Chronicle

What I liked:

• It stars Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, and Michael B. Jordan (The Wire).
• DeHaan has Brad Pitt's eyes.
• It has decent special effects.
• It's only 1 hour and 24 minutes long.
• It starts of interesting...What would teenage boys do nowadays if they got super powers?

Albert Nobbs

What I liked:

• Glen Close did a fine job acting and you could tell that this was a labor of love for her.  Close played this character in a stage production based on the book Albert Nobbs: A Novella by George Moore.
• The supporting cast was made up of Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Pauline Collins, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Bronagh Gallagher.
• Beautiful lighting and set design.
• I liked that Close co wrote the song "Lay Your Head Down" for the film.

SAG Awards 2012

• Love love love Michelle Williams' dress.
• Loved that Armie Hammer was nominated for J. Edgar.  Well deserved.
• Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture: Christopher Plummer for Beginners.
• Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture: Octavia Spencer for The Help.
• Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role - Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock!

Live Blogging the Red Carpet for the SAG Awards 2012

Live blogging the Red Carpet on E!

• Julianna Margulies looks nice.  I like her strapless dress.
• Octavia Spencer has on a great dress.  Love it much better than her dress from the Golden Globe Awards.  
• Love that Spencer brought Josh Hopkins as her date.  Who knew they were friends?! (Cougar Town come back 2/14!)
• Melissa McCarthy in a long sleeved, dark dress.  Surprise, surprise.
• Ashley Simpson does have a old Hollywood glamour look going on.
• Diane Lane looks lovely in an asymmetrical blue dress.
• I like Rose Bryne's jump suit but not the hair.  Wish it was a dress though...

Big Miracle

What I liked:

• This film is based on a true story and the book Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event.
• Drew Barrymore plays the perfect Greenpeace activist.
• John Krasinski plays the level headed reporter who breaks the story.
• The supporting cast is impressive: Ted Danson, Dermot Mulroney, Kristen Bell, Kathy Baker, John Michael Higgins, Vinessa Shaw, James LeGros, Rob Riggle, Shea Whigham, Andrew Daly, Tim Blake Nelson, and Stephen Root.
• Newcomer, Ahmaogak Sweeney, did well for his first role.
• Loved all of the real footage from 1988.  
• It is a great story that can teach us about the environment and team work.  It's also family friendly.
• Even though Danson plays "a bad guy" he is a good guy in real life and a big supporter of Oceana. 
• The special effects were pretty cool as the whales looked real.
• The film's social media campaign is pretty impressive.
  

The Vow

What I liked:

• Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams have decent chemistry together.
• Jessica Lange and Sam Neil play perfect over bearing rich parents.
• Scott Speedman!  I was always Team Ben.
• Tatum shows a fair amount of skin in this film.
• The story, which was based on a true event, was ok.
• Enjoyed the Soundtrack.
• Chicago made for a nice backdrop.

Oscar Nominations 2012

My initial reactions to the Oscar Nominations:

• No nomination for Michael Fassbender for Shame?!  That's ridiculous.
• A surprise nomination for Demian Bichir for A Better Life.
• A surprise nominations for Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
• Surprise nominations for Extrememly Loud and Incredibly Close including a nomination for Max von Sydow and for Pest Picture.
• Is 21 Jump Street going to change their ads to say: Oscar Nominee - Jonah Hill?
• Congrats to Bridesmaids and Margin Call on scoring Best Originial Screenplay nominations.
• Wish 50/50 would have been nominated.
• Rango is nominated again?!  Why!?
• Best Picture nominations: War Horse, The Artist, Moneyball, The Descendants, Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, The Help, Hugo, and Extrememly Loud and Incredibly Close. I agree with 5 out of 9.
• A full list of nominations can be found here

DVD Day

New to DVD

50/50 - Grade A
Read full review here

Shame

What I liked:

• Michael Fassbender gave a fantastic performance.  He says so much without uttering a word because his eyes are so expressive.  He definitely deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
• Carey Mulligan was great as the messed up little sister.  Her performance of "New York, New York" was slow but haunting and poignant.
• I wish they would make this film into a series, opening with the scene in the nightclub where Sissy sings and then flashing back to the time where Brandon and Sissy were kids.  Their past would make for one emotional drama.
• It was well written by Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan.
• McQueen also does a beautiful job directing.  
• James Badge Dale!
• Love the movie poster.
  

Red Tails

What I liked:

• Lots of things blow up and the special effects were pretty good.
• The in-flight fighting was cool.
• There are a lot of good actors in it: Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Elijah Kelley, Leslie Odom Jr., David Oyelowo, Marcus T. Paulk, Michael B. Jordan, Andre Royo, Bryan Cranston, and Gerald McRaney.
• The Wire represents: Bubbles, Wallace, and Michael!

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

What I liked:

• The kid was fantastic.  Thomas Horn rightfully deserved his Critic's Choice win and I think he should get an Oscar nomination for his performance.
• Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks were perfect choices to play his parents.
• Max von Sydow (the Renter) was just the right combination of silent and compassionate.
• Also making an appearance in the film: John Goodman, Viola Davis, and Jeffrey Wright.
• Oskar has the coolest grandma in the world.  How many grannies do you know would answer the call of a walkie talkie in the middle of the night?
• The story was very creative and interesting as it was adapted from the book written by Jonathan Safran Foer.  Having said that...

Carnage

What you need to know:

• Besides for the opening and closing credits, you are watching the same four people, in the same apartment, bicker and converse for 79 minutes.

BAFTA Awards Nominations 2012

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award Nominations are out. Here are their top choices in film:

Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The full list of nominations can be found here

DVD Day

New to DVD

The Ides of March Grade: A-
Read full review here

Live Blogging the 2012 Golden Globes

Here we go...

• I love Ricky Gervais.
• Whoa, dissing the network that hired you.  
• And now dissing the Globes?!  Love it.
• Way to take a joke Jodi Foster!
• A Justin Bieber joke!  Love it.
• A Tourist joke?!  Love it.

Live Blogging the Red Carpet for The 2012 Golden Globes

Hit refresh often...
Watching the red carpet coverage on E!

• George Clooney looks like Clooney.  Stacy Keibler is lovely in red.  Still don't like them as a couple.
• Not loving Giuliana Rancic's nude color dress.  The black one that she had on earlier was better.
• Really don't like Kelly Osbourne's grey hair.
• Sarah Hyland from Modern Family looks beautiful.  Love the dress.
• I like the black and white dress that Claire Danes from Homeland is wearing.
• Piper Perabo...wow...risky.
• Jessica Castain...not loving the dress and the hair is a little too stiff.
• The dog from The Artist cracks me up.  Nice tie.

The Iron Lady

What I liked:

• Meryl Streep gives another outstanding performance.
• Alexandra Roach gives a fantastic performance as young Margaret Thatcher.
• Jim Broadbent, Harry Lloyd, Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant, and Roger Allam make up this wonderful supporting cast.
• Hair and makeup did an excellent job.

The Artist

What I liked:

• Jean Dujardin is mesmerizing.  He has an infectious smile and a sparkle in his eyes.  He is so enjoyable to watch which is extremely important in this silent film.
• Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Joel Murray, Ken Davitian, and Malcolm McDowell make up the rest of the wonderful cast.
• The dog deserves some props for being funny and talented.
• The story isn't as silly as the trailer makes it out to be.
• The score is fantastic considering it is the only thing that you hear.

Live Blogging the 2012 Critic's Choice Movie Awards

• The cold open is not funny but props for the cameos.
• Rob Huebel & Paul Scheer are not doing great.
• I like Florence + The Machine's Shake It Out.
• Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer for The Help.
• Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer for Beginners! Love the pink shirt!  Funny acceptance speech.  More please!
• Love the house band: Fitz and the Tantrums!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

What I liked:

• Fantastic ensemble cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy.
• Oldman gives another stand out performance.  He's so good at blending into the character.
• It's Boardwalk Empire'sAl Capone (Stephen Graham)!
• I love all of the code words: The Circus, the grownups, Control...
• The hair and makeup people did an excellent job.
• They made a fun website for the film: http://www.tinker-tailor-soldier-spy.com/

DVD Day

New to DVD

Moneyball - Grade B
Read full review here

Oscars® Trailer: "Off the Grid"

So far, so good...I'm getting excited!

Man on a Ledge

What I liked:

• Well acted by everyone: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Edward Burns, Ed Harris, Anthony Mackie, William Sadler, and Genesis Rodriquez.
• Lost's Man in Black, Titus Welliver.
• It's an entertaining thriller/crime caper movie.  Don't think about it too much because you will spoil it for yourself.
• Glad to see that Billy Elliot still has a few dance moves left in him.

DVD Day

New to DVD

I Don't Know How She Does It - Grade D+
Read full review here