Cinema Scene: AMPAS Invite for Sandler, Animated Movie for Trolls

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Animation, Family, Science Fiction, Comedy, Awards, Upcoming Releases,

-What do Adam Sandler, Mo’Nique and James Gandolfini have in common? They all recently received invites from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

-Avatar may not have cleaned up at those Oscars, but it did win more than its share of Saturn Awards. The movie nabbed 10 prizes this week including Best Science Fiction Film.

-Should we be blaming or thanking The Smurfs for this? The Troll dolls, recently seen in Toy Story 3, will soon be the subject of their own DreamWorks Animation film.

-Looking forward to the Entourage premiere? If so, you should be happy to know executive producer Mark Wahlberg is still planning a big screen version of the HBO program.

-The only piece of robot memorabilia remaining from 1984’s Terminator is going up for auction. The “T-800 Terminator” metal arm is expected to fetch over $15,000.

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: March 9, 2010

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Sequels, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases,

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available today:

• The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: DVD, Blu-ray
• Capitalism: A Love Story: DVD, Blu-ray
• Hachi: A Dog’s Tale: DVD, Blu-ray
• Old Dogs: DVD, Blu-ray
• Paris: DVD, Blu-ray *releases March 10*
• Planet 51: DVD, Blu-ray
• Precious: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Stoning of Soraya M: DVD, Blu-ray
• Tapeheads: DVD, Blu-ray
• Up in the Air: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Who: The Kids are Alright: Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

The 2010 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards,

When you throw in an extra host, add five more Best Picture nominees, take away the Best Song performances and nominate two formerly married directors—what do you get? A night that will surely be talked about.

Although many believe the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will end with very few surprises, the possibility of an upset is still too great to ignore. Will the box office champ (Avatar) win Best Film as well? Or will The Hurt Locker - or even Inglourious Basterds - take the prize? Is Jeff Bridges a shoo-in for Best Actor…or could BAFTA winner Colin Firth sneak past him? Will Sandra Bullock have to deliver another acceptance speech, or will Meryl Streep take home her first Oscar since 1983?

To find out if the ceremony ends in a world of Hurt or Up in the Air, stay tuned here for the live results!

Click to continue reading The 2010 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Read More | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

2010 BAFTA Award Winners

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards,

Avatar may be the overseas (and domestic) box office champ, but how would it fare with the international voters?

This weekend’s Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony proved James Cameron’s movie might not be a shoe-in at next month’s Academy Awards. In fact, ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow could see her movie, The Hurt Locker, take the Best Film honor from him.

In total, the gritty war drama collected six statues including the first ever BAFTA for a female director. (Avatar and The Young Victoria both took in two awards each.) Meanwhile, the top acting prizes went to two British stars: Colin Firth (A Single Man) and Carey Mulligan (An Education).

You can see a full list of winners after the jump.

Click to continue reading 2010 BAFTA Award Winners

Read More | British Academy of Film and Television Arts

2010 Academy Award Nominations

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Music, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Awards, Celeb News, Lists,

After the list of Academy Award nominees were announced this morning, two movies rose to the top of the pack. Avatar and The Hurt Locker - helmed respectively by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow - both lead the field with nine nominations each. Thankfully, the formerly married directors still get along.

Even though this will be the first time since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that ten films will go up for Best Film, this year’s list only revealed a handful of surprises. Those who have been following other ceremonies during this awards season saw very little changes in the acting categories.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions/omissions from today’s nominations:

• Many had hoped The Hangover, Star Trek and/or (500) Days of Summer would go up for Best Picture. Many were left disappointed.
• Is this the first time Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t nominated for simply breathing?
• Acting queen Meryl Streep is up now up for her sweet 16th nomination for her role in Julie & Julia. (I believe I will one day see her 20th.)
• Speaking of leading women, there will be three newcomers going up against vets Streep and Helen Mirren (The Last Station): Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)—someone who wasn’t even an actress to begin with!
• Disney/Pixar’s Up will be double-dipping it this year. The feature has been nominated in both the Best Film and Best Animated Film categories.

Click to continue reading 2010 Academy Award Nominations

Read More | Oscars

The Hurt Locker Racks Up More Critics Awards

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Political, Comedy, Thrillers, Awards, Lists,

It’s time to hurry up and adjust your Netflix queues. In just one week, The Hurt Locker will finally become available on DVD.

Why should you hurry? Because if you don’t, you might just have to wait to watch one of the most critically-acclaimed movies of 2009. The Kathryn Bigelow-directed drama has already nabbed wins from critics in New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Now the Iraq-war set film has got a few other cities behind it as well.

After the jump, you can view year-end picks from the National Society of Film Critics as well as honors from Chicago, Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Francisco.

Click to continue reading The Hurt Locker Racks Up More Critics Awards

2010 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories:

On January 17, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will award their choices for the 2009-10 film season. But on January 23, the people who star in those movies will declare their winners at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions from this year’s list of film nominees:

• Precious, Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air lead the pack with three mentions each.
• Although Nine received a nomination for Best Ensemble, there were no individuals honored. (Could that be a Daniel Day-Lewis first?)
• He may have been snubbed by the Golden Globes, but Jeremy Renner is getting his love now. The Hurt Locker star is up for Best Actor category.
• Since the SAGs don’t differentiate between comedy and drama, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep and Matt Damon will have to settle for one nom each.

The SAG Awards will air Saturday, Jan. 23 on both TBS and TNT.

(You can find the full list of film nominees after the jump. Click here for the TV nominations.)

Click to continue reading 2010 Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations (Film)

Read More | Screen Actors Guild Awards

2010 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Awards, Lists,

The 2009-10 awards season kicked into high gear this morning with the official announcement of the Golden Globe nominations. The event - which will be hosted by funnyman Ricky Gervais - will take place just over two weeks before the Academy Award contenders are revealed.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions from this year’s list of film nominees:

• Up in the Air leads all film nominations with six. The musical Nine follows with five while Avatar and Inglourious Basterds tied with four.
• As expected, Meryl Streep has received another two mentions—unfortunately, they are both in the Comedy category (Julie & Julia, It’s Complicated). On the surprising end, Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side, The Proposal) and Matt Damon (Invictus, The Informant) both have two nominations as well—thankfully, in different categories.
• Talk about drama! An ex-husband and wife will be competing against each other in the Best Director race. (Avatar‘s James Cameron and The Hurt Locker‘s Kathryn Bigelow.)
• Despite backing from both Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, Precious is not a contender for Best Film. Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe were both recognized for their excellent acting though.

The 67th Golden Globe Awards airs Jan. 17 on NBC.

(You can find the full list of film nominees after the jump. Click here for the TV nominations.)

Click to continue reading 2010 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)

Read More | Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Film Critics Honor The Hurt Locker, Mo’Nique, Christoph Waltz

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Music, Period, Political, Comedy, Awards, Celeb News, Lists, Scripts,

Never heard of The Hurt Locker? You soon will.

Despite opening last summer in limited release, the war drama about an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit in Iraq has already collected a large number of awards.

The movie has now been honored by critics in New York, Boston and Los Angeles for Best Film. Additionally, Jeremy Renner has been acknowledged for his acting work while Kathryn Bigelow has been praised for her direction.

Others receiving multiple honors in this year’s lists include Mo’Nique (Precious), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) and George Clooney (Up in the Air). You can see more award winners after the jump.

Click to continue reading Film Critics Honor The Hurt Locker, Mo’Nique, Christoph Waltz

Box Office Breakdown: New Moon Covers Its Blind Side

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

What looked like a possible upset early in the game ended in another win for New Moon. Although the film pulled in another $42.9 million over the holiday weekend, the Twilight sequel dropped approximately 70% from its first frame and escaped second place by a mere $2.8 million.

The vampires were given a run for their box office dollars by The Blind Side, the sports drama starring Sandra Bullock. Unlike Moon, the heartwarming film actually saw improvement in its second week. The entry also managed to hold off the Chris Weitz-helmed project on Thanksgiving Day.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: New Moon Covers Its Blind Side

Read More | Variety