by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
Awards season is upon us! Yeah, we got Sinners earlier this year, but now we’re getting instant classics such as Sentimental Value, Hamnet, and One Battle After Another. I’m loving all these new, great films? But now that we’re in the mindset for awards recognition, what better time is there to look at yet another awards season from our past? As a reminder, with Oscars: What If…, I look at categories the Academy Awards should be honoring, but for one reason or another, they aren’t. So we’re going to imagine what could’ve been regarding past Oscar seasons. Hopefully someday the Academy will do right by these creative talents, but until then we must do the Academy’s job for them. Let’s look back at the year NASA’s Curiosity rover landed on Mars, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” became the most annoying song in the world, London hosted the Summer Olympic games, Barack Obama was elected to a second term as president of the United States, there was an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School took place. It is time to examine the films of 2012, celebrated at the Oscars in 2013. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography.
And the nominees are… Django Unchained, Les Misérables, The Raid, Skyfall, Step Up: Revolution
And the winner is… The Raid!
I mean, duh. Right?
As much as I’d enjoy awarding a film that shows a bunch of racist KKK members dying, or some of the epic dance numbers from The Mob, the winner has to be all of the insane martial arts, close-quarters combat, and intense gunplay coming out of Indonesia. The Raid is almost singlehandedly responsible for look, stylization, and choreography of all modern action filmmaking for more than a decade. Edge of Tomorrow, Baby Driver, Kingsman: The Secret Service, recent Mission: Impossible entries… Hell, the entire John Wick franchise, possibly the definitive action series of the last decade, owes its entire existence to The Raid. From the quick-paced action, visceral choreography, and long takes that add to the authenticity and comprehension of the fight scenes, this film is operating at another level. There’s a mastery here that is largely absent from most action flicks. You can tell that these are committed actors and stunt workers. Not people hired on for a day’s work, but individuals who have been training in martial arts for decades. This allows the action to be as thrilling and aggressive as possible, adding to the tension of the experience. This is the way action should look and feel, and it’s only possible due to the incredible stunt work and highly choreographed fight sequences.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off screen voice performance, or on screen motion captured performance.
And the nominees are… Don Hertzfeldt as Narrator in It’s Such a Beautiful Day, Kelly MacDonald as Merida in Brave, Seth MacFarlane as Ted in Ted, Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz in Wreck-It Ralph, Alan Tudyk as King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph
And the winner is… Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz in Wreck-It Ralph!
The temptation to award Alan Tudyk because of the epicness of his “Have some candy!” line reading is off the charts. But I’ll do the right thing…
As amazing as Tudyk is, and as much as John C. Reilly is the perspective of the film, Sarah Silverman is the reason Wreck-It Ralph works at all. The emotional journey through this film happens because of the Vanellope von Schwartz character. Through her, we see what truly matters in this story, in this life, and how treating others with compassion and respect makes the world a better place. When we hear her break down because Ralph destroys her cart, it’s genuinely one of the saddest moments you’ll ever see. But it’s not just that Silverman puts herself out there and makes herself vulnerable enough to make this cathartic connection, she is also hilariously entertaining throughout the entire film. Whether she’s mimicking Ralph, aggressively spewing vitriol at King Candy, or sarcastically cracking jokes at anyone who crosses her path, Silverman is top notch. Happy to award her with this much-deserved Oscar.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance for film.
And the nominees are… Cloud Atlas, Django Unchained, The Master, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook
And the winner is… The Master!
Ooo, this was tough. Tough, tough, tough. Honestly, this is a great problem to have. To be burdened by a deluge of legitimate options. Though I might regret this tomorrow, today, I’m going with The Master. This Paul Thomas Anderson period piece about a mysterious cult in post-World War II America was largely snubbed by awards bodies, including the Oscars, except in one area — performances. The incredible trio of Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams were nominated all over the place. The BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes, and yes, the Oscars, amongst others. And those nominations, and even a few wins, were wholly deserved. Hoffman as the charismatic but flawed cult leader, Adams as the behind-the-scenes manipulative wife, and Phoenix as the unsettling follower and disciple who’s trying desperately to make some sense of a confusing world. These are three complex, nuanced, and disturbing performances that leave you in awe of the powerful individual attributes, while also marveling at their joint chemistry. It’s hard to not consider these performances some of the best work from each incredibly talented performer’s illustrious careers. While it’s a bit of a bummer there aren’t more performances from this film that get the screen time to shine as brightly as these three, even the minor background performances from the likes of Laura Dern and Jesse Plemons are bound to stick with you. This is excellent work from a group of gifted performers.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent.
And the nominees are… Drew Goddard for Cabin in the Woods, Don Hertzfeldt for It’s Such a Beautiful Day, Rich Moore for Wreck-It Ralph, Josh Trank for Chronicle, Benh Zeitlin for The Beasts of the Southern Wild
And the winner is… Don Hertzfeldt for It’s Such a Beautiful Day!
Do you remember the “Rejected” cartoons? My spoon is too big? No? Well… I imagine the vast majority of people have never heard of Don Hertzfeldt or his work, like It’s Such a Beautiful Day. That’s fine. Use this as the ultimate recommendation for his work, and this film. It’s a triumphant and existentially surreal animated film that tackles so many of life’s greatest questions, while maintaining an absurdist style of humor that makes the whole experience wildly entertaining. It’s as if you took Stanley Kubrick’s high-flying concepts, mixed them with David Lynch’s trippy worldview, and channeled all of those thoughts and feelings through an illustrated lens. While most people won’t take the time to find this, and even fewer will be able to get on its wavelength, it is a masterclass in filmmaking. One of the most unique and creative works of art ever made. It and Hertzfeldt are entirely deserving of this Oscar.
Best Popular Film
Given to the best audience supported motion picture that earned a spot as one of the top 25 box office films of the year.
And the nominees are… The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hunger Games, Skyfall
And the winner is… Skyfall!
In hindsight, this was a pretty damn big year for blockbusters. Five different Best Picture nominees made it into the top 25 of the domestic box office. You had the conclusion of the Dark Knight Trilogy, the continuation of the 007 franchise and the Middle-Earth films, and the origin of The Hunger Games. More than anything, this was the year of The Avengers, the film that proved the MCU equation a success, which, for better or worse, has gone on to define Hollywood, universe building, and blockbusters ever since. It’s crazy. But with all that said, it really comes down to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes versus James Bond, and however contentious it may be, I’m awarding Skyfall the Best Popular Film.
The immediate impulse here is to award The Avengers. It was the number-one movie at the domestic box office, while being number one at the worldwide box office, earning $623.4 million and $1.519 billion respectively. You can’t argue against that. To call this film popular is an understatement. But, it’s worth noting that Skyfall was number four domestically that same year, bringing in $304.3 million, and number two worldwide, raking in $1.109 billion. So sure, The Avengers was incredibly popular, but so was Skyfall. The box office performances, even while acknowledging that the flagship MCU picture might have a slight edge, virtually cancel each other out.
So at this point it comes down to what’s best. In which case, this isn’t nearly as close.
Checking out some of the bigger movie sites, Skyfall beats out The Avengers across the board. A 92% to 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, 81 to 69 on Metacritic, and a 3.9 to 3.7 on Letterboxd. The only major site where The Avengers outperforms is IMDb, where the MCU barely edges out a win with an 8.0 against a 7.8. Once you take awards into consideration, it becomes even more lopsided. Skyfall received a whopping 107 nominations across all awards bodies this year, while The Avengers got 75. Further, it took home 37 wins versus the MCU’s 22. Moreover, outside of a few Visual Effects nominations, The Avengers was largely nominated for things like the Teen Choice Awards. Fun, but not quite the pinnacle of cinematic accolades. Skyfall was nominated for eight BAFTAs, seven Critics’ Choice Awards, one Golden Globe, two SAG Awards, and even five different Academy Awards. Want to be impressed some more? It won nine of those. Essentially, while The Avengers was some popular popcorn blockbuster fun, Skyfall was popular, awards-caliber blockbuster art. It was operating on a different level.
Seeing as “popular” is the qualifier, “best” is the adjective that actually matters when determining a winner. As such, it’s really not a contest. Skyfall is one of the greatest action blockbusters we’ve ever gotten. A truly incredible work of tension and spectacle that elevated the half-century-old 007 to new heights. I couldn’t be more thrilled to award this epic flick with the Best Popular Film Oscar.
And that’s gonna do it! Thanks for joining me on another trip down memory lane to see what could’ve been! We got to talk about one of the greatest 007 adventures we’ve ever seen, a deeply fun and tragically sad animated debut, and a nostalgic journey through video games. Be sure to come back next time when we look at films like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Frozen, and The Wolf of Wall Street, as we’ll examine the Oscars of 2014, celebrating the films of 2013!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd