This is a thread for board participants to use for recommending names and titles worth remembering at the end of the year, when the Arts & Faith Film Critics will begin voting process that will highlight their favorite efforts of the year. This serves to make sure nothing slips past us when it comes time to vote.

So, nominate away! (I'll update this first post based on your replies.)

Anyone can nominate a film. But the final voting will be done by the [AFC]² members.

LATE-BREAKING NEWS!! TWO NEW CATEGORIES ADDED!!

MOST SIGNIFICANT NON-2004 RELEASE OF THE YEAR
(Theatrical re-releases, revivals, big screen special editions)
Au Hasard Balthazar
THX 1138 - Special Edition

FILM WE OVERLOOKED LAST YEAR
(Due to poor distribution, late opening)
The Fog of War
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised


MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPLORATION OF SPIRITUAL ISSUES
Dogville
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Finding Neverland
Hero
Hotel Rwanda
Maria Full of Grace
Mean Creek
The Merchant of Venice
Million Dollar Baby
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran
Notre Musique
Saved!
Since Otar Left
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
The Motorcycle Diaries
The Sea Inside
The Story of the Weeping Camel
The Door in the Floor
The Passion of the Christ
The Return
The Village
Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup)
Touching the Void
Twilight Samurai
Primer
Woman, Thou Art Loosed
Vera Drake


BEST NARRATIVE FILM
The Passion of the Christ
Time of the Wolf
Dogville
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Hero
Baadasssss!
The Manchurian Candidate
Intimate Strangers
Garden State
Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup)
Since Otar Left
Maria Full of Grace
Bon Voyage
Before Sunset
The Incredibles
Vera Drake
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
The Village
House of Flying Daggers
Finding Neverland
The Aviator
The Sea Inside
Hotel Rwanda
The Return
Million Dollar Baby
Twilight Samurai

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Super-size Me
Touching the Void
Fahrenheit 9/11
Control Room
The Story of the Weeping Camel
The Five Obstructions
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
The Agronomist

BEST ACTOR
Al Pacino - The Merchant of Venice
Christian Bale - Machinist, The
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
Clive Owen - Closer
Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Denzel Washington - Manchurian Candidate, The
Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda
Ethan Hawke - Before Sunset
Gael García Bernal - Motorcycle Diaries, The
Gael García Bernal - Bad Education
Ivan Dobronravov - The Return
Jamie Bell - Undertow
Jamie Foxx - Collateral
Jamie Foxx - Ray
Javier Bardem - Sea Inside, The
Jeff Bridges - The Door in the Floor
Jet Li - Hero
Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Jim Caviezel - The Passion of the Christ
John Malkovich - Ripley's Game
Johnny Depp - Finding Neverland
Jude Law - Alfie
Jude Law - Closer
Kevin Bacon - Woodsman, The
Kevin Kline - De-Lovely
Kevin Spacey - Beyond the Sea
Kurt Russell - Miracle
Leonardo DiCaprio - Aviator, The
Liam Neeson - Kinsey
Liev Schreiber - The Manchurian Candidate
Mario Van Peebles - BAADASSSSS!
Mark Ruffalo - We Don't Live Here Anymore
Matt Damon - Jason Bourne
Paul Bettany - Dogville
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
Ron Perlman - Hellboy
Rory Culkin - Mean Creek
Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man 2
Tom Cruise - Collateral
Tom Hanks - The Terminal
Ulrich Thomsen - The Inheritance
Val Kilmer, Spartan
Will Ferrell - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
William Hurt - The Village
Zach Braff - Garden State
Hiroyuki Sanada - Twilight Samurai

BEST ACTRESS
Audrey Tautou - Very Long Engagement, A
Bryce Dallas Howard - Village, The
Catalina Sandrino Morengo - Maria Full of Grace
Dinara Droukarova - Since Otar Left
Esther Gorintin - Since Otar Left
Helen Mirren - Clearing, The
Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Isabella Rossellini - The Saddest Music in the World
Isabelle Huppert - Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup)
Julia Roberts - Closer
Julie Delpy - Before Sunset
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Kate Winslet - Finding Neverland
Kimberley Elise - Woman, Thou Art Loosed
Laura Dern - We Don't Live Here Anymore
Lindsay Lohan - Mean Girls
Maggie Cheung - Hero
Natalie Portman - Garden State
Natalie Portman - Closer
Nicole Kidman - Dogville
Reese Witherspoon - Vanity Fair
Sandrine Bonnaire - Intimate Strangers
Sarah Polley - Dawn of the Dead
Toni Collette - Japanese Story
Uma Thurman - Kill Bill, vol. 2
Virginie Ledoyen - Bon Voyage
Zhang Ziyi - House of Flying Daggers
Rie Miyazawa - Twilight Samurai


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ben Gazarra - Dogville
John Hurt (narrator voice) - Dogville
Willem Dafoe - The Reckoning
Bryan Cox - The Reckoning
Saïd Taghmaoui -- Spartan
Dougray Scott - Ripley's Game
Ray Winstone - Ripley's Game
David Carradine - Kill Bill, vol. 2
Martin Donovan - Saved!
Bryan Cox - The Bourne Supremacy
Tony Leung - Hero
Chen Daoming - Hero
Scott Mechlowicz - Mean Creek
Mark Wahlberg - I Heart Huckabees
Jude Law - I Heart Huckabees
Tim McGraw - Friday Night Lights
Curtis Armstrong - Ray
Peter Wight - Vera Drake
Eddie Marsen - Vera Drake
Allan Corduner - Vera Drake (in a one-scene role, yes, but simply perfect in it)
Saïd Taghmaoui - Spartan
Kumar Pallana - The Terminal
William Hurt - The Village
Steven Carell - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Thomas Haden Church - Sideways
Hugh Grant - Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Matt Damon - Ocean's Twelve
Nick Roud - Finding Neverland
Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby
Willem Dafoe - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Nick Nolte - Hotel Rwanda

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Irma P. Hall - The Ladykillers
Maia Morgenstern - The Passion of the Christ
Zhang Ziyi - Hero
Mandy Moore - Saved!
Irma P. Hall - Collateral
Romola Garai - Vanity Fair
Eileen Atkins - Vanity Fair
Naomi Watts - I Heart Huckabees
Alex Kelly, Vera Drake
Sally Hawkins, Vera Drake
Helen Coker, Vera Drake (in a nearly silent role, yes, but simply perfect in it)
Virginia Madsen - Sideways
Naomi Watts - We Don't Live Here Anymore
Sarah Vowell - The Incredibles
Catherine Zeta-Jones - Ocean's Twelve
Kristin Dunst - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Julia Roberts - Ocean's Twelve
Cate Blanchett - The Aviator
Cate Blanchett - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Cate Blanchett - Coffee and Cigarettes
Meryl Streep - The Manchurian Candidate
Sophie Okenodo - Hotel Rwanda
Isabella Rossellini, The Saddest Music in the World
Natalie Portman, Garden State
Sharon Warren - Ray
Regina King - Ray


BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Closer
Dogville
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Spartan
The Return
Hero
The Bourne Supremacy
Intimate Strangers
The Village
Mean Creek
Vanity Fair
Since Otar Left
Bon Voyage
Sideways
Vera Drake
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Finding Neverland
Ocean's Twelve
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Million Dollar Baby
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Saddest Music in the World


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Lars Von Trier - Dogville
Charlie Kaufman - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
David Mamet - Spartan
Quentin Tarantino - Kill Bill vol. 2
M. Night Shyamalan, The Village
Zhang Yimou - Hero
Bon Voyage - Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Patrick Modiano, Jérôme Tonnerre,
Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Gilles Marchand, Julien Rappeneau
Sean Carruth - Primer
Brad Bird - The Incredibles
Mike Leigh et al. - Vera Drake
Zhang Yimou, Feng Li, Bin Wang - House of Flying Daggers
Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil - The Sea Inside
Jacob Aaron Estes - Mean Creek
Vladimir Moiseyenko & Aleksandr Novototsky - The Return
Kier Pearson and Terry George - Hotel Rwanda

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tina Fey - Mean Girls
Mario Van Peebles & Dennis Hagerty - Baadasssss!
Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaria - The Manchurian Candidate
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor - Sideways
David Magee - Finding Neverland
Late addition to list as we narrow it down:
Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Haggis - Million Dollar Baby
Steve Kloves, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Richard Linklater - Before Sunset

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Caleb Deschanel - The Passion of the Christ
? - Distant
Anthony Mantle - Dogville
Roger Deakins - The Ladykillers
Dong-hyeon Baek - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring
Alfio Contini - Ripley's Game
Robert Richardson - Kill Bill, vol. 2
Italo Petriccione - I'm Not Scared
Mikhail Krichman - The Return
Christopher Doyle - Hero
Luc Montpellier - The Saddest Music in the World
Janusz Kaminski - The Terminal
Tak Fujimoto - The Village
Eduardo Serra - Intimate Strangers
Dion Beebe and Paul Cameron - Collateral
Xiaoding Zhao - House of Flying Daggers
Bruno Delbonnel - A Very Long Engagement
Andrew Jimenez, Patrick Lin, Janet Lucroy - The Incredibles
Steven Soderbergh - Ocean's Twelve
Paul Haggis - Million Dollar Baby
Pin Bing Lee - Springtime in a Small Town

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro Amenábar - Sea Inside, The
Alexander Payne - Sideways
Andrei Zvyagintsev - The Return
Brad Bird - The Incredibles
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
David Gordon Green - Undertow
David O. Russell - I Heart Huckabees
Edgar Wright - Shaun of the Dead
Guy Maddin - The Saddest Music in the World
James L. Brooks - Spanglish
Jean-Paul Rappeneau - Bon Voyage
Jean-Pierre Jeunet - Very Long Engagement, A
Joel Schumacher - Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera
John Sayles - Silver City
Jonathan Demme - The Manchurian Candidate
Joshua Marston - Maria Full of Grace
Julie Bertucelli - Since Otar Left
Ki-duk Kim, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
Lars Von Trier - Dogville
M. Night Shyamalan - The Village
Marc Forster - Finding Neverland
Mario Van Peebles - Baadasssss!
Mario Van Peebles - BAADASSSSS!
Martin Scorsese - Aviator, The
Mel Gibson - The Passion of the Christ
Michael Gondry - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Michael Haneke - Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup)
Michael Mann - Collateral
Mike Leigh - Vera Drake
Mike Nichols - Closer
Patrice Leconte - Intimate Strangers
Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Supremacy
Pedro Almodovar - Bad Education
Peter Berg - Friday Night Lights
Quentin Tarantino - Kill Bill Vol. 2
Richard Linklater - Before Sunset
Roger Michell - Enduring Love
Sam Raimi - Spider-Man 2
Terry George - Hotel Rwanda
Tod Williams - Door in the Floor
Walter Salles - Motorcycle Diaries, The
Wes Anderson - Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The
Zach Braff - Garden State
Zhang Yimou - Hero
Zhang Yimou (-) House of Flying Daggers
Yoji Yamada - Twilight Samurai

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Jon Brion - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ennio Morricone - Ripley's Game
Robert Rodriguez and RZA - Kill Bill, Vol. 2
A. Zvyagintsev - The Return
Rachel Portman - The Manchurian Candidate
John Powell - The Bourne Supremacy
Tan Dun - Hero
Pascal Esteve - Intimate Strangers
Jon Brion - I Heart Huckabees
Shigeru Umebayashi - House of Flying Daggers
Angelo Badalementi - A Very Long Engagement
Various artists - Ocean's Twelve
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
Spanglish

BEST FILM FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Super-size Me
Shrek 2
Two Brothers
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Bon Voyage
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
The Incredibles
The Polar Express
Miracle
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Since it's inevitable, I've gone ahead and filled in the obvious first entries...

Since we're on the subject, let's remember Nicole Kidman in Dogville.

-s.

BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Haneke - Time of the Wolf

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
N. Ceylan - Distant

BEST DIRECTOR
N. Ceylan - Distant

REQUEST...

Would you folks please format your nominations like this...

Caleb Deschanel - The Passion of the Christ

...so I can just cut and paste them into the list above, without having to format them or go to IMDB to look for the name of the cinematographer (or actor, composer, whatever)?

THANK YOU.

Might I suggest a forum/thread for EACH topic? It might help organize the discussion

Too many threads to keep track of. Better to have one sticky than a bunch of floating threads that we have to go searching for.

Besides, we *will* be discussing them in film-specific threads, not here.

Is Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran counted as this year or last? If it's eligible this year, it is suggested for:

BEST NARRATIVE FILM and

EXPLORATION OF SPIRITUAL ISSUES

It seems that it should count for this year. This is the year of its "commercial release" for us at least.

Best Cinematography

Anthony Mantle - Dogville

BEST ACTOR
Paul Bettany - Dogville

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Phillip Baker Hall - Dogville

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Chloe Sevingy - Dogville

BEST DIRECTOR
Lars von Trier - Dogville

Dale

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Saïd Taghmaoui -- Spartan

Dale

Best Actress-- Sarah Polley-- Dawn of the Dead

Some of the earlier requests by (M) and me seem to be missing. Also:

MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPLORATION OF SPIRITUAL ISSUES
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Dale

Russell.

You were serious about that? He actually recorded it.

-s.

Whoops. I should make my jokes better. Sorry, Jeffrey.

Well, you can thank one of our other notoriously "creative" members who seriously submits votes that he himself admits are a bit ... creative. So I tend to take these things at face value without judging them.

And hey... Sarah Polley is a fine fine actress. For all I know, she took zombie-movie-acting to a new level in Dawn of the Dead. :wink:

Yeah, I think I'd be in favor of a "career award" for her, but she isn't required to do much apart from furrow her brow and run around in blood-soaked clothes.

Best Cinematography
Dong-hyeon Baek - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring

Best Exploration of Spiritual Issues
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring

Wow. UMA THURMAN is going to be hard to beat for Best Actress this year. She's AMAZING in Kill Bill 2.

I'd like to cast a vote for The Reckoning in the Best Exploration of Spiritual Issues field.

And the same for 13 Going on 30.

(Just kidding about that last one).

Best Narrative Film
KILL BILL VOL. 2

Best Supporting Actor
Michael Madsen (KILL BILL VOL. 2)

Best Director
Quentin Tarantino (KILL BILL VOL. 2)

Also, is it 5 published reviews per year to qualify for PFCC membership? I can't remember, but I may qualify by the end of the year (if university papers count).

Now that we have the new system, might I suggest a sub-category to contain a single thread on each topic? No fishing involved.

Oh, please no. Let's leave this be. People can start threads on particular nominations if they wish in the regular "Films, Directors, Etc." category, but I don't want to have to climb out on another branch of the tree only to get more discussion of this year's films' strengths and weaknesses.

Best Cinematography
Italo Petriccione - I'm Not Scared
Mikhail Krichman - The Return

Best Director
A. Zvyagintsev - The Return

Best Ensemble Performance
The Return

The Documentary category needs to be fed, so allow me to be the first to say: Super Size Me.

I'd also like to see Kill Bill Vol. 2 in the running for Original Screenplay and Cinematography.

If I'm correct in my assumption, it looks as if you are using the U.S. release dates as the qualifier for nominations, and not necessarily the original release date. Your nomination of HERO -- which was up for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 2002, but won't have a wide U.S. release until August -- led me to that conclusion.

If that is the case, I'd like to submit TOUCHING THE VOID for consideration as Best Documentary, as well as Best Cinematography (Mike Eley and Kieth Partridge)

In fact, this might make a good choice for Most Significant Exploration of Spiritual Issues... since one of the main protagonists of this story admits to struggling with thoughts of his past upbringing as a Catholic and his firm atheistic beliefs, while in a life or death situation.

I'm new here, and if there is a thread about "Touching the Void" would someone be kind enough to post or PM me a link to it. I'd be curious to see what the opinion of others has been.

Thanks!

At the risk of losing all my credibility as a film snob, I would like to nominate:

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tina Fey-- Mean Girls

Ok, I just lost it.

"What Would Jesus Bomb?"

C-c-c-can't stop l-l-laughing...

Best Cinematography
Luc Montpellier - The Saddest Music in the World

Best Narrative Film: Baadasssss!

Best Director: Mario Van Peebles - Baadasssss!

Best Adapted Screenplay - Mario Van Peebles & Dennis Hagerty - Baadasssss!

Best Documentary -- Control Room

Still high from last night's viewing...I hope that this group isn't too snobby to recognize the incredible achievement that is Spider-Man 2.

If you'll do a search you'll find a thread in which some of our most esteemed critics are raving about it!

Do we really consider Fahrenheit 9/11 to be a documentary? It may be that in style but it appears to be more like a propaganda film.

Maybe we should begin a new category for propaganda films.

Can you have a supporting actor from a doc? If so...

Lt. Josh Rushing - Control Room

Some other suggestions:

Before Sunset--Best Director, Best Original Screenplay

Getting the ball rolling on The Door in the Floor:

Best Director
Tod Williams - Door in the Floor

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges - Door in the Floor

Significant Exploration of Spritiual Issue
The Door in the Floor

Does RIVERS & TIDES count for 2004? I know it just had its first showing here in Vancouver.

If so, could you please add it to the documentary list and the spiritually significant list, Mr Overstreet?

Thanks.

Holy mackerel, what a flick!!!!!

Rivers and Tides was a 2003 film and got quite a lot of votes. I think it finished second or third in the Most Spiritually Significant Film category...

Best Original Screenplay - M. Night Shyamalan, The Village
Best Actor - Joaquin Phoenix, The Village
Best Actor - William Hurt, The Village
Best Director - M. Night Shyamalan, The Village
Best Ensemble Cast - The Village

Best Director - Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Supremacy

Though winning is not in its future, it still garnered 4/4 stars from me. Riding Giants - Best Documentary.

Best Actor
Alfred Molina-- Spider-man 2

Best Narrative Film
Spider-man 2

Since we occasionally discuss if there should be other categories, how about Best Soundtract, since many films pull in lots of non-original music?

Soundtract?

Do you mean, Best Non-Original Score, or Best Mixed Score, or something like that?

Personally, I've been mulling over the idea of a Best Scene award. Haven't seen that before, and it would be exciting to see what people suggest.

An example from current year for Best Soundtract would be De-Lovely. From a past year, something like Moulin Rouge.

Hmm, Best Scene. Maybe something like Grace and her father in the car in Dogville?

MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPLORATION OF SPIRITUAL ISSUES
Maria Full of Grace

Best Actress
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace

Best Actress: Julie Delpy - Before Sunset

(I see that Before Sunset has already been nominated for Best Screenplay and Linklater has already been nominated for Best Director)