Looking Forward To...

...Christmas. Aren't you?

Though I'm less excited about the actual day and more about taking some much needed time off from work to catch up on shows and movies. And of course to watch some of my favorite holiday favorites, like this:


I mean how amazingly re-watchable is this film? It warms the cockles of my heart just *thinking* about it. Plus the talent on-screen is just so severely stacked. God, I don't even know if I can hold out one more week to watch it again.

Are there any films you usually watch this time of year? Doesn't necessarily have to be holiday-related, of course.

Golden Globes: Film Nominations

There were a couple of double acting nominees and one or two left-field choices, but most of the favorites and front-runners so far this awards season were represented with Up in the Air leading with 6 nominations followed by Nine with 5, and Avatar and Inglourious Basterds with 4.

And the nominees are...

Best Director

• Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron, Avatar
• Clint Eastwood, Invictus
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

I'm thinking this might be how the Oscar lineup will look like except Tarantino will be swapped out with Lee Daniels (Precious). The front-runner right now is Bigelow who will be going up against her ex-husband of Avatar fame.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious
• Up in the Air

If I made my own predictions, this is what it probably would've looked liked with the exception of Inglourious Basterds which I still need to see. Up in the Air seems to have this all locked up especially since they lead all films with six nominations. But The Hurt Locker seems to be shaping up as the critical favorite while Avatar could very well just be a "game-changer" yet.

Best Actress, Drama

• Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

The Emily Blunt nomination is a bit of a surprise especially since I didn't really think she did anything special with the role. Having said that, Sandra Bullock? She's getting SO MUCH BUZZ lately. I have nothing against her, but seriously? Can anyone who has seen the movie enlighten me please?

Best Actor, Drama

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Colin Firth, A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Tobey Maguire, Brothers

I think everyone was a bit shocked to see Tobey Maguire appear on the list, but good for him. And while I'm almost confident HE won't win, it still seems like it's a dogfight amongst the others with Clooney and Bridges are the current front-runners.

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

• (500) Days of Summer
• The Hangover
• It's Complicated
• Julie & Julia
• Nine

No big shocks here. Again if I had predictions, I probably would've made the same choices except probably swapping The Hangover with A Serious Man. SO so so happy for the nomination of (500) Days of Summer! Yay!

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical

• Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
• Marion Cotillard, Nine
• Julia Roberts, Duplicity
• Meryl Streep, It's Complicated
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep is already the most nominated actor in Golden Globes history. Well she now has two more and is probably the front-runner here even with the possibility of splitting votes. Pretty stoked to see Cotillard and Roberts. Bullock again though. Seriously? The mind boggles.

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical

• Matt Damon, The Informant
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
• Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
• Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Oh Robert Downey Jr. Always getting in for the most random things. Remember last year, he was nominated for Tropic Thunder. I'm DELIRIOUSLY happy to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt nominated for the first time. HELL YEAH. No idea who'll win this one. Probably Day-Lewis or Damon, but I'm hoping for Gordon-Levitt to pull off a surprise win.

Best Supporting Actress

• Penelope Cruz, Nine
• Vera Farmigia, Up in the Air
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Mo'Nique, Precious
• Julianne Moore, A Single Man

A pretty impressive lineup of ladies here. The only performance I haven't seen is Penelope Cruz's. Mo'Nique will most likely win as she's the overwhelming frontrunner right now. Hoping Moore or one of the Air ladies get some traction this season, though Kendrick did win at the National Board Reviews.

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

I haven't seen any of these performances though I plan on seeing the latter three very soon. I'm especially happy to see Tucci since he's just fabulous and even though the movie is getting meh reviews, I'm glad he's still being recognized. Damon follows Bullock and Streep being double-nominated. Waltz is the overwhelming favorite.

Best Animated Film

• Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess and the Frog
• Up

This is most likely your Oscar lineup. And while Up is pretty damn wonderful, this is the year where Pixar is not a 100% surebet for the win. Look out for Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Best Foreign Language Film

• Baaria (Italy)
• Broken Embraces (Spain)
• The Maid (Chile)
• A Prophet (France)
• The White Ribbon (Germany)

I haven't seen any of these films. But it will most likely be between fellow Cannes rivals A Prophet (winner of the Grand Jury Prize) and The White Ribbon (winner of the Golden Palm).

Best Screenplay

• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• It's Complicated
• Up in the Air

Oh sure Golden Globes, split everything up for Comedy and Drama, but don't separate this category for Adapted and Original screenplay? In any case, I'm so happy to see District 9 nominated (it's one and only nom... boo!)! Up in the Air may be a slight front-runner, but really it's anyone's game.

Best Score

• Avatar
• A Single Man
• The Informant
• Up
• Where the Wild Things Are

Probably be Avatar, Up, or Wild Things. How awesome is it though that those three are not the type of films awards are usually bestowed upon: sci-fi, animated, and children's.

Best Song

• "Cinema Italiano," Nine
• "I Want to Come Home," Everybody's Fine
• "I See You," Avatar
• "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
• "Winter," Brothers

Odd to see Princess and the Frog shut out, but hey we got Leona Lewis, U2, Paul McCartney. And no Miley Cyrus! Awesome.

Click here for my thoughts on the TV nominations.

Golden Globes: TV Nominations

This year the Golden Globes took one step forward (Glee leads with 4 nominations!) and two steps back (only ONE nomination each for HIMYM, Modern Family, and Lost and generally boring/safe nominees). Though I've never really been happy/excited with their TV nominations from previous years, so it's more of the same really.

On to the nominees...

Best Television Series, Drama

• Big Love
• Dexter
• House
• Mad Men
• True Blood

I knew not to expect a near-miraculous nomination for the final season of Battlestar Galactica, but what's their problem with Lost? They also didn't nominate it last year. If they don't nominate it next year for its last season, things will burn. Oh and do any of the other show really have a chance against Mad Men. Come on? The finale alone was damn good.

Best Actress, Drama

• Glenn Close, Damages
• January Jones, Mad Men
• Julianna Marguilies, The Good Wife
• Anna Paquin, True Blood
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Not as boring as last year, especially with the inclusion of Julianna Marguilies this year, but nothing to get excited about. Seems like a safe bet for Glenn Close.

Best Actor, Drama

• Simon Baker, The Mentalist
• Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Bill Paxton, Big Love

Like the actress nominees, this list is pretty standard and therefore extremely boring. As much as I really like Jon Hamm, it'd be nice to see someone like Michael C. Hall win. I really should catch up on that show. I'm so severely behind.

Best Television Series, Comedy

• 30 Rock
• Entourage
• Glee
• Modern Family
• The Office

A good solid list now that I had time to think about it. Initially I was pissed that How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory weren't nominated, but I didn't REALLY expect them to be. Plus I'm thrilled for both Modern Family and Glee. Absolutely thrilled. 30 Rock finally has some worthy competition and its win is far from a sure bet this year.

Best Actress, Comedy

• Toni Collette, United States of Tara
• Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Lea Michele, Glee

Good selection. I'm quite happy for all of them, but especially for Courtney Cox and Lea Michele. The win will probably be between Collette and Falco though.

Best Actor, Comedy

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Steve Carrell, The Office
• David Duchovny, Californication
• Thomas Jane, Hung
• Matthew Morrison, Glee

Nothing against Matthew Morrison and I'm HAPPY he's nominated, but really?! Sure, why not. Kinda odd not to see Tony Shalhoub in the mix what with him being nominated last year and his show ending. It's also pretty shocking not to see the amazing Jim Parsons. A shame.

Best Actress, Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Joan Allen, Georgia O'Keefe
• Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens
• Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens
• Anna Paquin, Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
• Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby

Hollywood babes. I'm rooting for Sigourney Weaver, especially since it's the only performance I've seen, but really could you go wrong with any of these ladies?

Best Actor, Mini-Series or TV Movie

• Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance
• Kenneth Branagh, Wallander: One Step Behind
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, Endgame
• Brenda Gleeson, Into the Storm
• Jeremy Irons, Georgia O'Keefe

Didn't see any of these performances. But I'll randomly root for Chiwetel Ejiofor because of his kick-ass name and his work on Serenity.

Best Supporting Actress

• Jane Adams, Hung
• Rose Bryne, Damages
• Jane Lynch, Glee
• Janet McTeer, Into the Storm
• Chroe Sevigny, Big Love

I fear for the actress to receive this if their name is not Jane Lynch. Sue Sylvester will kick their ass. In a related note, WHEE JANE LYNCH!!!!!!

Best Supporting Actor

• Michael Emerson, Lost
• Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
• William Hurt, Damages
• John Lithgow, Dexter
• Jeremy Piven, Entourage

Finally the lone nominations for Lost and How I Met Your Mother! It's sickening those two shows didn't get more love, but if they had to be nominated then I'm glad it's for Emerson and NPH's brilliant (and very different) work.

Click here for my thoughts on the Film nominations.

Golden Globes: Very Brief Thoughts

Real life is getting in the way of me actually poring over every nook and cranny of the Golden Globe nominations until later today.

No huge surprises in the movie column since most favorites have been nominated (with Bullock and Streep nominated twice no less and ooh 500 Days!) and apart from all the Glee love, the TV section seems a bit of a mess. But then again this is just my initial reaction. Maybe I'll think differently later today. But seriously, did they NOT watch the most recent season of Lost? Just the one (well-deserved) nomination for Michael Emerson? Ridiculous.

See the full list here at the Hollywood Foreign Press' official Golden Globes website.

Critics Groups Rundown

The two main critic groups from Los Angeles (LAFCA) and New York (NYFCC) have recently announced their 2009 winners. I will let other, and better, websites (here, here, and here) give you the full rundown of winners from individual critic groups, but with the results so far from LAFCA and NYFCC as well as the National Board of Review (NBR), Washington D.C. Film Area Critics (WAFCA), Boston Film Society (BSFC), Alliance of Women Journalist (AWJ), the New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO), the Southeastern Film Critics (SEFCA), the Indiana Film Journalists (IFJA), and the San Francisco Film Critics (SFFC), I'd like to highlight the major categories...

Here are the latest results/winners:

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker (NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, AWJ, SEFCA, SFFC)
Up in the Air (NBR, WAFCA, IFJA)
Avatar (NYFCO)

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow (NYFCC, LAFCA, NYFCO, WAFCA, BSFC, AWJ, SEFCA, SFFC)
Clint Eastwood (NBR)
Spike Jonze (IFJA)

Best Actor
George Clooney (NBR, NYFCC, WAFCA, SEFCA, IFJA)
Jeff Bridges (LAFCA, NYFCO, AWJ)
Jeremy Renner (BSFC)
Morgan Freeman (NBR)
Colin Firth (SFFC)

Best Actress
Meryl Streep (NYFCC, NYFCO, BSFC, SEFCA, SFFC)
Carey Mulligan (NBR, WAFCA, AWJ, IFJA)
Yolane Moreau (LAFCA)

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz (NYFCC, LAFCA, NYFCO, WAFCA, BSFC, AWJ, SEFCA, IFJA)
Woody Harrelson (NBR)
Christian McKay (SFFC)

Best Supporting Actress
Mo'Nique (NYFCC, LAFCA, NYFCO, WAFCA, BSFC, AWJ, SEFCA, IFJA, SFFC)
Anna Kendrick (NBR)

Best Screenplay
Up in the Air (NBR, LAFCA, DC, AWJ, SEFCA, IFJA)
Inglourious Basterds (NYFCO, WAFCA, SFFC)
A Serious Man (NBR, BSFC)
500 Days of Summer (AWJ, SEFCA)
In the Loop (NYFCC)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (SFFC)

Best Animated Film
Up (NBR, NYFCO, BSFC, WAFCA, AWJ, SEFCA, IFJA)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (NYFCC, LAFCA)
Coraline (SFFC)

Best Foreign Film
Summer Hours (NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, AWJ, SEFCA)
Sin Nombre (WAFCA, IFJA)
Of Time and the City (NYFCC)
The White Ribbon (NYFCO)
A Prophet (NBR)
You, The Living (SFFC)

Best Documentary
The Cove (NBR, LAFCA, NYFCO, IFJA)
Food, Inc (WAFCA, SEFCA)
The Beaches of Agnes (LAFCA)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (SFFC)

So what does this tell us in that grand scheme of the Academy Awards?

It probably tells us that The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air are locks to be nominated for Best Picture. Kathryn Bigelow will be nominated for Best Director and has a more than good shot to be the first female to win that category. Best Actor and Actress are close with Meryl especially threatening Carey Mulligan. Give the Oscars to Waltz and Mo'Nique, already. And a Pixar victory at the Oscars is suddenly not 100%. How shocking is that last part?

But things can change in a heartbeat and more importantly critic awards don't necessarily mean Oscar victories. And with a dozen or more critic groups still to weigh in as well as the announcement of Golden Globes nominees tomorrow and of course the all-important guilds much later on, it's still up in the air. Pun intended.

AFI Top Ten Lists of 2009

MOVIES OF THE YEAR

• Coraline
• The Hangover
• The Hurt Locker
• The Messenger
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• A Single Man
• Sugar
• Up
• Up in the Air

I've only seen about 6 out of 10 on the list, but to me it looks like a pretty solid list with Oscar-favorites The Hurt Locker, Precious, Up, and Up in the Air getting expected love. The inclusion of The Hangover may shock a few people, but it's the exclusion of (500) Days of Summer that rubs me the wrong way.

TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR

• The Big Bang Theory
• Big Love
• Friday Night Lights
• Glee
• Mad Men
• Modern Family
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
• Nurse Jackie
• Party Down

Where's Lost?!?! That's pretty much my initial and still main reaction upon laying my eyes on this list. I mean it's good, I guess. It's hard for me to judge since I only watch 4 out of the 10 shows. But those four are definitely Top 10 worthy. Very worthy, if you catch my drift. And if not, wait a week. Anyways, I just don't get the exclusion of Lost, which delivered, yet again, a pitch perfect season. Oh well.

Dollhouse: Meet Jane Doe and A Love Supreme

Two things are certain about Dollhouse. First, it's firing on all cylinders right now. And second, it's still so very much cancelled.

Last week, we got a taste of the possible endgame of the Rossum Corporation. This week, we pretty got a confirmation of it and the answer is not good since it's pretty much "the end of the world as we know it" variety. Or for those who've seen "Epitaph One," the unaired first season finale, it's that. That's the endgame.

Lines are being drawn, too, with most of our favorite characters in the "good" column. In the first episode of the night, we see that Echo, Ballard, and Boyd are working together and then later on in the night we see that Topher, too, will be brought into the fold. Adelle, however, is another story as it seemed she'd rather join forces with Rossum as we not only see her betray Topher, but also torture Echo. I'm holding out hope that this is all part of her grand plan to undermine Rossum, but for now, I don't know.

And of course there's Alpha's reappearance. Alan Tudyk plays Alpha with such vigor that it makes you forget about all the previously lovable jokesters he's played in the past. Of course, he infiltrated the Dollhouse pretty easily and inflicted major damage turning the Actives against their handlers prompting Topher to spew out zombie jokes before getting pummeled by Victor. Alpha managed to escape, but not before uploading Ballard's persona into himself and killing Ballard in turn. Dude. This show is INSANE.

In any case, I'm enjoying this new sense of urgency and energy of the show. And while I think these episodes were written well before the show was officially canceled, I'm sure that Joss and company saw the writing on the wall early and made sure that no matter what this show will end with a bang (and a satisfying resolution). Looks like they'll at least get to do that.

Gleeful Fall Finale

Glee is not the best show on TV right now. Heck, it's not even the best NEW show from where I stand, but it certainly was one of the riskiest and thus one of the more feel good success stories of not only the new season, but the whole year.

And after 13 episodes full of highs and lows, TV's latest experiment had its fall finale last night delivering showstopping numbers, shocking revelations, and ultimately a happy-enough ending to satusfy its fans until it comes back an agonizing four months from now.

Oh and while I have no idea if it'll make my Top 10 list of TV shows for the year, they did good covering my favorite Idol Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You." Indeed.

Looking Forward To...

Avatar
Release: December 18, 2009
Distributor: Fox
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, Joel Moore, and Sigourney Weaver

SYTYCD: The Top 8

Last week the top ten dancers made me reevaluate my feelings about this season in the positive direction. This week's top eight dancers just lived up to my new positive outlook as most everyone stepped up, not just the dancers, but also the choreographers.

The two dancers last week who were eliminated were Nathan and Noelle. Nathan because he just didn't grow as much as the other guys and Noelle because the other girls were just plain better. I thought getting rid of these two were the absolutely correct choice and I was proven right by strong performance by the top eight.

Ashleigh, however, was unable to perform due to a recent injury. Instead, her partner Russell made the best of it as he charmed the judges with his energetic Hip Hop and Bollywood routines. The judges were in fact quite happy with most of the routines throughout the night. Ellenore/Legacy's Travis Wall number was met with high praise as well as Mollee/Jakob's Viennese Waltz. The latter takes the prize as being my favorite routine of the night. Another number that stuck with me was the Cha Cha number danced by Kathryn/Ryan with equal parts technique and HOTNESS.

So as you can see, everyone pretty much made an impression on me at least once tonight. Of course in terms of their solos, only Legacy made any impact, but his personality and style always makes his solos the highlight. In any case, I can't even begin to figure out who America will send home tomorrow with the finale only a week away. At this point though, I'm rooting for Mollee, Jakob, and Russell.