The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and I've been a longtime fan of making lists.
So I'm currently working on my top 10 list of 2009 movie releases. For those who have been asking, that list will run Jan. 1.
But until then, I'd like to hand out some annual awards. Let's call them Viceroys for convenience sake.
And there are a lot of deserving winners. For example, the Viceroy winner for both the Best Documentary and the Best Movie Most People Didn't See is "The Cove."
Louis Psihoyos's nonfiction film about dolphin slaughter in Japan left me visibly shaken.
"The Cove" is also a film that works on multiple levels. It's a fine piece of investigative journalism, as well as one of the more thrilling espionage tales of the year.
Other Viceroy winners include:
Best Male Performance: Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker."
We've seen this cocky soldier character before, but the underrated Renner added depth and needed humanity to the film.
Best Female Performance: Mo'Nique Imes, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."
The actress may be known mostly for her comic work, but she was genuinely terrifying as the title character's abusive mother.
Best Breakthrough Performance (tie): Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Max Records, "Where the Wild Things Are"; and Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."
Mulligan offered a star-making turn as a British teen, while Sidibe was a breath of fresh air.
Records was actually a replacement for the originally cast actor. But he held his own against the live-action/CGI "Wild Things" and his human costars.
Most Welcome Comeback: Woody Harrelson.
He stole both "The Messenger" and "Zombieland" out from under his costars. And as silly as his bit as a conspiracy buff in "2012" was, he was amusing.
Best Action-Thriller: "The Hurt Locker."
Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war tale about bomb-disarming soldiers was gripping, unforgettable stuff.
Best Comedy: "(500) Days of Summer" refused to talk down to audiences. It also featured the most honest, realistic ending for romantic fare seen in quite some time.
Best Drama: "Sin Nombre," a bittersweet tale of illegal immigrants.
Best Foreign Language Film: "Thirst" was a crafty, crazy vampire thriller from Korea that never became predictable.
Best Horror Film: "Drag Me to Hell."
Welcome back, Sam Raimi.
Best Science-Fiction Film: "Star Trek."
Purists had their quibbles about how J.J. Abrams and company supposedly changed the existing continuity. It was good enough to get mass audiences to see a Trek movie, though.
e-mail: jeff@desnews.com