Breakthrough Performance+ Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray
+ Chris Brown, This Christmas
+ Michael Cera, Superbad
+ Zac Efron, Hairspray
+ Megan Fox, Transformers
+ Jonah Hill, Superbad
+ Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad
+ Seth Rogen, Knocked Up
New actors pop onto the scene all the time, but only a very few manage to stick in your head all year-long and have you IMdBing them for a thorough film history that'll allow you to properly obsess. Although Blonsky and Brown did an impressive job for newbies, it was actually Mintz-Plasse's film debut that'll go down in pop culture history. McLovin will surely be added to the encyclopedia. However, I give Rogen an honorable mention for not only starring in movie-after-movie, but being consistently hilarious.
Best Female Performance+ Amy Adams, Enchanted
+ Jessica Biel, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
+ Katherine Heigl, Knocked Up
+ Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
+ Ellen Page, Juno
Women in Hollywood don't usually get lead roles, unless they're playing pretty (*cough*Biel*cough*). So when one gets a part that's chocked full of good content, dialogue, and range, it's pretty noteworthy. Adams has definitely mastered bubbly as an art form, but it was Page who managed to make a quirky teenager with her own vocabulary seem likable/relatable despite her pending controversial pregnancy.
Best Male Performance+ Michael Cera, Juno
+ Matt Damon, The Bourne Ultimatum
+ Shia Labeouf, Transformers
+ Will Smith, I am Legend
+ Denzel Washington, American Gangster
Male actors tend to be lumped into three categories: funny, scary/scared, or sad. Playing one note throughout an entire movie isn't as impressive as playing them all. Whereas I'm sure Denzel will most likely get the award for being a bad ass gangster and I'm sure that everyone would love to award Cera for being so deadpan all the time, I would give it to Shia--for Disturbia though, not Transformers. The only people who deserve awards in Transformers are the ones who did the voices for the machines. Although pretending there's a hulking machine in front of you and pulling off the physicality of running from and evading them is sort of impressive.
Best Comedic Performance+ Amy Adams, Enchanted
+ Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
+ Jonah Hill, Superbad
+ Seth Rogen, Knocked Up
+ Adam Sandler, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Making a person laugh isn't easy. Making people from every age group, gender, and sexuality laugh at the same thing is even harder. Adams and Depp may have gotten a few snickers, but it seems Sandler has passed the torch on to Rogen.
Best Villain+ Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
+ Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
+ Topher Grace, Spider-Man 3
+ Angelina Jolie, Beowulf
+ Denzel Washington, American Gangster
If a character scares you during the three minutes of the trailer...and they haven't done anything scary yet, then you know they're a good villain. If a character plots against another, managing to execute actions that they never saw coming, and gets away with it, then they're even better. But a great villain has backstory, purpose, and a relatable motivation. They have to seem like they could've been your best friend or even you, if circumstances were different. I've only seen two of these five movies. That being said, Bardem wasn't scary, so much as robotic, and Grace was only intimidating when he had his mask on--as in, when he was someone else. So based on the trailer alone, I vote for Denzel.
Best Fight(You might want to watch the clips provided...and try to ignore the annoying music they added.)
+ Alien vs. Predator, Alien vs. Predator Requiem
+ Hayden Christensen vs. Jamie Bell, Jumper
+ Matt Damon vs. Joey Ansah, The Bourne Ultimatum
+ Sean Faris vs. Cam Gigandet, Never Back Down
+ Tobey Maguire vs. James Franco, Spider-Man 3
+ Chris Tucker & Jackie Chan vs. Sun Ming Ming, Rush Hour 3
1. The more intricate a fight scene, the more impressed the viewer becomes.
2. The longer it lasts, the more likely the viewer will grow disinterested--sort of, immune to all of the movement.
3. The better the viewer can see every slug, punch, jab, kick, elbow, stab, and body slam, the more likely jaws will drop. Speaking of jaws dropping, the polar bear fight in Golden Compass should totally be in this category--even if no one could claim the award. All of that being said, AVP was too dark to see anything, Faris' was too run-of-the-mill, the CGI of Spider-Man and Jumper was too distracting, and they picked the wrong fight to nominate for Rush Hour 3. The best fight was the hand-on-hand combat in Bourne Ultimatum that might've been a tad long, but still quite suspenseful.
Best Kiss
(You might want to watch the clips provided...and try to ignore the annoying music they added.)
+ Amy Adams & Patrick Dempsey, Enchanted
+ Briana Evigan & Robert Hoffman, Step Up 2 the Streets
+ Shia Labeouf & Sarah Roemer, Disturbia
+ Ellen Page & Michael Cera, Juno
+ Daniel Radcliffe & Katie Leung, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Capturing the climactic moment in which two romantic interests finally kiss can be ruined by a number of factors: too much saliva, wrong camera angle, heavy petting, open eyes (lol), etc. Usually the preferred kisses are the ones that are overly dramatic or scandalous. For example, the upside down kiss of Spider-Man, the drenched rain kiss of The Notebook, and the lesbian/gay kiss of Cruel Intentions and Brokeback Mountain. My only requirement for mere consideration for an award is that there be tongue and that it not be rushed. While I think Harry Potter getting his freak on is funny--I'd rather see Hermione and Ron kiss--and I find the reconciliation of the Juno characters to be adorable and heartfelt, I honestly thought Disturbia's was hotter--even after his lame declaration of infatuation. What can I say? It was more realistically like high school.
Best Movie+ I am Legend
+ Juno
+ National Treasure: Book of Secrets
+ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
+ Superbad
+ Transformers
If you're still talking about this movie even after seeing it a few months ago; if you rented it even though you saw it in theaters; if you recommend it to friends or bought it as a present for them; and if you often quote it, then you know what your best movie choice is. Hands down. Without question. It's gotta be Juno for me.
Best Summer Movie So Far
+ The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
+ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
+ Iron Man
+ Sex and the City: The Movie
+ Speed Racer
Assuming you go to the movies every weekend or you have an innate ability to predict how well a movie is going to do, then you can vote for this category. I might actually have to cast my vote at the last minute. So far I've only seen Iron Man and I only intend on seeing every film on this list except Speed Racer. My prediction, however, is that the best summer movie will be...Indiana Jones. It has a broader market, a legacy, and...it's freaking Indiana Jones.
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