Boom boom POW.  Hey look, it’s a strip! It totally explains our long, drawn-out absence, I swear.

The 80’s certainly was an awesome time to grow up, filled with wonder and excitement. The decade, sometimes referred to as MJ B.C., Michael Jackson Before Crazy, really showed the extent of how pop culture can span an entire population, an era that birthed some of the most creative minds and franchises that the entertainment industry still depends on today. I feel sorry for you 90’s kids, what, with your internet and your Ace of Base. Those things never did anything for anyone.

I now draw your attention to the first panel of the strip. That, kids, is a screenshot taken from the Sega Genesis release of Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? You may recognize it as the nerdier, less popular younger sibling of the piece of software entirely responsible for your knowledge of geography, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Remember, it was the only thing worth going for at the school’s computer lab? Well, that and Oregon Trail. If you haven’t played Where in Time, it’s just like World, except it spans across history, and kind of hard by little kid standards (but probably not as hard as the obscure Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego?). Not only do you have to know the suspects’ hair and eye colors, but you are presented with opportunities to deduce their favorite authors and artists. Seriously, how many little kids would know who Fyodor Dostoyevsky is? If I was the only one, then they did a poor job of indoctrinating Crime and Punishment into us at my school district. Anyhoo, Time may have proved to be more of a challenge, but it was sorely lacking in its television gameshow adaptation.

This…

…ain’t got NOTHIN’ on THIS:

Rockapella was awesome, but for some reason I can’t find a short video of them singing the theme song on the original show anywhere.  This stupid video is probably the closest thing:

And yes, I know it’s a 90’s show, and no it doesn’t make up for Ace of Base.

They need to revive this franchise in a big way. Right now, though, this is what you will find on PBS’s website:

That damn bitch is proving to be more elusive than previously thought.

Launch my Chronoskimmer to the 80’s, please.

~Race

Since the war of Iraq started film studios have tired to create good films based on the Iraq war, and most of them turn out to suck. I believe that most studios do not want to create a film that is too edgy about Iraq because they do not want to offend any one. This is what I thought The Hurt Locker would be, that is, until I saw the trailer for the film earlier this year. The trailer was amazing and I enjoyed the director, Kathryn Bigelow’s, other film Point Break. What is interesting about this film is that it is not totally about the war in Iraq, but rather the people that are involved in it. Read the full review after the jump. 

I know there is a chance that many of you, that are reading this article, have never heard of The Hurt Locker , so here is a brief synopsis of the film from IMDB:

“An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. James behaves as if he’s indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James’ true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever.”

Best actor node coming up.

As of right now, The Hurt Locker is one of the best films of the year. This film, I guarantee, will be up for Oscar contention next year. The thing that stands out about this film is the acting. The main character William James, played by Jeremy Renner, is awesome. I am pretty sure that Renner will get a nomination node for Best Actor when the Oscars roll around, because Renner does such a great job with the character. Not only is Renner awesome in this film but the supporting cast.Anthony Mackie and Brain Geraghty are the other soldiers that have Renner’s back throughout the film. Even though I loved Renner in the film I believe Mackie was the shinning star. He does such a great job being a character that tries to control Renner’s outgoing personality. The actors do such an awesome job showing the tension and stress that soldiers go through.

Not the biggest explosion ever but still bigger cool looking.

The tension in this film is intense. I found myself at the edge of my seat throughout the entire film. Ever bomb scene is crazy and makes you feel as if you are the one in that suit trying to disarm the bomb. There are some great use of explosions throughout the film. Unlike Michael Bay, who just makes any thing and everything explode, but Bigelow uses explosions as an art form. There are some amazing and breathe taking shots throughout the film.

What to do first?

There are a few weak points in the film, but they did not ruin the film for me. I thought the film was a bit long, but I did not find myself feeling bored or wishing the film was over. If you have a chance to see this film in theaters then do yourself a favor, and instead of seeing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, go see The Hurt Locker. If The Hurt Locker is not playing in a theater near you then you will differently be able to experience it when it hits DVD.

I have to start off by expressing that I am a fan of the first Transformers film. Even though there are some major faults with the film, but I still find myself enjoying it every time I watch it. With that being expressed, I thought Michael Bay would fix some of the problems that the first film had in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but it turns out that I was expecting too much from Bay. What Bay does is keep the same problems that the first film had and add on top of it. Read what these problems are after the jump. There are a few things wrong with the first film, and in TROTF Bay does not fix any of these problems. One of the problems with the first film is that there are too many human characters, so what does Bay do in TROTF? He introduces the same human characters again and adds a couple of more on top of that. All I want to see is robots kicking each other’s asses. That is it. I do not care about Sam’s (Shia LeBeouf) new college friend, Leo (Ramon Rodriguez). Rodriguez’s character does not add any thing to the story, but instead his character just irritated me. I just wanted Rodriguez’s character to be killed, but to my misfortune, does not happen.

The one thing that I really did enjoy, in the first film, is Sam’s relationship with his family. I believe that their family relationship is real throughout the film, and it is still there in the second film, but Sam’s family is too much involved with the story. Bay totally misses up their relationship by forcing them into the film even more.

This is all I’m good for.

Another huge problem with this film is the sexual references. I would expect to find humping and penis jokes in a Dreamwork animated film but not in Transformers. Bay believes that having a robot hump Mikaela Banes’ (Megan Fox) leg is funny and for a Transformer to have balls, but in reality, it is not. Most of the audience, that I was with to see this film, did not think it was funny either. I did not hear a peep from the audience when those scenes were on. There are also two scenes, YES TWO, where two dogs are humping. Are you serious? Wow, that is so funny, dogs humping each other, good call Bay.

Another complaint is that the very last fight scene is too short. I do not want to give any thing away, but it feels like the foreplay, before the major shadow, was better than the shadow itself. The audience is given this massive built up, as if, something huge is going to happen, but what does happen is a 2 minute fight between a few Transformers then then film ends. It seems as if Bay shot his load before hand and I left the theater unsatisfied.

The length of this film is another problem. This film is 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) long. There are a few scenes and characters that could have been cut out. Bay needs to learn how to cut crap out of his films, and to save them for the extended, unrated, DVD release.

BOOOOOOM!

TROTF is all explosions and no plot. The CGI is awesome and any scene with a Transformer is great, but there are 30 minutes of this film were no action is going down. All there is are humans talking about what they are going to do or how much they love each other. I do not care about the humans, expect for Sam and his family, and Sam’s relationship with Mikaela. I just want robots fighting, and if there is not any fighting going on at least try to give us, the audience, an enjoyable story. If you are huge Transformers fan then you will get a kick out of seeing some of your favorite robots on the big screen, but if you did not enjoy the first film, then you are going to hate this one.

I’m not kidding, this is a true story. I’m not this creative; but apparently, my subconscious is . Freud would have a field day. He would say that the robots represent my desire not to interact with real humans, that the flamethrowers represent my inner conflict, and that somehow all this translates into why I want to have sex with my mother or something. Freud was a sick bastard.

I was, of course, very disappointed with how Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles ended. I seriously think they ended Season 2 thinking they were going to get the go-ahead for Season 3, considering the gaping holes left behind. (And what the hell was up with John Connor molesting his Terminator?! That was super weird. >.> ) *sigh* Oh well. I’m hoping that Terminator: Salvation will fill in some of these holes, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Maybe if I get some resolution and closure, I’ll stop having these bloody dreams.

One thing I’ve learned from these dreams, though, is that I’ve found that I really like having robot friends. I think growing up with Voltron, Transformers, Robotech and Terminator, combined with lack of playmates as a child has given me the predisposition to be attracted to this idea. If I had any resource or any remote knowledge of artificial intelligence, I would totally build myself a robot friend–not in the Weird Science sort of way, but more in the South Park AWESOM-O kind of way.

Who’d need real friends?! =P

Click here for the comic.

***Warning! Spoilers Ahead! So if you haven’t read The Watchmen or seen the movie, and don’t want me to ruin it for you, go away!***
Yeah yeah, it’s a blue penis joke, how predictable, blah blah blah…I’ve never been one for subtleties, and I think genital jokes are funny. Sue me. I know, the comic was done in like 2 seconds, but I felt it was best expressed that way. Don’t worry, I’ll post another comic very soon. Now, I know I’m going to get a lot of flack for this post, because I might be one of the few “nerds” out there who doesn’t soak her panties at the thought of The Watchmen. Personally, I don’t “get” it. I don’t get the hype, I don’t buy the ideals, and the ending is really, really stupid, even worse in the graphic novel. I’m mostly going to talk about the end of the movie, so if you haven’t read or seen it, you probably won’t know what I’m talking about. So without further adieu, here I go. *deep breath*

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the movie. It was nicely done (blue balls and otherwise), fairly loyal to the original material, it had a great cast and a decent soundtrack. Hell, I don’t even have anything against the comic itself as a work of art. I just feel like I get punched in the the tit at the end of it all, that’s all. I think it’s dumb and totally ruins the whole thing for me. I was really pissed that I was set up to get invested in the plot and in Rorschach, and then they totally just crap on my investment. Remember when you started watching Evangelion, and you were like, “ALRIGHT! MECHA VS. GIANT MONSTER VIOLENCE! COOOL!” but then towards the end all the boring religious bullshit starts to set in and you’re tired of Shinji being a whiny bitch, and Asuka being a bitch period, and then all of a sudden everyone’s naked and having dialogues in their head, and you’re like, “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WHERE’S THE MECHA/GIANT MONSTER VIOLENCE?!?!” It’s kind of like that.

It’s not only Rorschach’s fate that pissed me off, but also the resolution of the story. We’re supposed to be happy that everything was done for the greater good, and because there is renewable energy, there’s no war. BULLSHIT. I don’t buy it. If people didn’t go to war for energy resources, they’d go to war over other things–religion, land, women–because in the end it all boils down to one dumb bitch, which is another issue I have with this story. Laurie Jupiter, dumb bitch in question, was the “Asuka” to Nite Owl’s “Shinji.” The whole time you wish that she’d either, a)Shut the fuck up, or b)die, yet she is ultimately seen as a hero, a savior, and an object to be desired. I really hate stories like these; the kind of stories that portray that it’s okay to be involved with women who are fatally flawed, and stories that depict that it’s okay to be the town bicycle. It really grinds my gears that Ms. Town Bicycle is allowed to live, and Rorschach, the character that personifies swift justice despite his obstacles, is left out in the dust. I know you’re thinking, “But Race, this is just art imitating life.” No, no it’s not. At least, not for everyone. And even if it was, I don’t like my comic books and movies to blatantly parade the harsh realities of my own society, thankyouverymuch. All I can say is, I’m really glad I pirated the book instead of buying it, because I don’t think I will want to read it or even watch the movie again. I’d just be a glutton for punishment, at that point.

Phew. Now that I got that off my chest, I just need to wait for the hate mail. Anyway, like I said, hippie wankfest. If you’re down with that, that’s fine by me. I wish I had thought of it and had piles of your money, all while being a total dick, just like Alan Moore. But hell, who am I to talk. Here I am, all antsy and practically writing a thesis over something so ultimately trivial. Maybe I’m the wanker, after all. *Sigh.*

~Race

Since the Oscars are only a few days away I thought I would post my predictions of who is going to win. The ones in bold are the ones I believe will win. So, lets get started:

*Note: I did not predict some of the smaller catogiries.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
* Sean Penn in “Milk”
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

-I really want Sean Penn to win, but I know Rourke is going to take home the award.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Josh Brolin in “Milk”
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”

-Ledger is going to win. If he doesn’t there will be a lot of upset fanbo…I mean individuals.
Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

-The academy loves Streep, so another award for her is on the way.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams in “Doubt”
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
* Viola Davis in “Doubt”
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

-Adams was the brightest star in “Doubt” and this is the role that places her on the map.

Best animated feature film of the year

* “Bolt”
* “Kung Fu Panda”
* “WALL-E”

-I really loved “Bolt” but “Wall-e” is a better animated film.

Achievement in directing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “Frost/Nixon”
* “Milk”
* “The Reader”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”

-Boyle is going to win this one hands down.

Best documentary feature

* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
* “Encounters at the End of the World”
* “The Garden”
* “Man on Wire”
* “Trouble the Water”

-”Man on Wire” is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “Defiance”
* “Milk”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”
* “WALL-E”

-After I watched “Slumdog Millionaire” I went out and got the soundtrack. The music in this film is breathtaking.

Achievement in visual effects

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “The Dark Knight”
* “Iron Man”

-The stuff they did in Benjamin Button is amazing, and I would be very surprised if it did not win this award.

Best motion picture of the year

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
* “Frost/Nixon”
* “Milk”
* “The Reader”
* “Slumdog Millionaire”

-”Slumdog Millionaire” is going to take home the big award this year.

I am not a huge fan of remakes/reboots, or whatever you want to call them because it is all the same to me. I do not mind when they make remakes but I do mind if they are going to remake a film and it sucks. So far, there have only been two remakes that I enjoyed more than the original film (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes). When I heard they were going to remake or sorry reboot the Friday the 13th franchise I was a bit upset, because Jason is one of my favorite movie characters of all time, but then I thought about it and maybe…just maybe…this will be good. Little did I know however that it did not turn out that way. Here is synopses, of the film, from IMDB:”A group of young adults discover a boarded up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions”.
I am a little lost for words about this film. On one hand I had a great experience with this film but I did not have a good time watching it. If that even makes any sense. The acting is bad, the kills are weak, and the storyline, if you want to call it that, is awful. I was not going into this film thinking I was going to get Citizen Kane, but I was going into it expecting a fun film to watch, which I did not get. There were times, welling watching the film, were I was bored and when a kill came along it was not even entertaining. The only really good thing about this film is the amount of breast you see. I believe there are more breast scenes then there are deaths throughout the film. I found the breast in the film to be very round and nice to look at but that was about it. Overall, I would have to say this is one reboot, remake, relaunch, or whatever else you want to call it, to skip. Maybe, if you plan to go with a bunch of friends and get blasted before hand then it might be entertaining.

I am not a big fan of football so I thought I would go see a movie on Superbowl Sunday instead. This, I found out, was a good decision because there was only a couple of other people in the theater, which was pretty awesome. The movie I went to go see was Taken, which stars Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills), Famke Janssen (Lenore), and Maggie Grace (Kim). Here is a brief synopsis of the film from IMDB: “The film follows an ex-CIA “Preventer”, who is faced with recovering his daughter after she is kidnapped by human trafficking/sex-traffickers in Paris, France”.

Read the rest after the jump. I was first interested in this film when I first saw the trailer for it back in late 2008, because it shows you the best part of the film and it got me wanting to know what happens next. What does happen next is that Liam Neeson kicks some serious ass. Throughout the movie Neeson is a one man army and stops at nothing to try to get his daughter back. That is what make this film so awesome in the first place, because you know Neeson is going to kick everyone’s ass and you just want to see how he kills the next person. You even get a sense of how bad ass he is in the first 15 minutes of the film, which shows you what is in store for in the next hour and fifth-teen minutes. The action is none stop once Neeson’s character arrives in Paris, and the action scenes are very Bourne like, so if you are not a fan of that style of action then you are most likely not going to like it, but I am a huge fan of the Bourne series so I was happy to watch. The supporting cast is pretty good as well, and I was very happy by the film’s hour and a half length. It left me not wanting more or any less. Not to say that is a bad thing, because I usually complain about how long is movie is but this film is a perfect length. There are a couple of things that bothered me about this film though.

Neeson is suppose to be a loving father to his daughter, but throughout the film the daughter, and the ex-wife, are both douche bags. I did not care if he rescued his daughter because she is such a perk, and his ex-wife is just an ass to him. The film explains why the ex-wife might be like this towards him but the daughter just an ass to him. Maybe that is the way teenagers are towards their fathers, but at the any rate I did not like that aspect of the film. The only thing I really cared about is how many more baddies is Neeson’s character going to kill next. I did feel something for him when she got taken away but I was not sad for the daughter at all. I was sad for him because you know how much he cares for her. Another thing that bugged me was the fact that Neeson’s character is going around Paris killing and destroying everything in his path, but the police did not try very hard to catch him. Besides those things I really did enjoy this flick. Very fun and entertaining movie to watch, and Neeson does such a great job. I would love to see Neeson play more bad ass characters.

I am not surprised by the nominations but I am happy to see that Milk is nominated for best picture. A day before the Oscars I will post my predictions of who is going to win and who I would like to see win. See the whole list of the nominees after the jump:

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year

* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction

* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography

* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design

* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature

* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject

* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year

* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film

* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film

* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing

* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay

* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay

* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

I am not a huge fan of 3-D movies, but when I saw the trailer for My Bloody Valentine 3-D it looked like it would be a lot of fun to watch. So I got together with a few of my friends and we set off to see this film opening night. It was a packed house and the 3-D glasses were pretty awesome to wear, but the film itself was what I expected: a cheesy fun flick to watch. Here is a brief synopses of the film from IMDB:
“Tom (Jensen Ackles) returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine’s night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, however, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders, and it seems like his old flame (Jamie King) is the only one will believes he’s innocent.”

I was not going into this film expecting to get a masterpiece, and I know I was not going to get a film that was going to change my life. There is not much to say about what is good about this is film because really nothing is. The acting and the script are terrible, but that is what makes this film so much fun to watch. Most of the people in the audience were not screaming but laughing. Which what I was doing most of the time during this film. That is what makes this film so much fun though, and the 3-D effects are awesome in this film. My Bloody Valentine 3-D was a blast to watch, but this is one film I would say go see in theaters with a few friends and in 3-D because this film is not going to translate well when it comes out for DVD. The 3-D aspect of this film is the best part, so to see this film not in 3-D is just a waste of time. Watching a pick axe going through someone’s head in 3-D was awesome, but I do wish there was more of it. Also, I did not have a problem with the 3-D glasses, even though I had to wear them over my real glasses, so that was a plus. Just keep in mind that the if you are planning to watch this film in 3-D that the tickets do cost more, but I would say that it is worth the admission price.