Hollywood’s biggest night is Sunday honoring the best in cinema.
In a year that included an Iron Man, a Man of Steel and a X-Man of Adamantium…who deserves Geek Gold?
Inspired by the upcoming Academy Awards here are the geek movie awards.
Best Villain: Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. A pitch perfect performance of actor and special effects by Benedict Cumberbatch and director Peter Jackson.
Best Supporting Actors: Kevin Costner and Diane Lane in Man of Steel. The heart and humanity of a darker modern take on Superman. You can’t tell me you didn’t choke up when Martha Kent helped her son make the world smaller when his powers kicked in or Pa Kent showing young Clark the truth and reassured him “you’re still our son.”
Best On Screen Chemistry: Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston in Thor: The Dark World. In their third film together as the tragic dysfunctional heirs of Asgard, Hemsworth and Hiddleston owned these roles with ease. Thor and Loki are the yin and yang and we marveled at them fighting each other and together as their twisted half-brotherly bond was tested.
Best Post Credit Teaser: The Wolverine. Just when you think it’s time to stop waiting for the end of a superhero movie along comes Fox with Logan being recruited by Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) for the mission in this year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Best Way to Start a Movie: I loved the Spock in a volcano, the Enterprise rising out of the ocean sequence in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Best Ironic Yet Appropriate Appearance: Peter Capaldi in World War Z. The new Doctor Who played a W.H.O.doctor in the film.
Best Comeback: World War Z. After drastic changes in translating the acclaimed book to film then the shut down, rewrite and re-shooting of a huge final chunk of the movie – fans of the epic Max Brooks book deserved to be disappointed until you saw the final film. World War Z took inspiration from the novel and elevated it, innovated it and set the stage for a world I hope we’ll see again on screen. Brad Pitt, director Marc Forster and the rewriting team breathed exciting life back into a dead film about the undead.
Best Cinematic Experience on Television: The Day of the Doctor celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Time Lord with 3 Doctors (Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt) in an across the centuries fight with Zygons (my favorite Whovian monsters from childhood) then every Doctor (including Peter Capaldi) reliving the great Time War with the Daleks! Steven Moffat crafted a thrilling, emotional and thoughtful love letter to Whovians of all generations while propelling the series into the future.
Best Character Ready for a Solo Movie: Loki in Thor: The Dark World. Tom Hiddleston nails it time and again. More than just a scene-stealer, Hiddleston makes Loki a complicated anti-hero who just can’t help himself from being bad. With fan support and the Prince of Lies soon starring in his own comic book series (Loki, Agent of Asgard)- could a Loki solo movie be on the way?
Funniest Performance: Robert Downey, Jr. Iron Man 3. He makes Tony Stark one of the greatest flawed, human, humorous hero of cinema.
Best Surprise: Mariko and Yukio in The Wolverine. Two models were chosen to portray two important women in the life of Logan in a beloved story turned film. Tao Okamato and Rila Fukushima were pitch perfect as strong beauty who tamed X-Man and the wild ronin caught in their clan’s schemes and family turmoil.
Best Suit: Man of Steel. Henry Cavill in his Kryptonian battle uniform is a sight to behold. The red underwear were gone but there’s just something about that “S” and when Clark accepts he’s Kal-El and steps out to take the first flight you get goose bumps.
Best Scene Stealer: It’s a Tie!
Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Thor: The Dark World (see above) and Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper in The Wolverine. In a dark serious take on Logan’s search for truth and honor, Khodchenkova brought the sexy, lethal spark of fun like a James Bond girl on mutant LCD to the adventure.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The stunning star brings heart and power as ultimate underdog Katniss Everdeen. What’s important to geeks everywhere is Lawrence shows Hollywood that a woman can carry an action film and could finally lead to a major movie starring Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Captain Marvel or many worthy female superheroes.
Best Actor: The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman was emotional and physical perfection as a wounded warrior. This is an actor in top form with the story, script and director he deserved to make The Wolverine film we’ve been wanting and deserving.
Best Theme: Superman in Man of Steel. I”m not talking about theme song. Kal-El is so powerful yet vulnerable because of his humanity. I’ve always loved Superman not because he’s an all-American symbol of perfection but because he’s a loner trying to find his place in this world. I applaud David Goyer’s script, Henry Cavill’s acting and Zack Snyder’s direction. It’s a challenge to make such a wholesome hero like Superman relate to today’s audiences and I just wanted a “Thank you, Superman” moment to go with the darkness and angst.
Best Director: James Mangold for The Wolverine. From the first scene with an isolated, wounded Logan and the bear (right out of the classic graphic novel) you knew the this director was on the right track. Mangold made a great drama that just happened to have a super hero as the lead.
Best Film: The Wolverine. What a 180 from one Wolverine movie to another. Jackman, Mangold and company went to the source – the first Wolverine limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller for inspiration and it paid off big time.
It’s an action-packed, dramatic hybrid of Western, Jason Bourne adventure and great drama. Jackman and Logan are pushed beyond their physical and emotional limits in an incredible performance that makes The Wolverine a cut way above all superhero movies this year.
By Editor