My Ballot: Best Picture & Best Actor & More

So... The first half of my own annual awards is now complete. Every Oscar category I also cover is filled out. There's more to come after a couple days of other things ... I still have to bring you the more idiosyncratic categories. It's always really tough doing these things because I usually love my #6s as much as my #5s and #7s, you know? But it is what it is, a personalized celebration of the cinematic year, personalized but public. My 15 favorite pictures of the year (in alpha order) from all the films I saw.

• (500) Days of Summer (posts)
  
• Avatar (review)
  
• Bright Star (posts)
  
• Coraline (posts)
  
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (posts)
  
• Hunger (more on Michael Fassbender)
  
• The Hurt Locker (posts)
  
• Inglourious Basterds (video review)
  
• Julia (more on Tilda Swinton)
  
• The Maid
  
• Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire (first impression)
  
• Summer Hours ('sell it to the highest bidder')
  
• UP (video review)
  
• Up in the Air (posts)
  
• Whip It (review)
  

I'm not sure why I didn't do the proper top ten list article this year... but it strangely fell through the cracks. And I would like to to add that I love Mary & Max, Valentino the Last Emperor and Prodigal Sons as much or better than some of these but they were ineligible for various reasons for my prizes. There'll be more to come on the transgendered documentary Prodigal Sons since it's finally gotten some press. And major press, too: Oprah! Don't miss this movie when it eventually comes anywhere near you. Or just "save" it on Netflix or whatever service you use for when it launches on DVD.

The FiLM BiTCH Awards
page 1: Best Picture, Director, Screenplays
page 2: Best Acting
page 3: Best of Visual Categories
page 4: Best of Aural Categories and Nomination Tallies

It was one of my rare consensus years so my three nomination leaders are exactly the same as Oscar: the basterds, the Na'Vi and the bomb squad. The major difference would be that Oscar shunned Bright Star and I haven't been able to shake it. So beautiful it t'was. And speaking of beautiful, the more I sit with the Oscar nominees for Best Picture the more comfortable I am with them representing the film year. Give or take a nomination or seven, Oscar didn't do so badly this year.

How's your awards season going?
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