Inception, Harry Potter and Twilight Eclipse lead the MTV Movie Award Nominations

Following the very tony news of the Tony Award nominations this morning, we got more news of some, um, prestigious kudos doling out their nominees…. This time it was from the pretty meaningless but super entertaining MTV Movie Awards. As they have for the last few years, the woeful Twilight series lead the noms again with the latest Eclipse, followed by the awesome Oscar juggernauts Inception, The Social Network and the second to last Harry Potter. Take a look at all the nominees (go Emma Stone!) and vote at MTV.com here. Watch for the show to be hosted by SNL’s Jason Sudekis on June 5th.

Best Movie:
Black Swan
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
Inception
The Social Network
Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Best Female Performance:
Emma Stone (Easy A)
Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1)
Jennifer Aniston (Just Go With It) … Um, what???
Kristen Stewart (Twilight Saga: Eclipse)… double what???
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Male Performance:
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Robert Pattinson (Twilight Saga: Eclipse)… blerg
Taylor Lautner (Twilight Saga: Eclipse) … oy vey…
Zac Efron (Charlie St. Cloud)

Best Breakout Star
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick Ass)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Jay Chou (The Green Hornet)
Olivia Wilde (Tron Legacy)
Xavier Samuel (Twilight Saga: Eclipse)

Best Comedic Performance
Emma Stone (Easy A)
Ashton Kutcher (No Strings Attached)
Adam Sandler (Just Go With It)
Russell Brand (Get Him to the Greek)
Zach Galifnakis (Due Date)

Best Villain:
Christoph Watlz (The Green Hornet)
Leighton Meester (The Roommate)
Mickey Rourke (Iron Man 2)
Ned Beatty (Toy Story 3)
Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1)

Best Kiss
Ellen Page & Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception)
Emma Watson & Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1)
Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson (Twilight Saga: Eclipse)
Kristen Stewart & Taylor Lautner (Twilight Saga: Eclipse)… oooh, so she’s a slut! hehe
Natalie Portman & Mila Kunis (Black Swan) … the obvious winner to be…

Best Fight:
Amy Adams v. The Sister (The Fighter)… Ok, awesome choice
Chloe Grace Moretz v. Mark Strong (Kick Ass)
Harry, Ron & Hermione v. The Deatheaters (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1)
Joseph Gordon Levitt v. Hallway attacker (Inception)
Robert Pattison v. Bryce Dallas Howard & Xavier Samuel (Twilight Saga Eclipse)

Biggest Jaw Dropping Moment
James Franco (127 Hours)
Justin Bieber (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never)… Ok, I’m gonna be sick
Leonardo DiCaprio & Ellen Page (Inception)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Steve-O (Jackass 3D)

Best Scared as Shit Performance
Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism)
Minka Kelly (The Roommate)
Ellen Page (Inception)
Jessica Schor (Piranha 3D)
Ryan Reynolds (Buried)

Best Line from a Movie
“I Want to Get Chocolate Wasted” (Grown Ups)
“There’s a higher power that will judge you for your indecency… Tom Cruise?” (Easy A)
“If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.” (The Social Network)
“A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what is cool? A billion dollars. And that shut everybody up.” (The Social Network)
“You musn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger darling.” (Inception)

Two Summer Oscar contenders… The Help and Beginners

The summer movie season brings big blockbusters and big box office, but sometimes it can also bring some seriously good Oscar worthy films. In fact, last summer we had four Oscar contenders released in this busy season: Toy Story 3, Inception and the indies Winter’s Bone and The Kids are Alright. This summer we will likely see a couple of contenders arise among the indie crop most notably Beginners from Focus Films. This dramatic comedy features Ewan MacGregor as a man whose relationships all seem to fall apart and his journey with a new love played by Melanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds). All the while, he will also be grappling with the revelation that his ailing, elderly father (Christopher Plummer) has just come out of the closet. The film played to raves on the festival circuit last year and should appeal to art house, gay and adult audiences and it looks pretty great from the trailer below. I foresee the film being a serious contender in the Oscar race for Screenplay and Supporting Actor which could finally net previous Oscar loser Plummer (The Last Station) his first competitive Academy Award. We may also see it factor in the Picture and Actor races if it’s received well. Check out the trailer for the film below and watch it in theatres in June.

Beginners

One studio film that could make the race for the Oscars is the upcoming adaptation of the massively popular race relations novel of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. The film centers on a young white writer (Golden Globe nominee Emma Stone) in the 1960′s who seeks to tell the story of the African-American maids in the Southern town she grew up in. The story is ripe for laughter, tears and drama and could feature a breakout performance by Octavia Spencer. In fact, I think Spencer and Viola Davis (a previous Oscar nominee for Doubt) will both contend in the Supporting Actress race while the film could land in Picture, Costume Design and Adapted Screenplay. If it garners a following, it might even contend in Direction and Actress (Stone). Other big names in the cast include Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney and Oscar winner Sissy Spacek. For more on that film, head here and check out the trailer for The Help below. Watch for it to hit theatres in August.

The Help
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/

The Full List of Oscar Winners

Ok, I don’t know about you, but that was certainly one of the worst Oscar shows I’ve seen in decades. It was a big disappointment and rather boring. I’m actually so annoyed, I don’t even know if I want to do a recap of it. (Poor Anne Hathaway gave it her all, and let’s face it, James Franco must’ve known how bad it was gonna be cuz he seemed completely stoned out of his mind…) Anywho, congrats to Colin Firth and The King’s Speech which lead the way with 4 Oscars including Best Picture. Inception also grabbed 4 awards and The Social Network nabbed 3…. Check out your full list of winners below and check back here tomorrow for a recap… if I can muster it… (And yes, I’m still so annoyed that Annette lost again!).

2011 Academy Award Winners:

Best Picture: The King’s Speech
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech
Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Original Score: The Social Network
Original Song: “We Belong Together”- Randy Newman (Toy Story 3, not the Mariah song…)
Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Cinematography: Inception
Editing: The Social Network
Sound: Inception
Sound Mixing: Inception
Visual Effects: Inception
Makeup: The Wolfman
Documentary: Inside Job
Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing
Live Action Short Film: God of Love
Documentary Short Film: Strangers No More

UPDATE:

For a hilarious take on last night’s Oscars show that is 100 times more entertaining than the show itself, head to Johnny Lopez’s blog below. (He’s a hysterical writer you’ve sen in US Weekly and other press outlests by the way…)

http://thejohnnylopez.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-oscars.html

The Social Network picks up steam at the WGA Awards

After getting served by The King’s Speech at the PGA, DGA and SAG awards over the last few weeks, former Oscar front-runner, The Social Network,  picked up some needed awards steam winning the Best Adapted Screenplay honors at last night’s Writers Guild Awards. However, it comes with a catch. Due to some crazy guild awards, Speech was declared ineligible. Had it been able to compete, it would’ve been in the Original Screenplay category as well, so they both could’ve come out even. Instead, Inception took home that honor in a bit of a surprise beating out The Kids are Alright. On the TV side, Modern Family and Mad Men continued their winning ways. Take a look at all the winners below and head to the WGA website for more info.

Writers Guild Awards:

Original Screenplay: Inception (Christopher Nolan)
Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network (Aaron Sorkin)
Documentary: Inside Job
Drama Series: Mad Men
Drama Series Individual Episode: Mad Men (“The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”)
Comedy Series: Modern Family
Comedy Series Individual Episode: 30 Rock (“When It Rains It Pours”)
New Series: Boardwalk Empire
Daytime Drama: As the World Turns
TV Long Form Adaptation: The Pacific
TV Long Form Original: The Special Relationship
Comedy Variety Series: The Colbert Report

My Quick Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations

This morning the Academy Award nominations were announced and it was pretty much as we expected with The King’s Speech ruling the roost with 12 nods and garnering more momentum after its Producers Guild Awards win this weekend. (Watch for it to take home the SAG Ensemble and Best Actor award for Colin Firth this weekend too). We also had big nods for The Social Network, The Fighter and Inception. But there were some surprises, snubs and upsets. So, let’s take a quick look at some of my thoughts about this morning’s announcements.

The Good:

~ All the noms for The King’s Speech. It’s my favorite film of the year and I think the one to beat. It has all the momentum now and is a fresher choice for many voters as opposed to The Social Network (which had been on a roll up until last week). I’m currently predicting it will take Picture, Actor (Firth) and Original Screenplay to name a few.

The surprise nomination for Javier Bardem in Best Actor for his brilliant and tortured work in Biutiful… He better thank his good friend and Eat Pray Love costar Julia Roberts for getting him some much needed publicity before voting.

~ The Fighter acting nominations. Melissa Leo, Amy Adams and Christian Bale were on fire in this very entertaining film. Oh, and don’t feel bad for Marky Mark Wahlberg. He got a nomination to as a Producer of the film.

~ Michelle Williams makes it into Best Actress for Blue Valentine. She gave the second best lead female performance of the year (after Annette Bening in The Kids are Alright), so I’m thrilled she defied many prognosticators and is in the race.

~All the love for 127 Hours: for a film that many found hard to watch, it sure did get a lot of nominations and it’s worthy of every one of them!

~John Hawkes and Jackie Weaver: The veteran actor and Australian star both grabbed surprise noms for their fantastic and disturbing work in Winter’s Bone and Animal Kingdom respectively.

~ The noms for The Kids are Alright: I’m thrilled this little indie comedy that could has maintained its deserving place among those honored this year. And Annette (on her fourth try) better beat Ms. Portman. I’m just sayin’!

The Snubs:
Big bad snubs were all around for Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), Sam Rockwell (Conviction), Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Robert Duvall (Get Low), Christopher Nolan (director of Inception), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), plus no Tangled in Best Animated Feature, no The Town in Best Picture and no Waiting for Superman in Documentary.

The Bad:

~Jeff Bridges in Best Actor: Um, he gives a copy cat performance of his Crazy Heart character in True Grit. While it’s decent, he certainly didn’t deserve a nod over the brilliant Gosling or Duvall or Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version) or Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)

~Where the heck is “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” (Burlesque) in Best Original Song? The Golden Globe winning ballad by Diane Warren and sung by Cher should’ve grabbed a nom and a win if you ask me.

The Best Director Race: Um, please throw out Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) and The Coen Brothers (True Grit) and kindly replace them with Danny Boyle (127 Hours) and the egregiously snubbed (yet again) Christopher Nolan (Inception)

~Speaking of Inception, how the hell did it not get a Best Editing nomination?

~Waiting for Superman: not only was the best and one of the most important documentaries of the year (and any year) snubbed in Best Documentary, it’s universally wonderful theme song “Shine” by John Legend was left out of the Best song race… Instead we got another dumb Randy Newman ditty from Toy Story 3. (that’s nothing against that amazing movie though by the way)

~Original Screenplay: They included the atrociously boring Another Year over Blue Valentine? Just heartbreaking… at least Black Swan didn’t make the cut here.

~Um, did I mention Ryan Gosling was robbed????

Ok, that’s enough kvetching… Despite some of those misguided choices, it’s a pretty great list of nominees and we have some real strong races in the Picture (Social Network v. Kings Speech), Actress (Bening v. Portman), Sup. Actor (Rush v. Bale), Sup Actress (Adams v. Leo) and no front-runner for Original Song (I’m currently betting on “I See the Light” from Tangled)…. Also, it’s interesting to note that Black Swan only grabbed 5 mentions which bodes poorly for the film that had been doing so well so far in the race. Perhaps, it’s not as popular with all the voters as one might think. I’m sure Mila Kunis is wondering about that…

Well, now I’d like to hear from you. What are you most happy about and what nods infuriated you the most. Sound off below and get ready for the Oscars on ABC Sunday 2/27 hosted by the nominated James Franco and a previous nominee Anne Hathaway.

The King’s Speech Reigns over the Oscar Nominations

As expected, my favorite film of 2010, The King’s Speech, reigned over this morning’s Oscar nominations pulling in a whopping 12 nods including Picture, Director (Tom Hooper), Original Screenplay, Actor (Colin Firth), Supporting Actor (Geoffrey Rush) and Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter). Following closely with 10 nods was True Grit which was mentioned for Picture, Director (The Coen Brothers), Adapted Screenplay, Actor (Jeff Bridges) and Supporting Actress (Hailee Steinfeld). Black Swan, Inception, The Social Network and The Fighter all grabbed a ton of nominations as well. Take a look at the full list of nominations below and check back here for my full take on these contenders later today.

2010 Academy Award Nominees:

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST ANIMATED FILM
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1, Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
Inception, Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
The King’s Speech, Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
True Grit, Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan, Matthew Libatique
Inception, Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech, Danny Cohen
The Social Network, Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit, Roger Deakins

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
I Am Love, Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech, Jenny Beaven
The Tempest, Sandy Powell
True Grit, Mary Zophres

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
Gasland, Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Restrepo, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Waste Land, Lucy Walker and Angus Aynley

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Killing in the Name (Nominees TBD)
Poster Girl (Nominees (TBD)
Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Sun Come Up, Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
The Warriors of Qiugang, Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

BEST EDITING
127 Hours, Jon Harris
Black Swan, Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter, Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech, Tariq Anwar
The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Hors la Loi (Outside the Law) (Algeria)
Incendies (Canada)
In a Better World (Denmark)
Dogtooth (Greece)
Biutiful (Mexico)

BEST MAKEUP
Barney’s Version, Adrien Morot
The Way Back, Eduoard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, Yolanda Toussieng
The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

BEST SCORE
127 Hours, A.R. Rahman
How to Train Your Dragon, John Powell
Inception, Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

BEST SONG
“Coming Home,” Country Strong, Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light,” Tangled, Alan Menken, Glenn Slater
“If I Rise,” 127 Hours, A.R. Rahman, Dido, Rollo Armstrong
“We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3, Randy Newman

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Day & Night, Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Let’s Pollute, Geefwee Boedoe
The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary), Bastien Dubois

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
The Confession, Tanel Toom
The Crush, Michael Creagh
God of Love, Luke Matheny
Na Wewe, Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143, Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception, Richard King
Toy Story 3, Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
TRON: Legacy, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
True Grit, Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
Unstoppable, Mark P. Stoeckinger

BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick
The King’s Speech, Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, and John Midgley
Salt, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan, and William Sarokin
The Social Network, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, and Mark Weingarten
True Grit, Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, and Peter F. Kurland

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice in Wonderland, Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1, Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter, Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Iron Man 2, Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Another Year, written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter, Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; 
Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception, written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right, written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech, Screenplay by David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours, Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3, Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit, written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone, adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

The Critics Choose The Social Network as Best Pic… plus big wins for Fighter, Kings and Inception

A little talky movie about facebook just keeps on wrackin’ up the awards momentum as The Social Network nabbed Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Score at tonight’s 16th Annual Critic’s Choice Awards which has become one of the biggest key Oscar prognosticators of the season. While Social won four awards, it was Inception that garnered the most wins totaling 5 including Best Action Film. Grabbing three wins was The Fighter which won Acting Ensemble and Supporting Actor (Christian Bale) and Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo). The other big wins went to Natalie Portman for Best Actress in Black Swan and Colin Firth for Best Actor in The King’s Speech which also took best original screenplay. For more on the great show, which featured Maroon 5 as the house band and some hilarious sketches by Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass boys (who delightfully skewered The Social Network, Black Swan and Inception), head to VH1 here. And check out all the winners below.

16th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Award Winners

BEST PICTURE
“The Social Network”

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, “The Social Network”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Aaron Sorkin, “The Social Network”

BEST SCORE
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “The Social Network”

BEST ACTION FILM
“Inception”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Wally Pfister, “Inception”

BEST ART DIRECTION
Guy Henrix Dyas, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat, “Inception”

BEST EDITING
Lee Smith, “Inception”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Inception”

BEST SOUND
“Inception”

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
David Seidler, “The King’s Speech”

BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, “The Fighter”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
“The Fighter”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Toy Story 3″

BEST COMEDY
“Easy A”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Colleen Atwood, “Alice in Wonderland”

BEST MAKEUP
“Alice in Wonderland”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Waiting for ‘Superman’”

BEST SONG
“If I Rise,” music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Dido Armstrong and Rollo Armstrong, “127 Hours”

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“The Pacific”

My Big Bold Golden Globe WINNER Predictions 2011!

So, the big show is on Sunday the 16th and all the stars will be there… But the question is just who will win the coveted Golden Globe… Well, if you’re looking for a little insight, look no further than my big bold Golden Globe Winner Predictions. I’ve got them here for you below! … Now remember, the Globes often like to throw a curveball and give their trophies to stars over more deserving winners and that might happen this year in a couple of categories. They also like to award more of their European brethern than other organizations. They are the Hollywood Foreign Press Association after all, but I think they’ll stay mostly on track with these very competitive races. In fact, the awards race this year is still pretty wide open, so the Globes (and Friday’s Critic’s Choice Awards will likely shed a little light on who may be the big winner come Oscar time). So, take a look at my brilliant predictions below and watch the show hosted by the hilarious Ricky Gervais this Sunday 1/16 at 8pm on NBC.

My Big Bold Golden Globe WINNER predictions…

~MOVIES~

Best Picture Drama:
Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The King’s Speech, The Social Network
Will & Should win: The King’s Speech
~spoiler: The Social Network

Best Picture Musical or Comedy:
Alice in Wonderland, Burlesque, The Kids are Alright, Red, The Tourist
Will & Should win: The Kids are Alright

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), David Fincher (The Social Network), Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), Christopher Nolan (Inception), David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Will & Should win: David Fincher
~spoiler: Tom Hooper

Best Actor (Drama)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), James Franco (127 Hours), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)
Will & Should win: Colin Firth
~spoiler: James Franco

Best Actress (Drama)
Halle Berry (Frankie & Alice), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Will win: Natalie Portman
Should win: Michelle Williams
~spoiler: Nicole Kidman

Best Actor (Musical/Comedy):
Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland), Johnny Depp (The Tourist), Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version), Jake Gyllenhaal (Love & Other Drugs), Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)
Will win: Johnny Depp (Alice)
Should win: Kevin Spacey
~spoiler: Jake Gyllenhaal (they love to award “stars” over a better performance at times which is also why Depp will likely prevail here)

Best Actress (Musical/Comedy)
Annette Bening (The Kids are Alright), Anne Hathaway (Love & Other Drugs), Angelina Jolie (The Tourist), Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), Emma Stone (Easy A)
Will & Should win: Annette Bening

Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale (The Fighter), Michael Douglas (Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps), Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Jeremy Renner (The Town), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)
Will & Should win: Christian Bale
~spoiler: Geoffrey Rush

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams (The Fighter), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
Will win: Amy Adams (which I’d love)
Should win: Melissa Leo (which I’d love)
~spoiler Mila Kunis (they like to award “ingénues” here, ala Natalie Portman in “Closer”)

Best Screenplay:
127 Hours, The Kids are Alright, The King’s Speech, Inception, The Social Network
Will & Should win: The Social Network

Best Score:
127 Hours, Alice in Wonderland, The King’s Speech, Inception, The Social Network
Will & Should win: Inception
~spoiler: The King’s Speech

Best Song:
“Bound to You” (Burlesque) written by Christina Augilera & Sia, “I See the Light” (Tangled) written by Alan Meken & Glenn Slater, “Coming Home” (Country Strong) written by Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey & Troy Verges, “There’s a Place for Us” (Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader) written by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges & Hillary Lindsey), “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” (Burlesque) written by Diane Warren
Will & Should win: “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” (Burlesque)
~spoiler: “I See the Light” (Tangled)

Best Animated Film:
Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon, The Illusionist, Tangled, Toy Story 3
Will & Should win: Toy Story 3

~TV~

DRAMA Series
Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, The Good Wife, Mad Men, The Walking Dead
Will win: Boardwalk Empire
Should win: Dexter
~spoiler: Mad Men

COMEDY Series:
30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, The Big C, Glee, Modern Family, Nurse Jackie
Will & Should win: Modern Family
~spoiler: Glee

Lead Actor Drama
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House)
Will win: Steve Buscemi
Should win: Bryan Cranston
~spoiler: Michael C. Hall (and he’d be a great winner here too)

Lead Actress Drama:
Juliana Marguiles (The Good Wife), Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men), Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs), Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy), Kyra Sedgewick (The Closer)
Will win: Juliana Marguiles
Should win: Kyra Sedgewick
~spoiler: Elizabeth Moss

Lead Actor Comedy:
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Steve Carrell (The Office), Thomas Jayne (Hung), Matthew Morrison (Glee), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Will & Should win: Jim Parsons
~spoiler: Alec Baldwin

Lead Actress Comedy:
Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Laura Linney (The Big C), Lea Michelle (Glee)
Will & Should win: Laura Linney
~spoiler: Edie Falco

TV Movie/Miniseries:
Carlos, The Pacific, Pillars of the Earth Temple Grandin, You Don’t Know Jack
Will win: The Pacific
Should win: Temple Grandin
~spoiler: Carlos

Lead Actor TV Movie/Miniseries:
Idris Elba (Luthor), Ian McShane (Pillars of the Earth), Al Pacinon (You Don’t Know Jack), Dennis Quaid (The Special Relationship), Edgar Ramirez (Carlos)
Will win: Al Pacino
Should win: Edgar Ramirez
~spoiler: Edgar Ramirez

Lead Actress TV Movie/Miniseries:
Haley Atwell (Pillars of the Earth), Clare Danes (Temple Grandin), Judi Dench (Return to Cranford), Romola Garai (Emma), Jennifer Love Hewitt (The Client List)
Will & Should win: Clare Danes

Supporting Actor Drama Series/Comedy Series/TV Movie/Miniseris:
Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-O), Chris Colfer (Glee), Chris Noth (The Good Wife), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), David Strathairn (Temple Grandin)
Will & Should win: Chris Colfer
~spoiler: Eric Stonestreet

Supporting Actress Drama Series/Comedy Series/TV Movie/Miniseries:
Hope Davis (The Special Relationship), Jane Lynch (Glee), Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Julia Stiles (Dexter), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Will & Should win: Jane Lynch
~spoiler: Sofia Vergara

My Top 20 Movies of 2010!

So, you saw all my reviews and posts about the movies I saw in 2010 and now, it’s finally here… Yes, it’s my list of the Top 20 best films of the past year. There’s some crowd pleasers (Toy Story 3, Harry Potter, Inception), some tiny indies (Rabbit Hole, Blue Valentine) and even a couple of documentaries (Waiting for Superman, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work). Take a look at my list of the best and 5 of the worst below and let me know what your favorites of the past year were too.

MY TOP 20 MOVIES 2010:
1. The King’s Speech
2. The Social Network
3. Inception
4. The Kids are Alright
5. Toy Story 3
6. 127 Hours
7. Rabbit Hole
8. How to Train Your Dragon
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
10. The Fighter
11. Winter’s Bone
12. Blue Valentine
13. Waiting for Superman
14. The Town
15. I Love You Phillip Morris
16. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
17. Tangled
18. Conviction
19. Made in Dagenham
20. Easy A

Honorable Mention: Get Low

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Burlesque

Most Overrated Movie of the Year: Black Swan

Worst 5 Movies I saw in 2011:
1. TIE:  Hereafter/ MacGruber
2. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
3. Wolfman
4. Alice in Wonderland
5. The Other Guys

All hail the King’s Speech and Glee at the Golden Globe nominations!

This morning it was all about a king with a speech impediment and some kids who burst into song as The King’s Speech and Glee led the nominations for the Golden Globe Awards. Speech picked up 7 nods including Picture (Drama), Director, Screenplay, Score, Actor (Colin Firth), Sup Actor (Geoffrey Rush) and Sup Actress (Helena Bonham Carter) while Glee grabbed 5 on the TV side including Best Series (Musical/Comedy), Actor (Matthew Morrison), Actress (Lea Michelle), Sup Actor (Chris Colfer), and Sup Actress (Jane Lynch). Other big nominees included The Social Network and The Fighter with 6 apiece and Black Swan, Inception and The Kids Are Alright garnered 4 each. And yes, Burlesque got 3 nominations (2 for best song and a surprise nod for Best Picture~ Musical/Comedy)…. On the TV side, Mad Men, Dexter, 30 Rock, Modern Family, Temple Grandin, Boardwalk Empire were all honored in 3 categories. Take a look at the full list of nominees below and head to the Hollywood Foreign Press website for more information. The 68th Annual Golden Globes show will air on NBC on January 16, 2011.

MOTION PICTURES

Best Picture — Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

Best Picture — Musical or Comedy
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

Best Actor — Drama
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Best Actress — Drama
Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Best Actor — Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp, The Tourist
Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

Best Actress — Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter

Best Screenplay
127 Hours, Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle
Inception, Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech, David Seidler
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Song
“Bound to You,” Burlesque (performed by Christina Aguilera; written by Samuel Dixon, Christina Aguilera and Sia Furler)
“Coming Home,” Country Strong (performed by Gwyneth Paltrow; written by Bob PiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges)
“I See the Light,” Tangled (performed by Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi; written by Alan Menken & Glenn Slater)
“There’s a Place For Us,” The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (performed by Carrie Underwood; written by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey)
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me Yet,” Burlesque (performed by Cher; written by Diane Warren)

Best Original Score
127 Hours, A.R. Rahman
Alice in Wonderland, Danny Elfman
Inception, Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
In a Better World

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

TELEVISION

Best TV Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
The Walking Dead

Best TV Series — Musical or Comedy
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
The Big C
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie

Best Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie
Carlos
The Pacific
The Pillars of the Earth
Temple Grandin
You Don’t Know Jack

Best Actor — Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House M.D.

Best Actress — Drama
Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Actor — Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Actress — Musical or Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Lea Michele, Glee

Best Actor — Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Ian McShane, Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack
Dennis Quaid, The Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

Best Actress — Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie
Hayley Atwell, Pillars of the Earth
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
Judi Dench, Return to Cranford
Romola Garai, Emma
Jennifer Love Hewitt, The Client List

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-0
Chris Colfer, Glee
Chris Noth, The Good Wife
David Strathairn, Temple Grandin
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Hope Davis, The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch, Glee
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles, Dexter
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family