2009 Calvins: Josh Spiegel's Ballots

March 2, 2009

Let's start with the worst first. My pick for Worst Picture of the year, "Mamma Mia!" really needs no justification—frankly, if I get too heated here, I'll spend thousands of words on my hatred for this film—but here goes. First off, the performances (including those from Pierce Brosnan and the distressingly improv-happy Meryl Streep) are atrocious, the singing is awful, the melodies are disturbing in how catchy yet empty they are (and it freaks me out that the members of ABBA sang their songs phonetically, instead of learning English), the direction is flat and lifeless, and I'm pretty sure time was actually going backwards when I watched it in theatres, dragged along by the missus. Suffice to say, the missus watching it on our Blu-ray player has not warmed me any more to this truly disastrous thing.

For Worst Performance, I imagine most of my choices don't require a lot of explanation, so I figured I'd pick out one of the potentially surprising choices: Emile Hirsch in "Milk." I can't say I was a huge fan of the overall film, but I found that Hirsch's choices in playing Cleve Jones in the first half of the film was about as stereotypical a portrayal of a homosexual as Sean Hayes showed on "Will & Grace." Granted, after his first two scenes, Hirsch tones down the camp, but the jarring shift almost makes things worse. There were three strong performances in "Milk," but Hirsch's was not one of them.

My Best Scene list is pretty much dominated by "The Dark Knight," which, no surprise, was my pick for Best Picture...and Best Director...and Best Screenplay...and Best Supporting Actor (yes, I cheated also with Best Actor, but Heath Ledger's performance is iconic). 2008 was, for me, not a year with lots of great scenes, memorable ones that stick with you for days and days afterward, but "The Dark Knight" was one of the exceptions. Frankly, if I'd felt truly stubborn, I might have added a fifth scene from the film, the sequence that ends with a cross-dressing villain blowing up a massive hospital. In a film with many awe-inspiring sequences, that one happened to have the single most electrifying shot of the year: the Joker looking off to the side, in confusion, as the hospital manages to not yet completely cave in.

Another film that popped up quite a lot on my list was "WALL-E," easily Pixar's best animated feature. Best Scene, Director, Screenplay, Picture, and even Use of Music; this film's up there, and how could I deny it? The scene where WALL-E and Eve dance around the Axiom encapsulates all of those superlatives perfectly: from the Thomas Newman score to the subtle voiceover from Sigourney Weaver to the striking imagery. It was very hard to argue against this one as the year's best film, let's say that much.

Other movies that showed up a lot were "The Wrestler," "Let The Right One In," "The Visitor," and "In Bruges," all of which were on my Best Picture and Best Overlooked Picture list, among others. With the recent disappointment at the Oscars for Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, alongside no wins for the other films (not even a single nod for "Let The Right One In"), it's more than imperative that people seek out these great pieces of work and support the filmmakers. It's either that or more potential classics like "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li." I know the Chris Klein fans are getting their pitchforks out, but I get the feeling that a new Street Fighter movie won't exactly captivate audiences in the same way as some of the best of '08.

Finally, for Best TV Show, my top pick was "Lost," which is thankfully continuing to prove me right on a weekly basis. I've been on board with this show since its premiere and, though it's had a couple bad spots (I don't care about Jack's tattoos or what Kate did and why her mom hates her), the show is paying off big-time in its fifth season. Among the other great dramas are "Mad Men," "House," and "Friday Night Lights," which is arguably the most overlooked show on network television. It's not just about high school football! Seriously, try it out! NBC, Friday nights at 9! With that out the way, I hope my check's in the mail, Ben Silverman. One final note on drama: if there are any "Battlestar Galactica" fans wondering why I'd leave out the SCI FI series, let this be known: I am foolish and am now just catching up on the entire series, so I'm still out of the loop on seasons 3 and 4. Next year, though!

With regards to comedy, "The Office," "30 Rock," and "The Daily Show" were at the top for me; to be honest, without some of those great shows, there's very little quality comedy on the air, unless you count shows like "CSI: Miami." David Caruso sure knows how to whip those sunglasses off.

See more individual ballots and complete results at the 2009 Calvin Awards page

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