Part Two of TMD's Fourth Annual Movie Awards

Yesterday I posted the big movie list. Today's the Awards. As usual we have my rather unusual categories. Now, due to the tardiness of my writing and posting this, I've kinda forgotten a lot of the movies I shortlisted in my head so sometimes I'll just have the winner rather than a bunch of nominees too.

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Worst Movie

Basically, what sucks. These movies are not so-bad-they're-good, but are so-bad-they're-worse.

Nominees:

I Am Number Four

Hollow characters, boring plot... It just didn't work.

Winner: The Change Up

There's so much wrong and wasted with this movie that I have no idea where to even begin. An utter, utter, waste of time.

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Baddonkey of the Year

Every good action movie's got him. You can throw an army, the empire state building, and the kitchen sink at him, and he still prevails. And for that, he is awesome.

Nominees:

Hanna, Hanna

Scary little girl

The Driver, Drive

Silent rage has never been so terrifying

Winner: Ethan Hunt, MI4

So much of what he does is just plain cool. And, by extension, Tom Cruise for actually doing wirework off the Burj Khalifa

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Best Dialogue:

Super 8

It comes quick and natural sounding, as any good movie should. But more than that conversations take place simultaneously and over each other. It's wonderful, lifelike, and, surprisingly, follow-able.

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Best Comedy

All told it was a fairly disappointing year for comedies. Sure, we had Bridesmaids, the supposed distaff counterpart to The Hangover. But it simply just wasn't as funny.

So what was fantastic this year?

The Muppets

There's some strange charm to this show. It's amazingly self aware and when it spends a lot of time leaning on the fourth wall (if not outright breaking it). It's hilarious, it's fun, and, all told, the best and funniest comedy of the year.

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Best Soundtrack

Music carries a film. Duh. Here's the best:

We Bought A Zoo

The music in is ethereal, real but not quite. It accentuates the plot, serving to show just how dream like buying a zoo is

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Coolest Movie

This is the movie that makes you think "Dude, that's frickin' awesome"

Nominees:

Captain America, C'mon man, they designed stuff based on actual wacky Nazi plans.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon, It's giant robots beating the stuffing out of other giant robots!

Sucker Punch, didn't make much sense, but hey, it was cool!

Winner: Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol

Climbing. The. Burj. Khalifa.

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Who needs character/plot development when you've got booms?

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

It's giant robots beating the everything out of other giant robots for awesome and stuff. Unlike the prior ones, it focused mostly on this. And it is good.

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Most Innovative

This is the movie that did something new, something cool, or just special.

Nominees:

Drive, it's an arthouse action movie. That's new.

The Adventures of Tintin, rather than trying to find actors who sorta looked like the characters, they just animated the whole thing. A very wise way to bring something to the screen that other franchises *cough*uncharted*cough* should follow.

Winner: Fast Five

Guys, the Asian got the hot Brazilian chick! When has that ever happened in a movie!?

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Best Special Effects

If I need to explain this, then, well, stop reading.

Real Steel

The seamless integration of practical and digital effects really give the illusion that these fighting robots are real. (Note: This movie also has one of the coolest shots of the year. You'll know it when you see it)

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Best Actor:

Ryan Gosling, The Driver, Drive

Somehow he manages to portray the cold, calm, really really scary rage of his character. It's a good film, carried entirely by his excellent, quiet acting.

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Best Actress:

Elle Fanning, Alice Dainard, Super 8

Friends, we've found the better Fanning sister.

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Movies That I Really Like For Reasons That I'm Not Quite Sure

The Adjustment Bureau

There was something about this that I really liked. Might have been the existential nature to it, or maybe it was the theme of challenging fate. Dunno. I liked it.

We Bought A Zoo

No, the reason's not Scarlett Johansson (though that was the main reason I watched it). Near as I can figure my affinity for this film stems from the pseudo-family formed among the family and the zoo crew.

Restless

It's quirky, it's cute, it deals with dying people. I just really liked it.

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Best Animated Film:

The Adventures of Tintin

Alright, I read and really enjoyed the comics growing up. Then the movie stayed true to the spirit of them and felt like another adventure come to life. Really can't find any complaints here.

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Best Moving Picture:

Super 8

Okay. Where do I begin here?

a) It's a movie about a group of kids making a movie during the summer. It's fun, and, if you're me, very familiar. It's a fun plot. Furthermore, it's about these kids going on an adventure and beginning to grow up.

2) Unlike most movies of the sort, the parents aren't thrown out the window. The ones relevant to the plot are given proper arcs.

iii) The alien that everyone talks about isn't the point of the movie. Yes, there's an alien. But it's just a plot device. The real meat of the story comes from the kids and how their lives are interrupted/changed by the event.

Overall, Super 8 is an old fashioned Spielbergian adventure. The characters, the plot, the dialogue, it all comes together to make it my favorite movie of 2011.

And hey, I saw it in cinemas three times.