2012 Year-End Wrap-Up.

Time for my epic year-end wrap-up. Most people put these lists in separate posts... but I don't have that kind of time, so it's all going up in one! First, I want to talk about the films I saw this year not from 2012. My only rule (besides "can't be from 2012") is that the movies could not be from the 50/50 List either, as I already made a Top 10 for that and it wouldn't be fair to the other films not from that project.

Top 10 Movies Not From 2012 Or 50/50 Seen This Year For The First Time

10) Murder Party

This was one strange dark horror/comedy. A group of pretentious artist friends put out fliers for a "murder party" wherein, if somebody showed up, they would get to murder the person. They really don't want to do it, but just want to impress a friend who will give them a large sum of money to help with any future projects. Unfortunately, a hapless, lonely, and naive young man answers the flier and finds himself caught up on bizarre night. It's a pretty slow (and strange) first hour, but that last 30 minutes or so are bat-shit insane. If you're a fan of horror/comedies, even odd ones, I'd suggest this one unknown little film.

9) Arahan

One of the most original action/comedies I've seen in a long time, coming right out of South Korea. A bumbling, naive police officer finds himself caught up in a world of kung fu and mysticism when the Masters of Tao begin training him after they believe he has a powerful Qi. Of course, another powerful warrior escapes from his imprisonment and goes after the Masters to try to find an artifact that could help him become a ruler of the world. Think like a live-action Kung Fu Panda, but in modern times and with people instead of animals, and where kung fu mysticism is actually secret. It's totally fun and funny and has some fantastic action.

8) Perfect Blue

The film that inspired Black Swan is equally trippy, if not more so. It's pretty much the exact same story except it's with a pop singer/actress instead of a ballerina. And this version blurs the lines between reality and dreams/hallucination even more. Unlike its remake, you really don't have any idea what's real and what's fantasy in this version. The animation style took me a while to get used to, but it's definitely worth a look.

7) Delicatessen

For a post-apocalyptic film about cannibalism and murder, you wouldn't expect it to be so charming and heart-warming. We talked a lot about this film on a past episode of DemPod, so I won't go into too much detail now. It has a great musicality and dark sense of humor to it, and it was a totally fun watch.

6) Operation Condor

Every now and then I get into the mood to watch some Jackie Chan. And I've discovered he's pretty hit or miss (no pun intended). But this wacky version of Indiana Jones with Chan is an insane amount of fun. The gags are great, the action is great, and the story is typical Indiana Jones-type fair. I've heard the sequel is terrible, though. But this one is a hoot.

5) I Love You, Man

I'm probably one of the last people on the planet to have actually seen this movie. But I could really relate to a lot of things in this film... not to mention it's just down-right hilarious. If you haven't seen it yet... do so.

4) We Need To Talk About Kevin

Is it a 2011 film? A 2012? Apparently nobody can make up their mind on that, but the majority have decided on 2011, so I'm including it on this list. It's a little too on-the-nose with its music, but it's an otherwise horrific look at parenthood and actually made me rethink wanting kids. And Ezra Miller is fantastic in it.

3) The Skin I Live In

Another we discussed on DemPod earlier this year, so I'll keep it short. This is one screwed-up movie with an excellent turn of events about halfway through. I strongly recommend it... but if you're a guy, be prepared to curl up into a fetal position.

2) Die Hard with a Vengeance

I really was the last person on the planet to have seen this one. While it might not be an overall better movie than the original, I think I might enjoy it a bit more. Samuel L. Jackson is great, and I love the city-wide chase and puzzles aspect to everything.

1) Archie's Final Project

And now to end on a movie only I've seen. It's a depressing topic, but the film is made in one of the most original, ADHD, and stylistic ways I've ever seen. This film is a trip to watch, but it also has the depth to back it up. Definitely, definitely check it out if you haven't.

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Now, before I get to this year, I think I should share what movies I haven't seen as of this post which might potentially alter these lists in the future when I do see them.

First up, some "good" movies I have not yet seen: Les Miserables, This is 40, Jack Reacher, Zero Dark Thirty, Hyde Park on the Hudson, Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, Flight, Cloud Atlas, The Sessions, Holy Motors, Argo, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, End of Watch, To Rome with Love

And now some proclaimed "bad" movies I have not yet seen: The Devil Inside, Red Tails, Journey 2, Project X, Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, A Thousand Words, Casa de Mi Padre, Wrath of the Titans, Chernobyl Diaries, That's My Boy, Step Up Revolution, Sparkle, The Apparition, House at the End of the Street, Alex Cross, Red Dawn, The Man with the Iron Fists, Oogieloves, Piranha 3DD, What to Expect When You're Expecting

With all that being said, let's get into it, shall we? I'll try to keep my rambling to a minimum in the following lists.

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Top 20 Favorite Performances of 2012

Note: These are my FAVORITE performances, not what I think are necessarily the BEST performances. If I were going with just the best, this would be a totally different list.

Honorable Mention: Anybody - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

With so many great actors, this underrated film rested solely on how good the characters were... and they really were.

20) Jack Black - Bernie (Bernie)

The overall film was just OK for me, but Black was perfect for the role. Probably his best performance.

19) Michael Shannon - Bobby Monday (Premium Rush)

Average, mindless movie, but I liked Michael Shannon as the bad guy who just wanted people to cut him some slack.

18) Quvenzhane Wallis - Hushpuppy (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

This was a great year for young unknowns, and this 5-year-old girl gave us one hell of a performance.

17) Edward Norton - Scout Master Ward (Moonrise Kingdom)

We all know I'm not a big fan of Wes Anderson, but I did kinda like this film, and Edward Norton was part of that reason.

16) Emma Stone - Gwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Like every other guy, I have a bit of a crush on Ms. Stone, and her turn as the charismatic Gwen Stacy was wonderful--not to mention she had amazing chemistry with Andrew Garfield.

15) Juno Temple - Dottie (Killer Joe)

Speaking of blonde cuties, Juno Temple acted her butt off in this film.

14) Stanley Tucci - Caesar Flickerman (The Hunger Games)

I was tempted to go with either Tucci or Wes Bentley for this spot, both having expanded characters from the book (Bentley even more so), but it's hard not to love Stanley Tucci.

13) Matthew McConaghey - Killer Joe Cooper (Killer Joe)

Matty McC had quite a year this year, but his performance here definitely overshadows his other films.

12) Karl Urban - Judge Dredd (Dredd)

Urban makes this film work as well as it does.

11) Dane DeHaan - Andrew (Chronicle)

Dane DeHaan is like the next Ben Foster. Yeah... I went there.

10) Samuel L. Jackson - Stephen (Django Unchained)

Stole every scene he was in... and unexpectedly so.

9) Tom Cruise - Stacee Jaxx (Rock of Ages)

The movie is god-awful, but Tom Cruise kills it. His performance deserved a much better film.

8) Daniel Day-Lewis - Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln)

Best actual performance of the year.

7) Javier Bardem - Silva (Skyfall)

Such an fantastic villain... and you never quite knew where he was going to take it.

6) Pierce Gagnon - Cid (Looper)

One of the most surprising parts of the film was this kid. Did they just happen to find one of the best child actors in the world with him or what?

5) Martin Freeman - Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)

Even people who hated the movie agree that Martin Freeman was awesome.

4) Guy Pearce - Snow (Lockout)

It's hard not to love the snark.

3) Anne Hathaway - Selina Kyle (The Dark Knight Rises)

Best part of the film for me.

2) Fran Kranz - Marty (The Cabin in the Woods)

The character of Marty was basically the heart of the film. With any other actor, the film might have crumbled and not worked. Fran Kranz owned it.

1) Sam Rockwell - Billy (Seven Psychopaths)

If you've seen the film, there's no need to explain.

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Top 10 Favorite Scenes

Honorable Mention: The Battle - Breaking Dawn Part 2

It's not in the book... and it's actually really cool. But it's still Twilight, so I couldn't really justify putting it on the list.

10) Interrogation Scene/Chicken Leg - Killer Joe

This is the scene that either made the film or killed the film for people. It was so off the wall that I couldn't help but at least admire it. Starting with the slow interrogation of the parents, then the violence, then... the chicken leg... this is one intense and bizarre scene.

9) Self C-Section - Prometheus

Noomi Rapace gives herself a C-Section in a giant machine thing. 'Nuff said.

8) Garret Dillahunt Visits - Looper

The fantastic scene where a fellow Looper shows up at the farm to kill Joseph Gordon-Levitt... ending with a really upset Cid and a bit of gore.

7) The Imagined Climax - Seven Psychopaths

Sam Rockwell imagines what will happen at the final shootout in a cemetery... and it's violently hilarious.

6) Puny God - The Avengers

The shortest moment here, but it gets the biggest laugh. Hulk vs. Loki.

5) Riddles in the Dark - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Bilbo faces off against Gollum in a game of riddles, and both Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis face off  to figure out who is actually better in this scene.

4) The Dinner Table Scene - Django Unchained

When I was putting together this list, I had like 4-5 scenes from Django alone. But I had to narrow it down to one. I decided to go with this scene that begins with Leonardo DiCaprio dissecting a human skull before things get really intense.

3) Javier Bardem's Introduction - Skyfall

What begins with a single take of him getting off the elevator and walking down the long room while telling a story ends in something a bit... shall we say... "suggestive" between him and Bond.

2) Three-Way Climax Battle - The Raid: Redemption

Easily the best 2-on-1 battle on film. And it just goes on... and on... and on. And it looks amazing and brutal.

1) Don't Blink Questioning - The Master

I might not have loved the overall movie, but holy crap is this scene both amazingly well acted and intense.

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Top 10 Worst Films of 2012

10) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

It's actually the best film of the series, but as I just said in the last list... it's still Twilight.

9) Paranormal Activity 4

Really good characters and acting from the two leads. Terrible film.

8) Silent House

Good concept... really boring.

7) John Carter

Good concept... really boring.

6) Underworld: Awakening

I had actually forgotten I'd even seen this movie. Terrible, terrible film.

5) The Divide

Good concept and some good acting in parts... but such an awful execution.

4) Battleship

Yeah, it's not even really so-bad-its-good. Well, kind of. At times. But mostly it's just bad.

3) Rock of Ages

Ugh. A disgrace to musicals and to rock music.

2) The Lorax

Ugh. A disgrace to children's films and to Dr. Seuss.

1) Silent Hill: Revelation

My biggest disappointment of the year and easily one of the worst sequels of all time. How do you go from having one of the best video game movie adaptations to one of the worst? There needs to be a retcon of this sequel so they can just try again.

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Top 20 Favorite Films of 2012

Note: Again, these are my favorite films, not necessarily what I think are the best films. And I'm not gonna go into any explanations on these. I'll just let them speak for themselves.

Honorable Mentions: To Boldly Flee and The Cinema Snob Movie. These films were low-budget, independently produced, Direct-to-DVD flicks, so I didn't want to include them on the official list. But they are still very well done.

 

My First Year As A Teacher: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

*sings*
School's... out... for... summer!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen... I survived my first year as a high school 9th grade English teacher! It's been one crazy year... almost everything going wrong and/or against me (with a few notable exceptions). So I want to look back on this past year, what was essentially one of the worst years of my life (and they actually tell you that when you're getting into teaching--that your first year will be the worst year of your life. Great pep talk, huh?). Let's check out the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY.

THE GOOD

- My students, for the most part, loved me and constantly told me how I was one of the greatest teachers they've ever had (Respect me? Not quite. But like me they did). I did get letters and whatnot from students, though, telling me how they like and/or appreciate me.

- I only had, I believe, 5 people fail the Reading TAKS test (TAKS is the statewide test they have to take. Every state calls it something different, but they have to take it thanks to the stupid "No Child Left Behind" Act). But 5 is a pretty good number, and the majority of those 5 aren't gonna pass anything they did this year in any class anyway.

- On a similar note, I had 18 students make Commended on their TAKS test (Commended means they did super well and/or close to perfect). This was more than even a teacher who has been teaching for many a year.

- I talked a student out of dropping out of school. Here's the story: This kid was refusing to do his work. I was finally sick of having to get on him to do his work, so I asked him why he wasn't doing anything. He started giving me attitude, so I took him out into the hall to talk to him alone. He was failing everything and had basically given up on school/life/whatever. Him and I had gotten along pretty well all year (despite some of his classmates not liking him too well). So he was able to open up to me. I could tell during our talk he was trying so hard not to cry, so I not only had to give him a pep talk, but try to make him laugh and whatnot at the same time. After about 10-15 minutes of solo talk, he went back in and did his work. He worked hard on that paper, too. And not only that, but I got him to bump up his grade in 2 other classes so that by the end of the year, he was passing at least 3 of his classes that he wouldn't have to retake next year. This was probably my favorite moment of the year.

- I did what was probably the coolest project idea ever and made two 30-minute(-ish) films with my students--The Odyssey and Romeo & Juliet. I probably ended up spending between 700 bucks between the two films, but hey... it was cool. And I actually had a kid who never does anything for anybody volunteer to stay after school to work on a project dealing with Shakespeare? How epic is that?

- I only had about 6 students fail the class this year, and practically all of them failed everything anyway, so it wasn't because of me.

- A girl had a baby and still passed my class... she worked so hard to get her work done despite being gone a lot, and she ended up passing. I think that's pretty cool.

- I actually had a girl cry--twice--in saying goodbye to me. I was like "Um... alright."

THE BAD

- I had literally THE WORST students this year. Seriously, I had a councilor actually apologize to me on multiple occasions for giving me the students I had. Every teacher might have 2 or 3 of the "worst students" in the school... yeah, I had all of them. I could hardly ever get a word in when I had to talk/teach because they never shut up. There were issues with climbing things; leaving the classroom without permission; throwing things (whether it be paper planes, paper balls, books and/or dictionaries); dumping out other students' backpacks; ripping other students papers up; yelling out the window; spraying a horrid Fart Spray; hiding under my desk; writing/drawing on desks, walls, bookshelves, or other furniture (these could be anything from gang signs to names to penises); constantly opening the door to look outside or talk to somebody outside the classroom; stapling their own skin; stapling other people's skin; tattooing other people without their permission with a make-shift tattoo pen; doing drugs (yes, I did hear drug stories, primarily when there were subs, but I smelled weed a few times in the vicinity of the window once or twice); sexually harassing each other; sexually harassing me; stealing from me or other students (because, hey, it was there, they were there... so why not? But really, you have no idea how much got stolen or taken without permission over the course of the year. It's ridiculous); setting fire to themselves; stripping off their clothes; throwing their clothes across the classroom (I never thought I'd ever have to say "stop throwing your pants across the room and put them back on"... and I had to do that more than once, and in more than one class); destroying classroom materials or furniture; squirting each other with copious amounts of water; fights and/or near-fights (had a few near-fights and one actual fight); random and endless conversations about sex and sexual things; and not to mention just the basic rule breaking such as cussing, rudeness, disrespect, horseplay, having electronic devices (phones, ipods/mp3s, PSPs, etc.), and whatever the hell else there is. If you can think of it, my classes probably did it.

- You have no idea how lazy these kids were. Let me give you an example. I had kids who refused to write anything... at all... because it hurt their hand. At the beginning of the year, I had one student (the aforementioned student who volunteered for the movie) refuse to even give personal opinion and have a teacher's aide write it down for them because that was too much work. And you'd be surprised on how much more difficult writing personal opinion is than writing facts for these kids. They tell us their opinions frequently, whether we want them or not, but get them to write those opinions down? Nope. It's too confusing and/or difficult.

- I had a student whose brother lives in the same apartment complex as me, so he knows where I live (and has already spontaneously dropped by twice... both times having just come from the swimming pool, so he's all shirtless and dripping wet, making it an even more uncomfortable situation). Of course, I never let him in and we only talk for about 2 minutes before I make him leave.

- A student who was essentially a former student even before the year ended (she moved at the end of the year, almost disappearing without a trace there for a while) somehow got my cell number, so she randomly texts me. I actually warned her to stop, as I could get in a lot of trouble, and she did. But just the other day, she texted me again to accuse me of going around saying she was lying about being pregnant (which is not true... I said I wasn't sure whether or not I believed her considering all the other times she lied about being pregnant). It was then I found out she moved and broke up with her psycho boyfriend who tried to kill her earlier in the year (and almost cut off her finger). But she's stopping again.

- I can't go anywhere without seeing a student... literally. Even my own apartment now, apparently. It's really annoying.

- I had multiple students in multiple classes ask me (or tell me, really... and more than once) that we needed to hang out over summer and get high and/or wasted. I was like "Um... no thanks."

- I somehow lost (or they were stolen, more than likely) a textbook and a couple dictionaries... doubt anything will happen about it, but still. Figured it was worth mentioning.

- My students were constantly trying to hook me up with the female teacher across the hall (who is single, good looking, and is only one year older than me). But it got to the point of embarrassing and ridiculous the lengths they would go to. So... yeah.

- My mentor teacher really didn't mentor all that much. She observed one of my classes once, and there was a 2-week period when she asked me for lesson plans (not really lesson plans as much as objectives). And when she did talk to me, it was mostly negative... even when I came to her with something positive, it was shifted into something negative. But besides those things... she pretty much ignored me. Luckily, the teacher right next to me was awesome. He and I got along great, and I wouldn't have survived this year without him. He was also my friend's mentor teacher during her student teaching last year.

- I was given papers to pass out to my students who were going to be taking AP (Advanced Placement) English classes next year which tells them all the summer reading/work they have to do... and they got lost in the shuffle of the end of the year chaos (they were given to me like, right before Finals) and I forgot to hand them out. I got a few of them signed, but a good handful not... this could have been disastrous on my already thin layer of ice. Luckily, one of the councilors I grew friendly with took them and said she'd make calls to their homes and see if they can come and get them (I don't think I would have survived the year without her, either).

- I had some crazy substitutes. I had a sub once that forwent everything I left for my students only to show them a video about some Jesus play she was going to be in as she danced around in the corner. I had another sub who told all my students they were never going to amount to anything and they were just gonna work at Burger King or as sanitation workers for the rest of their lives. I had a sub who let them break off a piece of the desk and play baseball with it and some paper balls... among other subs.

THE UGLY

- It seemed like there was this specific Assistant Principal that was always out to get me, if only for always showing up at the absolute worst moment. He walked in during the last minutes of class once where everybody was finished with their work and we weren't really doing much of anything (in fact, I was playing a game of chess with one of my students). That was the first time he ever came into my classroom. He showed up to search another class for the aforementioned make-shift tattoo pen, right when we were in the middle of an awesome class debate where everybody was kinda loud and crazy, but it was a fun crazy (whether or not he knew that is up in the air). There were a couple other random instances with him, too, but I can't think of them all at the moment.

- I did get one parent cuss me out via phone because her son, who is all innocent and perfect (as we know)--actually, to be fair, he was a moderately good student. But about a month ago, he got sent into ISS (In School Suspension) for 4 days for walking out of my class about 5 minutes before the bell. Well, because of this, he lost his Final exemption for my class period... and on top of that, she didn't find out about his ISS until pretty much last week, as the A.P. who called didn't get a hold of her and, of course, he never told her. And his baseball coach let him continue to play despite having ISS, so she never found out that way, either. So, yeah... that wasn't a happy (couple) phone call(s).

- I suppose the biggest "ugly" is that I ended up on what's called a "Growth Plan." This is essentially for those teachers who are struggling (mine being with classroom management) but they don't want to fire. I have to follow all sorts of specific guidelines (and have to read a book) for next year. It's better than being fired, though. But I suppose when you look at everything I listed in my "Good" section, if they would have fired me despite all of that stuff, I would have been upset.

CONCLUSION

All in all, though... this was a really bad year. You have no idea. The lack of respect, the laziness, the horrid behavior... it all culminated into a mess of terrible. It's like they all have a PhD in Horribleness... but without Neil Patrick Harris. And there's probably a HUGE amount of things I forgot to put in this post. But it's over! And next year? I'm gonna be hardcore with them at the beginning of the year. That was my biggest issue. I can't put all the blame on the students. I was too lax at the beginning of the year, and when they say that you have to be mean at the start and then get nice, because it's almost impossible to do it the other way around... that's insanely true. They also say your second year is infinitely better than your first. So... here's to hoping.

Though with my luck, I'll end up teaching sophomores and have all my students all over again...

But until next year, it's summertime!

End Of The Year Best/Worst Spectacular!

Because every other movie blog in existence does it, why shouldn't I? Yes, it's time for my 'end of year' list of the best (and worst) everything of the year. And let me say now that these lists will only include movies that I've actually SEEN. And due to where I live, I haven't seen a lot of the higher-praised films of the year, such as Gran Torino, Milk, The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon, Doubt and Let The Right One In (though I've tried with this last one... but that's a long story).

And the total count for movies I've seen in theater this year is... 53. And then there were at least 5 or so that I saw afterward (on DVD or what have you) that came out this year, but I didn't get a chance to see in theater. So if you count those, I'm in the upper-50s. But otherwise, I've basically seen (in theater) about the equivalent of one movie a weekend, and that doesn't count all the movies I saw more than once. Anyway...

Just a few side notes before we get to the lists, however:

- This is the same list (just extended on in a few cases) for the LIONs for LAMBs poll over at the LAMB.

- I included The Orphanage in my list of options because it was released in January, even though it was up for Oscar noms for LAST year (and I guess is therefore considered a 'last year' movie). But as it wasn't officially released in the US until THIS year, I felt okay to include it.

- When it comes to the 'Worst' films of the year, it was somewhat difficult, because I often stay away from films I know are going to be bad, so I can't honestly say what the worst films of the year are except for those that I've actually seen. There's only one (well, three) exceptions, and those are the three Uwe Boll films that came out this year, but I didn't include those on the list because it's an automatic knowledge that this man's movies are always the worst of the year.

So without further ado, here are the lists:

The Top 10 Best Movies of the Year

10) Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Just some all-around great fun, much like Iron Man was.

9) Changeling - Not everybody loved it. In fact, there were quite a few people who didn't like it at all. I don't think it'll win any Oscars, but I thought it was a great movie with some amazing acting.

8) Iron Man - Downey Jr. rocked. Nuff said.

7) The Orphanage - Again, it's a bit iffy whether this could be counted under 2007 or 2008, but as it's wide release was January 2008, I'm going with that. And I felt it was one of the best movies of the year at the beginning of the year. I still feel that now.

6) Burn After Reading - A slow start, but a great ensemble cast and some fun comedy about absolutely nothing. Brad Pitt was on a role this year.

5) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Either you loved it or you thought it was a bit too sentimental for your tastes. Personally, I loved it.

4) Role Models - Hands down the best comedy of the year. I don't care what others say. Yes, it was better than Pineapple Express and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

3) Kung Fu Panda - The second best animated film of the year. It doesn't have the deepest most intricate story, but the animation was great, the characters were great, the comedy was great... it was just great all around (and really, truly surprised me when I went to see it expecting not to like it).

2) The Dark Knight - In a close second, the movie didn't reach my number one position because I felt some of the actual Batman/Bruce Wayne scenes that did not include The Joker were lacking at times.

1) WALL*E - Not only the best animated film of the year, but I think the best overall film of the year. There's nothing about this movie I really dislike.

Top 5 Worst Movies of the Year

5) The Ruins - I saw this due to a trade-off. I would see this movie so that another fellow blogger would see a movie I wanted him to see. We both hated the respective film the other made us watch.

4) The Strangers - Either you think this movie was incredibly stupid and the most unscary thing you've ever seen... or you think it's simply the scariest movie ever made. Obviously I'm in the former group.

3) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - I knew it was going to be bad, but I was promised a Harry Potter trailer that I didn't get. So I got stuck with a bad movie without the good part to make up for it.

2) The Spirit - Hahahaha.... where to begin...

1) Diary of the Dead - Similar to The Orphanage, it could be a little iffy on the exact release of this film, but as its rather limited release was a few months into 2008, I went with that. And George Romero, I'm ashamed of you. What happened? This was just beyond awful.

Acting
(Note: Nobody from Diary of the Dead or The Spirit will be listed, as each entire cast would be under 'worst').

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark - Iron Man
(Again, he just owned the role).

Worst Actor in a Leading Role - Hayden Christensen as David Rice - Jumper
(Pure cardboard).

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Belén Rueda as Laura - The Orphanage
(I don't often notice acting in foreign films, but I noticed her. And that says something).

Worst Actress in a Leading Role - Liv Tyler as Kristen McKay - The Strangers
(It was between her and Zooey Deschanel in The Happening, but Zooey is my woman, so I just couldn't do it. So I went with Liv. How blank can you get? Well, there is Hayden Christensen...).

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger as The Joker - The Dark Knight
(Well, who else did you expect?).

Worst Actor in a Supporting Role - Luke Ford as Alex O'Connell - The Mummy 3
(No acting ability at all).

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Amy Ryan as Carol Dexter - Changeling
(She wasn't in it much, but she stole the show every time).

Worst Actress in a Supporting Role - Maria Bello as Evelyn O'Connell - The Mummy 3
(She was no Rachel Weisz).

Misc.

Best Cast - Burn After Reading
(Great year for Brad Pitt, though I think it was a great ensemble effort that was pushed that little extra to making this spot due to J.K. Simmons).

Best Movie Poster - The Dark Knight
(It was between that, Vantage Point, and Saw V. Regardless of what your opinions were of the latter two movies, they had some pretty cool looking posters. But I went with The Dark Knight because that movie had about a million different posters, and every one of them was awesome).