First Annual Mikey @ The Movies Best of the Year Awards

The First Annual
Mikey At The Movies Awards

And the Nominees are:

Best Dramatic Motion Picture:

• Dark Knight, The
• Doubt
• Reader, The
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Wrestler, The

Best Comedic or Musical Motion Picture:

• Burn After Reading
• Ghost Town
• Happy-Go-Lucky
• In Bruges
• Tropic Thunder

Best Independent Motion Picture: (Not already nominated in the Dramatic category)

• · Boy A
•   Rachel Getting Married
• · Snow Angels
• · Special
• · Visitor, The

Best Animated or Family Motion Picture:

• Bolt
• City of Ember
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
• Kung Fu Panda
• Wall E

Best Documentary Feature:

• Encounters at the End of the World
• Man on Wire
• Standard Operating Procedure

Best Foreign Language Motion Picture:

· Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma in)
· Orphanage, The (El Orfanato)

Best Other Genre Motion Picture:

• Incredible Hulk, The
• Iron Man
• Signal, The
• Strangers, The
• Wanted

Best Director:

• Boyle, Danny for Slumdog Millionaire
• Daldry, Stephen for Reader, The
• Howard, Ron for Frost/Nixon
• Nolan, Christopher for Dark Knight, The
• Shanley, John Patrick for Doubt

Best Original Screenplay:

• Docter, Pete & Stanton, Andrew for Wall E
• Leigh, Mike for Happy-Go-Lucky
• Lumet, Jenny for Rachel Getting Married
• McDonagh, Martin for In Bruges
• Siegel, Robert D. for Wrestler, The

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Beaufoy, Simon for Slumdog Millionaire
• Gordon Green, David for Snow Angels
• Hare, David for Reader, The
• Nolan, Christopher & Nolan, Jonathon for Dark Knight, The
• Shanley, John Patrick for Doubt

Best Film Editing:

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
• Dark Knight, The
• Doubt 
• Frost/Nixon
• Slumdog Millionaire

Best Cinematography:

• Changeling
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
• Dark Knight, The
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire

Best Musical Score:

• Changeling
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
• Dark Knight, The
• Revolutionary Road
• Slumdog Millionaire

Best Special Effects:

• Cloverfield
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
• Dark Knight, The
• Incredible Hulk, The
• Iron Man

Best Sound Effects & Sound Editing:

• Dark Knight, The
• Iron Man
• Strangers, The
• Wall E
• Wanted

Best Art Direction & Best Set Designs:

• Changeling
• Frost/Nixon
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Best Costuming & Best Make-Up:

• Changeling
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
• Frost/Nixon
• Reader, The
• Revolutionary Road

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

• Dicaprio, Leonardo for Revolutionary Road
• Jenkins, Richard for Visitor, The
• Langella, Frank for Frost/Nixon
• Rockwell, Sam for Snow Angels
• Rourke, Mickey for Wrestler, The

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

• Beckinsale, Kate for Snow Angels
• Hathaway, Anne for Rachel Getting Married
• Hawkins, Sally for Happy-Go-Lucky
• Streep, Meryl for Doubt
• Winslet, Kate for Revolutionary Road

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

• Downey Jr., Robert for Tropic Thunder
• Eckhart, Aaron for Dark Knight, The
• Hoffman, Phillip Seymour for Doubt
• Ledger, Heath for Dark Knight, The
• Shannon, Michael for Revolutionary Road

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

• Davis, Viola for Doubt
• DeWitt, Rosemarie for Rachel Getting Married
• Henson, Taraji P. for Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Tomei, Marisa for Wrestler, The
• Winslet, Kate for Reader, The

Best Comedic or Musical Performance: (Not already nominated in other categories)

• Clooney, George for Burn After Reading
• Gervais, Ricky for Ghost Town
• McDormand, Frances for Burn After Reading
• Pitt, Brad for Burn After Reading
• Vaughn, Vince for Four Christmases

Best Performance by a Young Actor or Actress: (20 or younger)

• Butterfield, Asa for Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The
• Hederbrant, Kare for Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma in)
• Khedekar, Ayush Mahesh for Slumdog Millionaire
• Leandersson, Lina for Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma in)
• Patel, Dev for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Cameo or Limited Role Performance:

• Cruise, Tom for Tropic Thunder
• Fernandez, Karina for Happy-Go-Lucky
• Simmons, J.K. for Burn After Reading
• Voight, Jon for Four Christmases
• Wiig, Kristen for Ghost Town

Best Ensemble Cast for a Motion Picture:

• Burn After Reading
• Dark Knight, The
• Doubt
• Rachel Getting Married
• Revolutionary Road

SPECIAL CATEGORY: Best Straight-to-DVD or Made for TV Feature:

• 24: Redemption
• An American Crime
• Lazarus Project, The
• Otis
• Purple Violets

The Top Fifteen Films of 2008!

The First Annual

Mikey At The Movies

Top Fifteen Films of the Year

2008 Edition

 

I’m not a professional film critic, so I don’t really have to follow the guidelines they set for themselves. Every year most critics release their “Top Ten” films of the year. I wanted to be a bit different, for no reason. So I decided to do a “Top Fifteen” films of the year! And here are my choices, in alphabetical order:

 

 

Ø          The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Ø          The Dark Knight

Ø          Doubt

Ø          Frost/Nixon

Ø          Happy-Go-Lucky

Ø          In Bruges

Ø          Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma in)

Ø          Rachel Getting Married

Ø          The Reader

Ø          Revolutionary Road

Ø          Slumdog Millionaire

Ø          Snow Angels

Ø          The Visitor

Ø          WALL E

Ø          The Wrestler

The First Annual Worst of the Year Awards: 2008

The First Annual
Mikey At The Movies Awards
The Icky Side of Film Edition

Worst “Dramatic” Motion Picture:

• 21


• My Blueberry Nights


• Noise


• Quid Pro Quo


• Redbelt
  

Worst “Comedic” Motion Picture:

• Definitely, Maybe


• Mad Money


• Meet the Spartans


• Step Brothers


• Witless Protection
  

Worst Other Genre Motion Picture:

• 88 Minutes


• 10,000 B.C.


• Day the Earth Stood Still, The


• One Missed Call


• Passengers
  

Worst Direction:

• 
  

  21



• 
  

  88 Minutes



• 
  


• 
  

  Passengers



• Rambo
  


• Witless Protection
  
  
  

Worst Screenplay:

• 88 Minutes


• Day the Earth Stood Still, The


• Meet Dave


• Quid Pro Quo


• Witless Protection
  

Worst Film Making (Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, Etc.)

• 88 Minutes


• Meet the Spartans


• Passengers


• Quid Pro Quo


• Witless Protection
  

Worst Actor in a Leading Role:

• Faris, Sean for Never Back Down


• Larry the Cable Guy for Witless Protection


• Pacino, Al for 88 Minutes


• Stallone, Sylvester for Rambo


• Wahlberg, Mark for Happening, The
  

Worst Actress in a Leading Role:

• Farmiga, Vera for Quid Pro Quo


• Keaton, Diane for Mad Money


• Mortimer, Emily for Redbelt


• Snow, Brittany for Prom Night


• Sossamon, Shannyn for One Missed Call
  

Worst Actor in a Supporting Role:

• Gigandet, Cam for Never Back Down


• O’Hara, David for Doomsday


• Osmond, Donny for College Road Trip


• Spacey, Kevin for 21


• Wilson, Patrick for Passengers
  

Worst Actress in a Supporting Role:

• Deschanel, Zooey for Happening, The


• Heard, Amber for Never Back Down


• Holmes, Katie for Mad Money


• Sobieski, LeeLee for 88 Minutes


• Witt, Alicia for 88 Minutes
  

Worst Casting for a Motion Picture:

• 21


• 88 Minutes


• Happening, The


• Never Back Down


• Witless Protection
  

SPECIAL CATEGORY: Worst Straight-To-DVD Feature:

• Asylum


• Automaton Transfusion


• Bone Eater, The


• Insanitarium


• Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back
  

The Bottom Fifteen Films of 2008!

The First Annual
Mikey At The Movies
Bottom Fifteen Films of the Year
2008 Edition

I’m not a professional film critic, so I don’t really have to follow the guidelines they set for themselves. Every year most critics release their “Top Ten” films of the year. I wanted to be a bit different, for no reason. So I decided to do a “Top Fifteen” films of the year! But also I’ve decided to “release” my “Bottom Fifteen” films of the year! Because there were a PLENTY! And here are my choices, in alphabetical order:

Ø 21

Ø 88 Minutes

Ø 10,000 B.C.

Ø The Day the Earth Stood Still

Ø Disaster Movie

Ø Mad Money

Ø Meet the Spartans

Ø Never Back Down

Ø One Missed Call

Ø Passengers

Ø Quid Pro Quo

Ø Rambo

Ø Redbelt

Ø Step Brothers

Ø Witless Protection

The Wrestler

The Wrestler

Rated R

Running time: 1 hr 49 mins

Cast:

Mickey Rourke
Marisa Tomei
Evan Rachel Wood

Critical Consensus:

**** out of *****
(98%!!! Fresh Rating!)

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

****1/2 out ******




The Premise:

A drama centered on retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson as he makes his way through the independent circuit, trying to get back in the game for one final showdown with his former rival.

MY REVIEW

I've never been into the wrestling craze. Before or after people realized it was all fake. I've seen a few films that center around wrestling. 'The Wrestler' is easily the best wrestling movie I've seen. It's actually quite a beautiful and stunning film with terrific performances.

The film follows "The Ram" a very popular wrestler from the 80's who's now living in present day doing gigs on the weekends and living a regular life on the weekdays. He works at a "Costco" type store, lives either in a trailer or sometimes out of his van. He's estranged from his daughter. His only connection to the outside world is a stripper named Cassidy. He's essentially a nobody at this point, and his life basically sucks. He misses the thrill of wrestling for huge crowds. Wrestling is his life, and when he tries to break free from that is when his life goes downhill. He made bad choices. He got into drugs and steroids. His heart begins to fail. He never sees his daughter. He tries to live this outside life, but he always goes back to wrestling. It's as if wrestling is his addiction.

This was a fantastically written story that shows the other side to these old time wrestlers. I loved how they showed us the wrestlers planning how each match would go. They showed us that these wrestlers who hated each other in the ring, were close friends on the outside of the ring. The film never once tries to make us think for a moment that wrestling was real. There's no buildups to any climatic wrestling matches. This story is about this man who's life got ruined because wrestling is his passion. It's a very sad story, almost depressing. This wrestler has broken down, and tries so hard to pick up all the pieces, but he just can't. His life sucks, and it will never be truly happy as long he's outside the ring. It was just a wonderfully written screenplay that showcased the fact that everyone's human. Everyone makes mistakes. Even these big tough guys who you think can never break down. It was so moving watching Randy "The Ram" try to live this life he's created for himself. Trying to reconcile with his daughter, but he just can't manage to do it. Even after all the begging, and the speeches this man is lost. The only thing he can win anymore is a staged fight in a wrestling ring. That's a bit haunting at times, if you ask me. The story does tend to drag on at times, and that's really my only downside. But otherwise, just a brilliant screenplay!

Mickey Rourke really has delivered a tour de force film performance here. He has proven you do not have to be flashy, you don't have to go all out to deliver a remarkable, sincere and unforgettable performance. He plays this deeply scarred character with such bottled up emotion and you can see that in his eyes. The times when he just lets lose and reveals his emotions are some of the most simple but most moving scenes in the film. This was a brilliant performance that could have been to much or over the top, but Rourke played it like an absolute champ. Also great was Oscar winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, In the Bedroom) who could very see herself with a third Oscar nomination with this performance. She plays a stripper, and this is the type of role that has been showcased in years past as being to flashy. A lot of the times these actresses who play strippers really go for a knock out "look at me, I'm a stripper, I'm at my lowest point" performance. But Tomei, like Rourke plays this role with such realism. She humanizes this character. You really feel for her. She never has a big, showy scene but her performance still managed to be quite superb and I applaud her.

The Wrestler is a remarkable and incredibly made film. When it gets wider release you should all go see. Even if you are not a fan of wrestling, this is still a film you should see. It's one of the most simple, realistic and down to earth films you will see this year. Full of characters you can feel something for. A story a lot of people can vaguely relate too. This was a brilliant film.

To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Wrestler

*This is the 179th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.