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."

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'Avatar' wins overseas box office again... of course!

As expected, James Cameron's hit spectacle "Avatar" held on to the No. 1 spot on the international circuit for yet another weekend with superb box office earnings of $95.1 million in 120 territories. Weekend earnings are definitely slowing down for Fox's sci-fi epic, but it looks like "Avatar" is not done making money quite yet!

The film's overseas total gross now stands at a stunning $1.45 billion, while domestically, it's about to break the $600 million mark. Worldwide, Cameron's 3D action adventure has grossed $2.045 billion. I know it gets old and I admit I'm tired of hearing about this flick myself, but the amount of money it made is quite simply amazing.

At a distant No. 2, Guy Ritchie's fairly entertaining adventure "Sherlock Holmes" picked up another $15.6 million, reaching a solid international total of $219 million. Following in third place this weekend was that stupid shit movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which bagged $10.8 million for a total of $190 million.

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'Avatar' beats 'Titanic' at overseas box office

'Avatar' reigns overseas... again...

After grossing another $107 million on the international circuit this weekend, James Cameron's "Avatar" became the highest-grossing movie ever at the overseas box office. We all knew it would happen, and "Avatar" beat "Titanic" this weekend by $46 million. 

So far, Fox's sci-fi action film has grossed $1.288 billion. Domestically, "Avatar" just passed "The Dark Knight." The film is expected to beat the worldwide total of "Titanic" this coming week. Globally, it has now earned $1.8408 billion.

At a distant No. 2, "Sherlock Holmes" bagged another $17.1 million and reached a cumulative gross of $196.5 million, while "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel" took $11.6 million in third place for a solid overseas total haul of $175 million.

Meanwhile, "Up in the Air" with George Clooney generated $11 million at No. 4, lifting its total gross to $19.5 million. Following in fifth place with $10.5 million was "It's Complicated," which reached a cume of $50.5 million. "Tooth Fairy" pulled $7.4 million.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Box Office: 'Avatar' wins it yet again!

Weekend of January 15 – 27, 2009: 'Avatar' prevails!

James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar” held on to the No. 1 spot at the North American box office one more time this weekend with another solid $41.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Fox’s “Avatar” lost the top spot to “The Book of Eli” Friday but regained momentum Saturday to win the weekend race with an average of $12,572 per theater at 3,285 locations. The film’s total currently stands at $491.7 million.

Debuting in second place was Albert and Allen Hughes’ post-apocalyptic action flick “The Book of Eli,” which bagged $31.6 million from ticket sales at 3,111 locations. Starring Denzel Washington, the film follows a loner on his journey to protect a book.

At No. 3, Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” picked up $17 million after expanding into $2,563 theaters. Based on the famous novel of the same title, the film lifted its early total gross to $17.5 million after several weeks in limited release.

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2010 Writers Guild of America nominations

The Writers Guild of America today announced the 2010 nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during the last year, and James Cameron's "Avatar" is among those fighting for an award in the category of best original screenplay.

Also competing for that particular trophy are "The Hangover" (Jon Lucas & Scott Moore), "(500) Days of Summer" (by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber) "The Hurt Locker" (Mark Boal) and "A serious Man" (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen).

The nominees in the category of adapted screenplay are: "Crazy Heart" (Scott Cooper), "Julie & Julia" (Nora Ephron), "Precious" (Geoffrey Fletcher), "Star Trek" (Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman) and "Up in the Air" (Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner).

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Box Office: 'Avatar' still king with $48M

Weekend of January 8 – 10, 2010: ‘Avatar’ repeats box office win

As expected, James Cameron’s sci-fi hit movie “Avatar” stayed on top of the North American box office this weekend with another solid $48.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Still playing at 3,422 locations, “Avatar” scored an average of $14,173 per theater, bringing its domestic gross to a stunning $429 million after only 25 days in release. Domestically, the film is now the 7^th highest grossing movie of all time.

This weekend’s new releases failed to secure a spot in the top three. Lionsgate’s vampire flick “Daybreakers” debuted in fourth place with a decent $15 million, scoring an average of $5,945 per theater at 2,523 locations.

Also opening this weekend was Anand Tuker’s romantic comedy “Leap Year,” which picked up $9.1 million at No. 6. Starring Amy Adams, the film follows a woman falling for an innkeeper (Matthew Goode) on her way to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend.

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Box Office: 'Avatar' welcomes 2010 with $68M!

Weekend of January 1 – 3, 2010: "Avatar" races past $1 billion worldwide; 'Holmes' still strong

James Cameron’s “Avatar” has done it! The sci-fi action adventure raced past $1 billion worldwide this weekend after earning another stunning $68.3 million domestically and reaching a total of $670.2 million on the international circuit.

Domestically, “Avatar” lifted its total gross to $352.1 million after only 17 days in release. The film scored a solid average of $19,724 per theater at 3,461 locations, easily beating its competition at the North American box office.

At No. 2, Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” bagged $38.3 million, reaching a cume of $140.6 million after a superb two-week run. The film starring Robert Downey Jr. finished with an average of $10,586 per theater at 3,626 locations.

Also performing well was “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” which picked up another $36.6 million and brought is domestic total to $157.3 million at No. 3. To compare, the first film finished its domestic run with $217.3 million. 

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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.

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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.

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Box Office: 'Avatar' shines with another $75M!

Weekend of December 25 – 27: ‘Avatar’ outruns ‘Sherlock Holmes’ & ‘Chipmunks’

James Cameron’s “Avatar” prevailed at the North American box office this weekend as the sci-fi action spectacle regained the No. 1 spot with another stunning $75 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Even though “Avatar” was dethroned Friday by new entry “Sherlock Holmes,” the film regained momentum Saturday and Sunday to emerge as the weekend’s winner. “Avatar” brought its domestic total to a solid $212.2 million.

Guy Ritchie’s “Holmes” also delivered a strong performance at the box office, bagging a superb $65.3 million from ticket sales at 3,626 locations. The film starring Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role scored an average of $18,031 per theater.

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