Giving Writers Their Due

Best Screenplay: Motion Picture
Christopher Nolan- Inception
This is a hard category this year. I have seen four out of the five films nominated, and I was impressed with all four. The King's Speech did a great job of really showing the relationships surrounding the future King George VI and of showing the difficulty his stammering caused. The Social Network kept up fast paced, quick thinking dialogue that seemed to fit with the genius of Mark Zuckerberg ("Dating you is like dating a stairmaster" seems like an appropriate thing to say to the man, don't you think?). And The Kids Are All Right brilliantly shows the difficulties in each and every marriage in a broader sense with some great lines along the way. However, Inception was probably one of the most (if not THE most) original films this year, and the screenplay has everything to do with the creation of the idea. So, I say, let us finally give an award to Nolan.

Best Animated Film
Toy Story 3
If it's an animation category and Pixar is nominated, Pixar will probably win it, and for good reason (though Janni will disagree). Pixar manages to come up with interesting stories that interest both kids and adults. They bring us humor and give the film heart. These are impressive things to be able to say about films. Also, while bringing humor that adults will find amusing, they don't cross a line that makes you wonder if children should actually be watching it as some cartoons today have the tendency to do (Shrek, anyone?). As someone who was a child when the first Toy Story was released, I was worried that Toy Story 3 was going to be a simple attempt to make more money, a typical Disney sequel. However, I was happily surprised that it had a great story and lots of humor and heart (as always). Plus, how can you not love a movie where the man who was Batman and Beetlejuice voices Ken (Michael Keaton)?