Sequel To 'The Dark Knight' Officially Announced

From Box Office Mojo comes the announcement that will set the geek world aflame (and on Free Comic Book Day too):

In one of the most anticipated announcements in recent memory, Warner Bros. officially set a date this morning for the follow-up to The Dark Knight. Tentatively known as Batman 3, the movie will debut July 20, 2012 in conventional and IMAX theaters, almost exactly four years after The Dark Knight opened to record-breaking numbers.

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'8: The Mormon Proposition' Trailer

Not sure what I feel about this one.  I'll certainly disagree with some of the viewpoints this filmmaker is so obviously trying to make, but with such a touchy subject it might be hard for Oscar to pass this up come voting time.  Another early contender for Best Documentary I'd say.

Ask The Movie Wizard A Question

Hey guys, I'm trying to make this site more interactive.  Which is why I'm going to have a new weekly Q&A column for this site.  If you have a question you'd like to ask me go ahead and ask away.  The best questions will be posted on this site (so you may want to include your name and website if you want some recognition).  The widget is below but also on the right bar.  I look forward to hearing the questions.

"Kick-Ass" Review

Can an entertaining movie be made that is laced with corse profanity, brutal violence, and comical situations that in real life aren’t funny? Of course they can, only a conservative parent who grades movies on the content scale over the artistic scale would tell you otherwise. If I just described you then you can stop reading this review now, as “Kick-Ass” was not made with you in mind. Based on the comic book of the same name the story revolves around a young teen named Dave (Aaron Johnson) whose only talent involves simply existing in the world as we know it. Unpopular with girls and with no remarkable talents, he never-the-less has a heart for helping people and wonders why more people don’t do so.

Read Rest of Review Here

"How To Train Your Dragon" Review

After years of living in Pixar’s shadow Dreamworks Animation has finally delivered a film that rival’s the animation king of CGI films. “How To Train Your Dragon” tells the simple story of a young Viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who is considered weak by the rest of the Vikings for being unable to hold his own in a fight with dragons who destroy their town on a weekly basis (the town is old but the houses are new). His dad is the leader of the Vikings named Stoick (Gerard Butler) who - like most fathers in animated films - considers his son to be awkward and a bit of a disappointment. No, he’s not odd in that he’s gay, because he has a crush on the feisty Viking girl Astrid (America Ferrera), but odd because he has no violent traits.

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"Greenberg" Review

If you’ve been reading my reviews for awhile you’ll know that I’m not Ben Stiller’s biggest fan. I feel he’s a one trick pony that plays one pathetic wimp after another. In some ways “Greenberg” is not much different from previous characters Stiller has played, and in some ways this is about as far from those previous characters as you can get. The movie stars stiller as Robert Greenberg, a man who has recently been released from a mental institution. At the age of 50 Greenberg is stuck in life. At one point the lead singer of a rock band that almost got signed to a record deal, he walked away from that dream and destroyed not only his life but the lives of his band mates and friends.

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"The Ghost Writer" Review

“The Ghost Writer” is the latest film from Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski. It may possibly also be his last film depending on whether or not he is successfully extradited from a 32-year old crime and scandal he’s been involved with. Indeed, his scandal seems to go on almost as long as the scandal Adam Lang (Pierce Bronson) has going for him in this film. Though the focus of the movie is on the dirty politician (possibly inspired by Tony Blaire), the protagonist of the film is on the ghost writer who has been hired to clean up the manuscript of Adam’s memoir’s. The ghost writer is never named but simply referred to as Ghost throughout the film, and is played with surprising conviction by Ewan McGregor.

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"Waking Sleeping Beauty" Trailer

Here's the trailer for "Waking Sleeping Beauty."  My review is below. Hope it comes to your area so you can enjoy this yourselves.

"Waking Sleeping Beauty" Review

One of the great things about “Waking Sleeping Beauty” is that it gives you reasons to both root and condemn the studio it’s about. Rarely will you see a documentary that is more insightful then political, but it just goes to prove that insightful documentaries are always going to be better then political ones. The movie was directed by Don Hahn, producer to some of Disney’s biggest hits including “Beauty & The Beast,” which for the longest time was the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture (until Pixar’s “Up” came along). Hahn took a break from the studio so that he could work on other projects, and this is the first time we’ve seen him in the directors chair. Turns out he can direct a pretty effective documentary.

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"The Secret of Kells" Review

Chances are if you were watching this years Academy Awards when the Best Animated Feature category came up you - like the rest of the world - were completely unsurprised that Pixar’s “Up” walked away with the statue. However like the rest of the world you were likely confused when the category nominated a film called “The Secret of Kells,” a film virtually no one had heard of. I’ll admit if I wasn’t as deep into the movie industry as I am I probably wouldn’t have heard of it either. That said while I heard of it I still didn’t know what it was about or where it really came from. Turns out it was a co production between France, Ireland, and Belgium, though it was recorded in English in preparation for an American release.

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"Alice In Wonderland" Review

Why it took Tim Burton this long to make a movie adaptation of “Alice In Wonderland” I’ll never know. Considering Burton’s previous accomplishments of making movies with weird worlds and isolated protagonists, it seems like he would have tackled Lewis Carol’s classic book years ago. But then back then he’d have to make sets to create the world he does here, which would have been tedious and expensive. Now he can just put his characters in front of a green screen for half the cost and just as nice a look. To say this movie looks great would be an understatement as for all the complaints Burton gets on his storytelling I hear very little complaints of his visual accomplishments.

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"Shutter Island" Review

See folks, this is what I’m talking about. If “Shutter Island” proves nothing else it’s that horror movies don’t have to suck. Yes it’s got less deaths then the Saw movies do, but this is ten times scarier. Imagine a setting that is dark and creative. Imagine characters who you care about the outcome to. Imagine a twist ending that actually gives you a chance to realize where it came from rather then dumping it on the audience for no reason. And hey, this movie even has a story. Imagine that, a movie that is about something other then how graphic it can be. The movie takes place in 1954 and is about a US Marshal named Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has been assigned to find a missing prisoner who escaped from a mental institution on Shutter Island.

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Back In The Game

After a month long break it's time to get ready for the 83rd Academy Awards.  As it stands there are still ten films that can be nominated for Best Picture, and already there are some early stand outs.  "Alice In Wonderland" is not likely to get any major awards nominations, but Tim Burton's latest should easily sneak into some of the visual effects categories.  Right now there are two movies that look like good potential Best Picture nominees: "Shutter Island" and "Greenberg."  "Shutter Island" would make perfect sense early on even in this game.  Yeah it's a horror film but it's also directed by Martin Scoresese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Both these men look like they are potential Best Director and Best Actor nominees (respectively).

The other Best Picture potential is Noah Baumbach's critically acclaimed "Greenberg."  This movie has potential for nominees for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress.  However if there's only one nomination for this film it very well could be for Ben Stiller's remarkable out-of-character performance as the title character.  Having finally found a role that shows he can be a serious actor, Stiller looks like a shoe-in for Best Actor at this point in time.  Other early potential nominees is Dreamworks "How To Train Your Dragon," which is threatening to defeat Pixar's winning streak in the Best Animated Feature category.

Also of note is Disney's critically acclaimed documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty."  Though the Academy ignored the last Disney doc "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers," this new movie about Disney's great revival of their animation legacy in the late 80's is getting audiences to stand up cheering after the movie is over.  Chances are something more important might win the prize in the end, but this movie has the potential to get audiences behind it enough to get the nod.  The race may just be starting, but it's looking oh so promising already.

'Hurt Locker' Wins Best Picture!

 

• Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro
• Best Director: “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
• Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
• Best Actress: Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
• Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”
• Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique in “Precious”
• Best Original Screenplay: “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
• Best Adapted Screenplay: “Precious” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• Best Foreign Language: “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
• Best Animated Film: “Up” Pete Docter
• Best Documentary: “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
• Best Cinematography: “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
• Best Art Direction: Avatar” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
• Best Costumes: “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell
• Best Editing: “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• Best Score: “Up” Michael Giacchino
• Best Song: “The Weary Kind”(Crazy Heart) Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
• Best Makeup: “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• Best Visual Effects: “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones
• Best Sound Editing: “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
• Best Sound Mixing: “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• Best Animated Short: “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
• Best Live Action Short: “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
• Best Documentary Short: “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor

Well, that was a fun ride huh?  Come back in three days when we wipe the board clean and start all over again.

Sizing Up Best Picture: District 9

Now we tackle a rarity in the Oscar race: A science fiction film nominated for Best Picture.  Let's see what the chances are...

District 9

Nominations: 

• Best Picture
• Best Visual Effects
• Best Film Editing
• Best Adapted Screenplay

Going For It:  Audiences REALLY love this movie!  Surprise hit of the year.  A winning producing role for Peter Jackson.  Has more then three nominations including a coveted screenplay nomination.

Going Against It:  Science fiction films rarely click with members of the Academy.  Lack of directing or acting nomination.  Movie came out early in the year (Academy favors winter releases).

Chances of Winning:  Another "lucky to be nominated" film.  That said though this did pick up more nominations then I expected it to (despite the accurate predictions on this site), and it does give more hope that maybe the Academy has warmed up to science fiction enough to nominate more of these films in the future.  But as for winning this isn't likely.

New "Toy Story 3" Trailer

More Toy Story 3 Info

We now have more of an idea of what "Toy Story 3" will look like.  I like what I see, and while some people are complaining because they don't like the idea of making sequels...well, if anyone can make a good sequel it's Pixar.  With "Up's" recent Best Picture nomination some are wondering whether or not "Toy Story 3" is next.  Eh, hard to say.  The movie would have to be special to get nominated there.  The Academy is lukewarm to live action sequels, so an animated sequel seems more unlikely right now.  Either way we almost certainly have another Best Animated Feature nomination on their hans.

Sizing Up Best Picture: The Blind Side

I missed a day.  Sorry about that.  Let's tackle the next film right now, which is...

The Blind Side

Nominations: 

• Best Picture
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Sandra Bullock 

Going For It:  Audiences love this movie.  Sandra Bullock helped make this movie successful.  It's a biopic and the Academy LOVES biopics!  The highest grossing sports movie in years.  Academy loves underdog sports movies (see "Rocky" and "Chariots of Fire").  Portrays good Christian values.  Bullock is practically a lock to win Best Actress.

Going Against It:  Some people feel the movie is self-indulgent.  True life story is more interesting then the movie.  Real life football player comes off looking and "dumb and helpless" without a white woman's help.  Only 2 nominations, neither of which go to the writing or directing. Not as critically acclaimed as some of the other nominees.

Chances of Winning:  Though Bullock will certainly win Best Actress, this film feels like a "lucky to be nominated" film.  It's just not big enough, and I think the nomination is more for Bullock and the fact there were ten movies to vote for this year.

Back In The Game And...Oh Look, Oscar Nominations!

Hi folks, I'm back.  I know that being absent from an Oscar blog during the height of the nominations process (not to mention the nominations themselves) is incredibly fatal to a site like this but...well, it's like this.  And for those who don't want to read that article let me summarize it like this: When you move you better make sure to be prepared for the internet to not work for weeks at a time.  Not only was my internet provider EXTREMELY slow in getting to my new apartment and setting things up, but the stupid service didn't even work after they set it up!  This is why I missed commenting about Oscar predictions, and why I missed the nominations themselves.

But hey, we have Best Picture nominations.  Ten for the first time in years!  They are:

1. Avatar
2. The Blind Side
3. District 9
4. An Education
5. The Hurt Locker
6. Inglorious Basterds
7. Precious
8. A Serious Man
9. Up 
10. Up In The Air

For that most part I'd say that's a pretty decent selection.  There are critical favorites, fan favorites, and a couple of surprises (one good one...not so good).  So to make up for lost time (and to take advantage of the delayed telecast) let's discuss the pros and cons of all the nominations.  I'll do one movie//director/actor/actress a day (or at least I'll try to).  We'll go in alphabetical order so that means we'll start with...

Avatar

Nominations:

	Best Picture	James Cameron and Jon Landau	Pending
	Best Director	James Cameron	Pending
	Best Art Direction	Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)	Pending
	Best Achievement in Cinematography	Mauro Fiore	Pending
	Best Film Editing	Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron	Pending
	Best Original Score	James Horner	Pending
	Best Sound Editing	Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	Pending
	Best Sound	Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson	Pending
	Best Visual Effects

Going For It:  Aside from being loved by the public and wildly popular "Avatar" is an "event movie."  It has broken new ground in how movies are made and sold to the general public.  It's the highest grossing film of all time.  Critics and audiences both love it.  It helped expand the idea of how popular IMAX and 3D can be.  Like "Titanic" the love story is universal, and Zoe Saldana's performance has been hailed as the science fiction performance of the year.  The movie is one of two movies that leads the nominations with 9.

Going Against It:  Some people feel the movie is self-indulgent.  James Cameron won before and was less then gracious about it.  When you consider how many of the top grossing films actually WON Best Picture you'll know that financial success does not mean you'll get awards!  There are no nominations for acting or for writing.  Some feel that without the 3D or giant screen the movie would be very standard.


Chances of Winning:  If it weren't for "The Hurt Locker" this would be a lock.

PGA Nominations Announced

The Producers Guild America have chosen their nominees.  They are:

AVATAR
Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau
DISTRICT 9
Producers: Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Jackson
AN EDUCATION
Producers: Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
THE HURT LOCKER
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Producer: Lawrence Bender
INVICTUS
Producers: Clint Eastwood, Rob Lorenz, Lori McCreary , Mace Neufeld
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness
STAR TREK
Producers: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof
UP
Producer: Jonas Rivera
UP IN THE AIR
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.


PGA Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
9
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
CORALINE
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Producer: Peter Del Vecho
UP
Producer: Jonas Rivera
PGA Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BURMA VJ
Producer: Lise Lense-Moller
The COVE
Producers: Paula DuPre Pesman, Fisher Stevens
SERGIO
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television*:
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
GREY GARDENS
Producers: David Coatsworth, Lucy Donnelly, Rachael Horovitz, Michael Sucsy
LITTLE DORRIT
Producers: Lisa Osborne, Anne Pivcevic
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY
Producers: Stanley M. Brooks, Damian Ganczewski, David Permut, Daniel Sladek, Chris Taaffe
THE PRISONER
Producer(s): Awaiting final credit determination.
TAKING CHANCE
Producers: Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz, Brad Krevoy, Cathy Wischner-Sola

EW's "25 Movies You Need To See Before Oscar Night"

Entertainment Weekly has published their "25 Movies You Need To See Before Oscar Night" list in their latest issue.  For those who don't subscribe I've reprinted the list here (as well as links to those available for purchase if you want to help support the site).  Oh yeah, and Happy New Year everyone!

1. (500) Days of Summer DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
   
2. Avatar
3. The Blind Side
4. Bright Star
5. Crazy Heart
6. District 9 DVD / BluRay / UMD / Video on Demand
   
7. An Education
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. The Hurt Locker DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
   
10. The Informant
11. Inglorious Basterds DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
    
12. Invictus
13. It's Complicated
14. Julie & Julia DVD / BluRay / Video on Demand
    
15. The Last Station
    
16. The Lovely Bones
    
17. The Messenger
18. Nine
    
19. Precious
20. A Serious Man
21. A Single Man
22. Star Trek DVD / BluRay
    
23. Up DVD / BluRay
    
24. Up In The Air
25. The Young Victorian

Start checking out showtimes on Fandango folks.