THE 2011 ACADEMY AWARD'S NOMINATION REPORT CARD!

The nominations are in for the 83rd Academy Awards, now let use view them and dissect the nominees with cruel attention.

BEST ACTOR

This is were every actor wants to be, well that is if he gives two cents about his career. We got a lot of contenders this year and also a lot of snubs in this category as well. Javier Bardem who gives a once in a lifetime performance in Biutiful. We also got Jeff Bridges playing the dude in a western with True Grit, a nomination that should have went to either Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter or Leonardo Dicaprio for Shutter Island. Then there is Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network, a much deserved nomination. Colin Firth got his for The Kings Speech and James Franco rounds out the top five with 127 Hours.

THE JUDEMENT CALL: Most likely it will go to Colin Firth for The Kings Speech, but in all reality it should go Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network. But if you go on just the power of raw emotion then Javier Bardem is the winner by a landslide.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTIN ROLE

Christian Bale got a nomination for fallen hero turned crack head in The Fighter, speaking that he is in my top five favorite actors living this is a well deserved nomination for him and his career. Though my heart thinks that John Hawkes for Winters Bone should win the category without a fight, his character has the most raw energy and heart break more so than any other performance this year. There is also Jeremy Renner, the only good thing about that movie called The Town. Also we have Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right and Geoffrey Rush for The Kings Speech.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Christian Bale will win this award, but John Hawkes should be at the podium giving his thanks.

BEST ACTRESS

It has been a strong year for women, but out of the five nominated I am only impressed by two. The one who deserves to win is Jennifer Lawrence for Winters Bone, she gives a brave and original performance then any other female lead this year. The other is Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine, but she is such a talent she will win eventually. Then there is Annette Bening for The Kids Are Alright, she has never won an Oscar and this performance might help her get the trophy she has always wanted, the voters are saps for the long overdue Oscar. Nicole Kidman got a nomination as a mother who has to cope with the loss of her children, but she doesn’t have a chance at a win because Naomi Watts gave the exact same performance for 21 Grams and still walked away empty handed. Then there is the unstoppable juggernaut that is Natalie Portman for The Black Swan, a horrible mess of a movie and performance. Noomi Rapace should have been nominated for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a very underrated performance by any female lead this year.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Natalie Portman will win this award, but it should be awarded to Jennifer Lawrence for Winters Bone.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

There are a lot of great women nominated in this category, this was a great year for women in general, at least when it comes to performance. We got Amy Adams and Melissa Leo both nominated for The Fighter, Melissa Leo gave the better performance but I think they will cross each other out. There’s also Helena Bonham Carter who for some reason has never won an Oscar, which is a surprise because she is such a good talent. This will not be her year though, but the most puzzlement I have in this category was Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit? To me it is amongst one of the worst films of the year, but audiences and critics alike are eating up this lifetime channel western. I have no clue why she is nominated or the film for that matter? But the women to place your money on for the award would be Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom. I have never seen a performance that engulfed the word evil with such ease and sinister happiness. Watching her over the course of the film you get goose bumps, name another actor that can do that?

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Jacki Weaver will and deserves to win this award.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Toy Story 3 got the luck of being nominated here and the best picture category, I think it should only be one but we all know it wont win Best Picture. I enjoyed How To Train Your Dragon more so than Toy Story 3, so it would be the one I think should win. Then again there is also the lushes The Illusionist, which looks like a walking painting. I still think they could add more films to the category besides three nominations. Did everyone forget about Despicable Me, Mega Mind, and Tangled?

THE JUDGEMETN CALL: Toy Story 3 DUH?! Give me a year that PIXAR hasn’t won outside of the cartoon Cars.

ART DIRECTION

Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hollows Part 1, Inception, The Kings Speech, and True Grit. All of these films had great art direction, I would root for Harry Potter but Inception had a greater overall design, but in the end we all know who will win this.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: The Kings Speech sadly, history pieces always win in Art and Costume.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Hard to choose because the cinematography just like the editing is what ultimately gives the film its look and flow. We have The Black Swan, Inception, The Kings Speech, The Social Network, and True Grit. In a perfect world Inception would win but we know this is sadly mistaken.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: The Social Network will win and that I wont complain about, but Inception was filmed all over the globe?!

COSTUME DESIGN

I don’t read vogue or watch sex and the city so I guess my fashion sense is not up to task on this one. We have Alice In Wonderland, I Am Love, The Kings Speech, The Tempest, and unfortunately True Grit?

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: It will be a knock around between The Kings Speech and The Tempest, with The Kings Speech most likely taking the award.

DIRECTING

Um hum, will the real Christopher Nolan please stand up? Well he cant exactly cause the voters decided not to nominate him this year for the over all audience pleaser Inception. I mean this guy knocks it out of the park with The Dark Knight and then almost reinvents film with Inception. I wouldn’t be to sad though I mean they never honored Hitchcock or Kubrick in this category, and to be the best living director alive and also be in there company is not a bad thing. So who did they nominate, ugh! Darren Aronofsky for The Black Swan, David O. Russell for The Fighter, Tom Hooper for The Kings Speech, David Fincher for The Social Network, and one more ugh here, Joel & Ethan Coen for True Grit. Three of these directors deserve to be here, two do not, I’ll let you figure out which.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: David Fincher will win for The Social Network, because he deserves it.

BEST DOCUMENTRAY FEATURE

Exit Through The Gift Shop should win on principle, I mean when will we ever get to see the most wanted as in aka the LAW and best street artist nominated for an Oscar again. I think voters will choose it just to see if he shows up to accept it. We all know he most likely wont, but it will still be cool just for him to win. And the Oscar goes to…

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Banksy and some French guy, not because it is better then the others nominated, just for the principle.

BEST EDITING

Cant believe Inception was locked out of this category as well, if a film works and runs smoothly it is because of the editing, two things Inception succeed at. Instead of that we got The Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kings Speech, 127 Hours, and The Social Network.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: The Social Network because it is the best edited film nominated.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

For some reason I think Animal Kingdom should be nominated here, but because it is in English many voters might have been turned off by the idea. There’s Biutiful from Mexico, Dogtooth from Greece, In A Better World from Denmark, Incendies from Canada, and Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) from Algeria.

THE JUDEMENT CALL: Biutiful of course, I mean it’s the only other foreign language film I’ve heard about this year seaside in a good way.

BEST MAKEUP

Barney's Vision, The Way Back, and The Wolfman. I know its a lot to choose from I wonder what will win?

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: They could give it to The Wolfman for nostalgia, but the makeup in The Way Back is outstanding. It will be a coin toss between those two films.

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Well it should be easy I mean Hans Zimmer’s score for Inception is the most recognizable of the year, synth electronics with harsh occupying drums and horns. There is also How To Train Your Dragon, The Kings Speech, 127 Hours, and The Social Network.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Hans should win but it will go to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network, only because the rock gods awards those who worship there awesomeness.

BEST SONG

Um well there's not a lot to be overjoyed about in this category. We got Coming Home from Country Strong, I See The Light from Tangled, We Belong Together from Toy Story 3, and If I Rise from 127 hours.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: If I Rise by A.R. Rahman, Dido, and Rollo Armstrong. Though lets be serious for a moment,  every song that Beck wrote for Scott Pilgrim VS. The World should be nominated in this category.

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Day & Night, The Gruffalo, Let’s Pollute, The Lost Thing, and Madagascar, A Journey Diary.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: The Lost Thing could win because of it’s visuals but Madagascar has more heart and soul, I would hope it could win.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Killing In The Name, Poster Girl, Strangers No More, Sun Come Up, The Warriors of Qiugang.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: I would go for Killing In The Name, a short documentary that follows Ashraf, a Muslim man who has devoted his life to opposing terrorism within the Muslim community ever since 26 members of his family were killed by a bombing on his wedding day.

SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION

The confession, The Crush, God of Love, Na Wewe, and Wish 143.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: I would go with Na Wewe, a short about a bus being attacked by rebels during the rwandan genocide.

SOUND EDITING

Inception, Toy Story 3, Tron: Legacy, True Grit, and Unstoppable.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: This really shouldn’t be that hard for voters, Inception all the way!

SOUND MIXING

Inception, The Kings Speech, Salt, The Social Network, and True Grit.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: This should go to Inception without a fight but I have a feeling that The Social Network will come in for the kill.

VIUSAL EFFECTS

I mean how did Hereafter end up with this nomination, what about Tron voters! Anyway we also got Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows Part 1, Inception, and Iron Man 2.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: If you know 2+2=4, then it is a safe guess to say that Inception will win this victoriously.

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

This is obvious, I mean Aaron Sorkin has written one of the best screenplays of the decade with The Social Network. Yet it would be nice to see Winters Bone win this also, but there is also (ugh) True Grit, Toy Story 3, and 127 hours.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: This is not even a competition, The Social Network wins by a landslide.

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

This one would look obvious I mean you would think the academy would give this to Christopher Nolan for Inception just out of respect for his directing snub, well think again? They left him cold when Memento was up in this category, they’ll do the same here again, sadly. We also have Another Year, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, and The Kings Speech.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: The Kings Speech will win and so I feel very sorry for it’s writer David Seidler trying to keep a straight face and not stutter in his acceptance ssspppppeech.

BEST PICTURE

Now this is the biggest award of the entire night, the one film that will trump all others just because it has the Academy logo on it. There is the sequel to Jacobs Latter called The Black Swan, the lets get it done boxing film of the year The Fighter, the brilliant Inception, the lesbian love triangle of  The Kids Are All Right, The stuttering Stanley of The Kings Speech, The don’t look or you’ll miss it scene stealer that was 127 hours, greed is always good with The Social Network, the cartoon Toy Story 3, the do we really need another remake True Grit, and the great little masterpiece that is Winters Bone. Its ten films in all and half of them shouldn’t even be up there, but it is a simple and predictable year.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Winters Bone should win but The Social Network will rule supreme, but there could be a chance that The Kings Speech walks off with the big prize of the night, and it will leave everybody wondering how the empire really strikes back!

WHAT THE ACADEMY GOT RIGHT: Well nominating Winters Bone, giving some love to Animal Kingdom, and nominating Banksy. Also they made Javier Bardem the first actor to be nominated for a Spanish speaking role, plus they gave love to Inception when they really didn’t have to.

WHAT THE ACADEMY GOT WRONG!: Nominating True Grit for 10 Oscars, nominating The Black Swan for anything! Not giving Christopher Nolan his well deserved Director nomination, not nominating Animal Kingdom for all of the above statues, and confusing Toy Story 3 for an actual real film! Never giving the highest grossing franchise of all time a chance or best picture nomination, Harry Potter I'm talking about you! & finally for not nominating Leonardo Dicaprio for Shutter Island or Inception!

BUY OF THE MONTH!

Of course this is what I would tell you to shuffle out your money for this month. The Social Network on Blu-Ray! David Fincher always loads his films with great extra features and The Social Network does not disappoint. The making of the film alone is worth the cash, I turned it on thinking it was going to be at the most forty minutes long, turned out to be almost as long as the movie. Plus you can go behind the making of the music with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and that’s not even including what else the disc comes with. The clarity on an HDTV is crystal clear, you can notice the power of filming a movie on digital cameras while watching this on Blu-Ray. Everyone is probably picking this up already after the Golden Globe wins this past week, but I’m just here to remind you that it is worth the cash. If your David Fincher fix is still not satisfied with just this purchase I can also recommend Fight Club on Blu-Ray. Just as great and important of a film as the one mentioned above, and its also just fifteen bucks at Wal-Mart.

THE JUDGMENT CALL: Not only is it one of the best films of the year, it is almost as revolutionary a disc as Fight Club was when it was first released onto DVD! Do yourself a favor and pick this up, it will be on constant non stop play for at least a few weeks.

Do The Right Thing

What can be said about last weeks Golden Globes telecast? Well out of the films nominated the one that deserved to win actually did, that being The Social Network. Even though I think Winters Bone is a superior film it has been outsourced at the awards this year, with the exception of a best actress nomination for Jennifer Lawrence. I am hear to say that the Golden Globes actually got it right except in the best acting category.
I will admit I haven’t seen The Kings Speech yet and I am sure it is a wonderful feel good film, I tend to like those the most. Colin Firth has won every dam award known to man this year for his performance in the film, leaving Jessie Eisenberg trailing in second place every time.
To me this is ludicrous on a grand scale for many reasons, the main one being that Jesse Eisenberg has given the best performance of the year. His performance carries the entire film on his shoulders, without it the film would fall flatter than a suicide jumper coming out of a one story window.  So with that logic I cant understand why he has been shut out of every award he is up for, even the critics choice awards (a good bunch of self absorbed critic’s and film school drop outs) wouldn’t even give it to him.
I think when it comes to reality it might be because Jesse Eisenberg is so young, well not to young, 27 to be exact. A lot of people in the industry might think he has more to prove, and that Colin Firth has already proven himself enough with his body of work.
That is just me assuming, yet what still gives me hope and dread this year is the Academy Awards, for they are the ultimate film award that matters in any context, besides winning at Cannes. The academy for the most part tends to get it right on occasion, even though they have overlooked a lot of great films in the past. Last year proved that point when they decided to give best film to The Hurt Locker, a movie no one saw over a movie everyone saw which was Avatar.
So there is still hope for Jessie Eisenberg this year, the academy might actually go for the actual best performance of the year over what everyone else is doing just to be different and hip, and you cant get more hip than awarding someone who is young.
Though the Academy has screwed up far worse in the past, prime example of that was when Tom Hanks won his first Oscar for Philadelphia. It should of went to Liam Neeson for Schindler’s List, which would fit into the same position as Jessie Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg. Nesson’s performance carried the entire weight of the film, if his performance was not up to task that film would have failed, the same with The Social Network. Yet the Academy decided to go with Tom Hanks as an HIV stricken homosexual out for justice, and don’t get me wrong Philadelphia is an amazing film, but it was also a political statement. Tom Hanks should have won his second Oscar for Saving Private Ryan, yet they gave it to Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful? When was the last time you heard of him? I rest my case on that part of the subject.
So when the Academy decides to hand out it’s Oscars there might be a chance of hope that they make the right decision. They might even surprise people and give Leonardo Dicaprio a nomination for his riveting performance in Shutter Island, another actor everyone has highly overlooked this year. The man was the highest grossing actor of 2010 and both of his films were creditable among critics and audiences alike. I mean what can you do when you pull that off and your peers still slap you in the face without a single word of praise or nomination?
It would be nice this year to not know what the awards could bring, Jessie Eisenberg for best actor and even Jennifer Lawrence for best actress. Yet with dismay we know in our hearts that Colin Firth and Natalie Portman will most likely win, and to me there is nothing worse than predictability!

BUY OF THE MONTH!

My buy of the month is Inception on Bluray. Inception hitting Bluray has the same feeling that The Matrix did when it first arrived onto DVD. It just has that aw cool effect to it, and this Bluray does not disappoint. While you watch the movie you can view it on extraction mode, which I highly recommend. You get to see all the details of the film from start to finish in this mode. I knew making films was hard, but after watching this my hat goes off to everyone that is involved with the filmmaking process. If you can connect to BDLive then the possibilities are endless and the extras by themselves are a great wonder also. If you have an HDTV and a good surround sound system, this film will knock your roof off. This is the must own Bluray of the holiday season, so do your self a favor and pick it up for you cyber geek punk son or daughter, they will love you, at least in your dreams this holiday season.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: This is the must own Bluray besides Avatar!

Best Film Of The Year & All The Rest!

What could be the best film of the year? Everyone says The Social Network is a sure bet, I love that film more so than the one I picked. Inception changed everything this year, on how you could shoot, write, compose, and edit a film. So with all of the game changers this year, including Toy Story 3, and countless other mellow dramas, what is the film I tend to lean on the most. That would be without a doubt Winters Bone! A little independent film that didn’t make much money, but gobbled up Sundance to rule supreme. Personally I would have picked Scott Pilgrim VS. The World, but if you view Winters Bone it has something that a lot of other films didn’t this year, character. I mean the type of characters you care about over the remainder of a film, you stop what you are doing and want to see there outcome. That is what happened to me when I rented it, didn’t expect nothing special, but what I got was something much more important. A group of young filmmakers and actors/actresses making a film with so much heart and warmth, that it puts most peoples films to shame this year. You know all those big budgeted blockbusters where you don’t really care what happens, just as long as your eye sockets are all drained of fluid from the visuals. This film trumps all of those this year, and its all because of character. It is a simple premise, it takes place in the Ozarks of Missouri, the entire film centers around a character that isn’t even in it. Ree  Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is a seventeen year old girl who has to take care of her crazy mother, and little sister and brother, all because her father put the house up for his bond. So if her father doesn’t show up to court they will lose the house and everything they hold dear, so she goes on a journey to find him through the criminal underground enterprise of  Meth Makers. I’m not here to spoil the plot of the film or what lays ahead for viewers that haven’t seen it. I am simply summing up what the movie is about, and giving you my reasons for loving it the way I do. Jennifer Lawrence would win best actress this year at the Oscars if there was true justice in the world. She deserves to win because it is the best female performance of the year, but it will most likely go to Natalie Portman for her psyched out role as a crazy ballerina dancer. Or to Annette Bening for her lesbian turn in The Kids Are Alright, which in reality is a sympathy vote. The best performance of the film goes to John Hawkes (Teardrop). He plays Jennifer Lawrence’s uncle in the film, and at first he appears to be a villain. But like all things are with this film, not everything is as it seems. At the end of the film you want to cry for his character as he walks off leaving the only family he has left behind. Best supporting actor should go to him without a fight. Director Debra Granik does wonders with her second film, showing everyone in Hollywood that the directors chair is not just a male role. I am excited to see what she does next, but this year will not be hers at the award season, even though it should. If anything the acting will triumph over already decided winners. Shell be around along time though, consider this film her testament at what is to come from her and her filmmaking team. Winters Bone is the best film of the year period! Rent it or pick it up on bluray, you will not be disappointed at were this journey leads and finally ends.

Best Actor of the year hands down should be awarded to Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network. There are a lot of great contenders out there this year like James Franco for 127 Hours, Javier Bardem Biutiful, and Colin Firth for The Kings Speech. The winner will most likely be Colin Firth for another British drama that no one will see. What makes Eisenberg’s performance of Mark Zuckerberg better than all the rest is this, you can watch The Social Network ten times in a row and get a different perspective of his performance each time. The first time I saw it I thought he was an asshole, by the second time I felt sorry for him. That is what a performance is supposed to do and convey, no one else this year has pulled it off like him, and that is why the Oscar should already be in his hands.

Now the best supporting actress category is real tricky, cause you never know whose going to get nominated or who will win. So since I am senseless in the category I am going to pick my personal favorite of the year. Ellen Wong for playing Knives Chow in Scott Pilgrim VS. The World. She is funny, fast paced, and most of all makes us feel her heartbreak from Scott's break up. Almost brought a tear to my eye for a movie that silly, but I guess that is what acting is supposed to do.

Best Director is not a tuff call this year, everyone knows this is David Fincher’s year for The Social Network. It is a long over due Oscar, just like when Danny Boyle won for Slumdog Millionaire. Christopher Nolan should win for Inception, but academy members might feel he hasn’t put in enough work just yet. He will be shut out again, but hopefully they will at least acknowledge his brilliance with a nomination this year.

Best Adapted Screenplay is also no surprise this year, Aaron Sorkin’s adapted screenplay for The Social Network is a win. This is one of those screenplays that actually makes the film, since most of the film is dialogue anyway. This is a just deserved win if not an obvious one.

Best Screenplay will go to Christopher Nolan for Inception. The story is out there, but the way it is placed onto paper and visualized on the screen should go over well with voters. Plus they got to give him something for snubbing his film The Dark Knight a few years back, yes Academy we still haven’t forgotten!

Best Musical Score I would assume would also go to Inception, it is the most original of the year. Electronic sounds accompanied by mind blowing visuals adds to the effect, and voters wont forget that.

Best Song for me would go to Beck for Ramona for Scott Pilgrim VS. The World. Yet that is me thinking that I live in a perfect world, it will probably go to some Disney movie like almost every year!

Best Animated film will go to Toy Story 3, even though I enjoyed How To Drain Your Dragon a little bit more.

Best Cinematography is a tuff one for me. The Social Network's mood and lighting kind of gave the over all tone of the film which is great, but Inception dealt with many locations on a grand scale. I would place my money on The Social Network, but I wouldn’t count out Inception for a surprise win.

Best Art Direction and Costume Design will either go to The Black Swan or The Kings Speech.

Best Editing will go to The Social Network, but in reality Inception should win this.

Best visual Effects will be a match of tug of war between Inception and Tron Legacy, but I have a feeling that Inception will come out the victor.

Best Sound and Sound Effects Editing should go to Inception, unless there is an unforeseen snub coming out of nowhere.

Best Makeup might go to The Black Swan, but don’t count out The Kings Speech either. Period movies or dramas usually win this category.

Best Foreign Language Film will go to Biutiful.

Best Documentary I am clueless about because I don’t get to see that many until they hit NetFlix! Yet if I had a wish list I Am Still Here would be eligible for this category and win, even though it turned out not to be real. Still a great study on the culture that is celebrity.

BUY OF THE MONTH!

Could Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World be the best film ever made, a lot would say no, but I would definitely say hell yeah! It has everything you want in a film. Humor, good acting, great music, out there visuals, and ass pounding action that borderlines insanity. Sprinkled with some old school video game nostalgia on top, and comic book gung ho, to me that is the perfect movie. I can understand that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, just as The Big Lebowski was when it had its first run; it was highly underrated and misunderstood. Now it has become a cult phenomenon and they even have Lebowski fest all over America. Scott Pilgrim will get the same accolades and understanding in time, thanks to Blu-Ray, NetFlix, and of course the vintage DVD. The film is based off of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series, the film gets most of the material from the original source right, but of course there are just certain things you have to leave out, for time reasons. In film you can only add so much and are allowed so little, so these minor flaws should be forgiven, because the movie is almost better in every way. This is the type of film you can watch by yourself and crack up at, it is also the type of film you can watch with your gal, and it is also the type of film you can watch with the guys, or just have play in the background at some random party. That type of film is what I consider a classic, at least among my ranking status. Edgar Wright has already directed two comedy classics, Shaun of the Dean, and Hot Fuzz. If you haven’t heard of those films or saw them you are what I would consider the lowest of the low, humorless, and to have a soul, you have to be able to laugh. This director is at the top of his form with this film, the humor is just right, and the editing makes the gags even funnier. A lot of people have been throwing a fit that Michael Cera was given the title role, but to me he was perfect. He wasn’t the same loser that he was in super-bad or all the other films he has been in, here he is a complete zero that has to rise from the ashes of being nothing, to get the woman he loves. Plus he actually kicks a lot of ass in this film, besides that he is also a really good actor. I can see him becoming the next Tom Hanks if he plays his cards right, or maybe even better, time will tell. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has been in this or that, but this is her break out role. She oozes with cool every time she is on the screen, her character is a real bitch of sorts, but also has some heart. This is a actress who will go places; she’s just to cool not to. Kieran Culkin shows up and steals almost every scene he is in, but the one actor I am most impressed with was Ellen Wong. This was supposedly her first film, and being that she did a great job at being the very young and naïve Knives. If ever a heart was melted so bad to the point of almost wanting to shed a tear, she hits it out of the park. The funniest and I think the best of the evil exes was Chris Evans as Lucas Lee. He just has that macho attitude that comes across with so much hilarity you cant help but laugh when he is finally handed the skateboard by Wallace Wells aka Kieran Culkin. The visuals are out of this world and if you have a Blu-Ray player I am sure they will pop your eye balls out. This films has the best visual effects this year outside of Inception. Yet the music is what really makes the movie flow like an adrenaline rush to the head. The music was produced by Nigel Godrich, you know the guy that produced all those great Radiohead albums. Yet the music is performed by Beck and cast. I can not recommend this film highly enough, it is well worth the cash. Even if all you have is a DVD player, the extras and quality are just as good as the Blu-Ray, but we must be real, nothing beats Blu-Ray.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: This is my buy of the month, you can do no wrong with picking this up. If you buy it and feel a little deceived on my position of the film, I have this to say to you. “This is impossible, how can this be?/Open your eyes, maybe you'll see!” That quote was taken from the movie above.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1

Harry Potter has become something more than just the highest grossing franchise of all time, it has become something more than a phenomenon, and it has become everyday life for a lot of people. Just like waking up and drinking your coffee or smoking that cigarette you shouldn’t, it is just there. No one can deny this, and it is because of this truth you either loathe or love Harry Potter and the whole gang at Hogwarts. I am a fan, took me awhile because I was in the loathe crowed. Then my wife took me to see one a few years back and it stuck like glue. I felt I was getting something more than I did with Star Wars and The Matrix combined, I was getting character. People I care about that aren’t real, that is an investment, and that is why Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 is an event film. It clocks in at 146 minutes, and if you’re a potter fan, not one of those minutes is wasted. It is the darkest in the series and Hogwarts is all but a shredded memory. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the run from Voldemort, while at the same time trying to find and destroy the horcruxes, which should eventually kill and destroy him. This if anything is a road movie, everyone shows up and is here and there, but the majority of the film is Harry, Ron, and Hermione camping and trying to figure out the next step. Not to worry if you find that kind of thing boring, you have teen lust and anger to go along with the journey. All of the actors have matured over the course of the decade and the performances we get know are at there peeks, and there best. David Yates as a director has all but took the series to a new high on film, and the memory of Christopher Columbus is well forgotten. I applaud him for being able to pull off the last three movies coherently, I mean the last director to do that in a trilogy was Peter Jackson with that little movie about the one ring. Yet my hat also goes off to Daniel Radcliffe, not only has he moved on from just being a prop in the series (though some critics disagree). He has matured the character to the extent of almost being believable in a false reality that could never really happen in this life. Trust me Harry Potter is not the end of the road for Radcliffe he will be a superstar until the day he passes most likely. Another actor in the series who has become the ultimate villain in cinema besides The Joker is Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort. The character has been in all six previous films lurking in the back-round, building his army, popping up here and there, and now he is in full kill mode. Anytime he is on screen, which is very limited, I get the chills of pure evil. If that is the effect the filmmakers have been going for then they surely got the right actor. Still what makes him a little eviler than most is what he plans to do humans (muggles as they are called in the films). He has a whole Hitler vibe to his ambition, a plan I think that would eventually wipe humanity from the map. You cant get deeper than that folks. The other actors like Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange does her villainy well, so do most of the rest of the cast. There is just so many characters to keep up with it can be trying at times, for a non potter fan at least. I really suggest if you are one of the curious but have never took the dive into watching the films, you should start with the first and continue onto the last. Or else you wont know anything about nothing with the plot of this film. The only negative thing I can say about the film is that it does end on a downer, and it really just ends. The bad guys win in this case, and a lot of good folks die. Though not to fear, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes out next July, just in time for us to see what the chosen is all about, and I can tell you this, part 2 will deliver the goods.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: A must see for the holiday season. It is the only movie out there over the holidays that has the children and the adults both excited. It is a win in my book, this series only gets better with each new installment. & if you don’t agree with this review, like my sister, we will say you are just muggle born.