The 11th Annual Conor Awards

Drum roll please as we announce our winners for 2010's Conor Awards. Unlike the Oscars, I have a good host. Please welcome Mr. Billy Crystal!

He's already better than Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Let's get to the awards...

BEST PICTURE- The King's Speech

Toy Story 3
Inception
The Social Network
The Fighter

BEST ACTOR- Colin Firth- The King's Speech

Mark Whalberg- The Fighter
Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network

BEST ACTRESS- Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit

Natalie Portman- Black Swan
Amy Adams- The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- Christian Bale- The Fighter

Tom Hardy- Inception
Geoffery Rush- The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS- Melissa Leo- The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter- The King's Speech
Rooney Mara- The Social Network

BEST DIRECTOR- Christopher Nolan- Inception

David O. Russell- The Fighter
Tom Hooper- The King's Speech

For me, The King's Speech really distinguished itself as a great story that was engaging, uplifting and compelling without any explosions, sex or gimmicks. At the core of our Best Picture was a sterling performance by Colin Firth. He was helped by a fabulous supporting cast, but his tremendous skills as an actor made you feel the king's paralyzing stammer. It wasn't hard to pick any of these awards this year because each of the winners truly stood out from the rest. Hailee Steinfeld carried the Coen Brothers' True Grit as the plucky Maddie Ross among some solid veteran company. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo turned in the two best performances in The Fighter, as the two most dysfunctional members of boxer Micky Ward's family. It is hard to believe that the Christian Bale in The Fighter is the same man that I reviewed a few weeks ago in The Dark Knight. As far as the directors, I felt it necessary to recognize a true auteur, Christopher Nolan.

Until next year, kids.

Movie of the Week

This week,

THE DARK KNIGHT (2009)

Starring- Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

Batman was always my favorite comic book hero, and the Joker was the best villain in the Batman rogues gallery, so I was justifiably excited when I heard about the plans for The Dark Knight. My expectations were high and I could have been disappointed, but I walked out knowing that I had just seen the best comic book movie ever made. The caliber of the acting, the strength of the story and the realism in dealing with fantastical subject matter, all contributed to making this an Oscar nominated and Conor Award winning film.

Picking up where Batman Begins leaves off, The Dark Knight shows how Gotham City is still dominated by criminals, and is actually more corrupt and dangerous than before Batman began taking on the underworld. Leading the new breed of criminals is the mysterious Joker, a sadistic, crazed killer who delights in his deadly work a little too much. Hoping to make a difference in the war on crime is Gotham's new D.A. Harvey Dent (Eckhart) and police Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), who reluctantly team up with Batman to smoke out the mob. While combating the more conventional criminals, the Joker pops up sporadically and throws monkey wrenches into the plans of Dent, Batman and Gordon. It all ends up costing the three men dearly to take the Joker down, but as Dent says "the night is always darkest before the dawn."

Director Christopher Nolan is masterful in his development of the story. The main thread is about Bruce Wayne and his struggle to be Batman while still hoping to win the love of Rachel (Maggie 'Sad Turtle' Gyllenhall) who is in love with Dent. The love triangle is only one piece of the complex story, but throughout the entire film there is the constant threat of the Joker looming over the heroes. Nolan wisely restricts the Joker's screen time and makes his appearances random, so that when the Joker does show up it is surprising, suspenseful and unnerving. It is regrettable that Heath Ledger died shortly after this movie wrapped because he gave us one of the greatest screen villains of all time, and it would have been incredible to see he and Christian Bale square off again. Oldman, Caine, Eckhart and Morgan Freeman make strong contributions in their roles and prove that even the smaller roles can have a large impact on the film. The scenes where Caine and Freeman counsel Bruce Wayne bristle with charm and needed exposition.

It is rare that a movie from this genre gets accolades like The Dark Knight did, but the way Nolan treats the subject matter with a deep respect makes the film go far beyond others of this type. It will be hard to top this effort, but with his eye for casting and ability to tell rich, moving stories, Nolan has the ability to win himself some more Conor Awards, and maybe some Oscars as well.

Things to watch for-

Anthony Michael Hall as the News guy
The Bat Pod
Scotch can be deadly
A Cameo by the Scarecrow
Good Cop/Bad Cop
The most unsettling nurse ever

"Wanna know how I got these scars?"

The Nominees Are...

Here are the Conor Award Nominees for 2010. Before we get to them, let me just say that this year in film seemed a little bit lean until the end. I saw a good deal of these movies recently, and can say that I was impressed that 2010 finished strong at the megaplex. The Fighter garnered a nomination in every category, while the notable snubs were Jeff Bridges' mumble mouth performance in True Grit and Justin Timberlake as the Napster guy in The Social Network. Maybe next year, boys. The nominees are...

BEST PICTURE-

INCEPTION

TOY STORY 3

THE FIGHTER

THE KING'S SPEECH

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST DIRECTOR-

Christopher Nolan- Inception
David O. Russell- The Fighter
Tom Hooper- The King’s Speech

BEST ACTOR-

Colin Firth- The King's Speech

Mark Whalberg- The Fighter

Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network

BEST ACTRESS-

Natalie Portman- Black Swan

Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit

Amy Adams- The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-

Tom Hardy- Inception

Geoffery Rush- The King's Speech

Christian Bale- The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-

Helena Bonham Carter- The King's Speech

Rooney Mara- The Social Network

Melissa Leo- The Fighter

You have until Oscar Sunday to lobby me for my picks. Let the campaigning begin!

Movie of the Week

This week,

MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007)

Starring- George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sidney Pollack

This film, not No Country for Old Men, was the Conor Award winning Best Picture of 2007. Michael Clayton is a richly engrossing melodrama that takes you on a journey of morality and conscience. It features sterling performances from Clooney, Wilkinson and Oscar winner Swinton as well as a fast paced and suspenseful story from writer/director Tony Gilroy. This film is a thinking man's Jason Bourne adventure, with all the same twists and turns, but with hard hitting dialogue in place of hard hitting action.

Michael Clayton (Clooney) is a 'fixer' for a large New York law firm who gets sent to sort out the aftermath of a psychotic breakdown by his colleague, Arthur Edens (Wilkinson) during a large class-action law suit. What follows is Michael's struggle to uncover the truth behind Arthur's claims that U North, a large agricultural conglomerate, has been hiding deadly secrets. Michael is skeptical because of Arthur's fragile mental state, but is forced to become involved by his firm. Standing in Michael's way is the uptight general counsel for U North, Karen Crowder (Swinton), who tries to keep the information from leaking out at any cost.

The way in which the story is told keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, as you try to figure out if Arthur is speaking the truth about U North, or perhaps just acting crazy. It is also compelling to watch and see what lengths each side will go to in order to achieve their objectives. There is also an engrossing sub-plot involving Michael and his family that adds another level to the complex nature of the film. In some films this type of story line feels tacked on, or unnecessary, but here it serves as a way to enrich the main character and make him more of a flawed hero, so that we aren't sure whether he will do the right thing when the time comes. Michael Clayton is first and foremost a melodrama, but it is also a commentary about big business, family and the ethics of both. More than that, it is just a good story that grabs you from the start and keeps your interest until the final credits roll.

Things to watch for-

Michael O'Keefe (Danny Noonan) as Barry
Horses save lives
Late night gambling
Realm and Conquest

"Do I look like I'm negotiating?"

The Conor Award Goes To...

Here are the anxiously awaited Conor Awards for the film year 2009. It was difficult this year to come up with a clear-cut best picture, but I did. The envelope please...

BEST PICTURE- The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

The Hangover

Up In The Air

District 9

BEST ACTOR- George Clooney- Up in the Air

Robert Downey, Jr.- Sherlock Holmes

Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart

BEST ACTRESS- Meryl Streep- Julie and Julia

Meryl Streep- It’s Complicated

Sandra Bullock- The Blindside

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- Zach Galifinakis- The Hangover

Alec Baldwin- It’s Complicated

Christoph Waltz- Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS- Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air

Maggie Gyllenhall- Crazy Heart

Diane Kruger- Inglourious Basterds

BEST DIRECTOR- Kathryn Bigelow- The Hurt Locker

J.J. Abrams- Star Trek

Neill Blomkamp- District 9

I have to say that I felt that The Hurt Locker was the most complete film, and that it was the only one that had me from start until finish. Jeff Bridges was great, but I felt George Clooney gave a more nuanced and deeper performance that was very deserving of recognition. Meryl Streep is the gold standard, and showed her great talent yet again. Zach Galifinakis was hilarious and made The Hangover go from a funny movie to a brilliantly funny movie. Anna Kendrick had a breakout performance in Up in the Air and held her own among veteran company. And finally, Kathryn Bigelow did a very adept job in creating both a tense and moving story in The Hurt Locker.

There you have it, see you all next year for the hottest awards since the Cable Ace's.

The Nominees Are...

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting the nominations for the Conor Awards, well here they are. I have expanded the awards this year to include not only Best Picture, but Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Director. I have seen most of the 2009 films of consequence, and feel that these represent the best of the year. The most notable snub is Avatar, which got 0 nominations. While it was a very beautiful film, and showed what is possible with filmmaking, it left me wishing James Cameron had spent part of the $300 million budget on a writer. Watching Avatar was like being given a beautiful car, and not being allowed to drive it. Sure, it's nice to look at, but who cares if you can't get behind the wheel? Sorry, James Cameron it just wasn't your year for a Conor Award. Maybe you can get a nomination for Avatar 2: The Search for More Money.

2009

BEST PICTURE-

Star Trek

The Hurt Locker

The Hangover

Up In The Air

District 9

BEST ACTOR-

Robert Downey, Jr.- Sherlock Holmes

George Clooney- Up in the Air

Jeff Bridges- Crazy Heart

BEST ACTRESS-

Meryl Streep- Julie and Julia

Meryl Streep- It’s Complicated

Sandra Bullock- The Blindside

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-

Alec Baldwin- It’s Complicated

Zach Galifinakis- The Hangover

Christoph Waltz- Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-

Maggie Gyllenhall- Crazy Heart

Diane Kruger- Inglourious Basterds

Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR-

J.J. Abrams- Star Trek

Kathryn Bigelow- The Hurt Locker

Neill Blomkamp- District 9

Please leave me a comment if you disagree with my picks. The award winners will be revealed on the Saturday before the Oscars, so you have time to lobby me for who should win.

The Conor Awards 2000-2008

If you haven't already guessed it, I love movies. I was a film major for a time, and I have really come to appreciate all kinds of films, directors and actors. Another thing I appreciate about movies is awards season. The Golden Globes and Oscars are fun for me because they (supposedly) showcase the best films the movie industry has to offer in a given year. I have tried to watch as many Oscar nominated and winning films as I can because more often than not, they truly are the best. However, sometimes I disagree with the Academy or the Hollywood Foreign Press, and as such I have been compiling my own list of the best films of the year since 2000. In advance of the Oscars which are now only two months I away, I present the Conor Awards for the last nine years. I will of course give out awards this year, but not until I have seen more of the acclaimed films.

2000

BEST PICTURE- Gladiator

NOMINEES-

High Fidelity

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Chocolat

Almost Famous

2001

BEST PICTURE- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

NOMINEES-

Gosford Park

Bridget Jones' Diary

Wet Hot American Summer

Monsters Inc.

2002

BEST PICTURE- Chicago

NOMINEES-

Catch Me If You Can

Minority Report

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

2003

BEST PICTURE- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

NOMINEES-

Master and Commander

Seabiscuit

Dirty Pretty Things

A Mighty Wind

2004

BEST PICTURE- Sideways

NOMINEES-

Finding Neverland

Million Dollar Baby

Napoleon Dynamite

Miracle

2005

BEST PICTURE- Crash

NOMINEES-

Batman Begins

Walk the Line

Goodnight, and Good Luck

Capote

2006

BEST PICTURE- The Queen

NOMINEES-

Borat

Little Miss Sunshine

The Departed

Casino Royale

2007

BEST PICTURE- Michael Clayton

NOMINEES-

Juno

Knocked Up

No Country for Old Men

The Bourne Ultimatum

2008

BEST PICTURE- The Dark Knight

NOMINEES-

Frost/Nixon

Doubt

Slumdog Millionaire

The Reader

P.S. Send me a note if there is a movie I should consider for this year's awards.