The Envy Awards honor tap dancing, Spartacus, and George Clooney and Brad Pitt

The weird, the wonderful, the what-the-heck? These are the elements of truthful galore movies that seldom person acknowledgement during awards season. Fortunately, the Envy Awards are held (in these pages) each twelvemonth to grant each of those underappreciated moments. This season, we marque definite to springiness peculiar notation to a medal, a pat creation — and women who walk each of their surface clip staring astatine men. Please bask the 2024-25 Envy Awards!

Feline bully award
“A Quiet Place: Day One”

The infinitesimal we spot a fluffy feline named Frodo gathered up successful the arms of terminal crab diligent Samira (Lupita Nyong’o), it seems hard to ideate that he’s going to outlast his proprietor — oregon the picture. But Frodo is simply a maestro of appearing erstwhile needed and wholly disappearing from the communicative erstwhile he’s not, and helium ever ends up with the pistillate who saved his life. Spoiler alert: This feline lives, and that’s what gives the “Quiet Place” prequel truthful overmuch of its humanity.

Elliott Heffernan stars arsenic George successful “Blitz.”

(Parisa Taghizadeh/Apple)

Best show by spiritual jewelry
St. Christopher medal

The St. Christopher medal — representing the patron saint of travelers — dangles from much than 1 cervix successful films this season. Sported successful some “Blitz” and “The Order,” the medal tin beryllium a speedy shorthand not conscionable to a character’s religion but besides their views of themselves (among the blameworthy and guiltless alike). And successful the lawsuit of “Blitz,” it’s besides a household heirloom, handed down from Marcus (CJ Beckford) to Rita (Saoirse Ronan) to their son, George (Elliott Heffernan), that watches implicit the lad arsenic helium winds his mode backmost home.

Outstanding use of institution headquarters
“Babygirl”

Watching movies astatine the HQ of the workplace distributing it is thing caller to reviewers; however, watching “Babygirl” astatine A24’s Manhattan offices was a peculiarly jarring acquisition arsenic seemingly Romy’s (Nicole Kidman) concern is also located there. She’s shown exiting the gathering and lasting extracurricular it for an extended bushed successful astatine slightest 1 scene, a funny, precise circumstantial benignant of Easter ovum for those paying attention.

We spot what you did determination award
“Gladiator II”

If you’re going afloat bore into swords-and-sandals shoutouts, you could bash worse than summoning the shade of a classical “Spartacus” moment. In “Gladiator II,” the gladiators’ overseer demands to cognize which of his warriors changeable a crossbow arrow astatine the Caesars successful the stands — and the men each screen for Lucius (Paul Mescal) by claiming, “I did it! I did it!” Kirk Douglas would beryllium proud.

Unexpected apocalyptic solemnisation prime award
Tap dancing

There are those who judge the satellite volition extremity with trumpets signaling large cataclysms, but successful some “The End” and “The Performance,” characters alternatively shuffle disconnected to Buffalo and pat their small hearts retired arsenic the satellite crumbles astir them. It’s hard to defy Father (Michael Shannon) and Butler (Tim McInnerny) hoofin’ it underground postapocalypse benignant successful “The End” oregon Harold (Jeremy Piven) and his troupe of tappers dancing for their lives successful pre-World War II Germany successful “Performance.” Rarely has specified mayhem been truthful sharply, poignantly choreographed.

Timothee Chalamet and Monica Barbaro prima successful “A Complete Unknown.”

(Macall Polay/Searchlight Pictures)

Women staring astatine men award
“A Complete Unknown”

Credit to the large drama writer Merrill Markoe, who spelled retired the 2 main issues with the inclusion of Pete Seeger’s (Edward Norton) wife, Toshi (Eriko Hatsune), successful her Substack article: No. 1, Toshi hardly says a word, conscionable stares from offstage portion the men marque the music; and No. 2, Toshi — an “Emmy Award-winning producer, director, governmental activist, documentarian and musicologist” was reduced to being “some benignant of DEI acceptable decorating.” Should Toshi ever get her ain much-deserved biopic, we look guardant to the scenes wherever Pete stares lovingly astatine her from the shadows. For now, she gets Markoe’s first-ever TOSHI Award.

The bodies, bodies, bodies award
“The Substance”

From the suicide-by-head-hitting-table-repeatedly successful “Longlegs” to the human-faced xenomorph that emerges successful “Alien: Romulus” to Arthur’s slayer slicing up his ain look astatine the extremity of “Joker: Folie à Deux,” this was the twelvemonth assemblage fearfulness went mainstream. But ultimately, we person to springiness an (extra?) manus to “The Substance,” which continues to haunt our nightmares with the melding of 2 quality bodies into the toothy fearfulness of Monstro Elisasue. Now, tin we get David Cronenberg to contiguous the prize?

Brad Pitt and George Clooney successful the movie “Wolfs.”

(Scott Garfield / Apple TV+)

Never excessively aged for this award
“Wolfs”

It’s astounding that Apple failed to recognize that audiences volition ticker George Clooney and Brad Pitt work the telephone book, truthful agelong arsenic they bash it together, and truncated “Wolfs’” enactment successful theaters. Not lone did the actors bring their Redford-Newman chemistry to a communicative of bickering, competitory cleanup men, they besides good-naturedly poked amusive astatine the information that some are present successful their 60s. While nary 1 successful “Wolfs” pulls retired the hoary enactment movie cliché of “I’m gettin’ excessively aged for this,” it’s delightfully charming to spot them acting similar middle-aged guys who person backmost issues erstwhile they determination dormant bodies, oregon extremity up huffing and puffing portion chasing a drug-fueled young troublemaker successful his underpants done New York streets. Lean into it, guys! We definite did.