Oh Yeah...

...just to let you all know, "The Dark Knight" kicked butt in DVD sales. Over 3 million units sold, with over 600,000 of those being BluRay disks. And keep in mind: This was the first DAY! With all the money this film is making, it will be difficult to ignore for ratings reasons alone.

Calm Down People

There has been much speculation over the fate of "Milk" and "The Dark Knight" when it comes to Oscars now that they've been (mostly) snubbed by the Globes. This fear isn't completely warranted, but I understand where it comes from. Since the Globes are considered the "predecessor" of the Oscars, people are afraid these two good films won't get a Best Picture nomination come January 22nd. There's just something we need to remember folks: The Globes and Oscars aren't exactly always on the same page. The Globes gave the "Green Card" the Best Picture award in 1992, and that wasn't exactly an Oscat darling (it only received a nomination for it's screenplay, which it then went on to lose). In fact, the last time the Globes and Oscars agreed on anything was back in 2003, with "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King." So yeah, they didn't nominate two of the most loved films of the year, but I'm not too worried.

In fact, contrary to what the Globes suggest, not only do I believe these two films will be nominated, I believe these two films are going to be the big competition. These are the only two movies that have loyal supporters who are willing to go to great lengths to prove to other people that they are great films. These other films, while having good reviews and word-of-mouth, simply don't have the passion behind them that these two have. So while this whole business with the Globes is disappointing, I think we'll have the last laugh when, come Oscar night, these two critical darlings go head-to-head for the top prize.

By The Way...

Happy Birthday to me.

Golden Globe Nominees

So here are the nominees for the Golden Globes:

Best Picture, Drama
Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Picture Comedy/Musical
Burn After Reading
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, Ben Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road

Actor, Drama
Leo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Actress, Drama
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Joie, Changeling
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved you So Long
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Supporting Actor
Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. Tropic Tunder
Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Actor, Comedy
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrel, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleason, In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman Last Chance Harvey

Actress, Comedy
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey

Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden)
Gomorrah (Italy)
I’ve Loved You So Long
Waltz with Bashir

Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Screenplay
Slumdog Millionaire
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Benjamin Button
Doubt

Score
Benjamin Button
Changeling
Defiance
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon

Song
Down to Earth, Wall-E
Gran Torino
I thought I Lost You, Bolt
Once in a Lifetime, Cadillac Record
The Wrestler, The Wrestler

Interesting set of nominees I'd say. Looks like Benjiman Button and "Doubt" lead the nominees with five nominations each (though "Doubt" does so without a nomination for either Picture or Director). I know we're all surprised to see "The Dark Knight" and "Milk" get mostly shut out, but don't count these films out of the Oscar race. Keep in mind the last time the Globes and Oscars actually awarded the same film Best Picture was in 2003, when "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" walked home with the top prizes. And 2004's Best Picture winner, "Crash," wasn't even nominated at the Globes. Plus they have two picture categories, so sometimes the vote gets split on those movies that fall somewhere in the middle. So in short, don't count Nolan and Van Sant out yet, with the critics and public choice awards going mostly in their favor, I think one of them will have the last laugh come Oscar night.

It IS nice to see both Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. get Best Supporting Actor nods for their work in "Tropic Thunder," and so my prediction that Tom Cruise may get a nomination in this category is looking more likely. Ultimately though the big push is going to come when the Director's Guild and Critics Choice give out their awards. They're the big ones, and they usually award the films that get nominated. So enjoy the Globes, and don't feel too bad about your favorite film not getting a nomination. It ain't over til it's over.

I'm 'Tweeting' These Days

So I'm making this (non-Oscar related) post to let you all know that I've signed up for a Twitter account. So far I haven't found much of a practical use for the service yet, but I figured I'd give it a test run and see how it helps. Once my websites are back up and running maybe it will come in handy. I'll give it til June to be of value. In the meantime, you can visit the site here:

http://twitter.com/KevinTRod

Pete's Top Ten

Peter Travis, film critic of Rolling Stone (and one of the few legit critics working these days), has posted his top ten best films of 2008 list. They are:

1. Milk
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. The Dark Knight
4. Frost/Nixon
5. WALL-E
6. Revolutionary Road
7. The Visitor
8. Doubt
9. Rachel Getting Married
10. Man on Wire

Good to see "The Dark Knight" and "Wall•E" up on the list. It's also nice to see someone giving "Rachel Getting Married" some well deserved recognition. And "Milk" gets another number one spot. Is that our next Best Picture winner? I won't be putting my list together until early January, so I'll hold off commenting my opinions for the moment.

Nominees For The 14th Annual Critics Choice Awards Reveled

For your reading pleasure, here are the nominees for the Critics Choice Awards:

BEST PICTURE

Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR

Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Kate Beckinsale - Nothing But the Truth
Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
James Franco - Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Vera Farmiga - Nothing But the Truth
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - The Reader

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Milk
Rachel Getting Married

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant - Milk

BEST WRITER (Original or Adapted Screenplay)

Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (Under 21)

Dakota Fanning - The Secret Life of Bees
David Kross - The Reader
Dev Petal - Slumdog Millionaire
Brandon Walters - Australia

BEST ACTION MOVIE

The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Wanted

BEST COMEDY MOVIE

Burn After Reading
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Role Models
Tropic Thunder
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

John Adams
Recount
Coco Chanel

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

A Christmas Tale
Gomorrah
I’ve Loved You So Long
Let the Right One In
Mongol
Waltz With Bashir

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

I.O.U.S.A.
Man On Wire
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Standard Operating Procedure
Young At Heart

BEST SONG

“Another Way to Die” (performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, written by Jack White) - Quantum of Solace
“Down to Earth” (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman) - Wall-E
“I Thought I Lost You” (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele) - Bolt
“Jaiho” (performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar) - Slumdog Millionaire
“The Wrestler” (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen) - The Wrestler

BEST COMPOSER

Alexandre Desp lat - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Clint Eastwood - Changeling
Danny Elfman - Milk
Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight
A.R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire

Right now here are the leaders of the pack:

Milk (Eight Nominations)

Best Picture
Best Actor
Two Best Supporting Actor Nominations
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director
Best Writer
Best Composer

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eight Nominations)

Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actress
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director
Best Writer
Best Composer

The Dark Knight (Six Nominations)

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director
Best Action Movie
Best Composer

Doubt (Six Nominations)

Best Picture
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Writer

Slumdog Millionaire (Six Nominations)

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Writer
Best Young Actor/Actress
Best Song
Best Composer

So what does this mean for Oscar season? Well, not too much, though we are starting to see a pattern emerge so that we have a slightly better idea of how the Oscar race is turning out. Here are some things we do know:

• "The Dark Knight" is more likely to get a Best Picture nomination if not outright become the favorite to win.
• "Revolutionary Road" may be trouble, based on it's total shut-out here.
• "The Curious Case of Benjiman Button" is looking to be more then just hype.
• "Slumdog Millionaire" could become this years "Little Film That Could" after all.

Other then that though we don't know much. The Golden Globes are going to be announcing their nominees soon, so once those are announced we may or may not have a good idea on how the Oscar noms will go. Remember, anything can happen and nothing is certain. I mean, just take a look at that song list: Miley Cyrus is a CCA nominee. Crickey!

Oscar For "Seven Pounds?"

I got to see a sneak preview of the new Will Smith movie "Seven Pounds" tonight. Now I can't post my full review until the 19th, but I will say I did enjoy the film. Greatly even. Despite it's flaws (and there were some apparent ones) it was a really emotional movie. So is it Oscar worthy? Not really, but I can see it getting two nominations. The first would be Best Actor for Will Smith because...well, because he's Will Smith, and voters love him (as do the Neilson rating). However I think the more likely nomination will actually come for the under-hyped Rosario Dawson, who takes a sympathic character and makes her as likable as she can. She helps bring the emotional core of this movie to full light, and is arguebly more sympathetic then Smith's character is. Plus she's in it for about 90% of the movie, so a Best Actress nomination is more likely then a supporting. It's a long shot, but I would be very happy if Dawson snuck into the nominees at this point.

Dark Knight's Score Is Back In

According to the L.A. Times Hanzs Zimmers and James Newton Howards score for "The Dark Knight" is qualified once again to run in the Oscar race. The Academy likes to have a single vision for the score, much like for directors and screenwriters, but for whatever reason it appears they caved for this score. Why? Well, this is a personal thoery only, but I think the Academy really wants this film to get as many Oscar nominations as possible, which would in turn (hopefully) lead to more eyeballs tuning into the show come March.

"The Wrestler" Trailer

You've likely already seen this, but I just saw it when I saw "Milk." I have to say, the performance in the trailer alone is making me excited.

"Milk" Review

Until I open my movie site again, I've decided to start publishing my reviews here. Hope you don't mind.

Title: Milk
Director: Gus Van Sant
Staring: Sean Penn
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Studio: Focus Features
Genre(s): Drama
Rated: R (For language, some sexual content and brief violence)

Contrary to what you might have been led to believe, Harvey Milk was not one of the most influential politicians who ever lived. He assumed public office in his late forties. He held that position less then a year before he was killed by a fellow politician. Truthfully, if you were to look at the biggest thing he accomplished, it would be that he got people to start picking up their pets droppings in public. Yes, the biggest law he helped get pasted involved poop. So if this was his greatest claim to fame why would Gus Van Sant make a biopic of this man, simply named “Milk.” Well, it’s easy: Because Harvey Milk was an unconventional man who lived an unconventional life. He was the first openly gay man elected to public office.

The fact that he was more politician then activist helped solidify his reputation. Milk (Sean Penn) came from a poor background and didn’t run for public office until late into his life, when local hatred inspired him to change things. He ran a few times unsuccessfully, which cost him his personal life as well as his boyfriend, Scott (James Franco). When he was elected as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors you could hear the celebrated cries from gay men and women throughout the world: Someone who understood them and their problems was finally part of “the machine.” So inspirational is this fact alone that a young gay teenager in a wheelchair even finds the strength to keep on living after contemplating suicide.

So while Milk’s biggest claim to fame may be that he solved the poop problem, as you can see he is legend in San Francisco. This movie will help you understand why. Rather then give us a three-hour biopic though, Van Sant only briefly mentions Milk’s past and only hints at the controversial events after his murder. This is a movie about Milk’s political run, most noticbly his fight to defeat Proposition 6, a bill that, if passed, would discriminate against homosexuals and force them out of teaching positions at schools. Some people may make comparisons to the recent Proposition 8 at this point, but the reality is the laws are two very different things, with very different debates going on between them. Besides, even this topic isn’t delved into too deeply.

The movie is mainly about relationships. Milk’s relationships with men in his life. His relationship to the public. At the core of the movie is his relationship with Dan White (Josh Brolin), a conservative who often clashes with Milk on various subjects, and who would eventually become Milk’s assassin. Their relationship is tense, with enough love/hate emotions going back and forth to make it all the more unsettling. Hopefully a sequel will be made so that the Dan White character can be analyzed some more. For now though, this will have to do. When I told my friends at church I saw this movie they were surprised. They wanted to know why I would go see a movie about people who were so obviously living in sin.

I told them that this was hypocritical. We all obviously live in sin. We don’t try, we just do sometimes. And while the movie had one too many sex scenes for my personal comfort, the theme of giving people hope and inspiration is a story that has worked many times before. It worked in “The Ten Commandments,” it worked in “Schindler’s List,” and it works here. Is it a perfect movie? No. It has too many little problems that add up to make it that. But it is one of the best films of the year, and it’s certainly going to get people talking. Not so much about homosexuality, but about hope, love, and compassion. Ironically enough, even though most churches will boycott this movie, these are many of the key things Jesus himself preached.

Grade: **** stars

Love Narnia's Melody

I know the race for Best Picture is more interesting, but I feel that Regina Spektor's wonderful song from "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" has got a very good shot at winning Best Song. If you haven't heard it yet, then feel free to listen to it now:

"Frost/Nixon" Kicks Butt At The Box Office

"Frost/Nixon" continues to show that it is a contender this Oscar season. First there were great preview reviews. Then the full reviews came in and they were great. Now the film has opened to the public. Granted, it's in limited release, on a mere three screens in the entire country, but it's still making lots of money on those few screens. To be precise, it made around $180,000 this weekend on those three screens. That's average $60,00 per screen, which is more money then "A Beautiful Mind" made on those screens, and this is a good sign that the public will warm up to the film easily when it's released country wide.

'Sunshine' Producers Follow Up With Sunshine

From the studio that brought us "Little Miss Sunshine" comes "Sunshine Cleaning," the film that looks to be next years "Little Film That Could" Oscar nominee. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be talking about next years nominees when we're getting closer to finding out this years nominees, but watching the trailer gave me the impression that, should it be good, voters are going to love this film. A life dramedy featuring an Oscar nominated (and winning) cast, with lots of dark humor and heart? Sounds like a hit to me. Plus it's got Amy Adams, who is one of the most likable actresses in a long time, which could boost this films chances come next year. It will open in limited release March 19th, 2009, but for now enjoy the trailer:

Join The Dark Campaign

For as long as I've been reviewing movies and talking about Oscars there is something that constantly pops up in conversation: I don't watch the Oscars because they don't matter. Now all that is changing. I'm having more Oscar discussions then I can remember. Thanks to "The Dark Knight," people care about the Oscars again. If this film is nominated the Oscars will really be worth talking about, and if it wins they will be important to the general public once again. This should be reason alone to nominate the film, but the Academy still has many people who don't believe the members will even vote for the film (a concern that is well validated). That's why a group of fans have started Dark Campaign.com, a website by fans encouraging the Academy to vote for this film. If you want to see this wonderful film nominated, then go to the site and see what you can do. In the meantime, a good start would be to e-mail out this viral video they made. It does a pretty good job at advertising this movie as Oscar material, and so it e-mailing to everyone in your address book makes a lot of sense right now:

Australia Pays Tribute To Heath

The Australian Film Institute has decided to award Heath Ledger the Best Actor award for his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight." On top of that they made this touching tribute to the actor. It was a touching video, though I think it was unfair that they skipped over some of his brilliant comedic performances in "A Knight's Tale" and "Casanova." And while his family made a touching speech, I would prefer Michelle Williams and his daughter join his family when he's award his much deserved Oscar.

Keeping Track of the Numbers

Just for fun, if we were to assume that all of the movies in my Best Picture predictions were to be nominated, this is what their total nominations would be (according to me):

• Changeling: 9
• The Dark Knight: 13
  
• Frost/Nixon: 6
  
• Milk: 9
  
• Rachel Getting Married: 5
• Wall-E: 7

Just thought you'd be interested to know.

Milk's BSA Race

Okay guys, let it be known that I no doubt that a certain dead guy playing a clown is going to win the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars. That said, there are three really good supporting performances in "Milk," and I'm starting to wonder which one of the three is going to get the nomination. Will it be Josh Brolin as Dan White, the homophobic conservative who kills Milk. Maybe it will be James Franco who plays Milk's lover. And then there's Emile Hirsch, stealing every scene he's in as the...well, you have to see for yourself. Of course, there's the chance that two of them could get nods, but then who gets left out. If one has to get left out, chances are it will be Hirsch. Or will all three of them get nominations? I'm telling you, this race is worth taking bets on, just for the pure excitement of it. Then there's the (very unlikely) forth option: They all cancel each other out and no one gets nominated. Doubtful, but you never know. So readers who have seen the film it's time to comment on how you think this particular race is going to pan out.

'Slumdog' Wins NBR

The National Board of Review has given out it's awards to what the voters felt were the best films of the year. Below is the full list of the awards given by the NBR:

• Best Film: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
• Best Director: DAVID FINCHER, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Best Actor: CLINT EASTWOOD, Gran Torino
• Best Actress: ANNE HATHAWAY, Rachel Getting Married
• Best Supporting Actor: JOSH BROLIN, Milk
• Best Supporting Actress: PENELOPE CRUZ, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Best Foreign Language Film: MONGOL
• Best Documentary: MAN ON WIRE
• Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
• Best Ensemble Cast: DOUBT

• Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: DEV PATEL, Slumdog Millionaire
• Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: VIOLA DAVIS, Doubt
• Best Directorial Debut: COURTNEY HUNT, Frozen River
• Best Original Screenplay: NICK SCHENK, Gran Torino
• Best Adapted Screenplay: SIMON BEAUFOY, Slumdog Millionaire and
ERIC ROTH, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Spotlight Award: MELISSA LEO, Frozen River and
RICHARD JENKINS, The Visitor
• The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression: TRUMBO

• Top Ten Films:
(In alphabetical order)
BURN AFTER READING
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
DEFIANCE
FROST/NIXON
GRAN TORINO
MILK
WALL-E
THE WRESTLER

• Top Five Foreign Language Films:
(In alphabetical order)
EDGE OF HEAVEN
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
ROMAN DE GUERRE
A SECRET
WALTZ WITH BASHIR

• Top Five Documentary Films
(In alphabetical order)
AMERICAN TEEN
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
DEAR ZACHARY
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED

• William K. Everson Film History Award: MOLLY HASKELL and ANDREW SARRIS

Now obviously the big deal for these results is that the independant film "Slumdog Millionaire" won the top prize, which should bode well for Fox Searchlight who released Oscar nominees "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Juno," and likely has similar Oscar hope with this film. Though I congradulate Fox on this win, this does not mean an Oscar win in the future (or even a nomination). The problem with this film is while it is critically acclaimed, unlike Sunshine and Juno, the audiences are ignoring this film completely at the box office, and so the word-of-mouth that drove the aforementioned films just isn't there. What is nice to know is that both "The Dark Knight" and "Wall•E" were among the top ten films of the year, which bodes well for their Oscar chances.

The Coen Brothers latest comedy "Burn After Reading" was also in this list, so we may see a screenplay nomination at the Oscars come yet. Of course "Wall•E" won the Best Animated Feature award, and Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for "Vicky Cristina Barcelon," proving what I suspected all along: That this performance would have legs and likely be remembered come awards season. Clint Eastwood won Best Actor for "Gran Torino," so this movie could be the big surprise at the Oscars. If there is an upset (and this can be considered so) is that Josh Brolin won Best Supporting Actor for "Milk." Which is all fine and good, seeing as how there are three potential Best Supporting Actor nominations coming from that movie. The thing that surprised people was that Heath Ledger was actually beat in this category.

It appears that while Heath may be considered a lock at the Oscars, he might not be a lock anywhere else. See folks, while I think we all agree he should win an Oscar for his role, there is a slight chance he'll lose. Now I post this list because it's interesting, but don't use these awards as a guide for how you should place your bets come Oscar night. The NBR and Academy rarely votes the same way, and the winners rarely match between the two. "No Country For Old Men" did but that was a rare exception. For now I'd like to congradulate "Slumdog Millionaire" for it's big win, and hoping it can go the distance come Oscar time.

Ron Howard In The Running?

They say anything can happen in the Oscar game, and we've been seeing that happen all year. The potential for a superhero film to get a Best Picture nomination? Check. A comeback nomination for an actor who destroyed his career by jumping on a couch? Check. An animated film being more impressive then many live action efforts? Check. And now, we're starting to see a potential winner in Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon." Now even though I was looking forward to this film all year round, the Oscar potential seemed slim. At best a Best Actor nomination for Frank Langella and not much more. But early reviews are trickling in and the critics can't stop raving about the film. They are calling it one of Howard's best films since "Apollo 13." They love the performaces of Michael Sheen and Langella. Some people have claimed it to be superior to the Broadway play. If audiences respond well to the film we might have a front-runner on our hands. Nothing is certain as the reviews that have leaked are few and far between, and the critical reception can change by the end of the weekend, but for now, during a year when we're worried about filler nominations in the top category, this is certainly something to pay attention to.

This also comes off some early reviews for "Doubt," a movie that was singled out as being a sure Best Picture nominee, but thanks to some lukewarm early reviews...well, not to make a bad pun, but the nominations looking more doubtful now. This is actually a very good example of why no one knows anything with the Oscar race, and why making predictions before a films release is futile. Most of the early buzz is simply smart marketing from studio executives who want their films nominated anyway. Both "Doubt" and "Frost/Nixon" are remakes of stage plays. Earlier in the year "Doubt" looked like a sure bet while "Frost/Nixon" looked like a long shot. Now the situation has been reversed. It's been very likely that at least one of the stage movies would be nominated (there's too few slots for both), but it's very funny how we're singing a different tune as to which will be nominated now. I look forward to seeing both films, and I'll give my thoughts on them when I see them.