The Hollmann Awards: The Sexy Categories

The awards you've all been waiting for.... are after the jump. Click Read More if you want to explore my opinion....

National Board of Whoa, Wait, What?

Let me preface this by saying that, with the exception of Documentary and seven of the Top Eleven, I was 100% wrong in all of my predictions re: National Board of Review.

Ok. Now let me point out that the NBR once again has proven itself to be just awesome. The Social Network cleaned up, although not in the one category I expected it to. Some surprises in the omission of Black Swan, 127 Hours, and -- more shocking because I actually saw and loved and predicted it -- The Kids Are All Right. But the reason why I like NBR is because they can be so unpredictable. Well, except for the Eastwood love. What's that about?

BEST PICTURE: The Social Network
BEST DIRECTOR: David Fincher, The Social Network
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
BEST ACTOR: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

It's Best Actor that really catches me off-guard, in a good way. You know, of the last ten actors to be so honored by the NBR, eight of them went on to be nominated for the Oscar, and four of them won. But let's let the NBR stand on its own: still pretty cool.

BEST ACTRESS: Lesley Manville, Another Year
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
BEST ENSEMBLE : The Town

The Town ensemble? Over The Social Network, The Kids Are All Right, Scott Pilgrim, Get Low? I guess it's time to stop doubting that film's power. Manville is definitely going lead, Weaver gets a nice push out of this. Oscar-wise: 60% of the previous NBR Supporting Actresses get a nom, and 100% for Actress and Supporting Actor.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Chris Sparling, Buried
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Of Gods and Men
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Waiting for Superman
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Toy Story 3

TOP TEN
Another Year
The Fighter
Hereafter
Inception
The King's Speech
Shutter Island
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Of these, I've seen five. Halfway through!

Solid "Network"

I wrote a long review for The Social Network, but the internet connection went down in the middle, meaning that none of the work I was doing in the two hour span was actually saving. But I've gone far too long without saying anything about it already, so let me sum up:


Love. Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher craft a surprisingly sophisticated film out of seemingly superficial material. I mean, the founding of Facebook? Really? Yet they've found not just the intimate story of a friendship betrayed, but a universal one of a people looking to fit in. Acceptance, inclusion, snobbery, class structures: they're all apart of a social network and The Social Network. Everybody's part of something exclusive, whether it be Sean Parker in Silicon Valley, the Winklevoss twins in the Harvard Clubs, or Larry Summers and his secretary in Ivy League Administration. Laray Mayfield does a masterful job of gathering a fine ensemble of actors in roles great and small, each with a story of their own. Jesse Eisenberg is effortless as Mark Zuckerberg, the best Sorkin actor since Richard Schiff on The West Wing. Andrew Garfield is Eduardo Saverin, whose inexperience and shortsightedness lead to his own separation from the company, almost walks away with the film. In only three scenes, Rooney Mara crafts an affectionate, frustrated, intelligent young woman; I look forward to her work in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Trent Reznor and Atticus Wall's electronic score fits, rarely distracts. The origin of the Relationship Status is handled clumsily, but that's fifteen seconds out of a two hour movie; I think we can afford it.


It's straight A's from me. The Social Network is one for the ages.