Somehow I only managed to see and rate 60 films in 2007. This is certainly a light year for me and I hope to have a better field of candidates for next year's awards. Here's the list:
1408 (2007)
Air America (1990)
An American Tail (1986)
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Bio-Dome (1996)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for make Benefit Glorious Nation Kazakhstan (2006)
Brokeback Mountain* (2005)
Broken Arrow (1996)
The Care Bears Movie (1985)
Care Bears II: A New Generation (1986)
Chicken Little (2005)
Children of Men (2006)
Conversations with God (2006)
C.S.A. The Confederate States of America (2004)
Dan in Real Life (2007)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Departed** (2006)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Elektra (2005)
End of the Spear (2006)
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Finding Neverland* (2004)
First Knight (1995)
Friday Night Lights (2004)
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
The Great Escape (1963)
The Great Outdoors (1988)
Hairspray (2007)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Hostel (2005)
How Green Was My Valley** (1941)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
In the Army Now (1994)
Joe’s Apartment (1996)
Lady in the Water (2006)
License to Wed (2007)
Little Miss Sunshine* (2006)
The Master of Disguise (2002)
Munich* (2005)
The Notebook (2004)
The Queen* (2006)
Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981)
Rocky III (1982)
Sesame Street presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
Spaceballs (1987)
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Syriana (2005)
Walk the Line (2005)
Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)
AND THE NOMINEES ARE...
Not all of the reviews have been written for the field of contenders, but selecting the nominees for each category was fairly simple. Below are the nominees for each genre. No nominees are listed for the general awards (Best Overall Film, Worst Overall Film, etc.) before the awards are announced. This will add an element of surprise to the awards, as it may be easy for some of you to guess which films will win the genre awards.
Of the nominees for each genre, one will win and two others will be recognized with honorable mentions. Click on the Nominees tab below to see all of the Nominees for the 1st Annual GEeK Awards! The winners will be announced on my birthday- March 9, 2008.
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM:
An American Tail (1986)
Children of Men (2006)
Friday Night Lights (2004)
The Great Escape (1963)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981)
Spaceballs (1987)
BEST ANIMATED FILM:
An American Tail (1986)
The Care Bears Movie (1985)
Care Bears II: A New Generation (1986)
BEST CHILDREN'S OR FAMILY FILM:
An American Tail (1986)
The Care Bears Movie (1985)
Care Bears II: A New Generation (1986)
Finding Neverland* (2004)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Sesame Street presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
BEST COMEDY:
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Kazakhstan (2006)
Dan in Real Life (2007)
Dumb and Dumber (1994)
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
The Great Outdoors (1988)
Little Miss Sunshine* (2006)
Spaceballs (1987)
BEST DRAMA:
Children of Men (2006)
The Departed** (2006)
End of the Spear (2006)
Finding Neverland* (2004)
The Great Escape (1963)
Munich* (2005)
The Queen* (2006)
Syriana (2005)
BEST HORROR FILM:
1408 (2007)
BEST MUSICAL FILM:
An American Tail (1986)
The Care Bears Movie (1985)
Care Bears II: A New Generation (1986)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Sesame Street presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
BEST ROMANCE:
Dan in Real Life (2007)
The Notebook (2004)
Walk the Line (2005)
BEST SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY FILM:
Children of Men (2006)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Lady in the Water (2006)
Spaceballs (1987)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
BEST THRILLER:
1408 (2007)
Children of Men (2006)
The Departed** (2006)
The Great Escape (1963)
Munich* (2005)
Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981)
Syriana (2005)
AND THE GEeK AWARD GOES TO...
Ladies and gentlemen I am proud to announce the following films as winners of the first annual GEeK Awards. The genre winners are first, followed by the overall award winners. Overall it was a pretty good crop of films. I hope to do even better next year though.
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM:Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981)
It’s one thing to have a lot of high-tension action in a film, but when you can combine it with equally high levels of charm and fun, you’ve got something special on your hands. Raiders of the Lost Ark captures and perfects that special blend like no other film I saw during 2007. It’s a masterful combination of everything that makes a film worth watching and is one of my all-time favorites. It is vital for an action/adventure film to find that balance between danger and fun and Raiders of the Lost Ark did just that, making this an easy choice.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Children of Men (2006) and
The Great Escape (1963)
Both of these films were excellent. Children of Men was a non-stop shock fest that gave me little time to recover between adrenaline bursts, but it’s the kind of film you appreciate more than enjoy. The Great Escape came close to beating out Raiders for the top slot, but its seriousness and the fact that it was a true story left me more in awe than with the kind of warm fuzzies that Raiders provided.
BEST ANIMATED FILM:An American Tail (1986)
If you examine the nominees just on the basis of their animation quality, there’s just no comparison. An American Tail boasts rich colors while not overdoing it and oversimplifying things too much like Disney movies from around the same time had a tendency of doing. Don Bluth created several films that used gritty and honest looking animation that really helps sell the action and the story.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:The Care Bears Movie (1985) and
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986)
The animation in the Care Bears movies is good, but, like I said, there’s just no comparing it with An American Tail. They win the honorable mentions due to the fact that they’re the only other two animated films nominated. Had I not watched An American Tail, these two would have been in a virtual tie because they use the same animation styles.
BEST CHILDREN'S OR FAMILY FILM:An American Tail (1986)
This film hits both the children’s and family demographics dead on. It’s colorful, full of catchy songs and has a strong message about the value and importance of family. I’ll never get tired of watching this film and plan on sharing it with my children someday. It’s long enough to entertain kids and parents alike, but short enough not to overstay its welcome (a common problem with kids films these days). All in all, An American Tail captures the heart and energizes the spirit, no matter what your age.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Finding Neverland* (2004) and
Sesame Street presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
Finding Neverland hits more of the family demographic because it’s not something you’d park you 6 year old in front of. Kids in their double digits and ready to make the transition into watching longer and more involved movies will like it because they can see where elements of Peter Pan came from. Adults will like for much the same reason. Follow That Bird is purely a sentimental favorite of mine. The story has its share of flaws, but kids will love it and parents from my generation will remember it fondly as a little slice of nostalgia.
BEST COMEDY:Little Miss Sunshine* (2006)
It took the seemingly tired family road trip comedy construct and added all the right doses of weirdness and vulgarity to make this a delightful little film. Little Miss Sunshine is cute, but definitely deserves the R rating. Don’t be fooled- this film has got plenty of bite. It mostly avoids low-brow humor and throws out a nice helping of intellectual humor as well. But mostly it’s just the absurdity of the situations this poor family finds themselves in that makes this a gem worth the occasional viewing. Just make sure you put the kids to bed first.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Dan in Real Life (2007) and
Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Dan in Real Life scores an honorable mention for its charm and realistic humor. Instead of setting up punchy one-liners through zany antics, the humor springs from everyday thing, just like it happens for the rest of us. It’s risky to put so much subdued humor into a film because you run the risk of being boring. Dan in Real Life avoided that. Dumb and Dumber is an absolute guilty pleasure. The humor is almost all stupid and goofy but that’s what’s so darn lovable about it. I know it may not be popular with everyone, but for those of us who appreciate a little brainless fun and tons of quotable lines every once in a while, it’s a gem.
BEST DRAMA:The Great Escape (1963)
I can’t believe that this film was shunned by critics and the Academy at the time of its release. The Great Escape shows soldiers at their finest hour- risking death to secure their freedom and to annoy their captors as much as humanly possible. The all-male cast really does a good job of showing the range of emotions prisoners of war can face. The fact that this movie is based on true events really enhances the viewing experience. It’s surprising enough that real people were capable of such feats and even more surprising that the filmmakers kept everything more or less accurate to how it all went down. Shocking, daring and ballsy, The Great Escape is drama at its best.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Children of Men (2006) and
The Queen* (2006)
Children of Men was flat out bold and riveting. It was definitely one of the best 2006 films I saw, and I wonder why it was largely ignored come awards season. It’s seriously worth a watch. The Queen was not ignored during awards season and rightfully so! It’s brief but powerful and I highly recommend it. I have not seen all the films it was up against or Best Picture, but I thought it was superior to The Departed and (at this point) would have gotten my vote for the top prize at the Oscars.
BEST HORROR FILM:1408 (2007)
The only other film up for Horror would have been Hostel, which was rather weak and didn’t even score high enough to earn a nomination. 1408 uses smart thrills and chills to scare the crap out of you. It’s a pleasant throwback to old-school horror, before the advent of chunky, bloody shock-fests. Worth a look, if you can handle it and best of all, it comes from the mind of Stephen King, so you know it's going to be trippy.
BEST MUSICAL FILM:An American Tail (1986)
A bit of a controversial decision, but the songs from An American Tail are far more memorable than anything in Dreamgirls. The story is more concise and is more fulfilling once all is said and done. It doesn’t confuse or lose you along the way and the songs aren’t used to deliver exposition or as a means to drive the narrative along. Characters break into song because there’s a clever or sweet song to be sung about a certain topic being discussed. It’s also got my nostalgia vote going for it.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Dreamgirls (2006) and
Sesame Street presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
Don’t get me wrong, Dreamgirls was very good. It just got muddled up in the middle and the second act just wasn’t as strong as the first. Some of the focus drifts between characters, leaving me not sure who to care about most, let alone who the real star was. Follow That Bird picks up the nostalgia vote. It’s also superior to the other nominees (the Care Bears movies). Simple and sweet will always win out in my book for musicals.
BEST ROMANCE FILM:The Notebook (2004)
It was quite original and didn’t fall into as many pitfalls as most romantic films. The acting by both young and old stars was very convincing and it all tied up neatly into an understandable and largely realistic package. I’m not a big fan of straight romances, but this one is easily one of the best in a long time. I am pretty confident in saying that most guys can appreciate this film.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Dan in Real Life (2007) and
Walk the Line (2005)
Neither Dan in Real Life or Walk the Line really count as romances quite like The Notebook did. The romance in Dan in Real Life was secondary to the comedy and Walk the Line was too much of a biopic to get my vote. The love story of Johnny Cash and June Carter was also a little disturbing and borderline stalkerish. All in all, both are good solid films, just not solid romances.
BEST SCIENCE-FICTION OR FANTASY FILM:Children of Men (2006)
Nothing else I saw in 2007 could really compare at all. The sci-fi elements are muted here, which really works to the films benefit. It takes place in the near future and it doesn’t go overboard in depicting the types of technological advancements we might have by then. Some things aren’t explained much or at all, which can be frustrating in retrospect, but it’s well worth the ride. And it makes sense too- not everything in life can be explained to us, nor is it all explained to us. It also helps keep you in the action as you’re trying to make sense of it all along with the main characters.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Spaceballs (1987) and
Star Trek IIIl: The Search for Spock (1984)
Spaceballs is a cult classic and a favorite of mine. It’s an uproarious spoof of all the major sci-fi films up to that date. It hits just about everything right and only sputters somewhat when it tries to be too original. Star Trek III was a tough choice. It came down to The Search for Spock and The Wrath of Khan. Honestly they were both semi-weak options to choose from, but I went with Search for Spock because I enjoy the Vulcan outlook on life- very Eastern influenced. It was an intelligent sci-fi films and I appreciated the effort.
BEST THRILLER:The Great Escape (1963)
The reason The Great Escape won is because the thrilling aspect of the movie is heightened by the fact that you know it’s based off of real events. Some well-choreographed chase sequences ramped up the adrenaline and the danger of digging the tunnels used to escape was made very palpable. A long film, but it kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time, especially towards the end.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:Children of Men (2006) and
Munich* (2005)
Children of Men was just one shock after another. It’s almost better defined as an experience than something you simply watch. Chaos is thrown around you at every turn and you never really know who is going to turn on the characters next and where they’ll come from. Munich is a psychological thriller. By the end of the film, the assassin squad is being hunted down using the same methods they used to kill their targets. The paranoia is just so real it’s disturbing. Neither film is for the weak of heart.
BEST PICTURE (OVERALL):The Great Escape (1963)
I wanted so badly to give this award to Raiders of the Lost Ark because it is one of my favorites and it’s just so darn good, but The Great Escape lives up to its name. It’s great and the true story element of it gives it more weight than Raiders. It was a very ballsy move to make the film so long (nearly three hours) but it wouldn’t have been the same had it been shorter. The closer to the end of the film I got, the more frantic and worried I became about the fate of these men. It really is an investment, watching this movie. As long as you can appreciate a war drama, you will like it. For its boldness, truthfulness and its willingness to show the various emotions men feel under such circumstances, The Great Escape is deserving of my first annual GEeK Award for Best Picture.
WORST PICTURE (OVERALL):The Master of Disguise (2004)
I still think that this film could be the worst I have ever seen and possibly the worst ever made. Dear God, I hope I don’t find anything worse than this- I may literally gnaw my arm off trying to escape or I may break my TV. Neither would be good. The threat I made in my review for The Master of Disguise still rings true- if I find out you watched this movie after I’ve told you not to, I very well might hurt you for doing so and not feel an ounce of remorse about it.
BEST FILM FROM 2007 THAT I SAW IN 2007:Dan in Real Life (2007)
I didn’t see very many films in the theaters in 2007 and the selection of videos to rent were still on the slim side by the end of the year. But I don’t mean to diminish Dan in Real Life. It is a charming film and certainly one of the most underrated films I’ve seen in a while. It was also one of the most underappreciated films I saw all year. It finished well at the box office, but it could have done better. I hope that plenty of people pick this up on DVD or just to rent, because it really is a winner of a film. Adults can watch it and take pride that they can appreciate a hip actor while their teenagers are left wondering where the humor was.
BEST GUILTY PLEASURE FILM:Dumb and Dumber (1994)
The title alone explains it all. This movie is dumb and just gets dumber. That’s the beauty of it! I don’t know if there’s a logical reason to enjoy this film, but Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are just a riot. It’s the perfect brainless escape from the real world. As far as zany duo road trip comedies go, it’s hard to top the innocent and indulgent absurdity that is Dumb and Dumber.
MY FAVORITE REVIEW OF THE YEAR:Munich* (2005)
This stands out in my mind as the most well-written review I wrote last year. It gets the point across while explaining enough about the movie to make it seem worth watching. The film was handled with respect and I’d like to think that I handled the review with the appropriate amount of respect. It was satisfying to write and to read through again. I didn’t go off on a tirade like I did in some reviews (Brokeback Mountain and Spider-Man 3 for instance) and I didn’t rush through it. Basically a subjective award to close out the awards, but Munich wins it.
Or if you're not into reading through it all, here is the breakdown of the GEeK Award recipients:
FILMS WINNING 3 AWARDS:
An American Tail (1986)
The Great Escape (1963)
FILMS WINNING 1 AWARD:
1408 (2007)
Children of Men (2006)
Dan in Real Life (2007)
Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Little Miss Sunshine* (2006)
The Master of Disguise (2004)
Munich* (2005)
The Notebook (2004)
Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981)
