Muriels Wrap-up

This post features links-a-plenty, but it’s the only way I’ll be able to go back and relive some of the great writing that goes into the revelation that is the Muriel Awards. Par for the course, there were surprises, but our little collective made some bold, intelligent choices.

Best Feature Film:

1. The Social Network
2. True Grit
3. (tie) Dogtooth
3. (tie) Toy Story 3
5. (tie) The Ghost Writer
5. (tie) Winter’s Bone
7. Carlos
8. Exit Through the Gift Shop
9. Black Swan
10. Mother

Other movies receiving #1 votes:

12. Everyone Else 14. A Prophet 18. Another Year 20. Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl 26. October Country 27. White Material 30. (tie) Lourdes 35. Father of My Children 39. Vincere 42. (tie) The Strange Case of Angelica 42. (tie) Please Give 56. Waste Land

My ballot:
1. Toy Story 3 2. A Prophet 3. Another Year 4. True Grit 5. Restrepo 6. The Kids Are All Right 7. White Material 8. The Social Network 9. The King’s Speech 10. Bluebeard

Best Lead Performance, Male

1. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
2. Édgar Ramírez, Carlos
3. Tahar Rahim, A Prophet

My ballot:
1. James Franco, 127 Hours 2. Édgar Ramírez, Carlos 3. Tahar Rahim, A Prophet 4. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network 5. Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

Best Lead Performance, Female

1. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
2. Natalie Portman, Black Swan
3. Kim Hye-ja, Mother

My ballot:
1. Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right 2. Lesley Manville, Another Year 3. Kim Hye-ja, Mother 4. Isabelle Huppert, White Material 5. Emelie Dequenne, The Girl on the Train

Best Supporting Performance, Male

1. John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
2. Christian Bale, The Fighter
3. Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

My ballot:
1. John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone 2. Niels Arestrup, A Prophet 3. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right 4. Matt Damon, True Grit 5. Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Performance, Female

1. Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
2. Olivia Williams, The Ghost Writer
3. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

My ballot:
1. Dianne Wiest, Rabbit Hole 2. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit 3. Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right 4. Olivia Williams, The Ghost Writer 5. Sandra Oh, Rabbit Hole

Best Direction

1. David Fincher, The Social Network
2. Olivier Assayas, Carlos
3. Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

My ballot:
1. Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3 2. Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit 3. Jacques Audiard, A Prophet 4. Mike Leigh, Another Year 5. Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right

Best Screenplay

1. Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
2. Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
3. Yorgos Lanthimos, Dogtooth

My ballot:
1. David Seidler, The King’s Speech 2. Mike Leigh, Another Year 3. Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right 4. Michael Arndt, Toy Story 3 5. Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

Best Cinematography

1. Roger Deakins, True Grit
2. Robert Richardson, Shutter Island
3. Jeff Crenonweth, The Social Network

My ballot:
1. Wally Pfister, Inception 2. Matthew Libatique, Black Swan 3. Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak, 127 Hours 4. Robert Richardson, Shutter Island 5. Marcel Zyskind, The Killer Inside Me

Best Editing

1. Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall, The Social Network
2. Lee Smith, Inception
3. Jonathan Amis & Paul Machliss, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

My ballot:
1. Susan Littenberg, And Everything Is Going Fine 2. Lee Smith, Inception 3. Andrew Weisblum, Black Swan 4. Michael Levine, Restrepo 5. Hervé de Luze, The Ghost Writer

Best Music (Original, Adapted or Compiled)

1. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, The Social Network
2. Nigel Godrich, score with additional music by Steve Price, music supervisor Kathy Nelson, songs by Beck Hansen and others, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
3. Hans Zimmer, Inception

My ballot:
1. Daft Punk, TRON: Legacy 2. Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Social Network 3. Alexandre Desplat, The Ghost Writer 4. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World 5. Carlos

Best Cinematic Moment

1. In the incinerator, Toy Story 3
2. “Burning for You”, Let Me In
3. Nina Sayers IS the Black Swan, Black Swan

My ballot:
1. Facing the furnace, Toy Story 3 2. Zero-gravity hallway fight, Inception 3. Initiation, A Prophet 4. Sitting for a portrait, Catfish 5. Transformation into Black Swan, Black Swan 6. Rancher rant/“I need a day off”, Sweetgrass 7. Refresh ad infinitum, The Social Network 8. Dance sequence, Dogtooth 9. Bank robbery gone wrong, The Town 10. Gunfight at George and Martha’s house, The Book of Eli

Best Cinematic Breakthrough

1. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
2. Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
3. Banksy, Exit through the Gift Shop

My ballot:
1. Giorgos Lanthimos, Dogtooth 2. Tahar Rahim, A Prophet 3. Katie Jarvis, Fish Tank 4. Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, The Secret of Kells 5. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

Best Body of Work

1. Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island and Inception
2. Mark Ruffalo, Shutter Island and The Kids Are All Right
3. Manoel de Oliveira, director, Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl and The Strange Case of Angelica

My ballot:
1. James Franco, 127 Hours, Howl, and Date Night 2. Julianne Moore, Chloe and The Kids Are All Right 3. Harris Savides, cinematographer, Somewhere and Greenberg 4. Michelle Williams, Shutter Island and Blue Valentine 5. Mark Ruffalo, Shutter Island, The Kids Are All Right and Date Night

Best Ensemble Performance

1. The Social Network
2. True Grit
3. Carlos

My ballot:
1. The Kids Are All Right 2. True Grit 3. The Social Network 4. Another Year 5. The King’s Speech

Best Web-Based Criticism (no past winners)

1. AV Club
2. The Man Who Viewed Too Much (Mike D’Angelo)
3. Slant Magazine

My ballot:
1. AV Club 2. Not Coming to a Theater Near You 3. Jonathan Rosenbaum 4. The Projectionist (David Edelstein) 5. Sounds, Images

10th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 2000

1. In the Mood for Love
2. Memento
3. Yi Yi

My ballot:
1. In the Mood for Love 2. Memento 3. Almost Famous 4. Chicken Run 5. Traffic

25th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1985

1. Brazil
2. Ran
3. After Hours

My ballot:
1. Lost in America 2. Ran 3. Brazil 4. After Hours 5. The Purple Rose of Cairo

50th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film 1960

1. Psycho
2. The Apartment
3. Breathless

My ballot:
1. La Dolce Vita 2. The Apartment 3. Breathless 4. Psycho 5. L’Avventura

Special Award: Best Film of the 1950s

1. Vertigo
2. Rear Window
3. The Searchers

My ballot:
1. Rear Window 2. Seven Samurai 3. The 400 Blows 4. All About Eve 5. Wild Strawberries 6. Singin’ in the Rain 7. The Earrings of Madame de…  8. Paths of Glory 9. The Searchers 10. Los Olvidados

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