Phoenix Film Critics Go Slumming

Yes, I'm still alive. It's been like 45 days and I return to what may be end of the world: Brendan Fraser and Adam Sandler have new movies in previews, Tom Cruise is getting decent write-ups for his new flick, and poor Marisa Tomei deserves an Oscar for posing for this photo.

In case you're curious (you're not and it's OK), I've been away buying and renovating a house. And since my newspaper has drastically reduced my movie coverage, there's really been no reason to post new material even if I have been keeping up on the new flicks, and seeing some old ones in between. Consider this my return, though, and I shall never abandon my faithful readers (all 12 of you) again.

But before new reviews start appearing here, first some housekeeping. Here are the winners for the annual Phoenix Film Critics Society awards. The PFCS, which I've been a member of for several years, has also launched a new Web site here. Check it out. Here are the 2008 winners:

Best Picture — Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director — Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor — Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress — Meryl Streep, Doubt
Best Supporting Actor — Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress — Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Best Acting Ensemble — Milk
Best Original Screenplay — In Bruges
Best Adapted Screenplay — Slumdog Millionaire
Best Live Action Family Film — High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Overlooked Film — In Bruges
Best Animated Film — Wall-E
Best Foreign Language Film — Let the Right One In
Best Documentary — Man on Wire
Best Original Song — "The Wrestler" from The Wrestler
Best Original Score — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Cinematography — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Film Editing — Slumdog Millionaire
Best Production Design — The Dark Knight
Best Costume Design — The Duchess
Best Visual Effects — The Dark Knight
Best Stunts — The Dark Knight
Breakout on Camera — Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Breakout Behind the Camera — Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Best Performance by a Youth (Male) — Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Performance by a Youth (Female) — Dakota Fanning, The Secret Life of Bees

Top Ten Films of 2008 (in alphabetical order):
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
In Bruges
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
The Visitor
Wall•E
The Wrestler