First and foremost, all of us here at MovieGuys would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit votes in this, the 1st Annual MovieGuys Awards! We got a very good turnout. With all the big time movies set to come out in 2009, the 2nd Annual MovieGuys Awards should be even more exciting than the 1st! This has been very fun for me, and I hope it was a lot of fun for all of you too. Some categories were very close, some not so close. I would say there are definitely some surprises. Sure, there are some categories that came out as I expected them to. So, without further ado, I proudly present to you the winners!
Best Comedy
In case anyone forgot, the nominees were: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Sex Drive, Role Models, Tropic Thunder, Step Brothers, and Pineapple express. This category was one of the closest categories. Each film received multiple votes. Ultimately, it came down to a battle between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s Step Brothers and the Ben Stiller/Jack Black/Robert Downey Jr comedy Tropic Thunder. In this battle of long running comedy heavy-weights, with 34% of the vote, your winner is… Tropic Thunder. Take that Will Ferrell!
Best Horror
Another close call. Your nominees were: Cloverfield, Midnight Meat Train, The Strangers, Saw V and Mirrors. Sorry Keifer Sutherland, 24 may be a hit, but Mirrors was not. It did not receive a single vote! But take solace in the fact that Midnight Meat Train and Saw V didn’t fare much better. Yes, this was a “two man race” so to speak. And your winner, with 44% of the votes, is The Strangers. Score one for a horror film that wasn’t necessarily a blood bath! Real horror may be making a comeback…
Best Villain
This was one of my personal favorite categories. I thought we had some real good choices. Your nominees were: The Joker, Emil Blonsky/The Abomination, Tai Lung, Obediah Stane/Iron Monger, and Ted Jones. While I thought this may have been one of the closer categories, it wasn’t even close. In a laugher of a result, your winner with a resounding 93% of the votes, The Joker. I can’t argue, the Joker will more than likely set the bar for movie villains for years to come.
Most disappointing film of the year
2008 will surely be known as a great year for movies. But it could’ve been so much better. There were many highly anticipated projects released that just “fell flat on their faces” so to speak. The nominees included: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jumper, Quantum of Solace, and The Spirit. While all these films can surely be labeled massive disappointments, only one will take home the title of Most Disappointing Film of the Year! And your “winner,” with 53% of your votes, is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. George Lucas, you are responsible for two of our nominees, including the “winner.” What is wrong with you?!?
Worst Film
For each fantastic film from 2008 there were two really crappy ones. And we can’t stand crappy movies. So, your nominees for this dubious distinction are: The Haunting of Molley Hartley, The Love Guru, Jumper, High School Musical 3, and You don’t Mess with the Zohan. Can you smell that? That’s the smell of failure. With 48% of your votes, the Worst Film of 2008 is High School Musical 3. Yeah… That’s about all I have to say about that.
Surprisingly Good Movie of the Year
Who doesn’t love a good surprise? This category was full of really great films that surprised us all. Your nominees, in case you forgot, were: Iron Man, Speed Racer, Kung Fu Panda, Lakeview Terrace, and Role Models. While all of the nominees are winners in my book, only one could lay claim to the prestigious honor of being the MovieGuys Surprisingly Good Movie of the Year. In the closest race of all the categories, the winner, narrowly edging out Kung Fu Panda‘s 30%, was Iron Man with 33% of your votes.
Best Director
Behind each amazing movie, there is a talented director. 2008 had no shortage of finely directed films, but we only gave you five talented directors to choose from, which were: Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight, Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire, The Wachowski Brothers for Speed Racer, Darren Aronofsky for The Wrestler, and Matt Reeves for Cloverfield. And your winner, with an overwhelming 61% of your votes, far more than the runner up… is Christopher Nolan! Mr Nolan, now you have a prestigious MovieGuys award to sit atop that massive pile of cash you earned for making The Dark Knight.
Best Performance
This was our most loaded category. Each nominee turned in a high quality, Oscar caliber performance. Your nominees were: Josh Brolin in W., Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road, Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, and Liv Tyler in The Strangers. Wow, what a category. You’ve got a rocker’s daughter, a comeback “kid,” and a fallen idol. And in a result that, when compared to the rest of the results, is really no surprise, your winner with 75% of your votes, is Heath Ledger for his iconic performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. We all miss you Heath, this one’s for you!
Kick Ass Hero of the Year!
2008 could certainly be remembered as the year of the hero. We saw a lot of heroic characters on the big screen, including these nominees: Hellboy – Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Batman – The Dark Knight, Iron Man – Iron Man, The Hulk – The Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Hancock – Hancock. And the MovieGuys Kick Ass Hero of the Year! award goes to… Iron Man with 44% of your votes! Iron Man rocked and the namesake hero definitely kicked major ass!
MovieGuys Movie of the Year
Our final category obviously is our most prestigious honor. There were so many really good movies this year, so many worthy potential nominees. Out of all the categories, this was the hardest category to choose the nominees. But we came to a conclusion, nominating these fantastic films: Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, The Dark Knight, Gran Tourino, and Iron Man. Looking back, I can honestly say that each nominee is deserving of the nod. Whichever film wins, please know that all of the nominated films should be seen by everyone. But there was only one winner, and with 53% of your votes… Your winner is The Dark Knight. The highest grossing film of the year just so happens to be your favorite. In all, The Dark Knight took care of business at the MovieGuys awards, winning it all in almost every category it was associated with. And why not? It was a film that changed the way people think about the super-hero genre. You voted, you selected it. And nobody knows better than you guys!
Thanks again to everyone who came on over to vote. It was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? Even though it is only February, I am already looking forward to next year’s ceremony! Congratulations to all our winners, and let’s not forget the losers either. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Feel free to sound off! If you hate the winners, let us know! If you love them, tell us why! This is all about you, the most knowledgeable fans on the web!