COMMENTARY:
This is the weakest category overall of this year, but this group of guys is really great. James Garner and Phil Davis barely get knocked out by the scene-stealing perfect comedy of Mark Wahlberg. Little Freddie Highmore stole my heart as the little boy who inspired one of the best stories ever made. It was as if he had been acting more years than his age. He seems like a pro already. Thomas Haden Church gives one of the most hilarious (yet in the end touching) performances of the year and here he takes BRONZE. His delivery of his lines alone warrants a nomination. The top two here was very strong. Veteran Morgan Freeman takes SILVER for his stellar work in Million Dollar Baby. His subtlety of his glances alone are unbeatable. But the GOLD goes to the great Clive Owen. His presence in this movie has to be seen to be believed. He owns his scenes and is the highlight of a movie packed full of highlights. And he brings such life to all of his scenes. This is the most clear-cut gold position of the four acting awards.

Laura Linney as "Clara McMillen" in Kinsey	Mandy Moore as "Hilary Faye" in Saved!	Maia Morgenstern as "Mary" in Passion Of The Christ	Sophie Okonedo as "Tatiana Rusesabagina" in Hotel Rwanda	Natalie Portman as "Sam" in Garden State (& as "Alice" in Closer)
For giving the long-suffering, 'stick by your man' wife a uniqueness even though it's such a cliche nowadays. There hasn't been one quite like this. Which scene proves it? "Stop using science to justify what you've done."	For nailing it and having the guts to even attempt it. This character is one of the funniest and most important of the year. The hypocrisy, extreme behavior, and loud mouth. It's just all so pitch perfect. Which scene proves it? "I am filled with Christ's love!!"	For showing in a single glance such pain and such despair. Her son is going through the most tormented of deaths and she has to stand by and let and watch it happen. Which scene proves it? Running to Jesus and remembering his fall as a child.	For taking an Oscar-bait role and still showing subtlety and reserve with it. She too stands by her man but in many scenes she is also forced to be on her own. In those scenes and the scenes full of great chemistry with Cheadle, just sheer perfection. Which scene proves it? Insisting she can't jump with the kids.	For proving she can play adult roles. For the longest time she has played the teenage roles only. Here though, she finally breaks through from that and delivers two of the best performances of the year. Her hilariousness and dramatic touch are stellar. Which scenes prove it? Meeting Andrew & breaking up with Dan.

COMMENTARY:
This too is a very strong category (should I stop saying that?) and it too was hard to narrow down (and stop saying that too?). Barely missing out is the great Lily Tomlin. Her comedic timing is impeccable. In a single glance she can make you LOL like crazy. Mandy Moore takes the fifth slot though and edges out as a stereotypical, Bible-thumping, overly religious teenager in Saved!. She nailed this part. Also nailing a part was Laura Linney. Even though the cliched long-suffering wife has been played before, in Kinsey she brings a bit of a freshness to it. The BRONZE here goes to the great Maia Morgenstern. She was brilliant with her amazing glances alone in The Passion Of The Christ. The SILVER and runner-up position goes to the amazing Sophie Okonedo who delivers such a spine-tingling performance in Hotel Rwanda. I am still dumbfounded at how good she was. This is definitely one of the best breakthrough performances I have ever seen. She owns every scene and as mentioned above, she takes a baity role and completely sells it with originality. Bravo. Originally with the silver, Natalie Portman now moves up to GOLD for her work in both Garden State and Closer. She has lingered on with me so much and repeat viewings of both movies (especially Garden State) giver her the edge to the gold spot. She broke barriers this year and proved she has lasting power and she is gonna be around a while. Her hilarious and dramatic work in both movies was a true treat to see. Oh, Natalie, if there was some kind of like fake awards show on the internet run by an awards fanboy, you would like win hands down...kick everyone's ass. And that you do.

Closer Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, etc.	Hotel Rwanda Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Juaquin Phoenix, every single extra, etc.	Saved! Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Eva Amurri, Mary-Louise Parker, Heather Matarazzo, Martin Donovan, Chad Faust, etc.	I © Huckabees Dustin Hoffman, Isabella Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, etc.
For bringing four completely different characters to life. They all seem so simple and predictable on the surface, but these four give each character so much life and so many different layers.	For being funny, touching, and heartbreaking all at the same time. All of them had a chance to shine and that they did. It's all about Jim and Kate here, but the rest of the cast does there part just as well.	Arguably the biggest ensemble of the year, every person deserves credit. Not just the members of the main cast, but every single extra here is so vitally important as well.	For portraying teenagers and parents so freaking well. There is no bad actor here. They know their characters and play them very well.	Such a huge cast and it barely misses out on the #1 position here. Though the writing of the movie is great, it's really the cast that carries it. This is what great cast ensembles are made of.

COMMENTARY:
I would have loved to include Million Dollar Baby and Finding Neverland here, but these other five were so strong as well. The cast to Sideways really was probably the most realistic at it all and the cast though they barely miss out on the top 5. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind was great down to the little boy playing 'baby Joel.' The two main actors were great, but so was that amazing supporting cast. Saved! is next with it's huge cast and they were all great at playing these different characters with different viewpoints and ways of thinking. The BRONZE goes to the cast of Hotel Rwanda. Looking at that vast ensemble of people, it is hard to believe that this isn't winning. The main actors are great here but so are all of those extras as well. This was a very close(r) (ha!) call but in the end I had to give SILVER to I © Huckabees. As stated above, it's such a big cast and it's what defines a cast-ridden movie. And the GOLD goes to that amazing, versatile, and flawless cast of Closer. This is such a clear-cut win for me. All four of the main actors got nominated above (and one won) and this is truly one of the best smaller casts of actors I have ever seen. It shouldn't be judged by how many people are in the cast, but by how great the actors are at it.

Before Sunset Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, & Ethan Hawke	Closer Patrick Marber	Finding Neverland David Magee	Million Dollar Baby Paul Haggis	Sideways Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor
Two people talking for an hour and a half. Boring? Surprisingly, anything but.	Four people trapped in many different relationships. No movie has given this sort of insight into relationships in a while.	This story of hope and vision in one family is both heartwarming and funny. The tears come through as well.	The story of a girl that could is so well written, and the emotional moments aren't forced either.	For the brilliant symbolism of wine to life. Some of the freshest dialogue here as well.

COMMENTARY:
Even though I love Finding Neverland, the script was the weakest part of the film, I thought. It was still great though and manages to make the shortlist, coming in at #5. The only reason really that I have Before Sunset in Adapted is because Original is so dang crowded and it would be better placed here for my personal awards. I loved this script and screenplay though. It was such fresh dialogue between people for an hour and a half. Taking BRONZE here is the great Sideways. The scene on the porch between Maya and Miles alone warrants this movie a nomination. Especially a second time, the freshness and greatness emerges off the screen. It is both hilarious and touching. The runner-up SILVER position goes to the heart-tugging drama Million Dollar Baby. It's relationship study and look at a girl only wanting to get her shot is among the best of the year. The overall best in the category though and the one taking GOLD is the great Closer. Patrick Marber's adaptation of his book is truly stellar. The moments of fresh and witty dialogue here need to be seen and I love what a great character study it is.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Charlie Kaufman	Garden State Zach Braff	Hotel Rwanda Keir Pearson & Terry George	I © Huckabees David O'Russell	Saved! Brian Dannelly & Michael Urban
For once again compiling one of the most confusing yet overly satisfying stories of the year. It's his best to date.	For writing a fresh, funny, witty, and touching script of one guy searching for himself and not making it too ciche.	For bringing the story to the general public. The information here is unbelievable.	For the originality and balancing of craziness with great wit and fresh laugh out loud comedy.	For the wit. Funny and important at the same time. I wonder if these two have been around these kind of people all their life like me.

COMMENTARY:
This list too is so great. I really loved the screenplay to The Incredibles, even though I do think it is a little overrated. I feel so great with including I © Huckabees here. It deserved more contention this past year. I really loved the story to Hotel Rwanda but it really isn't anything groundbreaking screenplay-wise. The great thing is that the story of the country was brought to the public's attention. The directing and acting was much stronger than the writing. The sheer wit in the screenplay of Saved! is easily enough for it to take the BRONZE position. I am so glad that Dannelly & Urban collaborated this great story. It needs to be seen, especially the people who are like the stereotypical in the movie. The SILVER and runner-up position goes to the great Zach Braff and his witty, funny, and still touching work in writing Garden State. This truly was a great year for him. But the GOLD of course goes to the brilliance that is Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Kaufman is a genius, plain and simple. This is easily his best script. It's still the great Kaufman that we all know and love, but he brings a new level of brilliance to it. I don't think he'll ever top this work.

The Aviator Dante Ferretti	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Dan Leigh	House Of Flying Daggers (& Hero) Tingxiao Huo	The Phantom Of The Opera Anthony Pratt	The Passion Of The Christ Francesco Frigeri

COMMENTARY:
I think people forget how technically great Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is. It deserves all of it's nominations here and below. Even though I didn't like The Aviator, it's art direction was highly impressive. I loved the sheer accuracy of the sets in The Passion Of The Christ. Even though the movie was a completely average flick overall, The Phantom Of The Opera had some pretty impressive sets. But the gold goes to those lavish sets from Hero and House Of Flying Daggers. Definitely the best of the year.

Collateral Paul Cameron & Dion Beebe	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Ellen Kuras	Garden State Lawrence Sher	Million Dollar Baby Tom Stern	The Passion Of The Christ Pawel Edelman

COMMENTARY:
The scene in front of the fireplace between Largeman and Sam is enough to get Garden State in this category. I loved the effect the cinematography had on me in Million Dollar Baby. I loved it's lighting and it's use of shadows. From the lavish beach scenes to the great moments in Joel's brain, Eternal Sunshine (I am sick of typing the whole title out...lol) is among the best of the year here. I was thiiiis close to giving the gold to The Passion Of The Christ for it's stunning work but in the end it goes to Collateral. The cinematography in this movie was just so great.

Being Julia John Bloomfield	House Of Flying Daggers (& Hero) Emi Wada	The Passion Of The Christ Maurizio Millenotti	The Phantom Of The Opera (& Finding Neverland) Alexandra Byrne	Vanity Fair Beatrix Aruna Paztor

COMMENTARY:
The fifth slot here was a toss-up but it ended up going to Passion. I loved the costumes in Being Julia and it was a very important aspect to the movie and the great performance from Bening. The technical aspects of Vanity Fair were the best part of it, especially those lavish costumes. Emi Wada almost took gold for her wonderfully detailed costumes from Hero and House Of Flying Daggers. But it's Alexandra Byrne who takes top honors. With Phantom and Finding Neverland combined, she easily performs the best costume work of the year.

Closer Stephen Goldblatt	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Valdis Oskardottir	House Of Flying Daggers Long Chen	Million Dollar Baby Joel Cox	The Passion Of The Christ John Wright

COMMENTARY:
The scene with the breakup of Dan/Alice and Larry/Alice warrants a nod for Closer. And I loved the simple yet effective editing of Million Dollar Baby. I loved the editing for Passion as well. Especially in the scene where Mary remembers Jesus' fall as a child. House Of Flying Daggers almost takes gold here as well. The editing of those action sequences are just amazing. This is the category though that has the biggest runaway with a win of the year. None of these four movies here even remotely touches the editing work found in Eternal Sunshine. It's some of the best editing I have ever seen in a movie. Kudos to Oskardottir for a job pretty impossible and well done.

MAKE UP

Kinsey	The Passion Of The Christ	The Phantom Of The Opera

 

COMMENTARY:
For lack of a better nomination, Phantom is here. I didn't care for the work on the Phantom but the work on Raoul was pretty well done. The Kinsey make up work is what aging makeup SHOULD look like. Wonderful work there. No question about this one though, it's Passion. Even people who hate this movie can't deny the brilliance of this make up work.

 

SCORE

Birth Alexander Desplat	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind ( & I © Huckabees) Jon Brion	Finding Neverland Jan A.P. Kaczmarek	Million Dollar Baby Clint Eastwood	The Passion Of The Christ John Debney

 

COMMENTARY:
This has always been my favorite tech category. I think music is so so so important to a film. Desplat appeared last year at the awards for his work in GwAPE and this year he returns with his wonderfully unique score to Birth. Music was very central and key to The Passion Of The Christ since most of the movie had not a lot of dialogue in many places. Debney wrote a great score to accompany the film. I know that in Million Dollar Baby there isn't a huge amount of range involving it's score, but the music was so vital to this movie. In many places it let me to tears more than the events happening on the screen. It's melody will stay with you too. As far as original and unique scores go, this is Brion's. His work on the film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and I © Huckabees defines composing this year. This comes at a price though, for I love the score and the great mixing in range, meaning, and emotions, of Jan A.P. Kaczmarek. I absolutely adored the score to Finding Neverland. Pieces like "Kite," "Neverland," and "This Is Neverland" easily make this one of the best of the year.

 

SONG

(I know, I know, I cheated, but I couldn't have this list without the songs from Closer and Garden State. And almost "A Waltz For A Night" from Before Sunset.)

Closer "The Blower's Daughter"	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind "Strings That Tie To You"	Garden State "Let Go"	Hotel Rwanda "Million Voices"	I © Huckabees "Knock Yourself Out"

 

COMMENTARY:
Yes, I cheat. I think the Academy rule sucks that the song HAS to be written solely for the film. If a song has not been a hit in previous years and the general public doesn't know it and it serves a huge purpose to the movie, it should easily be in contention. My bottom three (four, really) here are original and were eligible for the Oscars and them not making it in is criminal. I love the song "Lovers." It's melody and vocals are astounding, but it barely misses out of the top 5 here. When I heard "Knock Yourself Out" from I © Huckabees, there was no way I couldn't include it here. One of the pieces used in the movie is used for the foundation of the song "Strings That Tie To You" and it was wonderfully done and totally sums up what the movie is all about. I hated "Million Voices" when I heard the clip before I saw the movie but hearing it at the end after watching it...wow. My top two here were ineligible at Oscar. I loved "Let Go" from Garden State and it sums up the movie totally and completely. It being used at the end of the movie was genius (that whole soundtrack is easily among the best of all time). But perhaps the most important use of a song in a movie occurred this year with "The Blower's Daughter." It opened and closed the movie Closer and it closes the competition here (bad joke). It easily wins here.

 

SOUND EFFECTS

The Aviator	Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind	The Incredibles	The Phantom Of The Opera	Spider-Man 2

 

COMMENTARY:
Great stuff from all of these movies, but the subtle yet unbelievably important sound effects to Eternal Sunshine edge out and take gold.

 

SOUND EDITING

The Aviator	The Incredibles	Spider-Man 2

 

COMMENTARY:
Animated films always have great sound and the work in The Incredibles is stellar enough to take gold here.

 

VISUAL EFFECTS

The Aviator