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Oscar Predictions 2013

What an Oscar race it’s been. I simply don’t know what’s going to happen Thursday morning when nominations are finally announced for the Academy Awards on February 24^th. It’s because there have been more great movies, less time to see them and even greater shakeups in the form of controversy, voting problems, new rules and a field that simply refuses to reveal a frontrunner.

In my past On the Red Carpet columns, I’ve made predictions each week, and that list has almost never stayed consistent. These then are my final predictions, when all the buzz that’s come and gone doesn’t matter except for right now.

I’d like to think I’ve studied the tea leaves enough that I don’t have to take a shot in the dark, yet I may be as wrong about these nominees as I’ve ever been. And the way this race has been shaking up, I’ll be perfectly all right with that.

Best Picture

Zero Dark Thirty

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Argo

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Django Unchained

Moonrise Kingdrom

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Skyfall

Dark Horse: The Master, Amour

If you’re gonna toy with us with the number of nominees, can’t there just be 12? The rules from last year stands in which there will be anywhere from five to 10 nominees, and to be eligible for a nomination, a film must get at least one first place vote.

All of these titles have their passionate supporters, and most are both box office successes and universally admired. With that logic, at least six of these are fairly certain nominees, those being “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Argo,” “Les Miserables” and “Life of Pi.”

“Django Unchained” is next on the list. At first, pundits were quick to call it dead when the movie simply had not been seen, and I was the confident one. Now that’s reversed because the movie is very loved, but I’m not fully on board. The Academy does love Tarantino however, and as a movie that’s a fun, accessible studio picture and a stylish cinephile movie, it’ll find a lot of love.

Then there’s the question of the “indie spot.” Ever since the expanded Best Picture field, there’s always been room for some Sundance or Fox Searchlight darling, maybe two spaces. So will “Moonrise Kingdom” or “Beasts of the Southern Wild” get in? Will neither? My vote is a daring plea for both. Neither has gotten the critic or guild love it has really needed. SAG snubbed both, but both found room with the Producers Guild, American Film Institute and National Board of Review. Even the Golden Globes had some love for “Moonrise.” What’s more, the narrative behind “Moonrise” is that this is Wes Anderson’s best film, the film in which he grew up without sacrificing his childlike instincts. As for “Beasts,” here’s a film that has gone the distance since Sundance, and Benh Zeitlin and Quvenzhane Wallis have earned Breakthrough awards left and right.

That makes for one last spot, if we really do have 10. Logic serves that if last year could find nine nominees, surely this year can do one better. But what gets it? “The Master” was that early contender, the divisive yet awe-inspiring movie that shared the same narrative as “The Tree of Life.” “Amour” is for the older generation of Academy voters, the love story that haunts and enchants, and one that celebrates two legendary actors of old. “Skyfall” too has a powerful narrative. Not only is it a box office smash, it might just be the best Bond yet. A recent PGA nod and plenty of acting buzz has been important, despite missing all the other guilds. It’s picked up steam where a month ago it would’ve been a wish.

As of very recently, I have the inkling suspicion that the last Best Picture slot will go to “Skyfall.” It will fall in the mainstream action movie slot that in past years belonged to “District 9,” “Inception” and would’ve belonged to “The Dark Knight” in 2008. And what sets it apart is that it’s not just “another Bond movie.” Sam Mendes has given the film institutional clout that every film before it has lacked, and “Skyfall” takes Bond’s story seriously in a way never before attempted. “The Master” did not have the cultural impact “The Tree of Life” did, and in three years of an expanded Best Picture field, we still have not had a legitimate foreign film be nominated (“The Artist” doesn’t count because it’s silent), so why should “Amour” change that?

For 50 years, a Bond movie has not been nominated for Best Picture, probably for good reason, but there is no better time than now for the Academy to mend that injustice to the most durable movie institution of all time.

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

John Hawkes – The Sessions

Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Denzel Washington – Flight

Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables

Dark Horse: Joaquin Phoenix – The Master, Jean-Louis Trintignant – Amour

Performances that have been collectively nominated by the Screen Actors Guild, the Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards have never failed to get an Oscar nomination. Daniel Day-Lewis, John Hawkes, Bradley Cooper, Denzel Washington and Hugh Jackman have all managed to receive all three.

So where does that leave Joaquin Phoenix? It leaves him out, officially rejected by the institution he bashed earlier this year. His performance is undeniably brilliant, but his surly attitude in this sadly political game will likely cost him the nomination he deserves.

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone

Emmanuelle Riva – Amour

Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Dark Horse: Naomi Watts – The Impossible, Rachel Weisz – The Deep Blue Sea, Helen Mirren – Hitchcock

Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain are probably the only two contenders in this category who are a sure thing. “Rust and Bone” and Marion Cotillard have been losing steam. Quvenzhane Wallis has earned every Breakthrough Actress performer in sight, but little else. Naomi Watts has the weight of a nod from SAG, the Globes and the Critics’ Choice, but I attest that she is not the center of “The Impossible.”

That leaves Emmanuelle Riva and Helen Mirren. These are both seasoned veterans, but this is not Mirren’s best work. Riva picked up the coveted LA Film Critics’ prize, the National Film Critics Association award, a second runner up spot with the New York critics and still nabbed a Critics’s Choice nod. And the Academy knows she will not get this chance again.

The only other dark horse is Rachel Weisz. How many Academy voters have actually seen “The Deep Blue Sea?” It’s hard to say, and the NYFCC acclaim feels like ages ago now. Her Golden Globe nomination is the only thing keeping her kicking.

Best Supporting Actor

Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master

Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln

Alan Arkin – Argo

Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook

Javier Bardem – Skyfall

Dark Horse: Leonardo DiCaprio – Django Unchained, Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike

If I am in the camp that “Skyfall” will receive a nomination, then surely Javier Bardem will get one too. He is electric in the role, and the film would not be the same without him. By earning a SAG nomination, he got the boost that the critics would not give him and instead lauded on Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio.

But both Leo and McConaughey are already facing an uphill battle. The vote for “Django” may well be split between former winner Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson. The same can be said about McConaughey, who is likely vying for “Magic Mike,” but then the NYFCC also recognized him for “Bernie.”

This is still a vast field with a lot of contenders, but you can feel very certain about the remaining four.

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Field – Lincoln

Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

Helen Hunt – The Sessions

Amy Adams – The Master

Maggie Smith – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Dark Horse: Ann Dowd – Compliance, Nicole Kidman – The Paperboy, Samantha Barks – Les Miserables, Judi Dench – Skyfall

Did I ever say this was a weak field? I don’t know how I could’ve said that if I have literally four dark horse contenders. Sally Field and Anne Hathaway are locks, and Helen Hunt certainly deserves it. If “The Master” is weak, there’s a possibility that so is Amy Adams, but I’m having a hard enough time filling that fifth slot.

Ann Dowd would be the first surprise nominee in a little seen film, as she was nominated by the Critics’ Choice, the Indie Spirits and the NBR. Nicole Kidman would be the other, picking up a SAG and Globe nod, despite her film being almost universally reviled. Samantha Barks is probably as deserving for her minimal screen time in “Les Miz” as Anne Hathaway is, but the vote is bound to be split. Judi Dench has a very important role in “Skyfall,” but I’m not sure the work is as gripping as Bardem’s.

That leaves Maggie Smith, who is adored by the Academy. She has two Oscars and is on a new streak of greatness in “Downton Abbey.” There’s also a small camp of people who want to throw “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” a bone. She’s my fifth.

From left to right, Bradley Cooper, David O'Russell and Jennifer Lawrence. Image courtesy of NY Daily News — From left to right, Bradley Cooper, David O’Russell and Jennifer Lawrence. Image courtesy of NY Daily News

Directing

Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty

Ben Affleck – Argo

Steven Spielberg – Lincoln

David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Ang Lee – Life of Pi

Dark Horse: Tom Hooper – Les Miserables, Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master, Michael Haneke – Amour

Save for predicting what the Best Picture nominees would be if there were only five, directors have more of a narrative behind them and their films than anyone else. This year’s crop is ripe with stories.

Spielberg is in for sure. He’s the legendary American director taking on an American legend even greater than he is. Affleck is also in for sure. People feel “The Town” and “Gone Baby Gone” have been underrated, and with “Argo,” Ben Affleck has now been cemented as a serious American filmmaker for a new generation. Not only that, as a director he’s mounted his “comeback” to the A-list. And Bigelow is surely in. Winning Best Director before was previously seen as an accolade long overdue. Now Kathryn Bigelow is a Hollywood woman with a lot of power, and it’s scaring some people.

If logic serves, “Silver Linings and Les Miz” would round out the top five, but my money is on Ang Lee to steal Tom Hooper’s spot, not O. Russell’s. Lee was working on the visionary 3-D landscape in “Life of Pi” long before people had any clue what “Avatar” was. In doing so, he took an “unfilmable” novel on the silver screen, arguably advancing what cinema is capable of. “Les Miz” is well liked, but did Hooper go above and beyond the Broadway musical? The Directors’ Guild just spoke today by snubbing O. Russell and including Hooper, but O. Russell is a big part of that film’s style and dry humor. And you know what? “Silver Linings” is just the better film.

The last two dark horses I have listed are Paul Thomas Anderson and Michael Haneke. No one would question that the two are the auteurs behind their respected films, and nominating one of them would be the conciliatory way of overlooking either “The Master” or “Amour” for Best Picture. Terrence Malick got a nomination last year after all.

Best Original Screenplay

Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

Amour – Michael Haneke

Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino

The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson

Dark Horse: Looper – Rian Johnson, The Intouchables – Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano, Flight – John Gatins, Seven Psychopaths – Martin McDonagh

The screenplay categories are where the Academy can cover their bases in case something gets snubbed or in case they want to honor something that really doesn’t have a chance elsewhere.

That’s why “Looper” is a very powerful dark horse. It would be Rian Johnson’s first Oscar nomination, but he’s got some stiff competition from PTA, who the Academy may not respect as a director, but certainly do as a writer. “The Master” would be his fourth screenplay nomination.

The same can also be said for “The Intouchables,” “Flight” and “Seven Psychopaths,” which is specifically about the writing process.

Confusing the whole issue is the Writers’ Guild. If “Amour” and “Django” were eligible for that prize, they’d far and away be seen as strong contenders and not underdogs.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo – Chris Terrio

Lincoln – Tony Kushner, John Logan, Paul Webb

Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell

Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeithlin

The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky

Dark Horse: Les Miserables – William Nicholson, The Sessions – Ben Lewin, Life of Pi – David Magee

I said in my previous column that “Life of Pi” is not remembered for it’s dialogue, and it’s that very reason why I think it’ll be overlooked in place of the slightly more poetic “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” a film that captures the beauty of the world and the rugged dialect of the bayou.

My fifth pick then is “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Remember when “Precious” won because it had “based on the novel by Sapphire” in the title? Well what do you think The Academy thinks about an author adapting and directing his own cult novel? “Perks” has performed very well with the critics groups and even got a WGA nod. It’s got a much better shot than something like “Les Miz,” a story pretty faithfully adapted from a play. Such devotion prevented the nominations of “Rabbit Hole” and “Carnage” in previous years.

Additional Categories

Below the jump I look at the technical categories in the race, which I’m not fully equipped to predict, but play ball with me here. Maybe I’ll have a good prediction streak.

If all serves from these tech categories, here’s my overall count for Oscar nominations per film.

Les Miserables – 10

Lincoln – 10

Skyfall – 8 (That sounds high)

Django Unchained – 7

Zero Dark Thirty – 6

Silver Linings Playbook – 6

Life of Pi – 6

Argo – 5 (That sounds low)

The Master – 5 (That sounds high too)

Beasts of the Southern Wild – 3

Amour – 3

Anna Karenina – 3

Cloud Atlas – 3

Moonrise Kingdom – 3

Continue reading “Oscar Predictions 2013”

The 2nd Annual Anti-Oscars

Every year there are great performers and films that for whatever reason do not get the attention they deserve at the Oscars. Sometimes they’re underrated, sometimes they’re critical darlings and sometimes the field is just too vast.

I guess I should be proud that when I did this feature last year, none of the movies or performers I named got nominated. Is that a good thing? Anyway, here again I’ve picked some names that have nary a prayer when the Oscar nominations are announced next Thursday. If it feels like I’m missing a really good one, assume they actually have a shot.

Best Picture

Looper
The Kid With a Bike
The Turin Horse
Bernie
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Rust and Bone
The Impossible

I’ll maybe wish I included my four of my Top 10 movies of the year on this list when they don’t get nominated. Those are “The Master,” “Skyfall,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

But the movies I have selected are all just as wonderful and not Oscar bait at all. “Looper” is exactly what clever studio filmmaking should be. “The Kid With a Bike” is such a heartbreaking and darling film about a kid who loves too strong the things that don’t love him back, and it’s only being forgotten because it premiered two Cannes film festivals ago. “The Turin Horse” is so gigantic, epic and hard to watch, it may just be considered one of the best movies ever made years from now. “Rust and Bone” is a daring romance that the Academy simply hasn’t seen. “Bernie” treads the line between comedy, drama and documentary a little too closely for the Academy to care. “Perks” is destined to be a teen classic alongside “The Breakfast Club.” And “The Impossible” should have Oscar bait written all over it, but Academy voters have already booted it out of contention in fields such as Visual Effects and Makeup.

There’s no questioning that the movies that are being nominated for Best Picture are quality films, but some of my picks might hold up in the culture’s eye just a little better over time.

Snubs: “Chronicle,” “The Comedy,” “Oslo, August 31^st” Continue reading “The 2nd Annual Anti-Oscars”

The Best (And Worst) Movies of 2012

Didn’t anyone get the memo that cinema is dead? 2012 came into greatness notoriously late in the year (if not trickling into next year), but the amount of quality that came out of big budget blockbusters, prestigious Oscar bait and critical darlings is too convincing to say that TV continued to dominate the cultural conversation this year. I can be cynical, but I’d rather just celebrate the movies with a generous round up of everything I hope you’re talking about and just waiting to discover.

1. The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson has me in his control. “The Master” is elegant, ambiguous, malleable and powerful. With Scientology as only the setting, it’s a difficult, dream-like film open to interpretation, but its strongest themes are the power and reach of the human mind and the capabilities of man. Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the two best performances of the year are titans at war, one filled with unpredictable rage, repressed sexuality and energy, the other a deafening force of eloquence and conviction. Mihai Malaimare Jr.’s 70mm photography ripples with color and fantasy. Jonny Greenwood’s score pulses with animalistic alacrity. Watching “The Master” and assigning it meaning is a testament to the richness and complexity of mankind.

2. Life of Pi

If “Life of Pi” cannot make you believe in God, it at the very least can provide the faith that there is beauty and excitement in the world. Ang Lee’s innovative use of 3-D places us on an infinite plain of existence, one that has stunning natural beauty, visceral thrills, comedic charms, emotional poignancy and none of the Disney-fied cuteness. Pi’s sea voyage is pure visual poetry that resonates with you on a deeply spiritual level.

3. Moonrise Kingdom

Perhaps no director today has a more distinct visual and tonal style than Wes Anderson, but “Moonrise Kingdom” is his most personal and close to the heart by far. Anderson funnels his love of classical music, the French New Wave and low rent spectacle into a magical film about kids living beyond their age. It finds the beauty of young love in a joyous, colorful and hilarious art house movie that anyone can relate to.

4. Beasts of the Southern Wild

“Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is a wondrous, poetic, beautiful film about all the things humans can do when we stop acting like people afraid of nature and start living like brave beasts that become one with the world. It’s about color, light and discovery. It’s about being loved by the world, loving it back and understanding how to truly live. It’s about facing the other beasts of the world, and doing it head on.” (Excerpt from my review)

5. The Kid With a Bike

When a boy is abandoned by his father at an orphanage, he spends months blindly fighting to get back to him while rejecting the love and affection of others. The French film “The Kid With a Bike” is about the attachments we place on the things we love and the unexpected consequences that come of them. The Dardenne brothers’ simple and rugged film digs deep in its grainy and grizzled surface to find the sentimentality within.

6. Skyfall

At 50 years old, James Bond has never looked better. “Skyfall” marks the first time we’ve asked about Bond’s past and questioned his future, but we do so in by far the most exciting and stylish action movie of the year. Roger Deakins’s digital cinematography turns Bond’s fist fights into elegant shadow ballets, and Javier Bardem’s snake-like sexuality and compulsions make for some of the finest screen villainy this century.

7. The Invisible War

Nearly 20 percent of all women who have served in the armed forces are sexually assaulted during their line of duty. That’s the horrifying truth at the heart of “The Invisible War,” a documentary that for that statistic alone is essential viewing for anyone in the military. But more so, Kirby Dick’s film is moving in its unification of women (and men!) who once all considered themselves an army of one. What sacrifices are we really asking our soldiers to make for our country?

8. Lincoln

Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is the stirring American vision we deserve. A remarkably authentic account of the effort to abolish slavery, the story of “Lincoln” is a war of words, not worlds, yet remains as intense and rousing as any action movie this year. Daniel Day-Lewis melts into the visage of our 16^th President while making the role all his own, and the monumental performances of Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field anchor the best screen ensemble of the year.

9. Looper

Destined to be an action sci-fi classic, “Looper” accomplishes the impossible by being cool and accessible while staying dark and emotional. Director Rian Johnson makes the time travel conceit something other than an exercise in futility, devoting more attention to the film’s cocky, narcissistic heroes (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, his best dramatic work since “The Sixth Sense”), who are really both the same person. “Looper” is even a powerful forewarning of our civilization’s decline into more and more crime and violence, a nuance that along with its lens flares, canted angles and impressive visual effects, make it refreshingly modern.

10. Rust and Bone

“Rust and Bone” is a powerful and aggressively emotional film about people who are incomplete. A French romance of imperfect characters who are mending physically but damaged emotionally, Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts give tough, often unsentimental performances that are not without humor and heart. Director Jacques Audiard (“A Prophet”) finds a mix between moments and visuals that feel stark and lonely, such as a lengthy wide shot of Cotillard lying in a hospital bed, and those between Cotillard and a whale, that are elegant statements of forming a bond.

Honorable Mention – The Turin Horse

Looking and feeling the way “The Turin Horse” does, one would believe it is a tortured, yet essential classic belonging to another time. But it came out in 2012 and may be the last film from the elderly Hungarian master Bela Tarr. It is bleak and draining beyond belief. In black and white and with only 30 shots, it is an excruciating sit. It is almost completely empty of activity, plot or dialogue. It will make you sick at the sight of baked potatoes. And by the end of it, you will feel as if the world is ending. Yet to call it anything other than spellbinding is a gross understatement.

11^th Place Continue reading “The Best (And Worst) Movies of 2012”

Off the Red Carpet: Weeks of 11/14 – 11/28

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday. I took off last week so I would too, but I still saw plenty of movies, including “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Magic Mike,” “Arbitrage,” “The Deep Blue Sea” and “This Must Be the Place.”

“Zero Dark Thirty” and “Les Miserables” screened for Academy audiences

There were a few Oscar bloggers getting kind of antsy before Thanksgiving that this Oscar season was in a momentary lull. But fear not privileged pundits! These movies have now screened for you even though everyone else, myself included will have to wait until at least Christmas Day, if not 2013. Both “Les Mis” and “Zero Dark Thirty” now seem like very likely Best Picture contenders if not winners, and there were plenty of critics to fawn over each of them. Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain have all entered the acting fray as well.

Indie Spirit Award Nominations Announced

“Silver Linings Playbook” and “Moonrise Kingdom” each lead the pack at the Indie Spirits with five nominations a piece, including for Best Feature. The remaining three films were “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Bernie” and the unbeknownst to me “Keep the Lights On,” which scored three nods. Scott Feinberg gives a very helpful analysis that they may not amount to anything in the grand scheme of things, but I like the Indie Spirits because they tend to recognize a handful of movies you’ve never heard of as well as the ones you have that won’t get the recognition they deserve at the Oscars. (Full nominations via Indiewire)

Gotham Awards honor “Moonrise Kingdom”

The Gotham Awards are the first awards show of the year, so that’s the reason above all why they matter, especially since they’re not televised. They’re known as New York’s answer to the Indie Spirits, and by honoring both “Moonrise Kingdom” and the documentary “How to Survive a Plague,” they’ve given serious pushes to both films and a push in the opposite direction to “The Master,” amongst others.

thractresses — Photo Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood Reporter Actress Roundtable

In my previous installment of Off the Red Carpet, I plugged THR’s Actor Roundtable but wondered what happened to the women. Well, they got their own discussion period (although they were interviewed by two men and placed on non-threatening couches with more muted, soothing, womanly colors) after all. This crop of seven includes Anne Hathaway, Rachel Weisz, Amy Adams, Marion Cotillard, Naomi Watts, Sally Field and Helen Hunt, all of whom have very good chances at an Oscar nomination this year, and three of whom I am absolutely in love with. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

The Atlantic continues beating of “Cinema is Dead” drum

A number of critics recently have been bemoaning the so-called decline of the movies in the pop culture zeitgeist, but this article by The Atlantic featuring some pretty shocking quotes from Martin Scorsese’s editor Thelma Schoonmaker is probably the most depressing yet, acknowledging that film prints and the ability to produce a celluloid copy of an old movie are being completely fazed out by major studios. What’s more, she claims contemporary restoration people have no idea how some of these movies are supposed to look. This concerns the Oscars because the Academy themselves have had to sponsor events to celebrate movies shown on film. (via The Atlantic)

Also, Anthony Hopkins has some predictably bad words to say about awards season in an interesting interview with Huff Post, and Angelina Jolie is trying to get Ewan McGregor an Oscar based on how impressed she was with his work in “The Impossible.”

Continue reading “Off the Red Carpet: Weeks of 11/14 – 11/28”

Off the Red Carpet: Week of 11/7 – 11/14

We’re at the point where there’s going to be a big movie opening every week until the end of the year now, so get excited.

“Skyfall” has biggest Bond opening ever

“Skyfall” earned $86.7 million at the Box Office this weekend, sending it on its way to trounce even the inflation added record of the fourth Bond, “Thunderball.” It’s popular appeal as well as its just plain awesome quality has lead some to speculate the possibility of nominating Judi Dench, Javier Bardem and Roger Deakins for their respected Oscars, as well as a push for the movie itself for Best Picture. It’s a long shot, but I would be on board.

Best Animated Short shortlist revealed

Could we soon be saying, Oscar Winner Maggie Simpson? The shortlist for the Best Animated Short category was revealed last week, and it includes “The Simpsons” short “The Longest Daycare” and the lovey Disney short “Paperman.” The Pixar short film this year that screened before “Brave,” “La Luna,” was nominated and lost last year. But I can guarantee you now that the little underdog movie no one’s heard of and no one will see will almost definitely win this category. Here’s the full list: (via In Contention)

“Adam and Dog”

“Combustible”

“Dripped”

“The Eagleman Stag”

“The Fall of the House of Usher”

“Fresh Guacamole”

“Head over Heels”

“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare'”

“Paperman”

“Tram”

Christoph Waltz in Best Actor race

I said last week that for some reason people already want to count “Django Unchained” out of the race before anyone’s even seen it. Why no one would consider Christoph Waltz owning “Django” just like he did “Inglourious Basterds” is beyond me, but the difference this year is that he’s being pushed for the Lead Actor race now rather than supporting. Yes, it’s a crowded field, but he was just that good before, and I don’t see why he can’t be again. This also means that Leonardo DiCaprio and even Samuel L. Jackson are people to keep an eye on in the Supporting race. (via In Contention)

Actor_Roundtable_Foxx_Arkin_Hawkes_Washington_Damon_Gere_h — Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter Airs Annual Actor Roundtable

Each year The Hollywood Reporter puts together an extended interview roundtable with a collection of actors, usually Oscar hopefuls for that year. Last year they interviewed George Clooney, Viola Davis, Christopher Plummer, Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, and this year they’ve interviewed Jamie Foxx, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Richard Gere, Alan Arkin and John Hawkes. All six are potential Oscar candidates for acting, three more likely than the others, but their discussion veered much more intellectual. They talked acting on stage, what they would do if they couldn’t act, family and whom they admired. It’s a stirring hour-long discussion between smart actors being very candid in a setting you won’t see anywhere else. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Gurus ‘O Gold released

The Gurus ‘O Gold have been my go to barometer for Oscar predictions for the last few years. Collectively, they are probably better at anticipating the awards and forecasting changes than any one of them individually. This is their first time forecasting the major categories this year since Toronto. Things are bound to change as a few other movies set in and are seen by the public, but the universal consensus right now is unsurprisingly “Argo,” followed closely by TIFF winner “Silver Linings Playbook.” The surprise I see in the list is the inclusion of “Flight” in 10 spot and “Moonrise Kingdom” on the outs. 10 is probably a generous number for nominees anyway. Take a look at the full list if you’re like me and love charts and spreadsheets and stuff, and avoid it if you think it has the potential to suck all the fun out of the Oscars. (via Movie City News)

Will Best Picture match Screenplay?

A blogger at “Variety” observed that last year was a surprising anomaly in the trend for nominees for Best Picture and Best Original or Adapted Screenplay. The movie with the BP nod always gets the screenplay nod, with historically very few exceptions. Last year alone matched the last 10 years in terms of gaps between the two categories, and it’s worth noting that this year may go the same. “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Master,” “Amour,” “Django Unchained,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The Sessions” are all questionable nominees for Best Picture, and that’s just listing the front runners in the screenplay races. (via Variety)

Ben Affleck to receive “Modern Master Award”

For a guy gunning for an Oscar for Best Director with a film set in the ‘70s, it’s got to feel good to win an award called the “Modern Master Award” at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Ben Affleck will receive the award on January 26, conveniently not long before the Oscar ceremony itself. (via The Race)

Week 5 Predictions Continue reading “Off the Red Carpet: Week of 11/7 – 11/14”

Off the Red Carpet: Weeks of 10/24 – 11/7

I took a week off last week, despite there being at least one piece of gigantic movie news, perhaps not Oscar relevant, but enough to make nerds on Twitter (myself included) flip out for better or worse.

But with the election now firmly behind us, I can focus on a race with just one president running (“Lincoln”).

President Obama defeats Mitt Romney in Presidential Election

Hey! Guess what? Now funding for “Sesame Street” and PBS won’t be cut and young kids will still like the movies and art for future generations!

Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion, plans to make “Star Wars Episode VII”

“Star Wars” is now coming back in 2015, and I couldn’t be more disappointed. Even if “Star Wars” has become something of a joke since the prequels and having the “Star Wars” name on your product in fact makes it worse, the “Star Wars” series, with George Lucas’s muddy fingers and all, had become bad but never boring.

For Disney, who also owns Marvel, to plan to release “Star Wars VII” in the same year as “The Avengers 2,” is to make it into another tentpole blockbuster and popcorn movie that will be instantly forgotten as soon as people walk out of the theater.

Rumors are now spilling in that Matthew Vaughn (“Kick-Ass,” “X-Men: First Class”) is in talks to direct, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fischer are all interested in reprising their roles, and George Lucas is supposed to still be a “consultant,” whatever that means. These are telltale signs that this is not going to be an interesting film that takes the franchise in a new direction but one that is sheer fanboy baiting. (via Collider)

21 films eligible for Best Animated Feature

The number of animated movies considered eligible each year for the Best Animated Feature Oscar dictates the number of nominees the category will have, three or five, and five will definitely be the winning number this year based on 21 films meeting the Academy’s requirements. This says to me that Disney could very well have three potential nominees this year with “Brave,” “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Frankenweenie.” Expect buzz for “Rise of the Guardians” and one of the Gkids (“The Secret of Kells,” “Chico and Rita”) distributed entries. (Full list via In Contention)

Box office numbers bode well for “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Flight,” “Argo”

In a big surprise, Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” trounced the weekly competition by raking in nearly $50 million on its opening weekend, double that of Robert Zemeckis’s “Flight,” a number that’s really nothing to scoff at. “Argo” also performed well in its third week by making $10 million, proving that this is a movie generating money by word of mouth that has the legs to go all the way to a Best Picture prize. Doing less well was “Cloud Atlas,” which in two weeks has only brought in $18 million of its over $100 million budget. (via Box Office Mojo)

“Hitchcock” premieres at AFI Film Fest

Film buffs are eagerly awaiting the movie “Hitchcock,” for obvious reasons, and early reviews of the movie say that although Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren provide their characters with range and depth, first time feature director Sacha Gervasi’s film is a lightweight entry that feels clunky at times and goes against the grain of what people actually know about Hitch. They also now have HBO’s “The Girl” to compare it against, which likewise received poor reviews by painting Hitchcock as little more than a peeping tom.

European Film Awards and British Independent Film Awards announce nominees

“Amour,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “The Intouchables,” and “The Imposter” are all among the nominees in two of Europe’s smaller award races, the European Film Awards and the British Independent Film Awards. The former nominated films that won’t get an American distribution this year and the latter nominated films that got American distribution last year. See the full lists here and here. (via In Contention)

Week 4 Predictions Chart

This week I’m adding in some preliminary Screenplay predictions since the rest of the field is unchanged in my mind.

Continue reading “Off the Red Carpet: Weeks of 10/24 – 11/7”

Off the Red Carpet: Week 3 (10/17 – 10/24)

Three weeks have passed since I started this column, we’re 18 weeks away, and I’ve seen yet another two major contenders thanks to the Chicago International Film Festival (I might’ve seen three if not for CIFF’s awful secret screening selection), “The Sessions” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”

“Silver Linings” is exactly the kind of film that could take Best Picture and sweep some of the acting awards if I didn’t think “The Master” could absolutely dominate in the acting branch, and that’s because it’s a crowd pleasing romantic comedy with a lot of depth and poignancy about disabilities. It’s more about disabilities than even “The Sessions,” which just uses its problem as a plot device. If it did, it would probably be the first straight rom-com to win since “Annie Hall.”

But this was a busy week elsewhere, so let’s get down to it.

Joaquin Phoenix calls Oscar season “bullshit,” heads explode amongst people who care about this stuff

Sometimes I’m really disappointed by the media. They have a habit of making a story out of nothing because when one person reports it, everyone else has to spread it around. Joaquin Phoenix said in a terrific interview with Elvis Mitchell for Interview magazine that he thought the whole act of campaigning and comparing people’s performances is “total, utter bullshit.” “It’s a carrot, but it’s the worst tasting carrot I’ve ever tasted in my whole life. I don’t want this carrot.”

That quote alone should give a sense of how batshit crazy and awesome the rest of the interview actually is, but pundits decided to pick out this quote and make a big deal about it, some claiming that he now doesn’t stand a chance at even a nomination.

Well, he’s too good in “The Master” for that. This wouldn’t be the first time someone has put down the Oscars and completely opted out of coming to the ceremony and still won (see: Woody Allen, for one). It’s clear that after two losses (“Gladiator,” “Walk the Line”) he’s tired of the posturing and is seeking a different kind of truth in his performances. So everyone can just calm down. (via Entertainment Weekly and Interview Magazine)

Gotham Award Nominations Announced

The Gotham Awards are significant because they’re the first batch of nominations in this long, long, long awards season. They recognize indie films that would otherwise need a boost amongst the studio fare, and this year they’ve helped put “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” back into the conversation. “Beasts” didn’t score a Best Feature nod, opting instead for the lesser known “The Loneliest Planet” and “Middle of Nowhere,” but director Benh Zeitlin scored a nomination and could make some surprise waves come Oscar time. Also in the fray is Richard Linklater’s “Bernie.” There is a small but vigorous campaign to get Jack Black nominated for an Oscar, and this is his first step in that direction. (via In Contention)

George Clooney could be first to be nominated in six Oscar categories

Guy Lodge of In Contention observed in a case of severe data overload that if “Argo” is nominated for Best Picture, producer George Clooney would be the first person to ever be nominated in six separate categories, Best Picture (“Argo”), Best Adapted Screenplay (“The Ides of March”), Best Director and Original Screenplay (“Good Night, and Good Luck”), Best Actor (“Michael Clayton, “Up in the Air,” “The Descendants”) and the category he won for, Best Supporting Actor (“Syriana”). Does Clooney sing? Maybe we can get him nominated for Best Original Song next year. (via In Contention)

“Holy Motors” and “After Lucia” take top prizes at CIFF

CIFF doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of the awards season, but I was there to enjoy it, and for “Holy Motors” to win its first major prize, along with an acting prize for Denis Lavant, says something. I’ve even heard people making a case for Best Original Song for Kylie Minogue’s cameo. I’ll remind you that I hated the film and appear to be the only person on the planet who thinks this way, but there’s no denying it’s not exactly up the Academy’s alley. “After Lucia” however is Mexico’s entry in the Foreign Film race, so any recognition is always a good thing. (via Hollywood Chicago)

Best Costume Design for “Django Unchained”?

Some pundits seem almost adamant in declaring that Quentin Tarantino’s latest film doesn’t really stand much of a chance this Oscar season, but I came across this interesting blog that says otherwise in one peculiar category: Best Costume Design. “Django’s” period clothing is done by Sharen Davis, nominated twice previously for “Ray” and “Dreamgirls.” The article also points out that Tarantino is responsible for some of the most iconic costumes in recent memory but has nothing to show for it. (via Clothes on Film) Continue reading “Off the Red Carpet: Week 3 (10/17 – 10/24)”

Moonrise Kingdom

As “Moonrise Kingdom” begins, a boy is listening to a record of Benjamin Britton classical music compositions intended for children. A high-pitched, nonthreatening kid’s voice interrupts the song to explain the intricate layers of Britton’s piece, and the boy appreciates it all the more.

Wes Anderson’s seventh feature film is much like this record: an art house picture pieced together and slowly revealed to us like an elaborate opera. It has characters, themes and a silly tone that a child could embrace, and yet its presentation has complexity and maturity that may be beyond most adults. In this way, “Moonrise Kingdom” is one of the wackiest, most inventive, and most notably, the most heartfelt film Anderson ever made. Here then is a movie about growing up, independence, living above your age and loving the beauty of the more challenging and sophisticated pleasures of the world.

“Moonrise Kingdom” is the romance fairytale of Sam and Suzy (newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward), two preteens who escape their parental care to elope on a hidden cove on their small island home of New Penzance. Sam is a nerdy orphan, the most unpopular boy amongst his summer camp Khaki Scouts (by a significant margin), and yet a skilled mountaineer and adventurer. Suzy is the oldest child in a dysfunctional family, and she’s at an age where her needs cannot be met by her two unhappy parents. The couple is tracked by the lone island cop Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), Sam’s camp counselor, Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), and Suzy’s two parents, Walt and Laura Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand). Continue reading “Moonrise Kingdom”

Summer Movie Preview 2012: 40 Movies Worth Talking About

“Prometheus,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Brave” are all on my list of the most anticipated movies of Summer 2012.

I’m not going to lie; 2012 has been a surprisingly good year for movies thus far. I’m behind on the indie and foreign critical darlings that may show up on a few best of the year lists come December, but if this trend continues for the mainstream fare, we might just have one hell of a summer.

And yet, there are no doubt movies that frankly look terrible. It would be easy to just rave about the few I’m genuinely interested in, but I can’t exactly hold my tongue on all of them.

So just like I did last year, this is not a summer preview but a list of movies I’m actually interested in talking about.

Top 10 movies I’m pretty damned excited for this summer

Moonrise Kingdom (May 25)

Wes Anderson’s comeback live action film after the wonderful “Fantastic Mr. Fox” would normally have me rolling my eyes when I see how plainly Wes Anderson the trailer for “Moonrise Kingdom” is. But the cast additions of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton to Anderson’s go-to lineup are what are so invigorating. If there’s one thing that concerns me, it has Anderson repairing with screenwriter Roman Coppola, who also did “The Darjeeling Limited,” possibly my least favorite Anderson film.

Prometheus (June 8)

I’ve seen more viral trailers and TV spots than I know what to do with for “Prometheus,” and yet still the story remains ambiguous as to its ties to Ridley Scott’s own masterpiece, “Alien.” Scott is one of those legacy directors that are still churning out great product on a regular basis today, and this looks like his best in a long time. The cast has both massive nerd and cinephile cred, and it happens to come out on my birthday.

Safety Not Guaranteed (June 8)

It’ll be interesting to see Aubrey Plaza in a leading role for a change, and Mark Duplass looks like her perfect match in this quirky indie comedy where a crazed Duplass tries to enlist her to travel back with him in time.

To Rome, With Love (June 22)

Woody Allen is one of the few directors today who can get anyone he wants in his movies. His latest film rounds out his European holiday that has taken him to Barcelona, Paris, and now Rome, and he’s brought with him Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Jesse Eisenberg, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page and Greta Gerwig. This also marks the first time Allen has acted since 2006’s “Scoop,” which alone should generate some buzz. But some mixed reviews regarding Allen’s superficial treatment of Italians have me worried we may be back in the hole of his shrug-worthy films.

Brave (June 22)

More interesting than Pixar having its first dud in “Cars 2” is Pixar having its first female lead in “Brave,” the Medieval story of a princess (although she doesn’t yet seem like a blatantly marketed Disney princess) who is adept with a bow and casts a spell to change her fate. Pixar is the best for a reason, and a part of me bets this’ll snare that “Hunger Games” audience too.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (June 22)

It’s not easy to make the apocalypse funny without being completely lewd and ridiculous, and Steve Carell seems like the perfect casting choice to do that. I can already tell he’s got great chemistry with Keira Knightly, and Patton Oswalt in anything is a sure thing. It’s directed and written by Lorene Scafaria, whose last project was “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,” which I didn’t much care for though.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (June 27)

Easily the most obscure title in my most anticipated list is this visionary indie that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year. It’s a post-apocalyptic story about a girl and her father living in a bathtub on the open sea and the girl’s psychological ramifications that lead her to believe she’s responsible for all of the destruction. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” looks plain beautiful too.

Magic Mike (June 29)

I LIKE CHANNING TATUM’S PECS! I mean, Steven Soderbergh has been on a roll lately. Both “Contagion” and “Haywire” were off the beat and path, and this film, about the story of a male stripper, is likewise a jock strap of a different color. If it is good, Soderbergh will have more great movies in one calendar year than any director I can think of.

The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)

Yes. Yes. Yes. No, it’s not shot in Chicago anymore, but… Yes. At the very least I’m hoping everyone forgets about seeing “The Avengers” after this.

Ruby Sparks (July 25)

“Little Miss Sunshine” is one of those movies I can instantly get caught up watching if I see it on, and Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris finally putting out another film has just made my day. Paul Dano is a struggling writer who falls in love with the female character he’s writing, and they form a relationship when she actually appears out of thin air. Looks hilarious and adorable.

Yeah, I’d see it

Dark Shadows (May 11)

People have been ragging on Tim Burton for doing nothing but adaptations of already creepy, weird and quirky stuff (me included), and not many people would’ve said adapting a soap opera was a good idea, but the idea of Chloe Moretz working with Tim Burton, even in a small part, seems strangely perfect to me.

The Dictator (May 16)

“Borat” hasn’t aged well, and “The Dictator” isn’t even a prankumentary, but Sacha Baron Cohen put Ryan Seacrest in his place Oscar night when he dumped Kim Jong Il’s ashes on him. I’m sold.

The Intouchables (May 25)

I’m calling it right now: “The Intouchables” has Oscar bait written all over it. It’s the second highest grossing foreign film behind “The Passion of the Christ” and going strong, and it’s the saccharine story of a black man from the streets hired to care for a wealthy paraplegic. It looks like it has “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Bucket List” rolled into one, in which case it could be absolutely terrible.

Oslo, August 31 (May 25)

All I know about this Norwegian film is that it was a Cannes competitor in 2011 and it’s one of the sleeper foreign art house movies to hit the states this summer. It’s the day in the life of a recovering drug addict and looks visually stunning.

Lola Versus (June 8)

Just about every critic officially fell in love with Greta Gerwig in “Greenberg” when she seemed like the most naturally attractive woman working in the movies today. She doesn’t look like a movie star; she looks like your girlfriend. But this movie about her bouncing back from a bad breakup is going to try and make her a movie star anyway.

Take this Waltz (June 29)

Like the “Little Miss Sunshine” team, this is another indie romance from a director who’s been on a long hiatus, Sarah Polley. Her last feature, “Away From Her,” is nothing like the young-love story of “Take This Waltz” but will likely share its spirit. Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby and Sarah Silverman star.

Your Sister’s Sister (June 29)

Mark Duplass is literally in everything this year. This mumblecore romance is not from him and his brother but from his previous director on “Humpday.” Duplass’s best friend Emily Blunt sends him away for a recovery weekend with her sister, played by Rosemary DeWitt, and a steamy hipster love triangle forms in the middle.

The Amazing Spiderman (July 3)

A friend of mine wondered how Andrew Garfield’s hair would possibly fit under Spiderman’s skin tight mask, but why ask questions when this is really just a remake of the original “Spiderman” with a new villain and wallpaper. I am curious to see Marc Webb’s follow-up to “500 Days of Summer” though.

The Bourne Legacy (August 3)

Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne was possibly the coolest action hero of the last decade. To replace him would’ve been a mistake. So new director Tony Gilroy, the man behind all the previous Bourne screenplays, has crafted a new story (not based on a novel) and a new hero, Agent Aaron Ross (Jeremy Renner). He’ll be interacting with all the existing Bourne characters in events before and after those of the trilogy. This and “The Avengers” will turn Renner into a bona fide star, and I’d pay good money to see Edward Norton in a villain role.

Lawless (August 31)

I would say “Lawless” is Director John Hillcoat’s feature film version of “Boardwalk Empire,” but this film has been in production hell for so long that Shia Labeouf would’ve probably been cast as Jimmy Darmody had people seen this film sooner. In fact, even this release date is tentative, so you may be going cold turkey for a little while longer.

I’m not really expecting much, but I guess it could be alright

Hick (May 11)

At this point, I’d pay to see Chloe Moretz in anything. I think she’s a terrific young actress. I haven’t heard of Director Derick Martini, but he’s notorious for being a filmmaker who earns bad press. “Hick” already has a 5.1 on IMDb. Ouch.

God Bless America (May 11)

This movie looks really bad spirited. Comedian turned filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait, who directed Robin Williams in “World’s Greatest Dad,” directs, and he’s made a story that a lot of people even more cynical than I may relate to and find hilarious. A man wanting to kill himself because of all the horrible people he sees on TV instead chooses to kill all the people he feels deserve to die, and he makes a teenage girl his accomplice. Fun.

Hysteria (May 18)

Oh boy! It’s “Love and Other Drugs” for the 19^th Century! It’s the period drama of a doctor who invents the vibrator, or here called, “The Feather Duster.”

Rock of Ages (June 15)

Do people actually like ‘80s hair metal? The jukebox musical soundtrack for the very successful Broadway production of the same name looks more like a Buzz Ballads track listing than something hip and cool. This is director Adam Shankman’s first musical since “Hairspray,” a casting choice that makes more sense than Tom Cruise singing.

Savages (July 6)

Even from the trailer, “Savages” looks cliché, ridiculous and visually exhausting, just like Oliver Stone’s last mess of a movie, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.” Stone’s been off the deep end as a filmmaker for a number of years, and I’d be lying if I said I’m still curious to see what he does next.

Ted (July 13)

Is having animals or things that shouldn’t be able to talk act normally in the world just Seth Macfarlane’s thing? The teddy bear Ted has a voice that’s a blend of Peter and Brian, and I don’t need any movie that feels, sounds or looks anything like “Family Guy.”

Neighborhood Watch (July 27)

Could “Neighborhood Watch” be the new classic teen comedy that’ll make an obscene amount of money? Maybe. Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer directs. At least it’s not “Paul Blart 2.”

Total Recall (August 3)

I somehow have fond memories of watching the original, absolutely balls to the wall ridiculous and campy “Total Recall” when I was younger. This version by the director of all the “Underworld” films potentially looks no fun at all.

The Campaign (August 10)

No trailer for this yet, but how are we going to deal with two manchilds, Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, in the same movie? Director Jay Roach finally looks to be combining his penchant for directing cerebral, HBO political dramas (“Game Change,” “Recount”) with his penchant for stupid comedies (“Austin Powers,” “Dinner for Schmucks”)

Hope Springs (August 10)

I said that Meryl Streep really needs to stop doing characters and be a normal woman again in a movie. But you know what? She really needs to stop working with awful directors like Phyllida Lloyd and the man behind “Hope Springs,” David Frankel.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green (August 15)

I really must be a sucker for indie bait from good directors, because the premise of “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” actually has a lot in common with “Ruby Sparks,” only this whole movie has been Disneyfied. The trailer has at least 20 seconds of shots of a kid with arms wide open beaconing the heavens, which is hilarious.

Sparkle (August 17)

“Sparkle” is basically “Dreamgirls,” only a remake and not based on a real life Motown group. The cast features a bunch of R&B pop idols of today, like Jordin Sparks and Cee Lo, but its real pull is the new work of the late Whitney Houston.

Premium Rush (August 24)

Did you know Joseph Gordon Levitt actually crashed through a taxicab rear window and got 31 stitches in his arm while filming this movie? If an action movie with a bike messenger is really as interesting as this behind the scenes video is, then I’d see it.

Oh dear god

Battleship (May 18)

It’s ridiculous to say “Battleship” is based on a board game, like “Pirates of the Caribbean” is really “based” on a Disney World ride. It probably would’ve made immensely more money if it was just called “Navy Explosion.” Regardless, it still looks like a worthless “Transformers” retread.

Men in Black III (May 25)

Are the original “Men in Black” movies actually good? What was the last genuinely good thing Will Smith’s been in? Has a movie other than “Toy Story 3” with a “3” on the end of it ever been good?

Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1)

Oh yeah, screw “Mirror Mirror,” because we need a dark version of “Snow White.” That Disney cartoon was really getting dated. Better just make it into “Lord of the Rings” and cast Bella Swan and Thor.

That’s My Boy (June 15)

Ugh. Adam Sandler, go away. And why did you have to take Andy Samberg with you?

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22)

I’ve never seen a trailer of this movie where people didn’t laugh their heads off at the title. But it’s based on a graphic novel and done by the guy who did “Wanted!” Yeah… and?

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 29)

See, I don’t know why more ninjas don’t have sword fights on the sides of cliffs. It makes perfect sense.

The Expendables 2 (August 17)

As I was watching trailers before “The Avengers,” “The Expendables 2” was the only one that didn’t have a ridiculous amount of CGI and was actually grounded on planet Earth. It almost makes me want to see how ridiculous it is for that very reason, but then, no.

Oh, and by the way, I already saw “The Avengers.”

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