The 2010 Gorsline Awards

Welcome all to the 2010 edition of the Gorsline Awards, where I pick my favorites across all of pop culture. All the awards are solely based on my own opinion and are only based on what I have seen. So, if you disagree, that's fine, feel free to comment. I love to talk about all of this stuff or else I wouldn't be doing this.

MUSIC

I'll be honest, music isn't really my thing. I enjoy music but I'm not a big follower. For me the highlight of the year was listening to the entire Beatles library, my favorite album was Revolver. I also listen to new music and below are the three songs I enjoyed most this year:

"Animal" by Neon Trees
"F$%@ You" by Cee-Lo
"Magic" by B.o.B. and Rivers Cuomo

COMICS

Unfortunately this is a slowly dying medium, fewer people read comics every year even though the characters and stories are huge on the silver screen no one wants to make the leap to the printed page. The industry needs to convert to digital and they need to do it yesterday. Fortunately, the industry has not suffered creatively.

Favorite Superhero Comic

From Marvel: Ultimate Spider-Man - For a line that appeared to be dead, Brian Bendis has re-energized this title to make it one of my favorite reads every month.

From DC: The Flash - I was incredibly surprised at how much I enjoy this book since prior to this year the Flash was one of my least favorite characters, but I love the ride Geoff Johns has been taking us on.

From the Other Guys: Invincible - True this is the only Independent "Super-Hero" comic that I read but it is a terrific read.

Favorite Non-Superhero Comic

This is easy. "Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour." I know a lot of people were not thrilled with the ending to this epic story, but I loved it and thought it was perfect. The series proved that comics are still a reliable medium for telling stories full of emotion and humour.

VIDEO GAMES

This year I have started a GameFly subscription and I have loved it. It's let me play games that I normally wouldn't get the chance to play and this year I got to play several of the big releases of the year and my favorite was Mass Effect 2. It has great gameplay and a terrific story. If you have a system that you can play it on, grab it and play it before Mass Effect 3 comes out next year.

TELEVISION

Favorite Comidic Performance by a Female

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knoppe on Parks and Recreation

Favorite Comedic Performance by a Male

Danny Pudi as Abed on Community

Favorite Sitcom

Parks and Recreation - A great show not watched by enough people. It mirrors the Office because the first season wasn't very strong but this past season was comedy gold. I hope it stays around for a long time.

Best Dramatic Performance by a Female

Elizabeth Moss as Peggy on Mad Men

Best Dramatic Performance by a Male

John Hamm as Donald Draper on Mad Men

Best Drama

Mad Men - I love this show. There is no show that rewards its audience by paying attention to the subtleties put into every performance than Mad Men. It is TV perfection

Special Mention - Lost. It is one of my favorite shows of all time and it finally came to an end this year. It may not have been what everyone wanted, but it brought closure to the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 and that is what I really wanted.

Best New Show

The Walking Dead - To be honest so far this TV season has been crap. The Walking Dead isn't perfect and needs some work if it is going to have some legs. But right now it is a really fun ride.

MOVIES

Favorite Female Performance of the Year

Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"

Favorite Male Performance of the Year

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "Inception"

Favorite Movie

"Inception" - It's not a Pixar movie! My favorite movies over the last two years have been Pixar movies. But this year Christopher Nolan's epic picture has taken hold of my mind and won't let go. It is easily my favorite film of the year.

Golden Globe Award Nominations

Last week the Golden Globe nominations were announced. For those that don't know the Golden Globes are given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. A mysterious group that is apparently impossible to get into and no one really knows who is and who isn't in it. The Golden Globes are often considered a precursor to the Oscars and are a much more laid back event. The reason for this is simple. Alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. Below are the nominations, my thoughts on the nominations and who I think will win for those categories I feel I can comment on.

FILM

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network

I've seen all but two of these movies, Inception, Black Swan and The Social Network are all stellar movies and the remaining two look great. I would bet on The Social Network taking home the prize because it is so topical, though I would give it to Inception.

BEST PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

All I have to say is wow. What a sorry bunch of films. Except for The Kids Are All Right all of these films where panned by critics. None of them interested me enough to make it out to the theater to see them. From what I understand, The Kids Are All Right has this one in the bag.

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter

From what I've seen I say that this doesn't go to the Social Network and is a toss up between Nolan for Inception and Aronofsky for Black Swan.

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Except for Jesse Eisenberg, I haven't seen anyone in this category. He was good, but nothing special. This appears to be Colin Firth's year though.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Again, I'm not sure I can comment on this as I have only seen Natalie Portman, but if she does win she definitely deserves it.

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp, The Tourist
Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A

I can't comment on this, but count on Bening winning the awards she has earned many times over in the past.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Michael Douglas, Wall Street 2
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST SCREENPLAY
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The King's Speech
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Inception was a terrific idea, but it will be hard to compete with the sharp witty dialogue that Aaron Sorkin created with The Social Network.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Despicable Me
How To Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 3. It's Pixar. It would be insane to bet on anyone else.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
In A Better World

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech
Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland
A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Hans Zimmer, Inception

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Bound to You," Burlesque
"Coming Home," Country Strong
"I See the Light," Tangled
"There's A Place For Us," Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
"You Haven't Seen The Last of Me," Burlesque


TELEVISION


BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
The Walking Dead

I am thrilled that both Mad Men and The Walking Dead were nominated. However, I am a little disappointed that Breaking Bad wasn't included. I'm also disappointed that Lost didn't get a little bit of love (it was still in contention). My guess is that either The Walking Dead or Boardwalk Empire take the award. The Globes love to honor the newbies and those are the hottest new shows of the season.

BEST TV SERIES, COMEDY
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
The Big C
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie

Ugh, the only reason 30 Rock was nominated was because this season focuses on a character attempting to win a Golden Globe. Since the HFPA loves themselves, it was nominated. I've tried watching The Big Bang Theory and I just don't find it funny, I actually find it a little offensive to the geek kind. Glee is okay and it still has that new show smell. I find it to be a crime that neither Community nor Parks and Recreation are nominated. However, both of them would have lost to the brilliant Modern Family. I would be surprised if Modern Family didn't win.

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

My favorites are here so no complaints. I would bet on Bryan Cranston or Steve Buscemi.

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Julianne Marguiles, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

The only one I can comment on is Elisabeth Moss. If she wins she will have easily earned it.

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

What a disappointing line up. I don't even want to talk about this.

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Lea Michele, Glee

See my comment for Best Actor Comedy and apply it here. Lea Michele and Tina Fey do not belong here.

BEST MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Carlos
The Pacific
Pillars of the Earth
Temple Grandin
You Don't Know Jack

BEST ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Idris Elba, Luther
Ian MacShane, Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Dennis Quaid, The Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

BEST ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Hayley Atwell, Pillars of the Earth
Claire Danes, Temle Grandin
Judi Dench, Return to Cranford
Romola Garai, Emma
Jennier Love Hewitt, The Client List

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-O
Chris Colfer, Glee
Chris Noth, The Good Wife
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
David Strathairn, Temple Grandin

While I don't think he necessarily deserves it. It's will be the trendy choice to pick Chris Colfer.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Hope Davis, The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch, Glee
Kelly McDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles, Dexter
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

The Golden Globes are January 16th at 8p.m. I'll be watching and I'll be back here with my analysis.

Black Swan - Movie Review

It's December, which means that the Oscar movie season has officially begun. Most major studios wait until now to release their Oscar contending movies to a nationwide audience. The reason for this is simple, the fresher a movie is, the easier it will be to get votes for it. Released this weekend to national theaters was the film, "Black Swan."

The film focuses on a young ballet dancer who has been chosen to play the Swan Queen in a new production of "Swan Lake." If your like me, there is a good chance that you don't know the story of "Swan Lake." Fortunately, the movie takes a minute to explain the plot to those of us unfamiliar with the world of ballet. The Swan Queen must play the innocent white swan and the dark and sinister black swan. The dancer chosen to play the Swan Queen, portrayed by Natalie Portman, is portrayed as having perfect technique and is a great white swan, but cannot properly portray the black swan and has to get in touch with her inner bad girl.

Sounds like a simple enough premise with the opportunity for some great character development. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The movie is a dark and raw journey about a dancer who has some serious mental health problems. The journey that she undertakes is incredibly unnerving and uncomfortable. At the end of the film I left not sure about what I just saw, but knowing that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The film was shot in a grainy shaky style, which the director, Darren Aronofsky, exploited to it's fullest extent to keep the audience guessing about what was happening. The film is full of little clues that give you an idea as to what might be happening and at the same time it put me on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. Not being a fan of ballet, I was releaved that the dance scenes where filled with enough dynamic shots and the sequences did not take away anything from the movie, a difficult task to accomplish.

Being a film that focuses on the journey of one character means that the actor playing the part has to be committed to it and able to pull off the part. And Natlie Portman pulls it off brilliantly. First portraying someone that has hard time being able to let go and be the black swan, and then finally taking that turn and becoming the black swan. She pulls it off perfectly. It is also nice to see Mila Kunis have a chance at portraying a role with some meat to it. I've always felt that she had more in her than she had been allowed to show and it was nice to be proven right.

"Black Swan" is not your typical character drama, it is a psychological thriller that will have you thinking about what you just watched. I left the theater feeling like I was on a roller coaster that hadn't reached a full stop before I got off. Once my mind was able to catch up, I realized that I had loved the ride I was just on. It gets 5 out of 5 stars.

You Can't Take it With You - The Oscar Project Part XI

Finally, the Oscar Project continues. I realize I have been away for a while but I am determined to continue this mission no matter what. This week you can look forward to my take on the Golden Globe nominations, my review of "Black Swan" and my year end pop culture awards. But first the Oscar project continues with the Frank Capra classic "You Can't Take it With You."

The plot focuses on two families. One that is centered on being wealthy and another that centers around being happy. Since the movie is a comedy, when the two families come together, hilarity ensues. In the film, the Kirby family head, Anthony, played by Edward Arnold, is attempting to purchase the house of the Sycamore family so that he can have a monopoly over an entire city block. The Sycamore family is made up of anyone who wants to live there and wants to be a free spirit. The only one that would be considered "normal" is the daughter Alice, played by Jean Arthur, who falls in love with the son of Anthony, Tony Kirby, played by James Stewart. Over the course of the movie several misunderstandings occur between the two families and by the end the Kirby's have learned that it's more important to be happy with what you do then to be rich.

The film represents Frank Capra's third Oscar for Best Director in a period of 5 years. This is hardly a surprise as Capra was a master at telling stories that make people realize that they can be happy without a lot of money. A theme that would be very popular during the great depression. He is a terrific director and this movie shows it. He crafts shots in such a way so that just by looking at the screen, without any characters, the audience knows the type of family that they are dealing with.

It also helps that the movie is full of powerhouse actors that are all capable of handling a wide range of emotions. Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart portray a young couple in love perfectly and then when Stewart has to let go and be a free spirit he takes it to another level perfectly. Later in the film the two have to portray even more emotion when they are split apart. While this story occurs we also get the insanity of the Sycamore family, led by Lionel Barrymore who plays one of the sweetest old grandfathers ever and is a comic genius.

Overall this is a great feel good movie, and while it doesn't really have anything to do with Christmas, if you are looking for a feel good movie and you are tired of "It's a Wonderful Life" you can't go wrong here. It gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.