2/28/08

Bob's Big Screen

And the winners (according to Bob) are…

by Bob Connally

As we close the book on the finest year in film this decade, I honor my favorites of 2007.

Bob Award Winners

Best Art Direction: Ratatouille. Watching Harley Jessup’s imaginative take on Paris, there was no other movie whose world I wanted to visit more.

Cinematography: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. Roger Deakins is considered by many to be the best in the business. The genuinely magical Blue Cut train robbery scene shows why.

Costume Design: Blades of Glory. Julie Weiss’s costumes went a long way towards making this very silly comedy work.

Film Editing: Hot Fuzz. I usually find frenetic editing to be empty flash but the work of Chris Dickens enhanced the comedy tremendously.

Makeup: La Vie en Rose. Covering the entire life of singer Edith Piaf, makeup designers Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald were up to the challenge.

Original Score: Assassination of Jesse James. No other score more effectively established a film’s tone than the mournful music of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

Original Song: Music and Lyrics. “Pop Goes My Heart” by Andrew Blakemore and Alanna Vicente really could have been an infectious ‘80s pop song.

Sound: No Country For Old Men. The most intense moments on film in 2007 were silent as Brolin and Bardem listened for each other.

Visual Effects: Transformers. Ahhh, this movie was fun.

Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, Assassination of Jesse James. From wide-eyed child to killer, Affleck plays Robert Ford’s transformation with nuance and subtlety.

Supporting Actress: Sigourney Weaver, The TV Set. Her hilarious work in this underrated film is all the more impressive because the character was originally written as a man. Not one line of dialogue changed.

Actor: Brad Pitt, Assassination of Jesse James. My favorite performance of the year. The audience doesn’t know what Jesse James will do next any more than those on screen do.

Actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her. This is not simply “actor plays disease, actor wins awards.” As a woman slipping away into Alzheimer’s Christie is truly heartbreaking.

 

Adapted Screenplay: Zodiac, James Vanderbilt. A great film about obsession and time, it takes us through the history of the legendary case while giving us fantastic, authentic dialogue.

Original Screenplay: Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. Very clever and well-constructed comedy with great dialogue and real character development.

Director: (3-way tie) Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz; Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men; Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood. I couldn’t pick just one. Wright blends comedy and action perfectly, the Coens are as sharp as they’ve ever been, and Anderson’s cinematic eye is second to none.

Best Picture: Hot Fuzz. Comedy and action, it’s like the anti-awards film. I choose it as my number one film of 2007 because it manages to brilliantly satirize cop and action films while also working as a cop and action film. The story structure would work in a serious drama just as well. That it’s an extraordinarily funny comedy makes it even better. Besides, I hadn’t enjoyed watching a movie this much in a long time.

And now for the fun stuff…

Funniest and Most Entertaining Movie: Hot Fuzz

Funniest Performance: Michael Cera, Superbad

Favorite Quote: “I am Stanley Kubrick, and I have shaved off my beard off!” Color Me Kubrick

Monty Python Award for Best Ensemble Cast: Knocked Up. A prime example of true ensemble acting. Everyone contributes something special and, most importantly, funny.

Funniest Scene and Best Action Sequence: Sandford Shootout, Hot Fuzz

Best Dramatic Scene. The Assassination Scene, Assassination of Jesse James

Best New Word: “Mind-bottling,” Blades of Glory

“Withnail and I” Award for Best Friendship: Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, Superbad

Best Villain: Billy Mitchell, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Best Animated and Family Film: Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film: The Lives of Others

Best Documentary: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Best Couple: Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, Music and Lyrics

Best Mustache: Paddy Considine, Hot Fuzz

Worst Male Performance: Robert DeNiro, Stardust (How did he come to this?)

Worst Female Performance: Lisa K. Wyatt, Southland Tales

Worst Villain: Danny Glover, Shooter

Worst Screenplay and Director: Richard Kelly, Southland Tales

Worst Picture: License to Wed

Worst Cameo: Bono, Across the Universe

Best Cameo: Paul Rudd (John), Jack Black (Paul), Justin Long (George), and Jason Schwartzman (Ringo), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Don’t Worry, It’s Not Your Fault Award: The Rock, Southland Tales; Ricky Gervais, Stardust

Actors to Remember: Elizabeth Reaser, Puccini For Beginners; Fran Kranz, The TV Set; Thomas Turgoose, This Is England; Saoirse Ronan, Atonement; Sam Riley, Control; Paul Schneider, Assassination of Jesse James, Lars and the Real Girl

Filmmakers to Remember: Andrew Dominik (Writer/Director), Assassination of Jesse James; Michael Davis (Writer/Director), Shoot ‘Em Up; Douglas Coupland (Writer), Everything’s Gone Green; Sarah Polley (Writer/Director), Away From Her

“XXX” Award for Best Over the Top Action Movie: Shoot ‘Em Up

“Idiocracy” Award for Movie Most Inexplicably Mistreated By Its Studio: The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (Warner Bros.)

Best Movies You Probably Missed: “Fido,” “Color Me Kubrick,” “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters,” “The TV Set,” “Waiter,” “Everything’s Gone Green.”

Best Car Chase: (tie) New York City, The Bourne Ultimatum; The End of “Death Proof,” Grindhouse

Best Sequel: The Bourne Ultimatum

“Hoosiers” Award for Inspirational Movie That’s Genuinely Inspirational: Amazing Grace

Movie with the Most Positive Message: Lars and the Real Girl

Best Soundtrack: Walk Hard

Best Monologue: Ego’s review, Ratatouille

Best Use of a Classic Rock Song: Zodiac, “Hurdy Gurdy Man” by Donovan

Performer of the Year: Michael Cera, Superbad, Juno

Filmmaker of the Year: Judd Apatow. The TV Set (Producer), Knocked Up (Writer/Director), Superbad (Producer), Walk Hard (Co-Writer/Producer)

Best Ending: No Country For Old Men