Best of 2010: The Winners

2010 was a great year for movies.  Of course, being the cinematic optimist that I am, that might seem like empty praise, but this year, I'm not alone in thinking so.  One simply has to look at the cross-over between the movies that got great reviews and those that made bank at the box office.  This year's crop of Best Picture nominees is among the most financially successful in memory, led by huge blockbusters like Inception and Toy Story 3, and also including The King's Speech, Black Swan, and True Grit in the $100+ million club, with The Social Network not too far behind.  What does this mean?

It seems to me that Americans are finally demanding more from their movies.  Sure, more vacuous fare like Alice in Wonderland and Grown-Ups also made lots and lots of money, but sometimes, there's no accounting for taste.  Personally, I'm heartened that a movie like The King's Speech or Black Swan can reach beyond the built-in audiences, somewhat limited in scope, to appeal to just about everyone who bothers to venture to the theater for a night out.

Of course, what other people like doesn't matter at all in this post.  This post is about what thrilled me most in 2010.  If you disagree with any of my picks, let me hear about it.  If you don't disagree with any of my picks, you are dumb.

The Best of 2010:

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Directorial Debut: Banksy, Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Actor: James Franco, 127 Hours
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Lesley Mann, Another Year
Best Young Actor: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In
Best Young Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Best Breakthrough Performance: Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Best Body of Work, Actor: Andrew Garfield, Red Riding: 1974, I'm Here, The Social Network, and Never Let Me Go
Best Body of Work, Actress: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right and Mother and Child
Best Ensemble Cast: The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Editing: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Social Network
Best Art Direction: Inception
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Costumes: Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland
Best Make-Up: The Way Back
Best Sound: Inception
Best Original Score: John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon
Best Original Song: "I See the Light," Tangled
Best Foreign Film: A Prophet
Best Documentary: Catfish
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Voice Actor: Christopher Plummer, My Dog Tulip
Best Voice Actress: Mandy Moore, Tangled
Best Voice Cast: Toy Story 3
Best Animated Visuals: The Secret of Kells
Best 3-D: How to Train Your Dragon
Best Couple: Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, Another Year
Best Pair: Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Funniest Movie: Four Lions
Funniest Actor: Adeel Akthar, Four Lions
Funniest Actress: Chloe Moretz, Kick-Ass
Most Emotional Movie: Rabbit Hole
Best Scene: Fight in the spinning hotel, Inception
Most Pleasant Surprise: How to Train Your Dragon
Most Over-Looked Film: Never Let Me Go
Best Title: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Hero: Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz), Kick-Ass
Best Villain: Lotso (Ned Beatty), Toy Story 3
Best Trailer: Never Let Me Go
Shallow Guy Award: Marion Cotillard, Inception


THE DUBIOUS HONORS


Worst Picture: Sex and the City 2
Worst Director: M. Night Shyamalan, The Last Airbender
Worst Performance: Anthony Hopkins, The Wolfman
Biggest Waste of Talent: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Most Disappointing: The Exploding Girl
Most Over-Rated Movie: Nowhere Boy

 Top to bottom: The Social Network, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Inception, Four Lions, Catfish