There are a few films I did not get to see for one reason or the other this year which might have had something included in this year's Lodger Awards. They include "Love Song for Bobby Long," "I am David," "Million Dollar Baby," "Hotel Rwanda" (all of which haven't played in Austin yet or haven't been screened for the press), "Vera Drake," "Being Julia," "Spring Summer Winter Fall and Spring" and "The Bourne Supremacy" (all of which I missed).

Top 10 Films of 2004

Nominees:

1. Paper Clips

2. Time of the Wolf

3. Jandek on Corwood

4. Cowboys & Angels

5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

6. Broken Wings

7. Goodbye, Lenin

8. The Aviator

9. Fahrenheit 911

10. Kill Bill Volume 2

What has been most amazing in film over the past few years, and has really come into fruition this year is the amount of amazing documentaries that have come to be released. Once relegated to PBS and obscure for fans only affairs, documentaries have emerged in the last few years to become viable interesting and important films. I have to put "Paper Clips," a documentary about a high school in the American South that begins to collect paper clips in memory for the millions of people killed in concentration camps in WWII, at the top of my list this year not because it is a well-crafted film but because it was the most moving and emotionally charged film I saw all year. While, cinematically, it could be considered by some to be quite lacking, the overpowering emotional resonance of the film far outweighs any lack of polished filmmaking.

The three documentaries here each brought forth monumental themes. "Paper Clips" says much about the power of teachers and of truly honest and open-minded education and the impact it can have on children. "Jandek on Corwood" expresses many ideas about idolatry in our modern pop culture world and allows us to see the heretofore intangible effect that music and pop culture has on our daily lives. It evokes the power of enigmatism and mystery. And, of course, "Fahrenheit 911" power to give voice to an underground swell of political activism and revolt in this country proves just how powerful films can be.

Due to the amazing amount of documentaries in my Top Ten list this year, the "Best Documentary" category of the Lodger Awards was not included in this year's final list of winners and losers. The three best documentaries of the year are listed in the ten films noted above.

Of the other films in the list, four are foreign films, three in a foreign language. Only one, "Cowboys and Angels," is a gay film. And three of America's most important directors, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino have films included.

By the way, you won't see "Paper Clips" on many lists this year for a couple of reasons. First, most film critics will shun it for it's syrupy cinematics and, secondly, because Mirimax purchased the film but is yet to release it to most of the general public. With the right promotional campaign, this film could be a huge hit.

Worst Movie

Nominees:

Dogville

The Same River Twice

Super Size Me

Pumping Velvet

Red Trousers

The Winner:

Pumping Velvet

And, in the reverse of the Best Film category, we find that the proliferation of documentaries has also resulted in the inclusion of four non-fiction films in the Worst Movie list. Only the bitter and vile fiction of anti-American misogynist Lars Von Trier was worthy enough of inclusion of a list of the most unworthy films this year.

Many bad documentaries were released this year and many more will be noted later on in "The Lodgeys" but none of the "documentaries" was so repulsive as the Godawful mess of an autobiographical "self-portrait" unleashed at the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival by music video director Dustin Robertson. This vile trash was not widely screened (in fact, Robertson told the Agliff crowd that only Austin's film festival had accepted his film) but I had to sit through it. Or, at least I tried. This homophobic piece by a disgusting self-hating fag is one of the only films I have ever, in my entire life, walked out on. Garbage rarely stinks this badly.

The Cheesiest

Nominees:

Around the World in 80 Days

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

Mojave

The Winner:

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

This category was once filled with movies that were so bad they were good on a yearly basis but it is becoming harder and harder to find films that fit that description. The idea is that these are films which are really bad but are so much fun to watch, you want to see them again and again. Given that hottie Diego Luna is in the film, it's even hard to call "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" a bad film. But Patrick Swayze and Romal Garai sure help swing the bar in the other direction.

Funniest Movie

Nominees:

Anchorman

Eating Out

Eurotrip

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

Shaun of the Dead

The Winner:

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.

Neil Patrick Harris snorts cocaine off of a whore's ass in a stolen moving convertible. Need I say more? This film made me laugh harder than any other this year.

Best Director

Nominees:

Vincent Gallo - The Brown Bunny

Michael Gondry - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Michael Haneke - Time of the Wolf

Jean-Pierre Jeunet - A Very Long Engagement

Martin Scorsese - The Aviator

The Winner:

Michael Haneke

"Time of the Wolf" is a powerful and perfect movie and Haneke has everything down to perfection here. His images are stunning. His actors are amazing. His use of light is mind boggling. His sound perfection. This is a flawless film.

Best Cinematography

Nominees:

Hero

The Mother

Time of the Wolf

A Very Long Engagement

We Don't Live Here Anymore

The Winner:

Hero

No film looked more visually stunning this year.

Best Actor

Nominees:

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator

Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic

Jaoquin Phoenix in The Village

Michael Pitt in Jailbait

Peter Sarsgaard in Garden State

The Winner:

Leonardo DiCaprio

Sure, he has a beautiful facade but not actor gave more to a role this year than DiCaprio in bringing Howard Hughes to life on the silver screen.

Best Actress

Nominees:

Cate Blanchett in The Aviator

Orly Silbersatz Banai in Broken Wings

Kathrin Sass in Goodbye Lenin

Chloe Sevigny in The Brown Bunny

Sissy Spacek in A Home at the End of the World

Tilda Swinton in Young Adam

The Winner:

Tilda Swinton

It's been such an amazing year for women in films that I couldn't just pick five. The roles of women in foreign films have also been particularly noteworthy this year. But Swinton and Sevigny proves themselves daring and honest performers in 2004 in mixing nudity and sexuality into their roles in ways that were brave and groundbreaking. But Swinton creates such a complex and realistic character in "Young Adam" that she is worthy of numerous accolades.

I know that Spacek and Sevigny had more "supporting" roles in their respective films, but the Lodger Awards are based solely on performances integral to the film and amount of screen time is not considered in this.

Best Dialogue

Nominees:

Anchorman

Before Sunset

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

Jailbait

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

The Winner:

Before Sunset

This category honors words more than stories and nothing this year was more wonderfully cerebral and wordy than Richard Linklater's "Before Sunset." The face that the director credits his stars as co-writers due to their work with him on creating the script shows just how important words are to the director. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke have the most interesting conversations in this film and we hang on every word.

Best Screenplay

Nominees:

The Aviator

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The Life Aquatic

National Treasure

Shaun of the Dead

The Winner:

The Aviator

In bringing the story of Howard Hughes to the screen, John Logan creates an homage to the American spirit of invention and ingenuity in the twentieth century. It is the story of a nation told through the story of one man and it perfectly represents the very best of what America once was and might one day be again.

Best Visual Effects

Nominees:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Goodbye, Lenin

Hero

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

A Very Long Engagement

The Winner:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This award is as much for the "look" of a film as it is for any "Special Effect" created artistically or by computer. No film this year used special effects more creatively in presenting the story to the audience than "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." In fact, the effects were integral to the story and gave the film a visual coda that only served to draw the viewer more deeply into the characters and story.

Best Young Actor

The Nominees:

Devon Alan in Undertow

Cameron Bright in Birth

Ryan Donowho in A Home at the End of the World

Erik Smith in A Home at the End of the World

Freddie Highmore in Finding Neverland

The Winner:

Ryan Donowho

Although he is only in the film for a few minutes, his performance sets the entire tone for the film. It's a shame that Colin Farrel and Dallas Roberts found it so difficult to continue that feeling.

Best Young Actress

Nominees:

Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire

Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace

Maya Maron in Broken Wings

Carly Schroeder in Mean Creek

Yenny Paola Vega in Maria Full of Grace

The Winner:

Dakota Fanning

God she's creepy! But she's also the most natural young actress to ever appear in films. I still think she's a robot but if she is, her designer is a genius.

Best Cameo

Lance Armstrong in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Best Use of Music

A Home at the End of the World

When a film has the balls to verbally promote the works of Laura Nyro, Steven Reich and Leonard Cohen as well as play their music on the soundtrack, you know it is doing something right. The scene where Sissy Spacek dances to a Nyro song with two teenage boys is nothing short of magical.

Best Made for TV Film

Angels in America

Biggest Surprise

Nominees:

That the couple die at the end of "Open Water"

"James' Journey to Jerusalem" wasn't a dogmatic religious film.

Paper Clips

That "A Slipping-Down Life" was taken off the shelf and released unceremoniously by Lion's Gate

Tokyo Godfathers

The Winner:

"Open Water"

Sure the film was a complete waste of time. But the balls of the filmmakers to kill it's protagonists at the end and call it "based on a true story!" Genius!

Best Gay Film

Nominees:

Alexander

Cowboys & Angels

Dear Pillow

Latter Days

Tokyo Godfathers

The Winner:

Cowboys and Angels

The fact that "Alexander" is a major studio film with a multi-million dollar budget and includes an unapologetic bisexual lead character is nothing short of groundbreaking. But were talking best here, not most important. And no film was more wonderfully gay than "Cowboys and Angels." The fact that it had no drama about coming out and no one turned into a killer makes it nearly stand alone in gay films this year.

Worst Actor

Nominees:

Gerard Butler in Phantom of the Opera

Thomas Hayden Church in Sideways

Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Along Came Polly

Val Kilmer in Alexander, Blind Horizon and Spartan

Adam Sandler in Spanglish

The Winner:

Val Kilmer

Here we get to the fun stuff! It's so much fun to denigrate and call attention to bad stuff in movies. All the actors nominated were horrible but Kilmer was horrible in three! The coveted hat trick of stinkiness.

Worst Actress

Nominees:

Ellen Barkin in She Hate Me

Glenn Close in The Stepford Wives

Glenne Headly in Around the Bend

Angelina Jolie in Alexander

Nicole Kidman in The Stepford Wives

Meg Ryan in Against the Ropes

The winner:

Nicole Kidman

Just as it was impossible to choose just five good actresses this year, it is impossible to choose five here. No one had a worse year than Kidman. "The Stepford Wives" is a horrible piece of shit and Kidman added good work in a lousy film ("Dogville") and lousy work in a good film ("Birth") to her repertoire this year. 2005's "Bewitched" seems destine to continue a downward spiral that would make Trent Reznor dizzy.

Worst Director

Nominees

William Arntz, Betty Chase and Mark Vicente - What the #$*! Do We Know

Mel Gibson - The Passion of the Christ

Rob Moss - The Same River Twice

Frank Oz - The Stepford Wives

Lars Von Trier - The Five Obstructions

The Winner

Mel Gibson

I hope he dies soon.

Worst Cinematography

Nominees:

Death and Texas

I'll Sing for You

Open House

Red Trousers

What the #$*! Do We Know

The Winner:

What the #$*! Do We Know

None of these pictures were particularly well-known. With the advent of digital video, looks of bad looking films get played at film festivals every year. This same invention has made everyone a documentary filmmaker. I give this award to "What the #$*! Do We Know" because of all the films here, it had the biggest release.

Worst Dialogue

Nominees:

Against the Ropes

Along Came Polly

King Arthur

Soul Plane

What the #$*! Do We Know

The Winner:

King Arthur

Worst Screenplay

Nominees:

Code 46

Dogville

She Hate Me

The Stepford Wives

What the #$*! Do We Know

The Winner:

Code 46

If you can figure what is going on in this film you are either A) Michael Winterbottom or B) a genius.

Worst Visual Effects

(tie)

A Dirty Shame

What the #$*! Do We Know

Worst Young Actor or Actress

Nominees:

Liam Aiken in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

John Patrick Amedori in The Butterfly Effect

Jonah Bobo in Around the Bend

Romola Garai in Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights

Shia LeBeouf in I, Robot

The Winner:

Jonah Bobo

The most annoying child actor since Steve Urkel.

Biggest Embarrassment

Nominees:

The amount of bad documentaries released this year including Red Trousers, I'll Sing for You, The Same River Twice, Super Size Me, What the #$*! Do We Know, Moog and The Five Obstructions as well as a plethora of pro-Bush, pro- Republican, anti-Michael Moore films.

The appearance of a flesh eating hawk at the end of Secret Things

Meg Ryan's accent in Against the Ropes

Phillip Seymour Hoffman "Sharted" scene in Along Came Polly

Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights

The Winner:

The amount of bad documentary films released in 2004.

This trend needs to be nipped in the bud immediately. If distributors are going to release these films, they need to hire some screeners who understand things like story, theme and dramatic tension. It's great that we live in a world where anyone can pick up a camera and make a movie but there's a few idiots out there who are fucking it up for everyone else. Don't make me get my lens cap!

Biggest Disappointment

Nominees:

De-Lovely

That Bush won re-election even with all of his obvious misdeeds highlighted in "Fahrenheit 911"

The last five minutes of "Testosterone" when it turns into a "gay guy kills his lover" movie

That Dakota Fanning's character is alive at the end of Man on Fire

That people liked and validated Super Size Me

The Winner:

Fahrenheit 911

The American people dropped the ball once again.

Hottest New Actor Hottie

Nominees:

Alex Burns in Brother to Brother

Jon Foster in Door in the Floor

Paul Foster in Blue CitrusHearts

Vladamir Garin in The Return

Garrett Hedlund in Troy and Friday Night Lights

John-Paul Macleod in Calendar Girls

The Winner:

Vladamir Garin

Some many movies with cute boys, so little time. All these guys are hot and given the chance to flirt with any of them I would be on Cloud 9, but Garin died this year swimming near where he shot "The Return" while trying to impress a girl. For the sadness of this loss, it is important to remember him here. He was also a talented actor as well as easy on the eyes.

Best Animated Film

Nominees:

Home on the Range

Shrek 2

Tokyo Godfathers

The Winner:

Tokyo Godfathers

Here's one that will be overlooked by the Academy. The distributors didn't release the film in time for the Awards last year (as far as I can see) and I don't imagine anyone will remember it this year.

Worst Cameo

Nominees:

David Hasselhoff in "A Dirty Shame"

Jackie Kallan in "Against the Ropes"

Larry King in "The Stepford Wives"

Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights"

Steven Tyler in "The Polar Express"

The Winner:

Steven Tyler

While these are all bad (and Swayze's work is deliciously awful), no cameo seemed more absurd and out of place then Tyler as an elf at the end of the drab "Polar Express." Shameless.

Best Score

Nominees:

Birth Friday Night Lights

Ocean's 12

Primer

The Village

The Winner:

Friday Night Lights

Four words: Explosions in the Sky.

Best Remake or Sequel

Before Sunset

Worst Remake or Sequel

The Stepford Wives

Best Austin Film

Dear Pillow

Best Movie to See Under the Influence

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

Best Kiss

Ruben Bansie-Snellman and Pepper Fajans in "The Graffiti Artist"

Best Gay Sex Scene

Ruben Bansie-Snellman and Pepper Fajans in "The Graffiti Artist"

Best Straight Sex Scene

Chloe Sevigny and Vincent Gallo in "The Brown Bunny"

Worst Sex Scenes - Gay or Straight

All of them in "A Dirty Shame"

Most Fun Caricature of a Real Person in a Gay Film

Kyle Maclachlan as Cary Grant in "Touch of Pink"

Most Fun Caricature of a Real Person in a Straight Film

(tie)

John Lithgow as Blake Edwards in "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"

Julia Roberts as Tess Ocean as Julia Roberts in "Ocean's 12"

Best Trailer

Garden State

Best Movie Made on No Budget

Blue Citrus Hearts

Best film to receive a re-release

The Battle of Algiers

Most Ill-advised Re-release

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut

Best Short

The Delicious

Best TV Show

Nominees:

The Apprentice (NBC)

Everwood (WB)

The Family Guy (Cartoon Network)

Jack and Bobby (WB)

The Practice/Boston Legal (ABC)

The Winner:

Jack and Bobby

This is an amazing show. This is the best show on television since "Picket Fences." The WB better get on the ball and make this show a "must see" hit. Television rarely gets this good and it would be a shame to see this remarkable show slip into obscurity and not become a huge cult hit.

Number of Films viewed by Lodger in 2004: 222

Here's looking to 2005!

Lodger

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