tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69975358789538757232024-03-05T01:09:48.689-05:00Ansible NetworkAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-79949253230788999352013-03-05T14:31:00.001-05:002013-03-05T14:31:46.362-05:00Holy Balls! The New IRON MAN 3 Trailer Blows The Doors Off My Brain<div style="text-align: center;">
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I present this to you largely without comment. Do yourself a favor and be sure to watch it full screen, in HD.<br />
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I'm in the midst of a rather busy day and I haven't even started to write up last night's <a href="http://www.daleyscreening.com/" target="_blank">Daley Screening</a>, but the new trailer for Shane Black's <i>Iron Man 3</i> is simply too fantastic not to share. Marvel continues to claim that the movie is not quite as dark as the trailers have indicated, but I'm really digging the idea of a more thoughtful, wounded Tony Stark who's finally working from a disadvantage. <br />
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May 3rd, hurry up and get here already!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-62585713359724016792013-03-04T15:33:00.002-05:002013-03-04T15:33:34.850-05:00WB Wants Nolan To Run The DC Universe & Talk Bale's Batman Out Of Retirement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And the Warner Brothers/DC sideshow continues.<br />
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The latest grist in the rumor mill (coming, again, <a href="http://latino-review.com/2013/03/03/exclusive-dcu-takeover-huge-developments-justice-league/" target="_blank">courtesy of Latino Review</a>) is that Warner Brothers has finally admitted creative defeat and wants to bring Christopher Nolan on board to oversee the expansion of their entire DC Universe, starting with the would-be <i>Justice League</i> movie. Nolan already had a producing hand in Zack Snyder's upcoming <i>Man Of Steel</i> and the buzz coming off that movie has been overwhelmingly positive. Warner's has a lot of faith in Henry Cavill's Superman and they finally seem content to just take that blueprint and replicate for the rest of their potential superhero movies. That blueprint would include keeping Snyder on to produce and possibly even direct<i> Justice League</i>, although my guess is that they'll hold off on a directing decision until they see <i>Man Of Steel</i>'s box office take.<br />
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That part of the story seems like a no-brainer and I have little doubt that we'll get an official announcement confirming Nolan's involvement in the coming weeks, if not days. If/When Nolan does come on board, I expect his brother Jonah and David Goyer to end up taking over scripting duties. The interesting part of El Mayimbe's story is his assertion that WB desperately wants Nolan to convince Christian Bale to return as Batman.<br />
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In a related note, I really want telekinesis and a 400% pay raise.<br />
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Look, I can appreciate WB's position. They see Bale as the guy who helped make the studio a few billion dollars over the last decade, which makes him a pre-sold commodity. There are plenty of folks out there that probably consider him to be the definitive Batman and, conversely, will never be able to see him in another movie without thinking of him as Gotham's favorite son. And if a virtual unknown like Henry Cavill is going to continue to play Superman, I'm sure the powers-that-be would like a familiar face alongside him in the batsuit. (Besides, the fan reaction to Joseph Gordan-Levitt potentially taking over the role seemed a little tepid and he just doesn't have the same box office presence and clout that Bale commands.)<br />
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That said, I'm having trouble believing that Bale has any desire to come back to the Batcave. <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> spent half its running time cementing the idea that Bruce Wayne was now a shadow of his former self and simply wan't physically or emotionally able to keep leading his double life. They did a fine job of putting Bale's Batman out to pasture, so to bring him back now for <i>Justice League</i> feels 100% like a business decision, not a creative choice. I'm sure they'll back up a Brink's truck to entice Bale back, but he hardly needs the money at this point and he doesn't exactly have a track record of making paycheck movies.<br />
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Besides, Warner's wants to stay in the Batman business for as long as possible, which includes a new series of standalone movies after <i>Justice League</i> has come and gone. A new trilogy (or more) of Bat-films starring Bale simply isn't going to happen. Period. I guarantee you that when the dust settles, Warners will have signed someone much younger and much cheaper to take up the cape and cowl. Whether it's Joseph Gordan-Levitt remains to be seen, but whoever wins the prize will be someone Warners can build a whole new franchise around. Bank on it.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-78588112266865950092013-02-28T15:55:00.004-05:002013-02-28T16:18:18.176-05:00"Shrimpanzees!" CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 Trailer Is Very Punny<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my former life as a Los Angeles security guard, I had the good fortune to work an advanced screening for Sony Pictures Animation's <i>Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs</i>. The film was not yet finished at the time, with much of the finale still comprised of storyboards and rough pre-vis animation, but even then I could tell that the movie was something special. That hardly should have been a surprise since it was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. These guys were the masterminds of the short-lived-but-utterly-great animated series <i>Clone High</i> who would later bring us <i>21 Jump Street</i>, easily one of the funniest movies of 2012.<br />
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Sadly Lord and Miller are not back for this <i>Meatball </i>sequel, but it still looks totally charming. The <i>Lost World/Jurrasic Park</i>-esque approach to the sequel, returning to Swallow Falls to discover a lush, food-based ecosystem is actually pretty clever, building on the events of the first film instead of rehashing them in a new location. While most of the vocal cast looks to be back, I can already tell that I'm going to miss the indelible vocal performance of Mr. T as the police officer. (It helps that the main character, Flint Lockwood, has a name that seems tailor-made for Mr. T's particularly odd brand of intonation.) Much like its predecessor, every frame of this thing looks like a rich visual treat. I kept wanting to pause the trailer to identify all the various food creatures, which look to be an endless source of creativity and pun-based hilarity.<br />
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I mean, come on. "There's a leek in the boat"?<br />
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Just take all of my dollars right now.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-70328521803074152242013-02-27T16:08:00.000-05:002013-02-27T16:14:50.914-05:00Chris Cooper Is Your New Norman Osborn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://theansiblenetwork.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-eyes-have-it-spidey-tweaks-his.html" target="_blank">Marc Webb is trying REALLY HARD to convince me</a> that <i>Amazing Spider-Man 2</i> (seriously, fix that) will not be the same kind of cinematic car wreck as its predecessor.<br />
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It's totally working.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/amazing-spider-man-chris-cooper-424874" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter is hollywood reporting</a> that Chris Cooper will play Norman Osborn. That is simply delightful news. I liked Raimi's casting of Willem Dafoe, but felt that there was something lacking in the character's execution. Mostly it's the mask. The main reason Doctor Octopus comes across as such a better villain is because his face can actually demonstrate emotion. Thusly, Green Goblin feels like a character truly worth revisiting.<br />
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But don't expect gliders and pumpkin bombs galore just yet. This movie's already got two classic Spidey villains in Electro and The Godddamn Rhino so I don't expect we'll see Cooper turn to the dark side until the next film. But Norman Osborn's presence here was inevitable; keeping him off screen but constantly talked about the last time felt like yet another layer of unnecessary mystery and bringing in Harry Osborn without his father would have felt even stranger. That said, I expect Cooper to have a relatively small role this time out, especially considering the late hour of the casting announcement. <br />
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Webb's assembled an absolute juggernaut of a cast, so hopefully the script will actually live up to the talent assembled. My biggest fear at this point is that between two villains, two love interests, establishing the Osborns for part three and finally getting around to the mysterious death of Peter's parents (ugh), this story is already feeling CROWDED.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-83774732186001440012013-02-27T14:02:00.000-05:002013-02-27T14:02:35.107-05:00Jason Clarke and Kodi Smit-McPhee Awaken For DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm still playing catch up on some of the stuff I missed while I was on vacation last week, but this immediately jumped out as exciting news. The sequel to 2011's sleeper hit <i>Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes</i> is starting to assemble its cast after trading in director Rupert Wyatt for <i>Cloverfield's </i>Matt Reeves. Andy Serkis has long been signed to reprise his incredible motion-capture performance as the main ape Caesar and now he'll be joined by Jason Clarke (<i>Zero Dark Thirty</i>) and young Kodi Smit-McPhee. There's no confirmation as to what specific roles they'll be playing. Hell, we don't even know if either of them are playing apes or humans. What we do know is that the story is set about 15 years after the events of <i>Rise </i>as Caesar fights to lead his growing population of intelligent apes while humans struggle to survive in the face of the global plague glimpsed in the first film's closing credits. <br />
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I'm a very big fan of Clarke, who won me over years ago with his work alongside Jason Isaacs on Showtime's <i>Brotherhood</i>. He pulls off that remarkable duality of being both physical threatening and the smartest guy in the room, which seems like exactly the right combination for a character that will probably turn out to be a post-apocalyptic survivor scientist. Smit-McPhee, on the other hand, has made a name for himself in movies that have sadly slipped through my fingers. While he did great vocal work as the hero of last year's <i>Paranorman</i>, his most recognizable work has been in movies like <i>The Road</i> and Reeves's vampire remake <i>Let Me In</i>. (Both of which I'm scheduled to finally watch in the next few weeks.)<br />
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So far it appears that James Franco will not be returning, although I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with at least some kind of cameo. The less we see of him the better. While I don't really hate on Franco the way many others seem to, even I have to admit that the last <i>Apes </i>movie worked in spite of him, not because of him. His character would be the top contender against those two idiots lost in the temple in <i>Prometheus </i>for the title of Worst Movie Scientists Ever.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-30743300700217744962013-02-25T17:20:00.003-05:002013-02-25T17:24:16.863-05:00THE EYES HAVE IT! Spidey Tweaks His Wardrobe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I rewatched Marc Webb's <i>Amazing Spider-Man</i> while I was cruising around the Bahamas last week and most of my original complaints and compliments still rang true: while it generally looks good and the roles are all very well cast, the story seriously suffers from a disjointed script and the absolute hack job that took place in the editing room. I literally spent half the movie counting storylines and plot points that, having seen it already, I knew would not be resolved later. It's an extremely frustrating watch because I really WANT to like the movie, but it just flat out doesn't work.<br />
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But all those problems feel totally fixable! There's a tremendous opportunity for Webb's sequel to surpass its predecessor by a very wide margin. They're seriously expanding the cast this time around, adding Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osbourne, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Felicity Jones as an unnamed character that may or may not be Felicia Hardy and Paul Giamatti as THE GODDAMN RHINO. While I'm wary of having two or maybe even three villains muddying the waters, at this point I'm just hoping that they've got a script that makes even the vaguest of sense.<br />
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Principle photography has already begun on <i>Amazing Spider-Man 2</i> (fix that...) and before your Twitter feed fills up with cell phone shots of web-headed stuntmen, Sony has released the above pic of Peter Parker's slightly redesigned suit to <a href="http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=100746" target="_blank">the folks at ComingSoon.net</a>. For your reference, below is a shot of Andrew Garfield's suit from the last movie as well as Toby McGuire's suit from Raimi's last effort.<br />
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Gone are his narrow Oakley eye goggles, (peripheral vision much?) having been replaced with seriously over-sized white eyes. I really dig the rounded look, although the sheer size reminds me of some of the sillier drawn versions of the character where his eyes basically took up his entire face. While I don't have strong feelings about raised vs recessed webbing, I do appreciate the bolder, more classic-looking chest logo. It's hard to tell from this shot, but it also looks like they've cut back on the blue and upped the amount red overall. <br />
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Expect lots of grainy fully body shots in the coming weeks.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-85488729633107538712013-02-18T00:56:00.001-05:002013-02-18T00:56:48.973-05:00Programming Note: Cruising And A New Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll be out of town for the next week, as my wife and I are going on a cruise. I'm an experienced cruiser to say the least, but suffice it to say the events of the past week have been disheartening. I have no doubt that we're going to have a fantastic time, but I'd be lying if I said that I haven't been going out of my way to avoid stories about shit running down the walls and people crapping in a plastic bag.<div>
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Anyway, I'll be back on the ball a week from Monday. Also, starting a week later I'm going to be launching a whole new writing project. Specific details will be forthcoming, but suffice it to say it's going to require a fairly significant time commitment. I'm pretty damn excited about it, and hopefully it won't take away too much from my time here at Ansible.</div>
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See you in a week friendos. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-10103202793930645152013-02-15T16:37:00.000-05:002013-02-15T16:37:00.709-05:00Bryan Singer Recruits The Dink To Join The X-Men<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So far, every bit of casting news for Fox's upcoming <i>X-Men: Days Of Future Past</i> (including the recent news that it'll be shot in native 3D) has come direct from Bryan Singer's Twitter feed. On the one hand, it's great that the director seems excited about the project to the point that he's personally sharing updates with the world instead of relying on bland press releases. On the other hand, at this point I half expect the movie itself will actually end up being a text-based adventure that Singer releases 140 characters at a time.<br />
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According to Singer's latest missive, Peter Dinklage (a.k.a. the best part of <i>Game Of Thrones</i>) has officially joined the cast, making him the first person to come on board who isn't merely reprising their role from a previous X-film. Much to the internet's consternation, Singer did not reveal which role The Dink will portray, leading to some pretty varied speculation. The only vaguely famous character who shares Dinklage's short stature is Puck, a Canadian character to whom Fox may not actually have the rights, since he's not strictly speaking a mutant. Other popular guesses include Sentinel inventer Boliver Trask, The Watcher and even the pale-faced Mr. Sinister. <br />
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Dinklage is just flat out talented, but his size obviously tends to limit his casting opportunities. However, in Singer's mutant-rich environment, it feels like the sky's the limit. I'd love it if Singer could utilize some motion capture and CG to allow Dinklage to play a character for which he'd typically be overlooked.<br />
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Either way, just announce his character's name soon and be done with it. I can't handle another round of Abrams/Cumberbatch guessing games. If that becomes the standard operating procedure for geek properties, I may develop a twitch.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-73473564754706296472013-02-15T12:06:00.000-05:002013-02-15T12:09:25.066-05:00STAR WARS Rumor Du Jour: Harrison Ford To Return As Han Solo?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If Disney is really serious about getting <i>Star Wars: Episode VII</i> into theaters by 2015,* then you should expect to get a deluge of news and casting announcements in the coming months. Other than J.J. Abrams coming on board as director, information about the next trilogy has been surprisingly scarce so far. Perhaps this little nugget is just the first in an oncoming avalanche...<br />
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Latino Review's superhero scooper extraordinaire <a href="http://latino-review.com/2013/02/15/exclusive-harrison-ford-return-han-solo-star-wars-episode-vii/" target="_blank">El Mayimbe claims that Harrison Ford is officially signed on</a> to reprise his role as Han Solo in <i>Episode VII</i>. No official response yet from Abrams, Ford or Disney.<br />
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If it turns out to be true, this hardly feels surprising. When news of the Disney deal initially broke, the first question on everyone's mind was, "Will Mark Hamill, Carrie Fischer and Harrison Ford be back?" For his part, Ford was the first to say that he'd be willing to take up his blaster once again. Of the three leads, it goes without saying that Ford has not only maintained the most star power, but he's also aged the most gracefully. (<a href="http://meisjemeisje.nl/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/markhamilton1.jpg" target="_blank">Have you seen Mark Hamill recently?</a> Yeeesh.) He also seems to be actively engaging in his career now after what amounts to a decade long nap. <i>Cowboys & Aliens</i> doesn't really work as a movie, but Ford at least looks awake and alert. He's also got the Jackie Robinson biopic <i>42 </i>and the long awaited adaptation of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi classic <i>Ender's Game</i> hitting theaters this year, two movies genuinely worth getting excited about.<br />
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Add in the proposed "young Han Solo" standalone film in development and bringing Harrison Ford back into the fold as quickly as possible seems like a no-brainer. I expect that when Disney makes an official announcement, it'll be a multi-picture deal that sees Ford appearing in more than just the new trilogy. Remember that Disney is also the home of Marvel's connected cinematic universe. I'm sure that the powers-that-be would love to duplicate that success by utilizing a similar approach to the Star Wars franchise. If this young Solo film does happen, then it's practically a forgone conclusion that Ford would show up to bookend the movie and/or tie it into the events of the new trilogy.<br />
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I'm really hoping this thing actually pans out. Ford's career is sort of a mystery; the guy's a genuine movie star who got bogged down by a bunch of truly mediocre films at the turn of the century and then essentially dropped off the map. If we're lucky Ford could on the verge of a Bill Murray-like renaissance. <br />
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Then again, if this deal falls apart/turns out to be nonsense, I'd hardly blame the man for being gunshy about revisiting his other signature role after the clusterfuck that was <i>Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.</i><br />
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<i>*This doesn't feel like a sure thing. I've heard that Abrams has actually given Disney a bit of pushback, wanting to move the release back to 2016. It's all going to come down to how quickly Micharl Arndt's script comes together.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-21868125027120369842013-02-13T14:51:00.001-05:002013-02-13T14:51:17.900-05:00Behold Olly Moss's Incredible Oscar Statues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Olly Moss, one of the incredibly talented Mondo artists, has brought forth unto the world this incredible poster featuring everyone's favorite little golden man striking a dramatic pose for every Best Picture winner through the years.<br />
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There are a million things to love here. <a href="http://oscar.go.com/photos/themed-galleries/special/oscars-best-pictures-tribute/media/85poster" target="_blank">Click here to see all the posters individually.</a> They smartly displayed each image with and without the movie's title so you can try to prove your Oscar knowledge. I've included some of the best below. While some are fairly obvious, e.g. <i>American Beauty</i>'s rose petals, (I would've included a floating plastic bag) others are fiendishly clever. I love the simplicity of <i>Rain Man</i>, while <i>The Hurt Locker</i> makes Oscar look like an adorable badass. <i>Crash </i>illustrates perfectly how that movie is about nothing more than heavy-handed white guilt. My favorite though is easily <i>A Beautiful Mind</i>, despite thinking that movie is kind of rubbish. <br />
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Some of them feature characters wearing shirts and no pants, which makes Oscar look super creepy.<br />
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The 85th Annual Academy Awards are handed out on February 24th.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-91015616041219188942013-02-07T13:21:00.001-05:002013-02-07T13:23:55.600-05:00Why STAR WARS Is About To Disappear Up Its Own Ass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_1875702846"></span><span id="goog_1875702847"></span><br />
Ugh.<br />
<br />
The first rumor about a standalone <i>Star Wars</i> movie pitched <a href="http://theansiblenetwork.blogspot.com/2013/01/get-ready-for-zack-snyders-seven-jedi.html" target="_blank">a Zack Snyder-led riff on the Kurosawa classic <i>Seven Samurai</i>.</a> I've always felt that the best way to handle the <i>Star Wars</i> franchise going forward was to hire a few truly bold filmmakers and give them free reign to discover new worlds in that galaxy far, far away, set apart from the drama of the Skywalker clan. The idea of some kind of "Seven Jedi" adventure certainly sounded exciting but, more importantly, it sounded <i>interesting</i>. <br />
<br />
The story was denied within a matter of hours, only to be replaced weeks later with rumors of a movie focused on Yoda. I didn't take that bait, hoping that the story would be similarly denied before long. I had little desire for movies focused on already familiar characters. That's (one of many places) where the prequel trilogy went wrong. Give me new characters, new worlds, new adventures!<br />
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So of course yesterday Entertainment Weekly ran a story that Disney is developing movies about the bounty hunting tales of Boba Fett as well as the adventures of a young Han Solo.<br />
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Booooooooooooring.<br />
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I don't envy whoever's job it's going to be to cast a young Harrison Ford, let alone the actor (i.e. Chris Pine 2.0) who has to spend 100+ minutes working under Ford's formidable shadow. Fett is basically the personification of "less is more," although at least there's the possibility for a silver lining there: Joe Johnston, the guy who designed both Boba Fett's armor and the Millenium Falcon, has wanted to make a Fett movie for decades, so maybe after the success of <i>Captain America</i>, Disney will give him a shot. While there's been no official response from the Mouse House, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100434935" target="_blank">CEO Bob Iger did confirm to CNBC</a> that the studio is actively developing standalone films to be released concurrently with the new trilogy and that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg have been hired as writers, although nobody knows if they're working on Fett, Solo, Yoda or something completely different.<br />
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This direction is disappointing on every level. Movies detailing the prior adventures of established characters...am I crazy or are we basically talking about a new set of prequels?. There was a very early story that Disney was looking to bring back Darth Vader, a concept that made no sense in the context of a new trilogy. Now it's becoming clearer. Vader's presence in a movie about Fett or Solo feels like a no-brainer, as does the merchandising goldmine if Vader is still an active and relevant part of what's destined to become Disney's most lucrative property. Combine that with the prospect of getting a new feature film literally every year for six or seven years and Disney's road map for the Star Wars franchise is starting to feel more and more like a simple and craven money grab.<br />
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I hope I'm wrong about all of this, but I don't think I am. Scripts evaporate, deals fall apart...even if these movies are currently in active development there's no guarantee they'll actually get made. I'm more concerned about the pattern that's emerging. The beauty of <i>Star Wars</i> is that it essentially has limitless untapped potential. George Lucas built a huge sandbox, and then literally wrote himself into one small corner of it. Disney backed up a Brinks truck to acquire <i>Star Wars</i> from the clutches of George Lucas, and I understand that they want to make sure they recoup and profit on that investment, but the third trilogy alone should more than refill their coffers. While Episodes 7-9 will almost surely focus on stuff like Han and Leia's kids and/or the elder Luke's new Jedi apprentice, (I bet he's got a dark side!) these standalone films create a tremendous opportunity to branch out and tell provocative new tales. Instead it feels as if Disney's willing to squander that opportunity in order to build a more marketable theme park ride.<br />
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Please Disney, I promise you're going to make your money back and then some. Forget about selling toys and instead focus on storytelling. After all, that's the reason we fell in love with Star Wars in the first place.<br />
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Now is not the time to play it safe. Now is the time for fearless exploration. <br />
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Now is the time to be bold.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-32582713032745677432013-02-06T13:14:00.000-05:002013-02-06T13:14:45.509-05:00FBI Agent Bert Macklin Joins The Marvel-verse as Chris Pratt Will Lead THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll admit that when <i>Parks & Recreation</i> first aired, I was not a fan. It seemed like an uninspired riff on <i>The Office</i>, a show I've never liked, and I remember specifically thinking that the Andy Dwyer character was the opposite of funny.<br />
<br />
Have I mentioned that crow is goddamn delicious?*<br />
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Chris Pratt is a standout in the <i>Parks & Rec</i> ensemble, and now it appears he'll be doing the same as Star Lord, aka Peter Quill, the leader of Marvel's upcoming <i>Guardians Of The Galaxy</i>. Pratt beat out some pretty impressive names for the role, including his <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> co-star Joel Edgerton, Lee Pace, Jim Sturgess and <i>Boardwalk Empire</i>'s Jack Huston. Pratt seems like a natural fit with director James Gunn's particular brand of humor and style. As the only human of the Guardians team, I'm sure they were looking for someone who can both tell a joke and throw a punch. <br />
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Pratt DESTROYS me on a weekly basis on <i>Parks & Rec</i>, he gave a sweet, earnest portrayal of catcher-turned-first-baseman Scott Hatteberg in the Sorkin/Zallian-scripted <i>Moneyball</i>, and he's gotten some notable praise for his tough guy work in <i>ZDT</i>. Coincidentally, I've also met Pratt, having appeared as his best man in one of many wedding scenes in the comedy <i>What's Your Number?</i> In truth, I was made "best man" by virtue of being the tallest of the tuxedo clad extras, but I am clearly visible standing next to Pratt as he yells at his actual wife, Anna Faris. He's a genuinely nice guy and I'm pretty excited to see what he can do for Marvel.<br />
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Pratt is the first solid casting for <i>Guardians</i>, although rumor has it that Marvel is interested in both Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler to voice Rocket Raccoon. But don't think that this is gonna be a movie stacked with comedians, as most of the remaining Guardians have much more dark and dour backstories. Then again, seeing as the franchise is built around a talking raccoon and a sentient tree, I expect Gunn to steer into the comedy rather than shy away from it. <br />
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We'll certainly get more <i>Guardians </i>casting news in the coming weeks, but I can't help but wonder as to the timing of the Pratt announcement. I'm sure that Marvel was looking to change the story after <a href="http://theansiblenetwork.blogspot.com/2013/02/marvel-may-set-its-cosmic-sights-on.html" target="_blank">the Planet Hulk story broke</a>. It's certainly easier than actually having to address those gamma-radiated rumors. Classic misdirection! <br />
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<i>*In my defense, </i>Parks & Rec<i> made a ninety-degree turn after its first season and it now barely resembles the show I initially dismissed.</i><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-22881674855904724492013-02-05T16:14:00.002-05:002013-02-05T16:16:15.694-05:00VIDEO OF THE DAY! An Explanation Of JURASSIC PARK's Dragon Curve Fractals<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wCyC-K_PnRY" width="853"></iframe><br />
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This video was practically tailor made for me.<br />
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When I was in middle school, I poured over all of Michael Crichton's novels. My favorite was <i>Sphere</i>, a much better book than it was a movie. I guess that makes it kind of the opposite of <i>Jurassic Park</i>. As you'll recall, Jeff Goldblum's character of Dr. Ian Malcom was a student of chaos theory, a subject I studied at some length in high school. It's pretty fascinating stuff, focused on small changes having tremendous impacts on larger, seemingly random systems like global weather patterns. It's typically summed up in what's commonly referred to as The Butterfly Effect, which proved beyond all question that Ashton Kutcher is not a credible dramatic lead.<br />
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Anyway, this video features mathematician Rob Eastaway explaining the progression of the fractal designs scattered throughout the <i>Jurassic Park</i> novel, something I had kind of forgotten about until now. It's pretty simple and straightforward, but awesome nonetheless. Plus it's got a cool dinosaur toy.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-60037435658882399622013-02-05T15:15:00.000-05:002013-02-05T15:15:06.134-05:00Marvel May Set Its Cosmic Sights On PLANET HULK!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel are getting AMBITIOUS.<br />
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They smartly started their cinematic universe by keeping their characters fairly grounded and practical, so that by the time an invading alien army showed up in <i>The Avengers</i>, it seemed refreshingly large scale and sort of novel. <a href="http://latino-review.com/2013/02/04/superbowl-exclusive-the-hulk-fit-marvels-phase-2-phase-3-plans/" target="_blank">But if El Mayimbe at Latino Review is right</a> (and he usually is) then we ain't seen nothin' yet.<br />
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Despite his shaky, Edward Norton-fueled beginnings, The Hulk emerged as the breakout star of <i>The Avengers</i>. People loved Mark Ruffalo's take on the character and the fact that Marvel had no plans to further develop the character suddenly seemed shortsighted, but now it sounds as if "The Other Guy" will play a pivotal role in Marvel's Phase Three plans. <br />
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El Mayimbe's reporting that somewhere near the end of the next Avengers movie, Hulk will be deemed too dangerous to remain on our planet, and so Earth's Mightiest Heroes will send Bruce Banner hurtling out into space, thus setting up his next stand alone movie. The plan is to follow the <i>Planet Hulk</i> storyline, in which Hulk crashes on an alien world where he becomes a gladiator who rises through the ranks, Spartacus-style, and eventually becomes king. But lest you think they plan on stranding the big green guy across the galaxy, the plan is for him to return home in <i>Avengers 3 </i>in order to wreak havoc on those who banished him in the first place, i.e. the <i>World War Hulk</i> story.<br />
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Like I said, AMBITIOUS.<br />
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Comic book movies to date (the successful ones anyway) have always stayed frustratingly small, with no more than a single city under serious threat. Kudos to Marvel for not shying away from their big, batshit cosmic source material. I'm certainly excited to see Marvel go balls to the wall with some of these stories, but I can't help but wonder if audiences will really get on board with some of Marvel's more crazy and/or silly characters and plots. Next year's <i>Guardians Of The Galaxy</i> will be a good litmus test, as it features a walking tree and a blaster-wielding raccoon.<br />
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This story has been floating around for a few days now and I've yet to see any kind of response from Marvel, denial or otherwise. My guess is that their Phase Three plans are not exactly set in stone yet and even if this is currently the plan for Hulk, everything could still change by the time the Avengers return to theaters in 2015.<br />
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I certainly hope not though. Go for it, Marvel.<br />
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P.S. Does <i>Planet Hulk</i> sound totally awesome to you? Good news! You can watch Marvel's animated take on the story streaming on Netflix Instant right now. It's pretty fun.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-22488713353938797472013-02-04T15:48:00.000-05:002013-02-04T15:48:00.632-05:00Super Bowl Trailer Round Up! IRON MAN 3, FAST & FURIOUS 6, THE LONE RANGER And STAR TREK INTO DARKNESSSince my beloved New England Patriots got their asses handed to them by the Baltimore Ravens in this year's AFC Championship game, I had only two interests in this year's Super Bowl: tasty food and funny commercials. Thanks to my wife's love of theme cooking, I spend last night gorging myself on Baltimore crab cakes, Louisiana gumbo, and sourdough bruschetta, along with an assortment of beers, chips, dips and cookies. I thought this year's crop of Super Bowl commercials were only okay, with my favorite probably being <a href="http://youtu.be/ufu5sqJh24Q" target="_blank">the whispered wanton destruction of a library</a>, courtesy of Oreo. Thankfully there were a number of ads for some highly anticipated flicks, so let's break it down.<br />
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<b>IRON MAN 3</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lI4jgOmVetY" width="853"></iframe><br />
The first entry in Phase Two of Marvel's cinematic universe is supposed to be more of a standalone sequel, as opposed to the tiresome universe-building efforts of <i>Iron Man 2</i>. (Then again, there's also a rumor, fueled by pictures of an upcoming toy, that at the film's end Tony Stark will don the white Deep Space Armor and blast off to meet the Guardians Of The Galaxy, but even if that happens I expect it to be after the credits.) Shane Black has taken over directing duties from Jon Favreau, which excites me in ways you can't believe. We only caught 30 seconds during the big game last night, but there was a URL pointing to "an extended look," and that's what I'm featuring here, because more is better. I'm already going though Marvel withdrawal, so this can't get here fast enough.<br />
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<b>STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9Mu07BaOx9c" width="853"></iframe><br />
Probably my most anticipated movie of the summer. (It trades places with <i>Pacific Rim</i> on a weekly basis.) While the first movie has some serious second act story issues, those mostly stem from shooting during the writers' strike so my hope is that the script will be a little tighter for this go-round. This spot is short, so it's a lot of what we've already seen. Two things of note: the shot of the Enterprise seemingly falling to its doom has generated a bit of buzz, but I find it hard to believe they'd blow up the damn ship inside of two movies. Secondly, we get a new line of dialogue from Benedict Cumberbatch, declaring that he's "better" at "everything", which practically screams "I'M A GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SUPERHUMAN!" If it turns out that he's <i>not </i>playing Khan, I declare this marketing campaign to be the greatest cinematic shell game of all time. (Sidenote: you can currently purchase tickets to an advanced screening on May 15th through the <i>Star Trek Into Darkness</i> mobile app! I've got mine...)<br />
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<b>FAST & FURIOUS 6</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wjy7RWV3JHw" width="853"></iframe><br />
On the one hand, I can't believe this franchise is still alive. On the other hand, did you see <i>Fast Five</i>? It was FANTASTIC. They've thoroughly transformed the series from "douchebags drag race in silly neon cars" into "Ocean's 11 with stunt driving." Also, they've added The Rock into the mix, and that's never a bad thing. It looks like the whole crew is back, plus the return of Michelle Rodriguez's Letty character, who was thought killed in the fourth movie. I hope this series progresses to the point that we get <i>Fast & Furious In Space.</i><br />
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<b>THE LONE RANGER</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Il3skdJMD1Q" width="853"></iframe><br />
Hey look, Armie Hammer's in this movie! And in the title role no less! You'd never know it from the marketing to date, including <a href="http://www.screenslam.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/the-lone-ranger-poster.jpg" target="_blank">this poster which bizarrely crops out his left arm</a>. Up till now it's looked less like <i>The Lone Ranger</i> and more like <i>The Adventures Of Tonto And His Wacky Horse</i>. That said, I'm slowly warming up to this film. The last few <i>Pirates </i>movies were bloated and terrible, (I tried watching the fourth one on my flight home from LA last weekend and it was so tremendously boring that I gave up halfway through.) but maybe a change of scenery will light a fire under Gore Verbinski. Hammer feels like a guy who deserves his own fun adventure franchise, even if he is playing second fiddle to Johnny Depp on the down low. <br />
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There were a few other spots, including <i>World War Z </i>and <i>Oz The Great And Powerful</i>, but they were fairly underwhelming. These were the four that really jumped out at me.<br />
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Anyway. Football is dead.<br />
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Long live hockey.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-30246714606758501072013-02-01T16:11:00.000-05:002013-02-01T16:11:26.271-05:00Cumberbatch-tastic! Sherlock In Talks To Pay Alan Turing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Benedict Cumberbatch is about to have a banner year at the box office, with prominent villain roles in two huge genre releases. This summer he'll be portraying the as-yet-unnamed-but-probably-Khan enemy of James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams's <i>Star Trek Into Darkness</i>, and then at Christmas you'll hear him voicing the dragon Smaug in the next chapter of Peter Jackson's <i>Hobbit </i>trilogy. Meanwhile, he's currently shooting a movie about Wikileaks honcho Julian Assange while we all await his return to the small screen in the BBC's stellar <i>Sherlock </i>series. He seems to be smartly bouncing between big budget stuff that keeps him on the radar of the masses and smaller, prestige pictures that are sure to put him in contention come future awards seasons.<br />
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In that vein he may be lining up his next gig starring as Alan Turing, unquestionably one of the most brilliant and unfairly persecuted thinkers of our time. Turing was not only a genius mathematician, he was also the preeminent code-breaker of the second World War. Most remember him as the man who deciphered the Nazi's Enigma code machine and then laid the groundwork for the computers of today. For a great (and tremendously dense) fictionalized take on the character, check out Neal Stephenson's <i>Cryptonomicon</i>. But of course there's a darker side to the man's story; Turing was gay and after the war he was prosecuted for "indecency" and chemically castrated by the state, before eventually committing suicide, a fate that still claims far too many gay youth in this country.<br />
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The film is called <i>The Imitation Game,</i> which is a reference to the now famous Turing Test for distinguishing human intelligence from artificial intelligence. The script by Graham Moore is a holdover from the 2011 Black List which long had Leonardo DiCaprio attached. Kudos to director Morten Tyldum for going after an actual Brit!<br />
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I'm always excited about more Cumberbatch, who absolutely broke my heart in last year's <i>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</i>. This isn't a done deal yet, but here's hoping that they can lock Cumberbatch into the role before the surefire success of <i>Star Trek</i> sends his quote rocketing into the stratosphere.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-69429431219101520612013-01-30T14:02:00.000-05:002013-01-30T14:07:16.257-05:00Get Ready For THE MUPPETS...AGAIN!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Muppets and I go way back. I have many a fond memory of the various Muppet movies as well as the singular experience that was <i>The Muppet Show</i>. <i>Muppet Babies</i> was a constant presence in my younger days and it's a shame the series is not (and likely never will be) available on disc due to a slew of copyright issues. Hell, my wife bought me a Muppet of my very own for Christmas a few years back and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P9qgmYp8Jw&feature=share&list=UUAve2cS_1eqXWB9QUHn9yjA" target="_blank">I immediately put it use in the short film I was writing.</a> His name is Fitzy!<br />
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It always seemed a travesty that the characters were allowed to fade to irrelevance at the turn of the century, so you can imagine my excitement when Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller rescued my old felt friends from the pop culture dust bin back in 2011. Watching that movie was an emotional experience. I never cry at movies, but every time it gets to that scene right after Kermit sings "Pictures In My Head" where Segal says, "It's time to light the lights," and Kermit plunks out the last few notes of The Muppet Show theme on that old piano....Niagra Falls, Frankie Angel.<br />
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That said, the movie did suffer from a few weird story issues. Chris Cooper's character never really gels, partially because of a cut scene that explains why he's incapable of real laughter. (The scene appears in the full version of his rap song on the movie's soundtrack.) Also, the ending is seriously odd and abrupt. Rumors persist of an original finale that saw The Muppets come up one dollar short of their fundraising goal, only to have cranky old balcony patrons Waldorf and Statler throw down the last dollar, declaring the show to be "not half bad." If true, I'm curious why it was changed, as that feels like a much more organic and satisfying ending.<br />
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Anyway, this is all by way of saying that Kermit and friends will be returning to theaters next year, with Jason Segal and Amy Adams being replaced by Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey, along with Ray Liotta and <i>Modern Family</i>'s Ty Burrell. The official title is currently <i>The Muppets...Again</i>! although I wouldn't be surprised if that title doesn't make it to the finish line. (The last movie was originally and hubristically called <i>The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made</i>. Yeah.) <br />
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Along with the above and below official stills, we also have an official synopsis, which tells of the Muppets enjoying their rediscovered popularity by going on a world tour. However:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b style="background-color: #eeeeee;">"<span style="line-height: 15px;">Mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine—the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais.</span>"</b> </i></span><br />
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I actually dig that description. It reminds me of <i>The Great Muppet Caper</i>, but with Gervais in the Charles Grodin role. Plus the idea of a crime/heist movie certainly lends itself to a little more structure than the shaggy dog, getting-the-band-back-together plot of their last outing.<br />
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Most importantly? We'll once again be treated to original music by Oscar-winning Flight Of The Conchords singer Brett McKenzie. Huzzah!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-84634128524129087892013-01-24T16:37:00.000-05:002013-01-24T16:37:11.108-05:00New Coen Brothers Alert! Take A Peek INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS<div style="text-align: center;">
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I'm always excited for a new Coen Brothers movie. Without exception. Granted not every outing is an overwhelming success, but even a lesser Coen effort like <i>The Ladykillers</i> is better than the majority of cinema fare. <br />
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After the critical success of <i>True Grit</i>, Joel and Ethan are once again changing tonal gears with their next film <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i>, which charts the misadventures of a 1960's Bob Dylan-esque folk singer played by Oscar Isaac. I just saw him play a musician in the amusing <i>Ten Years</i> and the guy can certainly carry a tune. Isaac can best be described as someone who Hollywood absolutely LOVES and the majority of Americans couldn't identify if he set their shoes on fire. While he hasn't had a proper breakthrough role yet, the man's talent is undeniable and a quirky Coen Brothers period dramady might be exactly the right environment for Isaac to shine. <br />
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That is, of course, assuming he isn't overshadowed by his supporting cast. As per usual, the Coens have assembled a stellar troupe of players, including Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Adam Driver, F. Murray Abraham, John Goodman and his amazing hairpiece. <br />
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Can. Not. Wait.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-89357177682053920722013-01-18T15:40:00.001-05:002013-01-22T13:16:31.244-05:00WATCH THIS NOW! Sundance Short WHEN THE ZOMBIES COME Will Make You Laugh And Weep For Humanity<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F9bqA3JfSBc?list=PLr_xNJgOnbQQ_z5bTHCWD3u5dWy2XG7qC" width="853"></iframe><br />
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The above short film is playing at the Sundance Film Festival this week. I've watched it a few times now and I honestly don't know what to make of it. Is this for real? More to the point, is this kid really as unbelievably braindead (GET IT? CUZ ZOMBIES!) as he appears to be, or is he just playing to the camera? I have no doubt that teenage fans of "<i>The Walking Dead</i> Show" who work at a hardware store would spend a majority of their work days fucking around and imaging which merchandise could be used to enact the maximum damage to the undead, but this guy has taken it to another level. He might be the worst doomsday prepper/survivalist on record.<br />
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Apparently the film won Best Documentary at last year's DragonCon Film Festival, which would imply that he's serious about this moronic plan, which sounds like a straight-to-DVD ripoff of <i>Dawn Of The Dead</i>. The film starts off slow, then quickly escalates into awkward extemporaneous speech and poor planning of hilarious proportions. My favorite parts include:<br />
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<li>"No kids, no bitches because it's all about survival." You gotta think big picture dude. If you really want to survive, you're gonna need to procreate. Also, at some point you're gonna wanna get laid. </li>
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<li>He refers to his open air Jeep as, "90% zombie ready." First of all, how exactly does one measure the percentage of zombie preparedness? Secondly, how is it already 90% ready? Because to me it just looks like every other Jeep on the road, which would offer zero protection from a horde of zombies considering <i>it has no roof or windows.</i></li>
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<li>The ACE Hardware store is "the place where the zombie apocalypse is pretty much immune free." WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?</li>
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<li>He makes the classic perimeter/parameter mix-up, which feels so scripted it hurts my face.</li>
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<li>The roof of the store has a quarter mile of visibility in every direction, except for the massive cluster of trees directly behind him.</li>
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<li>I don't know what a hot shower facility is, but I want one.</li>
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<li>I love his thinly disguised contempt for old people, saying they'll be good for target practice. What did his grandparents ever do to him? There's a story there I think.</li>
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<li>"No shows ever teach you what happens to zombies in the rain." Holy shit, wet zombies! Now we're REALLY screwed...</li>
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<li>His entire concept of maintaining a food supply seems to hinge on the notion that there will still be other people delivering food to the Kroger's and making taquitos at the local gas station. I hope that store has freezers, because otherwise his survivors will "eat like kings, and nothing less" for about a week and then die of malnutrition.</li>
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<li>That Verizon tower is not 150,000 feet in the air. Do they have measuring tapes at ACE Hardware? Because he clearly has no sense of distance, scale or proportion.</li>
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<li>STRAIGHT FACED METALLICA REFERENCE!</li>
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<li>Alright, I actually enjoy his quick evisceration of the terrible first half of <i>Walking Dead</i>'s second season. Kudos.</li>
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<li>I've never heard of a Green Egg, but apparently <a href="http://www.biggreenegg.com/" target="_blank">it's the ultimate cooking experience</a>. Also, apparently the shit is delicious. </li>
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<li>This girl is easily my favorite part. "Yeah, I guess he's thought of everything. I still think he's full of shit though."</li>
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<li>Well now that I've seen your prowess with a forklift I'm convinced. How do I get to your secure facility?</li>
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<li>Finally, when he talked about dreaming of killing the zombified versions of all his stupid customers, the first thing I thought of was that bit in the BBC's <i>Sherlock </i>when the detective says that one day solving murders isn't going to be enough for Holmes and that one day he's going to actually kill someone. Then again, I have worked in retail, and I do know exactly what he's talking about.</li>
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If our unnamed hero (Matt Ryckman, I presume?) really is serious about his post-apocalypse game plan, then I seriously despair for America's youth. Aside from the numerous flaws in his plan and his inability to string together a coherent sentence, he seems to think that <i>The Walking Dead</i> is some sort of documentary. <br />
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That being said, it seems kind of mean spirited to think that there are a few hundred actors, producers and agents who will spend the week in the mountains laughing at this kid and his delusions of grandeur. If he was just improving a character this would be the funniest thing of all time. Instead it just feels sort of sad.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-15666914963282725792013-01-17T16:22:00.001-05:002013-01-17T16:33:56.901-05:00SPRING BREAKERS Trailer Is A Neon Nightmare<div style="text-align: center;">
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Here's your first look at Harmony Korine's <i>Spring Breakers</i>, the tale of four bikini-clad girls who turn to a life of crime in order to fund their dream of an endless spring break. It stars some former Disney stars like Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez as well as James Franco's ongoing lack of discriminating taste. Korine is probably best known as the writer of Larry Clark's <i>Kids</i>, which was the movie all my classmates were talking about but few actually saw when I was in middle school. He hasn't directed a feature since 2007's <i>Mister Lonley</i>, which starred Diego Luna as a Michael Jackson impersonator in Paris. (I swear to god, that movie actually happened.)<br />
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Amazingly enough, the movie actually has a tremendous amount of buzz behind it, after apparently flooring audiences at both Toronto and Venice last year. Regardless of how the movie turns out, I think this trailer leaves a lot to be desired. The neon/glow-in-the-dark color palate is garish to say the least, the back and forth between over exposed daylight and grainy digital nightscape practically gave me vertigo and the constant uttering of "spring break" in voiceover seems to have come direct from the genius who gave us <a href="http://youtu.be/51riQI8nfR4" target="_blank">the <i>Columbiana </i>trailer</a> ("Never forget where you came from!")<br />
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Mostly I can't believe that, only one day after the President signed 23 executive orders regarding gun control, this trailer doesn't seem to be catching more flack for showing teenagers loading up guns and saying, "Pretend like it's a video game." Despite <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgu9f-qd_Uo" target="_blank">the NRA's repeated and nonsensical claims</a>, it's been demonstrated time and time again that there's <a href="http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/12/15/study-no-link-between-violent-video-games-youth-aggression/21824.html" target="_blank">no demonstrable link between violence in media and violence in real life</a>, but shit like this certainly doesn't help. I'm not saying it has no place in the actual movie (context!) but would it kill you to leave it out of the trailer? The line itself isn't offensive so much as it's a bullshit marketing ploy; it just feels like courting controversy to get some free press. THAT'S offensive.<br />
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If I end up seeing this thing at all, it'll be almost solely because of the involvement of Megan Ellison, who's pretty much my hero these days.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-64001463867525726832013-01-15T15:06:00.000-05:002013-01-15T15:53:13.078-05:00Newest UPSTREAM COLOR Trailer Continues To Impress<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5U9KmAlrEXU" width="853"></iframe><br />
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I really have very little to say here. I totally dig the vague, amorphous quality to these trailers. I have absolutely no idea what's going on in the actual movie, but it looks goddamn GORGEOUS. That and the words "From the writer and director of <i>Primer</i>" are more than enough to put my ass in the theater. <br />
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Whoever cut this trailer should teach a clinic on juxtaposing sound and image. The narration about the pigs running over the protagonists plays beautifully and the "Take another drink" moment practically knocked me backwards.<br />
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I'm now more pissed than ever that I'm not going to Sundance this week.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-36040515669413021442013-01-14T16:34:00.000-05:002013-01-15T15:12:41.744-05:00UPDATED! NEVERMIND! Don't Hold Your Breath For Zack Snyder's SEVEN JEDI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>UPDATED: <a href="http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/01/14/zack-snyder-star-wars/" target="_blank">According to EW</a>, the below is all poppycock and fantasy, which is a real shame. Still, I feel as if the reactions yesterday were largely positive so I wouldn't be surprised if someone at Disney really is considering a similar approach right now, if they weren't already.</i></b><br />
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While speculation continues to run wild as to who will end up directing <i>Star Wars: Episode VII</i>, it's been easy to overlook the rest of Disney's grand scheme for expanding Lucas's galaxy far, far away. ABC vaguely talked about reviving the long-planned live action <i>Star Wars</i> TV show about underworld bounty hunters at last week's TCAs, but there had also been some loose talk about further expanding the cinematic franchise with films set in the <i>Star Wars</i> universe but not directly related to the central trilogies focused on the Skywalker clan. Now <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2013/01/zack-snyder-preps-non-trilogy-star-wars-film.html?mid=twitter_vulture" target="_blank">Vulture is reporting</a> that the first such endeavor is starting to take shape, with <i>Man Of Steel</i> director Zack Snyder developing a film based generally on the plot of Kurosawa's <i>Seven Samurai.</i><br />
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Obviously this is a concept that has been successfully executed in the past as both a western (<i>The Magnificent Seven</i>) and an animated family film (<i>A Bug's Life</i>) and it seems like a smart approach for Disney's first effort to really broaden the franchise's horizons. Kurosawa was a tremendous influence on Lucas when he was making <i>A New Hope</i>, drawing influences from <i>The Hidden Fortress</i> and even initially offering the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi to Toshiro Mifune. You can draw a straight line from the samurai to the Jedi order (meaning the thing practically markets itself) and I assume that in this incarnation the Jedi will probably be defending a whole planet like Tatooine, as opposed to a small village of farmers. More space stuff!<br />
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This news excites me simply because I think bringing on talented filmmakers to play outside the margins is far more interesting and presents more creative opportunities than three more films about another generation of Skywalkers. I assume Snyder wants to direct this thing himself, although it'll be curious to see how the timing works out with his continued involvement in the quickly expanding DC Universe. People seem quick to say that his involvement with <i>Star Wars</i> precludes his directing of Warner's upcoming <i>Justice League</i> film, but that hardly seems like a forgone conclusion. While Disney has fast tracked <i>Episode VII</i>, they can take their time with Snyder's film. Moreover, DC essentially has first dibs on Snyder and I wouldn't be surprised if they've already got some contractual options on him for more super-powered films.<br />
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It's worth noting that there's widespread speculation/hope that Jon Favreau is in line to direct <i>Episode VII</i>. If that comes to pass, it would mean that the expansion of the <i>Star Wars</i> universe would essentially be overseen by the early architects of both the Marvel and DC cinematic universes. <br />
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Just drink that in for minute. Helluva world we're living in.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-17254958478070230032013-01-11T14:24:00.000-05:002013-01-11T14:24:41.969-05:00Trailer For Quentin Dupieux's WRONG Is Oh So Right<div style="text-align: center;">
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I still haven't gotten around to watching Quentin Dupieux's <i>Rubber</i>, the story of a lone automobile tire who goes on an insane killing spree. It's been streaming on Netflix Instant for ages now. I have only myself to blame.<br />
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Nevertheless the trailer for Dupieux's newest film <i>Wrong</i> went live yesterday and it's delightfully weird. I can't stop listening to William Fichtner's bizarre accent. I'd pay good money if I could substitute it in for Siri's voice on my new iPhone. Steve Little is a welcome addition to any offbeat comedy and the concept of him as a PI who dresses like Indiana Jones and deciphers the subconscious video signals of dogshit instantly brings a smile to my face.<br />
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Oh yeah, and the flick's got a helluva poster too:<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-79133636094196996412013-01-11T13:58:00.001-05:002013-01-11T13:58:54.333-05:00Affleck Goes Back To The Lehane Well For LIVE BY NIGHT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday was an emotional day for Ben Affleck.<br />
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First thing in the morning (hell, probably while he was asleep) the nominations for the 85th Annual Academy Awards were announced and while Affleck's latest film <i>Argo </i>got plenty of love, including a Best Picture nomination, Affleck himself was snubbed for a Best Direction nod. (He's in good company with Kathryn Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino.) However, later that night he snagged not only the Critic's Choice Award for Directing, but also for Best Picture. I'm curious to see if that will hold any weight with Academy voters. Barring an upset at the Golden Globes (which is always batshit crazy anyway) I feel like <i>Lincoln </i>will probably run the Oscar table.<br />
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Before the show last night, Affleck spoke to MTV on the red carpet and confirmed that his next film will be <i>Live By Night</i>, based on the Dennis Lehane novel about the son of a Boston cop who gets involved with organized crime during the 1920s. Sounds good to me. I like the idea of Affleck pushing his boundaries a bit with a legit period piece (<i>Argo</i> is period but it's set in the late 70's, an era that he actually lived through) and his first directing job <i>Gone Baby Gone</i> already proved that he's an excellent fit for Lehane's style.<br />
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Actually, <i>Gone Baby Gone</i> was the first studio film he directed. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000255/" target="_blank">A quick look at his IMDB page</a> shows he directed a 16 minute comedy in 1993 called <i>I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her On A Meat Hook, And Now I Have A Three Picture Deal At Disney</i>. Seriously. That credit has been listed there for years, long after he became famous but before he remade himself as a top shelf director.<br />
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Someone find me that tape STAT!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6997535878953875723.post-71703553324064748882013-01-10T12:16:00.001-05:002013-01-11T14:03:52.343-05:00Oscar Nominations Are Here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike my wife, I'm generally pretty ambivalent when it comes to awards shows. There's too much politics involved and the most deserving talent is seldom recognized. The Oscars are the only show I continue to watch, although that's really only out of a sense of obligation or because there's usually one film or performance I really loved that I'd like to see rewarded and become part of the Academy Awards legacy. Frankly, I became disillusioned with the whole thing when it became clear that winning had very little to do with your work in that particular year, like when they named Denzel Washington Best Actor for <i>Training Day</i> seemingly because they didn't give it to him for <i>Malcom X</i>, or when Julia Roberts won for <i>Erin Brokovich</i> because everyone loves Julia Roberts. Don't even get me started on <i>The Social Network </i>vs <i>The King's Speech</i>, which is the modern day equivalent of <i>Citizen Kane </i>vs <i>How Green Was My Valley</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, below is the complete list of nominations for this year's show to be hosted by Seth MacFarlane, who's pretty much the polar opposite of last year's panic-choice of Billy Crystal. For those keeping score at home, Lincoln leads the pack with 12 nominees. I still haven't seen a bunch of these, but I'm planning to close the gap before the show on February 24th. My thoughts below each category:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Best Picture</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Beasts of the Southern Wild<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Silver Linings Playbook<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Zero Dark Thirty<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Les Miserables<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Amour<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Django Unchained<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Argo</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln </i>and <i>Django</i> feel like the favorites here. I still have to see about half of these but at a glance I'd have little problem with any of those three winning. If <i>Les Miserables</i> pulls out an upset, I cannot be held accountable for any damage I may cause to my home or the surrounding area.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Actor in a Leading Role</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Joaquin Phoenix, The Master<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Denzel Washington, Flight</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Surprised to see Denzel on this list, as the general consensus seemed to be that <i>Flight </i>was a pretty crap movie. Then again, Denzel is Denzel. I feel bad for Jamie Foxx, who seemed a shoe-in. Doesn't really matter though, DDL owns this category.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><u><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Actor in a Supporting Role</strong> </u><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Alan Arkin, Argo<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Another seriously strong group. Surprised John Hawkes wasn't rewarded for <i>The Sessions</i>, especially since Helen Hunt managed to sneak into Best Supporting Actress. Arkin was solid, but ultimately slight, whereas DeNiro seems to be nominated simply for being awake in a movie for the first time in a decade. (Not to diminish his work here, as he's easily one of the film's highlights.) Hoffman feels like the thinking man's choice, but Tommy Lee Jones will most certainly pull this one out. (For the record, his clip will be the speech on the House floor. This is a mortal lock.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Actress in a Leading Role</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Naomi Watts, The Impossible<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Emmanuelle Riva, Amour<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Quvenzhané Wallis, Beast of the Southern Wild</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">That's one helluva talent pool. I'm betting on Lawrence or Chastain. I haven't seen <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> yet, but it's hard not to fall in love with Lawrence in <i>Silver Linings</i>. Really great to see the young Wallis on there though. Always happy when a kid can break into the leading performance categories.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Actress in a Supporting Role</u></span><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Amy Adams, The Master<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Sally Field, Lincoln<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Jackie Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Helen Hunt, The Sessions</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Just give it to Anne Hathaway now. This whole category feels like a formality.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><u><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Animated Feature Film</strong> </u><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Brave<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Frankenweenie<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Wreck it Ralph<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />The Pirates, Band of Misfits<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Paranorman</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">This entire list fills me with joy. Gone are the days when the Pixar movie is the obvious winner and frankly I'd be pretty disappointed if <i>Brave </i>pulled it off. I though <i>Wreck It Ralph</i> was better than average but <i>Paranorman </i>feels like the right choice here, although I'm curious if that and <i>Frankenweenie </i>will essentially cancel each other out.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Directing</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Ang Lee, Life of Pi<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Steven Spielberg, Lincoln<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />David O Russell, Silver Linings Playbook<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Michael Haneke, Amour</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Tom Hooper's shitastic directing job on<i> Les Miserables</i> was not rewarded with a nomination AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING! While I haven't seen <i>Django </i>yet (I'm waiting to see it at the New Beverly when I'm in LA in two weeks) I'm honestly shocked that Tarantino didn't make the cut. Without him, the road seems clear for another Spielberg victory. UPDATED: No Bigelow either? How did I miss that? Haneke and Zeitlin over Bigelow and Tarantino is an incredible upset. There's no doubt this category is Spielberg's to lose.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Music (Original Song</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>"Before my Time" from Chasing Ice<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />"Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />"Suddenly" - Les Miserables<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />"Everybody Needs a Best Friend," from Ted <br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />"Skyfall" from Skyfall</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Adele should get herself a new party dress...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Foreign Language Film</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Amour (Austria)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />No (Chile)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />War Witch (Canada)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />A Royal Affair (Denmark)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Kon-Tiki (Norway)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">As per usual I've seen none of these, but doesn't <i>Amour </i>have to be the favorite, since it's nominated for best picture but definitely won't win? <b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><u><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Writing (Adapted Screenplay)</strong> </u><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Beast of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (Tony Kushner)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (David Magee)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Argo (Chris Terrio)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Writing feels like <i>Argo's </i>best chance at an Oscar, unless everyone decides to just vote <i>Lincoln </i>straight down the ticket. Honestly I think it's a crime that <i>Cloud Atlas</i> isn't nominated here, considering that the book was long considered unfilmable. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Writing (Original Screenplay)</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Flight (John Gatins)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Zero Dark Thirty (Mark Boal)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Amour (Michael Haneke)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b>I have a sneaky feeling that <i>Django </i>could pull ahead in this one solely because QT was snubbed for Best Directing. Otherwise it'll most certainly be <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i>, but wouldn't it just be swell if <i>Moonrise Kingdom</i> could pull a rabbit here?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Cinematography</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Anna Karenina ( Seamus McGarvey)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Django Unchained (Robert Richardson)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Claudio Miranda)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (Janusz Kaminski)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Skyfall (Roger Deakins)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Anna Karenina</i> is the big outlier here. While Roger Deakins would be a great dark horse victory, (let that sentence sink in for a minute...) this also feels like an ancillary <i>Lincoln </i>win.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Costume Design</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Anna Karenina (Jacqueline Durran)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Les Misérables (Paco Delgado)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (Joanna Johnston)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Mirror Mirror (Eiko Ishioka)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Snow White and the Huntsman (Colleen Atwood)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Ah costume design, the one category where you can still get a nominated for work in an unwatchable mess of a film. Exhibits A & B: both of the laughably bad Snow White movies. Period films are always favored here and I've heard that Durran's work in <i>Anna Karenina</i> was really remarkable. This is one of the few categories I wouldn't mind <i>Les Miserables</i> winning as a film. (Hathaway more than deserves the individual honor.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Documentary (Feature)</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>The Gatekeepers<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />5 Broken Cameras<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />How to Survive a Plague<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />The Invisible War<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Searching for Sugar Man</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Random Prediction #1: <i>Searching For Sugar Man.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Documentary (Short Subject)</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Inocente<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Kings Point<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Mondays at Racine<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Open Heart<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Redemption</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Random Prediction #2:<i> Open Heart</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><u><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Film Editing</strong></u><b>Argo (William Goldenberg)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Tim Squyres)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (Michael Kahn)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Silver Linings Playbook (Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Zero Dark Thirty (Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Another <i>Lincoln/ZDT</i> tossup, although it's really nice to see <i>Argo</i> sneak in as well, considering how great the movie was at ratcheting up tension even though the entire audience knows how it ends. That movie was genuinely great and I think it's a testament to the quality of this year's films that it isn't better represented here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Makeup and Hairstyling</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Hitchcock (Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Les Misérables (Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Les Miserables in a walk. I honestly can't believe the other two even made it in. Everyone hated Hopkins's Hitchcock makeup, along with the rest of that movie. I guess <i>The Hobbit</i> deserves a nomination considering that the dwarves were pretty much identified and delineated solely by the differences in their facial hair. Would've loved to see <i>Could Atlas</i> sneak in here just to see the angry reactions.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Music (Original Score)</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Argo (Alexandre Desplat)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (John Williams)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Skyfall (Thomas Newman)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Murderers row. Can't deny the Spielberg/Williams combo though.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Production Design</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Anna Karenina (Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spence)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Les Misérables (Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">I think the 48FPS will seriously hurt <i>The Hobbit</i> here, as a lot of people complained about the production design specifically. It's like when your local news started shooting in HD and suddenly all the hair, sets and makeup looked weird. This'll be <i>Lincoln </i>or <i>Les Miserables. Cloud Atlas </i>feels like a glaring omission here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Short Film (Animated)</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Adam and Dog<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Fresh Guacamole<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Head over Heels<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Paperman</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">I still need to figure out how this happened, but there's no Pixar entry here because the amazing <i>La Luna</i> (which played before <i>Brave</i>) was nominated last year and lost to an only okay short about flying books. While it's nice to see Maggie Simpson up for a golden statue, <i>Paperman </i>will probably take this one.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Short Film (Live Action)</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Asad<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Buzkashi Boys<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Curfew<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Henry</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Random Prediction #3: Death of a Shadow. (I love parentheticals (as you've probably noticed.))</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Sound Editing</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Argo (Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Django Unchained (Wylie Stateman)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Skyfall (Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Zero Dark Thirty (Paul N.J. Ottosson)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Tough call, probably <i>ZDT </i>or <i>Django</i>. But yay more <i>Argo</i>!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Sound Mixing</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>Argo (John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Les Misérables (Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Lincoln (Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Skyfall (Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Gotta be <i>Les Miserables</i>, as they really went out on a limb and recorded all of the singing live on set, as opposed to recording the songs in a studio months in advance. It was a really strong choice that was incredibly effective, Russell Crowe notwithstanding. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><u>Visual Effects</u></strong><br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><b>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Life of Pi (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Marvel's The Avengers (Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Prometheus (Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill)<br style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Snow White and the Huntsman (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson)</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The kid in me wants to see <i>The Avengers</i> win an Oscar, but that's a real stretch. And how the hell did <i>Snow White</i> get a second nomination? Who let that happen? While <i>Prometheus </i>suffered from cataclysmic story problems, it's a visual masterpiece and seriously deserving here. Curious if voters will consider the higher frame rate a "visual effect," which will seriously impact <i>The Hobbit</i>'s chances. That's a tough call, as you've got the incredible Gollum and the Stone Giants on the one hand, and the terrible looking Wargs and the Goblin King's scrotum beard on the other. If the HFR is a factor here I think you have to give it to <i>The Hobbit</i>. Even though it's somewhat off-putting at times, when it works it is BREATHTAKING and you have to give them credit for pushing the boundaries. Otherwise I say give it to <i>Prometheus</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And there you have it. Like I said at the top, there are a bunch of movies I've yet to see that will be serious contenders, namely<i> Django </i>and <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i>. Once I do, my opinions will almost certainly shift on some of these categories. (Mostly I'm guessing more outrage that Tarantino wasn't nominated for Best Directing, which just seems preposterous on paper.) I'd put money on <i>Life of Pi</i> as the movie with the most nominations that is least likely to win any awards. (I'm honestly kind of shocked it's so pervasive on this list, considering that no one seemed to have any really strong feelings about it one way or the other.) Gut instinct is that we should all get ready for the <i>Lincoln </i>Show, although I wouldn't be surprised if it won the majority of the awards and then something like <i>Zero Dark Thirty</i> sneaked in and stole Best Picture.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07580847839860657534noreply@blogger.com3