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2005 Reader's Poll:

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The best and worst in movies...

Readers voted the emotionally-wrought Crash as best of the year.

BEST MOVIE
Crash (with Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, and Thandi Newton)       25.0%
Batman Begins (with Christian Bale and Michael Cane) / Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (with Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes)       15.6%
King Kong (with Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Naomi Watts) / Sin City (with Bruce Wilis and Mickey Rourke) / The Chronicles of Narnia (with Tilda Swinton and Jim Broadbent)       12.5%
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (with Steve Carrell)       6.3%

Michelle's Pick: Crash
Christine's Pick: Crash

2004 Winner: Fahrenheit 9/11 and Shrek 2 (tie)
2003 Winner: Kill Bill: Volume I
2002 Winner: Lord of the Rings II: The Two Towers
Etc.: Voters were split on which film to deem the best, but one emerged the victor nonetheless: Crash, the very excellent ensemble drama, made great use of flailing actors such as Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, and Ryan Phillipe, and brought other notable thespians, like Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard to the forefront. A young hero dressed as a bat, and a young hero dressed as a boy wizard tie for second place, while the break-out comedy of the summer, The 40-Year Old Virgin, fell a little limp when it came time to impress.

BEST ACTOR
Johnny Depp, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory       37.5%
Christian Bale, Batman Begins       15.6%
Viggo Mortensen, A History of Violence       12.5%
Mickey Rourke, Sin City / Steve Carrell, The 40-Year Old Virgin / Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow       9.4%
Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds       6.3%

Michelle's Pick: Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Christine's Pick: Christian Bale, Batman Begins

2004 Winner: Jamie "I May Be An 'In Living Color' Alumni, But I Ain't No Jennifer Lopez" Foxx, Ray
2003 Winner: Johnny "Boo Yah!" Depp, Pirates of The Caribbean
2002 Winner: Edward "Nothing Really Good After American History X, Huh?" Norton, Red Dragon
Etc.: In a question that we swear wasn't rigged, we came up with the exact numbers as the Best Movie category. Johnny Depp wins again, matching his win in 2003 for Pirates of the Caribbean. Christian Bale's second place film earns him a second place finish, while Mickey Rourke falls to fourth for his role as brutish Marv in Sin City. Steve Carrell actually rises to tie for fourth place, although The 40-Year Old Virgin only garnered 6% of the votes in the previous category. We have a feeling this might have to do with no Tom Cruise films mentioned in our Best Movie category.

BEST ACTRESS
Charlize Theron, North Country       27.6%
Angelina Jolie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith / Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line       20.7%
Kiera Knightley, Pride and Prejudice / Thandie Newton, Crash       13.8%
Naomi Watts, The Ring 2       3.4%

Michelle's Pick: Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line
Christine's Pick: Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line

2004 Winner: Uma "Why Isn't Anyone Watching Me in The Producers? They Should Have Let Me Carry That Samurai Sword Like I Wanted" Thurman, Kill Bill: Volume II
2003 Winner: Uma "These Were The Days" Thurman, Kill Bill: Volume I
2002 Winner: Halle "Heck, If Edward Norton Can Win, This Can't Be Much of a Stretch" Berry, Tomorrow Never Dies
Etc.: Just like our Best Actor category, votes were split and there were ties aplenty. Charlize Theron didn't win with as much ferocity as Johnny Depp, but she pulled through to edge out Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon, who played two distinctly different roles but shined in their films nonetheless. Naomi Watts was probably better in King Kong than in The Ring 2, but we forgot to ask. And celebrated actress Jodie Foster, who starred in Flightplan, failed to stir any excitement her way.

Sip that tea, Deuce Bigalow. It'll probably be the last you can afford, considering your box office returns.

WORST MOVIE
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (with Rob Schneider)       25.9%
Son of the Mask (with Jamie Kennedy and Alan Cumming)       22.2%
Roll Bounce (with Bow Wow)       18.5%
Guess Who (with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher) / The Perfect Man (with Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear) / xXx: State of the Union (with Ice Cube)       11.1%

Michelle's Pick: Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Christine's Pick: Son of the Mask

2004 Winner: New York Minute
2003 Winner: From Justin to Kelly and Gigli (tie)
2002 Winner: Eight Legged Freaks, Jason X, Scooby Doo, and Swimfan (tie)
Etc.: We're very excited because, for the second time since our little poll began making its way around the Internet world, we have a clear winner for this category: Rob Schneider, who unabashedly reprised his role as Deuce Bigalow in the summer's most offensive film. Son of the Mask was a close second, and would have probably made a sufficient first place, while the Bow Wow vehicle, Roll Bounce lands in at third place. Fourth place honours are split this year, with our voters finding Ashton Kutcher, Hilary Duff, and an extreme-sport-enthusiastic Ice Cube all equally reprehensible.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
The Dukes of Hazzard (with Jessica Simpson and Johnny Knoxville)       29.6%
Elektra (with Jennifer Garner)       25.9%
Constantine (with Keanu Reeves)       22.2%
Sahara (with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz) / Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (with Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman) / The Legend of Zorro (with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones)       7.4%

Michelle's Pick: Dukes of Hazzard
Christine's Pick: Dukes of Hazzard

2004 Winner: Alexander
2003 Winner: Matrix Revolutions
2002 Winner: N/A
Etc.: The dukes have it, and one of summer's most anticipated films wins your undying disappointment. Elektra came this-close to succumbing to first place, not that it's a shock to anyone, and Constantine came this-close to coming in second, not that it's a shock to anyone (and this marks Keanu Reeves' second film in this category). Last place was split again, with the deciding factor being action films (two of them sequels) with big name stars and no sizzle. Kingdom of Heaven, the Orlando Bloom film about...well, we're not sure because we haven't actually watched it - lands 0% of the votes to steer clear of disappointing anyone.

WORST ACTOR
Paris Hilton, House of Wax       43.3%
Hilary Duff, The Perfect Man       16.7%
Katie Holmes, Batman Begins / Vin Diesel, The Pacifier       13.3%
Jennifer Lopez, Monster-in-Law / Lindsay Lohan, Herbie: Fully Loaded       6.7%

Michelle's Pick: Paris Hilton, House of Wax
Christine's Pick: Hilary Duff, The Perfect Man

2004 Winner: Chucky, The Seed of Chucky
2003 Winner: The cast of From Justin to Kelly
2002 Winner: Britney "They Thought Madonna Was A Bad Actress Too, But Look How...Never Mind" Spears, Crossroads
Etc.: According to our results, Paris Hilton's acting is comparable to that of last year's winner, which happens to be a doll. That's not far from the truth, as the socialite with the penchant for stupidity wins hands down for Worst Actor, and received almost three times as many votes as second place winner, Hilary Duff. Katie Holmes' acting, instead, is comparable to that of Vin Diesel. We don't know who this offends more. And Jennifer Lopez and Lindsay Lohan tie for last place with roles as unforgettable as their films.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan yuk it up as best on-screen duo in The Wedding Crashers.

BEST ON-SCREEN COUPLE
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan, The Wedding Crashers       37.5%
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Mr. and Mrs. Smith       21.9%
Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, The Longest Yard / Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin and Garrett Hedlund, Four Brothers / Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffolo, Just Like Heaven / Will Smith and Kevin James, Hitch       9.4%
Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, Fever Pitch       3.1%

Michelle's Pick: Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan, The Wedding Crashers
Christine's Pick: Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan, The Wedding Crashers

2004 Winner: The cast of Ocean's Twelve
2003 Winner: Queen "Easy, Breezy, Beautiful" Latifah and Steve "Cheaper By the Dozen 2 Is The Feel-Good Movie of the Year" Martin, Bringing Down the House and Kate "The Who-Now?" Hudson and Matthew "Dang It, So No One Liked Sahara?" McConaughey, How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (tie)
2002 Winner: Mike "Would You Have Said Anything to Kanye West? I Didn't Think So" Myers and Verne "Maybe It Was An Unwise Choice to Participate in 'The Surreal Life'" Troyer, Austin Powers
Etc.: The tag-team duo of comedy win by a landslide, while the arguably sexiest couple of the year settles for second place. Third place is a four-way tie of which we've never seen, and comprised of roughly twice the amount of our readership, so we won't go into details. Suffice it to say, throwing poor Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore a couple of more votes could have let them ease into a passable tie instead of coming in dead last.

[ From best television actor to worst scandal of the year. Part III of our Readers Poll. ]