Monday, February 25, 2008

The Oscars!















The 80th Annual Academy Awards was a wounded affair, but it dragged itself across the finish line; the production value was non-existent, but it was made up for by many emotional speeches. The show was "saved" from cancellation due to the end of the writers' strike, but with so little preparation time before the show, it just wasn't the same. Poor Jon Stewart did his best, in a role that was doomed to fail no matter who filled it. He had a short, win-some lose-some monologue, after which he was just a referee for the stripped-down proceedings. Stewart had some great bits two years ago, particularly the Best Actress Attack Ads. The highlight of last year's show was the Marc Shaiman's music romp "A Comedian At the Oscars", performed by Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly. This year...there was just nothing; there was no time to put anything together.

Here's how it all went down:

* The first award, Costume Design, goes to Elizabeth. Cate Blanchett is delighted.
* George Clooney appears. Everyone is happy.
* Jon gives a shout-out to presenter Steve Carell. Winner Brad Bird gives a great speech, mentioning his high school guidance counselor.
* La Vie en Rose wins Best Makeup and Marion Cotillard is positively giddy. I like her.
* Amy Adams sings -- can it be? -- without any creepy dancers, ridiculous backdrop, or stupid outfit, just her lovely self, a simple dress, and her sweet voice.
* Why is "The Rock" here? Who let him in?
* Cate Blanchett presents, looking ridiculously sexy for someone so pregnant.
* Jennifer Hudson gives Supporting Actor to "Harvey-er Bardem." Eek. He gives a gracious speech, says something in Spanish to his mother in the audience, she cries with joy, and it's very sweet.
* Keri Russell introduces the suckiest song.
* Owen Wilson presents Best Live Action Short, one can assume because of Bottle Rocket.
* A bee flies into the auditorium. It sounds like Jerry Seinfeld. Hopefully it was promptly swatted.
* Alan Arkin says the most boring teleprompter drivel in the driest manner possible, and it is hilarious. Then he drops a HUGE bomb by declaring Tilda Swinton the winner. She's shocked, humble, and pokes fun at George Clooney in her speech. Can't help but like her.
* Jessica Alba tells us about the Sci-Tech awards, continuing the Academy's tradition of sending a hottie to host the Too-Nerdy-and-Boring-For-the-Real-Show awards.
* Josh Brolin and James McAvoy appear, act silly, and...I'm sorry, I was swooning at James McAvoy, what happened? Oh, right, they presented Adapted Screenplay, for which both of their film's were nominated, and Josh's movie beats James's movie. The Coen brothers give a short, droll speech, knowing it won't be their last of the evening.













* To compensate for the tastefulness of Amy Adams's performance, a giant, ridiculous, overpopulated, musically bombastic production number is staged for the second nominated song from "Enchanted."
* Jonah Hill and Seth Rogan are presenting at the Oscars. That is awesome. Too bad their scripted "I wanna be Halle Berry" banter is lame. (And Jonah, her name isn't "Holly" any more than Mr. Bardem's is "Harvey-er.")
* Forest Whitaker delivers the second jaw-dropper of the evening: Best Actress is Marion Cotillard! Marion Cotillard! If you thought she was enthusiastic about her film winning Best Makeup...! She is shocked, shaking, laughing, completely overcome, and gives a nice speech. Yay for Marion Cotillard! Marion Cotillard! (Sorry, her name is fun to say.)
* Apparently, Colin Farrell is only asked to the Oscars to introduce songs performed by Irish musicians. First U2, now Glen Hansard. Hansard and Czech Marketa Irglova of the Irish film Once deliver a stirring performance of their lovely song, and they couldn't look happier.
* Jack Nicholson appears, as per his contract with the Academy.
* Renee Zellweger is shiny.
* Nicole Kidman's long necklace hangs not in the center, but anchored around her right breast. And oddly, it looks kinda cool.
* Penelope Cruz appears and says it's now time for Best Foreign Language Film! I laugh aloud; Gotta love the presenter-category match-ups.
* Yet another song from Enchanted, performed by some adorably scruffy young lad who I'm sure is throbbing the hearts of teens everywhere.
* Best Song goes to....Once! HELL, YES! Hansard and Marketa are floored, and receive the most enthusiastic applause of the evening. Amid whoops and cheers, Hansard gives a gracious speech, and Irglova is just about to start when the orchestra cuts her off. Everyone whelps with disappointment for her.


















* We come back from commercial break, and Jon Stewart asks Marketa Irglova to come back on stage and give her speech. Further proving that Jon Stewart and Marketa Irglova are both awesome.
* Cameron Diaz is no longer cute.
* Hilary Swank's introduction to the death reel invokes "some who were taken from us too soon." They gave Heath Ledger the prestigious last-one-before-the-fade-out spot, but somehow didn't include Brad Renfro at all.
* An award goes to Atonement, so there's a reaction shot of James McAvoy. Mmmmm...McAvoy.
* One of the documentary short winners (I don't know which one was Cynthia Wade and which was Vanessa Ross), makes a moving plea to end discrimination against same-sex couples, which she and her husband do not face. Part One of "Watch for some asshole to say something rude and obnoxious about that."
* Harrison Ford, the most wooden and least colorful person present, gives Original Screenplay to the least wooden and most colorful person present, Diablo Cody. She ends by thanking her family for "loving me just the way I am" and then cries.




















* Daniel Day-Lewis is the most gracious winner of the evening: On the way to accept Best Actor, he kisses competitor George Clooney and kneels reverently before presenter Helen Mirren. He also gives a fun speech. I love this guy.
* Martin Scorsese appears, and gushes that whoever wins Best Director will really appreciate the honor. Poor Marty. Anyway, the Coens win again, but Joel tells a funny story about the films they made when they were kids, and Frances McDormand watches from the audience with giddy pride for her husband and brother-in-law. I can't help but smile.
* Producer Scott Rudin, accepting Best Picture, thanks his life partner and calls him "honey." Part Two of "Watch for some asshole to say something rude and obnoxious about that."

And that was the show!

FASHION ROUND-UP

I cannot decided who was best dressed: It's a four-way tie between Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Helen Mirren, Saoirse Ronan.













Blanchett's dress is simply magnificent; the fact that it's a maternity gown is even more impressive. The deep royal purple color, the satin sheen, the intricate embroidery in the skirt, the funky neckline with green jewels...it was simultaneously royal and bohemian. (Perhaps a nod to both her nominated roles?) Helen Mirren's raspberry gown with crystal sleeves was elegant, and bolder and more feminine than some of the dresses on the actresses half her age. The color of Saoirse Ronan's dress -- true emerald green -- was enough to win me over, so the vintage details made it all the more delicious. I'm generally bored by white or black dresses, but I couldn't leave Marion Cotillard off my list, for the exquisitely patterned mermaid dress. Or, as one red carpet twit put it: "She looks like a fish, but, like, the prettiest fish there is."

Some of the best looks of the evening need to be seen in close-up to be appreciated:











Blanchett, Mirren, Anne Hathaway, Hilary Swank











Best jewels: Nicole Kidman, Julie Christie, Amy Ryan, Keri Russell, Laura Linney, Jennifer Garner, Miley Cyrus, Penelope Cruz

Worst dressed...well, it's clearly Julie Christie and Tilda Swinton. (Hard to say which is worse than the other.) Christie had a great color in merlot, but the cut and shape of the dress was completely ill-fitting and unflattering, making a perfectly gorgeous woman look frumpy. Even worse were the bulky pink gloves that reached all the way up to her sleeve line. She almost looked dressed to play in the snow. And there's no other way to put it: Tilda Swinton was wearing a garbage bag.




















I give "worst dressed" to an outfit that obscures or detracts from a person's natural beauty; I do NOT give it to mavericks with distinctive style. So I say not "worst", but "thank you" to Diablo Cody [see above], and the folks pictured below, for being fabulously weird. Because really, wouldn't you be disappointed if they looked just like everybody else?











Viggo Mortensen, Daniel Day-Lewis (possibly wearing shoes he cobbled himself), Rebecca Miller, Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, Spike Lee

Friday, February 22, 2008

Best Actor

George Clooney

Michael Clayton

*NBR, GG, SAG

2, 1

Daniel Day-Lewis

There Will Be Blood

*NYFC, *LAFC, *NSFC, *GG, *SAG

4, 1

Johnny Depp

Sweeney Todd

*GG

3, 0

Tommy Lee Jones

In the Valley of Elah


3, 1

Viggo Mortensen

Eastern Promises

GG, SAG

1, 0

It won’t be Tommy Lee Jones, in the least-liked film in the bunch. Jones and also George Clooney are both former winners who don’t have the iron-strong candidacy to overcome the “He’s already got one” factor. (More on that later.) Meanwhile, Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen are two of our best actors, but sadly, it ain’t their year. Sweeney didn’t connect with viewers the way it was expected, and Depp’s exclusion from the SAG nominees indicates weak support. Mortensen is hurt by the relatively little screen time he has in Eastern Promises; he was great but it may not be enough. He’s going to get clobbered by the in-every-scene-of-a-three-hour-movie screen time of Daniel Day-Lewis. And what screen time it is. Day-Lewis, a winner for My Left Foot and nominee for In the Name of the Father and Gangs of New York, may have done the best work of his career, one that’s everything you could ask for in a Best Actor performance: A meticulously gradual psychological transformation, yet punctuated with heart-pounding moments; a character of astounding coldness with surprising moments of humanity, even tenderness; a characterization that is a complete disappearance of an actor into a character, yet it reminds you why you friggin’ love this guy. I don’t like repeat wins, but golly, he deserves it. Prediction and Personal Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis (But note that I didn’t catch up to Sweeney Todd, and I refuse to see In the Valley of Whatever, Paul Haggis.)


Best Actress

Cate Blanchett

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

GG, SAG

5, 1

Julie Christie

Away From Her

*NYFC, *NSFC, *NBR, *GG, *SAG

4, 1

Marion Cotillard

La Vie en Rose

*LAFC, *GG, SAG

1, 0

Laura Linney

The Savages


3, 0

Ellen Page

Juno

GG, SAG

1, 0

Cate Blanchett is the only one you can write-off completely; her second nomination as Queen Elizabeth I exists only as a novelty, not as a stepping stone to an actual win. Laura Linney may have a teensy shot at an upset; she wasn’t nominated by the SAG, and only one actor has ever won the Oscar without a SAG nomination in the history of the SAG awards. That one exception was Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock, a case of a tiny film with a late start in the race that gained momentum in the final stretch, and perhaps the same can be said for The Savages. Still, it’s quite a reach. Marion Cotillard was a revelation, with the most technically difficult performance in the group, but she may be too “foreign” to win: The Academy may love their Brits, but for any other foreigners, there lingers the uncertainty of giving an American award to someone who may rarely be seen on American screens again. We’re sure to see Canadian Ellen Page in American films for years to come, and she’s the best hope for an upset. She may be young, but at 20 she’s not a kid, she’s the only woman here in a Best Picture nominee, and the most crowd-pleasing Best Picture nominee at that. Everyone loves Juno; rabid fans could push her in. (She would squeak out Marlee Matlin, 21 years old in Children of a Lesser God, as the youngest Best Actress winner ever.) Still, Julie Christie has proven unstoppable in the race. I thought she was good but not the best of the year; apparently, no one agrees with me. After last year’s big to-do about 61-year-old Helen Mirren winning this ingénue-prone award, Christie, at 66, will become the third-oldest Best Actress winner ever. (Her first win, for Darling at age 24, is still in the record books as one of the 10 youngest winners ever.) So both of the leading role Oscars will go to people who’ve won before: Grumble, grumble. Prediction: Julie Christie Personal Pick: Cotillard, Linney, and Page were all outstanding. Any of them would be a delightful surprise. I think maybe a win for Linney would make me happiest. (But note I didn’t see Elizabeth 2: The Re-Elizabeth-ing.)

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck

The Assassination of Jesse James…

*NSFC, *NBR, GG, SAG

1, 0

Javier Bardem

No Country For Old Men

*NYFC, *GG, *SAG

2, 0

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Charlie Wilson’s War

GG

2, 1

Hal Holbrook

Into the Wild

SAG

1, 0

Tom Wilkinson

Michael Clayton

GG, SAG

2, 0

Again, only one contender here is sure to lose: Any sensible person loves Philip Seymour Hoffman, but he just won 2 years ago, Charlie Wilson isn’t nominated in any other category, and he didn’t get the crucial SAG nod. The nomination is its own reward. Casey Affleck was amazing in The Assassination of the Long Title, and this is only a supporting role the way Ethan Hawke’s was in Training Day or Jamie Foxx’s was in Collateral: He’s the main character, the point of view character, has the most screen time, any way you slice it he’s the star of the picture, but because he’s opposite a super-duper movie star (Brad Pitt/Denzel Washington/Tom Cruise), they demote him to the supporting race. I think Affleck may actually have a bigger part than Best Actor nominee Viggo Mortensen; the quantity of quality could be a leg up for him. On the downside, after the 3-hour There Will Be Blood, voters may not be inclined to watch another 3-hour western, and may leave their screener copies of Assassination unopened. Plus he’s a young guy who voters may not be ready to induct into the winners’ club just yet. Tom Wilkinson could carry the flag for Michael Clayton; I think he is the best shot for the film to win anything. It is a perfect Supporting Actor part: Subtle and flashy, from a well-respected character actor. I didn’t catch up with Into the Wild, so I can’t comment on Hal Holbrook; I can only say people loved his performance, and at 82 years old, he could pull off a sentimental win. The only problem for Wilkinson or Holbrook is that they will simply be annihilated by Javier Bardem, murdering their chances with a quick air-gun shot to the proverbial forehead. The dude has won everything, and oh, how everyone is falling over themselves to say how great he was, perhaps the best villain in film history. I am not a fan of his non-specifically crazy-eyed performance, but sucks to be me – the guy’s got it made. Prediction: Javier Bardem Personal Pick: Loved Casey Affleck, loved Tom Wilkinson; either would be marvelous. Didn’t see Holbrook but I’d still be happy to see him win. (Didn’t see Hoffman, either.) I have no ill-will towards Mr. Bardem personally, but I hated everything about this movie.

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett

I’m Not There

*NSFC, *GG, SAG

5, 1

Ruby Dee

American Gangster

*SAG

1, 0

Saoirse Ronan

Atonement

GG

1, 0

Amy Ryan

Gone Baby Gone

*NYFC, *NSFC, *NBR, GG, SAG

1, 0

Tilda Swinton

Michael Clayton

GG, SAG

1, 0

Yet again, one actor can be immediately discounted: 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan. She’s too young, too unknown, and by the time her character “atones” for her sins, she is being played by an older actress. (Ronan, through no fault of her own, doesn’t carry the humanizing character arc, so she won’t connect with voters.) Entertainment Weekly actually thinks Tilda Swinton can win, but I think they’re crazy: Her brittle performance is spot-on but simply not dramatic enough to win. She is sure to be overshadowed by either the immersive characterizations of Amy Ryan and Cate Blanchett, or the lifetime achievement vote for Ruby Dee. Blanchett eerily disappears into the skinny jeans of Bob Dylan, convincing as a man and compelling as a person. I’m demoting her to third-most-likely to win because she just won this award 3 years ago (I still think if she wins again, it will be to bump her up to a Best Actress winner), and this is one kooky movie; I can certainly imagine older voters not sitting through the whole thing out of frustration and bewilderment. It’s sooo close between critics’ darling Amy Ryan and SAG winner Ruby Dee. Ryan has the heft of performance, but she may be too unknown, and her film may not have been seen by enough people. Dee is a beloved icon, in a much more widely-seen film, but she is in it for literally 5 minutes. (I still can’t stomach the idea of sitting through another Ridley Scott movie, and Dee’s entire performance can be seen in one clip on YouTube, so…I know it’s wrong to watch a performance out of context, but I did it. Scold me if you must.) Dee made the most of her cameo appearance, but geez, an Oscar for it? This is a role smaller than Judi Dench’s in Shakespeare in Love, and only slightly larger than Beatrice Straight’s in Network. (Dench and Straight both won for these roles.) Argh! So torn, I guess I’ll just have to roll the dice and go with… Prediction: Ruby Dee Personal Pick: Yeah, Amy Ryan should get it. But I won’t begrude Ms. Dee.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Atonement

Christopher Hampton

GG

2, 1

Away From Her

Sarah Polley


1, 0

Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Ronald Harwood

GG, WGA

3, 1

No Country For Old Men

Ethan, Joel Coen

*NYFC, *NBR, *GG, *WGA

3, 1 [each]

There Will Be Blood

Paul Thomas Anderson

WGA

3, 0

I see no hope for Atonement or Away From Her. Neither was picked by the Writers’ Guild, and while Away will be taken care of in the Best Actress category, Atonement is likely to lose out on everything. There’s a small chance for Diving Bell, though its lack of a Best Picture nomination is a setback, and Ronald Harwood just won this award 5 years ago for The Pianist. There’s a really good chance There Will Be Blood could steal. Sure, NCFOM has a stranglehold on Best Picture and Director, but remember that Blood tied it for the most nominations this year; voters who want to make it the de-facto runner-up for Best Picture may well decide to spread the wealth and give Paul Thomas Anderson at least one statuette for his monumental effort. Still, I have to say it is most likely that the excessive fondness for the ice-cold No Count’ will prevail. Prediction: No Country For Old Men Personal Pick: Ooh, I hope Mr. Anderson can draw some Blood in this contest. I’d also be happy for Sarah Polley. (But note I didn’t see The Diving Bell…)

Best Original Screenplay

Juno

Diablo Cody

*NBR, GG, *WGA

1, 0

Lars and the Real Girl

Nancy Oliver

*NBR, WGA

1, 0

Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy

WGA

1, 0

Ratatouille

Brad Bird, Jim Capobianco, Jan Pinkova


2, 1 [Bird]

The Savages

Tamara Jenkins

*LAFC, *NSFC, WGA

1, 0

Cartoons don’t win. They get token nominations, but don’t win. (So don’t bet on the rat.) Lars hasn’t a chance, with no other nominations and the weakest all-around support of the five. It’s hard to say whether Michael Clayton or The Savages has an advantage over the other. Mike is the Best Picture nominee, and this could be the category it scores in (since a certain Western isn’t in competition.) Savages, on the other hand, has the more acclaimed script. But Juno has the best of both worlds: a Best Picture nominee and a respectable resume of screenplay awards. Comedies have a tough time winning the top award, but they fare very well in the writing categories: see Little Miss Sunshine, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sideways, Lost in Translation, Gosford Park, Almost Famous, just to name examples from the current decade. Diablo Cody may be a first-time screenwriter, but she’s got the props to win. Prediction: Juno Personal Pick: An impossible call between Juno and The Savages. Either will make me cheer on my couch.

Best Director

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Julian Schnabel

*GG, DGA

1, 0

Juno

Jason Reitman


1, 0

Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy

DGA

1, 0

No Country For Old Men

Ethan, Joel Coen

*NYFC, GG, *DGA

2, 0 [Joel] 1,0 [Ethan]

There Will Be Blood

Paul Thomas Anderson

*LAFC, *NSFC, DGA

1, 0

The Euro crowd digs Diving Bell, but winning Director without a Picture nod is next to impossible. There Will Be Blood has the sprawl and scale of a Directing winner, but for some weird reason, everybody likes the other Western better. So Ethan and Joel become the first directing team to win this award since Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story in 1961. Prediction: No Country For Old Men Personal Pick: Anderson. Or Reitman. Or Anderson.

Best Picture

Atonement

*GG

7 nominations

Juno

GG, PGA

4 nominations

Michael Clayton

GG, PGA

7 nominations

No Country For Old Men

*NYFC, *NBR, GG, *PGA

8 nominations

There Will Be Blood

*LAFC, *NSFC, GG, PGA

8 nominations

Ugh. Just give it to them and let it be done with. Prediction: No Country For Old Men Personal Pick: Juno or There Will Be Blood. Hell, even Michael Clayton. Hell, even weepy old Atonement.

The Rest of the Races

I don’t specialize in these races, so use with caution.

Cinematography: Three-way race between the Westerns. The maestro (and double nominee) Roger Deakins deserves it for Jesse James but he’ll win for No Country.

Editing: The Coen brothers are both producers, directors, and writers of No Country, and each will win all three of those awards. But because they edited the film under the alias “Roderick Jaynes”, only one award will be bestowed to the non-existent Mr. Jaynes, so the brothers will go home with 7 trophies instead of 8. Criminey.

Art Direction: Either Atonement or Sweeney Todd. I think Sweeney may have more (and more stylized) sets.

Costume Design: Also either Atonement or Sweeney Todd. Again I’m guessing the artier Sweeney has the edge.

Score: The lonely win for Atonement, with its big, swoony music.

Sound Mixing and Editing: These awards go to the popcorn flicks, so I say both categories will go to most respected popcorn flick, The Bourne Ultimatum.

Visual Effects: No idea. I’m guessing Transformers is too shitty a movie and they’ll go with the genteel fantasy of The Golden Compass.

Makeup: Hands down, La Vie en Rose. Old age makeup has never gotten such intimate close-ups and looked so seamless.

Song: This category is completely insane. Lately, the trend has actually been the song that the music branch thinks makes it look hippest (Melissa Etheridge over Dreamgirls, “Hard Out Here For a Pimp” over Dolly Parton, that Uruguayan guy over a mushy Josh Groban ballad) so I guess the intimate duet from the kitchen-sink musical Once will trounce the three shiny Disney songs.

Animated Feature: So obviously Ratatouille. I haven’t seen Persepolis, but I’m assuming I’ll like it better than the slapsticky Pixar offering, so I hope Persepolis kicks some furry little ass.

Foreign Language Film: No idea. The Counterfeiters is about the Holocaust, so…

Documentary Feature: No End in Sight edges out Sicko.

Julie's Own Damn Oscars (Or Anti-Oscars) Given By Her, Damnit!*

* “Julie’s Own Damn Oscars (or Anti-Oscars) Given By Her, Damnit!” is a registered trademark.

Films I Actually Saw:

The Assassination of Jesse James…, Atonement, Away From Her, Blades of Glory, The Darjeeling Limited, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, I’m Not There, Juno, Knocked Up, La Vie en Rose, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, The Namesake, No Country For Old Men, Once, Ratatouille, The Savages, The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, Talk to Me, There Will Be Blood, Waitress, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Year of the Dog

Favorite Films:
The Darjeeling Limited, The Savages, Juno








Favorite Films (Runners-Up):
Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard







Favorite Westerns:

  1. The Assassination of Jesse James…; There Will Be Blood [tie]
  2. That is all.

Films I Liked Better Than No Country For Old Men (alphabetical)
The Assassination of Jesse James…, Atonement, Away From Her, Blades of Glory, The Darjeeling Limited, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, I’m Not There, Juno, Knocked Up, La Vie en Rose, Michael Clayton, The Namesake, Once , The Savages, The Simpsons Movie, Superbad, There Will Be Blood, Waitress, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Year of the Dog

Coen Brothers Movies I Liked Better Than No Country For Old Men (chronological)
Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Ladykillers (Seriously! Friggin’ Ladykillers!)

Absolute Worst Film I Saw All Year:
A Mighty Heart

The Julie Awards for Excellence in Women Filmmakers

  1. Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
  2. Sarah Polley, Away From Her
  3. Mira Nair, The Namesake
  4. Adrienne Shelley, Waitress












Favorite Performances (alphabetical)








Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James…
Adrien Brody, The Darjeeling Limited
Albert Brooks, The Simpsons Movie
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Olympia Dukakis, Away From Her
Laura Linney, The Savages
James McAvoy, Atonement
Peter O’Toole, Ratatouille
John C. Reilly, Walk Hard
Molly Shannon, Year of the Dog
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
The entire cast of Juno
The entire cast of Knocked Up
The entire cast of Superbad









Most Crush-Inducing Performance
James McAvoy, Atonement

Least Favorite Performances (alphabetical)
Beth Grant, No Country For Old Men
Jonah Hill, Walk Hard
Lou Romano, Ratatouille
Martin Sheen, Talk to Me

Coolest Female Character
Juno MacGuff, Juno

Lamest Female Character
Carla Jean Moss, No Country For Old Men

Best Musical Numbers

  1. Everything in Walk Hard
  2. The opening credits of Superbad
  3. “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” from Blades of Glory









Best Death
Nate Cox, Walk Hard

Worst Death
Pencil, Year of the Dog











Best Costuming

The green dress in Atonement. Want it!













Worst Costuming
Briony’s haircut in Atonement. She wore the same hairstyle for 60 years, just so the audience would recognize her from time shift to time shift. How nice of her.

Craziest Fucking Fight Scene Ever

  1. Eastern Promises (You know which one I’m talking about)
  2. There Will Be Blood (You know which one I’m talking about)