watch this." That's not happened yet, so bear with me as I stumble through this dicey recap.


There's a few things you need to know about Certified Copy and a whole mess of things you don't. The former are the facts, just the facts, and the later I will skirt around as much as possible while attempting to persuade you to find out for yourself. It's a very international film. Director Abbas Kiarostami, widely regarded as the greatest Iranian director of all time, has not only made his first film abroad, but also his first with an actress of professional caliber, and they don't come much more professional than Ms. Binoche. She's of course French and her onscreen partner James is played William Shimell, a British opera singer by trade. Their story (if it's really their story at all) plays out on an afternoon tour of Tuscany, a little in French, a little in Italian, and fair share in English too.

The result is something more accessible than I imagined, but I mean this more in the sense that I was never bored and I don't think most interested moviegoers would be either. Sure, there's a lot of intellectual debate on the nature of originals and copies raging on throughout the film, but Kiarostami seems to find amusement in undercutting these dry points whenever possible, so the conversation continues to play on while the camera (or, more often, Binoche) finds something new to preoccupy her attention. The result is that instead of blasting us with some cosmic point to it all, these ideas of duplication quietly lodge themselves in our subconscious, continually breeding reassessment of character dynamic as it morphs from one thing into another entirely.

A lot of people have been comparing this to Before Sunset, but that doesn't sit right with me. Spoken with due respect to the Linklater film (which I love), there's just a whole lot more going on in Certified Copy. Maybe if Before Sunset collided with Last Year at Marienbad while it had its nose buried in Walter Benjamin's essay "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" we'd be somewhere closer to the truth. What that makes this is a member of the elusive genre of puzzle films, albeit a rarity even there because this is largely an emotional, not an intellectual, exercise. My desire to revisit it pronto has less to do with walking out befuddled than with the knowledge that there is definitely more here to be gained by repeat viewings.


All this has totally sidestepped what makes Certified Copy so intriguing. Suffice it to say that it's a very dynamic film, one in which the characters are not necessarily what they seem. This would almost certainly not work with a lesser actress than Binoche, who bears the full emotional heft of the movie squarely on her shoulders. I'm not kidding around when I tell people she's the greatest actress alive, and I can't fathom anyone else hitting the same joyous and tragic notes she delivers, all while being able to throw blind trust toward her director and screenplay. In that sense, I'm reminded much of Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr., and this may just be the best performance since that perfect-storm ten years ago.

I'll wrap by reiterating that I'm dying to see this again, but also that I'm dying to sit down with someone else who's seen it and bounce thoughts off each other until new meanings and interpretations begin to eclipse everything I initially imagined. It's just that kind of film, and if that sounds intimating, I apologize, because all this analysis trash that I'm talking is ultimately irrelevant. The film, however, is not, and it deserves to be seen. This cannot be stressed enough.

Film Review: Jane Eyre

The European Film Festival is currently in bloom at the Gene Siskel Center and last night (the festivals 3rd) was a singular showing of the upcoming release Jane Eyre, starring a brooding Michael Fassbender and the lovely Mia Wasikowska, who I might just think is even more lovely for her presence, along with director Cary Fukunaga, at the post screening Q&A. I'd been looking forward to the screening all week and made sure to catch both Fukunaga's directorial debut, the lush and harrowing Sin Nombre, as well as a few of Wasikowska's episodes on In Treatment in preparation for the event. The one thing I didn't attempt, however, was to read Jane Eyre, one of many literary classics that I've never crossed paths with in any way; not the novel, not any film adaptation, nor even The Wide Sargasso Sea. Whether that put me at an advantage or disadvantage, I'm not sure, but it's always nice to approach an adaptation without the inevitable comparisons to the source material weighing on your mind.

Through some artfully arranged chronology, if a bit confusing to those unfamiliar with the book, the film opens with a fantastic flight across the countryside, a series of visually arresting landscapes that seem practically to swallow Jane whole. After this gorgeous opening, the film briefly holds an uneven pace while cutting back and forth between her early life and her time spent later with St. John Rivers (played by Jamie Bell, who has spent the last five years growing gigantic muttonchops instead of acting). When we at last arrive at Thornfield Hall, the story settles down as the famed romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester begins to take root.


Wasikowska rightly emerges as best in show. Jane Eyre is her vehicle all the way, and a much better one than either of her 2010 films can claim to be. A definitive role it's not, but she finds the perfect measure of strength within Jane, and her conflicted longings for Rochester are entirely believable. It's the kind of performance that Abbie Cornish couldn't quite pull off in Bright Star, so I'm glad to see Wasikowska nail it here. I've got no complaints about the rest of the cast, save for the stray observation of how underused Judi Dench and (especially) Sally Hawkins were. Honestly, between this, An Education, and Never Let Me Go, it's like she's good for two scenes tops and then clears out completely. C'mon, she only gave the best performance of the last five years. Let's not let talent like that go to waste.


As for Fukunaga, it seems crazy to compare a film like Jane Eyre to Sin Nombre, and in the Q&A he made a point of saying that he wants to go out of his way to never make the same film twice, but I think it's in his approach to location that the similarities shine through. A quick look at both films an you'll be overwhelmed by his landscape shots. He frames his vistas like Bruegel frames paintings, the lush landscapes surrounding the senses, making you wish you could linger on just to study them. The long stretches of the film that play out in the flickering candlelight of Thornfield Hall drag somewhat without the eye-popping visuals to captivate, but every now and then Fukunaga seizes on a window, and his eye for natural light makes us long to escape from the manor. He also manages to avoid sensationalizing in many of the areas you'd expect. In this regard, I imagine he drove the producers mad, but it was an interesting choice to downplay the both the fire and the dark secret of Thornfield Hall the way he did.

Much like in 2010, I started my yearly movie watching with a Mia Wasikowska movie, only this one was actually quite good (disclaimer, I don't blame her in the slightest for Travesty in Wonderland). This year though, I learned a valuable lesson: don't pass the first few months of the year watching trash. It's what happened last year, and by the time summer came around I was overrating half the releases I saw just because they didn't suck. Not so, 2011, I'm starting the year right and don't intend to be fooled by any of your mind-bending blockbusters come summertime.

Academy Awards Predictions

This is really coming in under the wire, but my week has been surprisingly busy since last Tuesday and time budgeting cuts had to be made. As a result, my yearly awards will not be debuting alongside my predictions, as the graphics (and even some viewing) are still in progress. But I wouldn't miss these predictions for the world, so with only a few hours to go, which I need to spend tabulating ballots for a mock-awards ceremony and concocting a Winter's Bone inspired dish, I've found time to consult my magic 8 ball on the plausible outcomes of tonight.

Two important points:
1. I've seen the majority of the nominees, but not nearly all. However, I've seen everything in the big 8 categories save Javier Bardem's performance in Biutiful and all the animated films, but I've only seen two of the docs (Restrepo and Exit Through the Gift Shop) and one foreign nominee (Dogtooth, and there's a greater chance of the show ending on time than this going anywhere). Some notable films I'm missing include Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Inside Job, Incendies and In a Better World.

2. To avoid the allure of hopedicting (ie. the inclination to elevate the chances of personal favorites), I'm also including my thoughts on what deserves to win, unlikely as that may be.

And the winners are...

Best Picture
The King's Speech

It was The Social Network's to lose for the longest time until The King's Speech proved that the academy members don't give a hoot what the critics are saying. It has dominated the late season awards, the ones which prove a pretty accurate litmus test for the big award on Oscar night just because of overlapping voters.

Should win: Black Swan

Best Director
David Fincher, The Social Network

Here's an actual race, though I bet in retrospect we won't think of it as such. Yes, Hooper's film is going to win the big prize, but he's a relatively unknown director and Fincher has found mainstream acceptance over the past few years. I think we're looking at our first Picture/Director split since Crash/Ang Lee and it's certainly one I can live with.

Still, my personal pick would be: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

Best Actor
Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Because it just makes since. Eisenberg is too young and his film couldn't pull any other acting love. Bridges just won last year. Franco is definitely in right now, but I don't think many will be checking off the name of the host on their ballots. Bardem has some ardent support, but I just don't think that can stop the guy with the stutter. Plus, Firth still has some carry over love from A Single Man. He takes it.

Should win: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Best Actress
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

So no shit, Portman is poised to win and I don't buy Bening's odds for a minute. But instead let's take a moment to reflect on this best actress lineup, easily the strongest the Academy has pulled together since 1996 (McDormand/Watson/Scott-Thomas/Blethyn/Keaton). Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Williams are particularly great choices, and even if Bening is my least favorite, she's a pretty darn good fifth favorite.

Should win: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter

The supporting categories are where I need my hopedicting guard on, because I'm still refusing to believe that the trashiness of The Fighter can translate into any golden statues. Geoffrey Rush is definitely in the game, and if The King's Speech is really on fire, he may very well prevent this imminent disaster, but I won't bet on it. Starting tomorrow you'll have to call him Oscar winner, Christian Bale.

Should win: John Hawkes, Winter's Bone

Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech

The toughest category in the big 8, and the one where I'm going to buck the general consensus. Melissa Leo has the edge here, but she's done a lot to sabotage her own campaign lately, not to mention she couldn't even get in at the BAFTAs, which surely hurts more than anything. Suince my favorite (Jacki Weaver) has little to no chance, it's down to the category fraudulent Steinfeld and the respected Brit in the BP favorite. I'm going with Helena.

Should win: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Adapted Screenplay
The Social Network

There really was never any question of this whatsoever.

Should win: 127 Hours

Original Screenplay
The King's Speech

Damn shame that the screenplay categories are so boring this year.

Should win: Another Year

Animated Film
Toy Story 3

Should win: The Illusionist

Foreign Language Film
Incendies

Should win: Haven't seen the others, but Jesus Christ not Dogtooth

Documentary (Feature)
Inside Job

Should win: I've only seen Exit Through the Gift Shop and Restropo, but I overwhelmingly prefer the later.

Art Direction
The King's Speech

Should win: Uh, none preferably. Actually, I'll say True Grit.

Cinematography
True Grit

Should win: Black Swan

Costume Design
I Am Love

Honestly, weird shit happens in this category all the time. I think this is between I Am Love and The Tempest.

Should win: Honestly, I didn't like I Am Love at all, but I could support a win in costumes.

Makeup
Barney's Version

Should win: I've not seen any of these, so, yeah.

Original Score
The King's Speech

Should win: 127 Hours

Original Song
"We Belong Together" - Toy Story 3

Should win: "If I Rise" or "I See the Light" are both solid choices

Editing
The Social Network

Should win: Black Swan

Sound Editing
Inception

Should win: Inception

Sound Mixing
Inception

Should win: why not, The King's Speech

Visual Effects
Inception

Should win: Inception

Animated Short
The Gruffalo

Should win: I've seen 3 of the 5 and The Gruffalo was my favorite as well, but I could certainly imagine liking one of the others better.

Documentary Short
Killing in the Name

Live Action Short
God of Love


That's all, folks. I'll assess my accuracy either late tonight or tomorrow, and hopefully get my own awards up next weekend.