2005 Lodger
Awards
Best Film
1. A
Hole in My Heart
2. Brokeback
Mountain
3. 3-Iron
4. Mysterious
Skin
5. Junebug
6. Me and You and
Everyone We Know
7. Ma Mere
8. Capote
9. Nobody
Knows
10. Turtles
Can Fly
11. Ushpizin
12. Saint
Ralph
13. Good
Night, and Good Luck
Of the top 13 films on my list this year:
6 are in a foreign language
Of the 7 English language films, 6 are set in America
2 are Asian
5 have some "gay" theme, plot or subplot
7 had a teenage boy as one of the main characters (Wow,
imagine that)
2 are in black and white
"A Hole in My Heart" is written and directed by Swedish
filmmaker Lukas Moodysson, whose last two films to come to
America - "Together" (AKA "Tillsammans") and "Lilja 4-ever"
- have been widely acclaimed. Why Moodysson is not being hailed
as one of the most interesting and daring new directors working
in film today is completely beyond my grasp. "A Hole in My
Heart" is the most challenging, intense, mind-blowing, heartbreaking,
and unusual film I've seen in a decade. And yet there is a
real poignancy and underlining sweetness brought forth by
Bjorn Almroth as Eric. It is he who brings this film together
and makes it one of the most troubling and profound films
ever to be lensed. Moodysson should be heralded as the new
genius of Cinema. And yet, although Newmarket has acquired
this film, they apparent still do not have any plans to release
it in the U.S. (Maybe they are wise, it would almost assuredly
flop). I was lucky enough to see this film at SXSW in March.
That film festival has become one of the most important and
groundbreaking festival in the U.S. And it is their daring
in showing films like "A Hole in My Heart" that makes them
so noteworthy.
Worst Movie
Nominees:
The Honeymooners
Kiss Kiss Bang
Bang
Manderlay
Underclassman
What Is It
The Winner:
What Is It
My review says it all. This pointless film by actor Crispin
Glover is so bad it joined my list of "Top Ten Worst Films
of All Time" at #3, the first new film to do so in nearly
a decade.
The Cheesiest
Nominees:
The Island
Ong-Bak: The Thai
Warrior
Reeker
Sahara
A
Sound of Thunder
The Winner:
The Island
This film is so bad it's good. Buy the DVD and show it at
parties for instant fun.
Funniest Movie
Nominees:
The 40 Year
Old Virgin
The Aristocrats
Sarah
Silverman: Jesus is Magic
Waiting...
Wedding
Crashers
The Winner:
Waiting...
No movie made me laugh harder.
Best Documentary
The Aristocrats
March of
the Penguins
Murderball
Rock School
That Man: Peter
Berlin
The Winner:
The Aristocrats
Best Director
Nominees:
Miranda July for "Me and You and Everyone We Know"
Lodge Kerrigan for "Keane"
Hirokazu Koreeda for "Knowbody Knows"
Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain"
Lukas Moodysson for "A Hole in My Heart"
The Winner:
Lukas Moodysson re-invents digital cinema with "A Hole in
My Heart." This is filmmaking at its most basic and yet most
real. So grotesque and disturbing it is impossible to look
away. Moodysson is without a doubt the most interesting filmmaker
out there this year.
Best Cinematography
Nominees:
Capote
Good Night, and Good Luck
Keane
Memoirs of a Geisha
Sin City
The Winner:
Good Night, and Good Luck
Best Actor
Nominees:
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "Capote"
Hee Jae for "3-Iron"
Joeseph Gordon-Leavitt for "Mysterious Skin"
Heath Ledger for "Brokeback Mountain"
David Strathairn for "Good Night, and Good Luck"
The Winner:
Heath Ledger
Ledger is perhaps one of the worst actors of the year as
well. His work in "The Brothers Grimm" and "Lords of Dogtown"
was just awful. One wonders if he just phones it in for a
paycheck in many of the movies he makes. But here, he is simply
heartbreaking and wonderful. It is because of Ledger that
"Brokeback" is being heralded as one of the best films of
2005 and rightfully so.
Best Actress
Nominees:
Amy Adams for "Junebug"
Sanna Brading for "A Hole in My Heart"
Felicity Huffman for "Transamerica"
Miranda July for "Me and You and Everyone We Know"
Michal Bat-Sheva Rand for "Ushpizin"
The Winner:
Felicity Huffman
What a performance! Yes, this is the kind of performance
that garners many award nominations but Huffman really goes
above and beyond in this role. She is fierce and fearless
and it is her performance that makes the film the masterpiece
that it is. "Transamerica" was one of the handful of films
that just missed being in my Top 13 of the year.
Best Dialogue
Nominees:
A Hole in My Heart
Junebug
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Mrs. Henderson Presents
The
Squid and the Whale
The Winner:
The Squid and the Whale
The most quirky and pretentious dialogue from the most original
and interesting characters. Noah Baumbach draws from his own
childhood and presents us with a family so dysfunctional that
we cannot help but become enamoured with them. It doesn't
hurt that talent like Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels and Jessie
Eisenberg deliver his unique dialogue.
Best Screenplay
Nominees:
3-Iron
Keane
Saint Ralph
Torremolinos
'73
Ushpizin
The Winner:
Ushpizin
The most interesting, unusual, heartwarming and uplifting
stories on film this year.
Best Visual Effects
Nominees:
A Hole in My Heart
Kung
Fu Hustle
Memoirs of a Geisha
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Sin City
The Winner:
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Not a great movie, but the stunts were fun.
Best Young Actor
The Nominees:
Bjorn Almroth in "A Hole in My Heart"
Adam Butcher in "Saint Ralph"
The entire young cast of "Turtles Can Fly"
Owen Kline in "The Squid and the Whale"
Brandon Ratcliff in "Me and You and Everyone We Know"
The Winner:
The entire young cast of "Turtles Can Fly"
What an amazing film. See this film if it is at all possible.
It will break your heart and heal it all in the same 90 minutes.
The young kids in this film are amazing.
Best Young Actress
Nominees:
The young ladies who played Aviva in "Palindromes"
Abigail Breslin in "Keane"
Flora Cross in "Bee
Season"
Georgie Henley in "The
Chronicles of Narnia"
Gemmenne de la Pena in "The
Weather Man"
The Winner:
Georgie Henley in "The Chronicles of Narnia"
She takes what could be a lame and lackluster film and draws
you into it right away and she does so with her charm, grace
and sweetness as much as she does her performance.
Best Cameo
Dawn Weiner in "Palindromes"
Worst Cameo
Texas Governor Rick Perry in "Man
of the House"
Best Celeb
Kathy Griffin
Worst Celeb
Tom Cruise
Best Use of Music
Good Night, and Good Luck
Best Remake, Sequel or Continuation of a Franchise
Nominees:
Batman
Begins
Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory
The Producers
The Winner:
The Producers
Biggest Surprise
Nominees:
3-Iron
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The incest themes in "The
Ballad of Jack and Rose"
Oldboy
Reeker
The Winner:
3-Iron
What an amazing and surprising film. Nearly silent. On any
other year this world be the best film of the year. It just
has the misfortune of coming out the same year as "A Hole
in My Heart" and "Brokeback Mountain."
Best Gay Film
Nominees:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Mysterious Skin
Summer
Storm
Transamerica
The Winner:
Brokeback Mountain
Duh. But if I had to own one of these on DVD it would be
Mysterious Skin.
Best Austin Film
Fall
to Grace
Man
of the House
The Puffy
Chair
Room
Sin City
The Winner:
Room
Kyle Henry's film has been nominated for the John Cassavettes'
award at this year's Independent Spirit Awards and its star,
Cyndi Williams, is up for Best Actress. An utterly astounding
film, Henry's "Room" is the kind of work that makes you hunger
for his next project and his career will be one that surely
helps to put Austin back on the map.
Best "Austin" Film Moment
"Beyond
the Rocks" with live music by Graham Reynolds and Peter
Stopschinski as part of the Association of Moving Images Archivists
convention at the Paramount theater with Lewis Black, Gloria
Swanson's granddaughter, and the film archivist who found
and restored the film speaking beforehand.
Crispin Glover reading from his books and doing a Q&A after
the screening of "What Is It" at the Alamo Drafthouse
Joe Dallesandro live in person presenting "Je
Taime Moi Non Plus" at the Alamo Drafthouse
Seeing Gone with the Wind with my mom at The Paramount
SXSW 2005
The Winner:
Crispin Glover
"What Is It" may be one of the worst films of all time but
listening to Glover speak is one of the most amazing experiences
one can have. Hearing him read from his selection of "altered"
books is simply amazing. This guy is one of the most original
and fascinating characters in modern cinema and no one with
a love of the bizarre should miss a chance to hear Glover
speak. Plus, he is a shy yet friendly person and really seems
to be grateful to his fans.
Best Score
Nominees:
The Dying Gaul
The Jacket
Mysterious Skin
Room
The Weather Man
The Winner:
The Weather Man
Best Trailer
Mainstream Film: High
Tension (using the Sonic Youth cover of the Carpenter's
"Superstar")
Art Film: Me and You and Everyone We Know
Best Short
A Thousand Beautiful Things
Hottest New Hotties
Marshall Allman - Hostage
Bjorn Almroth - A Hole in My Heart
Dane Christensen - The
Upside of Anger
Edouard Collin - Cote
D'Azur
Jeffrey Davies - Bad
News Bears
Rupert Friend - Pride
and Prejudice
Bryan Greenberg - Prime
Christopher Hines - Stomp!
Shout! Scream!
Ashton Holmes - A History
of Violence
Nicholas Hoult - The
Weather Man
Hee Jae - 3-Iron
Mohammed Khouas - Lila
Says
Byung-hun Lee - Three
Extremes
Johnny Lewis - Underclassman
Tyler Maynard - Palindromes
Max Minghella - Bee Season, Syriana
Jean-Baptiste Montagut - Ma Mere
William Moseley - The Chronicles of Narnia
Ash Newman - Shem
Robert Pattison - Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Lou Taylor Pucci - The
Chumbscrubber, Thumbsucker
Noah Segan - Brick,
Adam and
Steve
Dean Shelton -
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green
Jimmi Simpson - D.E.B.S.,
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Robert Stadlober - Summer Storm
Romain Torres - Cote D'Azur
Mike Vogel - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Simon Woods - Pride and Prejudice
Will Young - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Why pick one? These are the hottest of the hot who debuted
in major films this year.
And now for the worst of the worst - the baddest of the
bad...
Worst Actor
Nominees:
Andrew Bujalski in "Funny
Ha Ha"
Nick Cannon in "Underclassman"
Steve Carrell in "Bewitched"
Cedric the Entertainer in "The Honeymooners"
Val Kilmer in "Kiss
Kiss Bang Bang"
The Winner:
Nick Cannon
I hope his career fizzles out like an bottle rocket in a
pile of shit.
Worst Actress
Nominees:
Alexis Bledel for "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"
Zooey Deschanel for "The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Bryce Dallas Howard in "Manderlay"
Nicole Kidman in "Bewitched"
Natasha Lyonne for "Max
and Grace"
The winner:
Natasha Lyonne
Yes, she has had a rough year. But no one had it worse than
anyone who had to sit through her performance in "Max and
Grace."
Worst Casting Choice
Michael Caine in "Bewitched" and "The Weather Man"
Cedric the Entertainer as Ralph Kramden in "The Honeymooners"
Zooey Deschannel as Trillion in The Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy
Mos Def as The Hitchhiker in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy
Ditka as Mike Ditka in Kicking
and Screaming
Robert Duvall as a villain in Kicking and Screaming
Mike Epps as Ed Norton in "The Honeymooners"
Nicole Kidman as a person who is supposedly more than a
somnabulistic cyborg in any movie she appeared in this year.
Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast in The Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy
Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal as Mark and Roger in "Rent"
The Winner:
Again, why pick one. These were all bad ideas.
Worst Director
Nominees
Christopher Columbus for "Rent"
Nora Ephron for "Bewitched"
Renny Harlin for "Mindhunters"
Werner Herzog for "Grizzly
Man"
Lars for Trier for "Manderlay"
The Winner
Lars Von Trier
I fucking hate him. What a pretentious ass.
Worst Cinematography
Nominees:
Funny Ha Ha
Kicking and Screaming
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed
and Fabulous
Pucker Up
The Wendell
Baker Story
The Winner:
The Wendell Baker Story
Worst Dialogue
Rent
No reason for any Nominees. Nothing could be worse than
turning one of the most joyous and heartbreaking musicals
of all time and turning it into just another film. For the
last fucking time: THERE'S NO TALKING IN "RENT!"
Worst Screenplay
Nominees:
Bad News
Bears
Bewitched
High Tension
The Honeymooners
Syriana
The Winner:
Syriana
To pick one bad idea for a movie in Hollywood this year
is nearly impossible. But "Syriana" is a muddled mess of pretentious
intellectual wannabee garbage. At least films like "The Honeymooners"
and "Bewitched" seemed to kind of know they were shit.
Worst Visual Effects
A
Sound of Thunder
Worst Young Actor
Nominees:
Nick Cannon in "Underclassman"
Nick Cannon in "Roll
Bounce"
The entire young cast of "Bad News Bears"
The entire young cast of "Kicking and Screaming"
Ben Foster in "Hostage"
Rumer Willis in "Hostage"
The Winner:
Nick Cannon in Underclassman
He's so bad he gets a mention here and in the regular adult
worst actor category. That is how much he sucks.
Worst Documentary
Nominees:
Cycles
of Porn
Grizzly Man
Liberty
in Restraint
Pucker Up
Steven Tobolowsky's Birthday
Party
The Winner:
Pucker Up
Worst Animated Feature
Robots
Worst Remake, Sequel or Continuation of a Franchise
Nominees:
Bad News Bears
Bewitched
Fun with Dick and Jane
The Honeymooners
Manderlay
The Winner:
Manderlay
Biggest Embarrassment
Nominees:
The casting in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Danny Glover in "Manderlay"
Funny Ha Ha
The Honeymooners
The sex scenes in "A History
of Violence"
The Winner:
Danny Glover
An embarrassment to black people across the world.
Biggest Disappointment:
Nominees:
High Tension
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Rent
Roll Bounce
What Is It
The Wendell Baker Story
The Winner:
Rent
Most Unlikely On-screen Love Interests
Nominees:
Sandra Bullock and Regina King in "Miss
Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous"
Nick Cannon and Roselyn Sanchez in "Underclassman"
Cedric the Entertainer and Gabrielle Union in "The Honeymooners"
Robert Deniro and Elisabeth Shue in "Hide
and Seek"
Martin Freeman and Zooey Deschanel in "The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy"
Crispin Glover and a titty dancer's corpse in "Drop
Dead Sexy"
Hitler and Eva Braun in "Downfall"
Hitler and the German people in "Downfall"
Bryce Dallas Howard and her Mandingo warrior in "Manderlay"
The man with Cerebral Palsy and the titty dancer in a dog's
mask in Crispin Glover's abysmal "What Is It"
Nicolas Turturro and Tracy Morgan in "The
Longest Yard"
James Vasquez and Mike Doyle in "29th
and Gay"
The Winner:
You try to pick just one!
Films that we don't want people to know were filmed in Austin
Bad News Bears
Drop Dead Sexy
The Wendell Baker Story
Worst Score
Nominees:
Bride
and Prejudice
The Honeymooners
The Mostly Unfabulous Life of Ethan Green
Pucker Up
The Wedding
Date
The Winner:
Could one of these really be worse than all the others?
Favorite TV Show
The Apprentice: Donald Trump
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Beauty and the Geek
Family Guy
Jack and Bobby
Kathy Giffin: My Life on the D List
Living with Fran
Medium
Project Greenlight
Project Runway
Rock Star: INXS
Scrubs
The War at Home
My Top 13 Choices in alphabetical order. Without a doubt
my favorite is "Family Guy." It's the only TV show that I
bought on DVD (Seasons 1 and 2 and The Stewie Movie) this
year with the exception of "Scrubs."
Sadly, 7 of my 13 favorites are reality shows. I didn't
think I watched that many. Of course, most of these only run
a few weeks and then end, so they fit right into my short
attention span.
And that's my look at 2005. What follows is a list of all
the movies that came to Austin that I didn't see this year.
These are movies that played at least one week in an Austin
theater. It does not include films that were in re-release,
special screenings, film festival screenings, or one time
events.
January
White Noise
Coach Carter
Elektra
Are We There Yet?
Racing Stripes
Assault on Precinct 13
Alone in the Dark
February
Boogeyman
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Hitch
Son of the Mask
Because of Winn-Dixie
Bigger than the Sky
Cursed
March
Be Cool
The Pacifier
Ice Princess
The Ring Two
Gunner Palace
Beauty Shop
April
Fever Pitch
In My Country
Mail Order Wife
The Amityville Horror
Dear Frankie
The Fearless Freaks
One Missed Call
XXX2
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
House of D
Winter Solstice
Dust to Glory
May
Up and Down
House of Wax
Walk on Water
The Chorus
Look at Me
Memories of Murder
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith
June
Don't Move
Brothers
Mondovino
It's All Gone Pete Tong
Mr. And Mrs. Smith
The Perfect Man
Dot the I
Mad Hot Ballroom
Ladies in Lavender
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Land of the Dead
My Summer of Love
Paheli
July
Rebound
Rize
Saving Face
Undead
Heights
Hustle and Flow
The Devil's Rejects
Must Love Dogs
Stealth
Sky High
August
Dukes of Hazzard
The Beautiful Country
Cronicas
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Sarasband
Supercross
Valaint
My Date with Drew
The Edukators
Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus
Undiscovered
The Cave
September
Transporter 2
Asylum
No Entry
Echoes of Innocence
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Cry Wolf
Just Like Heaven
Lord of War
The Baxter
An Unfinished Life
Flightplan
Daltry Calhoun
The Memory of a Killer
Into the Blue
Oliver Twist
Serenity
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Happily Ever After
Dil Jo Bhi Kahey
October
Wallace and Gromit
2 for the Money
The Gospel
Toni Takitani
Green Street Hooligans
The Fog
Domino
The War Within
Screen Door Jesus
Everything is Illuminated
Stay
Doom
North Country
Kids in America
The Work and the Glory: American Zion
Dreamer: Based on a True Story
The Roost
The Legend of Zorro
Saw II
G
Separate Lies
November
Chicken Little
Dancing in Twilight
National Lampoon's Adam and Eve
Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar (Shaadi #1)
NBT-Never Been Thawed
Where the Truth Lies
Zathura
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Derailed
Paradise Now
Yours, Mine and Ours
Just Friends
The Ice Harvest
In the Mix
Naked in Ashes
December
Aeon Flux
All That I Need
Aparahan
First Descent
Garcon Stupide
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt
Juarez: Stages of Fear
Wolf Creek
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
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