Firefly

The Second Annual Smart-Popcorn Awards

It’s time to recognize the best films of last year again, folks! Welcome to you The Second Annual Smart-Popcorn Awards, or as we like to call them, The Smoppies. We’ve added some categories to the awards and shuffled things around a bit. Last year we thought we did a great job at thumbing our nose at the narrow view of the Hollywood Foreign Press and The Academy by recognizing 48 seperate films throughout all the categories. This year we exceeded even our greatest expectations. Sixty-one films total made their way into our nominations in some way shape or form. Films like King Kong, Brokeback Mountain, and Jarhead are up for a great many awards with Joss Whedon’s Serenity garnering the most nods with fourteen. But lesser known films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Mrs. Henderson Presents, and Millions also have a chance to take home image file gold! Are any of those your favorite from 2005? Well show ’em some love and vote in our forum! (to vote for each category, click on the category heading or click here to go directly to our Smoppies Forum. Forum Registration is required and is safe and secure.)

And the Nominees Are. . .
Smart:

Best Cinematography
Andrew Lesnie & Derek Whipple - King Kong
Christopher Doyle, Pung Leung Kwan, & Yiu Fai Lai - 2046
John Mathieson - Kingdom of Heaven
Roberto Schaefer - Stay
Roger Deakins - Jarhead

Best Screenplay
Joss Whedon - Serenity
Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana - Brokeback Mountain
Lars Von Trier - Dear Wendy
Noah Bambauch - The Squid and the Whale
Shane Black - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Best Editing
Allison Ellwood - Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Claire Simpson - The Constant Gardener
Hughes Winborne - Crash
Robert Rodriguez - Sin City
Tony Ciccone, William Goldenberg & Christian Wagner - Domino

Best Score
Patrick Doyle - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Peer Raben & Shigeru Umebayashi - 2046
John Murphy - Millions
John Williams - Munich
John Williams - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Best Song in a Film
"Folsom Prison Blues" sung by Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
"Jesus Walks" by Kanye West - Jarhead
"My Father’s Gun" sung by Elton John - Elizabethtown
"Nirvana" by Elbosco - Millions
"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish" - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Best Visual Effects
CafeFX & The Orphanage - Sin City
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
ILM - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
K.N.B. EFX Group Inc. & Weta Workshop - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Weta Workshop - King Kong

Best Art Direction
Kevin Phipps & Crew - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Patrick M. Sullivan Jr. & Tomas Voth - Memoirs of a Geisha
Paul Ghirardani & Tony Woollard - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Seong-hie Ryu - Oldboy
Simon Bright & Dan Hennah - King Kong

Best Costume
Colleen Atwood - Memoirs of a Geisha
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh - Breakfast On Pluto
Ruth E. Carter - Serenity
William Chang - 2046

Best Make-up
Howard Berger & Kamar Bitar - Sin City
Howard Berger & Gregory Nicotero - Land of the Dead
Nick Dudman & Crew - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Peter Owen & Crew - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Best Voice Talent
Albert Finney (Finnis Everglot) - The Corpse Bride
Frank Oz (Yoda) - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Liam Neeson (Aslan) - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Peter Sallis (Wallace) - Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Ray Winstone (Mr. Beaver) - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Breakthrough Performance by a Female
Amy Adams - Junebug
Anne Hathaway - Brokeback Mountain
Becca Gardner - An Unfinished Life
Claire Danes - Shopgirl
Ziyi Zhang - Memoirs of a Geisha

Breakthrough Performance by a Male
Alex Etal - Millions
Jake Gyllenhaal - Jarhead and Brokeback Mountain
Jesse Eisenberg - The Squid and the Whale
Nathan Fillion - Serenity
Steve Carell - The 40 Year-Old Virgin

Breakthrough Achievement in Filmmaking
Joss Whedon - Serenity
Judd Apatow - The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Miranda July - Me and You and Everyone We Know
Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale
Robert Rodriguez - Sin City

Best Supporting Performance by a Female
Catherine Keener - Capote
Maria Bello - A History of Violence
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
Tilda Swinton - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Ziyi Zhang - 2046

Best Supporting Performance by a Male
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Serenity
Ed Harris - A History of Violence
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Peter Sarsgaard - Jarhead
Val Kilmer - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Best Lead Performance by a Female
Dame Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Gwenyth Paltrow - Proof
Naomi Watts - King Kong
Nicole Kidman - The Interpreter
Summer Glau - Serenity

Best Lead Performance by a Male
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Jake Gyllenhaal - Jarhead
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Robert Redford - An Unfinished Life
Russell Crowe - Cinderella Man

Best Director
Andrew Niccol - Lord of War
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Chris Nolan - Batman Begins
David Cronenberg - A History of Violence
Ron Howard - Cinderella Man


Popcorn:

Best Action Elements or Scenes in a Film
Bruce Wayne’s Ninja Test - Batman Begins
Kong vs. T-Rexes - King Kong
Kung Fu Masters vs. Killer Harpists - Kung Fu Hustle
Oh Dae-su vs. Goons in Hallway - Oldboy
Final Battle - Serenity
Anakin vs. Obi-Wan - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Best Comedic Elements or Scenes in a Film
Chest Waxing - The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Bob Saget Tells a Naughty Joke - The Aristocrats
Introduction of Kids to Willy - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
There’s a Corpse in My Shower! - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Springtime for Hitler - The Producers
Jeremy Grey & Gloria Cleary Dancing - Wedding Crashers

Best Romantic Elements or Scenes in a Film
The Shadow of Love - 3-Iron
Chow Mo Wan & Bai Ling in Bed - 2046
"Beautiful" Sunset on the Island - King Kong
A Lifetime Together in One Block - Me and You and Everyone We Know
Kiss and Make Up - Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Mirabelle’s First Time with Ray Porter - Shopgirl

Best Horror/Suspense Elements or Scenes in a Film
Exorcism in the Barn - The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Bus - The Interpreter
The Bug Pit - King Kong
The Phone - Munich
Bob Barnes’ Torture - Syriana
First Contact - War of the Worlds

Best Dramatic Elements or Scenes in a Film
The Execution - Capote
The Invisible Cloak - Crash
Tom & Jack Stall vs. Carl Fogarty - A History of Violence
Napalm Traffic Jam - Jarhead
"Beautiful" Sunrise in New York - King Kong
Vader Enters the Jedi Temple - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Elements or Scenes in a Film
Android Women - 2046
Talking Animals - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Talking to Saints - Millions
The Serenity Universe - Serenity
Fall of Anakin, Rise of Vader - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Human Fertilizer - War of the Worlds

Best Musical Elements or Scenes in a Film
Age of Aquarius - The 40 Year-Old Virgin
The Wedding Song - The Corpse Bride
Freebird - Elizabethtown
All the Things You Are - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Play It Loud! - No Direction Home
Folsom Prison - Walk the Line

Best Ending in a Film
Brokeback Mountain
Jarhead
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Millions
Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Biggest Surprise Film of the Year
The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Red-Eye
Serenity
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
An Unfinished Life

Best Protagonist
Andy Stitzer - The 40 Year-Old Virgin
Captain Malcolm Reynolds - Serenity
Kong - King Kong
Mark Zupan - Murderball
Ting, The Muay Thai Warrior - Ong-bak

Best Antagonist
Darth Sidious - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Kevin - Sin City
Oil Companies & The US Government - Syriana
The Operative - Serenity
The Unseen Sender of the Troublesome Videotape - Caché

Best Collaborative Pair/Team
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt - Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez - Sin City
Joss Whedon & the Firefly Crew - Serenity
Naomi Watts & Andy Serkis - King Kong
Robert Downey, Jr. & Val Kilmer - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Best Walk-On/Cameo
Chris Cooper - Jarhead, Syriana
Ed Norton - Kingdom of Heaven
John Malkovich - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Kevin McDonald - Sky High
William Hurt - A History of Violence

Biggest Trend in Film
Multiple Narratives: From Crash and Syriana to The United States of Leland and Me
and You and Everyone We Know, 2005 was a big year for lots of characters running along intertwining plot threads.

Rebirth of Strong Sci-Fi Productions: Serenity, Episode III, Hitchiker’s Guide, War of the Worlds, 2046, and hell, even the first half of The Island— Sci-Fi came on strong and never let up in 2005.

Sex & Violence: It seems you couldn’t avoid the theme of sex vs. violence and the way they go hand in hand this year. Some tackled the concept in a fun way, and others tried to shove messages down your throat, but no matter what, you’ll have a difficult time thinking of another year where so many non-horror films combined the two as a statement (A History of Violence, Munich, Derailed, The Devil’s Rejects,
Sin City, Mr. and Mrs. Smith)

Tension in a Post-9/11 Society: In the world we live in, this atmosphere in media, art, and storytelling is going to be around for a long long time, but it was brought into sharp focus this year (whether socially or politically) with a wide variety of films like Crash (racism and urban alienation), Munich (governmental response to terror), War of the Worlds (creating fear in the population), Good Night, and Good Luck (distrust in the practices of those in power), etc. Combined with criticism of government policies in the above film and in films like Jarhead, you have an electrifying year for controversial filmmaking.

Torture and Sadistic Violence: TORTURE!!! You saw it in Syriana. You saw it in Wolf Creek, Saw 2, Devils Rejects. You saw it taken to new psychological heights in Oldboy. Filmmakers are just f’d up these days!

Best Films:

Best Animated Film
The Corpse Bride
Howl’s Moving Castle
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Best Foreign Language Film
2046
3-Iron
Caché
Kung Fu Hustle
Paradise Now

Best Documentary
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Grizzly Man
Inside Deep Throat
March of the Penguins
Murderball

Best Smart Film of the Year
Brokeback Mountain
Jarhead
Millions
Syriana
An Unfinished Life

Best Popcorn Film of the Year
Batman Begins
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Serenity
Sin City
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Best Film of the Year
Brokeback Mountain
Cinderella Man
A History of Violence
Jarhead
Serenity