Two acting heavyweights are our selections for fifth and sixth place, both of them aided by co-star Brad Pitt. BOP fave Frances McDormand made us fall in love with her talent all over again in Burn after Reading. This time, she joins Pitt in the task of blackmailing people and trying to cut a deal with the Russians in quite possibly the dumbest fashion in the history of espionage. McDormand's comedic timing continues to be the gold standard in our industry. Cate Blanchett's work in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a celebration of dancing. She portrays a woman helplessly in love with a man who, by the very definition of the nature of his being, will never meet her at the right time in both of their lives. Blanchett's emotional responses have never been more resonant than when several people's fates conspire to fundamentally alter the nature of her life. Brad Pitt has the showier role in Benjamin Button, but Blanchett is the scene stealer time and time again.

The noobs are our selections in seventh and eighth place. In Let the Right One In, Lina Leandersson, a 13-year-old Swedish actress, offers the best performance we have seen from someone that age since Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider. In the movie, she portrays a 200-year-old vampire who develops a crush on a 12-year-old boy. Then, she aids him in attaining revenge upon all of those who have wronged him in his life. Leandersson's story vacillates between tender and terrifying but the young girl somehow maintains her character's humanity throughout her onscreen atrocities.

Slightly older but no better known entering the year, Rebecca Hall grabbed our attention with two head-turning performances. In Frost/Nixon, she was the high class bimbo wooed by David Frost while he attempted to permanently destroy Richard Nixon's already depreciated legacy. Our staff liked her a lot in that role, but we absolutely adored her in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a movie whose central selling point was supposed to be a love story between Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz. While that subplot made headlines, Hall was in fact the focus of the movie. Her character was supposed to be an engaged, normal woman waiting for a happily ever after to occur with her would-be husband. Then, a handsome European artist who looks a lot like a Javier Bardem makes an indecent proposal to her and her best friend and her entire world falls apart. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a fascinating exploration of every woman's fantasy about meeting a strange and exotic man while visiting a foreign land. Hall's portrayal of a conflicted woman feeling self-doubt about everything she had once believed in life is a wondrous performance getting lost in the lesbian sex shuffle of the movie's ad campaign.

Rounding out the top ten selections for 2009 are Keira Knightley for The Duchess and Anne Hathaway for her other huge role of the year, Get Smart. Knightley has long been a staff favorite, but we were particularly drawn to her work in this period piece about the life and times of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. What we take from this movie is that women have every reason in the world to hate men for past indignities. Okay, we take that from the movie, but what we'll always remember about The Duchess is Lady Bess Foster pleasuring the titular lead. Vicky Cristina Barcelona got a lot more headlines, but The Duchess has a much sexier moment. Plus, there is a wig fire, which has been a guaranteed source of humor ever since Michael Jackson did that Pepsi commercial. As for Hathaway, we never thought anyone but Barbara Feldon could be Agent 99, but the actress' take on the role was pitch perfect. The embodiment of professional competence and personal grace, Hathaway's work in Get Smart is a key reason why the movie wound up being a $130 million blockbuster.

Just missing selection this year are Melissa Leo for Frozen River, Scarlett Johansson for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Audrey Tautou for Priceless, Kat Dennings for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Angelina Jolie for Changeling, Amy Adams for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and Anna Faris for The House Bunny. (David Mumpower/BOP)

Best Actor
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Director
Best DVD
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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