Who's Watching The Watchmen?

I did.

Now it would stand to reason that it's easier to adapt a graphic-novel into a movie than it is to adapt a novel, after all - the visuals are almost pre-planned out for you as opposed to descriptive words on a page. The Crow and Sin City are good examples of how to properly adapt material for the screen; V for Vendetta and Constantine are clearly not. Zack Snyder has enjoyed success with adapting Frank Miller's 300, a magnificent work of art into a Whopper Award winning film. To do this however he had to add in some new plot and scenes not featured in the book as the original materiel was too short for a two-hour movie. For Watchmen, Snyder had the opposite problem; the materiel was far to long and complex and some elements had to be chopped out.

I would imagine it’s more difficult removing elements from such a well crafted story than it was to create and add elements in. Unfortunately, Watchmen’s plot is so complex and interwoven, that anything removed from it negatively impacts the viewers understanding of the story as a whole, especially if they’ve not read the book, which I'd imagine the majority of cinema goers will not have. As Snyder has holds Alan Moore's original work in great reverence, I am left wondering if he didn't perhaps remove enough. I can verify that this, while a significant one, is the movie's only significant flaw.

Extensive dialog aside, Watchmen is an awesome on-screen spectacle melding faithfulness to the comic book artwork of the mid 80’s with the most extraordinary visuals which Hollywood is capable of in the 21st century. The attention to detail is staggering. If one was to examine any frame of film, I'd reckon it would not be too hard a task to identify which panel of the comic book it corresponds to. The acting is superb from the intensity of Oscar nominee Jackie Early Haley as Rorschach to the sweet delicate beauty of Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre. Not even the somewhat laughable absurdity of a glowing blue "meat and two veg" dangling between Billy Crudup's (Dr. Manhattan) legs could spoil such a superb acting ensemble.

I gleefully accepted the completely unexpected level of violence that was presented here. The fight scenes were incredible and expertly choreographed. There was no wishy-washy "implied violence" here - if it happened you saw it - just the way I like it. The powered saw scene was a particular favourite. Kudos to Snyder for keeping this permanently out of reach from young children.

Final verdict: Dr. Manhattan may be too "talkie" for some and if you got lost watching it, I recommend reading the graphic-novel - and then re-watching the movie. I think you'll enjoy it more. Otherwise, the sometimes over-the-top violence and spectacular visuals make this one of the definitive comic-book movies ever.

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****+

Official Site / IMDB Page / Wikipedia Entry

Naked Cowen Is A Bloody Disgrace

I was appalled to learn over the past few days that some cretin was able to waltz into the portrait section of both the National Gallery of Ireland and the Royal Hibernian Academy and erect painted nude caricatures of An Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Now, while I obviously have a sense of humour and so does Cowen [he even altered the expansion of his BIFFO nickname to Big Intelligent Fellow From Offaly while on television LOL], but there is a line to to be drawn somewhere like the one that should exist before jokes about paedophilia or using the 'n' word as a form of humour. Now as a public figure, I realise Cowen has to contend with the class of parody afforded to all political leaders, especially the great ones before him: Scrap Saturday existed to lampoon the great Charlie Haughey; lefty rag The Phoenix made it's sales from taking the piss out of our beloved Bertie for 15 years; our British neighbours created Spitting Image and depicted Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher in bed together and everyone on the planet has seen a America's hilarious attempts at satire by comparing George W. Bush's facial expressions with those of chimpanzees. However, hanging nude pictures of the head of government in The National Gallery crosses that line too.

Despite being disgraceful, the news story was jumped upon by the usual liberal media and strangely mentioned on RTE, the national broadcaster. Regaining some measure of redemption, RTE later apologised and removed the appalling story from the archives but sadly not before the country's miscreant blogger elite jumped on it keeping it alive as an example of government censorship likening us to North Korea or is it the country's loss of humour in these tough economic times or RTE's love affair with the government - it's difficult to know what their point is [if any] amidst the badly-written puke-inducing liberal rhetoric.

To be honest, two things annoy me more then the disrespect shown to the office of the Taoiseach. One is the obviously little or no security at either location. The clown walked into each establishment with presumably a large enough box/package to house a picture frame, produce a hammer, drive a nail into a wall, erect the portraits and walk out again apparently unchallenged by any form of physical security. While I'm not suggesting the level of scrutiny that I went through upon visiting public locations in Washington D.C. last week, it does highlight woeful protection of our more treasured works of art - even those in that section of The National Gallery like civil war hero Micheal Collins, playwright W.B. Yeats, broadcaster Gay Byrne and musician Bono [well O.K. perhaps we can afford to have Bono stolen or defaced - that moron doesn't really deserve to have his image there].

Secondly: even more disturbing is the true profession of the "artist" of the offensive portraits - A SCHOOLTEACHER - that's right, someone who's job is is to develop the minds of the nation's youth, no wonder the gurriers are as they are!!! One Conor Casby, is a 35 year old Dublin [why am I not surprised] secondary school teacher. According to The Irish Times, the Gardaí have interviewed him and are preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions including recommendations for prosecution for indecency, incitement to hatred and criminal damage [obviously hammering a nail into a wall of The National Gallery of Ireland]. If convicted, he would face a heavy fine and possibly even a stint in jail. Sadly, the death penalty for this kind of subversive is unlikely - a crying shame.

Max Payne 3 Coming

As usual Max Payne developers Remedy are presumably polishing off Alan Wake, it is Rockstar Vancouver that announced a third instalment in the series for PC, 360 and PS3 on Monday.

The award-winning Max Payne franchise put players in the role of Max Payne, a hard-boiled New York City detective with a penchant for violence, out to avenge the death of his family. The latest instalment delivers more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while moving the story of Max in a new direction.

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne and witness his last chance for salvation."

Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out.

Other than this announcement, all we have is the obligatory limited website. Lets assume at least early 2010 at this point but I'm excited at the prospect of returning to bullet time heaven!

Source: Gamespy

Whopper's final days in D.C.

The Colonel had just two major sights to see before returning to The Bunker. On Friday 20th, he visited the world famous United States Marine Corps War Memorial just North of Arlington Cemetery. The memorial features the 32-foot high bronze statues of Sgt. Strank, Cpl. Block, PFC. Sousley, PFC. Gagnon, PFC. Hayes and PM2 Bradley - the Marines and Navy Corpsman who erected the US Flag on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima in February 1945.

On Saturday, March 21st, The Colonel made one final unofficial visit, this time to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. There he experienced seeing WWII aircraft including the Enola Gay herself as well as the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

Much to The Colonel's surprise he discovered the original United States Postal Service box which had been painted up as R2D2 and mass replicated for the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. He made many vain attempts to touch it as it had been signed by not only the Postmaster General but also by one George L. Lucas!

Whopper In Quantico

The Colonel, being a man of his word, has fulfilled the vow made in April of 2006. On Thursday, 19th March 2009, Colonel "Whopper" Creedon made his first unofficial visit to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia.

Though not expecting his visit, The Colonel found the Museum to be in immaculate condition and its staff to be competent, friendly, and informative. The architecture of the Museum made a stunning visual impact with its large slanted beam extending from the interior floor through the roof dome, a homage to the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.

The Museum displays many life size dioramas of US Marines and their hardware in action. It's also home to some of the most precious artifacts of The Corps since its inception in 1775, including the First Flag raised on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, and a number of Medals Of Honor bestowed on Marine heroes throughout history.

The Colonel absorbed more than 230 years of Marine Corps history as he toured the many impressive exhibits on display. He also had the opportunity to perform a uniform inspection on a Marine 2nd Lieutenant and proved that he's still got the stuff by effortlessly lifting a full Marine Corps molle pack for a crowd of cheering onlookers.

Whopper At 8th and I

On Wednesday morning The Colonel visited the oldest post in the Corps - The Marine Barracks and 8th and I, Washington, DC.

Gunnery Sergeant Price had the honour of escorting The Colonel around the barracks and the Commmandant's home, now declared a National Historical Landmark.

In addition to revelling in Corps history and the sheer importance of the location, The Colonel paid his respects to some of the now deceased "Chesty" mascots, reviewed and critiqued the Marines practising for Evening Parade's silent drill, and inspected the Bachelor's quarters.

Whopper At Arlington

On Tuesday, Colonel Creedon visited Arlington National Cemetery to pay respect to the nation's honoured dead...

...including the many lost under his own command.

Being away from The Bunker was no good excuse not to celebrate St. Paddy's Day. Of course, as The Colonel was stateside, he had no trouble finding a suitable venue (or two) of celebration. Properly bedecked with shiny paper shamrocks, The Colonel lifted his glass in honour of the day, hailing all with a hearty "Erin go bragh" and making new friends, most notably in the form of A-10 Thunderbolt pilot Colonel Mott of the USAF.

Whopper At The Pentagon

On a visit to Washington D.C., Colonel "Whopper" Creedon stopped by the Pentagon Monday morning to give a press conference denouncing a recent environmental impact report that blamed UNETIDA for an underground chemical explosion in Southern Virginia in July of last year.

Following that, The Colonel paid his respects to retiring Major General Carlos "Butch" Pair, Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive. Upon meeting The Colonel, General Pair commented that he would love to one day return to Ireland and reminisced fondly about his days in Galway.

The Colonel also visited the Pentagon Memorial commemorating the 184 lives lost during the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

Bye for a while folks

The 4th Annual Whopper Awards - Winners!

There can only be one final winner in each category, and here are the winners of the 2009 Whopper Awards...


Best Supporting Actress
Christine Rose [Heroes]

While Kathryn Hahn gave an excellent performance as Alice Duff in Step Brothers she was pipped by Christine Rose for her protrayal of Angela Petrelli on Heroes. Christine has come to grips with the multi-faceted character of the Petrelli matriarch and during 2008 she displayed almost ones entire acting range as a protective mother, disgruntled wife and company chairman. She showed her dark cold blooded side expertly while convincing us her questionable deeds were for the greater good.


Best Supporting Dramatic Actor
Heath Ledger [The Dark Knight]

John Noble lends his extraordinary talent portraying the mentally troubled genius Doctor Bishop on Fringe, a character who delivers as much sympathy as he does laughs, but the award here must go to Heath Ledger, for crafting an even more disturbed and psychotic genius, the criminal mastermind - The Joker. It's regrettable that Heath will be the first person to never know he has won a Whopper as he died last January from a drug-overdose. R.I.P.


Best Supporting Comedy Actor
Robert Downey Jnr.

It is not until you see Robert Downey Jnr. portraying an Australian actor who in turn dons blackface to become an African American soldier in Vietnam do you understand how far modern comedy has evolved from the likes of Charlie Chaplin [whom Downey has also portrayed].

Best Score
The Incredible Hulk [Craig Armstrong]

Marvel Comics were so impressed with Armstrong's work on The Incredible Hulk that they authorised a two-disc edition from the first day of release! An unprecedented move that in all my years of collecting scores, I can't recall happening before. When you hear it you'll understand why.


Best Song
It’s A Good Day To Die (from Starship Troopers 3, Written by Bill Meyers, Kevin McCourt & Edward Neumeier, Performed by Stephen Hogan)

This was an easy decision. If only they could all be. Sing along with it after you watch if for the 10th time....


Best Special Effects
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Despite us believing that Robert Downey Jnr. as Tony Stark could don a suit of high-tech armour and become the superhero Iron Man. Hellboy II had an impressive array of visual effects lending credence to the bizarre mutant creatures, vast otherworldly mythological settings and culminating in an impressive display of CG mechanical combat that has probably sent a few idiots to Co. Antrim looking for a goblin named Alexander.


Best Art Direction
City Of Ember

It was a monumental undertaking for a film, to create an entire subterranean world melding some steam punk elements with evocations of a Victorian era. One can't imagine where to start, let alone being as successful as the Art and Design team for this Northern Irish film.


Best Writing
Frank Military (The Unit) [Segment 4-01 “Sacrafice”]

The fourth season of the CBS Special Forces military show, The Unit, opens with "Sacrafice" where in the pre-credits teaser, Colonel Ryan discovers that the President Elect and Vice-President Elect are the targets of an assassination plot leaving the Vice-President Elect dead and the President Elect missing! It gets even more gripping from then on...


Best Actress For Actually Acting:
Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica)

As President Laura Roslin in the hit Sci-Fi show, Battlestar Galactica; Mary McDonnell has brought her character through the trials and tribulations of leading her people away from home, avoiding annihilation, all while battling a cancer within her threatening to kill her before she accomplishes that which has been prophecised. During 2008 she has portrayed being held at gunpoint, discusses death with a fellow terminally ill cancer patient and survives being taken hostage by Cylons.


Best Action Actress
Angelina Jolie

As the character Fox during the magnificent action-movie Wanted, Angelina Jolie lies on her back, spreadlegged on the bonnet of a fast moving car, in a skimpy white dress threatening to be torn off by her velocity, while firing two pistols an oncoming bad guy and steering the car with her foot! No-one else came close this year.


Hottest Actress
Olga Kurylenko [Quantum of Solace]

Beating off stiff competition from returning hottie Madchen Amick and the current holder of FHM's #1 Hottest Woman - Megan Fox; relative newcomer Olga Kurylenko secures probably the most coveted Whopper Award by women on screen anywhere for her smoking hot protrayal of Bond-babe Camille in Quantum Of Solace.


Best Dramatic Actor
Josh Brolin [W.]

Following a somewhat different path to the one he explored with Nixon, Oliver Stone crafted W., the story of another of the greatest presidents of the United States. The the film failed to achieve the status of Nixon, more due to Stone releasing the movie just before the 2008 US Presidential Election and not due to the near-perfection that John Brolin portrayed the 43rd US President, which deserves the highest of praise.


Best Action Actor
Liam Neeson [Taken]

The big man from Antrim walks away with the Whopper for this category for his portrayal of the loving father, yet brutal ex-CIA "preventer" Bryan Mills who in order to rescue his daughter, single handedly tortures, maims but mostly kills everyone he meets in the putrid cesspool of pure evil known as: ... Paris.


Best Comedy Actor
Will Ferrell [Step Brothers]

Fighting the closest race of this years awards, Will Ferell's Brennan Huff beat Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy for sheer laughs. Ferrell has missed in comparison with most of his comedies since Anchorman but this movie put him back up there.

Best Director
Jon Favreau [Iron Man]

It was a colossal undertaking bringing Iron Man to be big screen for the fist time. Marvel took a big chance on a relatively inexperienced director to create something that they were counting on replacing the Spider-Man franchise in cinemas. They got it, and a whole lot more as Fraveau's attention to detail was all up there on the big screen.


Best Television Show of 2008:
Battlestar Galactica

From strength to strength, so matter how extremely bizarre it may get at times this has proven to exceed all expectations and the mullets, Moppets, pleasure planets and space-Nazi's of the original series have been left all but forgotten. This is unquestionably the benchmark for modern episodic science-fiction television and will be remembered long after it finishes up this year - so say we all!

Best Miniseries or TV Movie of 2008:
Generation Kill

Generation Kill was a series generated from a book written after an article I once read in Rolling Stone magazine about US Marines invading Iraq in 2003. It's fascinating to see the contents of that three part article spread out over hour-long episodes. The acting, military advising and photography is above standard for some of the shit on HBO. This series serves as a testament to the work done over there and it makes me drink to those who never returned. Semper Fi.


Best Video Game of 2008:
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warefare

Crysis may have had superior graphics and Half Life 2:Episode 2, a better story - but COD4 was just too good not to give it the highest accolade of the year. It's not brimming with innovation but you do get dozens of guns and fight clever enemies. You get to be a member of the SAS and even better: for half the game you get to be a US Marine! And as I was trained by the SAS in the mid '80's then this is the closest any of you of you will get to be like me! [excluding the part where your chopper goes down in a post-nuke EMP blast and you die horribly from the radiation - that's never happened me].


Best Comedy Movie of 2008
Step Brothers

Despite almost vomiting with laughter at the opening "fake trailers", a superb script, monumental acting and the sheer madness of a bizarre dancing sequence from Tom Cruise himself; Tropic Thunder was beaten by Adam McKay's Step Brothers, a superbly paced comedy with a bizarre concept. Step Brothers had you chuckling at the beginning, sniggering about a quarter of the way through which, in turn - became laughter at the half-way point and finished up with me collapsing and hyperventilating on the floor of the cinema.

Best Action Movie of 2008
Iron Man & Rambo

The standard of action movies was extremely high this year making it a daunting task to just whittle down the nominations list to five from over a dozen choices - so you can imagine how near-impossible it was to pick the final winner. Iron Man's big screen début deserved this honour for special-effects sci-fi action but the return of Sylvester Stallone's intense Vietnam war-vet John Rambo made a superb case for the almost forgotten jungle action movie. I must therefore, for the fist time ever - half the Whopper Award and acknowledge them both equally for different reasons.


Best Dramatic Motion Picture of 2008
The Dark Knight

"It is my great hope that the Batman legacy will continue in this fashion for years to come." - Colonel Creedon January 2006 after bestowing the Whopper Award on Batman Begins for Best Picture of 2005. My hope is confirmed. Now I desire a third film to complete a magnificent trilogy and let there be none to follow...


Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design in 2008
Legend of the Seeker

A special Whopper Award for Jane Holland and the Wardrobe department of the Fantasy series Legend Of The Seeker for their outstanding cosuming work, especially on Bridget Regan's character Kahlan Amnell [pictured].


Outstanding Comtribution to Entertainment in 2008

This special Whopper Award goes to Tina Fey for her work as both a writer and star of 30 Rock and for her contribution to the US Presidential Election portraying Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.

And what Whopper Awards would be complete with out a list of the worst productions and performances of 2008:

Worst Actor: Keanu Reeves [Street Kings]

Worst Actress: Mena Suvari [Day Of The Dead]

Worst Supporting Actor: John Malkovich [The Mutant Chronicles]

Worst Supporting Actress: Maggie Grace [Taken]

Worst Director: Jon Avnet [Righteous Kill]

Worst Video Game: Iron Man [Sega]

Worst TV Show: Sanctuary

Worst Movie: Dragon Wars

And that's it folks. Join me in 2010 for the 5th Whoppers and special awards given for the best work of the first decade of the 21st century.

The 4th Annual Whopper Awards - Nominations Part III

Continued from Part II

Best Director:

Jon Favreau [Iron Man]
Louis Leterrier [The Incredible Hulk]
Christopher Nolan [The Dark Knight]
Sylvester Stallone [Rambo]
Pete Travis [Vantage Point]

Best Television Show of 2008:

Battlestar Galactica
Chuck
Robot Chicken
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Unit

Best Miniseries or TV Movie of 2008

24: Redemption
Generation Kill
Knight Rider pilot
Stargate: The Ark of Truth
Stargate: Continuum

Best Video Game of FY2008:

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare [Developer: Infinity Ward / Publisher: Activision]
Crysis [Developer: Crytek / Publisher: Electronic Arts]
Half Life 2: Episode 2 [Developer/Publisher: Valve]
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask Of The Betrayer [Developer: Obsidian / Publisher: Atari]
World in Conflict [Developer:Massive Entertainment / Publisher: Sierra]

Best Comedy Movie of 2008:

Get Smart
How To Lose Friends And Alienate People
Kung Fu Panda
Stepbrothers
Tropic Thunder

Best Action Movie of 2008:

Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man
Rambo
Wanted

Best Dramatic Motion Picture of 2008:

In Bruges
The Dark Knight
Street Kings
Tropa de Elite [Elite Squad]
W.

And there you have them; all the nominees for Whoppers this year. Come back on Monday 9th March for the Winners

The 4th Annual Whopper Awards - Nominations Part II

Continued from Part I

Best Actress For Actually Acting:

Joan Allen [Death Race]
Audrey Marie Anderson [The Unit]
Mary McDonnell [Battlestar Galactica]
Anna Paquin [True Blood]
Mary Steenbergen [Stepbrothers]

Best Action Actress:

Reiko Aylesworth [Aliens Vs. Predator]
Jolene Balock [Starship Troopers 3: Marauder]
Angelina Jolie [Wanted]
Mila Kunis [Max Payne]
Yvonne Strahovski [Chuck]

Hottest Actress:

Madchen Amick [My Own Worst Enemy]
Rachel Bilson [Jumper]
Megan Fox [How To Lose Friends and Alienate People]
Olga Kurylenko [Quantum Of Solace]
Natalya Rudakova [Transporter 3]

Best Dramatic Actor:

Josh Brolin [W.]
Hugh Dillon [Flashpoint]
Dennis Hayesbert [The Unit]
Wagner Moura [Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad)]
Ryan Phillippe [Stop Loss]

Best Action Actor:

Daniel Craig [Quantum Of Solace]
Robert Downey Jnr. [Iron Man]
Shia LeBeouf [Eagle Eye]
Liam Neeson [Taken]
Edward Norton [The Incredible Hulk]

Best Comedy Actor:

Alec Baldwin [30 Rock]
Steve Carell [Get Smart]
Will Ferrell [Step Brothers]
James Franco [Pineapple Express]
Ben Stiller [Tropic Thunder]

Continued In Part III

The 4th Annual Whopper Awards - Nominations Part I

Welcome to the 4th Annual Whopper Awards for 2009 where the best and... well the best achievers of the entertainment industry get the accolades they so richly deserve. You've all seen the travesty of the big Awards ceremonies where trash like Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button were showered with awards. Well you won't find any of those movies get awards here because 1. They're only coming out in this part of the world now and have passed the 2008 deadline for inclusion in the 4th Whoppers and 2. They all sound like utter boring shite and probably wouldn't be considered here anyway. The only proper movie the big Awards ceremonies nodded to was the Dark Knight probably only because they couldn't very well ignore the movie making $1Bn as of time of writing.

Brace yourselves now folks for the first of my 3 postings of the nominations for the 4th Whoppers...

Best Supporting Actress:

Kathryn Hahn [Stepbrothers]
Jane Krakowski [30 Rock]
Kelly McDonald [No Country For Old Men]
Helen Mirren [National Treasure: Book Of Secrets]
Christine Rose [Heroes]

Best Supporting Dramatic Actor:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt [Stop Loss]
Michael Hogan [Battlestar Galactica]
Chance Kelly [Generation Kill]
Heath Ledger [The Dark Knight]
John Noble [Fringe]

Best Supporting Comedy Actor:

Adam Baldwin [Chuck]
Robert Downey Jnr. [Tropic Thunder]
Bruce Campbell [Burn Notice]
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson [Get Smart]
Seth McFarlane [Hellboy 2]

Best Original Score:

The Incredible Hulk [Craig Armstrong]
Gears Of War 2 [Steve Jablonsky]
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles [Bear McCreary]
Bangkok Dangerous [Brian Tyler]
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull [John Williams]

Best Original Song:

Another Way To Die [from Quantum Of Solace, Written by Jack White, Performed by Jack White & Alicia Keys]
In the Darkness [from Gone Baby Gone, Written by Harry Gregson-Williams, performed by Lisbeth Scott]
It’s A Good Day To Die [from Starship Troopers 3, Written by Bill Meyers, Kevin McCourt & Edward Neumeier, Performed by Stephen Hogan]
The Little Things [from Wanted, Written by Danny Elfman, Performed by Trevor Horn]
Underdog Raps [from Underdog, Written by W. Watts Biggers, Treadwell Covington, Joseph Harris & Chester Stover, Performed by Kyle Massey]

Best Special Effects:

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Jumper
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man
The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

Best Art Direction:

Babylon A.D.
City Of Ember
The Dark Knight
The Mutant Chronicles
Max Payne

Best Writer:

Tina Fey [30 Rock] [Segment 2.15 “Cooter”]
Martin McDonagh [In Bruges]
Frank Military [The Unit] [Segment 4.01 “Sacrafice”]
David Simon, Ed Burns & Evan Wright [Generation Kill]
Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux & Etan Cohen [Tropic Thunder]

Continued in Part II