BAM Award Winners: Most Underrated Picture

Here you’ll very quickly pick up on another theme: almost invariably the winner of this category has been a family film. I very intentionally use the word genre in my rating scale because I frequently think that people misuse ratings as a mode of comparative analysis. I try, to the best of my ability, to judge a film on its own merits and not compared to the best film ever made. The knee-jerk reaction too many have when rating a film is thinking “Oh, well, it’s not Citizen Kane” and then knock it down a peg. Well, some films aren’t trying to reach those lofty heights but have different goals entirely and are just as valid. A top films of the year list is where you stratify films, a rating is merely how well you think this film did what it set out to accomplish.

This year I may use a metric to determine both underrated and overrated, at least in terms of nominees, in years past it’s almost become kind of like a runner-up Best Picture because the winner has typically not won that award but has been a nominee in that category as well (the only films to win both came in a three-year run from ‘01 to ‘03).

Here are the winners:

2018 All These Small Moments

2017 Columbus

2016 The River Thief

2015 O menino no espelho (The Boy in the Mirror)

2014 Stations of the Cross

2013 Class Enemy

2012 Kauwboy

Kauwboy (2012, Waterland Film)

2011 Toast

2010 The Last Airbender

2009 Aliens in the Attic

2008 The Son of Rambow

2007 The Last Mimzy

2006 How to Eat Fried Worms

How to Eat Fried Worms (2006, New Line Cinema)

2005 The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005, Troublemaker Studios)

2004 Catch That Kid

2003 Peter Pan

2002 Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones (20th Century Fox)

2001 Artificial Intelligence: A.I.

2000 Billy Elliot

1999 The Other Sister

1998 Wide Awake

1997 Little Men

1996 Harriet the Spy

Harriet the Spy (Paramount)

2012 BAM Award Nominations

Another year has come and gone so it’s time to announce the 2012 BAM award Nominations. These awards are based solely on my opinion and what I was able to watch during the past year.

To see what qualified you can check any of these three posts for film, actor and behind-the-scenes categories.

I recently announced shortlists, and barring a few last minute entries, these nominations will come from those films.

If you want more insight into the history and development of the awards I have re-posted most of my old lists starting with 1996.

Winners will be announced, complete with my rationale, on Friday, January 4th.

I will be posting this as a live blog through the course of the night as decisions are finalized.

Best Picture

Anna Karenina
The Cabin in the Woods
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
The Dynamiter

Kauwboy
Les Misérables
North Sea Texas
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Turin Horse

Best Foreign Film

Found Memories
Holy Motors
Kauwboy
Magic Silver
Monsieur Lazhar

North Sea Texas
The Raid: Redemption
La Rafle
Simon and the Oaks
The Turin Horse

Most Underrated Picture

The Aggression Scale
The Dynamiter
In the Family
Intruders
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Kauwboy
Magic Silver
Meeting Evil
On the Ice
Simon and the Oaks

Best Director

Bavo Defurne North Sea Texas
Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight Rises
Quentin Tarantino Django Unchained
Béla Tarr The Turin Horse
Joe Wright Anna Karenina

Best Actress


Erika Bók The Turin Horse

Keira Knightley Anna Karenina

Magaly Solier Amador

Tilda Swinton We Need to Talk About Kevin

Noomi Rapace The Monitor

Best Actor


Dane DeHaan Chronicle
Logan Lerman The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Daniel Day-Lewis Lincoln

Denis Lavant Holy Motors

Matthew McConaughey Killer Joe
Hugh Jackman Les Misérables

Best Supporting Actress

Samantha Barks Les Misérables
Sally Field Lincoln
Gina Gershon Killer Joe
Anna Gunn Sassy Pants
Anne Hathaway Les Misérables

Best Supporting Actor

Mikkel Boe Følsgaard A Royal Affair
Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained
Samuel L. Jackson Django Unchained
Matthew McConaughey Bernie
Eddie Redmayne Les Misérables

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Leading Role

Ryan Simpkins Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Sophie Nélisse Monsieur Lazhar
Yle Vianello Corpo Celeste

Natasha Calls The Possession

Ane Viola Semb Magic Silver

Rachel Mwanza War Witch

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Leading Role

Thomas Horn Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

James Rolleston Boy
Émilien Néron Monsieur Lazhar

Jelle Florizoone North Sea Texas
Rick Lens Kauwboy

Thomas Doret The Kid with a Bike

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Supporting Role

Isabelle Allen Les Misérables

Marie-Ève Beauregard Monsieur Lazhar
Jeanne Disson Holy Motors

Ashley Gerasimovich We Need to Talk About Kevin
Bailee Madison Parental Guidance

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Supporting Role

Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu Boy
Sebastian Banes In the Family
Kyle Breitkopf Parental Guidance
Peter DaCunha The Barrens
Pierce Gagnon Looper
Daniel Huttlestone Les Misérables

Best Youth Ensemble

Ane Viola Semb, Johan Tinus Lindgren, etc. Magic Silver
Émilien Néron, Brigitte Poupart, Jules Philip, Seddik Benslimane, Marie-Ève Beauregard, Sophie Sanscartier, Vincent Millard, Louis-David Leblanc, Gabriel Verdier, Marianne Soucy-Lord Monsieur Lazhar
Ben Van den Heuvel, Nathan Naenen, Noor Ben Taouet, Jelle Florizoone, Nina Marie Kortekaas, Mathias Vergels North Sea Texas
Bailee Madison, Joshua Rush, Kyle Breitkopf, Cade Jones, Mavrick Moreno, Madison Lintz, Justin Kennedy, Jade Nicolette Parental Guidance
Nick Romeo Reimann, Fabian Halbig, Leonie Tepie, Manuel Steitz, Javidan Imani, Robin Walter, David Hürten Vorstadtkrokodile 3: Freunde Fur Immer
Jean Texier, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner, Nathan Parent, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Ilona Bachelier, Thomas Goldberg, Grégory Gatignol War of the Buttons

Best Cast

Fellag, Sophie Nelisse, Emilien Neron, Marie-Eve Bearegard, Vincent Millard, Seddik Bensilmane, Louis David Leblanc, Dranielle Proux Brigitte Poupart, Jules Philip Monsieur Lazhar
Ben Van den Heuvel, Eva van der Gucht, Thomas Coumans, Katelijn Damen, Nathan Naenen, Noor Ben Taouet, Jelle Florizoone, Nina Marie Kortekaas, Mathias Vergels, Luk Wyns North Sea Texas
Keira Knightley, Aaron Johnson-Taylor, Jude Law, Kelly MacDonald, Olivia Williams, Emily Watson, Matthew Macfayden, Oskar McNamara, Alicia Vikander, Eros Vlahos Anna Karenina
Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Straithairn, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Cross, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gulliver McGrath, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, Bruce McGill, Tim Blake Nelson, Lucas Haas, Dane DeHaan Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks, Sach Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter Eddie Redmayne, Elizabeth Allen, Daniel Huttlestone Les
Misérables

Best Original Screenplay

Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard The Cabin in the Woods
Quentin Tarantino Django Unchained
Leos Carax Holy Motors
Patrick Wang In the Family
Laszlo Krasznahorki, Bela Tarr The Turin Horse

Best Adapted Sceenplay

Tom Stoppard (Leo Tolstoy) Anna Karenina
Bavo Defurne (Andre Sollie) North Sea Texas
Stephe Chbosky (Stephen Chbosky) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
William Nicholson (Claude-Michel Schoenberg, Alain Boubil, Victor Hugo, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel, James Fenton) Les Misérables
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan (Ian Fleming) Skyfall

Best Score

Adriano Cominotto North Sea Texas
Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese The Raid: Redemption
Helge Slikker Kauwboy
Christopher Young Sinister
Mihály Víg The Turin Horse

Best Editing

Joe Bini We Need to Talk About Kevin
John Guerdebeke Keyhole
Mary Joe Markey The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Melanie Oliver Anna Karenina
Els Voorspoels North Sea Texas

Best Sound Editing/Mixing

Chronicle
Django Unchained
Neighboring Sounds
Sinister
The Woman in Black

Best Cinematography

Roger Deakins Skyfall
Benjamin Kasulke Keyhole
Fred Kelemen The Turin Horse
Seamus McGarvey Anna Karenina
Anton Mertens North Sea Texas

Best Art Direction

Anna Karenina
Cloud Atlas
Magic Silver
Les Misérables
The Turin Horse
The Woman in Black

Best Costume Design

Anna Karenina
Cloud Atlas
Django Unchained
Holy Motors
The Turin Horse

Best Makeup

The Devil’s Rock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Hitchcock
Holy Motors
The Moon Child

Best Visual Effects

The Cabin in the Woods
Cloud Atlas
Beyond the Black Rainbow
John Carter
ParaNorman

Best Song

“You Are the One” Ricky Koole Kauwboy
“The Big Machine” Mark Duplass Safety Not Guaranteed
“Giving It All” Troye Sivan Spud
“Skyfall” Adele Skyfall
“The Thunder Buddy Song” Mark Wahlberg and Seth Macfarlane Ted