So, that’s why Aaron Eckhart is so Buff!

If you’ve seen Aaron Eckhart in his Golden Globe nominated performance in Thank You For Smoking or his Independent Spirit Award winning performance in In the Company of Men, you know what a great actor he is. But, you’ve probably also noticed what a sexy and enigmatic man he is too. If you catch him in the brilliant and emotional new film Rabbit Hole alongside Golden Globe nominee Nicole Kidman, you’ll see him in another wonderful searing performance as half of a couple dealing with the loss of their child. However, I think you might just notice how incredibly ripped up and buff he is in the film too. This had me wondering why would his character be in such incredible shape. Now, you do see him work out, but I just found the answer…. Aaron was getting ready for his next film the action sci-fi epic Battle Los Angeles where he plays a military leader fighting an alien invasion. This likely blockbuster opens on March 11th and costars Bridget Monyhan and Michelle Rodriguez as , not so shockingly, a soldier.It actually looks pretty fantastic. I don’t know if it will be as amazing and gripping of a movie as Rabbit Hole is, but for an action film, I’m optimistic. Take a look for yourself at the trailers for both Battle Los Angeles and Rabbit Hole below and catch Rabbit in theatres now…  And if I had my way, Rabbit Hole would grab nominations for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Actor (Eckhart) and Actress (Kidman). Unfortunately, the buzz seems to be that only Kidman and possibly the screenplay will make the final cut. We’ll see when the Oscar noms are announced next month.

Battle Los Angeles

Rabbit Hole

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

The Kids are Alright and Winter’s Bone lead the Indie Spirit Noms

This morning, the ladies led the way at the Independent Spirit Award nominations as two films by female directors,The Kids are Alright and Winter’s Bone, grabbed the most nominations. Lisa Cholodenko’s Kids nabbed 5 nods including Picture, Director, Actress (Annette Bening) and Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo) while Winter’s netted 7 honors including Picture, Director (Debra Granik), Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Supporting Actor (John Hawkes) and Supporting Actress (Dale Dickey). Other films with multiple noms included 127 Hours with 3 (Picture, Director, Lead Actor-Jame Franco), Black Swan with 4 (Picture, Director, Cinematography and Lead Actress- Natalie Portman), Greenberg with 4 (Picture, Director, Lead Actor- Ben Stiller, Lead Actress- Greta Gerwig) and Rabbit Hole with 4 (Director, Screenplay, Lead Actor- Aaron Eckhart, Lead Actress- Nicole Kidman).
Some notable snubs, that may affect their Oscar prospects, included Robert Duvall (Get Low), Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go), Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Jim Carrey (I Love You Phillip Morris) and Diane Weist (Rabbit Hole)…. Also, note Oscar front-runner The King’s Speech was only eligible in the Foreign Film category (where it was nomm’d) because it was not an American production. Take a look at the full nominee list below and watch for the winners when they’re announced at the Independent Spirit Awards on Feb. 26, 2011

BEST FEATURE

127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole

BEST MALE LEAD

Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg

BEST FEMALE LEAD

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

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Adam Kimmel, Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes, Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough, Winter’s Bone
Harris Savides, Greenberg

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Marwencol
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Thunder Soul

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
The King’s Speech
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

BEST SCREENPLAY

Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone
Nicole Holofcener, Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire, Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz, Life During Wartime

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Everything Strange and New
Get Low
Night Catches Us
The Last Exorcism
Tiny Furniture

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Diane Bell, Obselidia
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler, Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini, Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener, Monogamy

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

Daddy Longlegs
Lbs.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia
The Exploding Girl

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott, Littlerock

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD

In-Ah Lee, Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski, The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani, Meek’s Cutoff

AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg, Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Summer Pasture

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele

Today’s Oscar Contender: Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole

The Best Actress race just got a little tougher. With several contenders already solidifying their place in the race like Annette Bening (The Kids are Alright), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Hilary Swank (Conviction), Diane Lane (Secretariat) and Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), they all better brace themselves for the power of Kidman. Nicole Kidman that is… She’s been nominated twice before for Moulin Rouge (the best movie ever!) and won for The Hours and has been in the race for her Golden Globe nominated dramatic turns in The Others, Cold Mountain, Billy Bathgate, and Birth and won Globes for her roles in The Hours, Moulin Rouge and To Die For. Now, she’s starring in the film adaptation of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play Rabbit Hole as a grieving mother, a role which netted Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) a Tony Award. Judging from the trailer, Nicole is in fine form in what looks like a beautiful, heartbreaking, interesting and ultimately hopeful film. She’ll have plenty of support on-screen in fellow potential Oscar nominees Aaron Eckhart (a Globe nominee for Thank You for Smoking) and two-time Oscar winner Dianne Weist (Hannah and Her Sisters, Bullets over Broadway). Also in the cast are Emmy, Globe and SAG Award nominee Sandra Oh (Greys Anatomy, Sideways), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Jonn Tenney (The Closer) and Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows). The film was directed by Golden Globe nominee John Cameron Michtell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and hits theatres on Dec. 17th. I expect this searing drama to be a big awards player in the coming months not only for Kidman, but in several big races. See for yourself with the trailer for Rabbit Hole below.

Rabbit Hole