Best of 2010 and Oscar Predictions

Better late than never?

Between moving, quitting my job, getting a new job, and starting grad school, 2010 was a busy year for me, and I only managed to get out to see 25 films in theaters. In chronological order, they were The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Crazy Heart, Edge of Darkness, The Wolfman, Shutter Island, Alice in Wonderland, Red Cliff Part 1, Red Cliff Part 2, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Ghost Writer, Kick-Ass, Iron Man 2, Get Him to the Greek, Cyrus, Inception, Back to the Future, Valhalla Rising, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Machete, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The King’s Speech, and Black Swan. Compared to my tallies of 27 in 2009, 28 in 2008 and my record of 37 in 2007, this is of course a disappointment, but there are only so many hours in the day and so many disposable dollars in the bank.

For purposes of my top 10, I will also be considering True Grit, which I didn’t see until early February, as well as The Town and Winter’s Bone, which I watched on DVD. As ever, these ten are not necessarily the best films I saw, but the ones that I enjoyed the most, and are ranked in order of my enjoyment of them.

10. 127 Hours – Only a director as energetic and uncompromising as Danny Boyle could make a man trapped alone at the bottom of a canyon this engrossing. Outstanding performance from James Franco.

9. The King’s Speech – A throwback to an earlier era of filmmaking in all the right ways, ably anchored by the performances of and bond between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.

8. Black Swan – I left the theater almost wishing Aronofsky had done something more with this; I wanted to be left devastated, but instead was only quietly impressed. Maybe I’m jaded, but don’t let that put you off if you haven’t seen it; a visceral portrait of psychological collapse and a worthy addition to the works of both Aronofsky and Natalie Portman.

7. The Ghost Writer – Vastly underseen thriller from Roman Polanski. Regardless of your opinion of the man, he can still make a taut, moody film. My favorite final scene of the year, hands down.

6. True Grit – The Coen brothers shift tones once again, and bring us a family adventure film with their usual touches of surreality and violence plus what is for them a surprising emotional honesty.

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – Edgar Wright accomplished something amazing here, melding the trappings of video games, indie music and action movies into something completely new.

4. Winter’s Bone – Also vastly underseen, although hopefully that will change with its Best Picture nomination. An unflinching portrayal of modern life in the Ozarks, beautifully played by Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes. Sometimes a simple story told well is the best kind of film…

3. Inception – …but complex is good, too. Upon second viewing, I have some fairly significant issues with the screenplay and Nolan’s ambitions for the story, which perhaps fell short of what they could have been. I can find no fault with the filmmaking, however, as Nolan and Wally Pfister produced one of the best-looking blockbusters I’ve ever seen.

2. The Social Network – The most modern film on this list, offering a chronicle of a time and place that may well prove vital to the shaping of American culture for years to come. Sometimes tone and mood are more important than factual accuracy.

1. Iron Man 2 – Yeah, that’s right. My number one film of the year is a superhero sequel that got a mixed reaction from fans and critics alike. Well, too bad. I saw it in the theaters twice and have watched my Blu-Ray a couple times already. It’s got more of the same mix of action and character moments that made the first one so great, plus expands the Marvel film universe in some very cool ways. Sure, the rest of the top five, at the very least, are easily better and more “important” films. Don’t care. It’s my list.

And now…Oscar predictions!

Visual Effects
Should and Will Win: Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

Sound Mixing
Should and Will Win: Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

Sound Editing
Should and Will Win: Inception, Richard King

Music (Original Song)
Should Win: “If I Rise”, 127 Hours, A.R. Rahman, Dido, and Rollo Armstrong
Will Win: “Coming Home”, Country Strong, Tom Douglas, Tory Verges and Hillary Lindsey

Music (Original Score)
Should Win: The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Will Win: The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat

Makeup
Should and Will Win: The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Film Editing
Should and Will Win: The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Costume Design
Should Win: True Grit, Mary Zophres
Will Win: Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood

Cinematography
Should Win: Inception, Wally Pfister
Will Win: The Social Network, Jeff Cronenweth

Art Direction
Should Win: Inception, Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
Will Win: The King’s Speech, Eve Stewart and Judy Farr

Animated Feature Film
Should and Will WIn: Toy Story 3

Original Screenplay
Should Win: Inception, Christopher Nolan
Will Win: The King’s Speech, David Seidler

Adapted Screenplay
Should and Will WIn: The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

Director
Should and Will Win: David Fincher, The Social Network

Actress in a Supporting Role
Should Win: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Will Win: Amy Adams, The Fighter

Actor in a Supporting Role
Should Win: John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Will Win: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Actress in a Leading Role
Should and Will Win: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Actor in a Leading Role
Should and Will Win: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

Picture
Should Win: The Social Network, Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Cean Chaffin
Will WIn: The King’s Speech, Iain Canning, Emilie Sherman and Gareth Unwin