Oh dear, another list.
These things are getting out of hand. We as a people have too many
lists. I came to this realization after trudging through Time's list of
everything last night; I think I officially gave up on the one called
"Best Murders" or something like that. There's just something about
organizing things into neat tidy little lists that makes us all go bonkers. But
as another writer once wrote before me: people read lists not to see what's on
it, but to see what's not on it. It's a lose-lose situation for movie
critics: readers go, "Oh he forgot Transformers 3 ... he's an idiot and this list is
stupid." The people who we want to read our lists — the folks who will
clip it and Netflix all the items on the list — are in the dwindling minority
of list readers.
But hold on, here's another list. And this one is great because I
contributed to it (in the words of Chris Cooper:
"maniacal laugh"). The Phoenix Film Critics Society, of which
I'm a member, announced their annual list of movie awards this week. It's a
nice selection of movies. I campaigned heavily for several winners, including
Elizabeth Olsen from Martha Marcy
May Marlene and Thomas Horn from Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. I also campaigned for The Artist for best picture, though
I was kinda hoping it would share some of the winnings — it won nine awards,
the hoarder.
Below is the full list of winners with clickable photos for each
one. And full warning: I will be posting my own 2011 top ten list by week's
end, so save room.
BEST PICTURE
The Artist
______________________________________
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2011
(in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week With Marilyn
Super 8
The Tree of Life
______________________________________
BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, The
Artist
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha
Marcy May Marlene
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Albert Brooks, Drive
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Super 8
BEST SCREENPLAY - ORIGINAL
The Artist
BEST SCREENPLAY - ADAPTATION
The Help
BEST LIVE ACTION FAMILY FILM
The Muppets
THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
A Better Life
______________________________________
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Rango
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Skin I Live In
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Page One: Inside the New
York Times
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Life's a Happy Song,” The
Muppets
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Tree of Life
______________________________________
BEST FILM EDITING
The Artist
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Hugo
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Artist
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Hugo
BEST STUNTS
Drive
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE ON CAMERA
Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud
and Incredibly Close
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE CAMERA
Michael Hazanavicius, The
Artist
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – MALE
Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud
and Incredibly Close
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH IN A LEAD OR SUPPORTING ROLE – FEMALE
Saoirse Ronan, Hanna
