The Best Movies of 2010

The Golden Globe Awards are just one week away, and Oscar nominees to be announced on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. I love the movies, and this is my favorite time of the year, because the most artistic of films are released. I'm feeling good this year, because I've already seen a good share of Golden Globe nominees.


The Golden Globes split awards for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress into two categories, Drama and Comedy or Musical. Tune in Sunday January 16th to see how I did . . . or better still how you did.

Best Motion Picture – Drama: Nominees are Black Swan, Inception, The Fighter, The King's Speech, and The Social Network. While I liked all these films, my pick for this category is The King's Speech because it's not dark, it's not a docu-drama, and it's not science fiction.

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Nominees are Alice in Wonderland, Burlesque, Red, The Kids Are All Right, and The Tourist. I confess that, because of terrible critical reviews, I have not seen The Tourist, but my pick is Red. I have not seen a film in years where the cast looked like they were having this much fun doing a film.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama: Nominees are Colin Firth - The King's Speech, James Franco in 127 Hours, Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network, Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter, and Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine. I still need to see 127 Hours and Blue Valentine, and reserve the right to change my mind when I do see them, but my pick for Best Actor is Jesse Eisenberg.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Nominees are Jake Gyllenhaal in Love and Other Drugs, Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland, Johnny Depp in The Tourist, Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack, and Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version. My pick is Kevin Spacey, but I have not seen Barney's Version and might still change my mind.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Nominees are Halle Berry in Frankie and Alice, Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine, Natalie Portman in Black Swan, and Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole. This one is harder to predict because I still need to see three of the five films. I expect to change my mind to Nicole Kidman, but for now I'm giving the prize to Jennifer Lawrence for her role in a movie that made me feel like I was eavesdropping rather than just watching.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Nominees are Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, Anne Hathaway in Love and Other Drugs, Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right, Emma Stone in Easy A, and Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right. I'm torn here, I'd 'like' to award Julianne Moore, because I love her and I applaud her efforts in getting this great film made. Annette Bening was also fabulous and I think she'll take home the honor.

Best Director for a Motion Picture: Nominees are: Christopher Nolan for Inception, Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan, David O. Russell for The Fighter, and Tom Hooper for The King's Speech. I think Clint Eastwood should be on this list for Hereafter, in fact I think he should win the award, but . . . Anyway, of those nominated, I'm going with Darren Aronofsky for the twisted creative and beautiful Black Swan.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Nominees are: Andrew Garfield in The Social Network, Christian Bale in The Fighter, Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech, Jeremy Renner in The Town, and Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. And the award goes to Christian Bale for a truly amazing performance.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Nominees are Amy Adams in The Fighter, Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech, Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom, Melissa Leo in The Fighter, and Mila Kunis in Black Swan. I'm going with Mila Kunis.