It was a good year for movies...

In fall of 2010, I felt like we were having a weak year for movies.  Besides Inception, nothing had really "wowed" me.  But toward the end of the year, some really great films came out, and I was impressed with the results of the Academy Awards last night, since no one film swept everything.  It seemed like all the Academy voters appreciated all of the films, and that's a good thing.  

I can't verbally explain a logical reason why I agree with The King's Speech winning what it did (Best Picture, Leading Actor, Director, and Original Screenplay), but I feel in my gut that it really deserved all of those awards.  It was such a subtle film, but I somehow KNOW it was great quality work.  Christian Bale definitely deserved Supporting Actor, Natalie Portman definitely deserved Leading Actress, and Melissa Leo definitely deserved Supporting Actress - all on the money.  

I was impressed that Alice in Wonderland won Art Direction and Costume Design - I worried that people wouldn't take the film seriously, even though it was so incredibly creative.  And I really thought Inception would get totally passed over (the Academy doesn't always take blockbusters seriously, either), but was glad it won Cinematography, Sound Editing/Mixing, and Visual Effects.  

I can't really speak to Adapted Screenplay, because The Social Network won, but I didn't read the original.  I do know it surprised me, with Winter's Bone and True Grit being such strong originals.  The Social Network also took home Best Original Score, and it DID have a really original score, though it wasn't the prettiest-sounding. I was surprised to realize the lead Nine Inch Nails guy was behind it...interesting.  

Overall, a really good year for movies, and I think most of these awards were well-deserved.  Here's hoping next year is even better!