The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced last month, and the snubs still make me cry. OK, not really, but I’m still pissed. For starters, Michael Fassbender, who had been garnering attention for several breakthrough performances this year (not to mention going the full monty in one of them), was left off the Best Actor list for his work in Shame. Even more remarkable was how Leonardo DiCaprio was stiffed for his transformational work in J. Edgar. Similarly, Albert Brooks was criminally overlooked for Drive. Having said that, there were many delightful surprises such as Nick Nolte grabbing a nod for his understated turn in the terribly underrated Warrior and Melissa McCarthy scoring a rare comedic nod for Best Supporting Actress in Bridesmaids. That said, the snubs stink and that what brings us to the purpose of this post.
I could go on and on about the worthy performances and films that were overlooked, and there were a lot of them. Instead, I’ll just highlight key performances and films that got overlooked and celebrate the work with a pointless award “show” I created over a decade ago. “The Forgotscars” celebrates actors and films which could’ve very easily earned nods but failed to do so. While there are no trophies when the winners are selected (please comment below to determine the “winners”), my intention is to lessen the sting from the snubs. I only listed major categories but could’ve easily extended it to the minor ones. For example, how was “Life’s a Happy Song” not nominated for Best Song for The Muppets, and how is Cliff Martinez’s score for Contagion or Drive not among the nominees? OK — I digress. Read below, and weigh in.
Best Picture
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Ides of March
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Warrior
Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Tom Hardy, Warrior
Best Actress
Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
Leila Hatami, A Separation
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, Drive
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March
Patton Oswalt, Young Adult
Best Supporting Actress
Anjelica Houston, 50/50
Anna Kendrick, 50/50
Amy Ryan, Win Win
Evan Rachel Wood, The Ides of March
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Director
David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Bennett Miller, Moneyball
Gavin O’Connor, Warrior
Steven Spielberg, War Horse
Tate Taylor, The Help
1 comment
Blake says:
Feb 16, 2012
This is my personal recap of 2011:
Top 10 Best Films of 2011
1. Drive
2. The Tree of Life
3. Attack the Block
4. Moneyball
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
7. Shame
8. X-Men: First Class
9. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
10. Super 8
Top 5 Best Documentaries of 2011
1. The Interrupters
2. Beauty Day
3. Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times
4. Senna
5. Project Nim
Bottom 5 Worst Films of 2011
1. Jack and Jill
2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
3. Zookeeper
4. Happy Feet 2
5. Abduction
Top 5 Most Surprisingly Entertaining Films of 2011
1. Fast Five
2. Crazy, Stupid, Love
3. The Descendants
4. Bridesmaids
5. 50/50
Top 5 Female Performances of 2011
1. Tilda Swinton as Eva Khatchadourian in We Need to Talk About Kevin
2. Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary in Young Adult
4. Carey Mulligan as Sissy Sullivan in Shame
5. Jessica Chastain as Mrs. O’Brien in The Tree of Life
Top 5 Male Performances of 2011
1. Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan in Shame
2. Gary Oldman as George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
3. Jonah Hill as Peter Brand in Moneyball
4. Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose in Drive
5. George Clooney as Matt King in The Descendants