82nd Annual Academy Award nominations!

And the nominees are...

The nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards have been announced, and to be honest, I'm not really surprised by all the picks. As commercial as the whole thing has become, it's not too hard to guess who's on the list. Let's take a brief look:

Nominated for best picture are "Avatar," "The Blind Side" (what the f**k?), "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up" and "Up in the Air."

Nominated for best actor are Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart," George Clooney for "Up in the Air," Colin Firth for "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman for "Invictus," and Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker."

Nominated for best supporting actor are Matt Damon in "Invictus," "Woody Harrelson" for "The Messenger," Christoper Plummer for "The Last Station," Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones" and Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds."

Actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side" (what the f**k?), Helen Mirren for "The Last Station," Carey Mulligan for "An Education," Gabourney Sidibe for "Precious" and Meryl Streep for "Julie & Julia."

Actress in a supporting role: Penelope Cruz for "Nine," Vera Farmiga for "Up in the Air," Anna Kendrick for "Up in the Air," Maggie Gyllenhaal for "Crazy Heart" and Mo'Nique for "Precious."

The nominees for best animated film are "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog," "The Secret of Kells," and "Up."

Click to read more ...

Ten Best Films of 2009

The year 2009 has come to an end, and I admit I got to enjoy a bunch of superb films, even though the movie year wasn't necessarily as powerful in terms of quality as some other recent years.

That said, these are my favorite flicks of 2009. Please note I picked these movies from all those I've seen this year. I really tried to watch as many as possible, but I admit I did miss a few in the end.

To keep a long story short, enjoy these picks and feel free to comment on them or post your own top 10. Thanks for stopping by, and here's to a new year filled with awesome cinematic experiences.

Click to read more ...

2009 Screening Log Movie Awards Winners!

A week ago I posted the nominations for the 1st annual Screening Log Movie Awards, and here are the winners I picked for the year 2009. These are really the best of the best of the year.

The big winner for me is "Up in the Air," which received three awards, including best film, best screenplay and best supporting actress (Vera Farmiga). Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" won two prizes.

As you can see below, the best actor category ended in a tie. It's something I don't usually like to do, but Nicolas Cage and Jeff Bridges just equally surprised me this year. Enjoy all the winners below.

Click to read more ...

2009 Screening Log Movie Awards Nominations!

The nominations for the 1st annual Screening Log Movie Awards are in! I've selected the best of 2009 and narrowed them down to less than a dozen per category. Winners are announced Dec. 28, 2009.

A few notes on the process: These nominations reflect my selection of the best films I've seen this year. I've enjoyed many excellent movies this year, and I engaged in this process to honor my favorite ones of '09.

Over the course of this week, I will be looking more closely at each category and pick the ones I personally believe deserve to win. Please know these are solely my own, personal favorites of the year!

Let's get to it then! Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" took home four nominations, and "Up in the Air" received seven nominations. Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" earned six, and "The Road" took five.

Click to read more ...

Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2009

The Detroit Film Critics Society announced its 2009 awards earlier today, and the big winner this year is Pete Docter's animated Pixar adventure "Up." Docter was also named the year's best director.

Colin Firth was named best actor for his performance in "A Single Man," while Gabourey Sidibe was voted best actress for her role in Lee Daniels' drama "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

In the supporting actor category, Christoph Waltz won for Inglourious Basterds," while Mo'Nique won best supporting actress for her powerful performance in "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

Click to read more ...

Austin Film Critics Association loves 'Hurt Locker'

Members of the Austin Film Critics Association showed their love for Kathryn Bigelow's war drama "The Hurt Locker" this week as they named it the best film of 2009. Bigelow was also named best director.

Colin Firth took home the award for best actor for "A Single Man," while Mélanie Laurent won best actress for "Inglourious Basterds." Christoph Waltz was voted best supporting actor for "Basterds" as well.

Meanwhile, Austin's film critics picked Anna Kendrick as best supporting actress for her stunning role in "Up in the Air." The film also won best adapted screenplay for Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.

Click to read more ...

San Diego Film Critics Society 2009 Awards

Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" emerged as the big winner when the San Diego Film Critics Society picked the best films of 2009. "Basterds" started off by taking home the award for best film.

Tarantino was also voted best director, Christoph Waltz was named best supporting actor, and Tarantino also took home the award for best original screenplay. The film also won best production design.

But wait! That's not it. "Basterds" also won the award for best ensemble cast! Now that's what I call winning big time, and to be honest, Tarantino deserves it. "Basterds" is not my No. 1 flick of '09, but I sure loved it.

Click to read more ...

67th Annual Golden Globes Nominations

I don't particularly care about the Golden Globes much, but the 67th annual Globes ceremony is coming up soon, so here is a quick summary of this year's nominations. Any big surprises? Not exactly.

Best drama: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Up in the Air" and "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire" all made the cut. I'm glad to see "Avatar" is a part of the race.

In the best musical or comedy category, "Nine," "Julie & Julia," "The Hangover," "(500) Days of Summer" and "It's Complicated" earned a nomination. I bet "Julie & Julia" could win this thing, but you never know...

Click to read more ...

San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2009

The city by the bay has voted: the San Francisco Film Critics Circle picked Kathryn Bigelow's acclaimed war drama "The Hurt Locker" as the best film of 2009. Bigelow was also named best director.

Quentin Tarantino took home the award for best original screenplay for "Inglourious Basterds," while Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach picked up the best adapted screenplay for "Fantastic Mr. Fox."

Colin Firth won the award for best actor in "A Single Man," while Meryl Streep picked up the award for best actress for "Julie & Julia." Christian McKay was named best supporting actor for “Me and Orson Welles.”

Click to read more ...

New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2009

The New York Film Critics Circle today announced its 2009 film awards, and Kathryn Bigelow's war drama "The Hurt Locker" was named best film of the year. N.Y. critics also named Bigelow best director.

In the best actress category, Meryl Streep took the top award for her extraordinary performance in "Julie & Julia." George Clooney won best actor for "Up in the Air," and in my book, he totally deserves it.

Christoph Waltz was named best supporting actor for his amazing role in "Inglourious Basterds," and Mo'nique picked up yet another best supporting actress prize for her powerful performance in "Precious."

Click to read more ...