BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Channing Tatum
THE DILEMNA
Woody Harleson
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Brad Pitt
THE TREE OF LIFE
Christopher O’Dowd
BRIDESMAIDS
Corey Stoll
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
He’s only in the movie for a few minutes but his drug dealing, tattooed holigan Zip steals this admittedly underwhelming movie right out from under his more famous costars. I’m still LOL’ing at him crying over those fish. Pure hilarity. That’s the best way to describe Woody’s over the top performance as a gay sports reporter from GQ. I awaited his every word in preparation for some serious laughs and he delivered every time. While most of the love for this movie goes to the craft, Pitt’s performance is so good it refuses to be ignored. His performance as a 50’s hard nose dad gets richer with each scene. His opening scenes are masterful. It’s a tough order being the male love interest in a female dominated movie, especially when one isn’t movie star handsome. But Chris’s heart with a cop of gold is the perfect romantic lead and funny without trying hard. Uproarious, brash and full of life, Corey’s Hemingway is the MVP of the incredibly delightful Midnight in Paris. Even when he is just spouting off Hemingway in a monologue, it’s pure magic.
 Medal Award Winners
Gold: Corey Stoll
Silver: Brad Pitt
Bronze: Channing Tatum

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS



Jessica Chastain
THE HELP
Octavia Spencer
THE HELP
Carey Mulligan
SHAME
Rose Byrne
BRIDESMAIDS
Analeigh Tipton
CRAZY STUPID LOVE
She’s bubbly, brassy and vulnerable. Jessica has been everywhere this year but she’s such a change of pace in The Help that it’s here where I’d reward her. Her considerable gifts (body, comedic timing, dramatic ability) are all on full display. She gets most of the movies best lines and nails everyone. Her sassy turn is Minnie is heavily reliant on over the topness but it’s the quieter fare like her telling her daughter how to act as a maid that gave her a spot here. Carey tears into her role of the wayward sister with such animosity, she threatens to steal the movie from her very compelling costar. She flourishes in McQueen’s long takes and has never been more open when acting.  Byrne has a tougher role than her much more heralded costars in trying to make this uptight rich girl believable but she manages to do just that. Her dueling speech scene with Kristen is aces in snobbery. A ball of misunderstood sexuality and teenage awkwardness, Analeigh breaks free of her top model past and really embraces her role. She’s standout in a cast with gifted comedians but not overplaying her hand.  
Medal Award Winners
Gold: Jessica Chastain
Silver: Analeigh Tipton
Bronze: Carey Mulligan

BEST ACTOR

Michael Fassbender
SHAME
Jean Dujardin
THE ARTIST
Brad Pitt
MONEYBALL
Tom Cullen and Chris New
WEEKEND
Chris Hemsworth
THOR
Fassbender has been blowing up this past year but he really wowed me in this role as a sex adict. He’s emotionally (and physically) bare and magnetic on screen. In a single take at a bar he manages to make Brandon’s plight so real, you can’t help but be heartbroken for him. As the star of this silent film, Dujardin is tasked with not onlykeeping our attention for nearly 2 hours but has to call back to a different era of acting–and he nails it. Drama, Comedy, even tap dancing (!) he’s a wonder in this role. I often gravitate to star turns that don’t necessarily overlook the fact that the actor might be a famous face. This soulful leading performance by Pitt is so fantastic. He plays the A’s general manager trying to change the game and manages to humanize what could have been a dry part.  I had to cheat here because this movie is such a pas de duex. Tom and Chris are fantastic as two gay men who hookup over a weekend while pondering their lives. Their chemistry is incredible and so achingly raw that you can’t help but get sucked in. There have been superheros who were funny and those who are brawny, but Hemsworth manages to be both at the same time. What makes him so good as Thor is that he never shies away from the arrogance of the charcter or the comedic bits; he’s always willing to serve the movie even in its most absurd parts.
 Medal Award Winners
Gold: Michael Fassbender
Silver: Tom Cullen and Chris New
Bronze: Chris Hemsworth

BEST ACTRESS
 



Viola Davis
THE HELP
Charlize Theron
YOUNG ADULT
Kirsten Dunst
MELANCHOLIA
Mila Kunis
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Elle Fanning
SUPER 8
While many will abject to the type of role (a maid) Davis plays, she goes so deep into the emotions of the character providing an incredible voice for the women of that time. She’s moving in every scene. You is kind, you is smart, you is important… It’s a testament to Charlize’s acting that even though she playing an incredibly unlikable person, we root for her to continue acting that way just to see her performance. Mavis is so uncomfortable to watch and that’s what’s so great about this performance. In von Trier’s appocalypse as a metaphor film, Dunst provides us with one of the most startling portrayals of depression show on screen. With the changes in voice, increasingly erratic actions, and incredible conviction we are treated to a real acting showcase.  Mila makes good on that acting balance she showed with roles in Black Swan and That 70’s Show. She’s great in this movie and creates a fully realized charcter that completely serves the goals of the movie. SHe’s fearless going for both the raunch and emotional plights of the character with equal abandon.  She’s the best thing about this movie which is dominated by men and CGI. Proving to be every bit as talented as her sister, Elle brings a mature presence that’s beyond her years. I mean that rehersal sequence at the train station…superb. 
Medal Award Winners
Gold: Kirsten Dunst
Silver: Viola Davis
Bronze: Charlize Theron

BEST ENSEMBLE




THE HELP
BRIDESMAIDS
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
CONTAGION
 Medal Award Winners
Gold: The Help
Silver: Midnight in Paris
Bronze: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy