It is awards season time for the movies. I love seeing great work getting recognition and have always wanted to do my own bit of awarding. That is why FilmScope has the Scopies! And while FilmScope isn’t any AMPAS, we like pride ourselves in our ability to call a performance as we see it. We will be giving awards for Acting and Technical excellence in filmmaking, including the one that never gets any real recognition from those other guys; Best Choreography, which recognizes film sequences with noticeable dance and/or stunt work. So here are your 2009 Scopie Award recipients:

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker: You can find more information on this in the Top Ten of 2009 post. Runner-Up: A Serious Man.

Best Actor: Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man): Michael, Michael, Michael, you must be one cold basterd (sorry, wrong movie) to be getting so much applause for playing a character so mired in personal crises, or one hell of an actor. Thankfully, you are both and you allow us to feel sympathy towards Larry Gopnik. Come Oscar Day, you have my vote, if I had a vote, of course.  Runner Up: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan (An Education): Carey, a friend and I were talking about your performance a month ago when the name Audrey Hepburn came up. And while many people think you are following her example, I don’t think they understand how. It’s simple, you inspire the best performances out of your fellow actors and the effect shows when you’re on-screen. It was like falling in love with Roman Holiday all over again, except that Lone Sherfig is by no means William Wyler. I see great things in your future, including a Scopie. Runner-Up: Zooey Deschanel ((500) Days of Summer)

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds): What is it with so many compelling bad guys in movies? Two years ago it was Anton Chigurh, last year The Joker. Now it is Hans Landa, the menacing Jew Hunter in Quentin Tarrentino’s WWII epic. As Landa, Christoph Waltz creates a Nazi much smarter than seen before and more charismatic. The first fifteen minutes of the film, because of Waltz, is easily the best part. I really can’t wait to see what this unique German actor will come up with afterwards. Runner-Up: (tie) Zachary Quinto (Star Trek)/ersonName w:st="on">JackersonName>ie Earle Haley (Watchmen)

Best Supporting Actress: Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds): If Christoph Waltz was the biggest reason to see Inglourious Basterds, Melanie Laurent is the second-biggest. And considering just how little screen time Ms. Laurent has on screen, that says a lot. As Shoshana, the young Jewish woman who escapes Landa’s terror, her scenes are filled with intrigue and terror, especially when she hatches her own plot against the Nazis. Most of the emotional impact falls on her shoulders and she pulls it off magnificently. Runner-Up: Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)

Best Director: James Cameron (Avatar): It doesn’t matter if you believe in the hype of Avatar or not, you cannot deny the technical skill nor the ability that Cameron has at conveying the story as he had. This is not the first landscape use of 3D, but the first time he has filled it with a sense of atmosphere and context. This isn’t the first director to take us to new worlds, but one that feels authentic outside it’s basis in CG. And he actually gets a great performance out of Sam Worthington, which I thought was a lost cause in Terminator Salvation. For that, he’s still king of the world. Runner-Up: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Best Original Screenplay: Ethan and Joel Coen (A Serious Man): While it was inspired by the Book of Job, this is a whole new monster, a much darker comedy with deeper implications of self. And it is genuinely funny in a lot of places. And Sy Ableman is one of the best-written characters in modern movies. Runner-Up: Quentin Tarrentino (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Nick Hornby (An Education): It isn’t a new concept that a novelist will take on another person’s work and turn it into a movie. But Nick Hornby isn’t just any writer. His work understands the minds of men and the work he’s adapting follows a 16-year-old girl who has fallen in love with the wrong kind of man. The merging of these two areas, along with the zip of British humor, makes this screenplay one of the freshest I have ever seen. Runner-Up: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Worst Movie: Terminator Salvation: You may ask why would I possibly put a non-positive in my awards post. Simple: because out of all those really bad movies out there, especially the critical darlings like Precious, I have to respect the truly awful ones. And instead of doing a worst ten list, I thought I would just mention it here. Terminator Salvation almost single-handedly destroyed the franchise James Cameron built. Not only did it self-destruct it’s own premise, but nearly destroyed the mythology entirely. Not only that, but the action was deeply boring and not a little hard to follow at times. Just awful. Runner-Up: Bruno

Best Choreography:  (500) Days of Summer: Who will ever forget the glorious dance number just after Tom finally spends the night? Both extremely well-timed and delightfully funny. Runner-Up: The International

As for the rest, I won’t go into detail:

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins (A Serious Man) Runner-Up Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker)

Best Costume Design: Michael Kaplan (Star Trek) Runner-Up: Colleen Atwood (Public Enemies)

Best Production Design: David Wasco (Inglourious Basterds) Runner-Up: Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity)

Best Original Song: The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart*) Runner-Up: The Spirit of Adventure (Up)

Best Original Score: James Horner (Avatar) Runner-Up: Michael Giacchino (Up)

*I haven't seen Crazy Heart yet (otherwise Jeff Bridges might be my Best Actor winner), but I did listen to this song and it was so beautiful I knew I had to put it on the list. A slight cheat, but hey, it's my awards after all.