GABBY Awards 2018 - Alternate Oscars Through The Years

Best Movie

While the Academy is frantically going through screeners at the end of the year to find their favorite "Oscar movie", I'm remembering all the movies I saw throughout the year.  Not just the artsy ones that come out in December but going all the way back to January 12th when a wonderful and whimsical little gem came over to our side of the pond.  Paddington 2 is not only a rare sequel that is just as good, if not better, than the original but watching this delightful adventure made me re-evaluate the first film and see just how great it was.  When I first saw Paddington in 2014 I thought it was cute as hell but my love for Paddington 2 has turned both films into classics that I can't wait to share with my children.  Another January release that made my list is American Animals.  Directed by Bart Layton, a GABBY winner for his documentary The Imposter, this movie about a group of college students who unsuccessfully plan a heist is a mixture of dramatizations and interviews with real life people that plays with how a story based on actual events can be told.  The worst part of any biopic is when you have that thought, "this isn't how it really happened", but this movie tells you when it might be stretching the truth by having the real people tell all sides of the same story.  Searching is a film that could be easily classified as a "gimmicky movie" but I found it to be an inventive new way to tell an exciting story.  The plot revolves around a man looking for his daughter who has gone missing, the gimmick is that the whole film is told through his computer screen.  We see him look online for clues, through his daughter's pictures and social media postings and the action is done via tense Skype calls.  It's possible that in 5 years I am shaking my fist at this film for spawning poor imitations but I can still enjoy Cloverfield even after countless inferior found footage films.  There was a lot of talk this year about creating a new Oscar category to honor popular films, which was thankfully forgotten quickly.  Two of my favorite movies of the year were sizable box office hits with one being the biggest movie of the year.  First, A Quiet Place, the directorial debut of The Office star John Krasinski is a tight and tense horror film about people living with a monster who attacks sound and Avengers: Infinity War is the movie I have seen the most times out of any film from 2018.  10 years after the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings us the best superhero movie I have ever seen.  After watching this film the first time I wanted to never see another Marvel movie again.  The way this one ends is perfect, it's sad but it's the best ending to one of these films ever.  The only reason I'm hesitant in giving it my best of the year honor is that it has the potential to not age well.  If Avengers: Endgame is better, then this film will feel like an opening chapter to that film and if Endgame is a real stinker then this movie might look worse in comparison.  As of this moment, it's my favorite Marvel movie ever and since I've never given an MCU movie the top prize, this was kind of a weak year and the strength of the MCU as a whole, there's no better time to award best picture to my favorite film in an incredible film series. 

WINNER: Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War - 14 Nominations, 5 Wins

A Quiet Place - 7 Nominations, 3 Wins

American Animals - 6 Nominations, 1 Win

Paddington 2 - 6 Nominations, 1 Win

Searching - 5 Nominations, 1 Win

Best Actor

 Rami Malek was a poor choice for Best Actor.  His performance as Freddie Mercury is capable but the real star is the guy dubbing his vocals.  He didn't make my list but 3 Oscar nominees did.  Christian Bale goes through an amazing physical transformation to play Dick Cheney in Vice but his performance goes beyond the resemblance.  He inhabits the former vice president.  Bradley Cooper wrote, directed, produced and starred as Jackson Maine, an alcoholic singer in A Star Is Born, possibly his best performance to date.  Finally, Viggo Mortensen takes what would have been a stereotypical caricature in less capable hands and turns him into a 3-dimensional character as Tony Lip in Green Book.  Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh got the final Oscar nod but didn't contend for a nomination from me.  Not Oscar nominated was John Cho as a father desperately looking for his daughter in Searching.  A performance made all the more impressive because he has to play most of his scenes without a partner.  For my final nominee I considered Jason Bateman in the hilarious Game Night, Ben Foster in Leave No Trace and Ethan Hawke in either First Reformed or Juliet, Naked before settling on Joaquin Phoenix.  He starred in two very different films this year, You Were Never Really Here as a man who finds girls captured for sex trafficking and Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot, what I nominated him for, as an alcoholic cartoonist paralyzed in a car accident.  For the win, I'm going back and forth between Bale and Viggo with John Cho continuing to be a stronger and stronger possibility.  I'm picking Bale over his competition because not only does he command the screen with his larger than life portrayal but I have yet to recognize him.  So this marks his 1st win off of his 5th nomination.

WINNER: Christian Bale for Vice 

Best Actress

This year's Razzie winner, Melissa McCarthy is my Best Actress.  After seeing her sad, tragic, funny and human portrayal of Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me? I couldn't think of anyone else to give this award to.  She won a Razzie this year for The Happytime Murders, which was not a good film but I didn't think she was that bad in it.  When McCarthy gets her hands on a great part she makes the most of it, she just doesn't always appear in the best projects.  The only other Oscar nominee to make my list is Lady Gaga as a waitress turned superstar in A Star Is Born.  Some critics claimed she was just playing herself but nobody can play Gaga better than Gaga and she's fantastic in the movie.  Fellow Oscar nominee Glenn Close warranted some consideration, while Oscar winner Olivia Colman ended up in the Supporting category.  Emma Stone was in contention for The Favourite as I consider her the true lead of the film.  Two films I saw early in the year ended up getting nominations.  Charlize Theron as a new mother suffering from PPD in Tully and Rachel McAdams who is incredibly funny as a part of a very competitive couple in Game Night.  My final nominee was almost Elsie Fisher for Eighth Grade before I put her in the Breakout Performance category.  I also considered Regina Hall as a manager of a breastaurant in Support The Girls and Maggie Gyllenhaal as The Kindergarten Teacher before settling on Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a stand up comic with a slew of issues in All About Nina.  Her final standup performance in the film is one of the best acted scenes of the year. 

WINNER: Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me? 

Best Supporting Actor

Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is wonderful as Dr. Don Shirley in Green Book.  He plays the concert pianist with poise and dignity but doesn't let that define his character, he lets us see the real person underneath too.  Richard E. Grant got an Oscar nod for stealing all of his scenes in Can You Ever Forgive Me?.  Fellow Oscar nominees Adam Driver for BlacKKKlansman and Sam Elliott for A Star Is Born almost made the top 5.  I instead went with Monty Python alum Michael Palin who is still spry at 75 years old and hasn't lost an ounce of his comedic timing.  He plays Vyacheslav Molotov in the smart satire The Death Of Stalin.  I also included Evan Peters as a petty criminal in way over his head in American Animals and Russell Hornsby as an ex-con trying to raise his children right in The Hate U Give.  Other contenders include Josh Brolin as the mad titan Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Russell Crowe and Joel Edgerton in Boy Erased and Hugh Grant as the costume wearing villain in Paddington 2.  I really like all of these performances and could pick any of them for the win.  I'm giving the slight edge to Hornsby who is tremendous as a father who doesn't shield his kids from the evils in this world but rather prepares them for it. 

WINNER: Russell Hornsby for The Hate U Give 

Best Supporting Actress

None of my nominees got Oscar nods except for Olivia Colman who won Best Actress for playing Queen Anne in The Favourite.  I put her in this category where I think she fits better.  She's so good in the film that she seems like the lead though and practically every line she delivers is hilarious and perfect.  I considered nominating Amy Adams, Regina King and Rachel Weisz but found performances I liked much better.  First is Emily Blunt as an expectant mother in a world where sound can kill you in A Quiet Place.  Mackenzie Davis plays the titular Tully, a night nurse who befriends Charlize Theron and helps her reclaim her womanhood.  Blake Lively is an actress who is slowly becoming one of my favorites and her performance in A Simple Favor as a socialite who goes missing is ice cold steely perfection.  My final nominee is Nicole Kidman as the mother of a boy in gay conversion therapy in Boy Erased.  Some also rans include Claire Foy as Neil Armstrong's wife in First Man, Regina Hall as the mother in The Hate U Give and Haley Lu Richardson as a server in Support The Girls.  For the win, it's between Blunt and Colman with Lively a close third.  I love ever line Olivia Colman says in The Favourite but Emily Blunt does so much without any lines.  Add that to the fact that I like her film more and Blunt barely squeaks out a victory. 

WINNER: Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place 

Best Director

Aneesh Chaganty (Searching), John Krasinski (A Quiet Place), Bart Layton (American Animals), Lynne Ramsey (You Were Never Really Here), Anthony & Joe Russo (Avengers: Infinity War)

WINNER: Bart Layton for American Animals 

Best Comedic Screenplay

Blockers, The Death Of Stalin, Game Night, Paddington 2, Sorry To Bother You

WINNER: Game Night - Mark Perez 

Best Dramatic Screenplay

American Animals, BlacKKKlansman, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Eighth Grade, A Quiet Place

WINNER: Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty 

Best Documentary

The Bill Murray Stories, Free Solo, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, Three Identical Strangers, Won't You Be My Neighbor?

WINNER: Won't You Be My Neighbor? - Morgan Neville

Breakout Performance - Actor

After appearing in Hamilton on Broadway, Daveed Diggs wrote and starred as a parolee who witnesses a police shooting in Blindspotting.  Brady Jandreau plays a role similar to his own life as a rodeo rider with a brain injury in The Rider.  Lewis Pullman is the only employee of a hotel having a rough night in Bad Times At The El Royale.  Sunny Suljic makes friends with some skaters in the coming of age drama Mid90s.  John David Washington plays Ron Stallworth, a black police officer who infiltrates the KKK in BlacKKKlansman.

WINNER: Daveed Diggs for Blindspotting

Breakout Performance - Actress

Cynthia Erivo plays a soul singer held up at a hotel in Bad Times At The El Royale, she also broke out this year in Widows.  Elsie Fisher just missed my Best Actress lineup as an 8th grade girl transitioning to high school in Eighth Grade.  Thomasin McKenzie lives with her dad in the woods in Leave No Trace.  Amandla Stenberg has to deal with the aftermath of a police shooting in The Hate U Give.  Geraldine Viswanathan is determined to lose her virginity in Blockers. 

WINNER: Elsie Fisher for Eighth Grade 

Best Villain

Josh Brolin finishes his quest to gather all the infinity stones to destroy half the world's population in Avengers: Infinity War.  Hugh Grant dons many disguises in his attempt to steal a rare and valuable book in Paddington 2.  Michael B. Jordan wants to take the throne of Wakanda in Black Panther, joined by his cohort Andy Serkis as Klaw.  Rich Sommer is a police officer hiding a secret in Summer Of 84.

WINNER: Josh Brolin for Avengers: Infinity War

Best Hero

Benedict Cumberbatch sacrifices himself and his precious time stone in Avengers: Infinity War.  He's joined by his cast mates Robert Downey, Jr. who follows Thanos into space as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth who comes at Thanos with a new weapon looking for vengeance as Thor and Tom Holland who hastily follows his mentor on to a spaceship as Spider-Man.  Ryan Reynolds is the only non-Avenger on the list, reprising his superhero role in Deadpool 2. 

WINNER: Chris Hemsworth for Avengers: Infinity War

Best Song

Ashes (Deadpool 2), Hearts Beat Loud (Hearts Beat Loud), Waterloo Sunset (Juliet, Naked), Perfection (Smallfoot), Always Remember Us This Way (A Star Is Born)

WINNER: Always Remember Us This Way by Lady Gaga from A Star Is Born

Best Soundtrack Or Musical Score

Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, Isle Of Dogs, Searching, A Star Is Born

WINNER: Isle Of Dogs - Alexandre Desplat

Best On-Screen Chemistry

Jason Bateman & Rachel McAdams (Game Night), Mahershala Ali & Viggo Mortensen (Green Book), Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly (Holmes & Watson), Jason Mantzoukas & Tony Revolori (The Long Dumb Road), Mila Kunis & Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me)

WINNER: Jason Bateman & Rachel McAdams for Game Night

Best Voice-Over or Motion Capture Performance

Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Bryan Cranston (Isle Of Dogs), David Cross (Sorry To Bother You), Jim Cummings (Christopher Robin), Ben Whishaw (Paddington 2)

WINNER: Ben Whishaw for Paddington 2

Best Film-Editing

American Animals, Avengers: Infinity War, Game Night, A Quiet Place, Searching

WINNER: Searching - Nick Johnson & Will Merrick

Best Cinematography

The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, Mandy, Paddington 2, A Quiet Place, You Were Never Really Here

WINNER: A Quiet Place - Charlotte Bruus Christensen

Best Visual-Effects

Ant-Man And The Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Paddington 2, Rampage

WINNER: Avengers: Infinity War

Best Stunts

Ant-Man And The Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Deadpool 2, Mission: Impossible - Fallout

WINNER: Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Best Sound

Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, A Quiet Place, A Star Is Born

WINNER: A Quiet Place

Best Ensemble

American Animals, Avengers: Infinity War, The Death Of Stalin, Game Night, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

WINNER: Avengers: Infinity War

Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Karan Gillan, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt

Worst Movie

2 time Gabby winner Brie Larson must have a huge heart.  She signed on to star in Basmati Blues before she became an Oscar winner and was cast as Captain Marvel but agreed to shoot some extra scenes so the film could get finished.  I would not be so nice, I would probably make sure this musical about a white woman who tries to introduce a genetically modified rice to Indian farmers never saw the light of day.  The songs are pretty bad, the movie is extremely lame and my favorite part involved Donald Sutherland and Tyne Daly singing about corporate greed.  Why does the aspect ratio change for no reason during their song?  I have no idea.  It's been a while since I've watched a Dinesh D'Souza documentary but I had to check out Death Of A Nation which compares Donald Trump favorably to Abraham Lincoln.  Did you know the Democrats started slavery?  Did you know the Nazi party is the same as the current Democratic party?  Did you know the Democrats started the KKK?  Here's the proof, Woodrow Wilson screened Birth Of A Nation in the White House and that movie reignited an interest in the Klan.  There you go, definitive proof that Democrats are all secret Klan members.  I Feel Pretty is a nonsensical comedy where Amy Schumer hits herself on the head and thinks she's beautiful.  For some reason she never questions the fact that she's buying clothes for a much heavier woman than the one she sees in the mirror.  Doesn't really matter because she gets hit on the head again like Fred Flintstone and comes back to normal.  Somewhere in the middle of the film there is a moral that gets lost.  A Wrinkle In Time is one of those books you read in grade school and they turned it into a movie that makes absolutely no sense.  I barely remember the book from when I was a kid but after watching the film I’m stumped to how it’s allowed in schools at all.  Then there’s Show Dogs.  Talking dog movies have a place but a theatrical release is not where they belong.  This film makes Beverly Hills Chihuahua look like Citizen Kane.  Will Arnett plays an FBI agent who partners with a police dog.  They can't understand each other but yet they have dialogue scenes.  This is lazy by talking dog movie standards, coming from someone who has watched all of the Air Buddies films.  If you can make it past the scene where the dog farts in Will Arnett's mouth then you are a true movie masochist.

"WINNER": Show Dogs

Eligible

The 15:17 To Paris, Action Point, Adrift, All About Nina, Alpha, American Animals, Annihilation, Ant-Man And The Wasp, Aquaman, Assassination Nation, At Eternity's Gate, Avengers: Infinity War, Bad Times At The El Royale, The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, Basmati Blues, Beautiful Boy, Ben Is Back, BlacKKKlansman, Black Panther, Blaze, Blindspotting, Blockers, Bohemian Rhapsody, Book Club, Boy Erased, Bumblebee, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Christopher Robin, Crazy Rich Asians, Creed II, Deadpool 2, The Death Of Stalin, Destroyer, Dog Days, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot, Early Man, Eighth Grade, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, The Favourite, First Man, The First Purge, First Reformed, Flower, The Front Runner, Game Night, Gotti, Green Book, The Grinch, Halloween, The Happytime Murders, The Hate U Give, Hearts Beat Loud, Hereditary, Holmes & Watson, The House With A Clock In Its Walls, I Feel Pretty, If Beale Street Could Talk, Incredibles 2, Instant Family, Isle Of Dogs, Johnny English Strikes Again, Juliet, Naked, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Kindergarten Teacher, The Last Movie Star, Leave No Trace, Life Itself, Life Of The Party, The Long Dumb Road, Love, Simon, Mandy, Mary Poppins Returns, Mary Queen Of Scots, The Meg, Mid90s, The Miseducation Of Cameron Post, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Mortal Engines, The Mule, Night School, The Oath, Ocean's 8, The Old Man And The Gun, On The Basis Of Sex, Overlord, Paddington 2, Peppermint, The Predator, A Private War, Proud Mary, Puzzle, A Quiet Place, Ralph Breaks The Internet, Rampage, Ready Player One, Red Sparrow, The Rider, Robin Hood, Roma, Searching, Second Act, Sherlock Gnomes, Show Dogs, Sicario: Day Of The Soldado, A Simple Favor, The Sisters Brothers, Skyscraper, Slender Man, Smallfoot, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Sorry To Bother You, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Spy Who Dumped Me, Stan & Ollie, A Star Is Born, Summer Of 84, Support The Girls, Tag, Thoroughbreds, Tomb Raider, Tully, Uncle Drew, Unsane, Upgrade, Venom, Vice, Vox Lux, Welcome To Marwen, What They Had, White Boy Rick, Widows, The Wife, Wildlife, A Wrinkle In Time, You Were Never Really Here