My Top Ten 2010 Film Performances Not Nominated For An Oscar

Wordy title, but pretty self explanatory. These are the gems not recognized by the group known as "The Academy"- they're sounding more and more like a higher force everyday, no? You might notice a shortage of female performances on this list. Don't fret, it's probably because most of my favorites were nominated close to a month ago (Leo, Kidman, Adams, Portman...). So in alphabetical order by film, they are:

Ryan Gosling- Blue Valentine

Richard Jenkins- Eat Pray Love

Olivia Williams- The Ghost Writer

James Franco- Howl

Xavier Dolan- I Killed My Mother

Ewan McGregor- I Love You, Phillip Morris

Julianne Moore- The Kids Are All Right

Andrew Garfield- Never Let Me Go

Leonardo DiCaprio- Shutter Island

Andrew Garfield- The Social Network

Sorry for the double dosing of Mr. Garfield... or am I? The guy had a stellar one-two punch that landed him the role of Peter Parker/Spiderman (still an odd choice, IMO). While I'm glad Michelle Williams and Annette Bening got recognized for their work, their onscreen partners's performances were nothing to sneeze at either. I'm just going to blame early and/or limited release for the snubbings of Olivia Williams, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ewan McGregor and Xavier Dolan- with the latter having to deal with being a teenager and a foreign-language performance. James Franco got in for his broader, more popular work but his portrayal as Allen Ginsberg had more of an emotional punch. And lastly, poor Richard Jenkins just got stuck being in a crappy movie about Julia Robert spending 2 hours proving she doesn't need a man only to sail off (literally) with one.

My Top Ten Television Performances of The 2009-2010 Season

As another television season wraps with the conclusion of May sweeps, it's time to reveal my ten favorite television performers from this past season. While some the shows from last year's list were represented again, there has been a change in many of them in terms of who represents them this time around. Without further ado:

10.

Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)

Continues to show fresh comic chops as the show's MVP.

9.

Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Falling in love with Liz Lemon has never been so easy.

8.

Neil Patrick Harris (The 2009 Tony Awards)

As natural of a television host can ever get.

7.

Courteney Cox (Cougar Town)

Making us forget about Monica in one funny swoop.

6.

January Jones (Mad Men)

Diving in head first as her character's plot thickens.

5.

Jane Lynch (Glee)

Makes watching a singing and dancing villain so much fun.

4.

Keir Gilchrist (The United States of Tara)

Taking full advantage of the common coming-of-age movement.

3.

Portia De Rossi (Better Off Ted)

Deadpanning the brilliance of an over zealous character.

2.

Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights)

Letting us believe cheering for teenagers to succeed is more than possible.

1.

Ty Burrell (Modern Family)

As endearing as a lovable goofball can ever be.

My Asian Susan Boyle

Yikes. God bless foreign reality singing competition for bringing us some amazing performances the contestants of 'American Idol' only wish they can fathom. Meet Lin Yu Chun, currently in Taiwan's 'Superstar Avenue' belt out the Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston classic "I Will Always Love You". While not pleasing to the eye, Lin who was nicknamed "Little Fatty" on the show is most definitely flexing his vocal muscles to his opponent who's evidently shaking in her boots. If you can't read or understanding Mandarin, just skip to the 1 minute mark.

My Ten Best Performances of This TV Season

Inspired by both Rant of a Diva and Oscar Tracker's Top 25 Performances of the TV Season lists, I went ahead and did my own- only scaled down to a top 10. Also, my love for rankings couldn't resist making a list. So here it goes: 

10. 

Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)

Immensely underused, but steals every scene she's in.

9.

Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)

The declining show's MVP for the third season in a row.

8.

Stark Sands (Generation Kill)

Moral dilemmas on the battlefields never looked so good.

7.

Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens)

Career best gracefully exceeded everyone's expectations.

6.

Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreations)

Storms out of the gate with heart and hilarity.

5.

Hugh Jackman (The 81st Annual Academy Awards)

Redefining hosting criteria while not hogging all the attention.

4.

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)

Nearly impossible to take your eyes off his charismatic charm.

3.

Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)

Never resorting to the easier desperate housewife route.

2.

Jim Parson (The Big Bang Theory)

Humanizing an inhuman with impeccable comedic timing.

1.

Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men)

Brewing the perfect storm for Draper's ultimate nemesis.