Year in Review Part 2- Random Awards

These aren't consistent awards (as in next year won't be the same done over), these are just noteworthy elements that I want to point.

Best Comeback: Mickey Rourke

Never understood everyone's talk about Robert Downey Jr., whose run in with the law barely left a dent in his consistency. Rourke literally fell off the face of the Earth. Rodriguez gave him a boost with Sin City, but that only left him to more genre pictures a la Domino. Now that he has done The Wrestler, hes got a part in The Expendables, cheesy goodness I'm sure, Iron Man, one of the more anticipated movies, and The Informers, which like any Bret Easten Ellis adaptation will surely find cult success.

Biggest Dissapointment: Gran Torino

For Clint Eastwood's last acting gig, he certainly surrounded himself with a very sub-par supporting cast. None of the dialogue sounded natural in the least unless it was coming from Clint. And I can't help but wish that his last try at acting would be in a Dirty Harry role, not some other lovable racist.

"I don't care what you say, I liked it" Award: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I love Indiana Jones, and the fourth installment is no exception. It may not be the best Indy flick, but it's still great fun. Shia LaBeouf is a strong up and comer, the action sequences were cool, and I don't care what stupid internet saying they try to spawn, nuking the fridge wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. In fact, it fell in line with the '50s pulp fiction they were emulating.

Breathrough Performance: TIE Craig Robinson and Jeremy Renner

Craig Robinson is genius. He has great timing and perfect screen presence. He only had a few lines in 40 year Old Virgin, but he was still one of the more memorable characters. Now that he has more screen time in Pineapple Express and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, he completely stole the show.

Jeremy Renner, up to this point, has been pretty tongue in cheek Hollywood fluff. In 28 Weeks Later, he actually showed a lot of potential but it wasn't until this years The Hurt Locker that he truly showed what he can do.

Best Supporting Actor: Aaron Eckhart for The Dark Knight

It is my opinion that the theatrical nature of The Joker and Ledger's untimely death led to most of his critic praise. In reality, Harvey Dent was the backbone of The Dark Knight (admittedly from Christopher Nolan). It was Aaron Eckhart's character that had a perfectly paced character arc. Harvey/ Two Face was a much more complex character in the film, and Eckhart handled it with charisma.

"Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave" Award- The Shield

The Shield is without a doubt my favorite show on television. This year it saw its final season, and while I'm sad its over, I am happy it was able to end rather than be canceled when it got stale. I was also glad to see it have a satisfying conclusion rather than a fade to black Sopranos' ending.

Biggest Oscar Snub: Best Song- "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen

Many would say The Dark Knight which got most of its nominations at the guild awards but didn't bring home any wins. On the other hand Springsteen was actually winning awards with his song from The Wrestler that when it came time for Oscar nominations, its exclusion was far more surprising than The Dark Knight's. Springsteen is even a member of the Academy. I guess the Oscars aren't as political as everyone pretends they are.

Most Anticipated:
Movie: Watchmen- The "unfilmable" comic being translated to film with an inspired cast, a director who is fantastic with visuals, and having as many bases covered as possible including Under the Hood and The Black Freighter aspects of the comic, the elements easiest to cut out.

Comic: Mighty Avengers in Dan Slott's hands- The first issue is already out and Slott made more progress with one issue than Bendis did his entire run.

Television: The return of Rescue Me. With The Shield gone, Rescue Me has been lifted to my top favorite show, and I can't wait for its return in April.

Favorite New Comic Characters: TIE- Nova/Iron Fist

I was never really interested in either. I caught Nova a few times in New Warriors, but Iron Fist's stupid looking costume always repelled me from his comic. When they both got their own titles over the last few years, I have been really interested in them. They are both more epic than the street level B-listers they once were, and have been some of the more consistent in quality on the shelves. Its just too bad that their actual numbers do not reflected that.

Most Underrated Actor- Sam Rockwell

Not just in 2008, but in general. He is definitely the most untapped talent in the industry. Last year saw 2 great performances, one in Frost/Nixon which was forgotten with good reason and one in Snow Angels,a indie sleeper that didn't get great exposure. At least he'll be seen in Iron Man 2 as an evil Stark counterpart.

Best New Hottie- Katy Perry

Rock chick attitude with pop star sound. Curvy but not heavy. More smiles than pouty faces. How can you not like?