2010 is really a fascinating year for me. True, 2009 was the year i started to get interested in the politics of the Academy Awards, but 2010 was the year I realized, essentially how my love for cinema connects to the Oscars. Before that it was always, ‘They award grown up movies.’ But now, I’m starting to see all of cinema in this year’s Best Picture category. We have;

A period piece about royalty (wins, duh)
A more artsy modern film that everyone says SHOULD win.
A one-man actor’s showcase.
An independent thriller.
A dramatic comedy.
A sports film.
A sci-fi.
A western.
A horror film.
And an animated film.

There you have it. Every genre is covered. And every time I see this category I think about how I should be angry that my all-time favorite film didn’t get nominated in a field of ten. And yet, because of how varied this lineup is, I’m kind of okay with it.

BEST PICTURE

Black Swan
Blue Valentine
The Fighter
How To Train Your Dragon
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit

8/10. Yes my all-time favorite movie DOES make the cut this time around, but it was clear that the movie the internet liked the most was the movie ABOUT the internet. But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.

RUNNER’S UP: I Am Love, 127 Hours

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aranofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Roman Polanski for The Ghost Writer,
David O. Russell, The Fighter

3/5. It seems everyone agrees on the three top slots – Aranofsky, Fincher, and Nolan. But near the end, Fincher emerged as the winner. But it was REALLY, REALLY close.

RUNNERS UP: Luca Guadagnigo for I Am Love, Jacques Audiard, A Prophet (INELIGIBLE)

BEST ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio as ‘Teddy Daniels’ in Shutter Island
Jesse Eisenberg as ‘Mark Zuckerberg’ in The Social Network
Colin Firth as ‘Bertie’ in The King’s Speech
James Franco as ‘Aron Ralston’ in 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling as ‘Dean’ in Blue Valentine

3/5. It was very close, but Eisenberg ended up winning the category.

RUNNERS UP: , Jeff Bridges as ‘Rooster Cogburn’ in True Grit, Tahar Rahim as ‘Malik El Djebena’ in A Prophet

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening as ‘Nic’ in The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman as ‘Becca’ in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence as ‘Ree Dolly’ in Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman as ‘Nina Sayers’ in Black Swan
Michelle Williams as ‘Cindy’ in Blue Valentine

Wow, 5/5. There was some doubt going into the project, but in the end, both bloggers and academy voters agreed on this category, particularly with the winner.

RUNNERS UP: Tilda Swinton as ‘Emma Recchi’ in I Am Love, Julianne Moore as ‘Jules’ in The Kids Are All Right

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale as ‘Dicky Edlund’ in The Fighter
Michael Fassbender as ‘Connor’ in Fish Tank
Andrew Garfield as ‘Eduardo Saverin’ in The Social Network
John Hawkes as ‘Teardrop’ in Winter’s Bone
Mark Ruffallo as ‘Paul’ in The Kids Are All Right

3/5. The Academy got it right here. Bale wins.

RUNNERS UP: Geoffrey Rush as ‘Lionel Logue’ in The King’s Speech, Niles Arestrup as ‘Cesar Luciani’ in A Prophet (INELIGIBLE)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams as ‘Charlene Fleming’ in The Fighter
Mila Kunis as ‘Lily’ in Black Swan
Melissa Leo as ‘Alice Ward’ in The Fighter
Jackie Weaver as ‘Smurf’ in Animal Kingdom
Olivia Williams as ‘Ruth Lang’ in The Ghost Writer

3/5. Wow, this surprised me. In all honesty, the race was REALLY close between Williams, Leo, and Weaver.

RUNNERS UP: Barbara Hershey as ‘Erica Sayers’ in Black Swan, Lesley Manville as ‘Mary’ in Another Year

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Black Swan
Blue Valentine
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech

3/5. The dream is collapsing, and so are the minds of the people who are watching the movie for the first time.

RUNNERS UP: Another Year, A Prophet (INELIGIBLE)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Ghost Writer
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

4/5. The academy usually votes for the right screenplays. In this category, anyway.

RUNNER’S UP: How To Train Your Dragon, Rabbit Hole

BEST FILM EDITING

127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
The Social Network

3/5. Social Network wins? REALLY? Come on, anybody who’s familiar with the editing process can tell you that Inception must have been a BEAST to put together.

RUNNERS UP: Shutter Island, Exit Through The Gift Shop

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
The Social Network
True Grit

4/5. As long as 127 Hours is nominated, I’m good.

RUNNERS UP: Shutter Island, I Am Love

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Black Swan
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Inception
The King’s Speech
Shutter Island

3/5. Give props to the people who had to build a rotating hallway.

RUNNERS UP: I Am Love, The Ghost Writer

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Alice In Wonderland
Black Swan
I Am Love
Inception
True Grit

3/5. Black Swan surprisingly found little love in the tech branches.

RUNNERS UP: The King’s Speech, Shutter Island

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

Alice In Wonderland
Black Swan
The Wolfman

1/3. You know, The Academy’s Best Makeup branch might make less sense than the Best Original Song branch.

RUNNERS UP: Shutter Island, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Alice In Wonderland
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Inception
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
TRON: Legacy

3/5. Well, duh.

RUNNERS UP: Black Swan, Shutter Island

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

How To Train Your Dragon
The Ghost Writer
Inception
The Social Network
TRON: Legacy

3/5 Okay, if Dragon had to lose AGAIN, couldn’t it at least lose to Inception this time?

RUNNERS UP: Black Swan, The King’s Speech

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“I See The Light” from Tangled
“If I Rise” from 127 Hours
“Sticks And Stones” from How To Train Your Dragon
“We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3
“You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me” from Burlesque

3/5. Coming up with these nominees led me to finally listen to, “You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me“, which I instantly fell in love with. Kind of shocked it wasn’t nominated.

RUNNERS UP: “Bound To You” from Burlesque, “Coming Home” from Country Strong

BEST SOUND EDITING

Black Swan
How To Train Your Dragon
Inception
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
TRON: Legacy

3/5. Finally, Toothless’ vocalizations are getting some respect. Buy unfortunately, bloggers liked Inception’s sound design a little more.

RUNNER’S UP: Toy Story 3, The Social Network

BEST SOUND MIXING

127 Hours
Black Swan
Inception
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
The Social Network

Eesh. 2/5. It seems like Black Swan, Inception, and Social Network just keep popping up.

RUNNERS UP: Shutter Island, TRON: Legacy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Despicable Me
How To Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

3/3 (although I included five) If it were any other year, maybe Dragon would have stood a chance.

RUNNERS UP: Megamind, Legend of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Biutiful
Dogtooth
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
I Am Love
Mother

1/5. Granted, I think there’s a lot of eligibility rules around Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and A Prophet

RUNNERS UP: , The Illusionist, A Prophet (INELIGIBLE)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Catfish
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Inside Job
Marwencol
Waiting For Superman

2/5. You easily gave Exit Through The Gift Shop the win here.

RUNNERS UP: Restrepo, Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work

So, what was the Ultimate Snub of 2010?

BEST DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan for Inception

I told you the Best Director race was close. Although, to be fair, Olivia Williams very nearly took this. Well, that wraps up another edition of The Ultimate Snub. Stay tuned for next time, which will surely be the battle of the war films.