Its come to that time of year again, when magazines and websites become flooded with 'best of' and 'worst of' lists and Hollywood releases a slew of awards-baiting movies, leading to the annual awards season where it seems that the winners are increasingly chosen via studio politics rather than artistic merit. These self-congratulatory, back-slapping ceremonies can grow tiresome as they are staged with increasing regularity in the built-up to the big one; the 87th Academy Awards on February 22nd, fronted by debut host Neil Patrick Harris. 2014 was a great year for movies without a doubt, all the way from low-budget independent dramas to blockbuster behemoths. Generally, the awards season doesn't have much time for popcorn movies or crowd-pleasers, instead focusing on smaller, more character-centric dramas which leaves plenty of movies out in the cold whether they cost $2m or $200m. These ceremonies also stick rigidly to a fairly repetitive list of categories, which goes a great way to eliminating any surprises after the first couple of awards shows are out of the way. With that in mind, this article proudly presents the 2nd annual Alternative Movie Awards, ignoring all of the typical awards contenders in favor of a more down-to-earth and irreverent look at the year in cinema, free from the shackles of the red carpet. Much the same as last year, all major award-baiting movies are being completely ignored in favor of naming winners and runners-up from 20 wide-ranging categories that will attempt to cover as much of 2014's cinematic spectrum as possible, so read on and see if you agree with the choices. Do you agree with these alternative movie awards? Would you have chosen any different winners? Are there any other categories that you would have included? As always, sign off in the comments below.
I don't do social media, so like or follow me in person but please maintain a safe distance or the authorities will be notified. Don't snap me though, I'll probably break. I was once labelled a misogynist on this very site in a twenty paragraph-long rant for daring to speak ill of the Twilight franchise. I stand by what I said, it's crap.
