The winners are given to the performances that were truly
original and surprising. We have left all the clever repartee to Ricky Gervais,
and simply defend our selections based on the merit of the movies.
Best Picture, Musical or Comedy:
“My Week With Marilyn”
“My Week With Marilyn” wins Best Picture against a number of
good films. “50/50” is a movie that deals with a very difficult and not much
addressed subject – young men with cancer – and does so with humor and the kind
of candor missing before this. “The Artist”, is a pleasant movie and it is
certainly original to revive the old black and white, ‘silent’ movie genre.
‘Bridesmaids’ is an entertaining movie with an interesting switch from the male
take on pre nuptial ‘brotherhood’ traditions to a novel ‘sisterhood’ but apart
from the expected “The Hangover” ish romp it is more fluff than substance. “My
Week With Marilyn” has phenomenal performances from a slate of distinguished
actors, period accuracy that is a delight to enter and a personal tale that is
engrossing and endearing. It also succeeds with a difficult premise, that of
telling the story of a screen icon we all know extremely well as herself.
Actor, Drama:
Michael Fassbender: “Shame”
Michael Fassbender is our choice for Best Actor, Drama. Brad
Pitt gives a great performance in Moneyball as the man who changed baseball
history and Leonardo DiCaprio portrays J.Edgar with exceptional skill despite
the lousy makeup. George Clooney has already run off with a Best Actor for his
performance in The Descendants as a bereaved father but in our estimation these
are not the best. Michael Fassbender has to completely go outside the norm and
play the role of an uncomfortable character that we do not relate to. His portrayal
of Brandon, a sex addict is so compelling and his portrayal so convincing that
we start to understand this initially repulsive person as he reveals the deep
layers of vulnerability that are hard to even contemplate.
Actress, Drama:
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”, wins the Best
Actress in a Drama against really tough competition from Glenn Close, Viola
Davis, Meryl Streep and Tilda Swinton. Once again, Rooney Mara creates a
totally new portrayal of a character we are not familiar with, Lisbeth
Salander, which was an even tougher job in light of Noomi Rapace’s riveting
performance in the original Swedish version.
Director:
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Best Director was a hard call with the real competition being
between Scorsese and Payne for such very different movies. The Descendants is
so incredibly well stitched together under Alexander Payne’s direction that his
skill at taking a story that could have been rather flat and turning it into
this mesmerizing story of a family that we laugh, cry and cheer for is
undeniable. The performances he managed to get from his young actors was
stellar and completely convincing and Sheilene Woodley confidently held her own
on screen with one of the most celebrated, seasoned actors of our time.
Actor, Musical or Comedy:
Ryan Gosling, “Crazy Stupid Love”
Actor, Musical or Comedy the winner is Ryan Gosling for Crazy,
Stupid Love. This is a performance and a movie that is thoroughly enjoyable and
refreshing. “The Artist” has received huge attention and is a pleasant movie
but it truly is just that although kudos to Michel Hazanavicius for almost
single handedly resurrecting a form of theatre that is almost extinct except in
the ‘old movies category’ and reminding us all for a moment of what ‘nostalgic’
means.
Actress, Musical or Comedy:
Michelle Williams, “ My Week With Marilyn”
Michelle Williams managed to pull off an extremely difficult
role, in fact almost impossible – trying to convince the audience that she is
Marilyn Monroe, one of the greatest screen idols in the history of cinema. Even
though Meryl Streep delivers a truly remarkable performance as Maggie Thatcher
she did not have the same mountain to climb and her character was not as
indelibly etched in our screen conscience, as is that of Marilyn Monroe.
Supporting Actor:
Viggo Mortensen, “ A Dangerous Method”
Viggo Mortensen is so completely Freudian it is uncanny how well
he depicts this man whose name connotes sexual analysis and possibly peculiar
sexual preferences not spoken about. Viggo Mortensen portrays a distinguished
physician, a man of letters, a gentleman who is so engaging that it is
completely possible that he could indeed know your most private thoughts.
Director David Cronenberg deviates only enough to allow Mortensen’s actual good
looks to replace the historically disfigured looks of the real Freud. Mortensen
ties the trio that includes his best friend Jung (Michael Fassbender) and
Jung’s patient Sabrina (Kiera Knightly) and himself together with subtlety and
power in a beautiful Merchant Ivory style period piece that is superb.
Supporting Actress:
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs
Best Supporting Actress goes to Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”.
This romantic, gender bending, period piece drama is masterfully directed by
Rodrigo Garcia and although Glenn Close delivers one of her unique
performances, it is Hubert Page played by McTeer that is deserving of a best
here.
Foreign Language:
“The Kid With A Bike”
Foreign Language winner is “The Kid With A Bike” by the Dardenne
brothers is outstanding. Thomas Doret’s performance as Cyril is spellbinding
and the ability of the directors to get this performance on screen is a
testament to their remarkable, celebrated talent.
Animated Film:
Rango
Rango wins for Animated Film because once again it was truly
unique and thoroughly engaging. That little green reptile won our hearts in a
completely new and compelling way with the voice of Johnny Depp to ensure an
unforgettable performance.
Screenplay:
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxwon, Jim Rash, "The
Descendants";
Several screenplays were outstanding. Moneyball was a fascinating and difficult story to tell that Sorkin and Zaillian spent an incredible amount of time researching and perfecting. Woody Allen is a masterful story teller but "Midnight in Paris" was not his strongest movie script. "The Artist" did not have the scope or depth that would garner top honors. "The Ides of March" is a wonderful political piece but not outstanding when compared to "The Descendants" which is powerful and memorable in every way.
Original Score:
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, "The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo";
Best original score is a tough choice to make
and we decided to go with the digital music remix of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant
Song” featuring vocals by Karen O (Yeah Yeah) under the direction of Trent
Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Atticus Ross. The vocals by Karen O (Yeah Yeah)
heightened the movement and drama of the mystery unfolding before us. The music
is memorable and immediately brings the movie and the story to mind perfectly
setting the mood and the moment. The other musical scores were more predictable
and honestly not standout in this manner at all.
Original Song:
"The Keeper" (music and lyrics by Chris Cornell),
"Machine Gun Preacher";
Best Original Song is well deserved by Chris Cornell, who has
written and performed “The Keeper” for the movie ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ which
premiered at TIFF and went on to grab international attention for the cause in
Africa. Cornell’s song is piercing, transcending the physical distances between
the children in Africa and their plight, exposing their vulnerability. All
royalties go to Angels of East African, spearheaded by Sam Childers, the man
portrayed by Gerard Butler.
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