A Jessica Chastain Appreciation Post

Today is the lovely Jessica Chastain's birthday. This time last year, so few of us had heard of her. And then, out of nowhere, she starred in more than enough films to last an actor a decade. Sure enough, she's became my favourite actress, and I've endeavoured to see her in as much as possible. So let's take a look at the performances of hers that I've seen (there's some that haven't reached us here), and where they stand against each other.

6) Sally Ann in Stolen Lives (2008)

Admittedly, I only watched this movie because I'd heard that she was in it. And because the DVD slip said that there was a man called "John Hammm" (no jokes) in it. You probably can't expect great things from a movie which can't even spell it's headlining star right, but the film isn't too bad. It is just a very standard straight-to-DVD made-for-TV feel kind of movie. If I'm being honest, I can't really remember Jess all that much in it because her role is so small, but she was pretty cute.

AAN: Oscar Predictions - Best Picture

Welcome to part five of my official Oscar predictions - this season of Annual Awards Nerdism is just about done. Tonight I will rank the 7 Best Picture nominations that I've seen (in order of how much I like them) and end with my final prediction for the big winner, but first, I have a few words about the Oscars this year.
PAST PREDICTIONS: Acting; Writing and Directing; the 'Bests' and Visuals; Sound and Design.

If I've been taught anything about this past year of film, it is that I am big on emotional manipulation. When I go to the movies, I like to have something to show for it when I first come out of the cinemas. Two films that made me show my experience clearly were The Help and War Horse. If you saw me after seeing those films, you would have thought that someone had stabbed me in the heart or something, because the tears just kept coming and coming. And when you cry in a movie, you obviously got something out of it. So where people were turned off by the emotional manipulation, I succumbed to it, and as I watched more and more 2011 films I started to find it was a vital ingredient. Which is perhaps why I didn't take after The Descendants, a film with barely any sentimentality, or I wasn't convinced by Moneyball's emotional coldness. I need emotions - I have to be able to connect with a film, which I believe is the main basis of this blog.

Anyway, enough of all of that deep stuff. A lot of people have been turning off the Oscars this year. Even 'prominent awards bloggers' (what does that even mean?) have been turning off in the Oscars. While I admit that I'm nowhere near as excited for the awards as I was last year, I'm still very much willing to jump to the defence of them. Sure, there are some strange nominations this year. Sure, the ones that did get nominated weren't the most exciting choices. Sure, this awards season has been predictable. But as I said before, I like emotions. And the Oscars are full of those. I like watching the reactions, the gushing speeches, the applause - I like seeing people rewarded, because film-making obviously is hard work, and when you make a movie good enough for the Academy, you did something right. I just think it is a magical day, no matter what happens. That probably stems from my dream to actually win an Oscar one day...I honestly couldn't think of anything cooler. Whatever the outcome of tomorrow, I'll still be checking my phone like crazy in my last class of the day (well, providing the teacher is distracted enough), I'll be rushing home after school to hopefully get a good online stream, I'll probably be squealing over some good wins. Because I'm cliché like that.

BAFTA Predictions w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

Well...here we go. We're on the home stretch. The BAFTAs are generally my favourite awards of the season because the Brits usually know what they're talking about, even though there are a few oddball nominations here. Now, I know you might be a little sick of awards talk (even though I think it has been curiously absent and it is more about the backlash this year), but bear with me. My pageviews/comments have been down for a little bit, and I don't think this post will help with that...but it needs to be done.

Now, a refresher on the way Fassy, Loki and Owen are used for predictions:
Happy Fassy: Who I want to win, but doesn't necessarily mean that they will win.
Lowkey Loki: Who will win. My final prediction.
Overwhelmed Owen: The complete longshot.

Best Film:
The Artist / The Descendants / Drive / The Help / Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I'm going for Drive all the way, as I'm still fuming over how ignored it was at the Oscars. Actually, I think that Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, two films which failed to get a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars have a better chance of winning this award than actual nominee The Help. I'm surprised that the BAFTAs loved The Help as much as they did, but I can't see it taking many awards apart from the acting ones. As for the actual winner, it'd be stupid not to pick The Artist, as that seems impossible. But I wouldn't be surprised if the most overrated movie of the year The Descendants takes the award...every seems to love that one for some strange reason.

Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year:
My Week with Marilyn / Senna / Shame / Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / We Need to Talk About Kevin

This is possibly one of the hardest categories to pick, considering how much quality there is in it. I think that My Week with Marilyn is the longshot considering it was the lowest rated out of all of them, but the fact that it has a lot of nominations in the acting categories could mean that it isn't such a longshot. Alas, my heart is with Senna, my favourite film of 2011, and I could definitely see it taking out the award. However, with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy having a Best Film nomination and all, it has the advantage over everyone. I wouldn't go past Shame and We Need to Talk About Kevin to take away the award, though...can they all just win?!

THE REST AFTER THE JUMP!

AAN: Where the Guild Awards Leave the Rest of the Season

With the Screen Actors Guild awards today, all of the guild awards have been given out and now we have a pretty good idea of who is going to win big at the Oscars. Let's start with the Producers Guild Awards, which were held over a week ago...

The Artist took the top award here, over Bridesmaids, The Descendants, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Hugo, The Ides of March, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball and War Horse. The Producers Guild Awards are essentially what Best Picture is, just with better taste (no Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close here). So I guess you could say that The Artist has Best Picture all locked down. Which is fine. I remember how last year it was this set of awards that took The Social Network's Best Picture chances and shoved them down the toilet. I kinda resent them because of that, but the only Oscar chances that this award is shoving down the toilet is Hugo's, as that is also a front-runner to get the prize. But I doubt it can beat The Artist, because the force has grown too strong behind that one.

The Directors Guild Awards

Held yesterday, Michel Hazanavicius got this award for The Artist. Basically unknown to US audiences, Hazanavicius won over big-hitters Alexander Payne (The Descendants), David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Martin Scorsese (Hugo) and Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris). Isn't it a little bit like Tom Hooper winning last year for The King's Speech, over the likes of Christopher Nolan, Fincher, Darren Aronofsky and David O. Russell? Oh well, it is nice that they are rewarding foreign talent. However, I don't think that Hazanavicius has the Oscar under his beret just yet (I assume all French people wear berets, haha). After Scorsese's Golden Globe win, I wouldn't be too surprised if he took the award for his 'kids film'. His direction is pretty darn good (but what could we expect?) and he actually makes sense of the whole 3D thing. I think it will be a race between Hazanavicius and Scorsese down to the wire, and whoever gets the BAFTA will have the award locked down. But right now, I couldn't possibly pick a winner between them.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards

The first awards show (and probably the only show) I've watched this season in it's entirety provided a couple of fist-pumping moments for me. The first was when Jean Dujardin won Best Actor. No, I haven't yet seen The Artist, but anyone winning over George Clooney is good enough for me. I feel a bit mean for saying that, but in all honesty his performance in The Descendants wasn't what I would consider worthy of winning the awards. Getting nominated, sure, but winning? No. The second was when The Help won Best Ensemble. Unlike everyone else, I actually loved The Help, and thought that the performances in that film were wonderful. Outside of Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain, there were more performances that could have been nominated, like Bryce Dallas Howard's or Sissy Spacek's especially. Apparently it is naive or uneducated to say this, but that film definitely did have the best ensemble of the year, without a doubt.

Anyway, this set of awards have put a couple of things in perspective, but the rest still has a bit of a 'two-horse race' about it. We all know that Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer are going to get the Oscar. About the latter I'm feeling like there might be an upset - if The Artist hits big at the Oscars (which is will), then Berenice Bejo might be in with a chance. I would love to see Jessica Chastain getting something this season, though (just to see her perfect self up on that stage), but she has many years and awards ahead of her so I don't think she'll get much. However, I'm fairly sure that Spencer has it locked down. The leading categories, though, don't have a clear winner yet. Viola Davis may have won the award (as expected), but Meryl Streep could indeed still win - she's overdue for that third Oscar. Jean Dujardin has won a Golden Globe and this award, but let's not forget that George Clooney has got his Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award. So they're basically neck and neck. I can definitely see Dujardin pulling the win over Clooney, given how much the Academy love The Artist and all. Which would be nice, for me. And let me just reiterate that The Help will not be winning Best Picture after the Ensemble win. Remember, they're rewarding the actors, not the film as a whole. So stop getting so touchy. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close still has the award locked down.

As for the awards show itself, it was just okay, pretty boring. I don't really know how you 'critique' awards show. But here are my favourite moments:

-The clip they showed of Maggie Smith for Downton Abbey (my life at the moment) was perfect. Best example of the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

-Any time in which Jessica Chastain was shown, particularly when Octavia won and when she was 'holding' Cicely Tyson onstage. She is a goddess.
-Owen Wilson's face when The Help won. I think I might have to change my 'Overwhelmed Owen' picture to that one, haha (someone GET ME A PHOTO OF THIS!!!)

-Armie Hammer's photobombing when Meryl Streep was on screen. He is such a loveable goofball, even if he did get arrested.

-The best of the best was when Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy came onstage to present Bridesmaids and their Scorsese drinking game. And then when Tina Fey took part with Steve Buscemi's wine. It is times like those when I wish I was an actor.

Otherwise, only one thing has changed for me today: I've become even further convinced that my life is inadequate because I am not Jessica Chastain.

What say you? Where do the guild awards leave the Oscar race?

AAN: SAG predictions w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

NOTE: I hope you all like the new look. There's a few things that I will tweak tomorrow...I got a bit sick of looking at the template designer. What do you think of it?

Coming right off the back of the surprising Oscar nominations comes the equally surprising SAG awards. These awards are basically the last big Hollywood precursor awards before the Oscars, and usually whatever wins the Best Ensemble manages to get Best Picture too. In fact, whoever wins here will almost certainly go forth to get the little golden man. I'm getting in early to predict the SAGs, which are coming up in three days, with the help of Happy Fassy, Lowkey Loki and Overwhelmed Owen. Here are their meanings for the predictions:
Happy Fassy - Who I want to win. Doesn't mean that they will win, though.
Lowkey Loki - Who will win. The only prediction that should be taken seriously.
Overwhelmed Owen - Who won't win. If they do, it would be one hell of a surprise.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Artist / Bridesmaids / The Descendants / The Help / Midnight in Paris 

I know that The Help has no chance of winning Best Picture, especially when The Artist is around. But I think that SAG will go for The Help considering what a strong showing of great performances from women it has. What helps its case further is the fact that it has three individual cast members nominated: Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer. And beyond them, even more of the actresses could have been nominated (especially Bryce Dallas Howard, but I guess she was too mean). The Artist should give it a real run for it's money, so I wouldn't be too shocked if that took the top prize. If Midnight in Paris' 'ensemble' had all of the really great people in it (like Corey Stoll, Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill...), then I'd be campaigning for that a lot more, but my heart is with The Help. The Descendants and Bridesmaids virtually have no chance.

The rest after the jump!

AAN: My Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

So, I got up at 2.30am this morning to watch my first Oscar nominations being announced.
This is all I remember:
-Wondering how Max von Sydow came out of nowhere for that nomination.
-Being over the moon about Jessica Chastain's nomination, but getting more excited when I saw her picture was from The Tree of Life than her nomination actually being for The Help. Dunno why.
-Actually squealing when Rooney Mara got nominated. So loud that my puppy came in and barked at me and I woke up the whole house. Awkward.
-NO MICHAEL FASSBENDER?!
-Ummmmmmmmmmmmm...Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? LOL wut.
-Not being able to sleep until 4.30am because I was thinking over how the hell I could write this post, all the snubs and ranting with people on Facebook about it. If I was talking to you after the nominations, I was trying to get to sleep, but I could only count so many sheep (lyrical genius).

I slaved on a post like this ALL DAY last year and no one read it, so I'm a bit hesitant to go into too much detail. But I have waited until the talk has simmered down (and I went to Palmerston North today to see War Horse so that took away most of my day), so hopefully you still might have some interest. Anyway, hopefully you remember what Happy (well, not so happy anymore) Fassy, Lowkey Loki and Overwhelmed Owen mean. If not:
Happy Fassy - I am completely content with these nominations.
Lowkey Loki - Meh. I can't decide whether I'm happy or angry about these.
Overwhelmed Owen - Get. OUT.

Here we go...

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Artist / The Descendants / Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close / The Help / Hugo / Midnight in Paris / Moneyball / The Tree of Life / War Horse
Predictions right: 6 out of 9. Didn't put War Horse and The Tree of Life in my final prediction of six, but put them in my second tier predictions (if that makes sense). But Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close only existed in my November predictions.

There's one thing I'm happy about here: I've watched six of these movies, which is better than I usually do. Moneyball comes out in three weeks, so I'll be watching that asap. The Artist may not make it to any cinemas near me. And Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? Guess I'll have to see that now. I remember thinking that The Help and War Horse probably wouldn't get nominated because their RT ratings were in the 70% range. But no, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, with the 48% rating, gets in. Instead of the likes of Drive, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...anything, really. I'm happy with the other eight nominees (well, not so happy about The Descendants but it was going to happen anyway), but the fact that there are only nine nominees and Extremely Loud was the one to take the ninth spot...it just makes me really peeved off. So that'd be a Lowkey Loki, thanks to that movie dragging things down (although I haven't seen it - I should stop being so mean).
But yay for The Tree of Life!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir for A Better Life / George Clooney for The Descendants / Jean Dujardin for The Artist / Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / Brad Pitt for Moneyball
Predictions right: 3 out of 5. No Bichir or Oldman (thought he'd miss out by a hair).

I honestly thought they'd nominate Michael Fassbender. In fact, this is much like what happened with Christopher Nolan last year. I put up a Facebook status saying that he got a DGA nod and that he'd obviously get an Oscar nomination. But no. With Fassy, I told someone that if he didn't get nominated I'd go all Magneto on the voters. I only said that half-heartedly, because I didn't expect him to get snubbed. However, it happened, and that makes me extremely sad and incredibly angry. Maybe it is because the voters are just jealous of what he has and they don't. Leonardo DiCaprio also didn't get nominated. If he did, I would have just been like 'meh', but I feel really sorry for him. He tried his little heart out in that movie (I'm guessing), but at least I don't need to make a special point of seeing it in cinemas next week. However, what about Bichir? Talk about a nomination like Javier Bardem in last year's Biutiful. And I'm glad that Gary Oldman FINALLY got a nomination. As for the other three, we knew it was going to happen. Now I just hope George Clooney doesn't win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs / Viola Davis for The Help / Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady / Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn
Predictions right: 4 out of 5. Left Rooney out because I wasn't positive it could happen.

I was so so so so happy when Rooney got nominated! But of all people for her to take the place of, I thought it would have been Glenn Close, not Tilda Swinton. Oh well. It is a little sad that Rooney got the nomination while Noomi Rapace got next to nothing for her Lisbeth Salander, but Rooney was freaking awesome so it doesn't matter. Rooney basically makes this category for me...as for the others, well, we knew it was all going to happen. I don't know how you could possibly pick between them. Although I would have loved to have seen some Kirsten Dunst love for Melancholia.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn / Jonah Hill for Moneyball / Nick Nolte for Warrior / Christopher Plummer for Beginners / Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Predictions right: 4 out of 5. Anyone who predicted Max von Sydow deserves a medal.

I thought it was a risky move putting Nick Nolte into my predictions for Warrior, but it paid off. Max von Sydow, however? I may have seen it back in November when I thought Extremely Loud was going to be a good movie and whatnot, but I thought that Albert Brooks had it locked down. Not to be. No Brooks, which practically shut out the very deserving Drive. I've said time and time again that there were so many great options that everyone was refusing to go with, and the Oscars went that way, too. It is pretty weird that Jonah Hill is now 'Oscar nominee Jonah Hill', but I guess the time had to come. Anyway, we all know that Christopher Plummer is going to win, and it better happen that way.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist / Jessica Chastain for The Help / Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids / Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs / Octavia Spencer for The Help
Predictions right: 4 out of 5. Honestly didn't think they'd go with Melissa McCarthy.

It all started with that Emmy. And then everyone decided that it would be a great idea to campaign Melissa McCarthy for Best Supporting Actress. I kept telling myself that it wouldn't work because Oscars don't generally go for comedies, but it happened. While I should be happy that the Oscars are making a change, I just can't go along with this nomination. Especially when it came at the expense of Shailene Woodley, who was probably the only thing I really liked about The Descendants. Who also out-acted George Clooney, who is probably going to win the fucking Oscar this year. But at least we have Jessica Chastain, who just so happens to be the definition of perfect. Look at it this way: this is the day when Jessica got her first ever Oscar nomination. We can look back on this day in our old age and she'll probably be like Meryl Streep.

Everything else after the jump!

AAN: The BAFTA nominations w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

I was going to do a Golden Globes recap, but it didn't make much sense since I never saw the show and every man and his dog has blogged about it. All I have to say is this: if The Descendants wins Best Picture or Best Actor, I'll be fuming. I'm one of the few who wasn't terribly impressed by it or by the Cloon's performance. There, I'm unpopular.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the BAFTAs and how they'll affect the Oscar race, along with Fassy, Loki and Owen in some of the categories (not all, because there are a lot).

Best Film

The Artist / The Descendants / Drive / The Help / Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

YAY for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy! I haven't seen the film, but I am glad that it is finally getting some love. I thought it would be a huge player in the awards race, but it has been virtually non-existent. Such a shame, as it looks so great. And yay for Drive. I will be reviewing that film later tonight, and it was really good. I'm a bit surprised by The Help's nomination, since there are some far better films than that out there, but I'm happy for the inclusion. The Artist and The Descendants are pretty much locks for Best Picture, and The Artist will definitely win. As for The Descendants, meh. This is a brilliant line-up, so I'll give it the Happy Fassy.

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist / Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive / Martin Scorsese - Hugo / Tomas Alfredson - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / Lynne Ramsay - We Need to Talk About Kevin

What I love about this category is the fact that these directors are nominated because they created wonderful, visual, atmospheric films, unlike the directors who are just nominated because their films are in the best picture category (you know, like Alexander Payne for The Descendants or Steven Spielberg for War Horse). I've only seen Drive and Hugo, but those two are some of the most well-directed films I've seen from 2011, Drive for the style and Hugo for the pretty visuals. Hazanavicius is nominated because he dared to make a silent film, and Alfredson and Ramsay are probably nominated for the atmosphere they create in their films. These nominations are what the directors category should aspire to be, not the ones where directors become a default nomination just because their film is nominated for Best Picture.

Leading Actor

Brad Pitt - Moneyball / Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy / George Clooney - The Descendants / Jean Dujardin - The Artist / Michael Fassbender - Shame

Even though it doesn't have Leonardo DiCaprio, this is one bloody good line-up. Sure, I'm pretty meh about George Clooney (I mean, he was quite good, but I don't think he quite deserves to be winning all of these awards), but he is lock whether I like it or not. What I'm most glad to see, though, is Gary Oldman getting some love, finally, as I thought that this would be his year. How does he keep missing out?! I have a feeling that Michael Fassbender has a huge chance here, considering the Brits will be more likely to shower love upon Shame than anyone else. But this should be Pitt's year, though that is looking more and more unlikely. Dujardin could be the upset, though. I love this category!

Leading Actress

Berenice Bejo - The Artist / Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady / Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn / Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin / Viola Davis - The Help

Interesting to see that Bejo, a Supporting Actress regular, is in this category. The BAFTAs like to do this a lot, though. This is pretty much our average category, with Streep likely to take the award home. I'm a bit sad that Rooney Mara is getting forgotten a lot for her excellent performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but there seems to be a slight aversion to young, up-and-coming actresses like her, Felicity Jones or Elizabeth Olsen. I'm pretty 'meh' about this category overall, probably because I have only seen The Help. I could go and see The Iron Lady, but I'm not going to pay to see Meryl Streep be great but everything else not living up to her.

Rest of the nominees after the jump...

AAN: Golden Globes Predictions w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

I know the Golden Globes aren't for another week, but I have to get my predictions down as I am leaving soon  and I won't be around for the Globes. And it is always nice to predict, especially considering the races are so tight this year it'll be a surprise if I'm right about any of them! Here's how my predictions work:

Remember Happy Fassy, Lowkey Loki and Overwhelmed Owen? Well they factor in to my predictions.
Happy Fassy = Who I'd like to win. Doesn't necessarily mean that they will win, though. Basically, if I got to vote, they'd be the winners.
Lowkey Loki = My official prediction for who will win.
Overwhelmed Owen = The longshot. If this person/film won, then it would be quite the surprise.

Got that locked down? Good. Let's proceed...

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

I guess The Help is my Happy Fassy since it appears to be the only film from this line-up that I've actually seen. I was thinking about putting War Horse there since it is about a horse, I cried a bucket of tears while reading the book, it is a Steven Spielberg movie and Jeremy Irvine is a cutie, but I thought that might be a bit dishonest. I'm seeing it as soon as I get back, since I'm missing opening day so I can be in another country (I'll pretend to be happy about this...). I'm actually not entirely sure about what will win this one, as for me I think the race is between The Descendants, Hugo and Moneyball. The Descendants should probably be taking the award, though I wouldn't take my word for it. The Ides of March looks like a longshot, considering that the Golden Globes seem to be the only awards circuit that is falling head over heels for it.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
The Artist / Bridesmaids / 50/50 / Midnight in Paris / My Week with Marilyn

I've only seen two from this category: Midnight in Paris and Bridesmaids. And I think you all know which one I like more. The Artist will definitely take this prize, as it will probably take Best Picture at the Oscars. My Week with Marilyn is obviously the longshot, considering it has had lukewarm reviews and I don't know how it even qualifies to be in this category (I thought it would be more of a drama?)

The rest of my predictions after the jump...

Stevee's Unofficial Best Films of 2011

Again, when I say 'unofficial', I definitely mean unofficial. I've seen barely anything this year...it'll be months before I see such movies as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, The Artist, Drive, Shame, The Descendants, Moneyball...one day I'll get around to doing an official one. For now, here are ten movies which I found quite good. And if you look at this list, you'll see just how pretentious and arty I have become over the past year.
Anyway, I know the criteria that I had for films that were really made in 2010 but they came out here this year. I've chosen not to include films like Blue Valentine or Never Let Me Go, even if they were released here in 2011, because I think of them as 2010 films no matter what. There is one film that I've included here that was in contention at the Oscars earlier this year, but I feel that it deserves a spot here considering it was part of this year's film festival and I never got to see it until a week ago. So yeah, I know what I'm doing.

Honourable mentions: The Orator, Meek's Cutoff, Beginners, Contagion, Super 8, Tucker & Dale vs Evil, Trust, Winnie the Pooh, Crazy Stupid Love, Sarah's Key, Captain America, Limitless, Rango, X-Men: First Class, Source Code, Thor, Horrible Bosses.

10. Submarine
I just saw this film last weekend and I absolutely fell in love with it. There is just something about it's quirkiness and being so unashamedly over-the-top that I found it hard not to be drawn in to Oliver Tate's weird little world. Both Oliver and Jordana seem refreshingly real - well, Oliver is a bit pretentious - which makes this UK teen comedy shine. Not to mention, Paddy Considine plays his crazy character just the way Nicolas Cage would have...except he is much better.

9. The Help
This film gets a spot on my list because I had a pretty enjoyable time watching it at the cinemas, and it was a great adaptation of one of the best books I read in the past year (okay, don't take my word for it, I probably haven't read over five books in 2011). Plus, it has so much talent on show: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain (whom I loved in this movie), Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek...such a strong female cast, and how often do we get that? We mustn't forget that I cried at least five different times during this movie, and when I cry, it sure isn't because I didn't like the movie!

8. Melancholia
Melancholia gets a special place in my heart because it was the first movie I ever got to see at the New Zealand Film Festival. Hopefully next year I can watch a few more. Lars von Trier's apocalyptic tale is one of beauty shrouded in sadness, as we see how a rogue planet affects two very different sisters. One of these sisters is played by Kirsten Dunst, whose performance should really be nominated for an Oscar because it is so cripplingly depressing. But the main reason that Melancholia has appeared on this list is because of it's absolutely amazing ending. Seriously, I can't believe how much I was shaking when the credits hit. I literally did feel like the world just ended.

7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
At the beginning of the year, I thought this would be just another one of those pointless prequels with a ridiculous title that would tank at the box office. Boy, I was wrong. Turns out that Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the greatest blockbuster of 2011, with one of the greatest moments of the year. Caesar is the coolest ape ever, and possibly one of the only 'heroes' from the movies that I didn't have trouble getting behind. Hopefully Andy Serkis does get an Oscar nomination, because his work is ground-breaking...and it's time Hollywood had a shake-up.

6. Incendies
A nominee for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars, Incendies is a Canadian film that doesn't shy away from much, and knows exactly how to smack the audience in the face. People who have seen the film will know what I'm talking about...the twist in this film will literally make you feel like someone just punched you in the face. This is an expertly crafted, beautifully shot, completely involving film which takes you to all sorts of places, including hell and back. If you haven't seen this film, then what are you waiting for? It's a hard hitting drama in every sense of the word.

5. Certified Copy
A collection of conversations (and you should know how much I love to see conversations on film) between Juliette Binoche and William Shimell were surprisingly quite enjoyable to me. Abbas Kiarostami's multi-lingual drama is one that makes you question all sorts of things, including and especially the relationship between the two strangers...or were they really strangers? So many questions that this movie asks, and while it doesn't really answer all of them, it is still beautiful to watch.

4. The Tree of Life
My tastes really have changed this year. If you showed me Terrence Malick's ultra-polarizing film last year, I would have really disliked it. But I rolled up to the cinemas, and while I was baffled, I was more intrigued than I had ever been before. Now I have the film on Blu-Ray, I've realised just what a marvel it is, but I don't think I could ever give it a proper rating. I know that a lot of people hate this movie, and a lot more people hate the people who like it. I'm sorry, but I just really liked it, for all of it's pretty pictures and the amount of reading-between-the-lines that it required. A magnificent piece of cinema, no doubt about it.

3. Hesher
While this is technically a 2010 flick, this film took a while to make it to the general public. I was pretty happy that I finally got to see it when it hit DVD back in September. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the titular Hesher, who is a loner that doesn't care about much in the world, but he can help a few people along. Filled with charming indie moments, plenty of funnies and enough heartbreak to go 'round, Hesher is delightfully original and even charmingly offensive. JGL gives a bloody terrific performance, too. If only more people had the chance to see this one...

2. Midnight in Paris
I have never been a huge fan of either Owen Wilson or Woody Allen, but Midnight in Paris is an absolute delight to watch. It's impossible not to love - as Wilson is transported to 1920's Paris and meets such icons as Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Dali, my eyes were having a mad love affair with the screen. I really can't say how much I love this film. It is just pure magic, from beginning to end. There were only two things that I didn't like about it: that it had to end and that Paris is so far away!

1. Senna
Isn't it weird how I have a documentary about Formula One as my number one for the year? But seriously, Senna is a masterpiece. The editing in this movie is probably the best I have ever seen, as I imagine that it isn't easy to edit down a whole lot of archive footage into something that closely resembles a normal narrative. And I must say, considering I didn't know that much about Ayrton Senna before watching the movie, and I was bawling my eyes out at the end, this movie really was something special. It was just wonderful.

So, what do you think of my list? What are your favourite movies of 2011?

And before I go, I'd just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I'll be taking a couple of days off to enjoy Christmas and Boxing Day. As for you all, thanks for all of the support this year - it's greatly appreciated! I hope you all have a great day...eat and drink to your heart's content, and be happy!

AAN: My thoughts on the Golden Globes nominations w/ Fassy, Loki and Owen

I must admit, I was anticipating a really crap lineup like last year for the Golden Globes. Alas, that was not the case, and I can say I'm more impressed with these nominations than the SAG nominations (which is a surprise). However, as with all awards, there are people snubbed, a few surprises...and how could I possibly sum up my reactions to these nominations? Of course, with Happy Fassy, Lowkey Loki and Overwhelmed Owen, who I introduced you to last night. Alrighty then, let's delve into the second most important nominations to the Oscars:

Best Motion Picture - Drama:

The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Oooh, six nominations. This is different. But we can't say that we didn't expect it. Actually, something that I didn't expect was to see The Help get nominated. Sure, it's shaping up to be a bit of a The King's Speech (in the way that it kinda looks like Oscar-bait, but not as much as that one), but the critical response for the film wasn't that great. Also, I'm surprised to see The Ides of March nominated, since we haven't seen it around much at any of the other awards. However, I expected The Descendants, Hugo, Moneyball and War Horse to show up. Plus, you may say that War Horse is pure Oscar-bait, but I have to disagree. The book is freaking amazing, so it's no wonder that they wanted to share this beautiful story. Oh, and my own war horse-type horse (from this post) got sold, and now she's even further away. So, when I finally get to see this movie, I'll probably be crying throughout the whole thing.
There were a few snubs, though. To be honest, I'm not that surprised that The Tree of Life didn't get nominated. It's the Golden Globes, for heavens sakes. It will get in at the Oscars, though. While I love the movie, I'm not sure why the awards circuit would go for it, but it could happen. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is missing, despite the fact that it is winning itself a lot of fans. J. Edgar is also missing. No, I didn't really think it had much of a chance because of the lukewarm reaction towards it, but it just seems like the type of movie that the HFPA would go for (considering all of the people involved). And again, there's no Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Why has that film been so absent?
There are some good choices here, but they aren't amazing. Therefore, I'm Lowkey Loki about it.

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy:

The Artist
Bridesmaids
50/50
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn

This is a pretty alright line-up. Well, it's more than alright considering how last year we had an absolute train-wreck of a category. At least every movie on this list has been getting some actual good reviews. The Artist will probably win without a doubt, but won't it be weird to see a movie considered as a comedy win Best Picture? Yeah, I'm still predicting it. I still don't get the love for Bridesmaids, but I guess they had to nominate it. The ever elusive 50/50, which I've heard definitely deserves it's place here, gets a nomination, which is good for the indie section of the awards. Midnight in Paris still has a huge place in my heart, and I imagine it could well give The Artist a good run for it's money (after all, they're both nostalgia hits). I'm just not sure what My Week with Marilyn is doing here, since I imagine that it is more of a drama. Is it because there are a few songs in there? Wow, the criteria is so accepting.
I'm actually happy about this category, even if I don't love Bridesmaids like everyone else. And in comparison with last year, this gets a Happy Fassy from me.

The rest of the nominations after the jump...