Day 31 - Due Date

Day 30 - Please Give

Searching...

The movie lull has hit and it is going strong. There are some Oscar movies and a few foreign ones that I am waiting to be released either as a screener, on DVD, or in theaters. Until that happens I do not want to waste my money on some of the things in or soon to be in theaters. I can wait for their DVD release. Netflix is a beautiful thing. That leaves me to search for films for a while and catch up on whatever I have missed, worthwhile or not, from 2010. I will definitely be throwing in some foreign films and looking for those hidden gems that might have escaped the casual moviegoer. I'd say more but there are movies to be watched.

Day 29 - Fair Game

Day 28 - It's Kind of a Funny Story

Day 27 - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki o kakeru shôjo)

Day 26 - The Tourist

83rd Annual Academy Awards (The Big One)

Day 25 - Summer Wars (Samâ wôzu)

Razzie Nominations Announced (Sigh)

Day 24 - Love & Other Drugs

Day 23 - White Material

Day 22 - A Prophet (Un Prophète)

Day 21 - The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)

Day 20 - Dogtooth (KYNOΔONTAΣ)

Oscar Foreign Language Shortlist Announced!

Algeria - Hors la Loi (Outside the Law)
Canada - Incendies
Denmark - In a Better World
Greece - Dogtooth
Japan - Confessions
Mexico - Biutiful
South Africa - Life, above All
Spain - Tambien la Lluvia (Even the Rain)
Sweden - Simple Simon

Day 19 - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Loong Boonmee raleuk chat)

Day 18 - Carancho

Day 17 - Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)

Day 16 - I Am Love (Io sono l'amore)

Day 15 - The Concert (Le Concert)

Day 14 - The Edge (Kray)

Day - 13 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor)

Day 12 - The Time That Remains

Journey Into Foreign Cinema

Well, the Illusionist isn't around so animation is done for now. There are a few more American award contenders that I haven't seen, but I don't have access to them currently. Sadly, I haven't received many of the Foreign Language contenders and probably won't until the Oscar nominations come out. I have a few though and will start with them, then move on to some of the ones from last year, and ultimately see where the foreign tangent takes me. On with the show.

Day 11 - Shrek Forever After

Day 10 - Tangled

Day 9 Part 2 - Extraordinary Measures

Day 9 - Red

Day 8 - Megamind

Day 7 - Rabbit Hole

Day 6 - 127 Hours

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom

Day 4 - The Kids Are All Right

Day 3 - How to Train Your Dragon

Day 2 - Winter's Bone

I discovered this movie shortly after it was released at Sundance. I was reading up on the festival and heard about Jennifer Lawrence's performance in Winter's Bone. After I saw the trailer I was hooked. I immediately recommended it to all of my movie friends. Over the summer I became really preoccupied and missed it in the theaters. I am glad I started this blog so I am able to finally watch this movie.

Day 1 - Toy Story 3

I decided to start off with current award season movies that I have yet to see. When I run down the list it amazes me that I have missed some of these films. I think I shall start with best picture possibilities and then move on to the acting awards. Next comes the writing and directing if there are anything missing. Rounding things out will be foreign films with animation sprinkled in to lighten the mood.

The first film on this list should get a best picture nomination, only because there are now ten spots, and will be guaranteed to win best animated film.

I went into the viewing looking for reasons to hate this movie. It started off slow and didn't seem like anything special. Animated franchises can be very hit or miss, Shrek and Ice Age come to mind, and most of them don't get their squeals released in theaters. The longer the movie went on the more engaged I became. The creators of Toy Story 3 really treated this movie as a real life adventure story and not just another animated film about toys. That point really hit home when the gang was planning and executing their escape from Sunnyside Daycare. Other high-points for me were Spanish Buzz Lightyear and the killer Barrel of Monkeys scene that helped to open the film.

My favorite new characters would have to be Chuckles, the Cymbal-banging Monkey, and the Chatter Telephone. There is something about clowns, no matter what form they take, that never fails to put a person on edge. The character of Big Baby scared me knowing where he came from. Included in the video release of Pixar's Short Films is a short with a baby. In my opinion that is one of the scariest moments in animated history. The sad note of the movie was seeing Slinky Dog on the screen knowing that his original voice Jim Varney had died. Overall, Toy Story 3 allowed Disney to recapture some of the magic and humor that they had been missing since Pixar left.