Smile for my reckoning

Brookered.

Ah I get it now!

A beginning of a new year always starts with a summery of its predecessor and so here is a list of my favourite 10 films of the year gone by: 

10) A Prophet (Une Prophet)

9) Black Dynamite

8) Four Lions

7) Black Death

6) Little Big Soldier (Da bing xiao jiang)

5) The Secret of Kells

4) The Social Network

3) Monsters

2) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

1) Inception

Other Notable Releases:

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

How To Train Your Dragon

Toy Story 3

Agora

Kick-Ass

The Ghost (Writer)

Karate Kid

The Town

This years Golden Globe’s have made some astounding decisions in who they wish to honour in 2010. Aside from the expected decisions to absently forget the existence of films like Kick Ass or Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, this year it seems that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association wishes to kick off the awards season with a celebration of mediocrity, they have made some interesting choices, specifically:

Best Motion Picture - Drama

• The King’s Speech
• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Social Network

While certain omissions for the best Drama can be expected due to high competition that sees expected gems like 127 hours and the Coen’s True Grit lose out. I personally am surprised that Inception managed to make the cut. Award ceremonies rarely seek to honour summer blockbusters and baring in mind Nolan has only ever been nominated for one previous Globe for best screenplay for memento way back in 2002, so the nomination alone highlights how incredible the film really is.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Alice In Wonderland
• Burlesque
• The Kids Are All Right
• Red
• The Tourist

The selection this year completely exemplifies how awful award ceremonies are at celebrating humour and light entertainment. I find it very difficult to believe that anyone honestly considers Alice in Wonderland a better made or more enjoyable experience than Scott Pilgrim, Toy Story 3, Kick Ass or many other more suitable suggestions. Burlesque, RED and The Tourist (I’m not sure which this is a comedy or a musical?) are all okay efforts that while are not awful, are far from a standard that should be celebrated. If common sense wins out then The Kids Are All Right shall win this prize, but either way the message from the HFPA is that animated gems such as Toy Story 3 or How to Train your Dragon or Brit comedies like Cemetery Junction or Made in Dagenham cannot win best film awards.