Best Director

CONTINUING my own film awards. Bear with me, I still have to get out best actor and best actress before sunday! eeeek!

 

Here is BEST DIRECTOR:

 NB - The Morgan Nominees for Best Poster are here, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom and The Cabin in the Woods are my three absolute favourite posters this year.

 

What a year for directing, so many exciting things going on promising so much cinematic joy for the future.

 

Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

What a masterpiece. What a work of ART. What an achievement. Even more astounding considering this is his first feature film. Beautifully thought out, so poetic and simply like magic brought to life on screen, every decision Zeitlin has made contributes to the film being like nothing else in cinemas this year. He's young, a visionary and like the sparklers in Hushpuppy's hands, full of a kind of sparkle that seems to go on forever and light up the whole room with a new kind of cinematic magic. Best thing about Oscar morning was his nomination, super excited to see where this one goes.

Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon - The Cabin in The Woods

Such fun was never more aptly used. Equally horrifying and hilarious, Whedon constructed this divisive film from some crazy place in his mind and this meta-horror/comedy/deconstruction of everything that horror aficionados hold dear was brilliant, entertaining and a huge slap in the face with a pat on the back for anyone out there who loved horror. Really, really clever stuff from a genius guy who has had the most fantastic year. Admittedly, he only wrote and produced it, but Whedon's stamp is everywhere over the work. Kudos to the both of them for pulling off the impossible feat of making a horror film feel that rarest of things, original.

Benoit Jacquot - Farewell, My Queen

For extending the period movie beyond restraint, costumes and corsets. The minute Seydoux falls flat on her face on the stone passageway in the opening sequence, you know this is not just another period drama and Jacquot masters all the right decisions in a completely unexpected brilliant little film. For brief glimpses into the souls of some of the finest french actresses, while constructing a story that is both brilliant in its simplicity, yet astounding in its depth and breadth that make this slice of Versailles very easy to swallow and even sweeter on the second viewing.

Thomas Vinterberg - The Hunt
 

Umm, isn't he gorgeous?

What a piece, what a fucking masterpiece. So good, so creepy, so beautifully filmed, constructed, written, cast and thought out. What begins as a simple whisper of child molestation begins to pervade the whole town, and while the cinema knows he's innocent, we can't help feeling swept up in the mood before that glorious climax at the church hits us like a hammer to the chest. Thrilling work from an excellent director who is like a conductor, ensuring we too, are caught up in this symphony gone horribly, horribly wrong. Bonus points for that ending, finally making that title make literal sense. My god, I could sing all day about this one. 

Rian Johnson - Looper
 

What a complicated mish-mash of ideas Looper was. I didn't know where it was going or what it exactly wanted to be, but to Johnson's credit, he held that bursting box of ideas together and constructed a fantastic film out of it. What a visual spectacle, what a pure blast of unadulterated joyful film making and a sci-fi geek out extravaganza. For the guts to cast Joseph as the younger Bruce, for taking a chance on Emily Blunt as a Texan farmer, for daring to shift the film's focus from time-travel, just as you've figured it all out, if you managed, to telepathic disturbed children and for an ending that brings it all back to the start and literally closes the loop, well played good sir, very very well played.

Wes Anderson - Moonrise Kingdom
 

Anderson is a tricky director, you either love him or hate him, but regardless of your feelings, he couldn't have picked a more perfect tale to showcase his kitschy talents and love of the whimsical. Two twelve-year old star-crossed lovers, in the throes of first love, in 1965 in a little island in New England allow him to use his twee, charming, idiosyncratic talents to the best of their ability, thus in my opinion, achieving cinematic perfection. What a star turn, as a director, this is his moment in the spotlight and say what you will, Moonrise was robbed of best picture and best director nominations this year, I haven't seen a film that I've simply purely enjoyed this much in years, and I saw it three times, so I know what I am saying ;).

Semi-Finalists: 

There were many others i could have chosen this year, but these three all had flawed films, but their passions, talent and sheer balls as directors earned them their spots as my semi-finalists for bravery and entertainment.

Quentin Tarantino is at the helm of the bloody mess that is Django Unchained. Despite being overlong with odd moments of humour and a disastrous cameo from the man himself, it doesn't ruin the moments of genius that hint at what a film this could have been.

Peter Jackson is maxed out to excess in The Hobbit Part One, but his love, passion and talent are all on display here and despite the overkill, its still a hell of a ride.

Lee Daniels for daring to go so over the top in The Paperboy, its a bonafide cult classic already, the guy doesn't know the meaning of the word subtlety and god bless him for it.