Much like the Academy Awards, the now-settled writers' strike threatened to derail the Fourth Annual Daynas, as my show of solidarity (read: crippling fascination with Netflix) almost prevented me from penning the yearly bit of narcissism that's traditionally intended to honor what Oscar forgot. Needless to say, the festivities had to come together bare-bones quickly, so the stars brown-bagged it this year, and in lieu of those swanky and expected gift bags, I ironed their lunch sacks and returned them, announcing that the Daynas had "gone green." Suckers.

And now, live-ish, from Dayna HQ in good-enough-for-now downtown Rochester, it's the 2008 Daynas!

Best Film You Didn't See: "The Lookout"

The directorial debut of Scott Frank (he flawlessly adapted Elmore Leonard's "Out of Sight" for Steven Soderbergh) is this crackling nerve-wracker that stars the indispensable Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a brain-damaged man roped into robbing the bank where he works. Frank sure knows his noir, plus he gets extra points for using My Morning Jacket's "One Big Holiday" in the opening scene.

Worst Film You Should Never, Ever See: "Shoot ‘Em Up"

This punishing, misogynistic trash proved that it is, in fact, possible to make an awful film despite the presence of both Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti. A needlessly complicated backstory, inane one-liners, horrible acting by Monica Bellucci, and the hero's quirk taking the form of a carrot addiction: yet another example of what Tarantino hath wrought, done all wrong.

Best Actor: Emile Hirsch, "Into the Wild"

The kid was unjustly denied an Oscar nod, with the charming Hirsch playing many of his scenes opposite Mother Nature and then dwindling to a brutal 115 pounds as she reminded us exactly who calls the shots.

Best Actress: Luisa Williams, "Day Night Day Night"

Truthfully, you probably won't want to see this claustrophobic character study about an aspiring suicide bomber, but Williams, appearing in nearly every frame, makes her blind faith in something so inhuman both confusing and tense. It's a gorgeous, gutsy performance.

Best Foreign Film: "The Golden Door"

Noisy, loving Sicilians with no concept of the phrase "indoor voice" sail for America in this adorable fable from Italian filmmaker Emmanuele Crialese. Charlotte Gainsbourg plays the mysterious Englishwoman bewitching the men aboard the ship, but the real stars are Agnès Godard's stunning cinematography and Aurora Quattrocchi as the superstitious Fortunata, her distaste for Ellis Island warring with her powerful sense of family.

Best Animated Feature: "The Simpsons Movie"

Granted, "The Simpsons Movie" is probably not the achievement in cartoonery that is "Persepolis," but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated "Surf's Up" instead? Stupid Flanders.

Scene Stealer: Leslie Mann, "Knocked Up"

Mrs. Judd Apatow was totally worthy of an Oscar nomination, if only for that profanity-laden exchange where Mann's Debbie lets the bouncer have it. He admits that he hates passing judgment on people, then points out that he can't let her in because she's too old. "For this club, you know, not for the earth."

Best Psycho: Ben Foster, "3:10 to Yuma"

Whatever casting director looked at that angelic face and believed Foster (so sweet in Barry Levinson's 1999 "Liberty Heights") could sell an unhinged gunslinger is a genius. Sure, he went completely over the top, but shades of grey are usually overrated.

Best Monster: Tiny Lamb Fetus Zombie, "Black Sheep"

Of all the performances by tiny lamb fetus zombies this year, this Australian preemie stood hilariously out from the rest, throwing off its formaldehyde confines to chomp some poor dude's face off and allow the cycle of the undead to continue. Bravo!

The Scarlett Johansson Award for Overexposure: Luke Wilson

Putting to rest the theory that this award is merely an outlet for my own catty envy, it truly pains me to bestow this honor upon the second-most-likable Wilson brother, who capped his ultra-busy 2007 with an embarrassing cameo in "3:10 to Yuma" and a romantic comedy costarring Jessica Simpson that made $1,771 its opening weekend. The word is "no," Luke Wilson. You may borrow it.

So as you enjoy the Jon Stewart-hosted Oscars, airing this Sunday, remember how you almost had to spend three hours doing something personally fulfilling, and be thankful it didn't come to that.