The Oscars are a Joke

It's official, the biggest movie franchise of all time goes 0 for 12 at the Academy Awards. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 lost all three categories, two of which were to Hugo. While Hugo is a good film, let's be real, the only reason it got so many wins and nominations is because Martin Scorsese directed it. Visual Effects was the biggest snub...I don't understand how anything in Hugo was deemed better than Harry Potter. The dragon alone looks so realistic soaring over London.

Also, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the best reviewed film of 2011, and won no Academy Awards. Last year's best reviewed film, Toy Story 3, won Best Song and Best Animated Film as well as picking up a well deserved nomination for Best Picture. I really believed after Toy Story 3 got some love that they were going to open things up to more films. Who knows, maybe they will eventually.

The Harry Potter film series has pumped so much cash into Hollywood and given so many jobs. Without Harry Potter, movie attendance would have been even more disastrous in 2011. You would think the Academy would respect it enough to at least show some kind of tribute to a beloved decade long franchise. But, they are still too boring. Even if The Dark Knight Rises lives up to the hype, it might get nominated, but its safe to say it won't win.

However, at the end of the day it's just a statue, Harry Potter gets the last laugh. The series will live on for generations and continue making an enormous amount of money, while people will eventually forget many of the nominated films. I don't remember what movies won Best Picture in 2007, 2008 or 2009 without looking it up. Do you? Case closed.

The film did win at some other awards shows though. It won a SAG Award for Stunt Ensemble, Visual Effects Award at the BAFTA's (who also honored the entire series with a Lifetime Achievement award - take note Academy) and People's Choice for Favorite Movie among others. The Deathly Hallows Part 2 was also honored as the National Board of Reviews best film of 2011. That is the most prestigious, with recent films honored being The Social Network, Up in the Air, Slumdog Millionaire, No Country for Old Men, and Letters From Iwo Jima...except all those were nominated for Best Picture. Harry Potter is the only winner to not be honored with at least a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. Suck my wand, Academy.

And randomly, Jennifer Lopez was one tiny sea-breeze away from a nip slip wardrobe malfunction.

2012 Academy Awards

So the Academy Awards are tonight...but I just have to say YAWN. This years event seems to be following in line of the same-old, same-old show that they've done in recent years with the typical Oscar bait. At least last year you had Toy Story 3 nominated for Best Picture. It was a long shot to win, but having a movie that's animated and a big budget blockbuster and a sequel was a rare sight. This year that is few and far between. Melissa McCarthy is nominated for best supporting actress for Bridesmaids (also nominated for Best Original Screenplay). Comedy rarely gets love at the Oscars, so that is nice. But that's about the only surprise there is.

It's sad to see the best reviewed film of the year (Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2) get snubbed because of the fantasy genre and blockbuster nature of it. At the very least Alan Rickman deserved a nomination as Snape. Harry Potter fans can look at technical categories though. It's nominated in 3 of those - Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Art Direction. It should win at least one, hopefully two, to at least get some recognition.

For the main categories, I think  these will win: Best Picture - The Artist. Best Actress - Viola Davis (The Help). Best Actor - Jean Dujardin (The Artist). If not those two, I would expect Meryl Streep or George Clooney. Supporting Actor should be between Christopher Plummer and Kenneth Branagh. Supporting Actress should be between Octavia Spencer and Berenice Bejo.

Enjoy it if you watch. I'll be watching The Walking Dead & Celebrity Apprentice. I'll tune in here and there to see if Harry Potter gets any technical awards.

2012 Academy Awards Snubs

The Oscar nominations were announced today and you can see the list here. There are some pretty big snubs this year, showing the Academy Awards won't be any different this year.

Best Picture - There can be a maximum of 10 nominations, but there were only 9 nominated this year. Your telling me they couldn't include Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Bridesmaids, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and/or The Ides of March? Harry Potter is the biggest snub being it was the best reviewed film of the year by critics and moviegoers. I believe it was snubbed simply because it is a fantasy film based on books that began as children's novels and morphed into beloved books for people of all ages, and because it is a big budget blockbuster. Those rarely get nominated. The Academy tends to like lower budget films and dramas, not major blockbusters and not fantasy/action/comedy/horror, no matter how good those films are. And there is no way The Tree of Life is better than any of the above three films. It's good, but not great.

I'm calling it now: The Dark Knight Rises, no matter how good it will be, will not win Best Picture next year. It might get nominated since people were furious that The Dark Knight wasn't. I honestly don't even know what film won best picture before last year. Many of the films that win best picture end up being forgotten. 

Best Animated Feature - The Adventures of TinTin. That's simple. I'm sure I'm not the only one surprised it didn't get a nomination. They nominated two foreign language films that haven't even been released in the States. 

Best Supporting Actor - Alan Rickman, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2. His performance was masterful, but we all should have known he would be ignored. I'm sorry, Jonah Hill is great, but his performance in Moneyball was nothing special, and not better than Rickman. To me that nomination is just trying to say, "Look! We're hip!" 

Best Actor - Michael Fassbender, Shame. He put in a great performance that has been much talked about, but not at these awards. 

I was pleasantly surprised that Melissa McCarthy received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Bridesmaids. She probably won't win since it's a comedy, but I'm glad she was nominated. However, Harry Potter got the big snub of the year. It is the biggest franchise of all time, with this final film being the most critically acclaimed plus making $380 Million in the USA, and it barely got anything, except for art and special effects. 

Harry Potter DVD & Blu Ray Production Being Halted

For those of you looking to complete your collection of the Harry Potter films, or still want Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2, you have to hurry because WB has halted production of them. Once they run out, that is it! It's similar to what they do with the "Disney vault" where they stop producing DVD/Blu Ray's for a couple years and then re-release them with new packaging and features, presumably to make money and introduce them to new fans.

But fear not Potter fans, they will be re-released apparently before/during the 2012 Holiday season, so it won't be a couple years. Hopefully when they do this, the films will be released in extended versions with never before seen footage. There is plenty of it. I doubt they will have as much extra footage as the Lord of the Rings extended editions, but hopefully something that adds to the value. Otherwise, what is the point of pulling them from the shelves for a year?

Also, please vote for PopCultureSpin for a shorty award in the "other" category! I will love you. http://shortyawards.com/category/other/ It takes less than a minute!

Universal Orlando closing JAWS; Harry Potter expansion

It was announced that the attraction JAWS, built in 1990 for the opening of Universal Orlando, will be closing January 2, 2012. The ride has had some technical difficulties over the years due to the use of water obviously for the mechanical sharks. With everything being underwater, it takes a lot of work to maintain all the equipment, so cost may be a factor as well. It's probably sad to see an original ride go, however ET is still around and should be for a long time.

The good news is that they may be replacing this with the expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The area has been a huge success, and Universal confirmed the expansion plans. Since it's located in Islands of Adventure and the JAWS spot is in Universal Studios, one rumor is they may connect the two parks with a Hogwarts Express train ride. Obviously this means you might need a ticket for both parks, which may be how you get on the train. Everyone goes to both anyway.

Genius idea in my book. As of now it seems like this new area will be London with King's Cross & Platform 9 3/4 as well as Diagon Alley. Another rumor is that the big new state of the art ride will be an indoor coaster that takes place inside Gringott's bank. In Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 we saw quite the wild ride inside Gringott's...so maybe that is where the inspiration comes from? There may also be yet another ride. We'll have to wait and see.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review; Extended DVDs?

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is now here, and concludes the film series based on the books by J.K Rowling. As many of you may know, it has been getting the best reviews of the eight films, and even generating some much deserved Oscar buzz. I, of course, think it should at least be nominated for Best Picture, as well as other categories like effects, score, possibly even a supporting actor nomination for Alan Rickman. This is without a doubt the most action packed of the films, and really moves by quickly, at a little over 2 hours. I would give the film about a 95 out of 100, knocking a few points off because of some things I'll put below the cut. And it's been announced that the film has surpassed The Dark Knight to have the biggest opening weekend ever in the US, with around $168 million. It also crushed the Twilight record for biggest midnight opening, as well as biggest single day ever, grossing $92 million on Friday alone. The Harry Potter finale has cast a big spell, with records that should stand for a very long time.

Now, possible Spoilers beyond here, click "read more" for the rest, and thoughts on possible extended edition DVDs/Blu Rays.

Paying with Pennies; MTV Movie Awards

I saw this story and had to laugh! A man named Jason West in Salt Lake City, Utah was in a dispute with a Medical Clinic about a $25 charge he didn't think he owed. So his way of handling it was by going to the clinic to pay-with 2,500 pennies that he dumped on the counter! Definitely badass! Sadly they called the cops and he was arrested for "a protest that served no legitimate purpose." I have no idea how someone can be arrested for trying to pay with legal money.

I say paying with pennies is badass. I have no idea how someone can get 2,500 pennies, but the next time you go buy something cheap for like a dollar, try and gather up 100 pennies to pay for it! I'm sure the look on the person's face would be priceless. That would make a good Senior Prank for you teenagers, have everyone pay for lunch with small change. It's been done before probably, but it's funny every time.

Oh, and in other news Robert Pattinson dropped the F-Bomb live on the Mtv Movie Awards and it didn't get censored. This is the second time this year at a live awards show, the first was when Melissa Leo did it at the more prestigious Oscars. I love it both times! Live TV F-bombs are the best. In the trailer for Super 8, it sounded like a dinosaur! Jurassic Park prequel? No, but whatever the monster/alien is in the movie will be cool. And of course the clip for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 presented by the always great Emma Watson gave fans just a taste of the action packed finale for the epic franchise. Oh, and those monkeys in the James Franco starring Rise of the Planet of the Apes are creepy. I prefer the cheesy 60s costumes/makeup from the first one.