2006 Diva Cup Awards: Best Picture

And the nominees are...

The Departed (Martin Scorsese)

With all the guns, murder, violence and mob talk, there's no way I should have loved this movie as much as I did. But Scorsese has crafted a mob thriller that is both intelligently made and ass-kickingly cool- not an easy combination.

Dreamgirls (Bill Condon)

A cinematic experience to say the least. Condon's adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical receives the epic treatment and not a minute goes by where you don't feel his heart and soul in every ounce of the film.

Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris)

Little Miss Sunshine probably had the most to overcome (a quirky, independent road film with an overly familiar plot) but, somehow, it rises against all of these hindrances and became one of the most beloved films of the year. It's quirky but not annoyingly so, familiar but still hilarious and the cast has some of the best chemistry of the decade.

The Painted Veil (John Curran)

The only non-ensemble film on my list, and it's all the better for it. Too many actors would have gotten in the way of the visual splendor. Sure, the landscape is romanticized a bit, but when it looks this gorgeous, who really gives a shit? Plus, Edward Norton and Naomi Watts deliver heartbreaking performances that very carefully avoid cheap and easy cliches of the romance genre.

Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell)

Once you accept the graphic frankness about sex and sexuality, what you realize is that Mitchell has crafted a truly powerful and strangely moving reflection on human sexual relationships. This is the kind of maturity we don't get from the movies every day and is definitely something to be cherished.

If Only There Were Six: Notes on a Scandal (Richard Eyre): I have never been both this amused and scared shitless at the same time.

Rest of the Top 10: Borat (Larry Charles): I haven't laughed this hard at a movie in a long time...Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron): Visually stunning and a truly thought provoking piece of art...The Prestige (Christopher Nolan): Another mindfuck, but still hypnotic....The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry): Original in every sense of the word

BRONZE
Little Miss Sunshine
SILVER
Dreamgirls
GOLD
The Departed

There you go, my 2006 Diva Cup Awards are finally complete. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did creating them. Tune back sometime next year for 2007!

2006 Diva Cup Awards: Best Supporting Actress

And the nominees are...

Lindsay Beamish, Shortbus

Beamish masterfully takes a one-note caricature joke (a dominatrix) and turns her into a real human being. Bravo to you.

Key Scene: Admitting her real name

Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine

She’s bright, cute as a button and hilarious, but above all, Breslin is a natural on-screen and should soon overtake Dakota Fanning as the most wanted child star in Hollywood.

Key Scene: “I eat ice cream”

Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

What more can I say? A powerful performance with passionate vocals and the dramatic chops to match. A very rare occurrence indeed.

Key Scene: “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”

Ashley Johnson, Fast Food Nation

Johnson lights up the screen in every frame she appears in with her youthful exuberance and passion for living- which only makes her realization at the end of the film all the more affecting.

Key Scene: Setting the cows free

Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Kikuchi produces the only real full-fledged “character” to emerge from the lowest depth of humanity known as Babel and, consequently, makes us feel for her character using only gestures, uninhibited sign language and her eyes.

Key Scene: Baring her soul to the police officer

If Only There Were Six: Frances McDormand in Friends With Money: her diva antics made my day

Rest of the Top Ten: Carmen Maura, Volver: brilliantly shows both the wonderful and tough things about motherhood...Jill Clayburgh, Running With Scissors: her moments of brilliance made the film much better...Lola Dueñas, Volver: funny and touching in an unexpected way...Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal: matched Dame Judi every step of the way and, of course, "Here I am!"

BRONZE
Ashley Johnson, Fast Food Nation
SILVER
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
GOLD
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

2006 Diva Cup Awards: Best Original Screenplay

And the nominees are...

Pedro Almodóvar, Volver

The women in Volver always feel like a real family and, dead husbands aside, the constant warmth is a refreshing feeling. Too bad so many people won't see this because it's in a foreign language...it's a knockout.

Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine

Another real family, but this time, one of the most hilariously dysfunctional ever put on screen. Arndt does a fine job turning this cliché plot into something fresh and exciting.

Nicole Holofcener, Friends With Money

The relationships between the women and their men never feel artificial. We may have seen this a hundred times before, but Holofcener adds levity and wit to make it something fresh.

John Cameron Mitchell, Shortbus

It could have been a glorified porn film, but Mitchell uses sex in ways I've never seen before and creates warm, inviting characters for us to get involved in that goes way beyond porn. Bonus points for that beautiful monologue that The Mayor gives towards the beginning.

Peter Morgan, The Queen

Morgan gets inside the head of Queen Elizabeth and makes us understand why she does the things she does (all without sneaking too much sympathy in there).

Runners Up: Michel Gondry, The Science of Sleep...Russell Gerwitz, Inside Man...Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Half Nelson

BRONZE
Pedro Almodóvar, Volver
SILVER
John Cameron Mitchell, Shortbus
GOLD
Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine

2006 Diva Cup Awards: Best Ensemble

And the nominees are...

The Departed

{Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin}

Little Miss Sunshine
{Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin}

Shortbus
{Sook-Yin Lee, PJ DeBoy, Lindsay Beamish, Paul Dawson, Peter Stickles, Jay Brannan, Alan Mandell}

Thank You For Smoking
{Aaron Eckhart, David Koechner, Maria Bello, Rob Lowe, Cameron Bright, William H. Macy, Robert Duvall, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott}

Volver
{Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave}

Runners-Up: Friends With Money...Over the Hedge...Dreamgirls

BRONZE
Volver
SILVER
The Departed
GOLD
Little Miss Sunshine