Predix...

Working on my predictions at the moment, should be up in the next day or two.

Also, very excited about the next few weeks. I have screenings set up for THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, A SINGLE MAN, NINE, & AVATAR.

The DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Shortlist

The field has been narrowed down to 15, and 5 films will be chosen as the nominees from these finalists. A few noticeable films missing, particularly "Anvil! The Story of Anvil", "Capitalism: A Love Story", "It Might Get Loud", and "Tyson".

The finalists are:

The Beaches of Agnes
Burma VJ
The Cove
Every Little Step
Facing Ali
Food, Inc.
Garbage Dreams
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors without Borders
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Mugabe and the White African
Sergio
Soundtrack for a Revolution
Under Our Skin
Valentino: The Last Emperor
Which Way Home

This list puts The Cove, Every Little Step, and Food Inc. soundly in the driver seat for the Oscar this year. I thought all 3 were fantastic and all worthy.

We Will Have 5 Nominees for ANIMATED FEATURE

The Academy has released the shortlist of all eligible contenders in the Animated Feature category, and due to the number of entries, we will have 5 nominees in the race this year. This is only the 2nd time in the category's history that we have more than 3 nominees, and the first time since 2002.

The eligible films are:

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
Cloudly with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Disney's A Christmas Carol
The Dolphin - Story of a Dreamer
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
The Missing Lynx
Monsters vs. Aliens
9
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
A Town Called Panic
Up

My preditions as of right now are:

Coraline
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up

The ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY Gods have spoken, and here are who they are considering as front-runners in the main categories.

BEST PICTURE

Frontrunners
The Hurt Locker
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Precious
Up in the Air

Other Possibilites
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
A Serious Man
Up

Long Shots
An Education
It's Complicated
A Single Man
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are


BEST DIRECTOR

Frontrunners
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
Peter Jackson "The Lovely Bones"
Jason Reitman "Up in the Air"

Other Possibilities
James Cameron "Avatar"
Joel & Ethan Coen "A Serious Man"
Lee Daniels "Precious"
Clint Eastwood "Invictus"
Rob Marshall "Nine"

Long Shots
J.J. Abrams "Star Trek"
Jane Campion "Bright Star"
Tom Ford "A Single Man"
Spike Jonze "Where the Wild Things Are"
Quentin Tarantino "Inglourious Basterds"


BEST ACTOR

Frontrunners
George Clooney "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman "Invictus"

Other Possibilities
Matt Damon "The Informant!"
Daniel Day-Lewis "Nine"
Robert De Niro "Everybody's Fine"
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"
Michael Stuhlbarg "A Serious Man"

Long Shots
Paul Bettany "Creation"
Ben Foster "The Messenger"
Viggo Mortensen "The Road"
Clive Owen "The Boys Are Back"
Michael Sheen "The Damned United"


BEST ACTRESS

Frontrunners
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"
Meryl Streep "Julia & Julia"

Other Possibilities
Abbie Cornish "Bright Star"
Marion Cotillard "Nine"
Penelope Cruz "Broken Embraces"
Helen Mirren "The Last Station"
Saoirse Ronan "The Lovely Bones"

Long Shots
Emily Blunt "The Young Victoria"
Sandra Bullock "The Blind Side"
Michelle Monaghan "Trucker"
Hilary Swank "Amelia"
Robin Wright "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee"


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Frontrunners
Alfred Molina "An Education"
Stanley Tucci "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

Other Possibilities
Alec Baldwin "It's Complicated"
Matt Damon "Invictus"
Woddy Harrelson "The Messenger"
Anthony Mackie "The Hurt Locker"
Christopher Plummer "The Last Station"

Long Shots
George Clooney "The Men Who Stare at Goats"
Zach Galifianakis "The Hangover"
Brian Geraghty "The Hurt Locker"
Peter Sarsgaard "An Education"
Paul Schneider "Bright Star"


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Frontrunners
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique "Precious"
Julianne Moore "A Single Man"

Other Possibilities
Mariah Carey "Precious"
Penelope Cruz "Nine"
Judi Dench "Nine"
Vera Farmiga "Up in the Air"
Susan Srandon "The Lovely Bones"

Long Shots
Patricia Clarkson "Whatever Works"
Melanie Laurent "Inglourious Basterds"
Samantha Morton "The Messenger"
Paul Patton "Precious"
Rachel Weisz "The Lovely Bones"

No more website...

I was just informed that Yahoo Geocities, which I have been using for THE OSCAR BEACHHOUSE website since 2004, is shutting down in a few months. Therefore, this blog will now be my #1 source of updates, news, reviews, etc...

The last 3 months....

....I have been as lazy as I possible could with the updates here. But that is now about to change. Update Heaven coming to a computer screen near you!

New reviews...and radio news...

Starting tomorrow, I will be doing a weekly movie segment on the Cindy & Ray Show on Atlanta's Star 94 (94.1). The segment will be every Friday, and should be around 8 o'clock in the morning each week.

Also, I'm sorry for the tremendous lack of updates recently. Promise to make it up to you soon.
First up...reviews for THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, I LOVE YOU MAN, & DUPLICITY.