The Twigman Awards

We are proud to announce this year's Twigman Award Winners! We had a rough time deciding on some of these awards. We argued, we pondered, we watched some crap. (Gerard Butler, we need to have a talk.) Actually, a lot of the better films of the year were "mainstream," so there wasn't so much crap. We refused to sacrifice ourselves for you, our readers, and watch some of the more crappy movies of the year (Miss March); if we suffer through something, it's going to be our own fault, thank you. But the best thing about seeing a little bit of everything? We're totally prepped for both Oscar picking AND Twigman loving. Behold the final cut below.


Best Picture: District 9

Contrary to popular belief (especially if you check the box office receipts--I weep for American cinema), the finest cinematic contribution to science fiction was not that God-awful Avatar. Neil Blomkammp's District 9, featuring an intelligent script, a brilliant lead performance by newcomer Sharlto Copley, and stellar visual effects, dazzles (and, even better, fascinates) from start to finish. Unlike Avatar, rife with cliches and stereotypes, District 9 never panders to its audience. The political issues are complex and multifaceted, discussing questions of racism, immigration, and sexual orientation. Fully-developed characters exhibit enough unsettling flaws, positive attributes, and emotional rawness to ring true to reality. Beautifully constructed action setpieces keep the audience's attention. The surprise setting--Johannesburg, not New York or London--makes the film look far less like Hollywood's typical summery sci fi confections (I'm looking at you, Transformers 2) than most other blockbusters featuring extraterrestrials. Even though District 9 is an alien flick, in telling the story of one man's metamorphosis from simple government bureaucrat to suffering outsider (in faux documentary form, no less), it remains totally gripping and utterly believable. Bravo to all the first-time Oscar nominees that made this film an instant classic: it's proof that you DON'T have to spend a quarter of a billion dollars to make something truly memorable. Sit back and be wowed.

-Katie




Best Director: Neill Blomkamp, District 9

When a visual effects guy steps behind the camera as a director, the results are often (technically) disastrous. Blomkamp's prior credits include 3-D animator and visual effects departments for Dark Angel, Smallville, and Stargate: SG-1. Sure, District 9's look is effectively gritty, and the film features enduring images, but its success is dependent upon its thematic weight and its stellar performances, which Blomkamp achieved with the style and verve of a seasoned veteran. He brings his own script to astonishing, full-bodied life, turning deep existential questions into science fiction glory, a la Blade Runner or Children of Men. Competent and assured, Blomkamp structures his film as a documentary, offering a verisimilitude to the all-too-relevant issues at hand. This compelling film would be any director's masterpiece, but as Blomkamp's rookie project, District 9, with its unknown cast and shoestring budget, proves even more impressive.

-Katie



Best Actor: Sharlto Copley, District 9


District 9 has a brilliant script and some stunning visual effects, but without a great lead actor, the film could crumble under the sheer weight of its themes. Enter unknown South African Sharlto Copley, whose visceral, epic performance as Wikus van de Merwe offers the film a raw humanity. Playing a dense government bureaucrat, Wikus is charmingly oblivious, but never without darkness; try not to wince when he leads his team to a prawn's (human slang for the alien visitors) shack to abort alien spawn. However, as the film progresses and his physical transformation becomes more horrific, the truly great transformation is within himself, learning empathy through his shocking fate. Wikus elicits the audience's laughter, frustration, and even tears as he runs the gamut of human emotion unlike any performance of 2009: hopeful joy, selfish rage, and true sadness. Behind that goofy mustache, there's a complicated, real man. Sharlto Copley made quite the entrance.

-Katie


Best Actress: Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

I know that Sandra Bullock is getting all the praise for her role in The Blind Side, but Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child was outstanding. The voice, the body movements, the delivery...it's all magical. She blows Sandra Bullock out of the freaking water.


~Lauren


Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

In what will most likely be the most memorable performace of the year, Christoph Waltz conquers the silver screen as Hans Landa. This movie could not exist without this character and, most of all, Waltz performance. Need proof? Go watch the first scene of Inglorious Basterds and tell me otherwise. He's cunning, brilliant, devious, creepy, and even oddly charming at times. I know the "It's a Bingo!" line gets all the fame for his performance, but for me, this opening scene is his best. However, it's the little moments that solidify his victory. Take, for example, his remarks to Hugo Stiglitz's dead corpse. Or better yet, his Italian discussion with Raines and Co. Honestly, I have a hard time trying to decide which scene is creepier - the opening scene, or the scene when he questions Brigit. The bottom line is that every time this man steps onto the screen he has the audience tense up with real terror. He is the figure from our nightmares come to life, and he rules.


~Lauren


Best Use of a Previously Written Song in a Movie: "In the Air Tonight," The Hangover

I personally think poor ol' Phil Collins gets a bad rap anyway; there's a place in this world for upbeat pop. Fortunately, few would deny that this particular number is an 80's classic. Think Miami Vice: this song takes you to a very specific time and place, one where ice cream-colored suits and no socks was vastly cool for a cop. And that's awesome. But for our generation, this song will no doubt take us back to a disastrous Vegas hotel room, where a past-his-prime Mike Tyson air-drummed, howled, and slugged his way back into our hearts. (Sorry, folks, but tone-deaf singing and subsequently knocking a guy out will NEVER get old.) Because rocking out to this admittedly epic track is something we've all done at some time or other, the use of Tyson's top tune is comically absurd yet...something that doesn't surprise us. As Bradley Cooper's Phil would attest, Tyson and Phil Collins (God bless him) have still got it!

-Katie



Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino


Successful, well written and well thought out screenplays are rare in Hollywood. They don't always get optioned into movies and they're often destroyed on the cutting room floor. Tarantino's script is bold and daring. Let's face it, English is not the main language of the film. It's difficult enough to get an audience to watch a film with subtitles. Getting an audience to watch a film with subtitles for French, German, and Italian is so ridiculous that I'm sure most production companies laughed hysterically. But somehow, Tarantino pulls it off brilliantly. The tension he builds, the flawless switches from the multiple story lines, the fascinating characters - it all comes together brilliantly.

~Lauren



Best Costuming: Sherlock Holmes

Like Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is much more concerned with giving off a vibe than with being 100% historically accurate. His vision is a fun, fast-paced, sexy version of an old classic (with a warm respect for the source material), with RDJ as a scruffy, eccentric Holmes and Jude Law as an elegant man of action. While their wardrobe is not precisely the height of Victorian fashion, they both manage to look stunning and true to their characters, complementing each other nicely.

-Katie


Best Makeup: District 9

We've already discussed Wikus's inner transformation, but in a sci fi blockbuster like this one, the outer transformation is almost as important. The imaginative folks at WETA worked their magic to change Wikus from bumbling human to repulsive alien in harrowing, horrific stages. Watch Wikus go Gregor Samsa with excruciating slowness, each new characteristic more shocking and gruesome than the last. The skin of his back peels away to reveal a crustacean-like exoskeleton. His arm becomes a hideous, unrecognizable claw. His eyes change into great golden spheres, marking his complete separation from the human race: he can now clearly see through the eyes of the suffering. It's all accomplished with great skill by the makeup artists.

-Katie



Best Visual Effects: Terminator: Salvation


This was truly an amazing year for visual effects. Between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Avatar (though it pains me to say it), Star Trek, District 9, and even G. I. Joe. We've thought long and hard about this award. We know Avatar is going to win the Oscar, but for us, well, we take the time to kick back and look back at the little things.






I suggest you look at this video starting at 3:14. Remember these bad boys? EPIC! Little details like this are why we're giving this Twigman to Terminator: Salvation.

~Lauren




Best Technical Explosion: Terminator: Salvation


Last year with gave this to the hospital demolition in The Dark Knight. This year's had to be equally, if not more epic. There was only one choice - this entire fraking scene.








~Lauren




Best Pyrotechnics: Terminator: Salvation


This award could also be called the Cody award, in honor of the Tropic Thunder character and winner of last year's explosion. With that in mind, I tried to think of a Cody worthy explosion. You know, something worthy of the line "Mother Nature's gonna piss her pantsuit." Our winner can be seen in the last ten seconds of this youtube video.

~Lauren

Best Drop of the F-Bomb: All of District 9

Unlike our previous winner, we couldn't narrow our winner down to one unforgettable phrase. This year, it's all about delivery, and boy, does Sharlto Copley nail it. For those of you keeping count, District 9 offends with this four-letter word a whopping 137 times (thanks, Wikipedia). And while the sheer volume is impressive, the real magic of the f-word here is its pronunciation, transforming the schwa sound of the American pronunciation into the ever amusing "fook." And fortunately, most of its uses are completely warranted; Wikus definitely has reason to be swearing.

-Katie

Best Pop Culture Reference: "Are you ready to let the dogs out," The Hangover

For pop culture junkies like the two of us here, a respectful nod, a knowing wink, or an off-the-wall name drop is a glittering moment in any film. In 2009, the hit comedy The Hangover with hip references to the aforementioned Phil Collins and Rain Man, but it's Alan's strange hope that the guys are going "to let the dogs out" that stands out. Let us not forget "In the Air Tonight" and Rain Man are both emblematic works of the 80's; they're both far enough in the past to have attained classic status. The Baha Men's sporting events anthem "Who Let the Dogs Out?," however, cannot make such a claim on society. The song is a curse on the ears, but somehow, when the four dudes strut in slow-mo to its annoying chorus of "who, who, who?"...it's cooler than it's ever been, in all its ridiculous glory.
-Katie