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2004 Readers' Poll:

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The best and worst in movies...

Michael Moore wants some answers, dammit! Well, we can tell him this: he's got our Best Movie vote, along with Shrek 2.

BEST MOVIE
Fahrenheit 9/11 / Shrek 2       20.0%
The Incredibles       17.5%
Kill Bill: Volume II       12.5%
The Passion of the Christ       10.0%
Ocean's Twelve / Spider-Man 2       7.5%
Sideways       5.0%

Phan's Pick: Ocean's Twelve
Michelle's Pick: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Christine's Pick: Fahrenheit 9/11

2003 Winner: Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2002 Winner: Lord of the Rings II: The Two Towers
Etc.: Michael Moore's scathing hate-letter to George W. Bush takes the cake, but its win is bittersweet, as it ties with an animated ogre. Dramatic fares like Passion of the Christ and Sideways settle for last place finishes. Another great animated film this year, The Incredibles, basks in our readers' love. As much as Ocean's Twelve had the best-looking cast out of our nominees, and Spider-Man 2 had the most action-packed CGI effects of our nominees, they simply weren't enough to beat David Carradine's chatty Bill, who fell from last year's first place into third (maybe less yapping from Bill would've helped). House of Flying Daggers, starring Zang Zhiyi (who, as of late, seems to be the only Asian actress available for roles) and Andy Lau, snagged 0% of the votes.

BEST ACTOR
Jamie Foxx, Ray       32.5%
Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland       25.0%
Tobey McGuire, Spider-Man 2       14.7%
Will Smith, I, Robot       10.0%
Jet Li, Hero / Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator       7.5%
Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind       5.0%

Phan's Pick: Jet Li, Hero
Michelle's Pick: Jamie Foxx, Ray
Christine's Pick: Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2003 Winner: Johnny "I know I'm weird but I'm also one of the best actors working today, so take that" Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean
2002 Winner: Edward "really? I won?" Norton, Red Dragon
Etc.: Really? Edward Norton? This year's winner, Jamie Foxx, wowed readers with his portrayal of musical great Ray Charles, and will probably bag an Oscar for his acting skills. Next up was last year's winner, Johnny Depp, who also put on a good show portraying late Peter Pan scribe, J. M. Barrie. And Will Smith, sitting comfortably in fourth place, edges out thespian Leonardo DiCaprio and action star Jet Li. Still, all three men manage to edge out usual funnyman (but not in this nominated performance) Jim Carrey.

BEST ACTRESS
Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Volume II       35.9%
Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason       20.5%
Natalie Portman, Garden State       15.4%
Julia Roberts, Closer / Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby       12.8%
Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man 2       2.6%

Phan's Pick: Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Michelle's Pick: Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Christine's Pick: Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Vol. 2

2003 Winner: Uma "I thought Bill was rather chatty too" Thurman, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2002 Winner: Halle "why didn't you nominate me this year? Oh, right, Catwoman" Berry, Tomorrow Never Dies
Etc.: Uma wins another year as Best Actress, while co-stars of Closer, Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts, battle it out for third place (with Portman's quirky role in Garden State beating out Roberts' jezebel in Closer). Robert's performance in Closer was, according to our readers, a hell of an improvement over last year's Mona Lisa Smile, where she only received 3% of the votes in this category. We still love our Bridget Jones, but Mary Jane, who contributed greatly to Spider-Man 2's sappy love story, fell from 2002's second place…so hard, in fact, that she barely clings onto last place (especially if we were to suddenly say that our poll has a 2% margin of error - which we won't). And Swank, one of Oscar's Best Actress contenders, isn't the best here.

Wait a New York Minute! Our movie really sucks?

WORST MOVIE
New York Minute       22.2%
Raise Your Voice       19.4%
Alien v. Predator / White Chicks / You Got Served!       13.9%
Jersey Girl       11.1%
Soul Plane       5.6%

Phan's Pick: Alien Vs. Predator
Michelle's Pick: Soul Plane
Christine's Pick: Raise Your Voice

2003 Winner: From Justin to Kelly and Gigli - tie
2002 Winner: Eight Legged Freaks, Jason X, Scooby Doo, and Swimfan - tie
Etc.: The Olsen twins will have to share top honours this year, while the atrocious Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez film Jersey Girl lands in fourth place - a great improvement over last year's Gigli, which our voters ranked just as appalling as From Justin to Kelly. Aliens and predators, the Wayans brothers, and B2K find themselves in third place. In defense of Alien vs. Predator: at least the aliens and predators had no choice, being the product of Hollywood computers and all, but the Wayans and B2K? What was their excuse? We're just saying here.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Alexander       27.0%
Troy / King Arthur       16.2%
The Village       13.5%
Catwoman       10.8%
The Day After Tomorrow / The Chronicles of Riddick       8.1%

Phan's Pick: Catwoman
Michelle's Pick: Troy
Christine's Pick: Troy

2003 Winner: Matrix Revolutions
2002 Winner: N/A
Etc.: Alexander takes the unanimous vote, while little film Troy, the other epic starring Brad Pitt, trailed almost 11% behind to tie with King Arthur. Shall we agree that period pieces about great warriors and their CGI-ed battles were not the way to go in 2004? Catwoman barely edges out The Day After Tomorrow and The Chronicles of Riddick for last place, although in some other award-type things (ahem, the Razzies), they were not as kind.

WORST ACTOR
Chucky, The Seed of Chucky       23.7%
Hilary Duff, A Cinderella Story       21.1%
Ben Affleck, Jersey Girl / Jennifer Lopez, Shall We Dance? / Puppets, Team America       13.2%
Ashton Kutcher, The Butterfly Effect / Vin Diesel, The Chronicles of Riddick       7.9%

Phan's Pick: Ben Affleck, Jersey Girl
Michelle's Pick: Vin Diesel, The Chronicles of Riddick
Christine's Pick: Hilary Duff, A Cinderella Story

2003 Winner: The cast of From Justin To Kelly, Justin to Kelly
2002 Winner: Britney "I 'direct' my own videos now and I still don't get respect?" Spears, Crossroads
Etc.: A psychotic puppet takes it this year, although it's not a stretch from our previous winners, who we've always suspected were made of plastic as well. Hilary Duff finds herself, again, at the top of the list. She gets our unanimous vote for making our Worst lists that much easier to compile. In other fitting news, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, ex-lovers, tie for third place, for Jersey Girl and Shall We Dance?, respectively. Last year, with the bill split on Gigli, Affleck beat out his then-girlfriend by a whopping 27%, prompting us to believe that breaking up with Affleck will make people realize how sucky you really are alone (we're already mulling a Jennifer Garner-Elektra vote for next year).

Look closer, guys, and you'll see that readers voted you Best On-Screen Couple.

BEST ON-SCREEN COUPLE
The cast of Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Twelve       25.6%
John Cho and Kal Penn, Harold & Kumar Go To Whitecastle       17.9%
Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story / Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, Collateral / Tobey McGuire and Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man 2       12.8%
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, The Notebook       10.3%
Owen Wilson and Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou       7.7%

Phan's Pick: John Cho and Kal Penn, Harold and Kumar Go To Whitecastle
Michelle's Pick: Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughan, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Christine's Pick: Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughan, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

2003 Winner: Queen "I am the real triple threat deal, no matter what Missy Elliot says" Latifah and Steve "why aren't they asking me to host the Oscars anymore?" Martin, Bringing Down the House and Kate "Raising Helen was an accident…I swear!" Hudson and Matthew "these romantic comedies are killing me, but at least they pay the bills" McConaughey, How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days - tie
2002 Winner: Mike "I am so much funnier than that Smith guy" Myers and Verne "I was on 'The Surreal Life' and I drank a lot and peed in the bushes!" Troyer, Austin Powers
Etc.: Just like 2002, this year's winner didn't need any sexual chemistry to pull off the best onscreen pairing - just a bunch of snazzy suits and Bernie Mac to provide comic relief. A distant second, John Cho and Kal Penn of Harold and Kumar Go To Whitecastle, prove that when you mix weed and road trips, it still warms our hearts (hopefully this will give these two talented actors some more work). A lot of ties in weird places - comedy, drama, and action all landed in third place, although Tobey McGuire fared better than Kirsten Dunst in their Best Actor/Best Actress categories. Romance and Wes Anderson will have to settle for last place.

[ From best television show to worst celebrity style. Part III of our Readers' Poll. ]