Finally. It’s over. The 2000s. The 00s. The aughts. Whatever the fuck you want to call it. We’re done. And with the close of the decade, comes the obligatory nostalgic look back. And while we’ve suffered through a lot of bullshit these past ten years, there is also much to be appreciated—especially when it comes to film.

When we sat down to compile the best of the aughts, our initial list was almost 300 strong. We were blown away by the sheer number of dope movies that had come out.

This decade: We were introduced to Rian Johnson and Jason Reitman. Danny Boyle got the props we’ve been saying he deserved for years. Christopher Nolan gave us a superhero movie that didn’t suck. Charlie Kaufman decided to actually direct one of his screenplays. The Oscars officially became a joke. And sexy gypsy was born.

A lot of coffee, cigarettes and Wes Andersen bashing went into making this list. But we’re happy with the way it turned out. Don’t expect to see dumb shit like The Lord of The Rings or Dream Girls here. Instead you’ll see films from The Coen Brothers, Jim Jarmusch and Takashi Miike. The few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut are at the bottom of the post.

Anyway, without any further rambling, here it is. sexy gypsy’s Best of the Aughts…

(in alphabetical order)

1) Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)

I was 15 years old when Almost Famous dropped and changed my life. It was the first time I realized people would pay you to run around, listen to music and talk about it. So in a way, sexy gypsy wouldn’t even be here without this movie. It featured a great cast—Patrick Fugit (who shows up twice on this list), Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Frances McDormand aka Willem Dafoe (seriously, look that shit up. They look exactly alike. We still maintain they are the same person), Jason Lee, Philip Seymour Hoffman and even Jimmy Fallon. Add that to an immensely personal Cameron Crowe script, perfect music, and Billy Crudup screaming “I AM A GOLDEN GOD!” from atop a roof, and you have one damn fine film. —BIG

2) American Gangster (Ridley Scott, 2008)

3) American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)

4) Anchorman (Adam McKay, 2004)

5) Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)

6) Audition (Takashi Miike, 2001)

7) Away We Go (Sam Mendes, 2009)

The Boondock Saints (Troy Duffy, 2000)

9) Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005)

10) The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson, 2009)

Last year, Rian Johnson’s Brick showed up on a sexy gypsy list of off-the-radar films, and we basically called it a one hit wonder. We officially apologize to Mr. Johnson. The Brothers Bloom, while very different from Brick, showed a matured sense of direction and style, with the same tone of homage and innovation, and a playful sense of humor. As an elaborate, yet completely character-driven con film, this is moviemaking at it’s finest. —GWG

11) Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch, 2005)

12) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)

13) Choke (Clark Gregg, 2008)

14) The Chumscrubber (Arie Posin, 2005)

Teenage suicide is never a good thing. Unless it brings about the complete destruction of idyllic white suburbia. What’s interesting about this film is that it doesn’t show you underlying problems around the neighborhood, and then culminate with a death. The suicide happens at the beginning, and instead of being the breaking point, or even the catalyst, it is the loose thread that unravels everyone’s secrets and facades. It is beautifully written and acted, with a multi-generational, eclectic cast that actually fits very well together. —GWG

15) City of God (Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund, 2002)

16) Coffee and Cigarettes (Jim Jarmusch, 2003)

17) Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004)

18) Crash (Paul Haggis, 2005)

19) Criminal (Gregory Jacobs, 2004)

20) The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

21) The Departed (Martin Scorcese, 2006)

The Departed is the only film on this list I had to fight for. The Great White Gypsy hated it. But he’s crazy, so I had to veto. Granted, I am a confessed Scorsese groupie. The man has never made a film I didn’t love. And I’ve seen them all. Even the obscure ones like Boxcar Bertha. So maybe I was a little biased with this pick. But to me, anytime you can put Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio in the same movie and not make people want stab themselves in the eye, it’s a fucking win. Bonus points for having Nas and Flogging Molly on the same soundtrack. —BIG

22) The Devil’s Rejects (Rob Zombie, 2005)

Admittedly, Rob Zombie’s first venture, House of 1000 Corpses, was retarded. However, with a little less Horror rip-off, and a lot more disturbing violence, the sequel was a cult classic opening weekend. Zombie knows how to work a camera, but this film is probably the pinnacle of his work with the soundtrack. It starts with The Allman Brothers’ Midnight Rider, swells with a violent sequence to the tune of Terry Reid’s To Be Treated Right, and finishes with the best use of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird to date. All of this is driven home by a sobering message: There is no ice cream in your fucking future. —GWG

23) District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)

24) Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)

25) The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003)

26) Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007)

27) Equilibrium (Kurt Wimmer, 2002)

28) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

29) The Fall (Tarsem Singh, 2008)

This is one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen. Tarsem Singh makes a huge leap up from his very respectable 2000 debut, The Cell, and tells us an engaging story in ways never before seen. In a time of crazy, overdone CGI and generic plot, The Fall was refreshingly organic. Great acting, directing, cinematography, and everything in between. —BIG

30) (500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009)

31) Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004)

32) Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)

33) Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000)

34) Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck, 2006)

35) The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009)

36) Havoc (Barbara Kopple, 2005)

37) High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000)

Like Almost Famous, High Fidelity was one of those life defining movies for me. He owned a record store, argued about top five lists with his friends, organized his music collection autobiographically and pined over beautiful women. That was his whole life. How awesome is that? Almost Famous made me realize I could write about music, High Fidelity made me realize I wasn’t alone in obsessing over it. —BIG

HIGH FIDELITY BONUS: TOP 5 SONGS TO PLAY AT MY FUNERAL:

1) Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones

2) Ready To Die - The Notorious BIG

3) Bullet With Butterfly Wings - The Smashing Pumpkins

4) Funeral - The Clipse

5) Angel’s Son - Snot featuring Lajon Witherspoon from Sevendust

38) High Tension (Alexandre Aja, 2005)

39) Humpday (Lynn Shelton, 2009)

One of the things I will always remember about this decade is my discovery of Mumblecore. I started with The Puffy Chair and soon devoured films like Baghead, Mutual Appreciation and Funny Ha Ha. Though not always the best executed films, the genre intrigued me. And with the success of people like Lynn Shelton and Mark Duplass, I hope more people discover it. Humpday is an experience. You’re in the room, a silent observer—not just someone watching a film. Effortlessly hilarious and purposefully awkward, it is one of my favorite films of this year and definitely deserves a spot on the list. —BIG

40) The Hurt Locker (Katherine Bigelow, 2009)

41) Ichi the Killer (Takashi Miike, 2003)

42) Imaginary Heroes (Dan Harris, 2004)

43) In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)

44) In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Alex Holdridge, 2007)

45) Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

46) Jarhead (Sam Mendes, 2005)

47) Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007)

48) Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003, 2004)

49) Kingdom of Heaven (Ridley Scott, 2005)

50) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Shane Black, 2005)

“You look up the ‘idiot’ in the dictionary, know what you’ll find?”

“A picture of me?”

“No, the definition of the word idiot, which you fucking are!!”

This film never gets old. Raymond Chandler meets Abbott and Costello. The mystery itself isn’t anything amazingly unique, but it’s entertaining and solid enough to hold up a great cast, one of the best narrations ever, and almost as many quotable quotes as Anchorman.

“Talking money…”

“A Talking monkey?”

“Talking monkey, yeah, yeah. Came here from the future. Ugly sucker, only says ficus.”

—GWG

51) Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007)

52) Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

53) Little Children (Todd Field, 2006)

54) Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, 2006)

55) Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

56) Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003)

57) The Machinist (Brad Anderson, 2004)

58) Maria Full of Grace (Joshua Marston, 2004)

59) Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)

60) Milk (Gus van Sant, 2008)

61) Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2002)

62) Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)

63) 9 Songs (Michael Winterbottom, 2005)

A lot of people are quick to dismiss this film as unnecessarily explicit, self-indulgent, (not so) thinly veiled pornography. I couldn’t disagree more. Michael Winterbottom is a masterful storyteller, communicating an entire relationship with minimum dialogue and nine amazing songs. It’s an ambitious concept that in less capable hands would have failed miserably. But Winterbottom executes it perfectly. It’s on Netflix Watch Instantly right now. So if you haven’t seen it, do so now. —BIG

64) No Country for Old Men (The Coen Brothers, 2008)

65) O Brother Where Art Thou (The Coen Brothers, 2000)

66) Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)

The second film in Chan-wook Park’s Revenge Trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), Oldboy features some original camerawork, really cool fight scenes, and an emotional yet disturbing story that would make David Fincher blush. The hallway fight, done in one continuous shot, is a staple of discussion. But there are so many great scenes, so many impressive technical aspects and character moments, that it definitely warrants multiple viewings. We did want to include the entire trilogy on the list, as there is a noticeable arc and underlying theme across all three films. However, they are all separate, unrelated stories, and Oldboy stands out as the strongest link. —GWG

67) Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)

68) Purple Violets (Edward Burns, 2007)

69) Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008)

70) Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

71) Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes, 2008)

72) The Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002)

73) The Salton Sea (D.J. Caruso, 2002)

74) Saw (James Wan, 2004)

75) A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006)

76) Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)

77) Shopgirl (Anand Tucker, 2005)

78) Sin City (Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, 2005)

79) Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008)

80) Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000)

81) The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach, 2005)

82) State and Main (David Mamet, 2000)

83) Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike, 2008)

What do you get when you mix Yojimbo, Django, and A Fistfull of Dollars? Actually, if you’re anyone but Takashi Miike, your head might explode. Lucky for us, the Japanese maestro of bloodshed helmed this crazy, entertaining, violent film about…Japanese cowboys? In Miike’s first American project, he decides to have Asian actors speaking John Wayne-style English while carrying six shooters and katanas. Oh yeah, and Tarantino has a couple cameos. Fucking great. —GWG

84) Surveillance (Jennifer Lynch, 2009)

85) Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)

86) There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

87) Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke, 2003)

In 2003, a pre-Twilight Catherine Hardwicke gave us a film that would alter the existence of little sisters forever. I saw Thirteen and wanted nothing more than to lock my sister in a closet until she was 20. That was the only conceivable way to save her from the unbearable plight of the teenage American girl. Most of the credit for this film goes to Nikki Reed, who was 15 when she wrote it. Thirteen is an exceptionally honest and powerful directorial debut from a director that proved to be a one hit wonder. —BIG

88) 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2003)

Not many zombie movies offer much more than cheap thrills and bloody carnage. We’ll be honest, that’s why we love them. With Danny Boyle’s version, though, every aspect of the film is striking. The character development, the landscape, the music, and the balls-to-the-wall tension throughout make this film stand an infected, disembodied head above the rest in the genre. —GWG

89) 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

90) The United States of Leland (Matthew Ryan Hoge, 2003)

This film makes us miss the early 2000’s, when all-star casts could still deliver a patient, tempered, emotional film. As a whole, this movie exhibits the same complex subtleties as its main character, a simple-minded teenager accused of murder. Themes of perspective, miscommunication, self-examination and accountability underline interesting cinematography and a beautiful story. —GWG

91) The Wackness (Jonathan Levine, 2008)

92) The Way of the Gun (Christopher McQuarrie, 2000)

93) Wicker Park (Paul McGuigan, 2004)

94) The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)

95) Wristcutters: A Love Story (Goran Dukic, 2006)

96) Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith, 2008)

Honorable Mentions

Infernal Affairs (Wai-keung Lau, Alan Mak, 2002)

Though infinitely better than The Departed, this film had it’s share of problems, and spawned two unnecessary sequels.

Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)

The story may have been borrowed, and the score unoriginal, but the visuals in this film (as well as the 3-D effects) will revolutionize cinema as we know it.

Life as a House (Irwin Winkler, 2001)

An amazing character study that develops well, with solid acting and a decent soundtrack. The downside: Hayden Christiansen

Irreversible (Gaspar Noe, 2002)

Very similar to Memento, this reverse film is well acted and directed, but without the intense, realistic, extremely long rape sequence, it might not have as much effect.

The Anniversary Party (Alan Cumming, Jennifer Jason Leigh, 2001)

Very well written and acted, even John C. Reilly tones it down a bit. Possibly a tad self indulgent, but the ecstasy scene is great.

Spartan (David Mamet, 2004)

Mamet’s esoteric uber-realism that doesn’t bother explaining itself to the ordinary viewer is the best and worst part of this film. It never stops moving, and maintains it’s staying power, it just doesn’t wait for anyone to catch up.

Layer Cake (Matthew Vaughn, 2004)

Great soundtrack, great acting, great story. Decent dialog, cinematography, cutting this one was hard, but just couldn’t stand up to some of the competition.

Thank You for Smoking (Jason Reitman, 2005)

Jason Reitman can do no wrong. Possibly Eckhart’s best performance. Another tough choice, but Juno kinda kicked it in the pork sword.

Hard Candy (David Slade, 2005)

Few movies can make me cringe. 15-year-old Ellen Page threatening to castrate Patrick Wilson? Really, really uncool. Great acting and writing, but a bit limited in it’s scope.

Renaissance (Christian Volckman, 2006)

Black and white motion capture animation set in Paris, 2054. The story’s a little muddled at times, but it’s just frickin cool to watch cartoon Daniel Craig shoot people in the face.

A Serious Man - Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Set in 1967, this black comedy follows a Jewish professor as he attempts to stop his life from unraveling after his wife announces she wants a divorce. It would appear that the Coen dynasty is back in full swing after their three year hiatus between The Ladykillers (2004) and No Country for Old Men (2007). Though longtime Coen teammates Carter Burwell (composer) and Roger Deakins (cinematographer) are back again, the cast for this one is largely unknown. I can’t wait.
Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed
October 2

Whip It - Directed by Drew Barrymore, Written by Shauna Cross
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut about a punk rock outcast (Ellen Page) living in small town Texas who rebels by joining an all girl roller derby league. I’m a fan of Page and Barrymore, and though it was filmed almost entirely in Michigan and features an esoteric chick-indie-punk soundtrack, Barrymore managed to get some good names on the roster. Not cast-wise, as Page and Marcia Gay Harden are the only recognizable ones, but she borrowed longtime Wes Anderson cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman, as well as editor Dylan Tichenor (Doubt, There Will Be Blood), and Art Director Kevin Kavanaugh (The Dark Knight, The Prestige). Call me impressed.
Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden
October 2

Zombieland - Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
Sure, the writers and director of this Americanized Shaun of the Dead are newbies. And yes, British humor often times prevails when put toe to toe (except the Office, Steve Carrell is a silly bitch). But after watching the previews, how can you not smile and say, “Yeah, I’ll see that eventually.”? If for no other reason that watching little miss sunshine kick some zombie ass would be sweet.
Woody Harrelson, Jessie Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Amber Heard, Bill Murray
October 2

An Education - Directed by Lone Scherfig,Written by Nick Hornby
Wait…Peter Sarsgaard? In a low profile dramatic role you’ve never heard of until now? Yeah, that sounds about right. About a 17-year-old girl in 1960’s London who abandons her college plans for a wealthy socialite twice her age. You may not recognize any of the names behind the scenes, but Nick Hornby (author, High Fidelity) is enough for me.
Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike
October 9

Couples Retreat - Directed by Peter Billingsley, Written by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn
Apparently, Ralphie from A Christmas Story is all grown up and wants to be a director. Starting with a screenplay by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn will either be his ticket to greatness, or a nail in his mediocre comedy coffin. Still, Swingers and Made were great, and the cast in this one has me more than confident. If the plot isn’t obvious by the title, you should not see this movie, you might shoot your eye out (fuck you, you knew it was coming).
Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Ken Jeong, Jean Reno, Faizon Love, Tasha Smith, John Michael Higgins
October 9

Peter and Vandy - Written and Directed by Jay DiPietro
In the style of (500) Days of Summer, this relationship film set in New York City jumps back and forth through time telling the story of how Peter and Vandy went from friends to lovers, and how they ended up as a comfortable, yet manipulative couple. The chemistry between Ritter and Weixler looks good, and Sundance apparently loved it. My only worry is, in a non-linear feature film, editor Geoffrey Richman has been limited to documentaries. Ok, he did Murderball and God Grew Tired of Us, but still, a lot’s riding on this guy’s shoulders. DePietro’s first.
Jason Ritter, Jess Weixler
October 9

Trucker - Written and Directed by James Mottern
James Mottern’s first endeavor gives Monaghan an amazing role as a long distance truck driver who must care for the son she abandoned while his father is in the hospital. Interesting cast (I like Adams and Fillion), and behind the scenes, names like Mychael Danna (composer: (500) Days of Summer, Girl Interrupted) and Lawrence Sher (cinematographer: Garden State, The Chumscrubber) intrigue me. Assuming Monaghan’s role is as great as it appears in the preview, I will make a bold statement: If Melissa Leo can be nominated for Frozen Rivers, this might be Monaghan’s year.
Michelle Monaghan, Benjamin Bratt, Joey Lauren Adams, Nathan Fillion, Jimmy Bennett
October 9

Law Abiding Citizen - Directed by F. Gary Gray, Written by Kurt Wimmer
Gerard Butler’s wife and daughter are killed. The D.A. (Jamie Foxx) gives the murderers a plea bargain. Years later, Butler starts exacting his revenge on everyone involved…from the comfort of his jail cell. Wimmer wrote and directed Equilibrium (freaking awesome), but he also wrote and directed Ultraviolet (freaking garbage). Aside from editor Tariq Anwar (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty), everyone involved is a so-so list of random action film participants. So why would you see this one? Cause it’s Friday…you ain’t got no job…and you ain’t got shit to do.
Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, Viola Davis, Regina Hall
October 16

New York, I Love You - Directed by Faith Akin and Yvan Attal, Written by Emmanual Benbihy and Tristan Carne
I’m sure even the most skeptical among you can’t say you didn’t enjoy Paris, Je T’aime. It was a great cross-sectioning of different views and stories around the city, told by some great directors (The Coen Brothers and Gus van Sant among them). I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed about the young cast and director lineup (where the F are DeNiro and Scorcese?) But as an overall project, I’m really looking forward to this film. With segments directed by Allan Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, and Brett Ratner.
Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Shia LaBeouf, Blake Lively, Robin Wright Penn, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Christina Ricci, Rachel Bilson, Ethan Hawke, John Hurt, Justin Bartha, James Caan, Maggie Q, Anton Yelchin, Andy Garcia, Chris Cooper, Olivia Thirlby, Drea De Matteo, Julie Christie, Cloris Leachman, Eli Wallach
October 16

Where the Wild Things Are - Directed by Spike Jonze, Written by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers
Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story about a boy who invents an imaginary world populated with large creatures who name him King. Jonze hasn’t really done many films (Being John Malkovich and Adaptation), but he’s an accomplished music video director, and with an adaptation by Dave Eggers, he can’t really go wrong. Effects look good, voice casting is solid.
Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose
October 16

Amelia - Directed by Mira Nair, Written by Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan
From the director of The Namesake, this biopic of Amelia Earhart covers her romance with flight, and her rise to the level of cultural icon. Can’t say it looks like anything really spectacular, but Swank has won multiple Oscars, Phelan wrote Girl Interrupted, and The Aviator was warmly received. Look for this to show up on some Academy Award lists regardless.
Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccelston
October 23

Antichrist - Written and Directed by Lars von Trier
Danish director Lars von Trier has won numerous awards for his films. He has also shocked a lot of people not only by his style, but by his tendency to add super realism to his films by actually having the actors doing whatever the characters are supposed to (meaning if there’s a group sex scene, chances are those people are actually having sex on camera). Antichrist is the story of a couple trying to reconnect in a cabin after the death of their son. What happens next is ridiculously graphic, violent, and spiritually disturbing. While the wide theatrical release will no doubt be heavily edited, the uncut version is something you have to see to fully understand.
Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
October 23

Saw VI - Directed by Kevin Greutert, Written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton
Don’t think I really need to explain this one. Jigsaw’s dead, but we’re gonna try to fit at least four more storylines into the original script. Director is new, writers have worked on the last three Saw films. I’ll see it, but when an original horror franchise with an awesome theme song allows a Texas Chainsaw Massacre motif into their preview, it worries me.
Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Shawnee Smith, Betsy Russell
October 23

(Untitled) - Directed by Jonathan Parker, Written by Jonathan Parker and Catherine DiNapoli
Shelton plays an art gallery director who falls in love with a struggling artist/musician in New York. Should be good for a few laughs if you can’t stand newagepostmodernretroindieavantgardeabstracthipsterbullshit. Also, Vinnie Jones as an artist, and Adam Goldberg kicking a bucket on stage should be hilarious. Rookie writer/director.
Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Vinnie Jones
October 23

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - Directed by Troy Duffy, Written by Troy and Taylor Duffy
We’ve had to wait ten bloody years for this film to actually see the light of day. Now it’s here. If you didn’t see the first one (what the hell is wrong with you??) it’s about two Irish brothers who are “called” by God to administer justice and vengeance to society’s scum. I’m actually impressed that after so long on the shelf, the writer/director of the first film is still on board. Can’t freaking wait.
Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Clifton Collins Jr., Julie Benz, Judd Nelson, Billy Connolly, Peter Fonda
October 30

How to Seduce Difficult Women - Written and Directed by Richard Temtchine
Although there are no recognizable names or faces attached to this one, imagine if someone combined Hitch and School for Scoundrels, and then made a GOOD film. The main character, Pierre, decides to teach the ways of French seduction to the floundering American men who have lost the art (stupid French guys with their…sexy accents…). Interspersed with NY street interviews about sex and seduction. Could be interesting.
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Stephanie Szostak, Jackie Hoffman, Rachel Roberts
October 30

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

The Ministers - Written and Directed by Franc. Reyes
Kinda like Boondock Saints…except Latin. And they’re serial killers. And Leguizamo plays twins. And I’d bet money Keitel gets naked for no reason. Reyes is a weird cat, but he directed Empire and Illegal Tender, which weren’t bad. Leguizamo’s always good, so we’ll see. Rumored limited release date, nothing solid yet.
John Leguizamo, Harvey Keitel, Wanda De Jesus, Florencia Lozano
October 1 (Limited)

Aladin - Written and Directed by Sujoy Ghosh
Shut up and let me talk. Yes, it’s an Indian film. Yes, it appears there is a bit of singing involved. However, the story of Aladin is one of the most widely known and adaptable myths to come out of the area. And the preview actually gives me a Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) kind of feel. Excuse the hell out of me for trying to broaden your minds. Only release date in India so far. Check it out.
Ritesh Deshmukh, Jaqueline Fernandes, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt
October 23 (India)

Pope Joan - Directed by Sonke Wortmann, Written by Heinrich Hadding
Based on the German novel, this is the story of an English woman born in Germany, who disguises herself as a man and ascends to a seat of power in 9th century Vatican. A German film about gender disguise, and John Goodman’s in it, but Hilary Swank isn’t? That’s so confusing it has to be fattening. Limited release in Germany so far.
David Wenham, John Goodman, Ian Glen
October 22 (Germany)

Amreeka – Written and Directed by Cherien Dabis
We’ve seen this kind of thing on TV and in movies before. Actually, a lot recently. But this story of a single mother emigrating from Palestine and working at a White Castle in Illinois looks interesting. If you liked The Visitor, you’ll probably enjoy this, and it’s gotten a lot of positive reviews from Cannes and Sundance.
Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muellam, Alia Shawkat
September 4

Carriers – Written and Directed by Alex and David Pastor
Chris Pine (Star Trek, Bottle Shock) has already proven himself to be a versatile actor. Looks like your typical virus-ends-mankind thriller, but since when is that a bad thing? The Pastor brothers are new, but the preview is enticingly vague and eerie.
Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Lou Taylor Pucci
September 4

Extract – Written and Directed by Mike Judge
The creator of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill has been sadly absent from cinema since Office Space in 1999 (save 2006’s Idiocracy). About an Extracts plant owner who thinks his wife is cheating on him, the fact that the preview and the tagline compare it to Office Space could spell trouble, but Judge, Bateman, and J.K. Simmons haven’t let me down so far.
Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons, Kristen Wiig, Clifton Collins Jr.
September 4

Gamer – Written and Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Pro: It’s good to see Gerard Butler in an action movie after being in bullcrap like P.S. I Love You, Nim’s Island, and The Ugly Truth. Con: The Writer/Director team is the same guys who did Crank and Crank 2. Futuristic story about convicts who are players in a live action video game, controlled by real people. The winner is set free…everyone else dies. Granted, it appears to be a solid movie, but Crank 2 didn’t do anything for Jason Statham’s career (especially after Transporter 3), and after movies like Death Race, The Condemned, and Running Man, don’t expect to see anything groundbreaking.
Gerard Butler, Ludacris, Michael C. Hall, John Leguizamo
September 4

9 – Directed by Shane Acker, Written by Shane Acker and Pamela Pettler
Sure, 9 little rag dolls running around in a post-apocalyptic world might not rattle your cage, but after seeing Sebastian’s Voodoo at the Ashland Festival last April, I can’t wait to see Shane Acker’s animated short come to life as a full length feature. Not only is the voice casting solid, but it’s being produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for 9 years (don’t worry, I already punched myself for that one.)
Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover
September 9

The Other Man – Written and directed by Richard Eyre
Liam Neeson suspects his wife is cheating on him. Then she disappears, which makes him…slightly more suspicious. So he sets out to find and meet the man she’s seeing. Then they play a game of chess (if only Ingmar Bergman was alive to collect royalties on that). Kinda looks like Taken 2, but Neeson, Banderas, and Linney are all solid, and Eyre directed Notes on a Scandal, which got a lot of Oscar attention. Also based on a short story by Bernhard Schlink, who wrote The Reader. Unsure about this one.
Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, Laura Linney
September 11

The Burning Plain – Written and Directed by Guillermo Arriaga
Kicking off Oscar pre-season is Guillermo Arriaga’s (writer: 21 Grams, Babel) poignant drama about three women searching for happiness. Not only are Theron and Basinger involved, but composer Hans Zimmer (Frost/Nixon, The Dark Knight), cinematographers Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton) and John Toll (Gone Baby Gone, The Last Samurai, Almost Famous), and Production Designer Dan Leigh (The Last Kiss, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) are all present and accounted for. Could be a contender.
Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, John Corbett, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquim de Almeida, Robin Tunney
September 18

Disgrace – Directed by Steve Jacobs, Written by Anna Maria Monticelli
Adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author J.M. Coetzee’s (Elizabeth Costello, Waiting for the Barbarians) novel about a professor in post-apartheid South Africa who has an affair with a black student. When he is dismissed, he goes to live with his lesbian daughter, and they are attacked by a group of black teenagers. Films like this are hard for Americans to swallow, because they often forget that apartheid really didn’t start to disappear until 1994. Rookie director and writer, but Malkovich is always brilliant.
John Malkovich
September 18

The Informant! – Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Written by Scott Z. Burns
I’m trying very hard to forget about Ocean’s 11-13, and Soderbergh’s love affair with George Clooney. If I focus really hard on films like Out of Sight, Traffic, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape, then maybe I’ll give this Kurt Eichenwald (Conspiracy of Fools) adaptation of an agricultural businessman turned government informant a chance. I make no promises.
Matt Damon, Scott Bakula
September 18

Paris – Written and Directed by Cedric Klapisch
About a Parisian man with heart disease who is waiting for a transplant. He observes the city, and the people around him as they struggle through life and love. Klapisch looks fairly prolific in France, and I’m a Juliette Binoche fan. Looking forward to it.
Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini
September 18

Jennifer’s Body – Directed by Karyn Kusama, Written by Diablo Cody
A hot high school girl takes a plain jane under her wing. Turns out she’s possessed, and trying to kill everyone. Normally I won’t even mention high school horror films like this. However, the people involved have me interested. Diablo Cody wrote Juno, which was amazing. Kusama directed Girlfight (good), but she also did Aeon Flux (not good). Probably won’t see it on the big screen, but I’ll look for it on On-Demand.
Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Adam Brody
September 18

Splice – Directed by Vincenzo Natali, Written by Vincenzo Natali and Antoinette Terry Bryant
Again, normally I wouldn’t hype a film that appears to be a rip off of Species. But it also reminds me of Mimic, which was directed by Guillermo del Toro and, interestingly enough, del Toro is producing this sci-fi thriller. I like Adrien Brody, and I liked The Orphanage. Enough said.
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polly
September 18

The Blue Tooth Virgin – Written and Directed by Russell Brown
As an aspiring writer, I’m always a sucker for a film about aspiring writers. Two such people in L.A. have their friendship thrown into turmoil when one of them doesn’t like the other’s new screenplay. I’m interested, but most of you might wait until you see it on cable.
Karen Black, Roma Maffia, Lauren Stamile, Lance Aaron, Amber Benson, Bryce Johnson
September 25

The Boys are Back – Directed by Scott Hicks, Written by Alan Cubitt
The director of Snow Falling on Cedars and Hearts in Atlantis is teaming with Clive Owen for this dramedy about a man trying to raise his young son and reconnect with his older son after his wife dies suddenly. Looks more dramatic-family-dynamic than feel-good-comedy, a good departure for Owen as of late.
Clive Owen
September 25

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men – Written and Directed by John Krasinski
Krasinski’s directorial debut portrays a woman (Nicholson) interviewing men about their relationship patterns. Might not be really innovative, but after The Office and Away We Go, I’ll shell out $10 to support Johnny K. Not only that, it’s based on a short story by David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest), who is freaking brilliant. Good luck finding this anywhere, though; I can’t even find an actual preview yet.
John Krasinski, Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton, Lou Taylor Pucci, Josh Charles
September 25

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell – Directed by Bob Gosse, Written by Tucker Max
I’ve picked up Tucker Max’s book several times from the discount table at Borders, but, funny as it sounds, it’s not my kind of literature. However, the subject matter should make for an entertaining movie, and the outlandishly misogynistic things this guy says should be good for a laugh (the first line of the preview had me laughing out loud.)
Jesse Bradford, Matt Czuchry, Geoff Stults, Traci Lords
September 25

The Invention of Lying – Written and Directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson
As much as I respect Ricky Gervais (The Office…no no, the original one), this inside-out Liar Liar has the potential to be esoterically dull. That being said, anything with Jeffrey Tambor has my initial approval.
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Patrick Stewart, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey
September 25

Pandorum – Directed by Christian Alvart, Written by Travis Malloy
Unknown meets The Descent meets Event Horizon in this sci-fi thriller about two crewmen aboard a large transport spaceship. They wake up alone, without any memory, and start to see weird monsters and crazy visions. Ben Foster is creepy all by himself, but this film looks dark and tense. Director, cinematographer, and editor each have a respectable body of work in Germany, but few successes in the US. I’ll definitely see it.
Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Antje Traue, Norman Reedus
September 25

Surrogates – Directed by Jonathan Mostow, Written by Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato
This is an almost Aasimovian story about a future where everyone just stays home on the couch, and controls a robot surrogate in the outside world with their mind. No one’s supposed to die. Then someone does. How do they never see that coming? Unfortunately, Mostow directed Terminator 3, which, along with Terminator Salvation, was also written by Farris and Brancato. If I see Schwarzenegger once, I’m throwing popcorn.
Bruce Willis, Rosemund Pike, Ving Rhames, Radha Mitchell, James Cromwell
September 25

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Dorian Gray – Directed by Oliver Parker, Written by Toby Finlay
Oscar Wilde’s original novel may have been a bit dry, but it’s a classic. Like most classics, however, this one is yet again being twisted and exploited by the film industry. The effects look cool, but the story seems a bit off, and the shameless addition of lurid sex scenes, while generally enticing, is just corrupting another good book, so today’s teens can read the smutty film novelization instead of the real thing. Not sure when it’s hitting the states, but the UK gets it next month.
Ben Barnes, Colin Firth
September 9 (UK)

Creation – Directed by Jon Amiel, Written by John Collee
The story of Charles Darwin in the midst of his controversial theories on evolution. It’s supposed to be based on a biography, but it appears to have a little church propaganda slant to it. Nevertheless, Bettany and Connelly are generally good, and the genuine emotions in the preview look solid. Not sure when we’ll see this one, but once again the UK gets it next month.
Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam
September 25 (UK)

First and foremost, we would like to thank all of you who supported us on Sunday and followed the live blog. It was a big day for Sexy Gypsy, and it really set the bar high.

Unfortunately, the Academy set the bar pretty low for hosting this year. Hugh Jackman, while slightly entertaining and charismatic at first, bored us to death with the constant musical numbers. This is the Oscars, dammit, we didn’t watch the Grammies for a reason. Also, the new format for actor awards runs a little long for our taste. Do we really need past winners standing up there talking one by one about the nominees for this year? We know Heath Ledger was an amazing Joker, do we really need Kevin Kline to tell us again? And if Cuba Gooding Jr. wants to be on stage at the red carpets, maybe he should be in a movie that doesn’t suck ass.

So despite some random last minute decisions, Sexy Gypsy did pretty well in predicting the Oscars this year. Our preview was right on the money for the big categories, even if our ballots weren’t. Unlike past years, there were no really big upsets. So let’s recap:

Best Picture: We all knew that Slumdog Millionaire was going to sweep the awards again. Milk was an amazing contender, but couldn’t stand up to the sheer brilliance in editing, direction, sound, and writing that Slumdog brought. Well deserved.

Best Director: David Fincher and Ron Howard have done better work. Stephen Daldry’s presence, not only in this category, but also in every other category The Reader was nominated, was a ridiculous, unwarranted usurping of Sam Mendes’ rightful seat with Revolutionary Road. Van Sant gave him a good run for the money, but Danny Boyle couldn’t be ignored any longer. Well deserved.

Best Actor: Minus Brad Pitt, this category was stacked. Jenkins, Langella, Penn, and Rourke all gave amazing performances. But it really came down to the latter two, and even though Prop 8 could’ve pushed Penn to the win, he was fantastic, and at least Rourke is again on the radar. Questionable, but well deserved.

Best Actress: Anne Hathaway hasn’t been as typecast as most people believe. Her role in Havoc was enough for us to take her seriously. Unfortunately, she was up against two major actresses (not counting Melissa Leo or Angelina Jolie). However, Streep has had her Oscar recognition, and Winslet was due after so many dead end nominations. Well deserved, wrong film (should have been Revolutionary Road).

Best Supporting Actor: If you read our preview, you know our conspiracy theories in this category. But there was only ever a slight doubt in anyone’s mind that Ledger would walk with this one. His “eclectic” career aside, this was not only his best performance, but one of the best of all time. Hey Downey, why so serious? Well deserved.

Best Supporting Actress: This category wasn’t really stellar, but everyone did a good job in their roles. Amy Adams, however, was definitely a head above the rest, in emotion and in screen time. Predicting this one was disappointing, because we knew Cruz would take it for being involved in an otherwise-not-nominated Woody Allen film. Undeserved.

Other categories of interest

Foreign Language: Waltz with Bashir should’ve taken this, and most people thought it would. Always gotta be on the lookout for the underdog.

Shorts: It is surprising that On the Line or Manon on the Asphalt didn’t take it, considering they were more the Academy’s usual taste, but Toyland was interesting and well edited, and the only WWII film even nominated this year. Also surprising, but definitely exciting, was the Academy’s decision to look past Pixar’s usual animated brilliance and give the Oscar to La Maison en Petits Cubes, the emotional Japanese film with a French name.

Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire was an amazing adaptation, as shown by its eight wins this year. However, we still believe that, with any other director, the script would have fallen short. Doubt, though sub par in acting and directing, was an amazingly well written film, full of amazing dialogue. Milk was the obvious choice for Original Screenplay. It built and developed all the characters for the actors to round out, and there wasn’t a weak link in the bunch.

Another surprise was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. All three of this film’s awards (Visual Effects, Art Direction, and Makeup) beat out The Dark Knight, which was a thousand times better in all of them. This is either an apology to Fincher for ignoring Zodiac, or an apology to Brad Pitt that he will never, ever, ever be Batman. Robin, maybe, but not The Dark Knight.

Overall, a good year for movies, and a solid Academy Awards ceremony. We will of course be starting this all over again next November, but for now we return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Thanks for the support.

-Sexy Gypsy

Best Picture

Of the five films in this category, only two really have a shot. Frost/Nixon was a great stage adaptation with amazing performances and, while solid, was ultimately compromised by Ron Howard’s lack of technical abilities. The Reader was boring, poorly constructed, and probably the most overrated film in the last 20 years. And Benjamin Button was average at best.

That leaves us with Milk and Slumdog Millionaire. And it’s close.

Milk was perfectly casted, acted and edited. Thankfully, Gus van Sant showed enough restraint not to fuck it up with his usual annoyingly pseudo-artistic direction. Add to that the best performance of Sean Penn’s career and you have a serious contender for Best Picture.

But, unfortunately for Gus van Sant and Milk, 2009 is the year of Slumdog. With great music, flawless direction and screenplay, Slumdog Millionaire has finally brought Danny Boyle to the forefront of cinema. He’s a versatile director who can excel in any genre, and Slumdog’s complex, non-linear story line really allowed him to showcase his skills. The result was a beautifully executed film whose broad appeal, blending of cultures, and surprising rise to recognition puts it over the top.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Slumdog Millionaire

WHO WILL WIN: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor

Why is Brad Pitt in this category? He gave a much better, rounder performance in A River Runs Through It and is the weak link in this category with his one-note portrayal of Benjamin Button. Richard Jenkins is finally getting the love he deserves, after years of being “that guy”—you recognize him, know he’s in things, but you don’t know his name or why you seem to remember him (if you still don’t know who he is, he’s the dead father in Six Feet Under). Unfortunately, his well-developed performance will be eclipsed by the big three: Mickey Rourke, Frank Langella, and Sean Penn. This will ultimately be decided by politics: the resurrection of Mickey Rourke, the Nixon scandal, or the gay character post-prop 8.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Mickey Rourke WHO WILL WIN: Sean Penn, because the Academy loves him.

Best Actress

First off, the Academy needs to decide what constitutes a leading role, because Kate Winslet should have been up for Revolutionary Road, not The Reader, both for technical and performance-quality reasons. She’ll probably win, but only because Stephen Daldry is a marketing whore and has been politicking for The Reader like he was Blagojevich selling a Senate seat.

Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie both had great roles, but it was more the writing than they acting that made their characters special. While Angelina Jolie will get a nomination for anything in which she’s not half naked shooting at people, Streep didn’t bring the expected veteran-actress energy to an already well written character—and it fell short.

Melissa Leo in Frozen River was an interesting choice. A small, low-budget, independent film shot in 24 days spawns a Best Actress nomination? But it’s a well-crafted story—solid throughout. As for Melissa Leo’s performance, as good a job as she did, she’s not beating out Streep, let alone Winslet.

Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, deserves credit for nailing her part as a fresh-out-of-rehab junkie—a role often cliched, parodied, and overplayed. Sadly, no one saw Rachel Getting Married. It’s not a great film but Hathaway more than makes up for it (Plus, Tunde from TV on The Radio plays her brother-in-law-to-be!)

WHO SHOULD WIN: Anne Hathaway WHO WILL WIN: Kate Winslet

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Downey, Jr. is an amazing actor and definitely deserves some fucking recognition. But Tropic Thunder? Really?? It’s picks like this that make people clown the Oscar. Everyone else was solid, but Josh Brolin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Michael Shannon picked a shitty year to be nominated.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was miscast in the role of Father Flynn, and he did the best he could. Still, his subpar performance paled in comparison to most of his other work. Josh Brolin, though slightly outshone by the rest of the supporting cast, was impressive in Milk. He just seems to have bad luck—going against Daniel Day-Lewis last year, and now Heath Ledger. Michael Shannon had three great scenes, and blew me away in Revolutionary Road. He was the most interesting character in a Sam Mendes movie, which in itself says a lot, and he had a huge impact in his 120 seconds of screen time.

Yet as good as they were, Brolin and Shannon especially, no one is beating Heath Ledger. A solid, completely immersive portrayal of a psychotic clown in a movie that destroyed box offices everywhere? He deserves the award no matter what, and it only helps that he’s dead.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Heath Ledger (but only because he’s dead) WHO WILL WIN: Heath Ledger (but only because he’s dead)

Best Supporting Actress

How long do you have to be in a film to fulfill the “supporting” criteria? Viola Davis, though very emotional, had one scene in Doubt. However, she was just as memorable as Michael Shannon in her limited screen time. Penelope Cruz didn’t have a much bigger role, and she’s only here because she played a cup full of crazy in a Woody Allen movie, and her crazy wasn’t as good as crazies in the past (Wilkinson in Michael Clayton). But Amy Adams is a head above the rest in this category, and hopefully that’s enough.

Taraji Henson is here just because the Academy loved Benjamin Button, but it wasn’t a great film and she wasn’t all that good in it. Outside of Cruz, she’s the weakest nominee in this category. It was like she played the great-great-grandmother of her character in Hustle and Flow.

Marisa Tomei is the dark horse here. She gave an incredible performance in The Wrestler and she’s still ridiculously hot.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Amy Adams WHO WILL WIN: Penelope Cruz

Best Director

If you’ve ever read sexy gypsy, you already know our pick for Best Director. Motherfucking Danny Boyle.

Stephen Daldry is now on my shit list for The Reader—even more so for plugging the fuck out of an inferior movie and tricking everyone into thinking it was great. Who the fuck does he think he is, M. Night Shyamalan?

David Fincher is a great director with some amazing movies under his belt, but the travesty of Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not one of them. The sequence with Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt was the only time you really saw Fincher’s influence, and it was the best part of the film.

Ron Howard is still Hollywood’s golden boy, so it’s not surprising he was nominated for Frost/Nixon. Aside from persistent anachronisms and mishandling of time, Howard preserved the spirit of the stage play and the camera work was excellent.

Gus van Sant finally decided to humble himself and make a solid, consistent film, and is really the only one who could challenge Boyle. The Academy loves him, and could look to make up for robbing him of Best Director in 1997, plus some Prop 8 guilt could come into play. This is definitely a category to watch.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Danny Boyle (with an honorable mention and apology to Sam Mendes) WHO WILL WIN: Danny Boyle

Conspiracies

• Who did Sam Mendes piss off? He is a great filmmakers and Revolutionary Road, though disturbingly depressing, was an amazing film. Camera work, editing, score, acting, screenplay—all great. Yet the Academy left him out of the running and even changed the nomination for Kate Winslet, calling her performance in The Reader a lead—a role which the HFPA considered a supporting a few months ago. I think he’s in the doghouse for some reason, and Michael Shannon’s nomination is an apology. I suspect that, though Ledger has it locked, they might upset everything and give it to Shannon, just to show there’s no hard feelings.
• Amy Adams deserves to win best supporting, but everything in Hollywood is political (which could also explain Winslet’s bump to lead role after Daldry’s whoring). My guess is that Cruz could walk with this one because the Academy loves Woody Allen and they’re sorry he made a dumb movie they can’t nominate for anything else.
• Again making up for its past mistakes, the Academy has shown major love to Benjamin Button. They want so badly to let Pitt have one, but Babel just wasn’t that good. And Zodiac, Fincher’s first Academy-worthy film, just came out too early for Oscar consideration.
• 4.) Robert Downey, Jr. has been in some great movies, always does his roles beautifully, and the Academy thinks he’s due for something. But since Charlie Bartlett got impatient and fucked off what could have been a serious, profound ending, he couldn’t get anything for that. And Iron Man was entertaining, but no actor will ever get an Oscar for playing a superhero. Downey’s next film is The Soloist with Jamie Foxx, directed by Joe Wright. It would have been a contender for the Oscars but was pulled from its November release date and slated for early March, 2009. So now it comes down to Tropic Thunder.

Here at sexy gypsy, we’ve never really been into the Golden Globes. Call us pretentious, purists, elitists; but there have always only been two categories: The Oscars, and everything else (Golden Globes, MTV awards, Darwin awards, etc.). This year, however, we decided to pay attention.

We stand corrected.

It is true that the Globes are a little more mainstream, and a little more forgiving. They stick to the basic categories (best picture, director, actor, screenplay) and they differentiate drama and comedy, allowing questionable films a place on the red carpet (the day Tropic Thunder is nominated for an Oscar, we’ll be passing out razor blades). This ceremony also focuses on television, a medium that many people still hesitate to consider legitimate art. For those of you on the fence, we have six words: Dexter, Entourage, Weeds, Californication, True Blood. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizes these actors, actresses, writers, and directors in a way the Academy never will. However, even the HFPA makes mistakes.

David Duchovny,’s Hank Moody (Californication) is one of the best characters on television, in a show that features the best writing in years. Alan Ball, creator/writer of Six Feet Under, has switched genres and brings us the amazing and addictive new vampire drama True Blood. Yet Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and 30 Rock swept the comedy awards, while AMC’s lackluster (this season at least) Mad Men beat out two of HBO’s heavy hitters, True Blood and In Treatment. And, even though the HFPA gave due credit to Anna Paquin (True Blood) and the epic miniseries John Adams (HBO), they need to work on their judgment.

As far as the film awards, the phrase, “It’s about damn time” immediately comes to mind. After so many years of being underappreciated and overlooked, Danny Boyle, Mickey Rourke, and Kate Winslet finally got what they deserved.

Danny Boyle, though having a unique and amazing career, has never been nominated for a Globe or an Oscar. This year, his film took home four (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score all for Slumdog Millionaire).

Mickey Rourke (Rumble Fish, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Sin City) has been getting a raw deal since his Razzie Award for Desperate Hours in 1991 (hence the substance abuse). 18 years later, the HFPA finally gave him Best Actor for his amazing performance in The Wrestler.

Kate Winslet has come close with 5 Oscar nominations and 7 from the Golden Globes (including 2 this year), but this was her first win. And she won both Best Actress for Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader.

Colin Farrell even graduated from the Teen Choice Awards, and brought home a Globe for his surprising work in In Bruges (Brendan Gleeson probably deserved it more, but whatever).

The most glaring problem this year was, sadly, unavoidable. It has apparent that everyone in Hollywood wants to fellate Woody Allen for everything he does. Because Vicky Cristina Barcelona was weak-sauce, and it still won Best Comedy (um, hi…not funny).

Overall, the Golden Globes made some good choices this year, at least for film. We only hope it’s an indication of the approaching Oscar nominations

And to anyone who would speak ill of Heath Ledger’s posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for The Dark Knight, shut your mouth until March, there’s already an Oscar with his name on it, and he fucking deserves it.