AAN: How many chances does Inception have left? (Critics Choice chatter)

AAN is a new feature designed especially for awards season...the abbreviation standing for Annual Awards Nerdism.

Okay. We get it. Every critic loves The Social Network. That's cool. But it's super unexciting. Is there anyway any other film can beat it? Probably not. I personally think it's more interesting guessing what films will make it to the Oscar nominations, because I don't exactly think 127 Hours, The Town, Toy Story 3 and Winter's Bone are all locks for the category. Not that it matters, because you may as well put The Bounty Hunter in there since there's no way to beat The Social Network, as the Critics Choice Awards have proved.

Up until The Social Network came out in October, Inception seemed like a sure thing to win every award. Mind you, it's a summer blockbuster, and they barely ever win anything.  Inception may have trickled down the ranks a little bit, but there was this certain hope that it would win the awards for Best Original Screenplay. The King's Speech came through and won that award, leaving Inception's chances in the big categories to fade away a little more. But will this be the case when it comes to Golden Globes time? No, I don't think it will be. As this is Critics Choice, of course they would go for a historical drama like The King's Speech instead of a creative sci-fi thriller like Inception. With the way the Hollywood Foreign Press are, Inception is likely to win over The King's Speech. This could work in Christopher Nolan's favour if he is going to get a well deserved Oscar (for both this and The Dark Knight), as long as he can get an award from the WGA's.

Christopher Nolan with his wife/producer Emma Thomas with some more reasons why they rule.

Inception may have been the biggest crowd pleaser during it's theatrical release, have been the subject of many conversations on Facebook and be the most widely seen out of many of the nominees, but it's popularity could work against it. It's gotten a little old now, and those who have seen it  now are turning it down because it simply just doesn't live up to the hype (for them). Over hype is the major problem here, which leads me to wonder as to why The Social Network is still so relevant in these awards. This film isn't particularly special. It doesn't offer any new ideas like Inception does. And being released a few months back shouldn't help it's chances. I guess this is just a case of making the right movie at the right time in the right way. If David Fincher wanted to turn people against Facebook, he may have succeeded with The Social Network, which really is a movie which 'defines our generation'. The Social Network just managed to capture our times by telling us all the story of Facebook. Because we hardly thought the story of Twitter would be that interesting.

Aaron Sorkin: He can take this whole awards ceremony and turn it into his ping pong room.

Aaron Sorkin will undoubtedly sweep up every award possible for his brilliant adapted screenplay, which is pretty much the only reason as to why The Social Network is so fantastic. I imagine every other awards show will follow the Critics Choice's suit and choose this one for Best Picture. But one award I didn't get today was David Fincher winning Best Director. Yes, The Social Network is really well directed, but wouldn't it be a bit sad if Fincher won for his least Fincher-type film? I mean, come on. Look at Fight Club and then look at this one. It's like two different people directed it, right? I don't really feel like this is the best example of what Fincher is capable of, which is why I'm still pinning my hopes on Christopher Nolan to come through. Mind you, I can just see Fincher sweeping up...which is a shame, because I doubt he'll make it to half the ceremonies since he's too busy filming The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Sweden. Future prediction: that movie will be really good and the voters out there will realize the mistake they made by giving him the award for The Social Network instead of this one.

Here are some more thoughts on the Critics Choice Awards winners:
-Best Picture winner is a lock. As much as I don't want it to, The Social Network will win.
-Glad Colin Firth won Best Actor, but I'm still looking for either Jesse Eisenberg or James Franco to upset his campaign.
-Natalie Portman got Best Actress. As she will for the rest of the season. Even if she's only 29 years old. I guess it's all the rib twisting and pain she put herself through for her role in Black Swan.

"Give me more awards and I will cut my hair!"

-Sob. I knew he didn't have a chance, but Andrew Garfield didn't get Best Supporting Actor. Christian Bale did, of course. Just a shame he won't cut his hair for his time in the spotlight.
-So Melissa Leo won Best Supporting Actress? I'm still not convinced. I'm team Jacki Weaver, all the way!
-While I thought The Social Network might bag Best Acting Ensemble, I never imagined The Fighter would. That was until I remembered that three of the stars were nominated at these awards, and two of them won. Makes sense.
-David Fincher gets Best Director. But we all know that Christopher Nolan is the BEST.
-I wouldn't have thought The King's Speech was an original screenplay, since it's based on real people. Can't see it going much further though.
-Aaron Sorkin...I want to soak up your good writing juices.
-Best Animated Feature for Toy Story 3. Was there any other animated film this year? No.

Hailee Steinfeld is obviously psyched about beating Chloe Moretz...who will go all Hitgirl on her soon.

-Chloe Moretz should have won Best Young Actress for either Let Me In or Kick-Ass. Of anyone, she's made the biggest mark on Hollywood in the past year. But just because Hailee Steinfeld got nominated in Best Supporting Actress and was in a Coen movie means that Chloe's argument is invalid.
-Best Action movie for Inception. Say it isn't so. And for the love of God, Kick-Ass is more a comedy than an action. Just like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (shamefully unnotices) is more of an action than a comedy. Get it right, people!
-Easy A got Best Comedy. When I think about it, a movie which has it's protagonist being a pretend prostitute and plenty of jokes about herpes shouldn't have won. But it's funny, thanks to Emma Stone, and definitely one of the better comedies this year. I would have thought The Kid's are All Right would have been nominated here, though.
-I find it so odd that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo won Best Foreign Language movie because it came out so long ago (here, anyway). But hey, it's miles better than I Am Love.
-Waiting for Superman got Best Doc. Didn't Mark Zuckerberg have something to do with this film? Further proof that Facebook is taking over the Earth.
-Danny Boyle sure knows how to pick his songs: 127 Hours' 'If I Rise' bags Best Song.
-While Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for The Social Network was beyond excellent, it was Hans Zimmer's Edith Piaf dream infused score for Inception which was way better. You wait and see, Hans Zimmer will come back and get all the rest of the awards!
-If The Pacific deserves a special tin case, it deserves a Critics Choice Award!
-Inception sweeps up all the technical awards (Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound), which is already sending out warning bells that this could easily become exactly like The Dark Knight. It's nice to see that Inception was a big winner here, though.


Alice in Wonderland may have won Best Costume Design, but Helena Bohnam Carter chose funeral styles.

-That old film Alice in Wonderland gets Best Makeup and Best Costume Design. Proves you don't have to be a great film to win those awards. -Finally, I just gotta share this picture of Julianne Moore announcing her A Single Man co-star Colin Firth as the winner of Best Actor. Sums up my reaction a bit!

Do you think the Critics Choice Awards will have a huge effect on the outcome of the rest of the season? Let me know in the comments...I'm begging you!