This year there will be 5 to 10 films nominated for Best Picture.  A film must get 5% of the number 1 votes to qualify. Click here to  read the rules announcement. This makes it more confusing to predict the nominees, but join Flack as he predicts the possibilities.

Since the nominations have not been announced yet, I’ll focus on the Best Picture predictions.  I have not seen all the films I’ll be talking about, but based on predictions from such resources as Entertainment Weekly, Empire Magazine, the New York Times, my own movie knowledge, and help from other people, I will do my best.

So far I think there are 3 obvious front runners: The Descendants, War Horse, and The Artist.  I cannot see the Descendants, but I did see War Horse and The Artist.  War Horse is one of my favorite films of the year, but The Artist is pretty good too. Hugo and The Help also have good chances. Predicting the next batch of films is a bit trickier.  The way you can tell which are the 5 front runners are for Best Picture when there are more than 5 movies nominated is by comparing them with the movies also nominated for Best Director. This a bit hard obviously because we don’t know which movies will be nominated for Best Direcor so I guess I’ll just have to get those as well.  I’m guessing the nominees for Best Director will be Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Steven Spielberg (War Horse), Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Martin Scorsese (Hugo), and Tate Taylor (The Help).  If there are any more than 5 nominated for Best Picture, I’m guessing they will be The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, and Moneyball. If there are 10, the last 2 would probably be blockbusters, like Harry Potter or dramas that got mixed reviews, like The Ides of March.

The Golden Globes can sometimes make predicting the nominees a little easier but only one movie (Slumdog Millionare) in the last seven years has been both the Best Picture winner for the Globes and the Oscars. Also for the Globes there is Best Drama and Best Comedy or Musical instead of one Best Picture like the Oscars. This year it didn’t help much either but  as many had predicted The Descendants won Best Drama and The Artist won Best Comedy or Musical. Although War Horse hasn’t fared so well in the awards season I am guessing that the Academy will find it hard to ignore the movie’s emotional epicness and Spielbergian story.

The Help is likely to have Viola Davis win Best Actress and Octvaia Spencer win Best Supporting Actress. Meryl Streep, however could beat Davis and for Best Actor George Clooney for The Descendants is likely to beat Brad Pitt for Moneyball and  Jean Dujardin for The Artist. I think that War Horse will also win for Best Cinematography, Musical Score, Adapted Screenplay, and Director as well as Picture. It will probably not win or even be nominated for any of it’s actors but in the past Titanic and The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King (2 of the 3 movies to win 11 Oscars, which is more than any other) didn’t win in any of the acting categories. The 3rd movie was Ben-Hur, which won Best Actor for Charlton Heston and Best Supporting Actor for Hugh Griffith.

I am expecting War Horse to win but things might change. Almost 8 months ago I thought War Horse and The Tree of Life would be the two frontrunners and then in September I thought it would be War Horse against J. Edgar. See, things change. But will The Descendants, with it’s acclaimed script and applauded acting beat War Horse. Or could it be The Artist with it’s unique premise and magical music?

I think Billy Crystal will be a good host because he’s good in Monster’s Inc (Mike) and The Princess Bride (Miracle Max).  Many people thought last year’s show with Anne Hathaway and James Franco was horrible but I thought they were just  okay. I hope that this year the show can mix funny jokes, silly spoofs, celebrity cameos, great guests, and terrific hosting to excellent effect. If they can they will have succeeded at creating an enjoyable show.

Now I will list 8 movies. I’ve seen all of them except The Descendants and I have put them in order from most likely to win to least likely to win.

And the nominees will probably be…

Here are the top 5 no doubt about it nominees:

1. War Horse: Chance: I think this is the frontrunner. Why: The Academy loves epics and this is just that. Steven Spielberg is likely to win his third Best director award and second Best Picture award for this war adventure film. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director  (Steven Spielberg), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Costumes, Editing, Art Direction, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 7

2. The Artist: Chance: I think is tied with The Descendants as the second most likely film to win. Why: Fantastic, fun, greatly acted, superbly directed, and sad. This movie is very entertaining and a good bet. Other Possible Nominations:Best Director (Micheal Hazanvicius), Actor (Jean Dujardin), Supporting Actress (Berenice Bejo),Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costumes, Editing, Art Direction, Editing, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 10

3. The Descendants: Chance: I think this is tied with The Artist as the  second most likely film to win. Why: This George Clooney movie has been favored by many critics. The Academy usually prefers epic dramas rather than independent ones like this but the movie has gotten great reviews so I think it’s still a strong contender. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Alexander Payne), Actor (George Clooney), Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley), Cinematogaphy, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 5

4. The Help: Chance: I think this movie probably won’t win but will definitely be nominated. Why: With a great cast and an inspiring story, the movie is a definite nomination. In terms of winning however  it’s chances are rather slim. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Tate Taylor), Actress (Viola Davis), Supporting Actress(Octavia Spencer), Supporting Actress (Jessica Chaistan), Original Score, Original Song, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 7

5. Hugo: Chance: I think this movie will be nominated but not win. Why: Superbly directed and terrifically acted, the film has a good chance. Even though I highly doubt it will win it has gotten stronger buzz after Martin Scorsese won Best Director at the Golden Globes. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Visual Effects, Original Score, Costume Design, Cinematography, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 6

I’m guessing this year there will be 3 more extra nominees:6. Midnight in Paris: Chance: I think this movie will be nominated but not win. Why: Woody Allen’s “comeback” film has gotten strong reviews. I disagree with many others that is a frontrunner and I’m betting Tate Taylor (for The Help) will beat Allen for a  Best Director nomination. But with a smart script and creative cast this movie will definitely get nominated. Other possible nominations: Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and possible a few others.
Possible Total:3

7. The Tree of Life: Chance: I think this movie will be nominated but not win.  Why: The winner of the Cannes Palm D’Or Award, the film has slightly lost it’s momentum from a definite front runner to being a possible possibility. Still Terence Malick could be a possible Best Director nominee and the Visual Effects could get a nod.  Other possible nominations: Best Visual Effects and possibly a few others.  Possible Total: 2

8. Moneyball: Chance: I think this film will be nominated but not win. Why:  Brad Pitt will be no doubt about it be nominated for Best Actor.  And the director Bennett Miller could be a surprise nominee. The script and Jonah Hill are also likely. Other possible nominations: Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 4

I doubt there will be any other nominees for Best Picture, so I’m not going to list any more. If there are though I’m guessing they would probably be one of the following:  Bridesmaids, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Ides of March, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The final verdict:  So far the race has been narrowed down to 3 top movies, although Hugo and The Help are good options too.  The top 3 are in my order: War Horse, The Artist, and The Descendants.

I’ll be back to talk about the nominees (possibly with Flick), after they are announced on Tuesday by Melissa Leo and Colin Firth. In the meantime go buy the amazing  book, The Academy Awards®: The Complete Unofficial History — Revised and Up-to-date. It tells you all the winners from 1927 to 2010. Also I cannot wait to watch Wings, the first movie ever to win Best Picture at the Oscars. You can get it on Netflix. The book Oscar Fever is also good but it is different than the other one because it is more of behind the scenes history of the Oscars. I can’t wait until February 26 (the show) but January 24 comes first (nominations announcement.) If you’re impatient go to the website to watch the show’s hilarious trailer and don’t forget to catch up on watching all the actual movies.

Moneyball is about Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team.  When they lose the World Series and their three best players are traded, it means they have to rebuild the team.  But then Billy meets Peter Brand.  Peter has a game-changing idea about how to play baseball.  His idea is that the best players are not the ones that bat the most but the those that get on base the most.  Together Peter and Billy create a team of usually ignored (but actually very good) players.  But will Billy overcome his personal problems, is his team actually any good, and will they make it to the World Series??? It is based on a book.

Moneyball is an absolutely perfect film.  Brad Pitt is excellent as Billy Beane and he makes the move entertaining, very believable, and incredibly sad all at the same time.  Jonah Hill is funny and serious.  Hill was hilarious in Night at the Museum:Battle of the Smithsonian, but now he’s toned it down for his first dramatic role. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the angry coach, Art Howe, Chris Pratt as an injured yet excellent new player ,Scott Hattenberg, Kerris Dorsey as Billy’s daughter, Stephen Bishop as older player, David Justin, and Robin Wright Penn as Billy’s divorced wife, all give terrific supporting role performances.

I thought the decision was interesting to not show much of the actual baseball games because Billy Beane didn’t watch them. However I do think it was necessary to show a bunch of their big winning game. By doing that it gave the scene a higher emotional impact. Meanwhile Bennet Miller makes everything flow magnificently and directs the actors to perfection.

The music by Mychael Danna is good at keeping the story going and stay for the credits to listen to it by itself.  Aaron Sorkin doesn’t make the dialogue fast paced, as people said he did for The Social Network. Instead he teams up with Steve Zaillian and writes some excellent yet considerably slow dialogue (although it’s not the standout thing of the movie.)

The story is very emotional and you may be surprised by the ending, which  is not the usual Hollywood kind. I am glad the filmmakers stuck to the real story instead of glamorizing it and ruining the movie. I think this film is one of the best of the year.  The story is emotional, the acting is stunning, the directing is  spot on, and Brad Pitt gives a sure to be Oscar nominated performance. You have to go see it, even if (like me) you don’t like baseball.

My favorite character is Billy Beane because Brad Pitt is amazing and he makes the character the heart and soul of the film.

My favorite scene is when (SPOILER ALERT EVEN THOUGH IT’S A TRUE STORY) the Oakland Athletics beat the record of winning game streaks with 20 games, because it’s a cheerful happy, moment that makes you root for the team (even though you probably already were).

The movie is rated PG-13 for brief language, but if you can handle those words, it’s o.k. for younger kids.

I give the film 5 stars. Look out during Oscar season.

Here is the link to IMDB.

Rango: Although this film is already out in case you have not seen it, here is a trailer: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/rango/ and see art from the film on Empire’s website.

Hollywood is planning on making lots of superhero movies in the upcoming years. Here is a list of them:

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) (about Batman)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Green Lantern (2011)

Thor (2011)

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Superman: Man of Steel (2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Some of these films we will not be able to see and some of them we do not want to see but the ones I am looking forward to the most is The Dark Knight Rises and The Man of Steel.

In 2011 and 2012, two Three Musketeer films (remakes not sequels) will be made. We will definitely check these out.

If you are a fan of the Shrek films you might want to look at a teaser of the upcoming Puss in Boots film: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=30335

Kung Fu Panda: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/kungfupanda2/

The Oscars have come and gone. Here is a list of the winners of 2011: oscars.com

The 2011 Providence Children’s Film Festival (PCFF) awarded Lolly awards this year. Here are the winners:

1st Place:
Film: Eleanor’s Secret
Short: Lost and Found

2nd Place
Film: Crocodiles
Short: Gus Outdooors

3rd Place:
Film: Louder Than a Bomb
Short: Woodpecker

Listen here (37 minutes)

Golden Globe Awards – Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 8pm (EST)

Oscar’s Nominees will be announced on January 25, 2011 at 5:30 a.m.
83rd Oscar’s will premiere on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 8pm. The front runners for the best picture are The Social Network and The Kings Speech. We hope Toy Story 3 will win best picture (even though it probably won’t).

Movies we have watched and enjoyed lately: TRON,TRON Legacy, Harry Potter 4, Big Fish, Harry Potter 7 Part 1, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. and The Adventures Robin Hood (1938 starring Errol Flynn).

NOTE: The DC comics’ books are about comics not movies but we have decided to include the books because there have been many DC comics turned into movies.

Books:

Learn about the new book written by Paul Levitz, 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking: Wham! Wow!: DC Comics at 75 with Tom Ashbrook on NPR’s On Point Radio.

Book: DC Comics Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle

Book: The Sounds of Star Wars. Listen to an interview with Ben Burt about ‘The Sounds Of Star Wars,’ Now At Fans’ Fingertips on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Awards:

American Film Institute (AFI) announces top 10 movies of 2010

Upcoming Films:

Tintin: The Tintin comic book series is being turned into a movie, directed by blockbuster directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. Due out at the theaters 2011. Learn more about Tintin on Wikipedia and in Empire Magazine.

Tron Legacy: The sequel to TRON will be in theaters Friday. Visit the official website to look at games, videos, cast, characters, and everything else you can possibly imagine about the new movie, TRON Legacy. Read about it in Empire Magazine.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides will be released. Watch the trailer here: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=29718

Save the date:

Providence Children’s Film Festival will be in Providence February 18 – 22, 2011.

2010 Oscar Academy Awards will air on ABC on February 27, 2011. The hosts will be Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

This movie is about Adam and Barbara who one day die in a car crash and turn into ghosts. Everyone thinks they are dead since the living can’t see ghosts. New people move into their house and Adam and Barbara try to stop them by scaring them. Surprisingly the daughter of the new people finds out that Adam and Barbara still live in the house. Adam and Barbara bring back Beetlejuice, not knowing he is an evil dead person by saying his name three times to help them scare the new owners out of their house. Then Adam, Barbara and the daughter find out Beetlejuice is evil and must stop him.

My favorite character is Adam because I think it is very funny when he makes his head the head of a dinosaur.

WARNING SPOILERS!!!!! My favorite part is at the end when Beetlejuice is at the dead people waiting room and has some huge gigantic ticket number like in the billions and grabs ticket number 4 out the hand from the person waiting next to him. I like this scene because it is hilarious.

MPAA Rating: PG.

I rate it PG for scary moments, brief romance, a little mild language and a couple scenes of violence. This movie may be scary for some, I recommend it for 7 and up. Judge accordingly.

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Michael McDowell (story) & Larry Wilson (story)
Release Date: 30 March 1988 (USA)
Genre: Comedy | Fantasy
Wesbite: www.imdb.com/title/tt0094721/

Awards: 1989    Won Oscar for Best Makeup

Cast:
Michael Keaton: Beetlejuice
Alec Baldwin: Adam Maitland
Geena Davis: Barbara Maitland
Winona Ryder: Lydia Deetz
Catherine O’Hara: Delia Deetz
Jeffrey Jones: Charles Deetz
Annie McEnroe: Jane Butterfield
Maurice Page: Ernie
Hugo Stanger: Old Bill

The movie based on the book by William Goldman is about Wesley after being taken away from his true love.  Returning, he, a sword fighter and a strong giant must rescue her from being married to the king. This is one of the best movies ever because of the amazing sword fights (the highlights of the movie).

My favorite part  is at the beginning  when Wesley and Inigo Montoya  sword fight because I  LOVE SWORD FIGHTING!!!!!!!!!!!

My favorite  character is Wesley  because I like when he sword fights and I like when he wears black.

Rating: MPAA Rating is PG.
I rate it PG  for violence and romance.

Director: Rob Reiner
Writers: William Goldman (screenplay) and William Goldman (book)
Release Date: 25 September 1987 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/

Awards: 1988 Oscar Nominated for Best Music, Original Song: Willy DeVille For the song “Storybook Love”.

CAST:
Cary Elwes…Westley
Mandy Patinkin…Inigo Montoya
Chris Sarandon…Prince Humperdinck
Christopher Guest…Count Tyrone Rugen
Wallace Shawn…Vizzini
André the Giant…Fezzik (as Andre the Giant)
Fred Savage…The Grandson
Robin Wright Penn…Buttercup / The Princess Bride (as Robin Wright)
Peter Falk…The Grandfather / Narrator
Peter Cook…The Impressive Clergyman
Mel Smith…The Albino
Carol Kane…Valerie
Billy Crystal…Miracle Max
Anne Dyson…The Queen
Margery Mason…The Ancient Booer

This movie is about a mean person named Judge  Doom who has the “dip” which can kill cartoons. A detective named Eddie Valiant must help Roger Rabbit get away from Judge Doom. Now Eddie Valiant the detective, Roger Rabbit a funny cartoon and Jessica Rabbit, Roger’s wife and cartoon singer must get away from Judge Doom and his wolf cartoon helpers.

My favorite character  is Roger Rabbit because I like that he can get handcuffs off him when something  is funny.

My favorite part is the end duel between Judge Doom and Eddie Valiant because I like  the action, funniness and music.

I rate it PG for action violence ,bad language romance and adult themes.

Director:
Robert Zemeckis

Writers:
Gary K. Wolf (novel)
Jeffrey Price (screenplay)
Release Date: June 1988 (USA)

Genre: Animation | Comedy | Crime | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

Awards: Won 4 Oscars.
1989 Won an Oscar for:
Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

Best Effects, Visual Effects

Best Film Editing

Special Achievement Award
Richard Williams
For animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters.

Cast
Bob Hoskins     Eddie Valiant
Christopher Lloyd        Judge Doom
Joanna Cassidy       Dolores
Charles Fleischer         Roger Rabbit / Benny The Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice)
Stubby Kaye       Marvin Acme
Alan Tilvern    R.K. Maroon
Richard LeParmentier      Lt. Santino (as Richard Le Parmentier)
Lou Hirsch       Baby Herman (voice)
Betsy Brantley   Jessica’s Performance Model
Joel Silver    Raoul
Paul Springer        Augie
Richard Ridings   Angelo
Edwin Craig     Arthritic Cowboy
Lindsay Holiday     Soldier
Mike Edmonds       Stretch

This years’ Oscar nominations were surprising; The Secret of Kells, UP, Princess and the Frog, Coraline, and the one I hope wins, Fantastic Mr. Fox are the animation nominations.

Some other good nominations are Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for best cinematography. Star Trek for makeup, sound editing, and visual effects. Meryl Streep was nominated for Julie and Julia for best actress in a leading role. George Clooney got a nomination for best actor in a leading role in Up in the Air. He was also Fantastic Mr. Fox in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Up in the Air was also nominated for best picture, best director, two actresses in a supporting role, and adapted screen play. UP also got nominations in addition to best animated film for best original screnplay, original score, sound editing and most surprising best picture! Avatar got nominations for best picture, director, art direction, cinematography, film editing, original score, sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects. Sherlock Holmes got nominated for art direction and original score.

I wish I could see Julie & Julia, Up in the Air, Avatar, Star Trek, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and most of all Sherlock Holmes. I think they are appropriate for me except my parents do not agree.