The Road to the 2010-2011 Oscars !

[fernandito]

We've just entered the last 4th of the year, you know what that means ! Another Oscars thread ! :D

What have you heard ? Which actors and actresses are being stamped as favorites to take hardware home this year ? Which film would you like to see nominated/win ?

[turtlex]

All the buzz now seems to be over The Social Network (http://www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com/).

Love Oscar season, just love it !!

Thanks for starting the thread, Feev! :huglove:

[fernandito]

No worries me loves :couple:

Yeah, TSN has definitely picked up a lot of steam lately.

I'd like to see Inception nominated too, I think between The Dark Knight and Inception, Nolan is due for an Oscar nod.

[turtlex]

I think Inception is a lock for a nomination, without a doubt.

Director and editing, for sure. Maybe even Best Picture.

[fernandito]

What about Leo DiCap ? Between Shutter Island and Inception, I'd say he's also due for an Oscar nod this year !

I haven't really heard any noise in the Best Actress category .... you ?

[turtlex]

I've read and heard nothing about the Best Actress category beyond nods for both Annette Bening and Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right. And maybe a nod for Lisa Cholodenko as director.

I'm not a DiCaprio fan, but you never know - the Academy likes him. Of course, that's the dreaded one film cancels out the other kind of deal. Wasn't he nominated for Blood Diamond the same year as something else and therefore lost both?

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

My picks for the years best movies so far this year are:

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (3D)
ROBIN HOOD
INCEPTION
DESPICABLE ME (3D OR 2D, seen 'em both)
THE AMERICAN
SALT
THE WOLFMAN
THE JONESES
TOY STORY 3
JONAH HEX (except for the last 10 minutes)
THE TOWN
LET ME IN

And I thought VAMPIRE'S SUCK was kind of funny though I doubt it will be one of the 10 best picture nominees.

These are in no particular order, but if I had to choose a number 1, it would be INCEPTION hands down.

These picks are taken from 92 movies attended so far this year, so you see I haven't been very impressed yet. (I especially wasn't impressed by THE SOCIAL NETWORK)

I also very much enjoyed RESIDENT EVIL AFTERLIFE in glorious 3D!

[Still Servant]

Yay, I've been looking forward to this thread.

I think films like Inception, The Town and The Social Network will be well represented at the Oscars. I'm also hearing good things about the upcoming Western remake by the Cohen Brothers, True Grit.

There are sure to be many other films that will pop up on our radar as the year goes on.

As far as best actress is concerned, I've heard good things about an actress named Jennifer Lawrence in a film called Winter's Bone. I'm also hearing good things from Natalie Portman in Black Swan and Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole.

Can't wait for the season to heat up. :excited:

[fernandito]

Winter's Bone is really popular amongst the underground circles. I want to watch it but Netflix doesn't have it available yet ... :/

[Mattrick]

Machete for Best Picture!!!!!!!





Are they doing ten best picture nominees yet?

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

MACHETE was good, but I thought it sort of became too 'talky' in the last half. Enjoyable though!

WINTER'S BONE had good acting, but I didn't find it totally engrossing, although it's a step above many other pictures this year.

5 new movies opening tomorrow! I'm off to the races and hope I don't get BURIED in the crowd!

[turtlex]

My guess would be Inception as a lock for a Best Picture nomination. Also, Social Network.

I would really love to see The Town get some recognition, too.

Yeah, as far as I know, AMPAS is staying with that god-awful, disgrace to films, 10 Best Picture nomination thing. Bahstids.

[Still Servant]

Winter's Bone is really popular amongst the underground circles. I want to watch it but Netflix doesn't have it available yet ... :/

Winter's Bone opened at a theater near where I live. I'm still kicking myself for not get down there to see it. I also wanted to see Animal Kingdom that opened near me too, but I didn't get there either.
:pullhair:

[fernandito]

Same here. I didn't pay much attention to it while it was in theaters, and now I hate myself for not having watched it.

[Ricky]

Uh, I saw a trailer today for a movie coming out soon that looks like it might get the attn. of the Oscar people. I can't remember the title for the life of me though. It was something about stories of 5 different kids getting college education. Sound familiar to anyone?

[Heather19]

I would really love to see The Town get some recognition, too.

As would I!
I'd also like to see Inception get some nominations, as well as Leo (although not for Inception but for Shutter Island).

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

Saw BURIED today. Ryan Reynolds was pretty good. Maybe he'll get a best actor nomination.

[Ricky]

I'm so jealous! My local theater isn't playing it. I might have to go to the ghetto one. :(

I'd love to see a mini-review in the Rate thread.

Oh, and the movie I mentioned upthread is called Waiting for Superman.

[Still Servant]

I'm so jealous! My local theater isn't playing it. I might have to go to the ghetto one. :(

I'd love to see a mini-review in the Rate thread.

Oh, and the movie I mentioned upthread is called Waiting for Superman.

I thought that was the movie you were talking about, but I forgot to post it

I've been looking forward to that film for a while. It's gotten some amazing reviews, but I've never seen a documentary in a theater. I guess I will have to wait for it to come out on DVD.

Besides, I don't think it will open around me anyway.

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

I have backed off from 'reviewing' films because it seems to cause too much distress. All I'll indicate from now on is if I liked a movie or not. I liked BURIED and thought Ryan did an excellent job in his role.

[fernandito]

I saw The Social Network last night, and I have to say that I'll be very surprised if the film and the creative team behind it doesn't receive several Oscar Nods come Oscar season.

Possible Oscar nods

Best Film - TSN
Best Director - Fincher
Best Actor - Jesse Eisenberg
Best Adapted Screenplay - Sorkin

[turtlex]

Academy says no big change for 2012 Oscar date

.BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The 2012 Oscars will not be weeks earlier than usual, as had been speculated — a move that would have upended Hollywood's crowded awards season.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement late Wednesday that its Board of Governors had determined the date of the 84th Academy Awards "will not be significantly earlier than the now-traditional last Sunday in February."

But the statement left open the possibility of an earlier Oscar date in subsequent years, saying "the Academy's staff and Board will continue to evaluate the advantages and challenges associated with such a change."

The exact date of the 2012 Oscar ceremony has yet to be chosen. The 2011 Academy Awards show is set for Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

[turtlex]

From Yahoo Movies! - regarding the Best Actress category!

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's Oscar race is only about six weeks old, but already one theme is emerging: unlike most years when men dominate the critical buzz for strong roles, this season women are the talk of the town.

From previous Oscar winners such as Nicole Kidman and big stars like Annette Bening to newcomers such as Jennifer Lawrence, women are tearing it up on the big screen. Some Oscar watchers see as many as 15 possible contenders for five best actress nominations.

The experts cite several reasons for what may be dubbed "The Year of the Actress" at Oscar time in February. Chief among them is that many of the strong female stories are making it onto film because the women themselves have greater clout to get their pet film projects made.

"Not only are women taking center stage, they are dominating the stage entirely," said Tom O'Neil, awards expert for TheEnvelope.com.

The Oscars, of course, are the world's top film honors, and pundits begin handicapping the awards categories, based on screenings at film festivals in Venice, Telluride and Toronto, which generally begin in late August and early September.

Most years when it comes time for some 6,000 voters at the Beverly Hills-based Academy of Arts and Sciences to pick winners, Academy watchers have a difficult time narrowing down the best actor category because generally three or four, if not all five nominees have turned in strong performances.

Best actress, however, typically narrows more easily because often times there is just one or two favorites. Last year, for instance, Sandra Bullock faced very little competition when she picked up the statuette for her role in football film, "The Blind Side."

"Normally with the actress race, you scramble to find three good ones," said Pete Hammond, awards columnist with Deadline Hollywood. "You're looking at women who may not even get nominated this year, while in a lesser year they may have very well won."

A variety of themes in movies are giving numerous women a shot. Notions of what a family truly means dominate comedy "The Kids Are All Right," which has Bening and Julianne Moore playing a lesbian couple raising a pair of teens.

Briton Sally Hawkins portrays a "Norma Rae"-type factory worker with a mission to get women equal pay in "Made in Dagenham," and Natalie Portman won raves at September's Venice film festival playing a vengeful ballerina in director Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan."

INDEPENDENT WOMEN

Kidman is a grieving mother whose young son dies accidentally in "Rabbit Hole," and Michelle Williams is a woman who wants out of her marriage in "My Blue Valentine." Lawrence is turning heads as a teen left alone to fend for her younger siblings in drug drama "Winter's Bone."

And the list goes on: Anne Hathaway ("Love and Other Drugs"), Lesley Manville ("Another Year"), Gwyneth Paltrow ("Country Strong") and Naomi Watts ("Fair Game").

Making the 2010 best actress race even more interesting is that many of the roles are being judged independently from their male counterparts, said O'Neil.

That phenomenon contrast to recent wins by actresses such as Reese Witherspoon, who took home an Oscar for playing June Carter to Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" (2005) or Hilary Swank, who played a boxer in "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) opposite Clint Eastwood as her coach.

Hammond pointed out that many of the roles come out of movies made independently from Hollywood's big studios and the actresses have been instrumental in finding funding.

Moore, for example, championed "Kids are All Right" for five years while its makers looked for financing and was instrumental in bringing actor Mark Ruffalo on board.

Kidman read a review of the stage play "Rabbit Hole," which prompted her to pursue the project as a film adaptation. She became a producer and personally enlisted Aaron Eckhart to play her husband.

"They're getting these passion projects made that would otherwise never see the light of day," said Hammond.

So this year, when Oscar nominations open up, the Academy will have plenty of women to choose from, and the big question won't be, "who is in?" Rather, it will be "who is out?"

[fernandito]

Apparently Colin Firth is a heavy favorite to receive an Oscar nod due to his turn in The King's Speech. Has anyone seen this film yet ?

[Mattrick]

Conviction has Oscar written all over it.

[turtlex]

Conviction has Oscar written all over it.

I hope so. I'm a big fan of Hilary Swank. Might also be a chance for a nod to Sam Rockwell and Minnie Driver ( who can be very inconsistent, but when she's good, she usually nails a part ).

[fernandito]

Sam Rockwell needs an award for .... something already, the man is brilliant.

[turtlex]

I think this could be it, Feev. I'm thinking Best Supporting nod.

[Mattrick]

Sam Rockwell is THE shit.

Confession of a Dangerous Mind, Moon and Matchstick Men are amongst my favourite movies.

[Still Servant]

Sam Rockwell really is a good actor.

Have you seen Snow Angels? Not a great movie, but Rockwell is really good in it. Might be worth a watch.

[Mattrick]

I still have to see Good Night and Good Luck.

[fernandito]

Anne Hathaway and James Franco to Host Oscars
Bringing sexy back to the Academy Awards.
November 29, 2010
by Eric Goldman

The Oscars are taking a very different approach this year, as they've recruited Anne Hathaway and James Franco to host The 83rd Annual Academy Awards. After years of comedians like Billy Crystal, Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres hosting, the Academy first thought a bit outside the box with Hugh Jackman in 2009, before the duo of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosted together this past year.

Hathaway and Franco though particularly stand out, first and foremost thanks to their young age – the 32 year old Franco and 28 year old Hathaway are notably younger than most Oscar hosts. Others will ponder the lack of experience the two have in this kind of performing - and certainly neither have any standup comedy in their background. On the other hand, they've proven to be adept comedic performers on SNL, among other projects.

Also of note is that Franco is widely presumed to be a lock for a nomination this year for his work in the critically acclaimed 127 hours.

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards airs February 27, 2011 on ABC.

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

I saw CONVICTION and wasn't too thrilled about it. I did like HEREAFTER though, but Eastwood already has some Oscars so it might not get nominated for anything since the Oscars don't seem to be awarded primarily for the movies or actors based on the merits of each but more for political and personal reasons. Of course, that's not news to anyone.

I also liked NOWHERE BOY and think the actor who played John Lennon (sorry, I don't know his name) did a hell of a good job.

[turtlex]

Here comes the awards noms !!! Precursors to the Oscars !!!

`Black Swan' earns 12 Critics' Choice nominations
LOS ANGELES – Natalie Portman's ballet drama "Black Swan" leads the Critics' Choice Movie Awards with a record 12 nominations, among them best picture and actress.

Other best-picture nominees Monday were "127 Hours," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The King's Speech," "The Social Network," "The Town," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone."

"The King's Speech" and "True Grit" were second with 11 nominations each.

Among "The King's Speech" honors were a best-actor nomination for Colin Firth and supporting slots for Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. "True Grit" star Jeff Bridges also earned a best-actor nomination, while his newcomer co-star, 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, had two nominations, as supporting actress and best young actress.

The Social Network Named Best Picture by L.A. Film Critics
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has chosen The Social Network as the year's best picture.

The movie, which chronicles the creation of Facebook and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake, also was cited Sunday for the film's screenplay, written by Aaron Sorkin. David Fincher garnered an award for directing as well. Fincher tied with Olivier Assayas, who directed Carlos.

Colin Firth (The King's Speech) and Kim Hye-Ja (Mother) took home top acting honors, while Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) and Niels Arestrup (A Prophet) were awarded for supporting roles.

Check out the full list of winners:

Picture: The Social Network
Director: Olivier Assayas, Carlos; and David Fincher, The Social Network (a tie)
Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Actress: Kim Hye-Ja, Mother
Supporting Actor: Niels Arestrup, A Prophet
Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Animation: Toy Story 3
Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Music/Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Ghost Writer; and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network (a tie)
Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas, Inception
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Foreign Language Film: Carlos
Documentary/Nonfiction Film: Last Train Home
New Generation: Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Douglas E. Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video: Jean-Luc Godard, Film Socialisme
Legacy of Cinema Awards: Serge Bromberg for Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno, and the F.W. Murnau Foundation and Fernando Pena for the restoration of Metopolis
Career Achievement: Paul Mazursky

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
127 HOURS
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
THE TOWN
TOY STORY 3
TRUE GRIT
WINTER'S BONE

[fernandito]

I'm glad to see Inception amongst the nominees, it definitely deserves it.

[turtlex]

Feev - I think it's safe to say that Inception will be a Best Picture nominee, and that Nolan will get nom'd as well.
Not sure about wins in either case, but definitely a nomination.

Best Director is going to be a gang busters category this year : I predict -> Fincher, Boyle, Nolan, Cholodenko and Aronofsky.

[turtlex]

Golden Globe nominations today !!! Let the Award Season officially being !!!! :panic:

[turtlex]

The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards NOMINATIONS

HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION
2011 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2010

NOMINATIONS PRESS RELEASE

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. BLACK SWAN
Protozoa Pictures & Cross Creek Pictures & Phoenix; Fox Searchlight Pictures

b. THE FIGHTER
Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media; Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media

c. INCEPTION
Warner Bros. Pictures UK LTD.; Warner Bros. Pictures

d. THE KING’S SPEECH
See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions; The Weinstein Company

e. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. HALLE BERRY FRANKIE AND ALICE

b. NICOLE KIDMAN RABBIT HOLE

c. JENNIFER LAWRENCE WINTER’S BONE

d. NATALIE PORTMAN BLACK SWAN

e. MICHELLE WILLIAMS BLUE VALENTINE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. JESSE EISENBERG THE SOCIAL NETWORK

b. COLIN FIRTH THE KING’S SPEECH

c. JAMES FRANCO 127 HOURS

d. RYAN GOSLING BLUE VALENTINE

e. MARK WAHLBERG THE FIGHTER

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

b. BURLESQUE
Screen Gems; Sony Pictures Releasing

c. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision, Gilbert Films; Focus Features

d. RED
di Bonaventura Pictures; Summit Entertainment

e. THE TOURIST
GK Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. ANNETTE BENING THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

b. ANNE HATHAWAY LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

c. ANGELINA JOLIE THE TOURIST

d. JULIANNE MOORE THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

e. EMMA STONE EASY A

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. JOHNNY DEPP ALICE IN WONDERLAND

b. JOHNNY DEPP THE TOURIST

c. PAUL GIAMATTI BARNEY’S VERSION

d. JAKE GYLLENHAAL LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

e. KEVIN SPACEY CASINO JACK

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

a. DESPICABLE ME
Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment; Universal Pictures

b. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
DreamWorks Animation; Paramount Pictures

c. THE ILLUSIONIST
Django Films, Ciné B and France 3 Cinéma; Sony Pictures Classics

d. TANGLED
Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

e. TOY STORY 3
Disney * Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

a. BIUTIFUL (MEXICO/SPAIN)
Menageatroz, Focus Features International; Roadside Attractions

b. THE CONCERT (FRANCE)
An Oï Oï Oï Productions, Les Productions Du Tresor, France 3 Cinema, Europacorp, Castel Films, Panache Productions, RTBF (Belgian Television), BIM Distrubuzione Co., Canal +, Cinecinema and France 3; The Weinstein Company

c. THE EDGE (RUSSIA)
(Kpaй)
Teleshow/Rock Films; Central Partnership (Russia)

d. I AM LOVE (ITALY)
(LO SONO L’AMORE)
First Sun; Magnolia Pictures

e. IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK)
(Hævnen)
Zentropa Entertainment; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

a. AMY ADAMS THE FIGHTER

b. HELENA BONHAM CARTER THE KING’S SPEECH

c. MILA KUNIS BLACK SWAN

d. MELISSA LEO THE FIGHTER

e. JACKI WEAVER ANIMAL KINGDOM

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

a. CHRISTIAN BALE THE FIGHTER

b. MICHAEL DOUGLAS WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER
SLEEPS

c. ANDREW GARFIELD THE SOCIAL NETWORK

d. JEREMY RENNER THE TOWN

e. GEOFFREY RUSH THE KING’S SPEECH

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

a. DARREN ARONOFSKY BLACK SWAN

b. DAVID FINCHER THE SOCIAL NETWORK

c. TOM HOOPER THE KING’S SPEECH

d. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION

e. DAVID O. RUSSELL THE FIGHTER

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

a. DANNY BOYLE, 127 HOURS
SIMON BEAUFOY

b. LISA CHOLODENKO, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
STUART BLUMBERG

c. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION

d. DAVID SEIDLER THE KING’S SPEECH

e. AARON SORKIN THE SOCIAL NETWORK

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

a. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT THE KING’S SPEECH

b. DANNY ELFMAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND

c. A.R. RAHMAN 127 HOURS

d. TRENT REZNOR, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ATTICUS ROSS

e. HANS ZIMMER INCEPTION

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

a. “BOUND TO YOU” — BURLESQUE
Music by: Samuel Dixon
Lyrics by: Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler

b. “COMING HOME” — COUNTRY STRONG
Music & Lyrics by: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges

c. “I SEE THE LIGHT” — TANGLED
Music by: Alan Menken
Lyrics by: Glenn Slater

d. “THERE’S A PLACE FOR US” — CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE
VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
Music & Lyrics by: Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey

e. “YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF ME” — BURLESQUE
Music & Lyrics by: Diane Warren

15. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

a. BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO)
Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions and Cold Front Productions, HBO Entertainment

b. DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
Showtime, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company

c. THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)
CBS Television Studios

d. MAD MEN (AMC)
Lionsgate Television

e. THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)
AMC

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

a. JULIANNA MARGULIES THE GOOD WIFE

b. ELISABETH MOSS MAD MEN

c. PIPER PERABO COVERT AFFAIRS

d. KATEY SAGAL SONS OF ANARCHY

e. KYRA SEDGWICK THE CLOSER

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

a. STEVE BUSCEMI BOARDWALK EMPIRE

b. BRYAN CRANSTON BREAKING BAD

c. MICHAEL C. HALL DEXTER

d. JON HAMM MAD MEN

e. HUGH LAURIE HOUSE

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. 30 ROCK (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little
Stranger Inc.

b. THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
Warner Bros. Television

c. THE BIG C (SHOWTIME)
Showtime, Sony Pictures Television, Perkins Street Productions, Farm Kid, Original Film

d. GLEE (FOX)
Ryan Murphy Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television

e. MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
Twentieth Century Fox Television

f. NURSE JACKIE (SHOWTIME)
Showtime, Lionsgate Television, Jackson Group Entertainment, Madison Grain Elevator, Inc. & Delong Lumber, Caryn Mandabach Productions


19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. TONI COLLETTE UNITED STATES OF TARA

b. EDIE FALCO NURSE JACKIE

c. TINA FEY 30 ROCK

d. LAURA LINNEY THE BIG C

e. LEA MICHELE GLEE

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. ALEC BALDWIN 30 ROCK

b. STEVE CARELL THE OFFICE

c. THOMAS JANE HUNG

d. MATTHEW MORRISON GLEE

e. JIM PARSONS THE BIG BANG THEORY


21. BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

a. CARLOS (SUNDANCE CHANNEL)
Sundance Channel

b. THE PACIFIC (HBO)
Playtone and DreamWorks in association with HBO Films

c. PILLARS OF THE EARTH (STARZ)
Starz, Tandem Communications, Muse Entertainment Scott Free Films

d. TEMPLE GRANDIN (HBO)
A Ruby Films, Gerson Saines Production, HBO Films

e. YOU DON’T KNOW JACK (HBO)
Bee Holder, Cine Mosaic and Levinson/Fontana Productions, HBO Films

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

a. HAYLEY ATWELL PILLARS OF THE EARTH

b. CLAIRE DANES TEMPLE GRANDIN

c. JUDI DENCH RETURN TO CRANFORD

d. ROMOLA GARAI EMMA

e. JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT THE CLIENT LIST

23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

a. IDRIS ELBA LUTHER

b. IAN MCSHANE PILLARS OF THE EARTH

c. AL PACINO YOU DON’T KNOW JACK

d. DENNIS QUAID THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

e. EDGAR RAMIREZ CARLOS

24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

a. HOPE DAVIS THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

b. JANE LYNCH GLEE

c. KELLY MACDONALD BOARDWALK EMPIRE

d. JULIA STILES DEXTER

e. SOFIA VERGARA MODERN FAMILY

25. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

a. SCOTT CAAN HAWAII FIVE-O

b. CHRIS COLFER GLEE

c. CHRIS NOTH THE GOOD WIFE

d. ERIC STONESTREET MODERN FAMILY

e. DAVID STRATHAIRN TEMPLE GRANDIN

[turtlex]

The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards NOMINATIONS

HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION
2011 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2010

NOMINATIONS PRESS RELEASE

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. BLACK SWAN
Protozoa Pictures & Cross Creek Pictures & Phoenix; Fox Searchlight Pictures
b. THE FIGHTER
Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media; Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media
c. INCEPTION
Warner Bros. Pictures UK LTD.; Warner Bros. Pictures
d. THE KING’S SPEECH
See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions; The Weinstein Company
e. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. HALLE BERRY FRANKIE AND ALICE
b. NICOLE KIDMAN RABBIT HOLE
c. JENNIFER LAWRENCE WINTER’S BONE
d. NATALIE PORTMAN BLACK SWAN
e. MICHELLE WILLIAMS BLUE VALENTINE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. JESSE EISENBERG THE SOCIAL NETWORK
b. COLIN FIRTH THE KING’S SPEECH
c. JAMES FRANCO 127 HOURS
d. RYAN GOSLING BLUE VALENTINE
e. MARK WAHLBERG THE FIGHTER

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
b. BURLESQUE
Screen Gems; Sony Pictures Releasing
c. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision, Gilbert Films; Focus Features
d. RED
di Bonaventura Pictures; Summit Entertainment
e. THE TOURIST
GK Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. ANNETTE BENING THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
b. ANNE HATHAWAY LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
c. ANGELINA JOLIE THE TOURIST
d. JULIANNE MOORE THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
e. EMMA STONE EASY A

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. JOHNNY DEPP ALICE IN WONDERLAND
b. JOHNNY DEPP THE TOURIST
c. PAUL GIAMATTI BARNEY’S VERSION
d. JAKE GYLLENHAAL LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
e. KEVIN SPACEY CASINO JACK

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

a. DESPICABLE ME
Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment; Universal Pictures
b. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
DreamWorks Animation; Paramount Pictures
c. THE ILLUSIONIST
Django Films, Ciné B and France 3 Cinéma; Sony Pictures Classics
d. TANGLED
Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
e. TOY STORY 3
Disney * Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

a. BIUTIFUL (MEXICO/SPAIN)
Menageatroz, Focus Features International; Roadside Attractions
b. THE CONCERT (FRANCE)
An Oï Oï Oï Productions, Les Productions Du Tresor, France 3 Cinema, Europacorp, Castel Films, Panache Productions, RTBF (Belgian Television), BIM Distrubuzione Co., Canal +, Cinecinema and France 3; The Weinstein Company
c. THE EDGE (RUSSIA)
(Kpaй)Teleshow/Rock Films; Central Partnership (Russia)
d. I AM LOVE (ITALY)
(LO SONO L’AMORE)
First Sun; Magnolia Pictures
e. IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK)
(Hævnen)
Zentropa Entertainment; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

a. AMY ADAMS THE FIGHTER
b. HELENA BONHAM CARTER THE KING’S SPEECH
c. MILA KUNIS BLACK SWAN
d. MELISSA LEO THE FIGHTER
e. JACKI WEAVER ANIMAL KINGDOM

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

a. CHRISTIAN BALE THE FIGHTER
b. MICHAEL DOUGLAS WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
c. ANDREW GARFIELD THE SOCIAL NETWORK
d. JEREMY RENNER THE TOWN
e. GEOFFREY RUSH THE KING’S SPEECH

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

a. DARREN ARONOFSKY BLACK SWAN
b. DAVID FINCHER THE SOCIAL NETWORK
c. TOM HOOPER THE KING’S SPEECH
d. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION
e. DAVID O. RUSSELL THE FIGHTER

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

a. DANNY BOYLE, SIMON BEAUFOY 127 HOURS
b. LISA CHOLODENKO, STUART BLUMBERG THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
c. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION
d. DAVID SEIDLER THE KING’S SPEECH
e. AARON SORKIN THE SOCIAL NETWORK

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

a. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT THE KING’S SPEECH
b. DANNY ELFMAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND
c. A.R. RAHMAN 127 HOURS
d. TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS THE SOCIAL NETWORK
e. HANS ZIMMER INCEPTION

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

a. “BOUND TO YOU” — BURLESQUE
Music by: Samuel Dixon
Lyrics by: Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler
b. “COMING HOME” — COUNTRY STRONG
Music & Lyrics by: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges
c. “I SEE THE LIGHT” — TANGLED
Music by: Alan Menken
Lyrics by: Glenn Slater
d. “THERE’S A PLACE FOR US” — CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE
VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
Music & Lyrics by: Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey
e. “YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF ME” — BURLESQUE
Music & Lyrics by: Diane Warren

[fernandito]

based on what I saw yesterday, Natalie Portman has got it in the mthfkn bag.

[turtlex]

Nicole Kidman is always a threat, but I think you're right, Feev. And I'm thrilled.

[turtlex]

More best picture of the year choices !

AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2010
By DAVID GERMAIN and CHRISTY LEMIRE, AP Movie Writers

The top 10 films of 2010, according to AP Movie Writer David Germain:

1. "Winter's Bone" — Yes, there's a banjo, yet director Debra Granik's country-noir gem is anything but the usual backwoods tale loaded with white-trash cliches. Jennifer Lawrence offers a star-making performance as a teen carrying the weight of the Ozarks on her shoulders as she doggedly confronts the region's crime clan to find her missing dad and save her family's home. The filmmakers present a raw, unsympathetic world filled with people capable of savage cruelty — and surprising nobility.

2. "Four Lions" — At last, some suicide bombers you can feel good laughing at. Chris Morris' wonderfully absurdist nightmare about terrorist wannabes plays like the Three Stooges carrying out their own jihad — with terribly real consequences instead of the slapstick of Curly, Larry and Moe. The tale of phenomenally incompetent British Muslims on the path to martyrdom against Western imperialism balances gasps with guffaws to create a film that's one of the year's funniest and scariest.

3. "Barney's Version" — When you need a curmudgeon with an old, deep soul, Paul Giamatti's your man. Richard J. Lewis' adaptation of Mordecai Richler's big, sloppy, heartbreaking and hilarious novel is all that and more. A self-righteous arbiter of all the world's ills on the outside, an incurable romantic on the inside, Giamatti's Barney is like an old friend who sadly goes sour living his unrepentant life, while Rosamund Pike is a counterweight of decency as the soulmate he cannot help but fail.

4. "The King's Speech" — How's this for great acting? Colin Firth plays a guy who can barely string two words together yet still delivers one of the year's most eloquent, august performances. As stammering King George VI in Tom Hooper's near-flawless period drama, Firth is both regal and an everyman — a guy with a job he doesn't want, for which he's ill-suited, yet he goes to work and does his best, aided by his joyously irreverent speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) and queenly sweetheart (Helena Bonham Carter).

5. "Never Let Me Go" — There's never time enough to do and say the things we really should, both in our world and in this melancholy offshoot, an alternate yet familiar reality that's a beautiful allegory for the journey we're all taking. Mark Romanek's film faithfully preserves the simple but bottomless spirituality of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, while Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield embody hope, heartache and everything in between as school friends with a terrible destiny.

6. "Inception" — Christopher Nolan messes with our heads in ways no other studio filmmaker dares. He dazzles with his visual effects, wows with his action scenes, thrills with his surprises. All along, he asks us to think as he spins a fantastically entertaining tale of a lost man (Leonardo DiCaprio) clawing his way back to the things that matter through a virtual world of dreams. Nolan has planted the seed of the brainy blockbuster in Hollywood. Here's hoping the idea doesn't die of loneliness.

7. "Another Year" — "Life's not always kind," a friend laments to an utterly disconsolate woman in Mike Leigh's latest, a quiet dramatic jewel so authentic it's like eavesdropping on the neighbors. Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen provide the stability as doting old marrieds with a circle of lovelorn friends and relations. Lesley Manville provides everything else with the performance of the year as a woman desperate for the tiniest happiness but too turned inward to go searching for it. She'll make you weep.

8. "True Grit" — The little girl was looking for a man with true grit. Joel and Ethan Coen were looking for a little girl who could act. They got Hailee Steinfeld, a girl with true grit to hold her own alongside Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon in this take on novelist Charles Portis' darkly comic Western that's far superior to John Wayne's 1969 version. Just turned 14, Steinfeld is a revelation in her screen debut as the fearless girl who bends two seasoned lawmen to her will in avenging her father.

9. "127 Hours" — Give Danny Boyle two sock puppets and he'll probably do a "Romeo and Juliet" to rival Zeffirelli's. The "Slumdog Millionaire" director plunks a man alone in a crevasse, trapped there for most of the movie, yet the story's a cyclone of hallucination, horror, agony and euphoria. As real-life adventurer Aron Ralston, James Franco re-enacts a deed excruciating to watch, but it's one of the most life-affirming acts you'll ever see on screen, in one of the most life-affirming films.

10. "The Social Network" — Just about everyone's friends with this critical darling and box-office success chronicling the rise of Facebook — and the falling out of friends who quarrel over its riches. David Fincher crafts a sharp-tongued tale of egos ballooning like tech stocks before the bubble burst. As Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse Eisenberg is a marvel of contradictions, a genius for the masses but an interpersonal lout for whom, even with all his billions, you can't help but feel a little sorry.

___

The top 10 films of 2010, according to AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire:

1. "The Social Network" — The movie of the year because it captures where we are in time in captivating fashion. In depicting the origin of Facebook, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin have created an epic tale about how we tell the world the tiniest details of our lives, and they convey potentially dry, unwieldy topics — computer coding and competing lawsuits — in an intimate way. This represents the best of what they do: Fincher's mastery of fluid, visual storytelling, Sorkin's knack for crisp, biting dialogue. It's sharp, funny and tense, has great energy and pulsates with the thrill of discovery, with an excellent cast led by Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

2. "Inception" — All the hype is justified. Writer-director Christopher Nolan's film is a stunningly gorgeous, technically flawless symphony of images and ideas. In its sheer enormity, it's every inch a blockbuster, but in the good sense of the word: with awesomeness, ambition and scope, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio at the center of a classy, eclectic cast. The cinematography, production design, effects, editing, score, everything down the line — all superb. But unlike so many summer movies assigned that tag, this is no mindless thrill ride. With its complicated concepts about dreams within dreams, it'll make you work, but that's part of what's so exciting.

3. "Winter's Bone"_ There's not a single false note in this intense, intimate story about a teenage girl struggling to keep her family's home. Debra Granik's backcountry drama oozes authenticity, both in its small details and its grand, haunting gestures. Jennifer Lawrence proves she's a flat-out star as a young woman who ventures deep into the Ozark Mountains to track down her drug-dealing father. As she confronts increasingly dangerous foes, she discovers her own strength. But there's also unexpected hope to be found toward the film's end, especially in the scenes Lawrence shares with the formidable John Hawkes as her ornery uncle.

4. "I Am Love" — Words like "lush" and "gorgeous" don't even begin to scratch the surface in describing Italian director Luca Guadagnino's retro-styled melodrama. It's more like the most sumptuous design porn, lingering over every detail in the palatial home of a Milanese industrialist and his family, allowing plenty of time for us to ooh and ahh. This is a visual medium, after all, and in the tradition of Visconti and Sirk, Guadagnino expertly throws in everything he's got. But despite these aesthetic trappings, an even more compelling factor is the most fundamental: the tour-de-force performance from its star, Tilda Swinton, as a wealthy wife who comes to question the life she's built.

5. "Black Swan" — At once gorgeous and gloriously nutso, a trippy, twisted fantasy that delights and disturbs. Darren Aronofsky takes the same stripped-down fascination with the minutiae of preparation he brought to his Oscar-nominated "The Wrestler" and applies it to the pursuit of a different kind of artistry: ballet. But then he mixes in a wildly hallucinatory flair as "Black Swan" enters darker psychological territory, featuring a brave performance from Natalie Portman as a dancer slipping into madness. Working with his frequent cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, and blending dazzling visual effects, Aronofsky spins a nightmare scenario within a seemingly gentile world.

6. "127 Hours" — James Franco gives it his all and then some as trapped hiker Aron Ralston, and the role allows him to show off every bit of his range: his gifts for both effortless comedy and deep despair. Even though the movie is about a man who's essentially stagnant for five days straight, Danny Boyle makes the story vital and vibrant in his signature kinetic style. Despite the physical restrictions of this real-life tale, the way Boyle and co-writer Simon Beaufoy tell it are boundless. "127 Hours" skips around in time and place, taking us outside the canyon and deep within one man's isolation and fear. And it's shot so beautifully, it'll make you want to explore middle-of-nowhere Utah yourself — with a buddy.

7. "Never Let Me Go" — It's philosophically provocative and achingly sad, touching the mind and the heart with equal measure. Longtime video director Mark Romanek has made a film that's sumptuously gorgeous and filled with sterling performances from Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield. But it's never stuffy, and, at times, even a little gritty in an appealing way. It also raises intriguing questions about medical ethics and the nature of humanity itself. Some may find its tone suffocatingly heavy, but if you give into it, you'll find yourself sucked into this melancholy alternate world, an ambitious hybrid of sci-fi drama and coming-of-age romance set in a British boarding school.

8. "Animal Kingdom" — A riveting look at a small-time Melbourne crime family unraveling under the weight of its overconfidence. Australian writer-director David Michod takes his time methodically detailing his characters' self-destruction; it's such a stripped-down, assured little thriller, you'd never know it was Michod's feature debut. The combination of steady pacing, intimate cinematography and startling performances — especially from Jacki Weaver, who's chilling as the family's matriarch — will leave you feeling tense throughout and probably for a while afterward.

9. "The King's Speech" — This is the kind of handsomely photographed, weighty-yet-uplifting period drama that seems to arrive amid great fanfare come awards time each year. It's based on a true story about British royalty — always a favorite among those coveted voters — features a pedigreed cast and hits every note you expect it to hit. And yet Tom Hooper's film is so flawlessly appointed and impeccably acted, you can't help but succumb. The friendship that develops between Colin Firth as the stammering King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unorthodox speech therapist gives the film its sweet, beating heart. Watching the sparring matches between two actors at top of their game is nothing short of a joy.

10. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" — During the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's annual voting, someone asked whether this should be considered a documentary. Without missing a beat, another critic answered: "It is if you want it to be." Well, I want it to be — but I also love that it explores the ideas of truth and beauty in art, all the while exposing the malleable perception of what actually constitutes art. Leave it to the elusive and subversive Banksy to shine such a bright and brilliant light on the very forces that made him famous. In a year of are-they-or-aren't-they? docs, this is the only one that hits its targets.

[turtlex]

More best picture of the year choices !

AP critics Germain, Lemire pick top films of 2010
By DAVID GERMAIN and CHRISTY LEMIRE, AP Movie Writers

The top 10 films of 2010, according to AP Movie Writer David Germain:

1. "Winter's Bone" — Yes, there's a banjo, yet director Debra Granik's country-noir gem is anything but the usual backwoods tale loaded with white-trash cliches. Jennifer Lawrence offers a star-making performance as a teen carrying the weight of the Ozarks on her shoulders as she doggedly confronts the region's crime clan to find her missing dad and save her family's home. The filmmakers present a raw, unsympathetic world filled with people capable of savage cruelty — and surprising nobility.

2. "Four Lions" — At last, some suicide bombers you can feel good laughing at. Chris Morris' wonderfully absurdist nightmare about terrorist wannabes plays like the Three Stooges carrying out their own jihad — with terribly real consequences instead of the slapstick of Curly, Larry and Moe. The tale of phenomenally incompetent British Muslims on the path to martyrdom against Western imperialism balances gasps with guffaws to create a film that's one of the year's funniest and scariest.

3. "Barney's Version" — When you need a curmudgeon with an old, deep soul, Paul Giamatti's your man. Richard J. Lewis' adaptation of Mordecai Richler's big, sloppy, heartbreaking and hilarious novel is all that and more. A self-righteous arbiter of all the world's ills on the outside, an incurable romantic on the inside, Giamatti's Barney is like an old friend who sadly goes sour living his unrepentant life, while Rosamund Pike is a counterweight of decency as the soulmate he cannot help but fail.

4. "The King's Speech" — How's this for great acting? Colin Firth plays a guy who can barely string two words together yet still delivers one of the year's most eloquent, august performances. As stammering King George VI in Tom Hooper's near-flawless period drama, Firth is both regal and an everyman — a guy with a job he doesn't want, for which he's ill-suited, yet he goes to work and does his best, aided by his joyously irreverent speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) and queenly sweetheart (Helena Bonham Carter).

5. "Never Let Me Go" — There's never time enough to do and say the things we really should, both in our world and in this melancholy offshoot, an alternate yet familiar reality that's a beautiful allegory for the journey we're all taking. Mark Romanek's film faithfully preserves the simple but bottomless spirituality of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, while Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield embody hope, heartache and everything in between as school friends with a terrible destiny.

6. "Inception" — Christopher Nolan messes with our heads in ways no other studio filmmaker dares. He dazzles with his visual effects, wows with his action scenes, thrills with his surprises. All along, he asks us to think as he spins a fantastically entertaining tale of a lost man (Leonardo DiCaprio) clawing his way back to the things that matter through a virtual world of dreams. Nolan has planted the seed of the brainy blockbuster in Hollywood. Here's hoping the idea doesn't die of loneliness.

7. "Another Year" — "Life's not always kind," a friend laments to an utterly disconsolate woman in Mike Leigh's latest, a quiet dramatic jewel so authentic it's like eavesdropping on the neighbors. Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen provide the stability as doting old marrieds with a circle of lovelorn friends and relations. Lesley Manville provides everything else with the performance of the year as a woman desperate for the tiniest happiness but too turned inward to go searching for it. She'll make you weep.

8. "True Grit" — The little girl was looking for a man with true grit. Joel and Ethan Coen were looking for a little girl who could act. They got Hailee Steinfeld, a girl with true grit to hold her own alongside Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon in this take on novelist Charles Portis' darkly comic Western that's far superior to John Wayne's 1969 version. Just turned 14, Steinfeld is a revelation in her screen debut as the fearless girl who bends two seasoned lawmen to her will in avenging her father.

9. "127 Hours" — Give Danny Boyle two sock puppets and he'll probably do a "Romeo and Juliet" to rival Zeffirelli's. The "Slumdog Millionaire" director plunks a man alone in a crevasse, trapped there for most of the movie, yet the story's a cyclone of hallucination, horror, agony and euphoria. As real-life adventurer Aron Ralston, James Franco re-enacts a deed excruciating to watch, but it's one of the most life-affirming acts you'll ever see on screen, in one of the most life-affirming films.

10. "The Social Network" — Just about everyone's friends with this critical darling and box-office success chronicling the rise of Facebook — and the falling out of friends who quarrel over its riches. David Fincher crafts a sharp-tongued tale of egos ballooning like tech stocks before the bubble burst. As Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse Eisenberg is a marvel of contradictions, a genius for the masses but an interpersonal lout for whom, even with all his billions, you can't help but feel a little sorry.

___

The top 10 films of 2010, according to AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire:

1. "The Social Network" — The movie of the year because it captures where we are in time in captivating fashion. In depicting the origin of Facebook, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin have created an epic tale about how we tell the world the tiniest details of our lives, and they convey potentially dry, unwieldy topics — computer coding and competing lawsuits — in an intimate way. This represents the best of what they do: Fincher's mastery of fluid, visual storytelling, Sorkin's knack for crisp, biting dialogue. It's sharp, funny and tense, has great energy and pulsates with the thrill of discovery, with an excellent cast led by Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

2. "Inception" — All the hype is justified. Writer-director Christopher Nolan's film is a stunningly gorgeous, technically flawless symphony of images and ideas. In its sheer enormity, it's every inch a blockbuster, but in the good sense of the word: with awesomeness, ambition and scope, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio at the center of a classy, eclectic cast. The cinematography, production design, effects, editing, score, everything down the line — all superb. But unlike so many summer movies assigned that tag, this is no mindless thrill ride. With its complicated concepts about dreams within dreams, it'll make you work, but that's part of what's so exciting.

3. "Winter's Bone"_ There's not a single false note in this intense, intimate story about a teenage girl struggling to keep her family's home. Debra Granik's backcountry drama oozes authenticity, both in its small details and its grand, haunting gestures. Jennifer Lawrence proves she's a flat-out star as a young woman who ventures deep into the Ozark Mountains to track down her drug-dealing father. As she confronts increasingly dangerous foes, she discovers her own strength. But there's also unexpected hope to be found toward the film's end, especially in the scenes Lawrence shares with the formidable John Hawkes as her ornery uncle.

4. "I Am Love" — Words like "lush" and "gorgeous" don't even begin to scratch the surface in describing Italian director Luca Guadagnino's retro-styled melodrama. It's more like the most sumptuous design porn, lingering over every detail in the palatial home of a Milanese industrialist and his family, allowing plenty of time for us to ooh and ahh. This is a visual medium, after all, and in the tradition of Visconti and Sirk, Guadagnino expertly throws in everything he's got. But despite these aesthetic trappings, an even more compelling factor is the most fundamental: the tour-de-force performance from its star, Tilda Swinton, as a wealthy wife who comes to question the life she's built.

5. "Black Swan" — At once gorgeous and gloriously nutso, a trippy, twisted fantasy that delights and disturbs. Darren Aronofsky takes the same stripped-down fascination with the minutiae of preparation he brought to his Oscar-nominated "The Wrestler" and applies it to the pursuit of a different kind of artistry: ballet. But then he mixes in a wildly hallucinatory flair as "Black Swan" enters darker psychological territory, featuring a brave performance from Natalie Portman as a dancer slipping into madness. Working with his frequent cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, and blending dazzling visual effects, Aronofsky spins a nightmare scenario within a seemingly gentile world.

6. "127 Hours" — James Franco gives it his all and then some as trapped hiker Aron Ralston, and the role allows him to show off every bit of his range: his gifts for both effortless comedy and deep despair. Even though the movie is about a man who's essentially stagnant for five days straight, Danny Boyle makes the story vital and vibrant in his signature kinetic style. Despite the physical restrictions of this real-life tale, the way Boyle and co-writer Simon Beaufoy tell it are boundless. "127 Hours" skips around in time and place, taking us outside the canyon and deep within one man's isolation and fear. And it's shot so beautifully, it'll make you want to explore middle-of-nowhere Utah yourself — with a buddy.

7. "Never Let Me Go" — It's philosophically provocative and achingly sad, touching the mind and the heart with equal measure. Longtime video director Mark Romanek has made a film that's sumptuously gorgeous and filled with sterling performances from Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield. But it's never stuffy, and, at times, even a little gritty in an appealing way. It also raises intriguing questions about medical ethics and the nature of humanity itself. Some may find its tone suffocatingly heavy, but if you give into it, you'll find yourself sucked into this melancholy alternate world, an ambitious hybrid of sci-fi drama and coming-of-age romance set in a British boarding school.

8. "Animal Kingdom" — A riveting look at a small-time Melbourne crime family unraveling under the weight of its overconfidence. Australian writer-director David Michod takes his time methodically detailing his characters' self-destruction; it's such a stripped-down, assured little thriller, you'd never know it was Michod's feature debut. The combination of steady pacing, intimate cinematography and startling performances — especially from Jacki Weaver, who's chilling as the family's matriarch — will leave you feeling tense throughout and probably for a while afterward.

9. "The King's Speech" — This is the kind of handsomely photographed, weighty-yet-uplifting period drama that seems to arrive amid great fanfare come awards time each year. It's based on a true story about British royalty — always a favorite among those coveted voters — features a pedigreed cast and hits every note you expect it to hit. And yet Tom Hooper's film is so flawlessly appointed and impeccably acted, you can't help but succumb. The friendship that develops between Colin Firth as the stammering King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unorthodox speech therapist gives the film its sweet, beating heart. Watching the sparring matches between two actors at top of their game is nothing short of a joy.

10. "Exit Through the Gift Shop" — During the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's annual voting, someone asked whether this should be considered a documentary. Without missing a beat, another critic answered: "It is if you want it to be." Well, I want it to be — but I also love that it explores the ideas of truth and beauty in art, all the while exposing the malleable perception of what actually constitutes art. Leave it to the elusive and subversive Banksy to shine such a bright and brilliant light on the very forces that made him famous. In a year of are-they-or-aren't-they? docs, this is the only one that hits its targets.

[fernandito]

Again, glad to see all of the Inception and The Social Network love ! One of those two films has to walk away with the BP Oscar, they just have to !

[turtlex]

Feev - Inception has been on every list I've seen !! And if I had to make a call right now - I'd say Social Network will win Best Picture.

[fernandito]

Yeah, based on what I've seen/read, I think the academy is going to opt for TSN. They're human , and they have favorites just like any other organization, and they'll most likely go with whichever film they feel best represents them for that year. I can see them choosing an intelligent, Sorkin written (and Fincher directed) film over a cerebral blockbuster. Still, a fanboy can dream , can't he ? :lol:

[turtlex]

Oh for sure... it will actually be kind of amusing if Inception is the underdog !! And you're right - it's very favoritism based.

I can see a split for Best Film and Director though. I think Nolan has a better shot at best director.

Another prediction - Sorkin is a lock for screenplay.

[fernandito]

I hope Nolan takes the best director, he definitely deserves at after his deft handling of being both the screen writer and director for Inception.

Agree , I'd be very surprised if Sorkin doesn't win for best screenplay.

[jhanic]

My wife and I went to see The King's Speech last night and were blown away! A magnificent movie!

John

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

I thought The Social Network was really mediocre, but that's just me. Will see The King's Speech this weekend!

[JRM]

Inception was my favorite film of the year, followed closely by The Social Network. I expect Social Network to take home the Best Picture Oscar (it's just one of those films that's more likely to win). However, I think Nolan deserves the Best Director Oscar, mostly because I believe Sorkin's screenplay was the Biggest reason The Social Network was so great. Many directors could have pulled it off. What Nolan achieved in Inception is more deserving of Best Director. But I'm fine if it goes to Fincher. I expect Social Network to take most of the awards, but I don't think it should win any acting awards (though nominations for Eisenberg, Garfield, and Hammer are justified). And if Justin Timberlake gets a nomination, I'll be disappointed. He was good, mind you, but Oscar-worthy? Absolutely not. Maybe some other year, but '10 was loaded with better performances.