Our annual list of all my favorites and hatreds of the past year.
There may be two entries for some; indicating a tie or I just couldn’t decide.
Best Film: United 93
Best Film You Haven’t Seen: Funky Forest: The First Contact
Worst Performance: Anybody in The Covenant
Favorite Male Character:Stéphane Miroux (Gael Garcia Bernal in The Science of Sleep)
Favorite Female Character: Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada)
Best Cast: The Departed
Favorite Cast: The Departed
Favorite Cameo: David Bowie (The Prestige)
Most Over-rated: Borat
Most Under-rated: Children of Men
Most Intelligent: Thank You for Smoking
Favorite Sci-Fi: Children of Men
Favorite Comedy: Clerks II
Best Documentary (only saw 2): Who Killed the Electric Car?
Best Animated: Monster House
Favorite Animated: Cars
Best Family Film (non animated): Night at the Museum
Best SFX: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Best Sequel: Clerks II
Worst Sequel: Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Best Remake: The Departed
Worst Remake: Pulse / Poseidon
Best Fight: Borat vs Azamat Bagatov
Best Love/Sex Scene: Crank
Best Action Sequence: Knife fight (V for Vendetta)
Best Trailer(for films in 06): Casino Royale
Best Trailer(for films in 07): Grindhouse
Worst Trailer: Stomp the Yard
Most Misleading Trailer: Pulse
Best Script: Thank You for Smoking
Best Song Soundtrack: Half-Nelson
Best Score Soundtrack: Babel
Biggest Downer (not nec. a bad thing): United 93
Biggest Pleasant Surprise: Deja Vu / Running Scared
The word “favorite” does not necessarily mean “best.”
Top 3 Most Original:
3) Brick
2) Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
1) The Science of Sleep
Top 3 Most Disappointing:
3) A Scanner Darkly
2) Lady in the Water
1) For Your Consideration
Top 5 Favorite Foreign Language Films:
5) Cache
4) Lady Vengeance
3) Pan’s Labyrinth
2) Apocalypto
1) Volver
Top 5 Favorite Scenes:
5) Final 5 minutes (Half Nelson)
4) The car chase (Deja Vu)
3) Randall faces off SW against LOTR (Clerks II)
2) Helen Mirren and the Stag (The Queen)
1) Pitt helps Blanchet use a bedpan (Babel)
– honorable mention: Stuck in the giant womb (Tristram Shandy)
Top 5 Favorite Performances by an Actor:
5) Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)
4) Gael Garcia Bernal (The Science of Sleep)
3) Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scottland)
2) Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking)
1) Ryan Gosling (Half-Nelson)
– honorable mention: Nathan Fillion (Slither)
Top Favorite Performances by an Actor in a supporting role:
5) Ray Winstone (The Proposition)
4) Rainn Wilson (My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
3) Alec Baldwin (The Departed)
2) Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
1) Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist)
– honorable mention: Dustin Hoffman (Stranger than Fiction)
Top 5 Favorite Performances by an Actress:
5) Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherrybaby)
4) Carmen Maura (Volver)
3) Penelope Cruz (Volver)
2) Meryl Streep (Devil Wears Prada)
1) Helen Mirren (The Queen)
– honorable mention: Kate Winslet (Little Children)
Top 5 Favorite Performances by an Actress in a supporting role:
5) Adriana Barraza (Babel)
4) Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
3) Shareeka Epps (Half-Nelson)
2) Maggie Gyllenhaal (Stranger than Fiction)
1) Rachel Bilson (The Last Kiss)
Top 5 Worst Films (I try to avoid bad films, so this was fairly easy):
5) The Libertine
4) Poseidon
3) Pulse
2) The Covenant
1) Lady in the Water
– dishonorable mention: The Black Dahlia
Top 5 Things about The Toronto After Dark Film Festival:
5) Special (starring Michael Rappaport)
4) Re-Cycle (except the ridiculous ending)
3) Shinobi (X-Men meets Crouching Tiger)
2) Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and talking with the director (Glosserman)
1) The Funky Forest experience (HOMEROOM!!!!!!!!!!)
Thoughts? Who or what did we miss or are we wrong about? What categories would you like to see? Leave your ideas by clicking “Comments” below.