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With the acting award decided (Bridges, Bullock, Waltz and Mo'nique) it's time for the rest:
Best Picture
"Up" was the Best Reviewed film of 2009, but Academy members won’t vote for it for Best Picture, since it will win the Animated Film category.
This is a battle between "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker".
- "Avatar": The Box Office champ, great special effects, no acting or writing nominations.
- "The Hurt Locker": Hollywood loves war movies and it’s on a roll, having won top honors at most of recent awards ceremonies.
What should win: “Up”
What will win: “The Hurt Locker”
Best Animated Feature
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" was my favorite film of 2009, but it has very little chance of winning. “Up” was my second favorite film and it’s a lock.
What should win: “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
What will win: "Up"
Best Animated Short
What will win: “A Matter of Loaf and Death”
Best Original Screenplay
What will win: “The Hurt Locker”
Best Adapted Screenplay
What will win: “Up in the Air”
Best Visual Effects
What will win: “Avatar”
Best Original Song
What will win: “The Weary Kind” (“Crazy Heart”)
Best Director
It’s another “Avatar” (James Cameron) vs. “The Hurt Locker” (Kathryn Bigelow) showdown. The Academy may want to reward Cameron for making all that money. But Bigelow won the Directors Guild award, and that usually means Gold on Oscar night. Plus, she’ll be the first woman to ever win this category.
Who should win: Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”)
Who will win: Bigelow
Hope you enjoy the show (and the 'Thank You' cam)!
We're only a few days from the Academy Awards, so it's time to begin unveiling all of my picks for this year. We start with the acting awards:
Best Actress
This is a two-way battle between Meryl Streep (“Julie and Julia”) and Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”). Streep had a tougher role (Julia Child - a real-life person everybody knew) than Bullock (Leigh Anne Touhy - a real-life person no one knew). And Streep hasn’t won an Oscar since 1982 (“Sophie’s Choice”). That drought will continue.
Who should win: Streep
Who will win: Bullock
Best Supporting Actress
Who will win: Mo'nique (“Precious”)
Best Actor
Morgan Freeman (“Invictus”) was great as Nelson Mandela, and George Clooney (“Up In The Air”) was excellent as well. But Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”) had the most challenging role, with a lot of physical demands. And he had to sing.
Who should win: Bridges
Who will win: Bridges
Best Supporting Actor
Who will win: Christoph Waltz (“Inglorious Basterds”)
Next Time - Best Picture and Director
I got to see the 2010 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films today (along with the 3 honorable mentions). Here's my report card:
The Oscar Nominees
"French Roast" - C The story was tough to follow.
"Granny O' Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" - C Nothing really original.
"The Lady and the Reaper" - B Clever and entertaining.
"Logorama" - B Very well done with using so many famous logos and product characters, but a little adult.
"A Matter of Loaf and Death" - B+ It's Wallace and Gromit, and they're always great!
The Honarable Mentions
"The Kinematograph" - B+ A good story that not many people have used in film.
"Partly Cloudy"(Disney/Pixar) - C A major disappointment. The studio needs to bounce back for it's next one.
"The Runaway" - C+ Had some fun and dry moments.
Overall, they were pretty good. I hope that Wallace and Gromit can take home the Oscar, since the big screen movie and two of the three original shorts did the same.
February has really been a dry month for new family films on DVD. If you are desperately waiting for something new to rent or buy, good news: Next month, you'll have plenty of choices.
March 2nd: "Where the Wild Things Are" (PG) GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE and "Ponyo" (G) NICE ANIMATION
March 9th: "Planet 51" (PG) STARS DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON and "Old Dogs" (PG) STARS JOHN TRAVOLTA AND ROBIN WILLIAMS
March 16th: "The Princess and the Frog" (G) 3 OSCAR NOMINATIONS and "Astro Boy" (PG) A HUGE VOICE CAST
March 23rd: "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (PG) 2 OSCAR NOMINATIONS; BEST MOVIE OF 2009 and "The Blind Side" (PG-13) 2 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
March 30th: "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" (PG) ONE OF THE 10 BIGGEST FILMS OF 2009
I don't get why studios waited until March to release all these films, when they could've gotten a jump-start in February.
And in other news, George Lopez will be voicing Speedy Gonzales in the upcoming live-action/animated film starring the classic Looney Tunes character. Lopez has previously done voice work in "Beverly Hills Chiuhauha" and will soon be heard in "Marmaduke".
I talked to my friend Regis Philbin a while back, and he said that he didn't love the experience of voicing a cartoon in "Shrek the Third", but liked being a part of a big movie. Well, according to IMDB, Regis will reprise his role as Mabel the ugly stepsister in the highly anticipated "Shrek Forever After". Maybe he wanted to do it again after all, or they just made him do it. It'll be great to hear him on the big screen again this May.
Speaking of voice actors, Robin Williams will be doing another animated movie this year. He will be voicing Wheezy the toy penguin in "Toy Story 3". There have been different actors who have played Wheezy in the first two "Toy Story" movies, but this is a surprise. Williams has previously done voices in "Aladdin", "Robots", and "Happy Feet", which is getting a 3-D sequel that is coming out next year. And yes, Williams is in it.
Traditionally, the Oscars have featured performances from all of the Best Original Song nominees. Last year, they were all combined into one musical number. And this year? No performances at all!. The academy has decided to just have the songs playing during brief clips of the films that the songs are from. Ridiculous, just ridiculous. Even though they made the show longer, the muscial performances were sometimes great.
On another disappointing note, after this year, Barbara Walters will not be doing her annual Oscar pre-show. I sometimes watch it, and sometimes I watch the Red Carpet preview shows instead. But I've got to say, Walters' show has always been a part of Oscar night and it will be missed. Who knows if she'll be quitting "The View" next.
Finally, another "Toy Story 3" character has been revealed. This time it's Buttercup. This unicorn may look like a girl, but is actualy a boy, and is voiced by Jeff Garlin. Pixar - stop revealing! I want to be suprised by the movie and you're already showing us too much.
The 2010 Kids Choice Awards nominations are out. Here the movie categories:
Favorite Movie: "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel; "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", "The Twilight Saga: New Moon", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Cleary "Wolverine" is the shocker here. There are at least 10 other 2009 films I would have had as a nominee before "Wolverine".
Favorite Animated Movie: "Disney's A Christmas Carol", "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosauers", "Monsters vs. Aliens", "Up". This time "A Christmas Carol" is the one that doesn't belong. It shouldn't even qualify as an animated film. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" deserved a nomination, and actually could have won.
Favorite Movie Actor: Zac Efron, Taylor Lautner, Shia LeBeouf, Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry? I think he's great, but for the Kids Choice Awards? How many kids saw "Madea Goes to Jail"? And where's Kevin James? He's hosting this year - they should have given him a nomination.
Favorite Movie Actress: Sandra Bullock, Miley Cyrus, Megan Fox, Zoe Saldana. Sandra's won everything else, why not this.
The Kids Choice Awards will be handed-out March 27.
Happy Valentine's Day! A new "Toy Story 3" trailer is out and is on the site. In the trailer, you meet a few new characters, and Ken and Barbie meet each other for the first time. They immediatly show signs of love for each other.
It's also been announced that Barbie will take-on two new professions in her "I CAN BE" series: a newsanchor and a computer engineer. How about Barbie being a cowgirl like Jessie or a space ranger like Buzz Lightyear since she's back in the new "Toy Story" movie? Maybe she's already been these. Any Barbie fans out there?
Speaking of blond hair beauties, Disney's upcoming animated film "Rapunzel" will now be called "Tangled". I honestly don't think that's clever.
And approproately, "Valentine's Day" won the weekend box office with a huge $52.4 million. Share some love with your companion and go to a movie on the most lovable day of the year!
Sony Pictures has announced that "Spiderman 4" will be in 3-D. The release date is set for July 3, 2012.
No big surprise here. I can't imagine any major fantasy/action film not coming-out in 3-D from now on. Of course, the reported $80-million dollar budget for the movie will have to be raised. Sony can't do this movie, in 3-D, for that little money, even if the studio does use mostly young, unknown actors.
The next major "Spidey 4" announcement will the naming of the actor who is going to play the lead role. The results of a recent poll on this site showed that you guys would like to see Zack Efron get the job.
Bad news for independent studio Imagi Animation, which is closing it's doors due to financial problems. Imagi began in 2000, and produced both "TMNT" in 2007 and "Astro Boy" last year. "Astro Boy" was a bit of a flop at the box office which, apparently, led to the end of the studio.
Imagi was in the process of working on three new films, including "Gatchaman", which was due to be released next year. The studio, which recently layed-off 300 employees, says they will continue to work on these films, using cheaper production methods. Hard to believe that will work.
I enjoyed the look of both "TMNT" and "Astro Boy", though the stories were not great and they were not promoted well. It's too bad when an animated studio has to shut-down.
Farewell, Imagi!
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