342 Movies in 2009

Cinema 2009 by Kees van Dijkhuizen is a mashup of this year's 342 movies all condensed into a mere seven minutes.

It's an amazing look at 2009's releases and worth the watch. See what you can catch.



Off to watch Nine, it's been getting a slew of mixed reviews, and with Roger Ebert's recent review of two stars (ouch!), I'm apprehensive. He scrutinizes very closely and juxtaposes with Fellini's 81/2. Having never seen 81/2, I guess we'll see how well Rob Marshall's Nine can speak to this generation. I do have high hopes though --many of the featurettes and trailers released look promising.

Saw Up in the Air on Christmas day, and I have to say--it did not disappoint at all. In fact, it was pretty amazing. Movies that get hyped like this usually end up overrated, but Jason Reitman did such a fantastic job. The person that stood out the most though was Anna Kendrick. I'd say her Oscar nom is in the bank.

Okay folks, hope you all enjoyed this year at the movies and I can't wait to see what 2010 has to offer. Happy new year!

CARRIED AWAY!

Ridiculously excited for Sex and the City 2!

The teaser trailer isn't much of anything, just alot of glitz and city shots, but still, I'm excited as hell. SATC 2 opens May 28, 2010!

SAG Awards Nominees

The award season is rolling right on--SAG nominees were announced last week with a list of the predictables, a couple of unpredictables, and a couple of those who were just plain left out.

My thoughts:

• I have no real beef with the movie nominations. Pretty predictable, pretty well chosen. I definitely love that Betty White will be receiving her lifetime achievement award. Very well deserved.
• As for the TV noms, I'd really like to know where Breaking Bad's ensemble drama series nomination is. Sure, Bryan Cranston got his best actor nomination, but what about the rest of the cast? I know I'm not the only one who was blown away by Aaron Paul's performance this season. Breaking Bad really has been deprived this awards season. First the Golden Globes, now the SAGs? I don't know what's worse--especially since the SAG nominations are chosen among peers.
• Speaking of those left out-- what about Sons of Anarchy for best drama ensemble?
  
• Very glad to see Christina Applegate recognized for her work in Samantha Who?, but let's be realistic, she won't be winning. I can only hope that best female performance in a comedy will go to Toni Collette, because another year of Tina Fey sweeps just ain't cuttin' it for me.
• Again, glad to see Modern Family getting the recognition it deserves. Whether or not it will win, that's another story. All I know is that if 30 Rock wins another round of awards season, I'll just throw in the towel and wonder why the formality of actually naming other nominees actually exists. I've been a fan of the show from the start, but the quality has been lacking. And when it comes to quality in Modern Family, that definitely isn't lacking.

Watch the SAGs January 23rd, 2010 on TBS or TNT.

Full list of nominees below:

MOVIES:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
Jeff Bridges – 'Crazy Heart'
George Clooney – 'Up In The Air'
Colin Firth – 'A Single Man'
Morgan Freeman – 'Invictus'
Jeremy Renner – 'The Hurt Locker'

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
Sandra Bullock – 'The Blind Side'
Helen Mirren – 'The Last Station'
Carey Mulligan – 'An Education'
Gabourey Sidibe – 'Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire'
Meryl Streep – 'Julie and Julia'

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
Matt Damon – 'Invictus'
Woody Harrelson – 'The Messenger'
Christopher Plummer – 'The Last Station'
Stanley Tucci – 'The Lovely Bones'
Christoph Waltz – 'Inglourious Basterds'

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
Penélope Cruz – 'Nine'
Vera Farmiga – 'Up In The Air'
Anna Kendrick – 'Up In The Air'
Diane Kruger – 'Inglourious Basterds'
Mo'nique – 'Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire'

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
'An Education'
'The Hurt Locker'
'Inglourious Basterds'
'Nine'
'Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire'

Lifetime Achievement Award:
Betty White

TELEVISION:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance" HBO
Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story" TNT
Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe" Lifetime
Kevin Kline, "Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac" PBS
Tom Wilkinson, "A Number" HBO

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe" Lifetime
Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens" HBO
Ruby Dee, "America" Lifetime
Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens" HBO
Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby" Lifetime

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist" CBS
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" AMC
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" Showtime
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" AMC
Hugh Laurie, "House" FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, "Medium" NBC/CBS
Glenn Close, "Damages" FX
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" NBC
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace" TNT
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife" CBS
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer" TNT

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" NBC
Steve Carrell, "The Office" NBC
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" HBO
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk" USA
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men" CBS

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?" ABC
Toni Collette, "United States of Tara" Showtime
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" Showtime
Tina Fey, "30 Rock" NBC
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" CBS

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
"The Closer" TNT
"Dexter" Showtime
"The Good Wife" CBS
"Mad Men" AMC
"True Blood" HBO

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"30 Rock" NBC
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" HBO
"Glee" FOX
"Modern Family" ABC
"The Office" NBC

2010 Golden Globe Noms: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Today Justin Timberlake, John Krasinski, and Diane Kruger rose in the wee hours of the morning to kick off awards season by announcing this season's GG noms.

A few surprising noms to say the least, but the GGs tend to yield such results. Here's the lowdown:

MOVIES:

• AVATAR: Surprised to see Avatar in the best pic category, but okay okay. After getting some atrocious reviews from its sneak peeks, the reviews are in from its first screenings--things are looking up for James Cameron. Keep in mind that Avatar is Cameron's baby and after a 4 year development period and what has shaped up to be one of the most expensive movies ever, he has alot in stake when it comes to the movie's success. I still need some convincing, still looks like giant smurf fairies, some expensive giant smurf fairies to me.
  
• REPEAT PERFORMERS: Sandra B lands 2 noms in two separate best actress categories: drama and comedy for The Blind Side and The Proposal. Wow. Very surprised, but I can't say she wasn't great in these movies. This is definitely her year. Kudos. The woman who can do no wrong in my eyes, the lovely Meryl Streep managed to nab two noms in the same category: best actress in a comedy for Julie & Julia and It's Complicated.
• UP IN THE AIR SWEEPS: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, and Jason Reitman all nabbed individual noms as well as a best picture nom. Not surprised. Can't wait to see this movie.
• THE PREDICTABLES: Just as I forecasted earlier in my Oscar post, the following Oscar buzzing performances have received their GG noms: the whole of the Up in the Air principal cast and Jason Reitman, Gabby Sidibe and Mo'Nique/Precious, Freeman/Invictus, The Hurt Locker, Christoph Waltz/Inglorious Basterds, Jeff Bridges/Crazy Heart, etcetera, etcetera
  
• WTF MOMENT: Julia Roberts' best actress nom for Duplicity? Uh, I'm not even sure how to react to this. Let's keep in mind this movie was a theatrical flop--so much so that it made less than Julia earned for this movie. Sure sure, theatrical success doesn't necessarily gage the quality of a movie, but who really thought she'd be getting a nod for Duplicity? Come on.
• PLEASANT SURPRISES: (500) Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon Levitt's best actor nom for the aforementioned movie, The Hangover (huge surprise, but very well deserved), Karen O for the Where the Wild Things Are score, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Can I get a collective hooray?!
• BIGGEST SNUBS: Invictus, The Lovely Bones, A Serious Man, Lee Daniels (for best director, Precious)

Full list of nominees:

Best Motion Picture -- Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sadibe, Precious

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers


Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Meryl Streep, It's Complicated
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Julia Roberts, Duplicity

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mo-Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon, Invictus
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Christopher Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Best Animated Feature Film
Coraline
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess and the Frog
Up

Best Foreign Language Film
Barria
Broken Embraces
A Prophet
The White Ribbon
The Maid

Best Director -- Motion Picture
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds

Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture
Up in the Air
It's Complicated
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds

Best Original Score -- Motion Picture
Michael Giacchino, Up
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant
James Horner, Avatar
Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man
Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture
"I Will See You," Avatar
"The Weary Kind," The Crazy Heart
"Winter," U2, Brothers
"Cinema Italiano," Nine


TELEVISION:

• COMEDY SURPRISE: My heart is bursting because Modern Family got its best comedy nom! AHH! This show is so close to my heart and its nomination is very well deserved. Definitely one of the greatest shows on television right now.
• GLEE IS GLEEFUL: It's no surprise Glee received its best comedy nom, but I'm very surprised that Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, and Jane Lynch have been nominated. Let's keep in mind that Morrison is up against the likes of Steve Carrell and Alec Baldwin so he won't be winning, but kudos--although I'm not sure he's all that funny on Glee. Oops.
  
• BIGGEST UPSETS: Breaking Bad's HUGE snub from this year's nominations. Seriously, what in the fuck. Bryan Cranston didn't even get a nod for his amazing performance. This is crazy, especially since he won the Emmy two years in a row for this show. Also snubbed was Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation, which I really believe she deserved this year. Season 2 is infinitely better than the first.
  
• WTF MOMENT: Courtney Cox's nom for best actress in Cougar Town. Now let me get this out in the open first: I love Courtney because she will forever be the hilarious Monica on Friends, but come on. Come on. This show is so bad it hurts.
• TRUE BLOOD HAPPY THIS YEAR: not so much the last. After getting snubbed last year, True Blood has finally landed a nomination for best drama and Anna Paquin also received one for Best Actress.

Full list of nominees:

Best TV drama series
“Big Love,” HBO
“Dexter,” Showtime
“House,” Fox
“Mad Men,” AMC
“True Blood,” HBO

Best TV comedy or musical series
“30 Rock,” NBC
“Entourage,” HBO
“Glee,” Fox;
“Modern Family,” ABC
“The Office,” NBC

Best actor in a TV drama
Simon Baker, “The Mentalist,” CBS
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men,” AMC
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter,” Showtime
Hugh Laurie, “House,” Fox
Bill Paxton, “Big Love,” HBO

Best actress in a TV drama
Glenn Close, “Damages,” FX
January Jones, “Mad Men,” AMC
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife,” CBS
Anna Paquin, “True Blood,” HBO
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer,” TNT

Best actress in a TV comedy
Tina Fey, “30 Rock,” NBC
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie,” Showtime
Toni Collette, “The United States of Tara,” Showtime
Lea Michele, “Glee,” Fox
Courteney Cox, “Cougar Town,” ABC

Best actor in a TV comedy
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock,” NBC
Steve Carell, “The Office,” NBC
David Duchovny, “Californication,” Showtime
Matthew Morrison, “Glee,” Fox
Thomas Jane, “Hung,” HBO

Best actor in a supporting role
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage,” HBO
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS
William Hurt, “Damages,” FX
John Lithgow, “Dexter,” Showtime
Michael Emerson, “Lost,” ABC

Best actress in a supporting role
Jane Lynch, “Glee,” Fox
Rose Byrne, “Damages,” FX
Janet McTeer, “Into the Storm,” HBO
Jane Adams, “Hung,” HBO
Chloe Sevigny, “Big Love,” HBO

Best TV movie or miniseries
“Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime
“Grey Gardens,” HBO
“Into the Storm,” HBO
“Little Dorrit,” PBS
“Taking Chance,” HBO

Best actor in a miniseries or TV movie
Kevin Bacon, “Taking Chance,” HBO
Kenneth Branagh, “Wallender,” PBS
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Endgame,” PBS
Brendan Gleeson, “Into the Storm,” HBO
Jeremy Irons, “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime

Best actress in a miniseries or made-for-TV movie
Joan Allen, “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime
Drew Barrymore, “Grey Gardens,” HBO
Jessica Lange, “Grey Gardens,” HBO
Anna Paquin, “The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler,” CBS
Sigourney Weaver, “Prayers for Bobby,” Lifetime

The Golden Globes air January 17th on NBC. Watch!

Quick Bytes

Just a morsel of what's going on as of late:

ENTERTAINMENT:

• Comcast merges with NBC Universal: What does that mean for the long run? We'll just have to wait and see. For now, layoffs. Eek.
• Disney closing in on their merger with Marvel
• Massive PR and marketing machine to be created on Jan 1st: PMK/HBH and Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, two bigshot PR firms, will be merging-- creating one major powerhouse of Hollywood.
  

MOVIES:

• As discussed in my previous post on oscar buzz, Up in the Air has even more reasons to anticipate winning the almighty golden statue. It has won National Board of Review's best picture award and Anna Kendrick has nabbed best supporting actress. The Board's previous 2 winners of best picture have gone on to win the Academy Award.
• More National Board winners here.
  
• Big ups to Sandra B! The Blind Side dominated the box office last weekend, taking out New Moon's reign. I'd like to think I was part of Sandy's success since I went to see The Blind Side last weekend. Sandra's best performance ever. You get that warm, fuzzy feeling.
• Also went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. Amazing! Wes Anderson is brilliant, but I'm sure you all knew that already. Go see!

TV:

• Heroes: near cancellation? Not surprised, considering their disappointing ratings this season, and the downhill trend on plot themes.
• CBS cancels long running soap, As the World Turns
  
• Bonnie Hunt talkshow canceled -- do I see a trend here?
• Flash Forward takes a longer hiatus than initially expected, it was due back by January, but now that date has been pushed further back to March. No word on how it will affect a date that's pivotal to the show's plot, April 29. This news also comes after the show had to stop production in order for the writer's to caucus and scramble for better material.

MUSIC:

• 2010 Grammy nominees: aka awards that will go to Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, or Kings of Leon
  
• Susan Boyle (of X Factor fame) just released a new album ("I Dream a Dream") and how is she doing? Sitting pretty at #1. Turns out you can be 48 and have it all--and, and you don't need to win some reality TV show.
• Sade releases new single after nearly a decade, "Soldier of Love", new album drops Feb 8th, 2010!
  
• Glee: The Music, Volume 2, out now
• Chris Brown, Graffiti, out now [For the love of GODDD just look at that album cover. I swear it's not Photoshop, that's what's sad. Click to see bigger, because you really need to see it bigger.)
• 30 Seconds to Mars, This is War, out now
• Timbaland, Shock Value II, out now [I take back what I said in this post. I wish I wasn't looking forward to its release and in fact, I wish it was never released. Plus no rumored KOL track. What a tease. However, check out Brandy, I mean Bran Nu's, rapping. It's actually not that bad.]
  
• Alicia Keys, The Element of Freedom, Dec 15

FICTION:

• Just finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and now I am a total fangirl for Jonathan Safran Foer. Highly recommended--easily one of my favorite books.
  
• Currently reading Everything is Illuminated by you guessed it, Jonathan Safran Foer. Also check out his current nonfiction release Eating Animals, which focuses on a vegan lifestyle and animal cruelty. Excessive fangirling ends right about now.
  
• I've also picked up A Little Bit Wicked, an autobiography by Kristin Chenoweth and Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky on sale at B&N! I love myself some Cheno!
• More books on my must read list on the left. Any reviews?

FASHION:

• RackedLA has spotted the inexplicable 2 week early launch (and possible snafu on Target's part) of Rodarte's line at the Eagle Rock, CA target. Guess who will be paying a visit tomorrow?
• Target's next designer? ZAC POSEN. Can I say that louder, now with more schoolgirl glee? ZAC POSEN! Mark that calendar for April 29, 2010!
• Lara Stone replaces Madonna as the new face of Louis Vuitton. Check out the campaign here.
• It's that time of year! Sample sale season! A notable few happening this weekend in LA: RVCA, Obey, William Rast and J. Lindeberg, LF warehouse sale. More info here.
• My newest shoe obsessions:
  YSL sculpted heels and the fabulous Kate Lanphear rocking the boot version[image courtesy of Jak and Jil.] Agh. Perfection!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Prada Mohawk sandals and Jane from Sea of Shoes with her amazing pair:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

so dreams do come true.. but apparently only on youtube

Ladies and gents, this is a story about the American dream, or er--the Hollywood dream? Federico Alvarez runs a post-production house in Uruguay and he could also be the next big filmmaker. He was discovered on youtube after he posted a self-made, original video of a giant robot invasion. He shot the video on his own time, and with a budget of $500. After nearly a million views on youtube, he's got himself a big Hollywood contract to the tune of $30 million, and $1 million in directorial fees. He's now signed with Mandate Pictures, a subdivision of Lionsgate. A number of directors have also reached out to him, including Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) and Sam Raimi (Spiderman), who is rumored to be working with him on his project.

How unbelievable is that? I mean, first music artists getting signed to labels (a la Justin Bieber and Esmee Denters) and now future directors? Could the future of Hollywood lie in youtube? I guess that's the natural progression. No more original scripts --> Milking book adaptations for all their worth ---> Youtube. Oh, okay.

All sarcasm aside, this video is pretty fucking impressive. In fact, it's amazing. I still can't believe it was shot with $500. I mean, think of what this guy can do with $30 mil!

Check out the video below. It's worth it. Trust me:




Kudos, Federico! Now for the more pressing matter of trying to figure out what I can post on youtube.. Hello, Hollywood, can you hear me? I'm working on it.

Oscar Buzz and the Big 10

With the Oscars approaching (on March 7, 2010), we're about to see a whole lotta movie releases. This year could turn out to be quite a race considering some categories have expanded, most notably with animated feature expanding from three to five, and get this--best picture going from five to ten. How will this clusterfuck work, you ask?

Best Picture will be decided on a system of preferential voting, whereas all other categories decide a winner upon whichever nominee receives the most votes. Voters will rank their preference from 1-10, and if after separating out all the first place rankings, there is a majority, that film will win. If not, the movie with the fewest first place rankings will be eliminated, and the 2nd place rankings on those ballots will be refactored into the remaining 9 films to see if there is a majority. If not, the process continues until a majority is reached. Confused? Yeah. It's pretty mind boggling. Click here for more info on the voting process.

The more pressing question, however, is why, dear God, why are there going to be 10 nominees? According to Academy President Sid Ganis, it gives films who often show up in other categories but are "squeezed out" of the best picture category a fighting chance. This is an obvious allusion to The Dark Knight, whose notable absence from last year's best picture category caused an internet uproar among fans.

Movies that have generated a significant amount of Oscar buzz this year so far are: An Education, Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, A Serious Man, Up in the Air, Precious, Invictus, The Lovely Bones, Up, District 9, and Nine.

Let's take a brief look into the possible nominees:

Best Picture
I'm thinking these pictures pretty much have a lock:

• The Hurt Locker
• Precious
• Nine
• Invictus
• Up in the Air

This leaves five possible slots for: Inglorious Basterds, A Serious Man, An Education, The Lovely Bones, or Up -- Yep. We'll probably see this animated film in the top 10. We all know if it came to the traditional 5 picture category, this movie wouldn't be here. And what about Star Trek, Where the Wild Things Are, and District 9? Could be, could be. Especially with 10 noms!

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Oops. That's already 5. I'm sure this list will be changing as movies continue to open and reviews come pouring in.

Best Actress
These two basically have a lock in this category. Drawing a blank on who else might fit in though. I think Meryl may get a nom, and possibly Saoirse (though it seems like a long shot) seeing as the category is pretty open as of yet.

• Gabby Sidibe, Precious
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones?
  
• Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia?
  

Best Director
This is a tricky category seeing as there are ten Best Picture noms and only 5 Best Director noms. The only director I'm pretty sure of landing a nom at this point is Katherine Bigelow. I'm also thinking Jason Reitman has a good chance as well considering how much Oscar buzz Up in the Air is getting.

• Katherine Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
• Rob Marshall, Nine / Clint Eastwood, Invictus /Michael Mann, Public Enemies / Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones / Coen Brothers, A Serious Man / Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds ?
  

Best Supporting Actor
Another somewhat open category for me. If I had it my way, I'd want to see Christoph Waltz walk away with the best supporting actor award. He was gloriously evil in Inglorious Basterds.

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
  
• James McAvoy, The Last Station (Seeing as though he was previously snubbed for the Last King of Scotland and Atonement, James may just get a nod.) / Alfred Molina, An Education / Paul Schneider, Bright Star ?

Best Supporting Actress
I'm pulling for Mo'Nique or Anna Kendrick (most notably of Twilight saga fame). Mo'Nique's performance as an abusive mother in Precious blew critics away and I've been itching to see it for a long time. Kendrick is an up and coming actress, and she may have a small role in the Twilight saga movies, but she is alongside George Clooney in Up in the Air and is definitely someone to watch out for.

• Penelope Cruz, Nine
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Mo'Nique, Precious
• Mariah Carey, Precious / Dame Judi Dench, Nine / Julianne Moore, A Single Man ?

Best Animated Feature
I'm thinking these three are definitely getting their nods, but now that this category has been expanded to 5, it's hard to say which movies will fill the other two slots.

• Coraline
• Ponyo
• Up
• The Princess and the Frog / 9 / Fantastic Mr. Fox / Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ?

Should be interesting to see how these predictions develop as movies start coming out and Oscar season gets closer. I'd love to see which movies will get the nom for Best Original Screenplay since there aren't too many of them these days, not goods ones at least. If anything, I'd love to see this go to 500 Days of Summer, which had just the right amount of comedic timing, aww moments, and originality.

I'm excited to see how this awards season will unfold, especially with the 10 picture category. Eek.