Many critics noted Ann Savage’s performance as the daunting mother in Guy Maddin’s “My Winnipeg,” her first screen role since playing “Sister Harriet” in “Fire With Fire” in 1986 (one wonders how she might have tackled the Meryl Streep part in “Doubt”). It was enough for her to garner the 13th spot in the Best Supporting category in the “indieWIRE” 2008 Critics Poll (she got my vote

I invited some of my highly respected colleagues at “The Phoenix” to send me their ten best lists (and worsts, if so inclined). Here are a few responses.

MICHAEL ATKINSON

1. My Winnipeg
Meta-oneiro maestro Guy Maddin’s most personal launch into the timeless void, and probably his simplest, and perhaps his most moving.

These might not seem the worst films of the year, nor even the worst that I might have seen (I have a privileged position that allows me to assign the very worst to other critics). Those are too easily dismissed and mean nothing in the big scheme of things. These films are the worst in that they represent some of the most pernicious trends in movies.

In which Aronofsky deconstructs rumors that he was inspired by Roland Barthes’s essays on wrestling and striptease, and explains why Marisa Tomei’s character is not a dental hygienist.

PK: Marisa Tomei, was she who you had in mind first for the role?

DA: It was a very hard role to cast, because of the nudity, so I kind of cast a big net, and I didn't have any ideas about who I wanted because I figured I'd be more of a beggar than a chooser.

After spending years trying to put together his epic about eternity, “The Fountain,” only to have the critics excoriate it, Darren Aronofsky decided he was ready to face the ultimate challenge: Mickey Rourke. So far the gamble has paid off in a big way for both director and actor. “The Wrestler” won the Golden Lion for Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival and the film and the director and actor, not to mention co-star Marisa Tomei, have come up repeatedly as winners and nominees in the ongoing flurry of critics awards, Golden Globes and ten best lists.

I have just finished tossing away the discarded ballots and finished eating the leftover donuts and can report the results of the Boston Society of Film Critics voting for 2008.

Let’s just say it’s a bit eclectic, a bit of a smorgasbord, with only three films getting more than one award (“Wall-E,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” getting two, or maybe one and a half,given the tie for Best Picture, and “Milk” getting three, or maybe just two and a half, given the tie for Best Actor, and many of the top runners (“Benjamin Button,” Frost/Nixon,” “Revolutionary Road,” “The Reader,” “Rachel Getting Married”) getting zilch.

Speaking of Oscar nominations, the canine half of “Wendy and Lucy” has already reeled in a prize from Cannes, the diamond studded collar given to the winner of the Palm Dog.

Which makes me wonder why the Academy doesn’t consider similar awards for outstanding dog performances. Maybe call it the “Old Yeller” after the inimitable scene stealer in the 1957 Disney classic.

The tradition of No Make-up = Best Actress goes back at least to Kathy Bates in "Misery" (1990). If a movie star doesn’t have her face all dolled up for the camera that’s got to mean she’s really digging deep and giving a raw performance. This year offers a powerful slate of un-made-up actresses and no doubt we’ll be seeing their names come Oscar time on February 22.

Forget about Springtime -- these days it’s Yuletide for Hitler and Germany.

The people at “Ad Age” aren’t alone in trying to figure out why the Third Reich is such a popular Holiday theme this year (and in previous years, as with “Black Book” and “The Good German,” but not to this extent) on the big screen.