5 to 10 (What A Way To Make A Living)

Today the Academy made a startling announcement: the number of films eligeble for Best Picture will be bumped up form 5 to 10. There will still be 5 nominees in all the other categories, but 10 films will now be up for Best Picture, the first time since 1943. No doubt this is in response to "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" just barely not making the top five last year. The Academy received a lot of flack for that and deservingly so. Chances are they are doing this to hopefully get the publics latest critical darling, "Up," into the Best Picture race. This still might not happen as Academy voters could still vote for more 'Oscar friendly' films that are of lesser quality. Movies like "The Soloist" may not be great films, but since that movie is more in line with the Academies tastes we could be looking at more mediocrity getting nominated.

If that happens you can be sure the Academy will get Hell from the public. But before we jump all over the cons lets look at some of the pros:

1. Movies like "Up," "Watchmen," and even "Star Trek" have decent shots at getting into the Best Picture race. There's no telling whether they will or not, but they have a shot.


2. The Best Director award may be forced to stand seperate from the Picture category. Seriously, I know the director is important, but just because you made one of the best films of the year does NOT mean you are a great director! "The Queen" was one of my favorite films of 2006, and even I wouldn't say Stephen Frears direction was anything special.


3. Foreign films, animated films, and even documentaries have a better shot at getting Academy recognition that is normally overlooked in favor of more "dramatic" fare.


4. Now with 10 nominees, studios have more freedom to spread out their Oscar over the year.

I'll talk about the cons in another post, but for now I feel this is great news. I can't wait to see how this plays out next year when it's time to announce the nominees.

"Ponyo" Trailer

Disney has finally graced us with the trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's latest film:

While it certainly is better then the Japanese one, I'm a little disapointed that they have so little faith in this film that they have to make it look like a second rate action film. Oh well. August 4th. Mark your calanders.

Poster For "Ponyo"

As we get nearer and nearer to the American release of Hayao Miyazaki's next masterpiece (which is bound to be a let down for fans of "Princess Mononoke"), Disney has graced us with a poster...

...which looks very nice. I like how they push the voice talent (though putting them in alphabetical order wielded some funny placements this time around). The MPAA has also given it a rating: G. So parents, make sure to take your kids to this. You can thank me later.

"Watchmen" Off The Predix (Mostly)

Well folks, we gave it a long shot, but I think it's time to admit that Zach Snyder's superhero epic "Watchmen" isn't going to go very far in the Oscar race, no matter how light the competition is. People just didn't pick up on it. Critics didn't like it. It did good but not great at the box office. Really, the only thing that can save it now are milestone BluRay sales, and I know THAT'S not going to happen! Now the thing is "Watchmen" was a great movie. The reason I think it never caught on was that people just didn't get what they were watching. Most everyone went to see an ultra-violent superhero movie and got something very different. I think it's fair to say that years down the road we'll be viewing "Watchmen" more highly then we are now, but for now I think it's time to close the book of it on the Oscar race. It was a good effort, but it's time to move on.

Untitled Michael Moore Documentary

Well, Michael Moore has officially released his first teaser trailer for his upcoming "documentary" on the Wall Street scandal. I will save you all some money and let you know what it's going to be about: Rich greedy Republicans robbed poor people, the Bush Administration helped, only a poor Democratic president like Barack Obama can save us. This is more or less what the film will be, I fully expect the fact sheets to be the size of dictionaries shortly after the film opens. That said I have to admit that this teaser was actually pretty cleaver and funny. I still think the "documentary" is going to be a pile of doggie doo, but because Moore's involved you can bet it will be an Oscar contender in the Documentary race.

"Creation" Trailer

Oh boy, creationists are going to crucify this film. Really, they are. This film is likely going to be the most controversial big budget film of the year. Making a movie about Charles Darwin (played by Paul Bettany) was always going to garner boos and cheers before we even saw a single frame of it. Well, now we DO have a frame to see, as well as several scenes! And, as Christian who doesn't totally buy into the whole Big Bang Theory, I have to say that "Creation" looks...very, very interesting. The conflict of a man who is making big discovers but at the cost of his personal relationship with his family is the great marks of any good movie. The fact that it's about the guy who thought of evolution is besides the point.

Chances are you will read article after article on this movie, but remember: We can't pass judgment on the film until we actually see it. Who knows; from what I see this movie isn't going out of it's way to bunk religion as it is trying to tell a good story. Once the movie is released we'll know for sure, until then though let's look forward to seeing the film. As for it's Oscar potential I will say this: Never count out Jennifer Connelly in the Best Supporting Actress category.

"Shutter Island" Trailer

Scorsese seems to have rejuvinated himself now that he no longer has to worry about winning an Oscar. "Shutter Island" looks to be a horror film, that much is certain. Unlike teenage slasher films you can bet this film will actually be scary. Really, truly scary. I don't know if Marty is going to have a shot at the gold with this film, but maybe Leonardo DiCaprio and/or Michelle Williams will finally walk away with the gold. Both actors look totally engrossed in their roles, and if they are as authentic in the movie as they are in the trailer...well, then expect voters to respond.

First Image of Dreamworks "Oobermind"

Though it was announced a mere couple weeks ago it looks like Dreamworks is planning on bringing this movie out as early as next year (November 5th to be precise). Dreamworks have come a long way since making "Shrek." With "Kung fo Panda," "Monsters vs. Aliens," and now "Oobermind" Dreamworks is finally starting to up the quality of their films a bit. So what's "Oobermind" about? Well it's about a villain (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) who finds life a little boring after defeating the hero of the city (Ben Stiller...of all people). The movie is being directed by Gary Trousdale, one of the men responsible for directing Disney's acclaimed classic "Beauty & The Beast." With Trousdale directing you can bet this will be something to keep an eye out for. Maybe Dreamworks will finally snatch another Best Animated Feature Oscar since they won for "Shrek" in 2001.

"Toy Story 3" Teaser

I hear that with this movie the Toy Story trilogy will be complete and there will be no more after this. It's ironic since "Toy Story" was the movie that made Pixar who they are today. If they play this right, they can apply all the stuff they've learned since then to make an already timeless franchise even more timeless.

Here's Something For The Ladies

I'm not a fan of the "Twilight" movie in any sense of the word. And don't get me wrong: I like the books. Well, all of them except "Eclipse" that is. But the movie was just one problem after another. But...it did excellent business at the box office, and I do have female readers, so here's the trailer for "New Moon." Does it look better then the first? Eh...not really.