Awards -- Boston Film Critics Winners

The Boston Critics winner has matched the Best Picture Oscar winner for the last 3 years in a row, and their winner has at least been Best Picture nominee every year since 2002. Although their choices in 2000 and 2001 were Almost Famous and Mulholland Dr, respectively, so not hard to argue the validity of those films either. Here's how they've worked out in this decade:

2000: Almost Famous
2001: Mulholland Dr.
2002: The Pianist
2003: Mystic River
2004: Sideways
2005: Brokeback Mountain
2006: The Departed
2007: No Country For Old Men
2008: Slumdog Millionaire & Wall-E (tie)

That said, here are the winners for this year's awards.

BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"

BEST ACTOR
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep "Julie & Julia"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique "Precious"

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Precious & Star Trek (tie)

BEST SCREENPLAY
A Serious Man -- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Up

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Hurt Locker -- Barry Ackroyd

BEST FILM EDITING
The Hurt Locker -- Bob Murawski & Chris Innis

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Summer Hours

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove

BEST NEW FILMMAKER
Neill Blomkamp "District 9"

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A FILM
Crazy Heart

Awards...Various...

A few big awards announce nominees and winners in the next few days, including the New York, Los Angeles, and Boston Film Critics, and well as nominees for the Broadcast Film Critics (Critics' Choice Awards), and the Golden Globes.

But a bit of news featuring some high-level contenders in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Firstly, THE WHITE RIBBON, Germany's official entry, took home 3 European Film Awards today, including best screenplay, best director, and best picture. A PROPHET, France's official entry, took home best actor.

Also, SAMSON AND DELILAH, the offical entry for Australia, took home 6 awards in the Australian Film Awards, not counting the member's choice award, the film also won for best sound, best cinematography, best young actor, best original screenplay, best director, and best picture.

It looks like we have a few definite frontrunners in this category this year. It'll be interesting to see what makes the shortlist of finalists, but if I had to make up my list of 9 possible finalists, here it is...

"Ajami" -- Israel
"Baaria" -- Italy
"I Killed My Mother" -- Canada
"Max Manus" -- Norway
"Mother" - South Korea
"Samson and Delilah" -- Australia
"The Secret in Her Eyes" -- Argentina
"Un Prophet" -- France
"The White Ribbon" -- Germany

Awards -- Detroit Film Critics Nominations

Best Picture
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Up
Up in the Air

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
Pete Docter "Up"
Jason Reitman "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino "Inglourious Basterds"
Marc Webb "(500) Days of Summer"

Best Actor
George Clooney "Up in the Air"
Matt Damon "The Informant!"
Colin Firth "A Single Man"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt "(500) Days of Summer"
Sam Rockwell "Moon"

Best Actress
Alison Lohman "Drag Me to Hell"
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Saoirse Ronan "The Lovely Bones"
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"
Meryl Streep "Julie & Julia"

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"
Woody Harrelson "Zombieland"
Christian McKay "Me & Orson Welles"
Stanley Tucci "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard "Nine"
Vera Farmiga "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"
Melanie Laurent "Inglourious Basterds"
Mo'Nique "Precious"

Best Ensemble Cast
The Hangover
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Star Trek
Zombieland

Best Breakthrough Performance
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"
Christian McKay "Me & Orson Welles"
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Chris Pine "Star Trek"
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

News--Visual Effects finalists

The Academy has released the 15 finalists for Best Visual Effects. From these 15, the 3 nominees will be chosen.

Angels & Demons
Avatar
Coraline
Disney's A Christmas Carol
District 9
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
Terminator: Savlation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are

What should be nominated
Avatar
District 9
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
2012
Where the Wild Things Are

What will be nominated?
Who knows

Reviews...2009 Films Graded...So Far

This list is a menagerie of films I have seen either is a special screening, in a regular theater screening, or on DVD. But out of everything I have seen made in 2009, here's how I rank them.

(500) Days of Summer = A-
9 = B+
Adventureland = B+
Angels & Demons = B
Assassination of a High School President = C-
Away We Go = B-
The Brothers Bloom = B+
Confessions of a Shopaholic = C+
Coraline = C+
Couples Retreat = B-
District 9 = A-
Duplicity = C+
Earth = A-
Easy Virtue = B
An Education = B+
Every Little Step = A-
Fantastic Mr. Fox = B+
Funny People = B
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past = D
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra = C+
The Hangover = B+
Hannah Montana: The Movie = C+
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince = B+
The Haunting in Connecticut = B-
He's Just Not That Into You = B
The Hurt Locker = A-
I Love You, Man = A-
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs = B-
Inglourious Basterds = B+
Inkheart = B-
The International = B
Is Anybody There? = C+
Knowing = C-
Land of the Lost = D
The Maiden Heist = B
Management = B-
Miss March = D
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian = C+
Nine = B
Observe and Report = B-
Paris 36 = B
Paul Blart: Mall Cop = C
Personal Effects = C
Ponyo = B+
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire = B+
The Princess and the Frog = A-
The Proposal = B+
Public Enemies = B
Race to Witch Mountain = B
The Road = B
Rudo y Cursi = B
A Serious Man = C+
A Single Man = B-
The Soloist = B-
State of Play = B+
Star Trek = A-
Sugar = B+
Sunshine Cleaning = B+
Taken = B+
The Taking of Pelham 123 = B
Terminator: Salvation = B
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen = C-
Two Lovers = B+
The Ugly Truth = B-
Up = A-
Watchmen = C
Whatever Works = C+
Where the Wild Things Are = B+
X-Men Origins: Wolverine = B-
Year One = C-

Reviews...

I have two more screenings tomorrow, but once those are done, I am gonna be adding a bunch of actual written reviews. I've already written most of them up, but wanna upload them all at once. Here's what to look for, and a preview of the grade I've given them so far...

THE ROAD = B
A SERIOUS MAN = C+
AN EDUCATION = B+
THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX = B+
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG = A-
A SINGLE MAN = B-
NINE = B
AVATAR = A-
UP IN THE AIR = A-

And btw, in case I've never clarified, here's how my "rating chart" goes...

A+ = One of the greatest films of all time, rarely awarded.
A = One of the best films of the year, practically perfect, and probably on or near my 10 top list of the year.
A- = May have a misstep or two, but certainly one of the best of the year and unmistakenly worth seeing.
B+ = A great film. Definately worth the ticket price.
B = A good film. Has a few drawbacks, but still worth the ticket $.
B- = Has several redeeming qualities, but balances on the see/rent/skip fence. Don't need to rush out to see it.
C+ = May have a good quality or two, but overall underwhelming.
C = Picking out more of the "good" from the overall bad of the film.
C- = Has very few redeeming qualities.
D = Terrible film. Not even worth a viewing to see "how bad" is it.
F = One of the worst films of all time.

Most films I review seem to fall between the A to C+ category. I think that's about fair?

This'll be fun!

Award Calender...

Gonna be a busy week for me. Have a screening of A SINGLE MAN tomorrow, NINE on Wednesday, and both AVATAR and UP IN THE AIR on Thursday. Good times! Also, here's a little list to help keep track of when the critics groups and other awards bodies will be announcing...totally stole this from Ryan Adams on AwardsDaily. Sorry, Ryan.

DECEMBER
12/10 - Chicago Film Critics Nominations
12/12 - European Film Awards
12/13 - American Film Institute Winners
12/13 - Boston Film Critics Winners
12/13 - Los Angeles Film Critics Winners
12/14 - New York Film Critics Winners
12/14 - Chicago Film Critics Winners
12/14 - Broadcast Film Critics (Critics Choice) Nominations
12/15 - Golden Globe Nominations
12/17 - Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Nominations
12/28 - Oscar Nomination Ballots are mailed to Academy Members

JANUARY
1/3 - National Society of Film Critics Winners
1/4 - USC Scripter Nominations
1/7 - Directors Guild Nominations
1/8 - Online Film Critics Winners
1/11 - Writers Guild Nominations
1/11 - ASC (Cinematographers) Guild Nominations
1/12 - ACE Eddie (Editing Guild) Nominations
1/15 - Critics Choice Awards
1/17 - Art Directors Guild Nominations
1/17 - Golden Globe Awards
1/21 - BAFTA (British Academy) Nominations
1/23 - SAG Awards
1/23 - Oscar Nomination Polls Close
1/24 - Producers Guild Awards
1/24 - Costume Designers Guild Nominations
1/27 - ASC Awards
1/30 - DGA Awards

FEBRUARY
2/2 - OSCAR NOMINATIONS
2/6 - USC Scripter Winners
2/13 - Art Directors Guild Winners
2/13 - ACE Eddie Award Winners
2/18 - Visual Effects Society Nominations
2/20 - Final Oscar Ballots Mailed
2/20 - WGA Awards
2/21 - BAFTA Awards
2/25 - Costume Designers Guild Awards
2/28 - VES Awards

MARCH
3/2 - Final Oscar Polls Close
3/6 - Independent Spirit Awards
3/7 - ACADEMY AWARDS

Awards -- WASHINGTON DC FILM CRITICS

Some interesting and unexpected choices here, but I love the nods for The Road, Star Trek, Up, and (500) Days. They are announcing their winners tomorrow, but for now, here are the DC Critics nominees... and not tomorrow has arrived, so here are the DC Critics winners as well.

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up
Up in the Air

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
Lee Daniels "Precious"
Clint Eastwood "Invictus"
Jason Reitman "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Actor
George Clooney "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman "Invictus"
Viggo Mortensen "The Road"
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock "The Blind Side"
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Maya Rudolph "Away We Go"
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"
Meryl Streep "Julie & Julia"

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"
Anthony Mackie "The Hurt Locker"
Alfred Molina "An Education"
Stanley Tucci "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique "Precious"
Julianne Moore "A Single Man"
Samantha Morton "The Messenger"

Best Ensemble Cast
The Hurt Locker
Nine
Precious
Star Trek
Up in the Air

Best Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Blind Side
An Education
Precious
The Road
Up in the Air

Best Animated Feature
9
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ponyo
Up

Best Art Direction
The Lovely Bones
Nine
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are
The Young Victoria

Best Foreign Language Film
Broken Embraces
Red Cliff
Sin Nombre
Summer Hours
The White Ribbon

Best Documentary
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Capitalism: A Love Story
The Cove
Food, Inc.
Good Hair

Best Breakthrough Performance
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"
Christian McKay "Me and Orson Welles"
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"

Awards -- NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW Winners!!!

The first big announcement of the year, and a few nice surprises here.

Loving...the love for (500) Days, Up, and Star Trek.
Surprised...to not see Nine or Precious (!!!) on their top list
Disappointed...that A Serious Man took original screenplay. I love the Coens, but didn't like this one.

2009 National Board of Review Winners

Top Films
(500) Days of Summer
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air (BEST PICTURE)
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Director
Clint Eastwood "Invictus"

Best Actor
George Clooney "Up in the Air" (tie)
Morgan Freeman "Invictus" (tie)

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan "An Education"

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"

Best Supporting Actress
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"

Best Ensemble Cast
It's Complicated

Best Original Screenplay
"A Serious Man" -- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Up in the Air" -- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

Best Animated Feature
Up

Breakthrough Performance (Male)
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"

Breakthrough Performance (Female)
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"

Best Directorial Debut (Spotlight Award)
Duncan Jones "Moon" (tie)
Oren Moverman "The Messenger" (tie)
Marc Webb "(500) Days of Summer" (tie)

Top Foreign Films
The Maid
A Prophet (BEST FOREIGN FILM)
Revance
Song of Sparrows
Three Monkeys
The White Ribbon

Top Documentary Films
Burma Vj: Reporting From A Closed Country
The Cove (BEST DOCUMENTARY)
Crude
Food, Inc.
Good Hair
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Top Ten Independent Films
Amreeka
District 9
Goodbye Solo
Humpday
In the Loop
Julia
Me and Orson Welles
Moon
Sugar
Two Lovers

Special Filmmaking Acheivement Award
Wes Anderson "The Fantastic Mr. Fox"

William K. Everson Film History Award
Jean Picker Firstenberg

NBR Freedom of Express
Burma Vj: Reporting From A Closed Country
Invictus
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellseberg and the Pentagon Papers

Awards -- ANNIE AWARD Nominees

One of my personal favorite categories is Animated Feature, because I've loved and been obsessed with animated for most of my life. That said, this group is always interesting to, even when they get it completely wrong (2008: Kung Fu Panda over Wall-E???? no.). This year, the pack is led up Coraline, Princess and the Frog, and of course Up. But here are this year's feature-production nominees:

Best Animated Feature
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Best Directing in a Feature
Wes Anderson "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
Pete Docter "Up"
Christopher Miller & Phil Lord "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"
Hayao Miyazaki "Ponyo"
Henry Selick "Coraline"

Best Writing in a Feature
Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy "Up"
Timothy Hyde Harris & Davis Bowers "Astro Boy"
Christopher Miller & Phil Lord "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"

Animated Effects
Scott Cegielski "Monsters vs. Aliens"
Alexander Feigin "9"
Eric Froemlin "Up"
Tom Kluyskens "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"
James Mansfield "The Princess and the Frog"

Character Animation
Andreas Deja "The Princess and the Frog"
Eric Goldberg "The Princess and the Frog"
Travis Knight "Coraline"
Daniel Nguyen "Up"
Bruce Smith "The Princess and the Frog"

Character Design
Daniel Lopez Munoz "Up"
Shane Prigmore "Coraline"
Shannon Tindle "Coraline"

Music
Bruno Coulais "Coraline"
Michael Giacchino "Up"
Joe Hisaishi "Ponyo"
John Powell "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs"

Production Design
Christopher Appelhans "Coraline"
Ian Gooding "The Princess and the Frog"
Tadahiro Uesugi "Coraline"
Christopher Vacher "9"

Storyboarding
Sharon Bridgeman "Astro Boy"
Chris Butler "Coraline"
Ronnie Del Carmen "Up"
Tom Owens "Monsters vs. Aliens"
Peter Sohn "Up"

Voice Acting
Jen Cody - Charlotte - The Princess and the Frog
Dawn French - Miss Forcible - Coraline
Hugh Laurie - Dr. Cockroad Ph.D. - Monsters vs. Aliens
John Leguizamo - Sid - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Jennifer Lewis - Mama Odie - The Princess and the Frog

Awards -- INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD Nominees

Best Feature
(500) Days of Summer
Amreeka
The Last Station
Precious
Sin Nombre

Best Director
Joel & Ethan Coen "A Serious Man"
Lee Daniels "Precious"
Cary Fukanaga "Sin Nombre"
James Grey "Two Lovers"
Michael Hoffman "The Last Station"

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges "Crazy Heart"
Colin Firth "A Single Man"
Joseph Gordon Levitt "(500) Days of Summer"
Souleymane Sy Savane "Goodbye Solo"
Adam Scott "The Vicious Kind"

Best Actress
Maria Bello "Downloading Nancy"
Nisreen Faour "Amreeka"
Helen Mirren "The Last Station"
Gwyneth Paltrow "Two Lovers"
Gabourey Sidibe "Precious"

Best Supporting Actor
Jemaine Clement "Gentlemen Broncos"
Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"
Cristian McKay "Me and Orson Welles"
Ramon McKinnon "That Evening Sun"
Christopher Plummer "The Last Station"

Best Supporting Actress
Dina Korzun "Cold Souls"
Mo'Nique "Precious"
Samantha Morton "The Messenger"
Natahlie Press "Fifty Dead Men Walking"
Mia Wasikowska "That Evening Sun"

Best Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
Adventureland
The Last Station
The Messenger
The Vicious Kind

Best Cinematography
Bad Lieutenant
Cold Souls
A Serious Man
Sin Nombre
Treeless Mountain

Best Foreign Film (Non U.S.)
An Education
Everlasting Moments
The Maid
Mother
A Prophet

Best Documentary
Anvil!
Food, Inc.
More Than a Game
October Country
Which Way Home

Best First Feature
Crazy Heart
Easier With Practice
The Messenger
Paranormal Activity
A Single Man

Best First Screenplay
Amreeka
Crazy Heart
Cold Souls
Precious
A Single Man

Robert Altman Award (Given to 1 Film's director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
A Serious Man

Producers Award
Karen Chien
Larry Fessenden
Dia Sokol

Someone to Watch Award
--to be announced--

Truer Than Fiction Award
Natalie Almada
Jessica Oreck
Bill Ross & Turner Ross



Nomination Tally
5
The Last Station
Precious

4
The Messenger

3
(500) Days of Summer
Amreeka
Cold Souls
Crazy Heart
A Serious Man
A Single Man
Sin Nombre

2
That Evening Sun
Treeless Mountain
Two Lovers
The Vicious Kind

Awards -- INTERNATIONAL PRESS ACADEMY -- Golden Satellite Nominees

No true Oscar prognasticator should ever take these nominations seriously. But every year, they are the first group to announce, and it's always at the very least, interesting, to see where they put the glory. I especially love the fact that several films in the "Top Ten" list aren't even nominated in the picture categories. That right there tells you exactly how this group work. But whatever, so here they are...

Best Picture (Drama)
Bright Star
An Education
The Hurt Locker
The Messenger
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
The Stoning of Soraya M.

Best Picture (Musical/Comedy)
The Informant!
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine
A Serious Man
Up in the Air

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"
Neill Blomkamp "District 9"
Jane Campion "Bright Star"
Lee Daniels "Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire"
Rob Marshall "Nine"
Lone Scherfig "An Education"

Best Actor (Drama)
Jeff Bridges "Crazy Heart"
Hugh Dancy "Adam"
Johnny Depp "Public Enemies"
Colin Firth "A Single Man"
Jeremy Renner "The Hurt Locker"
Michael Sheen "The Damned United"

Best Actor (Musical/Comedy)
George Clooney "Up in the Air"
Bradley Cooper "The Hangover"
Matt Damon "The Informant!"
Daniel Day-Lewis "Nine"
Michael Stuhlbarg "A Serious Man"

Best Actress (Drama)
Shohreh Aghdashloo "The Stoning of Soraya M."
Emily Blunt "The Young Victoria"
Abbie Cornish "Bright Star"
Penelope Cruz "Broken Embraces"
Carey Mulligan "An Education"
Catalina Saavedra "The Maid"

Best Actress (Musical/Comedy)
Sandra Bullock "The Proposasl"
Marion Cotillard "Nine"
Zooey Deschanel "(500) Days of Summer"
Katherine Heigl "The Ugly Truth"
Meryl Streep "Julie & Julia"

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson "The Messenger"
James McAvoy "The Last Station"
Alfred Molina "An Education"
Timothy Spall "The Damned United"
Christoph Waltz "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt "Sunshine Cleaning"
Penelope Cruz "Nine"
Anna Kendrick "Up in the Air"
Mozhan Marno "The Stoning of Soraya M."
Mo'nique "Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire"

Best Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer -- Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Bright Star -- Jane Campion
The Hurt Locker -- Mark Boal
A Serious Man -- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up -- Bob Peterson & Pete Docter

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9 -- Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
An Education -- Nick Hornby
Julie & Julia -- Nora Ephron
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire -- Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air -- Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

Best Animated or Mixed Media
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Cinematography
Inglourious Basterds
It Might Get Loud
Nine
Public Enemies
Red Cliff
A Serious Man

Best Film Editing
2012
District 9
The Hurt Locker
It Might Get Loud
Nine
Red Cliff

Best Art Direction & Production Design
2012
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Public Enemies
Red Cliff
The Road
A Single Man

Best Costume Design
Cheri
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Red Cliff
The Young Victoria

Best Sound (Mixing & Editing)
2012
It Might Get Loud
Nine
Red Cliff
Terminator: Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Visual Effects
2012
District 9
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Red Cliff
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Original Score
Amelia
The Informant!
Public Enemies
Up
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

Best Original Song
"Almost There" -- The Princess and the Frog
"Cinema Italiano" -- Nine
"Down in New Orleans" -- The Princess and the Frog
"I Can See in Color" -- Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
"We Are the Children of the World" -- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
"The Weary Kind" -- Crazy Heart

Best Foreign Language Film
Broken Embraces (Spain) (tie)
I Killed My Mother (Canada)
The Maid (Chile) (tie)
Red Cliff (China)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Winter in Wartime (Netherlands)

Best Documentary
The Beaches of Agnes
The Cove
Every Little Step
It Might Get Loud
The September Issue
Valentino: The Last Emperor

Top Ten Films
(500) Days of Summer
Bright Star
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
A Serious Man
The Stoning of Soraya M.
Up in the Air

Tesla Award (Visionary Achievement)
Roger Deakins

Auteur Award
Roger Corman

Best Ensemble Film Cast
Nine

Best Ensemble TV Cast
True Blood

Outstanding Guest Star
Kristin Chenoweth "Glee"

Outstanding New Talent
Gabourey Sidibie "Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire"

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.

NEWS -- 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.

Public Enemies trailer...

Is currently up at JoBlo.com and on the front page of Awardsdaily.com. And in my humble opinion...it looks fantastic!