And the Oscar may go to:

Best Picture
The Aviator (Miramax)
Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
Ray (Universal Pictures)
Sideways (Fox Searchlight)

*Personal Favorite: Finding Neverland*

Best Director
Martin Scorsese for The Aviator (Miramax)
Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
Taylor Hackford for Ray (Universal Pictures)
Alexander Payne for Sideways (Fox Searchlight)
Mike Leigh for Vera Drake (Fine Line Features)

Best Actor
Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda (United Artists)
Johnny Depp for Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator (Miramax)
Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
Jamie Foxx for Ray (Universal Pictures)

*Looks like Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio might have to duke it out.*

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Alda for The Aviator (Miramax)
Thomas Haden Church for Sideways (Fox Searchlight)
Jamie Foxx for Collateral (Dreamworks SKG)
Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
Clive Owen for Closer (Columbia Pictures)

*Biggest surprise of this category: click here to see who and why.*

Best Actress
Annette Bening - Being Julia (Sony Pictures Classics)
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace (Fine Line Features)
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake (Fine Line Features)
Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
Kate Winslet for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Focus Features)

*Way to go: Indie films. I think all of the candidates are an excellent choice.*

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett for The Aviator (Miramax)
Laura Linney - Kinsey (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Virginia Madsen for Sideways (Fox Searchlight)
Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda (United Artists)
Natalie Portman for Closer (Columbia Pictures)

* Another great selection! Congratulations Only Child Natalie Portman, I am sure you have made yourself proud!*

Best Original Screenplay
The Aviator (Miramax)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Focus Features)
Hotel Rwanda (United Artists)
The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar)
Vera Drake (Fine Line Features)

*Personal Favorite: The Incredibles.*

Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Sunset (Warner Independent Pictures)
Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Focus Features)
Sideways (Fox Searchlight)

Best Foreign Language Film
As It Is In Heaven - Sweden
The Chorus - France
Downfall - Germany
The Sea Inside - Spain
Yesterday - South Africa

Best Animated Feature Film
The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar)
Shark Tale (Dreamworks SKG)
Shrek 2 (Dreamworks SKG)

* Personal Favorite: The Incredibles.*

Best Art Direction
The Aviator (Miramax)
Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount Pictures)
The Phantom of the Opera (Warner Bros.)
A Very Long Engagement (Warner Independent Pictures)

Best Cinematography
The Aviator (Miramax)
House of Flying Daggers (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket Film Group)
The Phantom of the Opera (Warner Bros.)
A Very Long Engagement (Warner Independent Pictures)

Best Costume Design
The Aviator (Miramax)
Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount Pictures)
Ray (Universal Pictures)
Troy (Warner Bros.)

Best Documentary Feature
Born Into Brothels (ThinkFilm)
The Story of the Weeping Camel (ThinkFilm)
Super Size Me (Roadside Attractions / Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Tupac: Resurrection(Paramount Pictures)
Twist of Faith

Best Film Editing
The Aviator (Miramax)
Collateral (Dreamworks SKG)
Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)
Ray (Universal Pictures)

Best Makeup
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount Pictures)
The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket Film Group)
The Sea Inside (Fine Line Features)

Best Original Score
Finding Neverland (Miramax)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount Pictures)
The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket Film Group)
The Village (Touchstone Pictures)

Best Original Song
“Accidentally In Love” - Shrek 2 (Dreamworks SKG)
“Al Otro Lado Del Río” - The Motorcycle Diaries (Focus Features)
“Believe” - The Polar Express (Warner Bros.)
“Learn To Be Lonely” - The Phantom of the Opera (Warner Bros.)
“Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)” - The Chorus (Miramax)

*Personal Favorite: “Believe” from The Polar Express.*

Best Sound Mixing
The Aviator (Miramax)
The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar)
The Polar Express (Warner Bros.)
Ray (Universal Pictures)
Spider-Man 2 (Columbia Pictures)

Best Sound Editing
The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar)
The Polar Express (Warner Bros.)
Spider-Man 2 (Columbia Pictures)

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner Bros)
I, Robot (20th Century Fox)
Spider-Man 2 (Columbia Pictures)

Best Documentary Short
Autism is a World
The Children of Leningradsky
Hardwood
Mighty Times: The Children’s March
Sister Rose’s Passion

Best Animated Short Film
Birthday Boy
Gopher Broke
Guard Dog
Lorenzo
Ryan

Best Live-Action Short Film
Everything in this Country must
Little Terrorist
7:35 In the Morning
Two Cars, One Night
WASP

Copyright 2005 Academy Awards, Oscars, and the Oscar design mark are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This site is neither endorsed by nor affliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All rights reserved.

Miss: Elektra - Starring Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic, Kirsten Prout, Will Yun Lee, Terrance Stamp

Elektra (Garner) is an assassin for hire. She is cold and dead inside. She doesn’t care about anyone or anything - until she meets Abby Miller, a 13-year-old girl and a martial arts protégé. Abby just happens to be “The Treasure,� a girl who can tip the scales in the war between good and evil that has been raging forever. It falls on Elektra to protect this girl and save her from becoming a puppet of The Hand, an evil demon controlled organization bent on taking over the world.
My one word review for this movie: Abysmal! If you had intentions of seeing this movie, my advice is save your money. Don’t even waste it on the rental.
There were no twists, no turns, no anything in the story to make this movie even somewhat interesting. Every move the characters made and every line they said was totally predictable. The characters were all one-dimensional and, even though I was supposed to care about them, I didn’t. Jennifer Garner was the only one that really stands out but that’s only because she’s Jennifer Garner. But even so she didn’t pull off the cold, calculating “I’m dead inside to all things nice and good� assassin. And the other characters were completely forgettable as soon as they were off the screen.
The producers and/or directors should have spent less on the special effects and more on some writers who could actually come up with good dialogue and a good story.

Best scene: Typhoid Mary kissing Elektra on the lips.

Rated PG-13 for violence
Action
Running time: 96 min.

Photo © 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.

Being a student teacher in a kindergarten class has allowed me to get the kindergarten inside scoop about new theatre releases. Here is what some of my students had to say about these films: (the names have been changed)

Elektra: “Did you like the movie Jam?” asked Miss Movies. Jam responds, “No, it was bad. I would have liked to see something else.” Miss Movies asks, “why do you think you didn’t like the film?”
“Because it was bad,” responds Jam (age 6).

Racing Stripes: “I saw Racing Stripes over the weekend, it is a good movie. Well, first it was sad, and then it was good,” says Sam. “How was it sad?” asked Miss Movies. “First the Zebra was in the rain and he was in the road and people thought he was dead, but then he was rescued. It made my grandma cry because she was sad too. Then the movie got better and I really liked it.” Miss Movies asked Sam, “Do you think I would like the movie?”
“Yes, but you might cry too,” says Sam (age 5).

After an assessment of both reviews, I believe that it is safe to say that the youth of America considers Elektra to be a “Miss,” and Racing Stripes to be a “Hit.”

Elektra: Rated PG-13 for action violence.
Action
Running Time: 1 hour 36 minutes

Racing Stipes: Rated PG for mild crude humor and some language.
Family / Adventure
Running Time: 1 hour 34 minutes

Photos © 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

A movie titled 11:14 starring Hilary Swank, Colin Hanks, Rachael Leigh Cook, Clark Gregg, and Patrick Swayze came out in the 2003 movie season. I have not seen anything for this movie and am looking for more information about it. Working as an intern for ShadowMachine Films, I read the script for 11:14 and was interested in knowing the end result of the movie. Email me if you have any information on 11:14.

Well, I regret to inform everyone that the Scapegoat did not sell. At least it may have provided some laughs for everyone. Here is the post if you are interested in looking… once again, Miss Movies will need to figure out another way to make some movie money. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Short of selling blood I had to figure out a way to raise money so that Miss Movies and myself could continue to visit the theatre and review the latest and greatest. Take a look at my eBay auction.

Motion Pictures

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, “Being Julia.”

Best Actress, Drama: Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby.”

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jamie Foxx, “Ray.”

Best Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Aviator.”

Supporting Actor: Clive Owen, “Closer.”

Supporting Actress: Natalie Portman, “Closer.”

Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, “Sideways”

Foreign Language: “The Sea Inside” Spain

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy: “Sideways.”

Best Picture, Drama: “The Aviator.”

Director: Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby.”

Original Score: Howard Shore, “The Aviator.”

Original Song: “Old Habits Die Hard” from “Alfie,” by Mick Jagger and David A. Stewart.

Television

Best Drama Series: “Nip/Tuck,” FX.

Best Musical or Comedy Series: “Desperate Housewives,” ABC.

Actor, Drama: Ian McShane, “Deadwood.”

Actress, Drama: Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development.”

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Teri Hatcher, “Desperate Housewives”

Miniseries or TV Movie: “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,” HBO

Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Geoffrey Rush, “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers”

Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Glenn Close, “The Lion in Winter”

Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or TV Movie: William Shatner, “Boston Legal.”

Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or TV Movie: Anjelica Huston, “Iron Jawed Angels.”

Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press

Either way you looked at it, Matt Leinart had to make a difficult win-win situation. Either he was going to make himself eligible for the NFL draft (and make a lot of money by doing so), or he was going to continue playing for USC where he is the star. I am happy that Leinart will be around for another season. Good luck in the 2005 season Trojans!

During Cinema 466 at USC, professor Leonard Maltin refered to January films as (generally) the worst films of the year. After some thought and discussion the conclusion was made that January films are awful because they are trying to hide themselves in the shadow of the December film.

December Films: Typically your best films of the year because this is the last month of the year to be considered for the Oscar awards. And, as everyone should know, it is better to submit your film last, than to submit your film first (in January).

Therefore, if a film is down right awful, the best time to bring it out~ and make a reasonable amount of money is in January.

This year’s January films to skip (based on the previews and overall plot line):

Alone in the Dark
Are We There Yet?
Assault on Precinct 13
Born Into Brothels
Elektra
White Noise

1. You are a woman past the age of 25 or for men 28.
2. Your agent is Central Casting.
3. You lie about all of your stats, and your headshot is over 8 years old.
4. You ate a pack of twinkies over the weekend.
5. You have created your own website which includes your headshot, resume, and reel.
6. You’re a female and the casting director has asked you to cover up.
7. You consider being an “extra” means being part of the cast. ~ Newsflash - you are really just part of the crew (set dressing).
8. Your main source of income comes from your waitressing job, yet you claim you are first an actress playing a waitress in real life (hehe *not funny*).
9. You think that you are unable to be typecast, and therefore you decide to try out for roles that are beyond your range. Goodness.
10. You realize that you are not related to anyone in Hollywood, and you are not left handed.

USC crushes Oklahoma with a 55 to 19 win. Great Job Trojans!
I hope Matt Leinart will stick around for another winning season!

*Pretty Good Year… Click here to see a recap of the Trojan’s Winning Season.*