Hello, and welcome to the Fifth Annual Elwyns Awards, a ceremony (see: blog post) dedicated to celebrating the greatest accomplishments set to film during the past year. This is, of course, my personal chance to play god with the Oscars, righting what I perceive to be the Academy's wrongs, replacing them with my own glorious, irrefutable selections. Sounds cool, right? I knew you'd think so. Some of Oscar's favorite sections (Foreign Film, Documentary, all the Shorts) are missing here, but in their place are a few different categories dreamed up especially for this site's very own awards show. The winner of each category will receive a Collin, the highest honor that this website can offer, and a form of recognition that will be remembered for a lifetime. Let's get to it!
***Note: A special thanks to my sister, Brittany Elwyn, for creating all of the graphics featured in today's post***
Best Picture:
And the nominees are...
The Babadook
Birdman
Boyhood
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Force Majeure
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nightcrawler
Selma
Under the Skin
Whiplash
I'll have a full write up about this ten-pack of winners come Monday, so I'll save my metaphorical breath here, and move on to Best Director.
And the Collin goes to...
Boyhood
In the five years that I've done my own awards write-up, I've never had as difficult a choice as Bouhood vrs. Birdman. In the end, I've got to go with the one that effected me most on a personal level. As a middle class white male who grew up around the time in which the film takes place, I can look into the mirror that is Boyhood, and see myself. Nothing has ever been quite like it.
Runner Up: Birdman
Just Missed the Cut: Gone Girl, The Double, and The Rover
Best Director:
And the nominees are...
Jennifer Kent---The Babadook
Alejandro González Iñárritu---Birdman
Richard Linklater---Boyhood
Ava DuVernay---Selma
Jonathan Glazer---Under the Skin
In her directorial debut, Kent turns a rudimentary horror film into an emotionally draining nightmare, turning the screws tighter with each passing frame. Iñárritu, long one of the world's most purely talented filmmakers, finally lightens up a bit, crafting an occasionally riotous comedy, and decking it out with his trademark technical mastery and flair. Linklater doesn't exactly add a lot of flourish while behind the helm, but the scope and ingenuity of this project demand recognition. In Selma, DuVernay has crafted a deeply affecting, passionate movie where most directors would have likely turned in standard Oscar fodder. And as far as Glazer is concerned, any time you merit completely valid Stanley Kubrick comparisons, an awards nomination should be automatic.
And the Collin goes to...
Alejandro González Iñárritu---Birdman
This is what it looks like to watch potential finally be realized. Iñárritu has always been a special director, but here he finds material that's perfectly suited to his strengths, dazzles with his plethora of strong, big choices, and steers the year's finest cast by a mile.
Runner Up:
Jonathan Glazer---Under the Skin
Just Missed the Cut: Richard Ayoade---The Double, David Michôd---The Rover, and Damien Chazelle---Whiplash
Best Actor:
And the nominees are...
Michael Keaton---Birdman
Ralph Fiennes---The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal---Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo---Selma
Miles Teller---Whiplash
Keaton positively crushes his comeback performance, the character's every emotion registering across his face, guiding us through Birdman's exhilaratingly madcap world. I'm not as big on Budapest as some, but I'm bullish on Fiennes, who elevates the whole film with his hilarious and sneakily graceful turn. Gyllenhaal creates a character from the ground up, completely changing his body language and verbal cadence to the point where you stop seeing the actor altogether. Oyelowo does the exact opposite, impersonating an individual whom we are all readily familiar with in truly masterful fashion, ripping through speeches powerful enough to stop the world from spinning. Almost all of the Whiplash love goes to J.K. Simmons, and deservedly so, but don't even think about forgetting Teller, who does nearly all of his own drumming, and channels the feral energy of a young Robert De Niro.
And the Collin goes to...
Jake Gyllenhaal---Nightcrawler
This is my single favorite performance in all of 2014, as Gyllenhaal fully embodies the creature of the night that he plays, a character who will likely stand the test of time as a legendary big screen creepo.
Runner Up:
David Oyelowo---Selma
Just Missed the Cut: Brendan Gleeson---Calvary, Tom Hardy---Locke, and
Jack O'Connell---Starred Up
Best Actress:
And the nominees are...
Essie Davis---The Babadook
Tessa Thompson---Dear White People
Lisa Loven Kongsli---Force Majeure
Rosamund Pike---Gone Girl
Agata Kulesza---Ida
Davis is the face though which The Babadook tells its story of grief and dread, a woman fighting with everything she's got just to hold herself together. I'm not sure Dear White People would even be a good movie without Thompson, a fiery young starlet who turns what might otherwise be an obnoxious character into a living, breathing, sympathetic individual. Kongsli is the audience avatar in Force Majeure, never truly steering the action, but observing and being effected by everything in heartbreaking fashion. Gone Girl required an actress able to effectively play multiple roles, confounding expectations over any over again, and Pike proved more than up to the challenge. Intensely bitter and bitterly determined to have both justice and revery, Kulesza might not be the titular Ida, but she still manages to make this movie her own.
And the Collin goes to...
Essie Davis---The Babadook
The Babadook's standard horror trappings are all a front for a tale of grief and anxiety, and without Davis' otherworldly emoting, none of these themes and ideas would have come through in such a powerful way.
Runner Up:
Lisa Loven Kongsli---Force Majeure
Just Missed the Cut: Emily Blunt---Edge of Tomorrow, Julianne Moore---Still Alice, and Scarlett Johansson---Under the Skin
Best Supporting Actor:
And the nominees are...
Edward Norton---Birdman
Ethan Hawke---Bothood
Steve Carell---Foxcatcher
Robert Pattinson---The Rover
J.K. Simmons---Whiplash
Edward Norton gives one of the best-ever performances in the long, storied history of basically playing yourself, a talented, egotistical live wire who sets the screen ablaze every time he's on it. No such theatricality can be found in Hawke's turn, an every man who grows and matures before our very eyes. The Academy opted to nominate Carell in the leading actor category, but I think he fits a little better right here, his John Du Pont ever-lingering around the edges of Foxcatcher, sending chills down spines whenever he speaks. Pattinson has had the opportunity to work with a handful of celebrated directors since hanging up his Twilight fangs for good, but the violent half-wit he plays in The Rover is by far his greatest on-screen creation to date. And then there's Simmons, who tears through Whiplash like a tornado, chewing up every last bit of scenery in sight with his limitless rage.
And the Collin goes to...
J.K. Simmons---Whiplash
What is there to say that hasn't already been said? Simmons is a force of nature in this movie, and when he wins his Oscar tomorrow, it will be fully deserved.
Runner Up:
Edward Norton---Birdman
Just Missed the Cut: Kristofer Hivju---
Force Majeure, Tyler Perry---Gone Girl, and Roman Madyanov---Leviathan
Best Supporting Actress:
And the nominees are...
Emma Stone---Birdman
Patricia Arquette---Boyhood
Carrie Coon---Gone Girl
Rose Byrne---Neighbors
Carmen Ejogo---Selma
Hilarious, effortless, and magnetic, Birdman has many treasures in its trove, but few are as special as Emma Stone. As the beating heart of Boyhood, Arquette takes us on the journey that is motherhood, wallowing in its pains, and rejoicing in its triumphs. Coon is about the only thing keeping you sane in the warped, unpredictable world of Gone Girl, alternately gently supportive, and no-B.S. abrasive. Congrats, Rose Byrne; no one else seems to notice with a fun and alluring gem you were in Neighbors, but at least now you have a nomination at the Elwyns! Carmen Ejogo is the more human side to Martin Luther King's pristine bravery, her stipped-down performance alerting us to the true cost of following your convictions even when danger is afoot.
And the Collin goes to...
Patricia Arquette---Boyhood
Despite the film's title, the character with the most involving arch in Boyhood is the mother, and Arquette takes us with her for every step. half a year later, and I still can't get over her final scene.
Runner Up:
Emma Stone---Birdman
Just Missed the Cut: Katherine Waterston---Inherent Vice, Imogen Poots---Jimi: All is By My Side, and Dakota Fanning---Night Moves
Best Original Screenplay:
And the nominees are...
Jennifer Kent---The Babadook
Alejandro González Iñárritu,
Nicolás Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris, and
Armando Bo---Birdman
Ruben Östlund---Force Majeure
Dan Gilroy---Nightcrawler
Paul Webb---Selma
Kent manages to take a mightily familiar story, and make it something completely her own, a fright fest that somehow doubles as a therapy session. That Birdman screenplay is an downright gut-buster, but when the showbiz tale isn't making you slap your knees and hold your side, its chuck-full of under-played ruminations and grace notes. Östlund assembles Force Majeure like a puzzle, introducing characters and occurrences in unique, unexpected ways, slipping in occasional humor that's as bitter as black coffee. Nightcrawler isn't exactly a perfect script, but it does offer us a perfect character in the form of Lou Bloom, every line of dialogue he utters or act he commits furthering Gilroy's brilliant character study. Every Oscar season, at least one or two films are textbook adaptations of a famous person's life; the fact that Webb's Selma script could stand out so far above such a crowded pack is a grand achievement.
And the Collin goes to...
Paul Webb---Selma
The fact that Webb could even write an MLK script without access the the man's real-life speeches is amazing. The script being this powerful and moving is a near-miracle
Runner Up:
Alejandro González Iñárritu,
Nicolás Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris, and
Armando Bo---Birdman
Just Missed the Cut: John Michael McDonagh---Calvary, Chris Miller and Phil Lord---The LEGO Movie, and
David Michôd---The Rover
Best Adapted Screenplay:
And the Nominees are...
Gillian Flynn---Gone Girl
James Gunn and Nicole Perlman---Guardians of the Galaxy
Andrew Bovell---A Most Wanted Man
Jonathan Glazer---Under the Skin
Damien Chazelle---Whiplash
I have not read Gone Girl, and went into the movie with little expectations or pre-existing knowledge; anyone who approaches the story in this same fashion will be blown away at the roller coaster ride that Flynn has constructed. Guardians is the most purely fun blockbuster in recent memory, and while many people played a part in making the film such a blast, Gunn and Perlman's irreverent screenplay is the primary culprit. Bovell pulls off what is possibly the hardest thing to do in all of moviedom at the moment: adapt a John le Carré novel without completely losing your audience somewhere along the way. It's always funny to see a film with minimal dialogue in a screenplay category, but its the many ideas that Glazer puts on paper that make the events of Under the Skin so mesmerizing. Chazelle manages to make a sports movie out of a jazz conductor's attempts to wring out every last ounce of potential in his students, and has us biting our nails the whole time.
And the Collin goes to...
James Gunn and Nicole Perlman---Guardians of the Galaxy
Hollywood pumps out one dumb big-budget romp after another during the summer time, but you'd have to go back a few years to find one that was as wall-to-wall enjoyable and memorable as Guardians. Writing a script that appeals to nearly everyone is no easy task.
Runner Up:
Jonathan Glazer---Under the Skin
Just Missed the Cut:
Richard Ayoade---The Double, Dennis Lehane---The Drop, Graham Moore---The Imitation Game
Best Ensemble:
And the nominees are...
Birdman
Calvary
Force Majeure
Into the Woods
Selma
This category might as well be renamed 'Best Movie Named Birdman, so I'll hold my praise for after this paragraph. Brendan Gleeson is marvelous in Calvary, but its the many minor character whom he meets along the way that truly make the film the treasure that it is. Force Majeure is nothing if not an actor's movie, and everyone in sight proves up to the task, sinking their teeth into Ruben Östlund's intricate, unruly script. Trying to decide who gives the best performance in Into the Woods is a headache waiting to happen, so I'll just award Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and the rest of their outstanding cast mates here. Selma is similarly stocked, one of 2014's largest cast wherein nearly everyone makes an impact.
And the Collin goes to...
Birdman
Of every single prodigious prize being given away at The Elwyns today, this was the easiest to assign. About fifteen thespians give the performance of their lives in Birdman, almost all of them afforded an 'Oscar scene' that they hit straight out of the park.
Runner Up: Force Majeure
Just Missed the Cut: Blue Ruin, Boyhood, Neighbors, Nightcrawler
Best Cinematography:
And the nominees are...
The Babadook
Birdman
The Double
A Most Violent Year
Under the Skin
And the Collin goes to...
Birdman
The whole-movie-as-a-single-shot gimmick does indeed have precedent, but that doesn't really make Emmanuel Lubezki's accomplishment here any less staggering. Birdman would be great without him, but the world's hottest cinematographer takes the whole thing to a different level.
Runner Up: Under the Skin
Just Missed the Cut: Gone Girl, John Wick, and Nightcrawler
Best Editing:
And the nominees are...
Birdman
Boyhood
The Double
Gone Girl
Wild
And the Collin goes to...
The Double
The Double zips and zooms with the frenzied nature of a Terry Gilliam film, Chris Dickens and Nick Fenton ever-revving the engine on the film's merciless pace
Runner Up: Birdman
Just Missed the Cut: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nightcrawler, and Whiplash
Best Production Design:
And the nominees are...
The Double
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The LEGO Movie
Snowpiercer
And the Collin goes to...
The LEGO Movie
Tell me why this couldn't/shouldn't happen? The LEGO Movie is the most exhaustively designed movie of 2014, a mammoth undertaking disguised as a fun kids flick.
Runner Up: Interstellar
Just Missed the Cut: The Imitation Game, Inherent Vice, and X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Score:
And the nominees are...
Birdman
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Under the Skin
And the Collin goes to...
Under the Skin
No, I probably wouldn't pop the Under the Skin score into my CD player and jam out, but no single 2014 musical offering so deeply affected the film to which it was attached. I still can't get thoise violins out of my head.
Runner Up:
Just Missed the Cut: Enemy, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Only Lovers Left Alive
Best Use of a Song:
And the nominees are...
Hero by Family of the Year---Boyhood
The Weight by The Band---Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Come and Get Your Love by Redbone---Guardians of the Galaxy
Everything is Awesome by Tegan and Sarah featuring The Lonely Island---The LEGO Movie
That song DMX sings in---Top Five
And the Collin goes to...
Hero by Family of the Year---Boyhood
As the song that scores Mason's drive off to college, Hero manages to put an enormous lump in your throat within its opening handful of notes, and refuses to let go.
Runner Up: Come and Get Your Love by Redbone---Guardians of the Galaxy
Just Missed the Cut: Deep Blue by Arcade Fire---Boyhood, and everything in both Inherent Vice and Wild
Best Costume Design:
And the nominees are...
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
The Imitation Game
Magic in the Moonlight
A Most Violent Year
And the Collin goes to...
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice feels completely lived-in, as if 1970's Los Angeles was still alive in SoCal, and Paul Thomas Anderson is the only one who knows. The costumes play a huge part in this magnificent trick.
Runner Up: Magic in the Moonlight
Just Missed the Cut: Into the Woods, Selma, and X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
And the Nominees are...
The Babadook
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
And the Collin goes to...
Guardians of the Galaxy
There are long stretches wherein Guardians of the Galaxy looks like the coloring book of the most inventive child on the planet. The makeup is just dazzling, turning mere men into easter egg-colored monsters.
Runner Up: Snowpiercer
Just Missed the Cut: Into the Woods, The Rover, and X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Visual Effects:
And the nominees are...
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
And the Collin goes to...
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
I honestly still don't understand how this is a discussion. Yes, the Interstellar effects are great, but Dawn takes motion capture animation to a whole new place entirely, the detail of the apes and the weight of their movements proving utterly astonishing.
Runner Up: Godzilla
Just Missed the Cut: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and Under the Skin
Best Sound:
And the nominees are...
Birdman
Edge of Tomorrow
Godzilla
Into the Woods
Whiplash
And the Collin goes to...
Godzilla
The effects team surely has a lot to do with the staggering power of the beasts that do battle here, but its the sound department that made sure that the roaring of beasts and the tumbling of skyscrapers hits you right in your gut.
Runner Up: Whiplash
Just Missed the Cut: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The LEGO Movie, and Snowpiercer
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