REVIEW - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

So, over the past few years, the film world has had a brand new punching bag to join the side of easily mocked video game adaptations and toys who jump from the toy room to the big screen, like Transformers and G.I. Joe. That fang adorned emo wet dream of a punching bag is better known as the Twilight franchise, and it has become the biggest thing on the planet.

Literally, it caused theaters to show 3 a.m. showings. It’s that big.

However popular the series may be with the I-hate-my-parents-so-I-wear-black-clothes-and-right-sad-poems set, it has seemingly gone over the heads of the critic set. Hell, even the franchise’s fans realize that they are fans of lesser than type of material. However, it keeps them coming back.

It’s like crack for pre-teens and creepy neo-pedophile moms.

That said, for some reason, I still had hopes for the third film in the franchise, Eclipse. Maybe it’s the cast, which I think is a really gifted collection of actors, or maybe it’s the film’s director, David Slade, who got my ass in the seat. Hell, the soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in years, so maybe it’s that.
Frankly, I don’t care, because for some reason, this film didn’t fail like I had expected.

Eclipse finds our lead, Bella Swan, again caught in the middle of her awkward and horribly misguided love triangle between Jacob and Edward. An army of new born vamps have been sent out by the villain Victoria, who wants to avenge the loss of her former lover, James. A bunch of brooding looks, whining, and poorly done special effects shots ensue, making this the epitome, no, the physical manifestation of mediocrity.

Personally, going into the film, I had my mind set. I have had a long and storied history with the franchise, which I find not only boring and a butchering of the vampire mythos, but also a really deplorable statement to the young, impressionable pre-teens and 40 something cougars around the world. However, I was shocked to find that while that message was still here (which I go in depth on here), what seems to be put in its place is a film that ultimately fails, but has moments that didn’t want me to put bullets in my skull. That is this film’s true success.

The great thing that this film is able to do is instead of making this a boring and turgid three way between a homoerotic glowing vampire, shirtless werewolf, and a girl torn between them, and makes it a semi-watchable film with true stakes that gives you a payoff that makes the free ticket I used to see it somewhat worth it.

The cast here is solid. The three stars have solid chemistry, with Lautner, who plays Jacob, actually showing a bit of an arrogant side that makes his character seem a bit more human, and much less of a caricature. Pattinson is fine as Edward, but is about as lively as a piece of wood he’d use to kill himself, and Stewart is actually kind of solid as Bella, who while being given absolutely nothing to do, keeps your attention on screen. However, it’s people like Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene who really shine here, as does the entire supporting cast, which seems to be a constant theme throughout the films. Always the more interesting characters, the supporting cast get a rather massive chunk of on screen presence, giving us fans of them a lot to really chew on.

David Slade is also impressive here, as he’s been given nothing to really do here, but has instead crafted a stunning visual piece, and again proves that he’s far better of a director than this material really deserves. The film looks utterly breathtaking, particularly when he gives us a visual glimpse of the world we are dealing with, and the landscape that it covers. I adore these moments in the film, that are way too few and far between. Also, the action is well done here, which is quite the shocking surprise.

Oh, and this has to be one of the best collections of source music collected in recent memory. Seriously, this is one of this year’s most fantastic soundtracks. Pick it up. You won’t be sorry.

However, that’s where it all stops, as this is remarkably unforgettable.

Personally, the film fails just about as fast as it starts. The film’s ultimate sin is that no matter how high the stakes are here, you have no need to really care. You don’t care about these characters, particularly the three leads, which we are supposed to have so much invested in. There is no narrative or dramatic weight here, which leaves you simply wanting to watch this stunning landscape that Slade has crafted. He and his crew do what they can with the material, but those who aren’t fans of the books really won’t have much to dig into here. It’s visually impressive, but for a film to have such little keeping you glued to the screen, this all seems to get lost amongst a bunch of uncalled for angst and emo bullshit.

Overall, the film does what it can with the awful source material. If you love your films without any narrative or emotional weight, and with a copious amount of unfounded whining, then this is your masterpiece. However, for those of you like me, who like our movies engaging, then maybe this is one to let your girlfriend and her friends go see on a girl’s night out.

ECLIPSE – 4/10

Trailer For Paranormal Activity 2 Hits

Like your horror films in the form of franchises who lose their luster after the first viewing?

Well then this trailer will be right down your ridiculous and turd covered alley.

In the year that was 2009, one film seemed to take the world by storm, with that film being the rather fun and shocking first-view-only horror film, Paranormal Activity. Pretty much, after that film hit theaters and made massive amount of bank thanks to one hell of a promotional machine, talk of a sequel hit the scene. Well, now, a year later, we have a trailer for the upcoming sequel, Paranormal Activity 2, and I must say, while it looks like the epitome of a carbon copy, there are a few points in this thing that are actually creepy, and make me think happy thoughts about the first time seeing the first film.

However, this looks to be doing absolutely nothing new, making this one of my least anticipated films of the year. It looks exactly the same both stylistically and scare wise, and while it is a great example of “it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” it also doesn’t nothing to improve on it. This will make a ton of money, but this is definitely one I’m not looking forward to.



Go see something good

Bobcat Goldthwait Confirmed For Kinks Musical, Dominic Cooper Is Captain America's Howard Stark

Well, today seems to be a day full of old rumors and confirmations of them.

According to THR, a rumor connecting World’s Greatest Dad helmer Bobcat Goldthwait to a musical adaptation of the famous album Schoolboys In Disgrace from the band The Kinks. The film was up against an “ass kicking Western,” when it was first announced, but apparently, after getting the blessing of the band’s founder Ray Davies, it looks like it is actually happening.

It has been announced in the form of a press release, and will follow a schoolboy who turns into a bitter young man who tries to go against the establishment which has kept him down. “It’s the genesis story of a super villain set to music.” Awesome.

In other confirmation news, Marvel has confirmed that Dominic Cooper will indeed play the role of Howard Stark in the upcoming Captain America film. The rumor is a rather old one, and was previously confirmed by Cooper himself, but this is the first thing that we’ve heard from the studio themselves. It’s great news, because he not only looks the part, but is one hell of an actor to boot. Double awesome.

Go see something good!

Marvel To Start TV Production Wing

It’s about damn time!

According to reports, Marvel is looking to make the leap from comic book page to the big screen, and now to the small screen. Apparently, the studio has created a new arm, Marvel Television, which is looking to bring series ranging from live action to animated, all to your homes.

No details have been released as to just what they plan to push out, but with news coming that the studio is looking to make projects revolving around lower tier characters, one can’t help but think that this would be the perfect outlet for that. Personally, I absolutely adore this news. For one, this is a perfect step forward for the studio. Also, this is an amazing way for the studio to really make an impact with the characters in shows like Heroes and Smallville. While I’m not the massive fan of Smallville that I know a lot of people are, I have been waiting for something like this to come from the Marvel universe, and who better to front it than the studio themselves. This could not be better news.

Go see something good!

Bono And The Edge To Score Pixar's Brave?

This could be intriguing.

According to Bleeding Cool (via The Playlist), both Bono and maybe even his right hand man, The Edge, are apparently writing some new tunes for Pixar’s upcoming film, the film formerly known as The Bear And The Bow, now called Brave.

While nothing is confirmed, or even close to it yet, this does seem like a possibility. The report says that Bono is working on a score for a Pixar film, that is most likely Brave, but with only Cars 2 really confirmed to be on the way out of the Pixar camp, it looks like Brave is most likely the film in question. The film follows a royal daughter who hopes to become a legendary archer, and one day unleashes a new terror amongst her kingdom, which she must stop.

The film is being directed by one of The Prince of Egypt helmers, Brenda Chapman, and is currently looking at a June 15th, 2012 release. Personally, not only am I a rather massive U2 fan, but the idea of the dynamic duo of Bono and Edge getting behind the music of a Pixar film just screams amazing. Hopefully this isn’t an unfounded rumor; as this would be too good of an idea to really waste.

Go see something good!

Banshee Cast For X-Men: First Class

Wow, it seems like with each day comes a new cast member for the upcoming Matthew Vaughn film, X-Men: First Class.

Just a day after the casting of Alice Eve in the role of Emma Frost, it looks like another classmate has been cast. According to Latino Review, the role of Banshee, an Irish mutant who has the power to disarm and even harm baddies with his voice, which can reach subsonic frequencies, will be played by the 21 year old actor Caleb Landry.

Best known for his turn on Friday Night Lights, the actor hasn’t had a ton of work, but definitely looks the part, especially for what they are doing with the film. However, like the character of Emma Frost, the character of Banshee isn’t quite the most beloved or well used character in the history of the X-Men franchise. The film will feature characters like Beast, Mystique, and Cyclops, but this also means that smaller, really poorly colored characters like Sunfire and even Banshee will also be used, which may very well spell doom for this film.

Sure, I’m not one to think that this film will fail, particularly with Vaughn at the helm, but if a film is set to become a giant clusterfail of a film, it’s this one. All still remains to be seen, but lets just say that this is a perfect example of cautious optimism.

Go see something good!

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Duo To Helm Lego Film

While I utterly hate the idea of an actual film based in the world of or surrounding the famous child toy known as the Lego, you really couldn’t ask for a better group to get behind it.

According to Heat Vision, writer/directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the same mind behind last year’s surprisingly solid animated comedy, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, have signed on to bring this legendary toy to the big screen.

The duo have given pitches to executives involved with the project, and while this films sounds completely and utterly dreadful, as most films of this nature due, I can’t help but think that this could be the rare occasion where it may truly succeed. The two of them are truly talented comedic filmmakers, and while the source material doesn’t seem to be able to make for much of an interesting story, neither did the story for Meatballs, so really, this could be just as big of a surprise. My breath isn’t being held, but hopes are a little high for this one.

Go see something good!

10 Film Facts About Yours Truly

Thanks to Julian Stark for the mention, but now it’s my turn. Here are 10 film related facts about yours truly, that you may not have known:

1. Film I’ve Never Seen That I Am Most Ashamed About – Tie between Grand Illusion and North By Northwest

2. Favorite Film – Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless

3. Favorite Director – I’ve got a few. The Coens, Godard, Kurosawa, Ozu, Tarantino, Early John Woo, Gus Van Sant, Werner Herzog, Spike Jonze, Kubrick, Leone, Bergman, Fincher, Aronofsky, the list goes on, and on, and on. And on.

4. This blog’s namesake, I Are Movies, comes from the show Cow and Chicken, a cartoon I used to watch all the time, which featured a character called I Are Baboon. Thus, I Are Movies

5. For those who don’t know, the twitter name isavedlatin89 comes from the film Rushmore, where Max Fisher says that “I saved Latin, what have you done?” Oh, and I was born in ’89.

6. I don’t cry during a lot of films, but when I do, it’s all out weeping. Last film I cried during…Where The Wild Things Are.

7. Favorite film genre? Probably horror or film noir. Throw in French New Wave if that can be a genre, instead of just a movement/style

8. I started writing film reviews/essays my Freshman year here at Grand Valley, and from that lonely little LiveJournal blog, sprung my blogger site, which has been up and running for over 2 years now. From that, I have now moved on to writing for DVDSnapshot, as well as Gordon And The Whale, where I co host the site’s newly formed podcast.

9. First film I ever reviewed was Halloween, the Rob Zombie remake

10. My favorite actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Favorite Actress: Zooey Deschanel

Now, it's Danny King and Marc.

Go see something good!

EDITORIAL: Blockbusters Have Only Become Dumber

Moviegoers are becoming dumber, and dumber, as the years go by.

In what has been a pretty buzz-worthy piece of writing, Slate’s Tom Shone posited the idea that modern day blockbusters, the films that make the money in the box office, have become far too intellectual for his liking, or their own good.

Going on to give examples like David Fincher’s The Social Network, Aronofsky’s Black Swan, and Christopher Nolan’s upcoming mind related thriller, Inception, the idea is stated, discussed, and then given examples of films that fit the style of blockbuster Shone is craving, all in a tight and fun little read.

However, it’s one that comes at it from the wrong mind set.

Big budget, action packed, blockbusters, the very thing that keeps this industry going, have not only gotten dumbed down over the past years, but are being intoxicated by stupidity, and the illness is only getting more and more extreme.

Network, Swan, or Inception are not truly considered blockbusters. Yes, Inception had a huge budget, and with name power like Fincher and Nolan attached, they are sure fire hits. However, they are the exception to this ever growing, and ever distressing rule.

Look at last year’s highest grossing films:

1. Avatar
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
3. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
5. 2012
6. Up
7. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
8. Sherlock Holmes
9. Angels and Demons
10. The Hangover

Wow, my brain is numb from how taxing those films were.

Avatar may be the biggest example of a film fitting Shone’s hypothesis, but the following nine films have the combined cinematic I.Q. of an Abercrombie and Fitch model. They don't have the highest of mental wave lengths, with Transformers and New Moon being the best example of the growing stupidity of box office juggernauts. Both are complete gender based wish fulfillment, and strive to be nothing more than that. Throw in a pair of racist robots, a dumb and incomprehensible group of teenagers, and then cut to shots of dogs humping, and you have the most intellectual of modern blockbusters.

Oh, and 2010 doesn’t look to be much better.

Featuring such films as The Expendables, Predators, The A-Team, and Piranha 3-D, not only is Hollywood attempting to lower the already ground level mental state of films and filmgoers, but they are being intoxicated by the ever growing sense of masturbatory nostalgia for a decade that brought us cheesy action films, dumb one liners, and Ahhhhnold; the ‘80s.

Ever since films like Rambo began hitting theaters, the collective I.Q. of film goers, according to studios, seems to be less that Kate Moss’ weight. And like the model, it’s only going lower. The newest trailer for The Expendables shows that while it may be fun, it’s not striving to make Stephen Hawking punch himself in the balls for fear of being out shined. It’s not that these films are not enjoyable; it’s that they are becoming dumber and dumber than even their ‘80s counterparts.

The problem with these films is that, instead of fitting within the genre of meathead action fare, it becomes what Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez’s addition to Grindhouse, was to 70’s exploitation films. A complete and utter pastiche. It’s what MacGruber is to MacGyver. It’s not a film meant to be taken seriously within the likes of Predator or Die Hard, but as a film playing off of those same beats. It’s like a cover band of a ‘80s hair metal group. Not quite good to start off with, but even worse when it’s covered.

And smart action has been done well recently. Look at the Bourne Trilogy. Not the biggest world shakers in terms of brain waves firing, but at least it’s there. The films are balls to the wall action, and have some rather interesting things to say when it comes to American foreign policy. However, people don’t go out to see these types of action films, just look at Green Zone. Yes, it’s an Iraq War film, but the trailers were making it seem like a kick-ass action film, which it was, and people avoided it like a Blockbuster rental shop. Even some dumb action films have at least tried to take the genre forward. Crank and Crank: High Voltage, may very well be the dumbest of the dumb when it comes to action films. However, with the team of Neveldine/Taylor, the films have been able to push the genre of action films forward, introducing more guerilla and seemingly verite filmmaking tactics to the genre. Yes, they are live action video games, but they work, where films like Transformers: ROTF are not only dumb and lazy, but they also offend those of us with a multiple digit I.Q.

Every year we get our occasional blockbuster with actual balls to try to be something more. Avatar, The Dark Knight, Bourne Trilogy, Inception, but again, these are the exceptions to this disgusting and truly depressing rule. Blockbusters have not become more intellectual. Blockbusters have been exponentially been getting dumber and dumber.

KREATIV BLOGGER AWARDS

The greatest thing about being a film blogger/critic/journalist, is the family that I am so happily a part of. Aside from a few squabbles here and there, it has been a great time becoming what I like to consider a semi well known writer.

I started this very site about a year and a half ago, and while I've moved most of my work over to DVDsnapshot, I fully plan on getting more content back here (maybe not me completely, but hopefully with some new writers). Why you may ask? Because some people, althought I truly can't tell you why ;), have decided that this blog was worth nominating for a Kreativ Blogger Award.

So, now it's my turn. Here are my Kreativ Blogger Award nominees:





Now let's get down to my Kreativ Bloggers shall we? Seven criteria must be met upon receiving this honor:

Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
Here goes!





1. Thank you so much Julian Stark. It means a lot to me to know that you feel as though my blog is worth checking out.

Seven Things:

1) I am a BIG fan of costume dramas and romance films. Probably more than I should be.
2) I'm a closet geek. Film, Music, Comics, and even sports, if it has some element of geekdome, I probably fall under that category.
3) My favorite book is Requiem For A Dream
4) I once wanted to be a Political Scientist prior to film journalist
5) My favorite film is Jean Luc Godard's Breathless
6) I've walked out of a movie once. Good Luck Chuck...
7) I play the ukulele

Now my nominees:

The King Bulletin
Reel Talk
Marc's Movie Blog
Dain's Movie Reviews
Drinkable Films
Kenz Talks About Movies
A Life In Equinox

These are all just really fantastic reads, and should be staples amongst your daily search for film news and discussion.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned, there might just be a few changes to this place, but I'll still be here and most of my work can be read at DVDSnapshot.com.

Go see something good!


5 and 6. The blogs that I'm nominating are...


Common Sense Movie Reviews

The Film Experience

I ARE MOVIES



The King Bulletin



Life of a Cinephile and Bibliophile



Reel Talk

Stale Popcorn



Honorable Mention: Again, Univarn's A Life in Equinox. The reason I give honorable mention is because I have absolutely no clue if you're allowed to mention the one who nominated you in your seven blogs

Everyone nominated... remember to pass the awards on! Thanks again to Univarn for nominating me!

Some Thoughts On Avatar

HEY! I'm back here for a little post I just put together. I decided to post this here, because it does voice a political opinion of mine, so I figure a personal blog post would be a little better. HOWEVER, please go over to DVDSnapshot for my real work. Thanks, and enjoy!!!

In the current world of cinema, the new trend amongst film goers and/or critics is to simply justify a film as good, simply by following the idea that if you “shut off your brain,” the otherwise pointless, often big budget film is something worth your time.

However, when it comes to Avatar, the box office monster of the past couple of weeks, is both big budget actioner, as well as thought provoking conversation piece.

That said, not all political and religious thoughts are the most sane examples of cinematic criticsism.

First, the ludicrous.

Big Hollywood has released a little piece discussing the film in terms that believe that “the bad guys in the movie are the U.S. Marines:

The glee with which the American Marines participate in this massacre is appalling and does not show the true feelings and concerns of the real United States Military. James Cameron should apologize to the American Military and should make a statement that he does not truly feel this way about them. He should also apologize to the American public for painting our young men and women that defend this country as cold-blooded killers.

The reason that I feel as though this piece is quite ludicrous, is that the main thesis of the piece is off. Avatar posits the idea that these characters, ex-Marines, are hired by a private group/company, to simply force the natives of Pandora out of their homes, to attain monetary gains. Far more Blackwater than Marines, the film is at it’s most blatantly obvious, a poorly timed blast against the past presidential administration.

However, there is one bit of analysis that I think comes off loud and clear.

Via The AV Club:

The movie’s most seditious act is to evoke the specter of September 11, only with the terms reversed…Cameron’s willingness to question the sacred trauma of 9/11 is audacious, and his ability to do so in a $300 million tentpole movie is nothing short of shocking. If Avatar has a claim to revolution, that is where it lies.

This could not be more true.

Personally, the tone of the scene that I believe the excerpt was written about, is so starkly different from the rest of the film, and the shot and scene structure is a different take than throughout the film. It’s far more handheld, and the shots simply linger on the devastation caused by the films villains, the closest thing the film has to Blackwater soldiers, a.k.a. justified terrorists.

The idea of terrorism in this film isn’t a far fetched concept either. At it’s core, terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. Avatar’s main story follows a group of natives, who are forced to leave their native land, simply for the monetary gains of a group of privatized soldiers. Unsurprisingly, right-wing bloggers have had a bit of a field day with this idea.

Via The Movie Guide:

For hundreds of years, the pagan, communist ideas expressed in this movie circulated among a threadbare group of outcasts with dirty fingernails and greasy hair, who shared their obtuse, occult ideas amongst themselves with manic, alienated glee. Now James Cameron has made these insane views the major bulwark of a very spectacular movie, but the spectacle does not make the views any more coherent, rational, or uplifting.

Sure, the views are not uplifting, as they are distinctly anti-capitalistic, but to call them communist and pagan ideas are just as irrational and antagonistic as the concepts themselves. What makes them not uplifting isn’t the ideas themselves, it’s that we all, no matter political viewpoint, know that this both happens, and is true at it’s very core. We have seen people be slaughtered or forced to leave a general area for nothing more than dollar gains, and calling the film “anti-human” as The Movie Guide does is just as irrational as Cameron putting these quite obvious and poignant concepts in his film.

Then the guide goes truly off the deep end, saying the film has an “abhorrent New Age, pagan, anti-capitalist worldview that promotes goddess worship and the destruction of the human race.”

Well, we all aren’t sane when it comes to big budget action films that actually have a meaning. I'm as left wing as anyone can be, so I agree with much, actually all of what Cameron was saying here, but as left as I am, I'm equally open to legit critiques and questions that the film raises, or could be raised in discussion of the film. I just have yet to see a rational take from someone against the films main thesis, that capitalism is the root of evil.

Maybe it's just because it's true.

Go see something good!

OPINION: What Exactly Does NINE Have In Store For Itself?...

This is a question that I have been pondering for just about a week now.

Earlier this week, the cast of the upcoming musical Nine joined Oprah on the stage of her talk show, to talk about the film. However, what they also did was spark the idea in my head, that this film has all the makings for a huge Oscar run.

However, in what categories, and for whom?

First, here is the film's synopsis, for those who don't know:

Nine tells the story of Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis), a world famous film director as he confronts an epic mid-life crisis with both creative and personal problems. He must balance the many women of his life, including his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie) and his mother (Sophia Loren).

The film is a pseudo adaptation of the brilliant and legendary Fellini film, 8 1/2, and features one of the years most star studded casts. Featuring the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz and even Sophia Loren, the film is easily one of my most anticipated films yet to see, if not the most. It's also one of "the four" that critics have yet to see, in regards to Oscar talk (the other three being Avatar, The Lovely Bones and Invictus).

However, some critics finally got to see the film, and shockingly, to much much applause. Here's the scoop from In Contention:

One guy even said the film was better than “8 1/2” (make of that what you will) before asking a question about Fellini when the session was turned over to questions from the audience. And everyone was certainly in awe of the stars (or their careers, at the very least — gee, I’m cynical.) It seemed that nary an opportunity to applaud was missed.

The biggest closing credit ovations, by my ear, in order of, I don’t know, loudness: Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman.

So what to make of this, other than, this film is going to be huge come March of next year? Well, I have a few thoughts on this.

DISCLAIMER: I haven't seen the film. There. Now lets go.

First, I think Daniel Day-Lewis is a sure fire lock for Best Actor, for a few reasons. The biggest reason, being that, aside from being you know, Daniel Day-Lewis, the role looks to be really showy, and he does sing. It's like the performance of Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, just a truly theatrical role, not a more naturalistic and raw performance like I think Bridges delivers. It's a true lead performance, in a film based on a classic film, that for all intents and purposes, is fantastic, being that that's just my hunch having DDL in that role.

So that category, Best Director, and Best Picture I think are three sure fire locks, and I think that they are prettmuch non-issues right now.

Then there are those pesky female categories, that are really often times hard to tell, as not only are there very few good meaty roles for females, even less being true lead turns, so these are often found from the indie realm.

That said, I think this film is chock full of possible Best Lead and Supporting Actress nods, with two truly sticking out to me.

First, Marion Cotillard, who is being pushed as a lead, I think fits perfectly as the 5th actress in the Lead category. Last week I posited the idea that there are 4 actresses that we can book in the category (Sidibe from Precious, Mirren from The Last Station, Mulligan from An Education, and Streep from Julie and Julia), and I think that we can maybe make that 5. From the footage I've seen, she looks amazing, and even, at least in one scene, out acts Lewis, which I have rarely if ever seen. She's a proven Oscar winner, so I think that it's fair to say, if she gives as strong of a performance as she seems to, I think she will round out that list.

Then there is the true reason I wanted to write this. The Best Supporting Actress category is going to be the most interesting to see where the academy goes with regards to this film, as there are 3 true roles where they could go.

In Contention has them going with Penelope Cruz, and I would have to second that notion. That said, the film, if the Weisteins just completely dump The Road's Oscar push, I think that two could fit that bill. So where would the second one come? My personal vote, I wouldn't be shocked if they went with Hudson. From all the footage I've seen, she seems great, as does Kidman, but I think that Kidman has her awards, and the academy may want to go a seperate way. That said, Kidman could easily steal her thunder. This is just a thought, as it would have to have a lot of things happen to get done (namely Susan Sarandon NOT be fantastic in The Lovely Bones which she is rumored to be), but who knows.

This is the academy we are talking about after all.

What do YOU think?

Go see something good!

VIDEO: Fight Club PSAs...

In honor of the 10th Anniversary Blu-Ray, here are some hilarious PSA's that ran before the film when it was in theatres. Enjoy!



Go see something good!

VIDEO: New Avatar Featurette...

IGN UK has a new featurette from Avatar, which looks at the hardware. Yeah. Giant f****** mech suits. Just watch it.

Avatar Movie Video - Exclusive Featurette: Human Hardware

Go see something good!