It’s getting toward the end of the week and we’re honing in on our top 10 movies of the decade, leading in with today’s #20-11. This list has been hotly debated and mulled over by our staff the past few months and we’re excited to have a complete list of the 50 movies that stood out to us most in the 2010’s thus far. The first half of the decade has been amazing, so let’s hope the next five years are just as memorable!

Be sure to read up on #50-21 and tune in tomorrow for the final ten films on our epic list.

Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far
(#20 – #11)

Take Shelter

Anchored by a breathtaking performance by Michael Shannon (a role that graduated him from “that guy” to “THAT GUY”), Take Shelter is one of the scariest films ever made despite not being a horror film. Shannon’s performance as a man losing touch with his reality while desperately fighting to protect his family has the complete spectrum of emotionally complexity—at times sad, at times terrifying, always intriguing. The themes are complex, too, ranging from climate change to the struggles of the middle class in middle America, from religious fable to mental health tale. There are films that can take on multiple readings, and then there is Take Shelter, which can be a completely different film for different people—for me, this is an incredible strength. And can we talk about that ending? OK, no spoilers, but the discussion on what the final images meant was some of the most invigorating discussion of film in 2011. Some saw it as a horror villain coming back from the dead in the final frames, some had the complete opposite view of hope that the main character was getting better in dealing with his sickness. No matter your reading of the final images, however, it is still one of the most visceral endings to a film this decade so far. [Aaron]

Certified Copy

Certified Copy, by inimitable Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami, is about a man and woman who, while on a stroll through Tuscany, fall into something that looks, sounds, and feels a lot like love. William Shimell plays a British author who on a book tour meets a local antiques merchant (Juliette Binoche), who insists on showing him around town while she picks and prods at his brain, absorbing and challenging his unconventional views on life and art. What at first appears to be a touristic on-the-clock romance á la Linklater’s Before films soon reveals itself to be something more abstract, puzzling and dreamlike, with the true nature of the characters’ relationship shifting from scene to scene. One moment, all evidence suggests they’ve only met hours ago; the next, they’re speaking as if they’ve been together for years and years. If watching Shimell (incredible in his first onscreen role) and Binoche (as ravishing as ever) verbally and intellectually spar while framed by sun-drenched vistas isn’t interesting enough for you, the mystery of how they actually know each other will keep you plenty engaged. You’ll find no concrete answers by film’s end, but you’ll be too thoroughly enchanted to care. [Bernard]

A Separation

There’s a reason Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation steamrolled through the festival circuit in 2011 as well as (or, even better than) any foreign art-house film in recent memory. It’s just that good. Detailing the troubling moments of an Iranian marriage, Farhadi finds a way to encapsulate worldviews, ideological perceptions, and every major component of family dynamics, into a two-hour roundhouse kick to the gut. Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) are the couple in question, and at the heart of A Separation is their 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi), torn between two loving parents. Most people in the West have never heard of these actors before this film, but they sure took notice when all three of them shared best acting honours at the Berlin Film Festival, where the film won the Golden Bear, on to its way to a Golden Globe and Academy Award. The realism created by the powerhouse acting, and one of the most perfectly constructed screenplays of the century so far, allows Farhadi to grow the story beyond the restrictions of a specific country’s conservative shackles, and into a fully fledged universal tale. When family gets in the way of family, and wrong choices turn to dire moral consequences, who can’t relate? Not an easy one for repeat viewings, but one that made a singularly deep impression in the past five years. [Nik]

The Hunt

I never thought I would hold in such high regard a film about a man wrongly accused of being a pedophile. And yet. From director Thomas Vinterberg and starring a ridiculously good Mads Mikkelsen comes The Hunt from 2012. The film is remarkably uncomfortable to watch, but not for why you might think. Yes, the topic of pedophilia is unsettling, but the fact that Mads’ character is wrongly accused—and the fact the viewer knows it—actually softens that portion of it. It’s the aftermath of the accusation that ratchets up the film’s intensity to unsettling levels. A man who was once a pillar of the community isn’t even afforded an “innocent until proven guilty” consideration. What the child said becomes gospel, the man she accuses becomes the cardinal sinner, and the small-town mob that once embraced him becomes the congregation looking to cast out the devil. And it could happen to you. Try to forget that after watching this. [Michael]

Black Swan

An artist’s pursuit of perfection and the starring role in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake causes her to unravel, losing touch with reality in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. This frightening psychological thriller may be writer/director Aronofsky’s most fully realized work to date, combining the intense terrors of his stylistic and shocking Requiem For A Dream with his more intimate, empathetic approach in The Wrestler. In fact, Black Swan shares a lot of similarities with The Wrestler in that both films feature performers that love their craft above all else, willing to sacrifice their own health or happiness in the hopes of achieving artistic integrity. As opposed to Mickey Rourke’s aging wrestler Randy “The Ram”, Natalie Portman’s Nina takes a path to artistic enlightenment that involves an uncertain blend of truth and fiction, which threatens to drive Nina insane. There are the paintings that move on the walls, the was-it-all-a-dream lesbian sequence and of course the most terrifying hangnail in film history. All these moments create an aura of anxiety until the film climaxes with a beautiful, stressful sequence during a performance of Swan Lake, one that Nina performs perfectly. However, was it worth what it cost her? [Zach]

Frances Ha

I often find my favorite films are ones where I feel both loathing and love, bewilderment and recognition, and where a perfunctory analysis just doesn’t seem to suffice. I’m not calling Frances Ha the great think-piece of our time, but Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s tale of a 27-year-old at odds with her life and in a place of limbo around her career, her love-life, and—most painfully to Gerwig’s Frances—her friendship with her best friend and roommate Sophie (Mickey Sumner), I was left with conflicting emotions. What stuck with me most about the film was the way in which I found myself identifying with this seemingly clueless character. Her behavior and conversations are so typical of the urban middle class artist of this generation, even if somewhat inflated. Her painful interactions with others as she ignores social queues, caught in a place of distracted self-absorption, only occurs when at the precipice of deciding who one wants to be. I identify because I went through it myself, but I appreciate it because Frances Ha captures a perfect snapshot of what is now the new norm among young adults—who seem to stay younger longer, but whose convictions, deep felt friendships, and ambitions are as strong as any generation before them. It’s a rare film that captures an emerging behavioral trend, finds the humor in it, but doesn’t degrade or condescend to its subject. [Ananda]

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a completely spellbinding film that grabs you from the first scene and doesn’t let go. The story of a girl trying to assimilate back into society after living at a cult commune, the film works subtly through its editing and performance to feel much more dangerous than anything you actually see onscreen. One of the best editing films of the decade, it whirls back and forth from past to present through match-cuts and other tricks. Its technique puts the viewer into the troubled mind of its protagonist. We’ve seen a lot of films about the cult experience—some of them are good, some bad, but none are as intensely felt as Martha Marcy May Marlene. With its parts, the film should feel cold and a little too calculated, but its movement gives it liveliness. While also being on the edge of my seat from the thrills, I experienced almost every cut with a “how did he do that” intrigue. This could have killed the momentum of the film, especially considering the tone of Martha Marcy May Marlene, but it works wonderfully here. Elizabeth Olsen’s debut performance (discounting a cameo role in one of her sisters’ films) is something special. She is partnered by John Hawkes in powerful role worthy as a follow-up to his Oscar nominated turn in Winter’s Bone, a similar character, but with an entirely different sort of intensity. [Aaron]

Carlos

If there was ever an unsung performance of the past five years it would have to be Edgar Ramirez’s portrayal of Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez aka ‘Carlos’. Ramirez gained and lost 35 pounds for different sections of the film. Ramirez is ruthless as the South American who will kill anyone, friend or foe, who stands in his way. Carlos started a worldwide terrorist organization and caused mayhem on multiple continents, bombing and shooting his way from one country to another. Oliver Assayas depicts all of this in a five and a half hour opus that is never boring for a single moment. Assayas shot the film in three different continents over seven months and while there are many memorable moments in the film (a lot of them are tense sequences involving some sort of mayhem) none stand out as much as the 1975 OPEC raid in which Assayas dedicated a staggering 120 minutes of the 330 minute runtime. The entire sequence feels like a movie onto its own (and honestly it kind of is its own film) but doesn’t feel out of place within the entire arc of the film. Carlos originally aired for French TV and was eventually shown in US theaters before Criterion released it for home viewing. Assayas’ film is monumental. A grand spectacle that is seen, by us at least, as one of the towering achievements of the last five years. [Blake]

The Master

There was quite a gap after Punch Drunk Love, but when Paul Thomas Anderson returned with There Will Be Blood, he returned like a boss. And then, The Master happened. The only straight line one could draw to it from anything Anderson directed previously was the director’s incredible knack for pulling out career-defining performances from his actors. This time around, it’s Joaquin Phoenix who gets to bathe in the cinematic glory of Anderson’s gift to turn the complex into the fascinating. Continuing his dig into the American past, The Master follows Freddie Quell (Phoenix, like you’ve never seen him before) as he wanders from one job to the next alongside thousands of other veterans of the Second World War. He meets self-made ideologue Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final masterpiece) and his wife Peggy (a piercing Amy Adams), and his life changes. Or, does it? This is PTA dabbling in psychoanalysis, toying with the origin of cults, and indulging in limit tests of cinematic storytelling. It’s dense, and it doesn’t as much as sniff at the thought of follow conventional three-act structures, which The Master turns into an advantage. I was left with an unquenchable feeling, egging me to return and repeat the experience. Also, it gets major bonus points for allowing cinematographer Mihai Malamare Jr. to make magic with 70MM. [Nik]

Whiplash

I didn’t see the short film that was Whiplash’s original format before watching the feature film, but I do recall thinking before my initial screening that a director as young and inexperienced as Damien Chazelle seemed unlikely to impress me. 100 minutes later I let go of my grip on my chair’s arm rests and reminded myself to judge not lest I be judged. I’ve seen Whiplash an additional three times since catching it on the festival circuit, always with friends who haven’t seen it yet and I’m constantly peeking glances to see if they get as worked up as I do. And I do. Every. Time. A simple enough concept, the film follows Andrew (Miles Teller), an aspiring drummer at an elite music school. The school’s bad-boy dictator of a conductor, Fletcher, recruits Andrew into his studio band and then proceeds to mentally (and sometimes physically) torture Andrew into being a better drummer. Andrew is pushed to the very edges of his sanity and his abilities, and the very real argument for how to teach talent and inspire genius becomes a battle of wit and stamina. Edited like an action film pulsing to the fast paced and sporadic beat of idiosyncratic jazz, Whiplash assaults the eyes and ears with the same vigor its main character uses to hit stick to drum. Oscar winner J.K. Simmons deserves every inch of that gold statue for Best Supporting Actor, playing Fletcher as calculatedly cruel and complexly evil. It’s the sort of role that comes around less than once a decade and Whiplash isn’t likely to see an equal any time soon. [Ananda]

See the rest of our Best Movies Of The Decade lists!

View Other Lists of this Feature:
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#50 – #41)
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#40 – #31)
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#30 – #21)
Best 50 Movies Of The Decade So Far (#10 – #1)

While Hugo started off the 84th Annual Academy Awards strong but The Artist made come back later in the night. At the beginning of the award show Hugo piled on the wins in most of the technical awards such as Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Art Direction. With the momentum it built early on, it sort of makes sense that it won the Best Cinematography award (although I thought The Tree of Life should have won).

As the night progressed and some of the bigger categories were announced is when The Artist came into the spotlight. The Artist won the top award of Best Picture as well as the prestigious Best Director award. The film received another large award when Jean Dujardin won for Best Actor. It also won for Best Score and Best Costume Design.

Thankfully, there were some upsets throughout the night to keep things interesting in what many thought to be a fairly predictable year. Arguably the biggest upset was when Meryl Streep’s name got called for Best Actress as many, myself included, expected Viola Davis to win. The people from Undefeated accepting the award for Best Documentary even sounded surprised they won that category. Most of the time Best Film Editing winner goes to win Best Picture but The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo won it instead and it was their only one of the night.

The full list of Oscar winners:
(The winners are highlighted in bold red font)

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
Terrence Malick – The Tree Of Life

Demian Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
George Clooney – The Descendants
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Kristin Wiig & Annie Mumulo – Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation

Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne – The Descendants
John Logan – Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides Of March
Steve Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball
Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

A Separation
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar

A Cat In Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss In Boots
Rango

Hell And Back Again
If A Tree Falls; A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Guillaume Shiffman – The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson – Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki – The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski – War Horse

Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazavanicius – The Artist
Kevin Tent – The Descendants
Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Thelma Schoonmaker – Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen – Moneyball

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
War Horse

Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
The Iron Lady

Ludovic Bource – The Artist
Alberto Iglesias – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Howard Shore – Hugo
John Williams – The Adventures Of Tintin
John Williams – War Horse

“Man Or Muppet” – The Muppets
“Real In Rio” – Rio

Drive
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon
War Horse

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: The Dark of The Moon
War Horse

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: The Dark of the Moon

The Barber Of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is The Bigger Elvis
Incident In New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami & The Cherry Blossom

Dimanche
The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

The Artist won big at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards by taking home most of the major awards such as Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead and Best Cinematography. In fact, it won every award it was nominated for except for Best Screenplay. We will see tomorrow night if The Artist can win Best Picture for both the Independent Spirit Awards and The Oscars, something that has not been done since 1987 with Platoon.

I ended up doing pretty well with my predictions this year. Out of the total of 13 unannounced awards I got 9 of them correct, which is about 69% accuracy. Although this year there will likely be a lot of cross-over winners between the Spirit Awards and the more mainstream awards, it was great to see independent films get the recognition they deserve.

The full list of Independent Spirit Award winners:
(The winners are highlighted in bold red font)

50/50 – Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin
Beginners – Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Jay Van Hoy, Dean Vanech
Drive – Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter – Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist – Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat
The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Mike Mills – Beginners
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Jeff Nichols- Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants

Another Earth
In The Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection

Demian Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Lauren Ambrose – Think Of Me
Rachel Harris – Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks – Drive
John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
John C. Reilly – Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll – Midnight In Paris

Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
Angelica Huston – 50/50
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana – Gun Hill Road
Shaileen Woodley – The Descendants

Bellflower
Circumstance
Hello Lonesome
Lovers of Hate
The Dynamiter
Pariah

An African Election
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
We Were Here

A Separation
Melancholia
Shame
The Kid With A Bike
Tyrannosaur

Bellflower
The Off Hours
Midnight In Paris
The Artist
The Dynamiter

Footnote
The Artist
Win Win
Beginners
The Descendants

Another Earth
Margin Call
Terri
Cedar Rapids
50/50

Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Ensemble Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore

Chad Burris – Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin – Take Shelter
Josh Mond – Martha Marcy May Marlene

Where Soldiers Come From
Hell and Back Again
Bombay Beach

Simon Arthur – Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson – Without
Nicholas Ozeki – Mamitas

We are only 23 days away from hearing the winners of the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards so I thought I would give a shot at predictions who those winners will be. The Spirit Awards are a little be harder to predict than the Oscars because they do not tend to follow as many patterns nor does it have as wide of an audience. This year has a chance to be closer to the outcome of the Oscars than any other year with The Artist being the favorite at both shows. Christopher Plummer and A Separation also could be set to win both a Spirit Award and Oscar. In addition to picking the winners for each category I gave some insight as to why in the “Notes” section under the categories.

Tune in on Saturday February 25th to IFC and see how well I did (or did not do).

The full list of Independent Spirit Award predictions:
(My prediction for the winners are highlighted in bold red font)

50/50 – Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin
Beginners – Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Jay Van Hoy, Dean Vanech
Drive – Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter – Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist – Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat
The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Mike Mills – Beginners
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Jeff Nichols- Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants

Another Earth – Directed by Mike Cahill; Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
In The Family – Directed by Patrick Wang; Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
Margin Call – Directed by J.C. Chandor; Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
Martha Marcy May Marlene – Directed by Sean Durkin; Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
Natural Selection – Directed by Robbie Pickering; Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

Demian Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Lauren Ambrose – Think Of Me
Rachel Harris – Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks – Drive
John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
John C. Reilly – Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll – Midnight In Paris

Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
Angelica Huston – 50/50
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana – Gun Hill Road
Shaileen Woodley – The Descendants

Bellflower – Written and directed by Evan Glodell; Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
Circumstance – Written and directed by Maryam Keshavarz; Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
Hello Lonesome – Written and directed and produced by Adam Reid
Lovers of Hate – Written and directed by Dee Rees; Producer: Nekisa Cooper
The Dynamiter – Writters: Matthew Gordon and Brad Ingelsby; Directed by Matthew Gordon; Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

An African Election – Jarreth J. Merz, Kevin Merz
Bill Cunningham New York – Richard Press
The Interrupters – Steve James
The Redemption of General Butt Naked – Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
We Were Here – David Weissman, Bill Weber

A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
Melancholia – Lars von Trier
Shame – Steve McQueen
The Kid With A Bike – Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine

Joel Hodge – Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke – The Off Hours
Darius Khondji – Midnight In Paris
Guillaume Schiffman – The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron – The Dynamiter

Joseph Cedar – Footnote
Michel Hazanivicius – The Artist
Tom McCarthy – Win Win
Mike Mills – Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants

Mike Cahill & Brit Marling – Another Earth
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Patreck DeWitt – Terri
Phil Johnston – Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser – 50/50

Blake and I list our top ten favorite films of 2011. Comparing films to one another is hard to do when they are often so different. Thus ranking other people’s artwork such as films is never easy but everyone likes a Top 10 list (which is the reason why I told Blake we should do a numbered list of 10 instead of just an alphabetical one). So without further ado, our list of Top 10 Films of 2011:

]]> http://waytooindie.com/features/top-10-films-of-2011/feed/ 0 http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2012-oscar-nominations/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2012-oscar-nominations/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=2630 The nominations for the 2012 Oscars were announced this morning with Hugo leading the pack for the 84nd Academy Awards with 11 nominations. The Artist came in as a close second with 10 nominations including; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Score. There were a few big surprises in the Best Picture and Best Director categories. Click Read More to see the full list of Oscar nominations.]]>

The nominations for the 2012 Oscars were announced this morning with Hugo leading the pack for the 84nd Academy Awards with 11 nominations. The Artist came in as a close second with 10 nominations including; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Score. This is the first year with the new Best Picture rule, no longer is there a set number of Best Picture nominations, instead a film needs to get 5% of votes get a nomination. The new rule is a great change. This year still ended up with 9 films, a few more than I expected.

Perhaps the biggest surprises were The Tree Of Life getting nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, which I am glad that film is getting some love from the Academy. Other shocker is Michael Fassbender not getting a nomination for Best Actor for his role in Shame, shame on you Academy. Tilda Swinton comes up empty for Best Actress for We Need To Talk About Kevin. But some good news, Gary Oldman received his very first Oscar nomination which makes a lot of people happy.

Full List of 2012 Oscar Nominations:

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
Moneyball
The Tree Of Life
War Horse

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
Terrence Malick – The Tree Of Life

Demian Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
George Clooney – The Descendants
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Kristin Wiig & Annie Mumulo – Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation

Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne – The Descendants
John Logan – Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides Of March
Steve Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball
Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

A Separation
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar

A Cat In Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss In Boots
Rango

Hell And Back Again
If A Tree Falls; A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Guillaume Shiffman – The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson – Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki – The Tree Of Life
Janusz Kaminski – War Horse

Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazavanicius – The Artist
Kevin Tent – The Descendants
Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Thelma Schoonmaker – Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen – Moneyball

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
War Horse

Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
The Iron Lady

Ludovic Bource – The Artist
Alberto Iglesias – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Howard Shore – Hugo
John Williams – The Adventures Of Tintin
John Williams – War Horse

“Man Or Muppet” – The Muppets
“Real In Rio” – Rio

Drive
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon
War Horse

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: The Dark of The Moon
War Horse

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: The Dark of the Moon

The Barber Of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is The Bigger Elvis
Incident In New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami & The Cherry Blossom

Dimanche
The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Ricky Gervais returned as the host for the 69th Golden Globe Awards offending attendees with a beer just as he did last year. Although, this year he was a little more tame with his jokes, he proved he was worthy of being a repeating host.

As expected The Artist ended up with the most wins with three (including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical). But The Descendants was a close second with two big wins (Best Motion Picture — Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama).

On the TV side of the awards no one show dominated and there were some surprises, namely Kelsey Grammer winning as Best Actor in a Drama and Matt LeBlanc getting a win for Best Actor in a Comedy. Game Of Thrones, Modern Family and American Horror Story each walked out with a win while Boardwalk Empire and Breaking Bad sadly going home empty handed.

The full list of Golden Globe film winners:
(The winners are highlighted in bold red font)

Best Motion Picture – Drama:
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical:
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

Best Director:
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
George Clooney – The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo

Best Actress – Drama:
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Actor – Drama:
George Clooney – The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Ryan Gosling – The Ides of March
Brad Pitt – Moneyball

Best Actress – Comedy or Musical:
Jodie Foster – Carnage
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winslet – Carnage

Best Actor – Comedy or Musical:
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Brendan Gleeson – The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 50/50
Ryan Gosling – Crazy, Stupid, Love
Owen Wilson – Midnight In Paris

Best Supporting Actress:
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

Best Supporting Actor:
Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks – Drive
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Foreign Language Film:
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid With a Bike (Belgium)
A Separation (Iran)
The Skin I Live In (Spain)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture:
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Descendants
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball

Best Original Score – Motion Picture:
Ludovic Bource – The Artist
Abel Korzeniowski – W.E.
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore – Hugo
John Williams – War Horse

Best Animated Feature Film:
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Original Song – Motion Picture:
Hello Hello – Gnomeo & Juliet, music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin
The Keeper – Machine Gun Preacher, music and lyrics by Chris Cornell
Lay Your Head Down – Albert Nobbs, music by Brian Byrne, lyrics by Glenn Close
The Living Proof – The Help, music by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason Jr.; lyrics by Mary J. Blige, Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas
Masterpiece – W.E., music and lyrics by Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry

Cecil B. DeMille Award:
Morgan Freeman

The full list of Golden Globe television winners:

Best Drama Series:
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Boss
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Best Comedy Or Musical:
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

Best TV Movie/Miniseries:
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Hour
Mildred Pierce
Too Big to Fail

Best Actress – Drama:
Claire Danes – Homeland
Mireille Enos – The Killing
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife
Madeleine Stowe – Revenge
Callie Thorne – Necessary Roughness

Best Actor – Drama:
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Kelsey Grammer – Boss
Jeremy Irons – The Borgias
Damian Lewis – Homeland

Best Actress – Comedy or Musical:
Laura Dern – Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel – New Girl
Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Laura Linney – The Big C
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation

Best Actor – Comedy or Musical:
Hugh Bonneville – Downtown Abbey
Idris Elba – Luther
William Hurt – Too Big to Fail
Bill Nighy – Page Eight
Dominic West – The Hour

Best Actress – TV Movie/Miniseries:
Romola Garai – The Hour
Diane Lane – Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern – Downton Abbey
Emily Watson – Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet – Mildred Pierce

Best Actor – TV Movie/Miniseries:
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
David Duchovny – Californication
Johnny Galecki – The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane – Hung
Matt LeBlanc – Episodes

Best Supporting Actress – TV Series:
Jessica Lange – American Horror Story
Kelly MacDonald – Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith – Downtown Abbey
Sofia Vergara – Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood – Mildred Pierce

Best Supporting Actor – TV Series:
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti – Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce – Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins – Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family

The 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today by presenters Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale kicking off the award season. Of the total 277 total film submissions The Artist and Take Shelter raked in the most nominations this year with five in total. Close behind them with 4 nominations were films Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Descendants, and Drive. I would say the front-runner for awards this year is The Artist but all of the films above will have a shot of being represented here as well as at the Oscars.

Michelle Williams gets her second nomination Best Female Lead nomination in a row with her role in My Week With Marilyn (last year’s nomination was for Blue Valentine). She was not the one to get a repeat nomination for the second year in a row as John Hawkes also received a nomination for Martha Marcy May Marlene for Best Supporting Male (John Hawkes won the award last year for Winter’s Bone).

In order to qualify for Spirit Awards a film has to be made for under $20 million, which would explain the absence of Tree Of Life among the nominations, which is a little disappointing as it has been my favorite film of 2011 so far (I still have a fair amount to see still though). Although I have not seen them yet, I am a little disappointed that Alps and The Skin I Live In did not make the cut for a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category (need to have at least 1 U.S. producer to qualify for the other awards).

The winners will be announced at the 27th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 25th and the broadcast will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on IFC.

50/50 – Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin
Beginners – Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Jay Van Hoy, Dean Vanech
Drive – Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter – Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist – Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat
The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Mike Mills – Beginners
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants

Another Earth – Directed by Mike Cahill; Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
In The Family – Directed by Patrick Wang; Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
Margin Call – Directed by J.C. Chandor; Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
Martha Marcy May Marlene – Directed by Sean Durkin; Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
Natural Selection – Directed by Robbie Pickering; Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

Demian Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Lauren Ambrose – Think Of Me
Rachel Harris – Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks – Drive
John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
John C. Reilly – Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll – Midnight In Paris

Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
Angelica Huston – 50/50
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana – Gun Hill Road
Shaileen Woodley – The Descendants

Bellflower – Written and directed by Evan Glodell; Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
Circumstance – Written and directed by Maryam Keshavarz; Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
Hello Lonesome – Written and directed and produced by Adam Reid
Lovers of Hate – Written and directed by Dee Rees; Producer: Nekisa Cooper
The Dynamiter – Writters: Matthew Gordon and Brad Ingelsby; Directed by Matthew Gordon; Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

An African Election – Jarreth J. Merz, Kevin Merz
Bill Cunningham New York – Richard Press
The Interrupters – Steve James
The Redemption of General Butt Naked – Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
We Were Here – David Weissman, Bill Weber

A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
Melancholia – Lars von Trier
Shame – Steve McQueen
The Kid With A Bike – Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine

Joel Hodge – Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke – The Off Hours
Darius Khondji – Midnight In Paris
Guillaume Schiffman – The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron – The Dynamiter

Joseph Cedar – Footnote
Michel Hazanivicius – The Artist
Tom McCarthy – Win Win
Mike Mills – Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants

Mike Cahill & Brit Marling – Another Earth
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Patreck DeWitt – Terri
Phil Johnston – Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser – 50/50

Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Ensemble Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore

Chad Burris – Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin – Take Shelter
Josh Mond – Martha Marcy May Marlene

Heather Courtney – Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis – Hell and Back Again
Alma Har’El – Bombay Beach

Simon Arthur – Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson – Without
Nicholas Ozeki – Mamitas