Julia Roberts wore a push-up bra, Adam Sandler's "Little Nicky" bombed, and Wolverine gave Cyclops the finger. So who wants to argue that it's been a bad year for movies? From the personal and reflective "Almost Famous" to the mythic and imaginative "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the year 2000 brought audiences a spectrum of cinematic delight. In the following feature, Movie Scene critics Matt Nania, Casey K. McCluskey, Matt Caccamo, Jude Seymour, Chris Sikorski, Liam Dacey, John Donnelly, Jeff Irish and Bill Fusz give us their nominations for the year's best and brightest.

Best Picture

Ah, the most sought-after trophy in all of Hollywood. Come Feb. 13, Oscar will have narrowed down the competition to a group of five lucky films. While heavyweights such as "Gladiator" and "Traffic" are expected to receive nominations, the three remaining slots are up for grabs. Who deserves it most? According to Sikorski, Fusz and Nania, it's the martial arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." With its incredible and joyous fight sequences, emotional storyline and vast scope; "Tiger" transcended its genre at every turn. The film's raw energy resulted in an emotional impact unlike any film offered all year.

Standing in striking contrast is Cameron Crowe's autobiographical, rock `n roll coming-of-age story "Almost Famous," a film more worthy of the crown, say critics McCluskey and Donnelly. An excellent film about, growing up in the world of '70s rock journalism, "Famous" was an absolute pleasure. It can be watched endlessly, which is perhaps a tribute to Crowe's interesting adolescent journey.

"Wonder Boys," the Michael Douglas-starring comic drama about a one-hit wonder author struggling to complete his second novel, is Dacey's choice for Best Picture. Although it came out last winter, the scene critic still remembers laughing and feeling the effects of the film's oddly poignant proceedings. Along with a great soundtrack, "Boys" was both captivating and compelling.

Caccamo and Irish agree with the majority of the nation's critics in choosing "Traffic" as the year's most relevant and controversial picture. Delving into the complex issue of drugs in America and its relation to the growing international drug trade, the film effectively questioned the nation's "war on drugs" using a style and approach unique to Hollywood filmmaking.

But perhaps these guys have got it all wrong. Forget "Crouching Tiger's" fight sequences and disregard the sentimentality of "Almost Famous." The summer's biggest surprise, the claymation comedy "Chicken Run," is the real winner, says Seymour. It took two years to complete. Each team worked a day to create 2.5 seconds of film. The teams were not only responsible for each object in the scene but also each character's mouth movements. All the attention to detail and the great patience needed to complete such a project finally paid off in an engaging and charming story that the whole family could enjoy.

Best Actor

Hotly contested year after year, the Best Actor category produced diverse nominations from Scene's critics (with the exception of McCluskey, who felt no performance deserved the title). While Caccamo and Irish praise Tom Hanks' strong performance in the stranded-on-a-deserted-island-drama "Cast Away," Sikorski claims Geoffrey Rush's portrayal of sexual predator Marquis de Sade was the main success of "Quills."

While Hanks single-handedly made his film moving and important, Ralph Fiennes had to play three roles in the historical and epic "Sunshine." Fiennes played each generation with a fascinating sense of originality, putting forth the best effort of the year, says Seymour.

Michael Douglas' performance in "Wonder Boys," though, is Dacey's choice. Douglas' portrayal of a struggling professor in the midst of a dark personal reflection was striking. Also, his interaction with co-star Tobey Maguire captured an interesting parallel between young and old.

Not only was "Crouching Tiger" Fusz's pick for Best Picture, but he also feels it contained the year's best performance. Chow Yun Fat's superb martial arts talents combined with his restrained take on a legendary warrior contributed significantly to the film's success.

Perhaps the most underrated actor working today, John Cusack gave audiences a comedic and romantic tour-de-force in the music-infused "High Fidelity." Donnelly says, because Cusack acts like an everyman in each role he plays, it was easy to empathize with his character's heart-broken reflections on life and love.

Cusack's underrated-ness can be matched by Billy Crudup's namelessness. Appearing in three films in 2000, Crudup managed to catch critical attention in Crowe's "Famous," but, claims Nania, his brilliant performance in "Waking the Dead" was largely overlooked. In an emotional ghost story about one man's obsession with his long-dead girlfriend, Crudup expertly conveyed the dynamic feelings of fear, pain and longing.

Best Actress

This category is infamous for consisting of at least three actresses from foreign efforts, a fact that Hollywood should consider when it chooses which scripts to greenlight. 2000, though, offered audiences many excellent female performances (although Dacey felt no actress was impressive, thus not giving a nomination). Chief among them, Caccamo and Seymour feel, is Joan Allen. Perhaps overlooked during awards season because of the critically divergent views on her film, "The Contender," Allen powerfully portrayed a Senator's struggle against a politically motivated smear campaign. Allen has been a great supporting actress for years and was finally given a shot at leading a movie towards success (or failure, as some conservatives felt the film lapsed into political bias).

Another performance was also given props by more than one of Scene's critics: Zhang Ziyi, for her portrayal of the headstrong adolescent princess torn between love, duty and wanderlust in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Sikorski, Donnelly and Irish admire Ziyi's mind-blowing combat abilities as well as her skilled dramatic range, which was essential to the film's success. Similarly, Michelle Yeoh's depiction of an older female warrior in "Tiger" won over Fusz to receive his nomination.

Lending credit to the theory that 2000 offered actresses many powerful roles, McCluskey is torn between Juliette Binoche's lovely performance in the pleasing "Chocolat" and Ellen Burstyn's forceful turn as a drug-addicted mother in "Requiem for a Dream." Whereas Binoche added charm to the tale of a traditional town changed by a store's sultry chocolate candies, Burstyn compelled audiences to confront the tragic effects of drug-hysteria.

Nania's choice for Best Actress goes to Laura Linney for her understated, affecting role as a mother and sister in the touching and authentic "You Can Count On Me." Unlike a lot of this year's great female performances, Linney had to stay subtle yet still make us believe in her character, however flawed she may be.

Note that none of Scene's critics gave a nod to Julia Roberts for her supposedly great performance in "Erin Brockovich." While many critic groups and awards shows have named hers the best female performance of the year, Scene's critics were smart enough to know better.

Best Supporting Actor

Leading the pack in this category is Benicio Del Toro. Best known for his incoherent role in "The Usual Suspects," Del Toro burst onto the screen in "Traffic," playing a Mexican drug enforcement officer torn between his duty and his morality. He has received numerous accolades from critics groups and snagged the Golden Globe away from some tough competition. Four of Scene's critics agree with the outcome. Fusz, McCluskey, Donnelly and Caccamov singled out Del Toro because, in a film with at least two other great male performances (Don Cheadle and Michael Douglas, who Irish feels deserves the honor), he stood out. Indeed, Del Toro showed off his bilingual skills in a truly bilingual film, showing that he is an up-and-coming star in Hollywood and beyond.

Joaquin Phoenix, perhaps 2000's hardest working actor, appeared in three impressive films: the box-office giant "Gladiator," "Quills" and the family crime drama "The Yards." It was his turn as a ruthless, neurotic Caesar in the sword and sandals epic that won over both Sikorski and Dacey. Instead of one-dimensional villainous brutality, "Gladiator" featured a psychologically complex and vengeful tyrant whose brooding stare instilled as much fear as any army mercenary. Phoenix's incredibly spoiled demeanor and jealousy was wonderful as he ranted and raved in depths of self-pity.

Another hard-working, prolific character actor, Gary Oldman, is Seymour's choice. His portrayal of the pitiless, staunch Republican Shelly Runyon in "The Contender" was chilling. If Oldman keeps cranking out performances like this with each successive performance, he's due to win big someday.

As captivating as Del Toro was in "Traffic," and while Phoenix's extensive range was startling, it is Mark Ruffalo's touching and heartfelt performance as Laura Linney's brother in "You Can Count On Me" that ultimately deserves the prize. Says Nania, not only does Ruffalo bear a striking resemblance to a young Marlon Brando, but he also displays that great actor's brooding intensity and methodic determination.

Best Supporting Actress

Zhang Ziyi received two nominations from Scene's critics in the Best Actress category. But Fusz and Seymour argue that her role was slightly less substantial, and thus consider it a supporting part. They feel she added tension to "Crouching Tiger" by being, all at once, ignorant of tradition and ungrateful of those who try to help her reach her potential.

Irish and Sikorski, however, deem Catherine Zeta-Jones (aka Mrs. Douglas) the winner. As the wife of an incarcerated drug lord in "Traffic," she undergoes a drastic transformation from a dependent upper-class suburban housewife to a woman ferociously determined to get her husband back and protect her family.

Kate Hudson was also chosen by two of Scene's critics for her portrayal of "band aide" Penny Lane in "Almost Famous." Donnelly and McCluskey feel she created a full-bodied character out of what could have been a cookie-cutter role.

Sweet and sexy, Tea Leoni made the love relationship between herself and Nicolas Cage in "The Family Man" as believably special as it appears. According to Nania, she consistently held her own and even stole the spotlight from time to time. Her performance was charming and exciting, and she added marital friction and frustration to the film's central relationship.

In another overlooked performance, the 18-year-old Erika Christensen convincingly played a U.S. drug czar's daughter addicted to crack and heroin. Says Caccamo, her descent into the world of drugs and sex was horrifying and, at the same time, wonderfully brought to the screen by a young, relatively inexperienced actress.

Dacey's choice for best supporting actress has been perhaps even more overlooked by critics groups. Portraying one of five sisters in a dysfunctional family, Kirsten Dunst (who's set to play Mary Jane in the big screen version of "Spider-Man") expertly captured the perils of loneliness and isolation through her longings for affection in Sofia Coppola's debut effort "The Virgin Suicides."

Best Director

When the Oscar nominations are announced for Best Director, there's a good chance only four names will be heard. That's thanks to Steven Soderbergh, who gave audiences not one but two impressive films in 2000 ("Erin Brockovich" and "Traffic"). Soderbergh has been nominated for both in many instances (he probably cancelled himself out at the Golden Globes) and three of Scene's critics agree. Caccamo, Sikorski and Irish all feel the two-timer did an excellent job in putting together "Traffic's" ensemble cast and script, aiming it in the right direction. Soderbergh weaved several storylines without making the final product convoluted or preachy. Caccamo feels that both of the man's efforts are worthy of praise. Not only did he direct two successful films, he gave the year cinematic bookends ("Erin" came out way back in February and "Traffic" arrived in theaters shortly after Christmas) that were widely divergent in topic and style without missing a beat or showing any real flaws.

Although Donnelly hates to not give Soderbergh his due, Ang Lee deserves the award. In a year of little creativity, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was full of it. Seymour, Fusz and McCluskey agree. Lee was the field general in making the best looking movie of the year. Acknowledge his cinematographer for much of the look, but credit Lee for putting it all together into an enjoyable whole.

Nania and McCluskey (who double-nominated once again) think the Academy should take the road less-traveled and nominate Darren Aronofsky for his powerful and devastating two-hour "say-no-to-drugs" campaign entitled "Requiem for a Dream." In an era when too many movies try to be "cool" with the camera, Aronofsky finally put all the tricks to good use. Practically all of film's power came from the striking camerawork and editing. What resulted was the most intense and shocking film going experience of the year.

There were plenty of well-crafted and artistic films in 2000, but due to the fact that it was her directing debut, Dacey gives his nomination to Sofia Coppola for "The Virgin Suicides." It was a bold project that dared to go beyond the Hollywood norm and, while not perfect, it was the year's most intriguing film.

Favorite Movie Moments

Although not an Oscar category, we thought it would be a good idea to emphasize just how enjoyable movies can be by sharing our favorite scenes from 2000's crop of cinematic efforts.

McCluskey and Donnelly: Stillwater singing Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" while on the tour bus in "Almost Famous." Cameron Crowe captured the whole spirit of touring and being in a band in this one short scene. John Donnelly, in particular, found true value in this soon-to-classic sequence: "I am sick and tired of sarcasm and cynicism. This movie, and this scene, was honest. I can ask for nothing more."

Nania and rish: Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi flying and jousting through the treetops in the extraordinary "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Ang Lee displayed his true gifts in this scene, showing just how imaginative and beautiful filmmaking can be.

Dacey: A small scene in "The Big Kahuna," starring Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito as salesmen who have a tendency to discuss deep, philosophical questions. They sit and talk to each other late at night in an empty conference room at a hotel, reflecting on their lives. There is a great sense of friendship shared by the two that is both realistic and powerful.

Caccamo: Tom Hanks swimming after his friend Wilson, a volleyball, as it floats away, far from his reach. It is a tribute to the film's impact and Hanks performance that such a seemingly silly prop became the essence of a remarkably touching scene towards the end of Hanks' journey off the island.

Fusz: The final scene in "Unbreakable," when the horrific truth is revealed about our hero (Bruce Willis), his origins and the unspeakable evil that spawned him.

Seymour: Watching the song "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" leap out of The Soggy Bottom Boys in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Nothing turned a boring movie into a powder keg of fun for two minutes more than that song.

Sikorski: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) using his adamantium claws during a bar fight in "X-Men." Cheesy? Maybe. But at that moment a cultural icon came to life.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will reveal its nominations for 2000's best this Tuesday, Feb. 13.

• Movies 2000: the best of the best