The Oscar Nominations for 2012 (I think they like to credit the previous year so techinically 2011) are in

  

    
The Oscar nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning, January 24, 2012, and many people were tuned in. There is always a lot of anticipation surrounding this event, since even if actors or receive many accolades there is no certainty until the nominations go out. When Jenifer Laurence, last year’s Lead Actress nominee for Winter’s Bone, and Tom Sherak, the current Academy President, started rolling off the names it was apparent that the Academy did decide to go with a few changes from the list that the Golden Globes created.
Among the acting nominations there were some switch outs and add ins that were surprising given how some of the other awards ceremonies and critics have leaned. Actors Albert Brooks of Drive and Shailene Woodley of The Descendants were not nominated for their Supporting Roles but were replaced by Melissa McCarthy of Bridesmaids and Max von Sydow of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has not won over a lot of critics but, it seems that it Sydow must be doing enough to get the Academy’s notice. It should also be said that there has to be a surprise with Melissa McCarthy’s nomination, even with her nominations for The SAG Awards and BAFTA. In the Best Leading Actor category there was the surprise inclusion of Demián Bichir for his role in the critic loved but little seen drama A Better Life, in addition to Gary Oldman for his portrayal in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. For Oldman, who has had a great career full of memorable roles, this is his first Oscar nomination ever. Some of these choices had very warm greetings; Sydow’s, Oldman’s and Bichir’s nominations received hoots of joy from people in attendance of the ceremonial reading of nominees.
Besides the changes in nominated actors from the Golden Globes there were also pulls in other areas. Terrence Malick nabbed a nomination for his film The Tree of Life, replacing George Clooney for The Ides of March. The Tree of Life was highly enjoyed by critics when it was released into theaters, like A Better Life, and Malick is a favorite among the many in film community so it is understandable why he would be recognized. In the Best Animated film category there was a noticeable absence of three movies that have been nominated for the Golden Globes, Producers Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards; Arthur Christmas, The Adventures of TinTin and Cars 2. It could be thought that after appearing on all of these lists that these films would be nominated, especially TinTin since it took the category at all three of these ceremonies, but apparently The Academy had other plans. Two little known films called A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita, Chico & Rita, both foreign language and Chico & Rita seems more of an adult film. Then again if the Academy only stuck with very commercial animated features from the United States there always be a high probability that Disney films would always win. Furthermore in the big category of Best Film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Ides of March and Drive didn’t make the cut. Instead of those three Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close snatched up an available spot in the possibly ten open spots.
With these small shake-ups in the nominations there is a possibility for some that some films will not have repeat wins on Oscar night. Then again many times it seems like once you have seen one awards show, you have seen them all. In the end one must either tune into the 84^th Academy Awards Ceremony on February 26, 2012 or choose to wait to here the results on the television the next day. Just don’t forget to have your popcorn.

To see a full list of the nominees and learn more about the award ceremony go to: Oscar.org

Bill Crystal returns to host the Oscars video (I am not fan of the fact that Megan Fox is in this promo)

The Adventures of TinTin (Review of the movie and a little back history)

PG 1hr 47min

Animation, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

Directed By Steven Spielberg

In Theaters December 21, 2011

When Hollywood announces that they are going to remake a well-known character or childhood figure into movie, there are always many speculators. When it was revealed that the most World-renowned super sleuth report Tin Tin was going to be turned into a computer animated character there had to be raised eyebrows from at least here to Belgium.  

A Belgian man named George Remi was the creator of the original Adventures of Tin Tin stores, he wrote under the name Hergé.  Apparently Hergé created the original incarnation of TinTin, Totor, in the image of a Boy Scout that when on adventures. Later when Hergé worked for Le Vingtième Siècle he restructured his boyhood adventurer into a journalist, changed his name, and even took a few queues from stories of a real life French reporter. When his first time story Tintin in the Land of the Soviets was published in 1929 it was a hit among children and adult. He continued to progress the stories adding all kinds of characters for his hero to meet and adventures for his character to go on. The character became so popular he has since spread across the globe as comic strip, cartoon and even one live action film.

It is easy to see why Spielberg would pick such a beloved character for his first step into directing animation. Yet, let us not forget that Spielberg is no stranger to the genre, having executive produce three animated series in the 1990s, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures and Pinky and the Brain.

The Adventures of Tin Tin, currently out in theater, follows Tin Tin as he tries to solve a case that falls right in his lap. After purchasing a beautiful model ship Tin Tin, along with his dog Snowy, is thrust into an adventure over a century. He must help a ship captain, Captain Haddock, find the inheritance that his great great grandfather left behind before the evil Rackham finds it first. 

The film is a fantastic adventure ride for families to go and watch together or a child of any age. Like many animation films of the last few year all of the major characters of the film are voiced by well known actors; Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Nick Frost. This does not affect the film in any way except for the budget and bringing in fans of those actors. The storyline of the film is well developed for an animated as well as easy to understand, but that is probably because of the source material. This is a very large contributing factor to making it a child/ family friendly film. An enhancement in the animation element is that, the film appears to have used the same motion capture as used in the film The Polar Express. If that is not the case the computer animators were very detailed with facial expressions and movement. Everything pops very well in 3D but it has not been witnessed in standard so there is no comparison to say if it really is worth the extra few dollars. In the end this is a film that really takes the audience on a ride and even hits at possibilities for a theme park ride to be developed. 

If you see the film there shouldn’t be any let downs at all and you will be able to say that you have seen an Oscar nominated/ possibly winning film. (I know the nominations aren’t out yet but it already took home the Golden Globe for Best Animation [which is a feat for a non Disney movie to do])

 

Beetlejuice 2? WHY?!?!?!?!?

If you have not heard the new recently there is a Beetlejuice 2 in the works. The 1988 film was about a recently deceased couple enlisting the help of a zany poltergeist to get a family to move out of their beloved home that they still "live" in. The original film is considered a classic among many circles and showcases Tim Burton's early flare for combinations of comedy set against a dark eeiry backdrop that made people fans of his for years. The sequel is moving forward with Warner Bros. Pictures and a script written by David Katzenberg (writer and executive producer from The Hard Times of RJ Berger) and Seth Grahame-Smith (also writer and executive producer from The Hard Times of RJ Berger as well as the author/screenwriter for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). It is said that Tim Burton may have handed Grahame-Smith the right to pen the script.


Some are saying that Burton may be trying to recreate some of the bigger successes of his early career with doing this sequel, I am just made. Yes Beetlejuice is well over 20 years old and there have been great technological advances since then but it almost feels like what happened when the original Star Wars trilogy was reedited, horrible.  Every actor in that film is a lot older and probably not able to do as much as they used to. Michael Keaton is apparently ready reprise his role as "the ghost with the most" but I feel like there would be more CGI on screen than man due to the fact that the actor is now 60 years old (I know Liam Neeson just a year younger and doing all sorts of stuff but he has kept fit). Also Geena Davis has showed interest but how would explain a ghost that has gotten older. Winona Ryder on the other hand has not even commented about the film, good choice.

Ten to one the film would have to be recast, or have to lots of computer animation involved and probably make lots of fans cringe. Only time will tell what comes to light and I am kind still have a small glimmer of hope for something fantastic even when the odds may be against me.

Reasons Why I Can't See David Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

As many people probably have already heard the western (not as in cowboys) version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was released this holiday season starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig. It is based on the best selling book, of the same title, by short lived author Stieg Larsson, about the investigation of a murder that is 40 years old.
Now yes, there is a fantastic cast attached to the project (Robin Wright, Daniel Craig, Goran Visnjic, Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgård [I haven't seen enough of Rooney Mara to develop an opinion of her acting]) and a celebrated director, David Fincher, but it is still a remake.
I actually saw the Swedish version of the Millenium triology (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) starring Noomi Rapace and it was fantastic. For one I it was in the native Swedish tongue with real accents. It was well written cause of course they did have great source material, even though I haven't read the books I am sure they have to be great to get such a great movie (I will admit that te last film wasn't as charged as the first two). Also Noomi Rapace just captivated me from the first moment she was on screen.
From what I can tell from the trailers there isn't really anything new for me to discover.  It is going to have the exact same story line. A lot of the scenes look like that may be shot the same if not a few set dressings look identical to the other film. Another thing that will kill me is that fact that with an international cast there will be accents all over the place. You have Christopher Plummer and Daniel Craig who are both Brits, Robin Wright and Rooney Mara are American in addition to the others cast in this film and you have inconsistent accents of characters. Not to mention that I also believe that there may be a small change in the story structure that bothers me, not huge things but enough changes that would bother me. Then there is also the feeling that they went a little over that top with Rooney Mara's make up and turned her a creepy looking girl. At least Noomi Rapace still seemed like a girl guys could go after.
  Not to mention that there are three other elements to particularly about the movie that have made this film a turn off for me. One being that movies that have been hyped for so long tend to get on my last nerves. I know that would almost have me saying that I could never really watch any movie ever again but it some movies that just feel like they are too big for their briches just rub me the wrong way (i.e. Twilight Saga after the first film, Spiderman 3 [but I knew that was gonna be garbage regardless] Green Lantern, etc)  Another thing that bothers me is that Rooney Mara is now talking about how she can't really transition out of Lisbeth. She wasn't a Hollywood stunner before but at least she was real but know she has gone the way of Evan Rachel Wood when she was with Marilyn Manson. Her hair is all black, which makes her look really pale (or she has done that on purpose), and she is doing this drastic make up job. If they were filming all of the Millenium series back to back like they did with the Swedish version I could understand but that is not the case. Either she has no identity of her own or this is a stupid publicity stunt. Furthermore I just can't help being loyal to originals if I have seen them first. See an original and I tend to expect the worse from the remake and lots of critics have confirmed this thought for me.
Well again it will be a while before I watch this film so if you want to dispute me and try to get me to see it sooner be my guest.

< Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander

Rooney Mara at Lisbeth Salander >