Best of 2008

Assuming that the Oscar nominations (coming out tomorrow) will get it all wrong, and along the lines of the format of AFI, I'm listing my choices for the Oscar top categories and the Best of TV for 2008. All categories are listed in order of my preference.

Movies:
Top Movies of the year:
1. Changeling
2. Defiance
3. Wall*E
4. Burn After Reading
5. In Bruges
6. The Dark Knight
7. Frost/Nixon
8. Valkyrie
9. Body of Lies
10. Wanted
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Iron Man

Best Actor:
1. Colin Farrell (In Bruges)
2. Daniel Craig (Defiance)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
4. Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
5. Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man)
6. Christian Bale (The Dark Knight)
7. Hugh Jackman (Australia)
8. Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
9. Ed Norton (The Incredible Hulk)

Best Actress:
1. Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading)
2. Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
(Admittedly, I don’t watch many movies with female leads)

Best Director:
1. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
2. Clint Eastwood (Changeling)
3. Andrew Stanton (Wall*E)
4. Ridley Scott (Body of Lies)
5. Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
6. Bryan Singer (Valkyrie)
7. Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace)
8. Joel & Ethan Coen (Burn After Reading)

Best Supporting Actor (such a strong and difficult category – I would be happy for any of these to win):
1. Liev Schreiber (Defiance)
2. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
3. James Franco (Milk)
4. Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading)
5. J.K. Simmons (Burn After Reading)
6. Russell Crowe (Body of Lies)
7. Thomas Kretschmann (Valkyrie)
8. Mark Strong (Body of Lies)
9. Kevin Bacon (Frost/Nixon)
10. Michael Kelly (Changeling)
11. Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
12. Alan Arkin (Marley & Me)
13. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Amy Ryan (Changeling)
2. Viola Davis (Doubt)
3. Amy Adams (Doubt)
4. Marisa Tomei
5. Vera Farmiga (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas)
6. Alexa Davalos (Defiance)
7. Betty Buckley (The Happening)
8. Angelina Jolie (Wanted)
9. Tilda Swinton (Burn After Reading)
10. Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye)

Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted):
1. Changeling
2. In Bruges
3. Valkyrie
4. Defiance
5. Frost/Nixon
6. Doubt
7. Burn After Reading
8. The Bank Job
9. X-Files: I Want to Believe
10. Role Models

Best Cinematography:
1. Defiance
2. Changeling
3. Australia
4. Appaloosa
5. Batman: The Dark Knight

Best Song:
1. “Gran Torino” (Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, et al – Gran Torino)
2. “The Wrestler” (Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler)


And the Razzie awards:
Worst movie of the year:
1. An American Carol
2. Milk
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Australia
5. Hancock
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
7. Slumdog Millionaire
8. Four Christmases
9. Lakeview Terrace
10. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Worst Director of the year:
1. Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
2. David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
3. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Worst Actor of the year:
1. Kevin Farley (An American Carol)
2. Samuel L. Jackson (Lakeview Terrace)
3. Will Smith (Hancock)
4. Keanu Reeves (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
5. Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder)

Worst Actress of the year:
1. Nicole Kidman (Australia)

Worst Supporting Actor of the year:
1. Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
2. Diego Luna (Milk)
3. Jack Black (Tropic Thunder)
4. Steve Martin (Baby Mama)
5. Jack McBrayer (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
6. Jaden Smith (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
7. Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder)

Worst Supporting Actress of the year:
1. Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
2. Renee Zellwegger (Appaloosa)
3. Kathy Bates (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
4. Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man)
5. Cate Blanchett (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

Worst Screenplay of the year:
1. An American Carol
2. Tropic Thunder
3. Appaloosa
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
8. Slumdog Millionaire

Worst Song of the Year:
1. “Another Way to Die” (Jack White/Alicia Keys, Quantum of Solace)

Disclaimer: I have not seen the following movies, which could be added at a later time:

• Bedtime Stories
• Blindness
• Cadillac Records
• Happy-Go-Lucky
• Max Payne
• Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
• Nights in Rodanthe
• Revolutionary Road
• Righteous Kill
• RocknRolla
• Saw V
• The Spirit
• Transporter 3
• Vicky Christina Barcelona
• Yes Man
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Television (a little awkward halfway through the season):
Best Drama:
1. L O S T
2. Dexter
3. Mad Men
4. Pushing Daisies
5. Battlestar Galactica
6. The Mentalist
7. Burn Notice
8. CSI
9. Leverage
10. Monk

Best Comedy:
1. Corner Gas
2. 30 Rock
3. The Big Bang Theory
4. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. The Office

Best Actor:
1. Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
2. Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
4. Simon Baker (The Mentalist)
5. Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
6. Jeffrey Donavan (Burn Notice)
7. William Peterson (CSI)
8. Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies)
9. James Roday (Psych)
10. Matthew Fox (L O S T)
11. Brent Butt (Corner Gas)

Best Actress:
1. Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Lana Parilla (Swingtown)
3. Tina Fey (30 Rock)
4. January Jones (Mad Men)
5. Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice)
6. Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies)
7. Molly Parker (Swingtown)
8. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica)
9. Gabrielle Miller (Corner Gas)
10. Anna Torv (Fringe)
11. Evangeline Lilly (L O S T)
12. Jordana Spiro (My Boys)
13. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace)

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jimmy Smits (Dexter)
2. Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica)
3. Tracy Morgan (30 Rock)
4. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
5. Eric Peterson (Corner Gas)
6. Ed Helms (The Office)
7. Michael Emerson (L O S T)
8. Fred Ewanuick (Corner Gas)
9. Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy)
10. Creed Bratton (The Office)
11. Kyle Howard (My Boys)
12. Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)
13. Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica)

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
2. Yunjin Kim (L O S T)
3. Nancy Robertson (Corner Gas)
4. Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
5. Mindy Kaling (The Office)
6. Kristin Chenowith (Pushing Daisies)
7. Lucy Lawless (Battlestar Galactica)
8. Phyllis Smith (The Office)
9. Elizabeth Mitchell (L O S T)
10. Swoosie Kurtz (Pushing Daisies)
11. Gina Bellman (Leverage)
12. Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
13. Brooke Smith (Grey’s Anatomy)
14. Kristen Nelson (Psych)

Best Reality Series:
1. Survivor
2. Wipeout