The Oscar nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced this morning. Directors J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron mapped out the little categories and then actor Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs drops some bombs this morning. As always, there are plenty of surprises and plenty of snubs. Through it all, the frontrunners have already emerged and this race is taking shape, so much so that I could probably name the eventual winners already today.
Read MoreWith the 87th Academy Award nominations being announced tomorrow morning, I'm cutting it close with my predictions of who and what names will hear their named called. I've been following the full awards season over on my Awards Tracker page, where I've been following the trends and reading the tea leaves. Using that data and a batch of hunches, here are my savvy predictions for tomorrow's nominations in the eleven major categories.
Read MoreMore and more each year, the Golden Globes have become more an a popularity contest than a true precursor to the Academy Awards. What you're watching on TV is a party thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in an effort to be loved and share some love. To its credit, the awards show still garners legitimate attention and ratings. The winners do get a pretty positive rub and the marketers gain a few more "Winner of..." graphics to put in the newspapers next to their films. Let's take a look at the film categories and pick some winners.
Read MoreIf you haven't heard of "Still Alice," I advise you to trust this spoiler-free review and skip the trailer entirely. It's a beautiful preview, but it skews context, tips its hand, and gives away far too much. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by neuroscientist and writer Lisa Genova, "Still Alice" was first adapted as a stage play at the Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago in 2013. The directing and writing team of Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland crafted it into a feature film. "Still Alice" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and has increased facial tissue sales ever since with a full release still to come. Learn the gist from here and let the film unfold before you.
Read MoreFor the faithful readers of Gillian Flynn's 2012 bestseller of the same name, you will know the twists and turns that are coming. To the uninformed, "Gone Girl" was grab you hook, line, and sinker into a potently swirling world of ominous fear, mystery, and relationship quandaries. What follows, is promised to be SPOILER-FREE.
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