Here we are with once again another end of the year awards list, this time it is our Highlight Reel Awards, honoring the best in the previous year of all things cinema. The fine fans of the FAN voted on what they thought were the best, and worst, of the year. So without further ado, let’s see who the winners(and loser) are.
Worst Picture
Winner – Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Unfortunately for Nick Swardson, it appears that unlike the character he played in this film, he was not born to be a star. Bucky Larson was a flat out financial and critical bomb, and one that probably took Swardson’s career with it when it exploded. The obnoxious Peter Dante filled commercials for the film didn’t help matters at all, either.
Best Art Direction
Winner – Drive
The fans chose the artistic choices made in Nicolas Winding Refn’s crime drama Drive as the most worthy recipient of Best Art Direction.
Best Costuming
Winner – Captain America: The First Avenger
In a nearly unanimous decision, the fans decided to crown the World War II era outfits and realistic re-imagining of Captain America’s classic costume as the best of the year.
Best Visual Effects
Winner – Thor
Be it the shimmering halls of Asgard, the frigid lands of the Frost Giants, or the movements of The Destroyer, Thor had plenty of eye pleasing trickery up its sleeve, earning it Best Visual Effects in the eyes of the fans.
Best Sound Design
Winner – The Artist
At first glance you would probably think it weird that a mostly silent film could even possibly walk away with Best Sound Design, but being a silent film makes the sound audible in The Artist all the better with how relatively rare it is.
Best Music
Winner – Drive
To go along with Drive’s art direction, the fans decided to award Cliff Martinez for his contribution to this excellent film.
Best Adaptation
Winner – Moneyball
The fans just barely liked Moneyball’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ 2003 book of the same name over Drive’s adaptation of James Sallis’ 2005 novel.
Best Screenplay
Winner – Drive
On the other hand, though, the fans decided that Drive had the better overall screenplay.
Best Documentary
Winner – Senna
Asif Kapadia’s look at the life and tragic death of famed motor-racer Ayrton Senna is one of those rare documentaries that you have to see at least once in your life, and it is thus fitting that it was selected as Best Documentary by the fans.
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner – Biutiful
This film from Spain, starring Javier Bardem, we follow a single father as he struggles to tie up all the loose ends in his life before his time in this world is up. It is a film that is truly beautiful.
Best Sci-Fi Film
Winner – Super 8
Super 8 is a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and J. J. Abrams. The film takes place in 1979 in small town America when a train derailment unleashes a mysterious, and dangerous being into the peaceful little town. While the film didn’t resonate with everyone, it struck a chord with the voters here, though, as they chose it as the Best Sci-Fi Film of 2011.
Best Action Film
Winner – Captain America: The First Avenger
This film was mainly done to set up the tale of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, for this year’s The Avengers film. Thankfully, this film was a great film in its own right, putting an interesting comic book twist on the classic World War II genre of films.
Best Horror Film
Winner – Paranormal Activity 3
Usually people are wary of the third entry in a film series, and with a long running track record to backup that train of thought, it is easy to see why. However, that being said Paranormal Activity 3 breaks free from that apparent curse, instead being arguably the best film in the series to date. There is a reason why Paranormal Activity 3 was the highest grossing entry in the series yet.
Best Comedy Film
Winner – The Muppets
There hasn’t been a Muppet film in theaters since the late 90s, so there was some reservation on if this film would match the quality of Jim Henson’s timeless work. The good news is that yes, yes it does match Henson’s quality of work, being a generally funny movie that the whole family could see and enjoy.
Best Drama Film
Winner – Moneyball
It is funny how Moneyball and Drive keep swapping blows among the fans who voted. In the end it was Moneyball, backed by the acting of Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill that edged out the competition in a really close decision.
Best Animated Film
Winner – Rango
I’ll admit, Rango looked silly, and not the good kind of silly, however it is a tried and true Western film through and through, with a giant helping of references to other Johnny Depp films thrown in on top for good measure. The voice acting was great, the writing was smart, the animation was top notch, and it is one of the few animated films where the grimy, dirty, ugly as sin talking animals were actually the good guys. In a year where Pixar dropped the ball it became a free-for-all for the king of the animation mountain and Rango fought tooth and nail to reach the top first.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner – Carey Mulligan for Drive
In Drive Carey Mulligan plays Irene, the neighbor to Ryan Gosling’s the Driver. As the film progresses, Irene is dragged deeper into the same tangled mess that the Driver finds himself in. It is an incredibly strong performance, and one that was recognized by the voters.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner – Jonah Hill for Moneyball
Jonah Hill doesn’t strike you as the kind of actor that can do dramatic performances, and that mostly has to do with the majority of his films being raunchy comedies. However, Hill knocks it out of the park in his first major dramatic role as the assistant general manager of the Oakland Athletics, Peter Brand, in Moneyball, being the driving force behind Billy Beane’s adoption of the sabermetrics approach to scouting.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Winner – Viola Davis for The Help
Viola Davis gives a performance of the ages as Aibileen Clark, a middle-aged black maid in the South during the Civil Rights age. Davis’ performance shows that it never too late to have that one breakout performance that thrusts you into the spotlight.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Winner – Jean Dujardin for The Artist
Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, a major silent film star who struggles to cope with the shift in the movie industry from silent films to the talkies. We follow Dujardin down his spiraling path into madness, and it is a breathtaking one.
Best Director
Winner – Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn has been recognized by the fans for the tour de force that is Drive. A modern crime drama classic, Refn tells a tale that won’t soon be forgotten.
Best Picture
Winner – Moneyball
And we find ourselves here at the end. Throughout the voting it was a constant back and forth battle between Drive and Moneyball, but the fans have decided to give the Brad Pitt vehicle the nod as the best film of 2011, top notch acting, a gripping tale, and most of all the complete antithesis of what we’ve come to expect out of sports films. What more could you possibly want?