2002: NKT Awards
Submitted by AAA on Thu, 01/30/2003 - 11:57
Tags:
- Tally
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - 4
- Far from Heaven - 3
- 25th Hour - 3
- Chicago - 3
- Y Tu Mama Tambien - 3
- Adaptation - 3
- Gangs of New York - 2
- 8 Women - 2
- The Piano Teacher - 1
- About Schmidt - 1
- Tdpole - 1
- Minority Report - 1
- The Hours - 1
- Kissing Jessica Stein - 1
- Rain - 1
- Best Director
- Alfonso Cuaron - Y Tu Mama Tambien (Watch the crafting of what seems like a teenage sex comedy...witness the subtle social commentary...gaze across the vast lands of Mexico...dazzle yourself with an emotional, erotic, spectacular film that hits almost every right note)
- Todd Haynes - Far from Heaven (Sure, the Academy robbed him, but Haynes's work on Far from Heaven is superb...what seems like, at first, a mere homage, turns into a gorgeous, heartbreaking, triumphant work of pure genius)
- Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (The scope of the first film is toned down, and the story moves along more quickly, but this one is still just as controlled and impressive...this is all thanks to Jackson, that wizard of the screen...next year, this will become THE fantasy trilogy of all time...eat your heart out Lucas)
- Spike Lee - 25th Hour (One of our most underappreciated auteurs delivers the goods with this riveting tale of a man making peace with his life and actions...oh Hell, it's so much more interesting than that, it's passionate, visually inventive, and emotionally draining...plus, Spike manages not to annoy me when he talks about September 11th...this guy's good)
- Mira Nair - Monsoon Wedding (Nair manages to convey the struggle between tradition and the constant march of culture in such a fun, fascinating, and memorable way that she earns her way onto this list easily...also, handling the ensemble with such precision is the work of someone with true talent)
- runners-up: Michael Moore - Bowling for Columbine, Francois Ozon - 8 Women, Tsai Ming-liang - What Time is it There?, Spike Jonze - Adaptation, Sam Raimi - Spider-Man
- Best Actress
- Isabelle Huppert - The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher is dark...really dark, the film is so uncomfortable at times, that one is tempted to stop watching, EXCEPT...ya can't stop watching Isabelle Huppert...as Erika Kohut, Huppert delves deep into the dark soul of a damaged woman and surfaces with a superb, masterful, [insert gushing adjective here] performance that stays with you months [maybe years] after seeing it)
- Catherine Keener - Lovely & Amazing (Catherine Keener has made her career playing sarcastic, dominating, sexy characters, and she is still sarcastic, dominating, and sexy, but her Michelle Marks is also sad, lonely, and imperfect...Nicole Holfocencor deserves credit for writing such complicated characters, but Keener makes Michelle understandable [if not entirely loveable] and moving...no small achievment)
- Arsinee Khanjian - Ararat (when it debuted, Atom Egoyan's Ararat was quickly attacked by critics as ponderous, aloof, and confused...while these comments are off the mark, the indifference Arsinee Khanjian's performance recieved is unforgiveable...Khanjian invests everything she has into Ani, and manages to become the spoke upon which the wheel of the film rotates...sublime)
- Nicole Kidman - The Hours (Virgina Woolf was an extremely intelligent person who just so happened to write some of the best novels of the past century, and Nicole Kidman proves her mettle as one of the most surprising actress working in America by giving a nuanced, subtle, and ultimately sad performance as this troubled genius...I don't know what she did to it, but Kidman's voice is so commanding that when she and her husband meet on the train platform [you're gonna see this clip come Oscar time] you are riveted)
- Julianne Moore - Far from Heaven (Julianne Moore's performance as Cathy Whitaker is the most awarded performance of the year, which naturally leads to thoughts of overenthusiasm, but let me tell you, any and all enthusiasm is completely warranted here...Cathy, along with the other characters in the film, are sculpted, molded, perfected archetypes from yesteryear, but Moore takes Cathy and, using her natural talents, she creates scenes of joy, love, emotional devestation, and finally hope...one of the most transfixing performances of the year)
- runners-up: Meryl Streep - The Hours, Diane Lane - Unfaithful, Patricia Clarkson - Wendigo, Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki - Rain, Kirsten Dunst - The Cat's Meow
- Best Actor
- Adrien Brody - The Pianist (playing Wladislaw Spilman must not have been an easy task, he barely speaks the entire time, and has no big emotional scenes, but Adrien Brody elevates the movie to subtle emotional highs that the subject matter usually flubs...expressing with his eyes and hands what most actors cannot do with three monolouges, Brody instills the heavy film with a heart and soul, and even brings tears to the eyes of the audience)
- Nicolas Cage - Adaptation (the dual roles of Donald and Charlie Kaufman are ones that most actors would kill for...Cage manages to redeem himself after a series of terrible mainstream flicks, perhaps this is his best performance ever...it certainly is one of the best of the year)
- Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York (yes, he is THAT good as Bill the Butcher...Day-Lewis performs as if he had erased the entire idea of a traditional villian from his mind and created this monster from scratch, this is a triumphant performance that puts almost everybody else this year to shame...extra credit for making some of the best scenes of the year come from year's the most dissapointing film)
- Hugh Grant - About a Boy (Will Freeman could easily be written off as Grant's usual role, but those who do are obviously not paying attention...Grant gives the soul of his wanker character charm, wit, and pathos that his foppish roles usually only possess on the surface level...a surprising performance in most scenes, but especially when you see Will's entire worldview crumble around him)
- Jack Nicholson - About Schmidt (yes, Jack is THIS good as Warren Schmidt...Jack and Daniel Day-Lewis have been hogging the awards, and many people have screamed "overrated" without seeing the film...I can tell you, Jack dazzles in this role, and not just because he "tones down 'Jack'", but also because he gives Warren Schmidt quiet humanity, snags the audience's attention the entire film, and makes you laugh and cry all at the same time...truly brilliant)
- runners-up: Dennis Quaid - The Rookie, Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man, Gael Garcia Bernal - Y Tu Mama Tambien, Steve Coogan - 24 Hour Party People, Benoit Magimel - The Piano Teacher
- Best Supporting Actress
- Edie Falco - Sunshine State (playing Marly Temple, a woman who never left her tiny hometown, Falco conveys the boredom and sadness of the part while also adding playfullness and energy to her character)
- Bebe Neuwirth - Tadpole (as Diane, Neuwirth is a comedic show-stopper, the dinner scene is one of the absolute funniest moments all year, and it's all thanks to her)
- Michelle Pfeiffer - White Oleander (Ingrid Magnussen is a woman with poison in her voice and beauty that proves to be deadlier than the titular flower, Pfeiffer gives her best performance in years portraying this Queen Bee, she gets extra points for her scenes with Alison Lohman)
- Shefali Shetty - Monsoon Wedding (Shefali's Ria is the center of the film's drama, and she is the reason that the sub-plot does not feel tacked-on or superfluous, Shefali has great presence as a young woman trying to prevent her childhood trauma from being relived)
- Catherine Zeta-Jones - Chicago (singing and dancing as Velma Kelly, Zeta-Jones actually manages to act as well, her performance isn't just sexy, it's also funny and magnetic, let's hope she appears in more musicals after this)
- runners-up: Meryl Streep - Adaptation, Isabelle Huppert - 8 Women, Toni Collette - About a Boy, Samantha Morton - Minority Report, Sarah Pierse - Rain, Patricia Clarkson - Far from Heaven, Emily Mortimer - Lovely & Amazing, Chulpan Khamatova - Tuvalu, Kirsten Dunst - Spider-Man, Amanda Peet - Igby Goes Down
- Best Supporting Actor
- Jeff Goldblum - Igby Goes Down (playing Igby's uncle D.H., Goldblum makes this one of the single most memorable divas of the year...gets bonus points for delivering the line "you are pissing in the well from which you drink" with such great skill)
- Dennis Haysbert - Far from Heaven (Raymond Deagan is a character type used in many films that preach tolerance, but is it just me, or does Haysbert infuse the archetype with something very special?)
- Dennis Quaid - Far from Heaven (playing Frank Whitaker with self-loathing rage and alpha male pathos, Quaid surprises the Hell out of America by turning his own image on its head)
- Andy Serkis - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (beneath the special effects, Serkis gives a tour-de-force performance as Smeagal/Gollum, the creature whose struggle with himself is the true tragedy of the story)
- Naseeruddin Shah - Monsoon Wedding (standing out from the rest of the cast as Lalit, Shah gives gravitas and soul to this fun film, his tears make the audience feel the true pain within this man's decisions, a very pleasant surprise)
- runners-up: Barry Pepper - 25th Hour, Chris Cooper - Adaptation, Viggo Mortensen - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Stephen Dillane - The Hours, Christopher Walken - Catch Me if You Can, Jim Broadbent - Gangs of New York, Brian Cox - 25th Hour, Alan Arkin - 13 Conversations About One Thing
- Best Ensemble
- 8 Women - Deneuve, Huppert, Richard, Ardant, Darrieux, Beart, Ledoyen, Sagnier (8 women, 8 actresses, 8 great hammy performances that slowly reveal layers that lesser screen luminaries couldn't have imagined)
- 25th Hour - Norton, Hoffman, Pepper, Paquin, Dawson, Cox (the actors all delve into their parts, and create a world appropriate to their characters and finely attuned to the details of the story)
- Far from Heaven - Moore, Haysbert, Quaid, Clarkson, Davis, Weston (playing what at first seem to be Sirkian caricatures, the wonderful cast slowly shows the humanity inside of the characters, and in some cases, the venom)
- The Hours - Kidman, Streep, Moore, Harris, Dillane, Reilly, Danes, Janney, Richardson, Collette, Daniels (an all-star cast that seems almost over-crowded but still manages to bring across the board great performances)
- Italian for Beginners - Berthelson, Stovelbaek, Gantzler, Jorgensen, Kaalund, Jensen, Mejding (the cast saves the film, creating an entire world in which the story makes total sense, otherwise, the film would have been unbelievable)
- runners-up: Lovely & Amazing, Monsoon Wedding, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Chicago, Sunshine State
- Best Original Screenplay
- 24 Hour Party People - Frank Cottrell Boyce (giving a voice to an ego-maniac as well as charting the rise and fall of a music wave, hot stuff)
- Far from Heaven - Todd Haynes (can we just admit that the man is a genius? please?)
- Lovely & Amazing - Nicole Holofcencor (funny dialouge, meet pathos. pathos, meet funny dialouge. just a reminder, you two did not do so well in Igby Goes Down, thank God for Nicole Holofcencor)
- Monsoon Wedding - Sabrina Dhawan (funny, sad, and fun, this thing has the whole package)
- Y Tu Mama Tambien - (a teenage sex comedy that manages to have interesting characters, important issues, and memorable scenes, a minor miracle)
- runners-up: Sunshine State, Tadpole, Ararat, Kissing Jessica Stein
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- 25th Hour - David Benioff (he turns his own novel into a four star movie, giving actors meaty scenes, and giving the audience something to think about)
- About Schmidt - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (funny, sad, and most importantly, witty)
- Adaptation - Charlie and Donald Kaufman (inspired by the "Orchid Thief", this one nearly defies categorization)
- Chicago - Bill Condon (fleshing the stage play out and giving more allusions to recent events, the film works so well on screen mostly because of its clever transformation on page)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Fran Walsh, Phillepa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Peter Jackson (this book in nearly impossible to adapt, but these brave men and women did it, sure, it's flawed, but Hell, it's damned good too)
- runners-up: About a Boy, The Hours, 8 Women, The Cat's Meow
- Best Cinematography
- Baran - Mohammad Davudi (simple imagery set off by storybook lighting and intense roundness)
- Far from Heaven - Edward Lachman (the entire film could be narrated by his use of color and light)
- Frida - Rodrigo Prieto (Prieto, who also was the DP on 8 Mile and 25th Hour, had a great, versatile year, and this was his most impressive work)
- Monsoon Wedding - Declan Quinn (the colors! the colors! orange marigolds, red tents, the hustled multi-colored streets of the cities...glorious!)
- Y Tu Mama Tambien - Emmanuel Lubezki (Heaven's Mouth, the dingy hotels, everything was beautiful, Lubezki proves his stature as one of the best DP's on the planet)
- runners-up: Chicago, Gangs of New York, What Time is it There?, The Rookie, Rain, Panic Room, Tuvalu, Minority Report (lots of great stuff this year)
- Best Production Design
- Far from Heaven - Peter Rogness (Cathy's house, the cars, the little perfect town, not to mention the stunning pallete of colors the film uses)
- Gangs of New York - Dante Ferretti (a little much? naw, this is the stuff that saved the film: five points, the theater, Tweed's office, a mile-long set, it's all very good)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Grant Major (once again, does the trick...Mr. Major, I salute you!)
- The Pianist - Allan Starski (the ghetto, the remains of a city, the tiny apartments, everything felt authentic and moving)
- Tuvalu - Alexander Manasse (playful and surprising, the fantastic stuff of dreams set in a movie)
- runners-up: Panic Room, Chicago, 8 Women, Catch Me if You Can, Minority Report, Frida, The Cat's Meow (this was an excellent category this year)
- Best Costume Design
- 8 Women - Pacaline Chavanne (each costume fits the characters like a glove, theatrical and colorful)
- Catch Me if You Can - Mary Zophres (airline pilots, stewardesses, doctors, lawyers, James Bond wannabes, and it all looked pretty darned good)
- The Cat's Meow - Caroline de Vivase (The Great Gatsby revisited, Kirsten Dunst as a flapper, and the great party hats)
- Far from Heaven - Sandy Powell (Sirk's use of color is highlighted in her intelligent and beautiful costuming, the stuff of genius)
- The Importance of Being Earnest - Maurizio Millenotti (certainly entertaining stuff, ranging from Gwendolyn's My Fair Lady-like day wear to Cecily's knight in shining armor)
- runners-up: Chicago, Gangs of New York, Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Best Editing
- 24 Hour Party People - Trevor Waite & Michael Winterbottom (raves, music videos, fantasy, reality, it all blends seamlessly together)
- 25th Hour - Barry Alexander Brown (never misses a beat, keeps the attention of the audience at all times)
- Adaptation - Eric Zumbrunnen (a movie within a movie within a story, or something to that effect, it's all kept in line)
- Chicago - Martin Walsh (beautifully edited musical numbers intercut with reality, great work)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - D. Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen (the battle of Helm's Deep is the best fantasy battle sequence of all time, and the fact that I understood any of it is the responsibility of these guys)
- runners-up: The Hours, Panic Room, Baran, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Spider-Man, Far from Heaven
- Best Sound
- About Schmidt - the quiet land of the midwest is beautiful to listen to, plus Jack's voiceovers are top notch
- Chicago - balancing razzle with dazzle, blending the world of Roxie's head with the world of real Chicago, quite a formidable task
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - swords clashing, beasts screaming, Gollum hissing, this one had it all
- The Pianist - deafening bombs and pianos live side by side
- Signs - tense and frightening, the scariest ting about the film
- runners up: Panic Room, Minority Report, What Time is it There?, One-Hour Photo, 8 Women
- Best Sound Editing
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - inventing an entire world of sound isn't easy I'd imagine
- Minority Report - whizzing cars, rolling eyeballs, and creepy spider robots all add up in the end
- Panic Room - like Signs, the sound in this movie is nearly everything, and the sound effects are pretty spectacular
- runners-up: Signs, Spider-Man
- Best Visual Effects
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - ents, hobbits, elves, wizards, Nazgul, and most especially, Gollum
- Minority Report - this movie was visually stunning, make no bones about it
- Spider-Man - cartoonish, but then again, the entire film is cartoonish...it's based on a comic book!
- runners-up: The Pianist
- Best Make-Up
- Chicago - Velma Kelly was enough to make this place, Catherine has never been so radiant, seriously
- The Hours - Ed Harris as a skeletal AIDS victim, Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf, more than just the nose, thank you
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - now more Orcs than ever before!
- runners-up: Frida, The Pianist, Gangs of New York
- Best Original Score
- 25th Hour - Terrance Blanchard (jazzy and refreshing without ever once being overbearing or distracting)
- About a Boy - Badly Drawn Boy (nothing but fun for this movie, and Badly Drawn Boy really delivers)
- Catch Me if You Can - John Williams (it's about freakin' time he did something interesting again)
- Far from Heaven - Elmer Bernstein (superb music that matches the style of the film, just one of the perfectly fitting puzzle pieces of the movie)
- Monsoon Wedding - Mychael Danna (fun, bright, interesting music that works almost as a character in the film)
- runners-up: Frida, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Minority Report
- Best Adapted/Song Score
- 8 Women - ? (those crazy French whodunit musicals starring eight luminous women need good music dontcha know)
- Chicago - Danny Elfman (great musical, great music)
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Xandy Janko and Chris Wilson (really fun music, you have to admit...opa!)
- Undercover Brother - Stanley Clarke (for getting the blaxploitation music down pat, and making all the music fit together)
- Sunshine State - Mason daring (perfect mood music for this Southern ensemble piece)
- runners-up - Tadpole, Adaptation, The Piano Teacher, The Pianist
- Best Cameo or Limited Role (Female)
- Maria Aura - Y Tu Mama Tambien (only one real scene, but it's a keeper)
- Toni Collette - The Hours (steals the scene right from under Julianne Moore's nose, she had a good year)
- Catherine Keener - Adaptation (playing herself without very much ego at all, kinda like Malkovich in 1999)
- Lucy Lui - Chicago (thank God they didn't cast Britney Spears like they were going to)
- Liv Tyler - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (relegated to cameo this year, but still ethereal)
- -runners-up: Tilda Swinton - Adaptation, Viola Davis - Far from Heaven, Gwyneth Paltrow - Austin Powers in Goldmember, Christine Baranski - Chicago
- Best Cameo or Limited Role (Male)
- Brian Cox - Adaptation (funny characterization that steals the movie)
- Tom Cruise - Austin Powers in Goldmember (sending himself up pretty darned well, too bad I hate him)
- Dermont Mulroney - About Schmidt (playing a sweet natured doof that comes across as more than a joke is hard, but he does it)
- Bill Pullman - Igby Goes Down (one of the best performances in the movie has the least screen time)
- Peter Stormare - Minority Report (funny and memorable, one of the best scenes in the movie)
- runners-up: J.K. Simmons - Spider-Man, Barnie Cheng - Hollywood Ending, Steven Spielberg - Austin Powers in Goldmember, Jeff Daniels - The Hours, Liam Neeson - Gangs of New York
- Best Poster
- 25th Hour - red with the black and white image of Monty, appropriate
- Catch Me if You Can - after the dissapointments of A.I. and Minority Report, Leo and Tom running got me ready
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Saruman faces his hordes, I was psyched
- Panic Room - Jodie lying in bed with Forest Whitaker behind her...this was a seriously stylish endeavor
- The Rules of Attraction - beanie babies copulating, I laughed...hard
- runners-up: Adaptation, Far from Heaven, About Schmidt, Talk to Her
- Best Musical Scene
- 8 Women - Firmine Richard sings in the kitchen, stealing this movie is hard to do, but in this scene she does just that
- Chicago - "The Cellblock Tango", sexy and completely invigorating
- Chicago - "They Both Reached for the Gun", clever, well done satire that made me laugh both times I saw it
- Monsoon Wedding - the female ensemble sings together, good stuff
- The Pianist - playing for the German officer, beautiful...
- runners-up: "All That Jazz" - Chicago, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - 24 Hour Party People, "When You're Good to Mama" - Chicago
- Best Kiss
- 8 Women - hilarious fight leads to hilarious kiss, Russ Meyer would wet himself
- 25th Hour - in the bathroom at the club, lines are crossed
- About Schmidt - in the mobile home, "you're such a sad man", I cringed
- Spider-Man - hanging upside down in the rain, iconic, no?
- Y Tu Mama Tambien - the last kiss...surprising on some level, completely expected on others
- runners-up: Catch Me if You Can (in Leo's chair), The Hours (in the kitchen), The Hours (in the bedroom), Tadpole (in the kitchen)
- Best Opening
- 24 Hour Party People - hang-gliding, 'it's a metaphor', we are introduced to the narrative style, very funny indeed
- Adaptation - Nicolas Cage's inner monolouge set to black, then the royal sucking-up, dear God was this funny
- Catch Me if You Can - the opening credits are some of the best in years
- Chicago - "All that Jazz", hells yeah, Catherine shines like she's never shone before
- The Pianist - playing the piano during the bombing of the city, not bad Mr. Polanksi, not bad at all
- runners-up: Minority Report, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Signs, Panic Room, Baran
- Best Ending (SPOILERS!!)
- 8 Women - the last song and then a bow, emotionally draining
- Adaptation - a wild third act leads to the funniest ten minutes on screen all year, too bad it doesn't mean much
- Baran and Far from Heaven - similar endings, loves that can never be, saying 'good-bye', both are terribly moving
- Chicago - Roxie and Velma dance and sing, the audience is enthralled
- What Time is it There? - the beautiful last shot is one of the few images of the year burnt into my mind
- runners-up: About Schmidt, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Tadpole
- Most Emotional Scene
- Catch Me if You Can - pick any scene with Christopher Walken and DiCaprio together
- Far from Heaven - Cathy is betrayed and left completely alone
- Kandahar - the amputees run to get the prosthetic legs, one of the most memorable images of the year
- Kissing Jessica Stein - Jessica's mother talks to her on the porch, the biggest surprise of the year from a surprsingly good romantic comedy
- The Pianist - after narrowly dodging sure death, Wladislaw wanders the ghetto
- runners-up: Lovely & Amazing, Sunshine State, 25th Hour
- Best Love/Sex Scene
- Nicholas Cage - Adaptation (thinking of Meryl, thinking of Tilda, thinking of nearly every female character in the film)
- Alfred Molina and Salma Hayek - Frida (a passionate scene, something this film severely lacked for the rest of its running time)
- Amanda Peet and Kieren Culkin - Igby Goes Down (gives new meaning to the word 'quickie')
- Gael Garcia Bernal and Maria Aura - Y Tu Mama Tambien (a funny, quick scene that kills any American sex comedy)
- Gael Garcia Bernal, Maribel Verdu, and Diego Luna - Y Tu Mama Tambien (a three-way that leads to emotional development)
- runners-up: Patricia Arquette and Rhys Ifans - Human Nature, Bebe Neuwirth and Aaron Stanford - Tadpole
- Sexiest Character (Female)
- Chicago - Velma Kelly (Goodness me, quite seductive aren't we Mrs. Douglas?)
- Rain - Janey (the young lolita slinked her way through the movie, learning about her newfound sexuality, seducing the audience as well)
- Tadpole - Diane (Bebe Neuwirth has still got it, that's for sure)
- Tuvalu - Eva (free-spiritedness and teasing are rarely so attractive, especially with such little dialouge)
- Unfaithful - Constance (Diane Lane's performance goes right past the misogyny, but Constance is still supremely sexy)
- runners-up: Ingrid and Astrid - White Oleander, Michelle and Elizabeth - Lovely & Amazing
- Sexiest Character (Male)
- 25th Hour - Monty (Edward Norton is one of those rare actors that has a universal sex appeal)
- About a Boy - Will Freeman (it's Hugh Grant, he's always sexy)
- Italian for Beginners - Hal-Finn (all that seemingly inexplicable rage, why wouldn't the gals be all over him?)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Aragorn (c'mon people, c'mon!)
- The Pianist - Wladyslaw Szpilman (perhaps it was all that talent)
- runners-up: Frank - Far from Heaven, Julio - Y Tu Mama Tambien
- Best Villian
- Bill the Butcher - Gangs of New York (angry, scary, and memorable)
- Raoul - Panic Room (unbalanced, mysterious, and sociopathic)
- The Green Goblin - Spider-Man (crazy, hammy, and an excellent first villian for our friend Spidey)
- Gregor - Tuvalu (pure cartoonish evil, worthy of Chaplin)
- Ingrid - White Oleander (brilliant, beautiful, and deadly)
- runners-up: Saruman - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Author Comments:
Winner
Note #1: I would love my Best Actor category to look different from everybody else's, but the truth is, these performances are wonderful. The only real runners-up that were painful to leave out (I honestly hated to do it) were Dennis Quaid and Tobey Maguire. Yes, I'm aware the English-language roles dominated this category, but hey, the best is the best.
Note #2: If I had done these awards today (3/22/03), there would be a couple of differences. Firstly, Roger Dodger and All or Nothing would enter the ensemble category, botting out Far from Heaven and The Hours. Secondly, Roger Dodger would enter the Best Original Screenplay category, booting out Monsoon Wedding. Most Emotional Scene would include Timothy Spall's final monolouge in All or Nothing, kicking out Catch Me if You Can. The big change, however, is that Campbell Scott would enter the Best Actor category, booting out...get back to me on that one.
Note #3: Talk to Her screwed up most of the categories, I'll find a way to remedy this.
Great list AAA! I love your categories. "Best Cameo" should be an Oscar category, because sometimes those scenes are the most memorable.
It's funny, some people have fun Oscars for what amounted to a cameo.
Remember back in 1999 Judi Dench won the Oscar for 8 minutes of screen time for Shakespeare in Love.
But, if there had to be one additional category at the Oscars, I would want it to be Best Ensemble. The problem is that it would probably always go to the Best Picture winner.
wow, replace "fun" with "won" and you have a coherant thought.
The ensemble idea is great. I would also personally love to see the rules changed so that an actor or actress could be nominated once for more than one performance each year. Many awards work this way, and I think the Oscars would benefit.
But then, since the Oscars have turned into an complete and utter joke with the turn of the century, I guess I don't really care. Your awards are much better!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh, why thank you Mr. bangs.
My "biggie" awards are coming soon (some later today). These are just for fun. but, it did take some hard decisions, and even some mistakes. For instance, if you look at the Best Poster category, I forgot Adaptation's poster. Oh well, it has gotten enough attention as it is.
I must say, this list is better and more complete every time you update it. This really should be in physical print somewhere - it runs circles around most published year-end accounts I've read in the major press. Excellent; I am highly impressed, and as a cranky old cynic, I don't admit to that often.
Although I suppose this means I really will have to see Chicago soon. -sigh-
Keep 'em coming!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Wow, thank you very much. High praise indeed from such a revered (especially by me) contributer here at Listology. I thought that I would wrap the year up in a fun way (a little different than last year's article) and give my Oscar ballot as well.
My top ten will be up soon. I was hoping to check out Talk to Her before I finalized it, but I dunno.
AAA
Aaack! I need to see more of these movies! Especially "25th Hour", "The Pianist", and "Monsoon Wedding." Oh, and I'd like to see "Y Tu Mama Tambien", but that's just not gonna happen (just keep telling yourself, only 10 more months, only 10 more months).
My my, your nominations are so much more original than the Oscars. I also agree that some of these should be Oscar categories. Best Ensemble would be good, as would Best Production Design (or does the Academy have that, only with a different term for it?). However, I noticed you don't have a "Best Picture" category - what's up with that, yo?
I'm eager to see the winners.
P.S. You said that Peter Stormare was memorable in "Minority Report"; unfortunately, although I loved that movie, I don't remember his role in it. Could you remind me which scene he was in?
P.P.S. I checked out the hilarious poster for "Rules of Attraction." I think you have a winner there.
Production Design is essentially the same thing as Art Direction. It includes set design, color use, and prop placement. It was a really good year for that category.
The awards are a work in progress, so I haven't finished the write-ups for Best Picture yet. You can check out my "Top Fourteen" to see who the five lucky nominees are going to be.
Also, Y Tu Mama Tambien is wonderful, but I fully understand your parents' objections...it's pretty racy.
Peter Stormare played the doctor who removed Anderton's eyes. That was personally my favorite part of the film.
Yes, the Rules of Attraction poster is quite hilarious. But once you get to the cream of the crop, it's all good.
AAA, you have to see Amateur at some point. Directed by Hal Hartley and starring Isabelle Huppert, Amateur has to at least intrigue. I'm intrigued as well as to what your reactions might be. I'm already on record with it as my favorite film.
I mean, if you dug No Such Thing, I'm not really sure how you couldn't like Amateur. ;)
Great list, as always, with excellent selections and comments.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs