(thanks Craig Z!)
Top 10 Films
1. Hugo
2. Drive
3. Take Shelter
4. Midnight in Paris
5. Attack the Block
6. The Artist
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene
8. I Saw the Devil
9. 13 Assassins
10. Melancholia
Best Film
Hugo
Best Director
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Best Actor
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Best Original Screenplay
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay
Drive, Hossein Amini
Best Cinematography
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Original Score
Attack the Block, Steven Price
Best Foreign Language Film
I Saw the Devil, South Korea (Jee-woon Kim)
Best Documentary
Senna (Asif Kapadia)
Best Animated Feature
Rango (Gore Verbinski)
I love the love for Attack the Block. Definitely one of the more underrated films of the year.
Mystery Solved 🙂
“I think someone named a foreign language film featuring a transgender character who was involved in some sort of suspense. German, maybe? Not in English”
Ryan, in the last few days I remember that somewhere in the AD comments area a person recomend you “Morrer Como Um Homem”, “To Die Like a Man”, by portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues. People already told about his work here (including me, his “Odete”, a.k.a. “Two Drifters” is an astonishing masterpiece). A good review about it: http://www.avclub.com/articles/to-die-like-a-man,54262/ A very cool introducution to his work: http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2010octdec/rodrigues.html. The short “China, China” is also incredible.
Joao! That’s the one! Thanks you so much.
I think Leo is ultimately going to get snubbed. Buzz on J. Edgar has been non existent since it’s opening weekend. Oldman is likely to get a lifetime acheievement nom for TTSS ( I haven’t seen it yet but I am hoping it will get to my town soon). I think Fassbender will get the 5th spot just for the year he has had ala Jessica Chastain (though she could wind up winning an Oscar this year).
That’s what came to my mind, as well, we will be trying so hard to figure out which film it is, it will be the greatest – and in the end, unsolved – AD-mystery of all time 🙂
phantom. This might be it:
The Mouth of the Wolf (La bocca del lupo)
But now I can’t find any comments mentioning that title.
So, thanks to the incubus who visited me in my dreams to plant this movie in my head.
Ryan Adams
I saw two foreign films recently, one of those might have been the one you are talking about, although neither is German : ‘Beauty’ (Skoonheid) from South Africa, it was a good film, though creepy, no suspense, just a semi-expected brutal ending; and the other is ‘Black Bread’ (Pa Negre) from Spain, now there was a mystery, suspense, but no transgender lead. Both are the official entries of their countries in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Thanks phantom, those are not the ones, but that’s ok! All the titles being mentioned as possibilities are movies I’ll want to seek out.
For some reason now it seems that this movie I’m trying to recall had something to do with the character being a prostitute.
This just gets better and better! — if we can’t think what it is, we might have to write it, film it ourselves.
I need to see Midnight in Paris again to try to figure out what I’m missing.
I dunno if that will help, Ryan. I liked MiP very much — but as a confection.
Could the gay/transgender film you’re thinking of be Tomboy?
Although now I see it is on your list of movies to see so this was probably not the one you were thinking of.
Ryan, amazing list. Makes me really excited to see all these foreign films!
“(somebody recommended a gay or transgender themed movie to me last week, but I forgot who and what it was.)”
My best guess is that the movie was called “Weekend”. Very well reviewed film. The synopsis reminds me a little bit of Before Sunrise, one of my favorite movies, so I’m very excited to see a gay film along the same lines. It’s on instant play on Netflix and my goal is to watch it sometime in the next week.
Thanks, Partee875 and Pierre de Plume
no, I think someone named a foreign language film featuring a transgender character who was involved in some sort of suspense. German, maybe? Not in English.
My computer also freezes when I come on this site. Any way to fix it? Or is it my computer?
On Best Actor, I think the locks for a nom are Clooney, Dujardin, and Pitt.
I think Leo is in 4th, but no soldily.
And I think 5th is between Fassbender and Oldman. Heat is with Fassbender, but stronger-than-expected box office for TTSS and expected strength for TTSS with BAFTA could push Oldman in.
I think I’d prefer Fassbender. But I think the battle for 4th and 5th between Leo, Fassbender, Oldman, abnd maybe Bichir/Shannon is intense.
If Gosling just had one film in contention (not Ides or Drive), I think he’d be in a better position for 5th.
Sophie: I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to think that Drive doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts. Individuals did a great job, but the overall finished product was sort of lackluster.
Though the with for Brooks, as always, baffles me.
I’m loving all the Take Shelter love. Seems like a movie Austin would go for, too.
Christopher Plummer way, way, way, way better than Albert Brooks. Cmon, Plummer did so much in Beginners including all those lip locks with Goran from ER. And Brooks in Drive? Well, he got angry, that’s it!
And cheers for Hugo!
I can’t see why the hell DiCaprio is still a lock for the nomination. He did a far better job in “The Departed”, “The Aviator” and “Catch me if you can”. I guess I wouldn’t be so irritated about him being nominated this year (yes, it will happen), if he wasn’t taking the spot that should go to someone more deserving (Shannon, Oldman, Fassbender – we won’t see all three of them nominated this year)
Go Hugo! Go Scorsese!
Sasha, I’m a big fan of your site. However, your site has been freezing my web browser, so much so that I had to kill my web browser process to stop the freeze. There is something about your site that is wrong recently.
Tilda!!!! she is the best, superb performance thanks .
YES! Drive is still happening!
Hugo and Drive baby!!!
Now more than ever, I want to see Take Shelter!
Keifer
After he received SAG, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations, I think DiCaprio is definitely 4th for now, and Oldman receiving NONE of those OR serious critics-groups-support, seems to be out of the top5…for now. As julian pointed it out, the British vote could still do wonders for him…unless their support goes to Fassbender…or Fiennes.
I think the Best Actor race looks like this at the moment :
ON-PAPER-LOCKS
1. George Clooney
2. Jean Dujardin
3. Brad Pitt
4. Leonardo Dicaprio
THE 5TH-SLOT-FIGHTERS
5. Michael Fassbender
6. Demian Bichir
7. Michael Shannon
ONLY WITH STRONG-BP-PUSH
8. Gary Oldman
9. Ryan Gosling
10. Ryan Gosling
11. Asa Butterfield
12. Jeremy Irvine
13. Owen Wilson
14. Daniel Craig
15. Thomas Horn
POTENTIAL SHOCKERS
16. Joseph Gordon-Lewitt
17. Ralph Fiennes
18. Woody Harrelson
19. Tom Hardy
20. Mel Gibson
@Ryan Adams
My top 10
1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
2) War Horse
3) The Muppets
4) The Help
5) Bridesmaids
LOL, Michael Shannon and Michael Fassbender and their ‘Best Actress Awards’…Ryan if you have the time, could you fix that, please ? Thanks 🙂
Great to see ‘Hugo’ getting some traction again, it hasn’t won a bp-award since the NBR. I fear the BO/Budget ratio will still be a remarkably damaging factor in the long run, even though money shouldn’t be ANY kind of factor here… but we all know, it IS.
I LOVE the Lubezki-sweep and I just realized that Jessica Chastain WILL (probably) win best supporting actress. She has the critics (most importantly the powerful NYFCC-LAFCA combo), the “great year” factor and let’s face it, she plays EXACTLY the kind of female supporting role the Academy LOVES to embrace : extremely likeable, funny yet heartbreaking, delivered perfectly with great range.
Interesting facts so far
– Supposed frontrunner ‘War Horse’ hasn’t won ANYTHING in main categories (picture, directing, writing, acting) so far.
– Nicholas Winding-Refn has as many (4) bd-awards as Martin Scorsese and Terrence Malick…Alexander Payne has only 1 (though he will probably win adapted screenplay), Spielberg and Allen have NONE.
– Michael Shannon (5) and even Michael Fassbender (3) has more Best Actress awards than Brad Pitt (2) and Jean Dujardin (2), although the Oscar-race will probably come down to the latter two, and the former two might not even get in the top5.
– Viola Davis hasn’t won even one Best Actress award so far…although she did win a Supporting Actress award. Again, it doesn’t change the fact she could EASILY be the big winner in the end.
– According to critics’ groups, Albert Brooks is the clear frontrunner (13 wins)…but without the SAG-nod, he might not even get the Oscar-nomination but even if he does, he probably won’t have a viable shot at winning.
– Jessica Chastain has won 5 Best Supporting Actress awards so far, and though that includes prestigious victories like NYFCC and LAFCA, her main Oscar-bid – her turn in ‘The Help’ – hasn’t been singled out so far by the critics groups… her performances in ‘Take Shelter’ (Toronto, Austin) and ‘The Tree of Life’ (Chicago) have…
Oh, here, I updated the Awards Summary :
http://awardscorner.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-awards-summary-chart.html
21 critics’ groups announced their winners :
BEST PICTURE
11 went to ‘The Artist’, 4 to ‘The Descendants’, 3 to ‘The Tree of Life’, 2 to ‘Hugo’ (1 to ‘Drive’)
BEST DIRECTOR
8 went to Hazanavicius; 4-4-4 to Scorsese, Malick, Winding-Refn (and only 1 to Payne)
BEST ACTOR
6 went to Clooney, 5 to Shannon, 3 to Fassbender, 2 to Pitt, 2 to Dujardin (and 1-1-1 to Oldman, Gordon-Lewitt, Giamatti)
BEST ACTRESS
9 went to Williams, 4 to Swinton, 3 to Streep, 2 to Olsen (and 1-1-1 to Yun, Mara, Marling)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
13 went to Brooks, 7 to Plummer (and 1 to Nolte)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
5 went to Jessica Chastain for three different roles (including NYFC-LAFCA, the only acting contender this year who pulled off both), 4 to Woodley, 3 to McCarthy, 2-2 to Spencer and Bejo (and 1-1-1-1 McTeer, Redgrave, Davis, Ryan)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Tricky, because not all groups have two script-categories, but the general consensus is that the Adapted category will come down to The Descendants and Moneyball (probably accompanied by strong bp-contenders like The Help, Hugo, War Horse) and the Original category seems like a ‘Paris’ vs. The Artist race’ to me, the interesting part here, that 50/50 also won a few awards, so it might just sneak in in the end, too.
Precisely Ryan! It’s uncanny how we seem to share some many picks every year since I met you online. We must surely think alike indeed! And yes going with 25 or 30 in a cinematically rich year like this one, when 10 slots just isn’t enough, is really the only way to go!
^
(I’m not even troubled by disparity in our comparative rankings. Your list is surely more solid, because mine still feels very slippery. Who knows what my Top 20 will look like next week?! I have no idea.)
Thrilled for Drive and Take Shelter. Shannon is heating up, for sure, and may push one of the bigger names out of play. I think that Refn just might crack the BD list, but at whose expense?
Ryan: your number 1,2,7 and 8 would have probably been my 1,2,3,4…BUT I still need to see The Artist, The Descendants among others (and, like you, I hope my third viewing of MIP can redeem it for me…)
Obviously, I DON’T agree with you on number 3 (and to a lesser degree, 4). But let’s not go there again…:)
So happy for Hugo, my best film so far this year, also happy for drive rango midnight in Paris
Keifer: how do you consider Oldman a lock?? Just curious….though I admit, there is no need to exactly rule him out just yet, what with the Brit contingent in the Academy and the upcoming BAFTA nominations limelighting TTSS. But then again: he has had no luck with the critics so far this season and the momentum for TTSS is still gone (though it’s doing might well in limited release).
Funny. It kind of seems like Drive should have been their top choice.
Battle of the Michaels!
Shannon may take Fassbender’s slot with AMPAS. This guy is winning stuff all over the board.
Pitt / Clooney / Dujardin / Oldman . . . I think are certain . . . so it may be the battle I just mentioned.
Portland, Oregon’s Willamette Week yesterday singled out Taking Shelter as containing the best performance of the year (male or female/supporting or lead) . . . and that went to Michael Shannon.
With this kind of bravado, I intend on seeing it this weekend.
Yes Ryan, I too was missing a lot from MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, as I was from DRAGON TATTOO, TIN TIN, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, TINKER TAILOR and some others. Wasn’t a fan of MARTHA MARCY, BEGINNERS nor MEEK’S CUTOFF, but I am in the outside looking in.
I would also add PROJECT NIM to the ‘contention’ list. Excellent documentary.
Sam, Your list confirms something I’ve know for many years — we think alike. I’m glad we both have the attitude that expanding a list to 25 or 30 titles in no way reflects badly on the movies outside the top 10. It just means 10 slots isn’t enough to contain all the movies we’re wild about.
Tintin was fun enough. It might be #31. I forgot Rango! It should slip in there somewhere in the mid-teens, but too much hassle to re-number everything now.
Wasn’t impressed with Martha Marcy on first viewing. Second time around it hooked me.
It’s remarkable that Jessica Chastain wins these awards for different roles. Says a lot about how consistent she is. Definitely not a one-role wonder. She’s here to stay.
Austin was fine enough with their top choice.
But to be perfectly honest I was far more interested in and impressed with Ryan Adams’ stupendous lists. Fantastic round-up there, and hope you see the ones you are targeting in the upcoming weeks!!
I just today finalized my own Top 25 for 2011 which is subject to last-minute revision but is basically ready to go:
1. The Tree of Life
2. War Horse
3. Mysteries of Lisbon
4. A Separation
5. Melancholia
6. Hugo
7. Tomboy
8. Of Gods and Men
9. Poetry
10. Margaret
11. Jane Eyre
12. Shame
13. Win Win
14. Pina
15. Incendies
16. Certified Copy
17. Drive
18. Coriolanus
19. The Artist
20. A Dangerous Method
21. The Mill and the Cross
22. Le Quattro Volte
23. The Descendants
24. Like Crazy
25. Honey
STILL IN CONTENTION: The Skin I live In, Confessions, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Winter in Wartime, Cedar Rapids,Weekend, The Conspirator, The Princess of Montpensier, To Hell and Back, The City of Life and Death, United Red Army, Into the Abyss, Passione
-Sam
Looking at Sam’s list, I should mention that Poetry and Incendies would be in my top 15 — except I saw them both in 2010.
Things are looking up for Shannon. I hope he gets an Oscar nom.
LOVE the wins for Take Shelter!
I emailed Sasha last night, confessing that it looked as if half my top 10 were going to be foreign language films. Since she didn’t reply back I figured she’d rather not hear about it. (ha)
The Austin Critics have emboldened me to feel my hardon for hardcore Asian action is nothing to be ashamed of.
I can’t assemble my final top 10 yet because I still need to see
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Artist
The Descendants
Take Shelter
Weekend
Le Havre
Margaret
Tomboy
The Skin I Live In
(…know what would be weird? if those unseen movies turn out to my Top 10)
Coriolanus
Into the Abyss
& I need to see Midnight in Paris again to try to figure out what I’m missing.
Tentative Master List of Movies I Loved in 2011
(rankings still in flux, subject to moody reshuffling)
1. Drive
2. The Tree of Life
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. Hugo
5. Mysteries of Lisbon
6. We Need to Talk About Kevin
7. A Separation
8. Moneyball
9. Certified Copy
10. 13 Assassins
11. Margin Call
12. I Saw the Devil
13. Clash (2009)
14. Attack the Block
15. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
16. City of Life and Death
17. Melancholia
18. Pariah
19. The Double Hour
20. Rampart
21. War Horse
22. Martha Marcy May Marlene
23. The Guard
24. Super 8
25. Win Win
26. Meek’s Cutoff
27. Beginners
28. Like Crazy
29. 50/50
30. Jane Eyre (#30 and still in the wonderful zone!)
Top 10 favorite Documentaries
1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams
2. Project Nim
3. Nostalgia for the Light
4. Bill Cunningham New York
5. We Were Here
6. The Interrupters
7. PINA
8. Tabloid
9. Buck
10. Page One
(open to consider recommendations)
(somebody recommended a gay or transgender themed movie to me last week, but I forgot who and what it was.)