Spoiler Warnings!
Best Movie-Related Gift
The viral popcorn bucket from Dune 2
What else could it have been but this infamous movie snack receptacle? Not just the best and funniest film-related gift of the year, this is an all-time great movie memorabilia item, inspiring endless online jokes and even an SNL music video.
Honorable mentions: The Brutalist scale model; coffee mug with dance scene from Robot Dreams; the I Told Ya t-shirt from Challengers; a movie pass from Movie Pass, Movie Crash
Best Dance Scene
The Robot Dreams ending dance scene
Major spoiler warning here: this is the essentially last scene of the film, and ties together an earlier happy dance scene/montage. The entire film itself is wordless and dialogue-free, but that only makes the characters’ actions even more meaningful, and the purest form of self-expression, in this film at least, is dance – conveying the whole gamut of walloping emotions.
Honorable mentions: Emma Stone in Kinds of Kindness; Mikey Madison opening scene in Anora; Kathryn Newton and Alisha Weir in Abigail; Jim Carey in Sonic 3.
Best Halloween Costume
Longlegs from Longlegs
Longlegs in this film is a bit like the shark in Jaws – the menacing threat of his presence overwhelms everything else, and when he is finally revealed in person, he does not disappoint. That said, let’s just put up a half screen picture of him here, so it isn’t too much for an unsuspecting reader.
Honorable mentions: The monkey mask from Monkey Man; tennis players with short shorts from Challengers; Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked; Glen Powell’s getups (take your pick) in Hit Man.
Best Food or Drink
Dennis Quaid eating shrimp in The Substance
This was a toss up between this scene and Nicole Kidman’s infamous milk scene in Babygirl, but I opted for gross over funny. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get that visceral ASMR sensation out of my head. In a body horror movie known for gross scenes, this might be the most disgusting moment of all.
Honorable mentions: Nicole Kidman chugging in the milk in Babygirl, “Real Beer” Snack Shack, the churro eating in Challengers, the water of life in Dune Part 2.
Best Cameo
Jesse Plemons in Civil War
Most cameos tend to be surprise appearances, but Plemons’ showing in Alex Garland’s Civil War was in the trailer itself, and the surprise is that he’s only in the one scene. But it is an unforgettable one, and one of the most tense, nerve-wracking ones in a film about a modern-day American civil war.
Honorable mentions: Matt Damon in Drive Away Dolls; Jack Neo in I Not Stupid 3; Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith in Wicked; Chris Evans in Deadpool and Wolverine; Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls.
Best Directorial Debut
Sean Wang for Didi
This site has given a lot of love to this film already, but it’s remarkable that before the age of 30, Wang has gotten an Oscar nomination and is a film festival darling. It will be interesting to see his future projects that branch out beyond his semi-autobiographical stories – don’t bet against him.
Honorable mentions: Molly Manning Walker for How to Have Sex; Mike Cheslik for Hundreds of Beavers; Greg Jardin for It’s What’s Inside; Josh Margolin for Thelma; Annie Baker for Janet Planet; Dev Patel for Monkey Man
Best Meme Fodder
Lisan Al Gaib references from Dune Part 2
Movie memes can get overwhelming these days but ironically, one of the best sources of the year was one of the most overlooked by the Academy – Denis Villeneuve’s Dune sequel was an epic that had a bit of everything, including some surprising comedic bits from unexpected sources, like Javier Bardem’s Stilgar becoming a zealot follower of Paul Atreides that acts as commentary of the nature of religion, belief, and power.
Honorable mentions: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande holding space in Wicked promos; Josh Hartnett’s expressions in Trap; every single scene in Emilia Perez.
Best Song
“Harper and Will go West” by Kristin Wiig from Will & Harper
In a pretty mediocre year for documentaries, Will Ferrell’s film Will & Harper is what you would expect – touching, funny, and timely. It’s also full of running comedic bits like calling Wiig to write a theme song for them, and the payoff once the credits roll is the best thing to come out of the film – a lyrical, humorous bop that you won’t be able to stop listening to.
Honorable mentions: Kiss the Sky from The Wild Robot; A Song for You from Your Monster; H.O.O.D from Kneecap
Best Movie Twist
It’s What’s Inside
Greg Jardin’s feature debut It’s What’s Inside is one of the smartest, twistiest thrillers of the year – taking the body swap trope and turning it up to 11 with a kinetic energy and razor-sharp plot twists that will force you not to look at your phone for even a few seconds or you’ll be left in the dust. Wait till the end for best and biggest twist of all.
Honorable mentions: Evil Does Not Exist; My Old Ass; Conclave; Blink Twice; Nickel Boys
