Most Disappointing Film
WINNER: Beasts of the Southern Wild (dir. Benh Zeitlin) Though Beasts of the Southern Wild was filled with countless impressive elements, it was also the most disappointing and underwhelming film of the year, more so than The Hobbit, and certainly more so than Hitchcock. Praise for this one had been high out of the early festival gate, such that when I finally got around to seeing it in July, I felt deflated upon seeing that it was a resolutely average film; well shot, well-acted, but also keen to pander and over-indulge its quirkiness. Simply, the feeling I've had coming out of it both times I've seen it is that Beasts is a film made for white, middle-class people to pat themselves on the back for enjoying.
Most Intriguing Failure
WINNER: The Paperboy (dir. Lee Daniels) Lee Daniels comes hot off his success with Precious to deliver a bizarre, daring sophomore feature that ended up being the talk of the Cannes Film Festival, not because it was really any good, but because it featured a beguiling scene in which Zac Efron, having been stung by a jellyfish, is promptly urinated on by Nicole Kidman, playing the ditzy blond object of his lust. It would be difficult to categorise the film as outright good or bad, but it's definitely got its share of intriguing elements, namely some go-for-broke performances from Efron, Kidman, Matthew McConaughey and, most curiously of all, Macy Gray. It's not especially good, but it's never boring; the film goes in some absolutely bonkers directions, and if you're a fan of weird but not necessary successful cinema, you owe it to yourself to check it out.