The 1st Annual Magic Lantern Award Nominations

OK — it’s finally here. The 1st Annual Magic Lantern Awards nominations for the film year 2010! It  took a little while, but I wanted to be sure to screen most of the films that have been receiving some sort of recognition. I missed a few (see below), but have managed to so far see 133 films from the past year. I created the Magic Lantern Awards because, as usual, campaigning and politics seem to have had a lot to do with the Academy Awards nominations – so I wanted to post what I personally thought were the year’s best in film in some of the major categories. First, a few notes. The Golden Globes do very little right, but I do like their separation of dramas and comedies in the “Best Picture” category. If not for this, the comedic films would be swept away to the streets more often than not — and I do believe the comedies deserve some sort of recognition. Regarding my category for “Best Performance by A Child Actor” — as I stated before, I think this is an all-important category as each year usually brings with it some pretty damn fine performances by young actors. I wish that the Oscars would create this categroy as I do not find it fair that seasoned, polished and trained veterans compete against children. So for the Magic Lantern Awards, anyone under the age of 16 at the time of filming was eligible.

I hope that you look over the nominations — and of course, please feel free to comment and let me know who you think I left out and which nominees listed you feel are deserving. This was a tough task. So difficult to narrow down to 5 nominees. Not that there were many great films for the year (because, quite frankly, there weren’t), but many very good choices to pick from. The only categories where I spread it to 6 nominees are both “Screenplay” categories. I will announce the winners before March 2011. If I had more readers, I would have Lantern readers vote for who they think should win. But that will have to hold off for a little while — perhaps soon, the dream will come true.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you…the nominees:

Best Performance by A Child Actor

Lola Creton (Blue Beard)
Izzy Meikle-Small (Never Let Me Go)
Chloe Moretz (Let Me In)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

Best Costume Design

Alice in Wonderland
Blue Beard
The King’s Speech
Robin Hood
True Grit

Best Cinematography

Black Swan
The Ghost Writer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Inception
True Grit

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Andrew Garfield (Never Let Me Go)
John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone)
Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom)
Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Rebecca Hall (Please Give)
Barbara Hershey (Black Swan)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Naomi Watts (Mother and Child)

(Both supporting actor categories proved to be the most challenging this year to narrow down to five. There were at least 20 worthy performances by supporting actors and over 15 supporting actresses.)

Best Original Screenplay

Animal Kingdom
The Fighter
The Kids are All Right
The King’s Speech
Mother and Child
Solitary Man

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Ghost Writer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Kick-Ass
Rabbit Hole
The Social Network
True Grit

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Michael Douglas (Solitary Man)
Robert Duvall (Get Low)
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

 (“Best Actor” was a terribly weak category this year. Very slim pickings in an area that usually has quite a few to pick from)

Best Actress

Annette Bening (Mother and Child)
Hya-ja Kim (Mother)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Best Director

Catherine Briellat (Blue Beard)
Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)
David Michod (Animal Kingdom)
Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)

Best Picture – Comedy

Cemetery Junction
City Island
Kick-Ass
Please Give
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

                         

                                      

Best Picture – Drama

Animal Kingdom
The Fighter
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Social Network
True Grit

     

 

Films Yet to See: All Good Things, Barney’s Version, Biutiful, Casino Jack, The Company Men, Life During Wartime, Made in Dagenham, Nothing Personal, The Way Back.

 

COMING SOON!!! My Top 10 Films of 2010…

Nomination Leader Board:

True Grit – 7

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 6

The Fighter – 6

Animal Kingdom – 4

The King’s Speech – 4

Blue Beard – 3

Mother and Child – 3

Peter Eramo Reviews: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (****)

This film is certainly not for the faint-of-heart, but I am convinced that this grisly, fascinating Swedish thriller will be near the very top of the year’s best when 2010 draws to an end. Based on the popular novel by Stieg Larsson, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is nothing short of a superb, well-crafted film, with outstanding performances and taut, stylish direction by Niels Arden Oplev. I am surprised to see it playing in a number of select “art-house” theatres around me – so if you see it around and you are not one of those ignorant Americans who are averse to reading subtitles, check out the trailer and see this wonderful movie.

Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist who is charged with defamation and is found guilty. The news is spread all over papers and television. Before serving his brief sentence, he is hired by the patriarch of the Vanger Concern (a wealthy & powerful family) to find his niece’s murderer. Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger mysteriously disappeared on the island owned by the Vanger’s and her body was never found. The uncle is convinced that the killer is a member of his own dark and troubled family, even though every year he receives a gift of nicely framed pressed flowers, which he thinks is sent by the murderer to taunt him.

Blomkvist pairs up with professional computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander (a remarkable Noomi Rapace) to investigate. She is tattooed, tough-as-nails, and a ward of the state who needs a legal guardian for a crime (though from flashbacks, it sure looked warranted) she committed years ago. The two begin to peel off layer after layer in trying to break this unsolved 40-year old case and in doing so, discover a link to a number of grotesque murders. They also begin to uncover a dark and twisted family history of this secretive clan.

Noomi Rapace is magnificent here playing the very complex and challenging role of Lisbeth and though it is only May should get some serious Oscar consideration here as I doubt there will be many performances that match this display right here. She exhibits a merciless, cutthroat behavior in one scene and easily transforms to that of a helpless and frightened little girl in the next. She has some gruesome, nearly unwatchable scenes to film here too. Two scenes in particular are opposite the older gentleman who has become her new legal guardian, though brilliantly executed are graphic and haunting. Rapace creates a fascinating character out of Lisbeth – a constant enigma living in a world filled with filthy and brutal men…and we certainly empathize with her throughout.

Michael Nyqvist is also excellent here as the disgraced journalist who falls into much more than he bargained for. The supporting cast is stellar, Peter Haber in particular. These are all actors I’m sure none of us have heard of – but so what…they’re amazing. One scene that I was blown away by takes place near the end in a basement…I don’t want to give anything away here, but I will say that the exchange between these two men is completely flawless…absolutely riveting.

At its core, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a mystery – and we go along on the journey set off by Blomkvist and Salander. The plot is filled with great twists and turns. The unforgiving, cold Swedish winter terrain adds to the tone and mood of the film. I have not read the books (it is part of a trilogy, I believe), but have read that this is very faithful to the novel. The film doesn’t stop and you are glued to the screen for over two hours. However, it does slow up in the final 15 minutes or so after the film’s climax which kills all of the momentum – but you understand why it continues after seeing the very last scene of the film. A great surprise of a film – and I am now eagerly awaiting the second installment (of the trilogy) due to be released this summer. It did win Sweden’s equivalent of the Oscar in the “Best Picture” and “Best Actress” categories already — so I am hoping that the A.M.P.A.S. takes equal note of this grand achievement.

Rating: 
Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Year:       2010