THE OSCARS 2010: A QUICK RECAP

We're all strapped for time, so here's the Oscars recapped for those of you who missed it.

• Mo'Nique was absolutely no surprise in winning Best Supporting Actress for Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire.  She delivered  a poignant speech thanking the Academy for not letting politics decide her fate and basing the award on merit.  Hardly modest, but the audience would seem to have agreed with her as they gave her a standing ovation.  The film also won the Best Adapted Screenplay award.
• Dapper German actor Christoph Waltz won for his terrifying turn in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, being the subject of hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's Nazi jokes.  Expect his career to take off in North America soon.
• Designer and A Single Man director Tom Ford looked the gold standard in handsome.  I'm anxious to see what's to come next from him after such a strong reception to his first and only film.
• Sarah Jessica Parker arrived on the Red Carpet with husband Matthew Broderick looking like an Avatar character with her fluorescent blue eyes. The Grecian Goddess look constructed by Tom Ford, just didn't work for her and she looked over-tanned.  Broderick later paid tribute with Molly Ringwald (the original Lindsay Lohan) to the late great director John Hughes (Home Alone, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club).
• Helen Mirren looked stunning in a gray Badgley Mischka number.  It didn't even matter that she wasn't a serious contender for Best Lead Actress.

THE OSCARS RACE 2010: A DRAMA BASED ON A DRAMA | FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Check out some of these recently-released For Your Consideration pieces submitted by studios to Academy voters leading up to the Oscars. The ceremony will be televised Sunday, March 7, 2010 8 PM EST on CBS.  More of these pieces can be found on one of my favourite blogs, Awards Daily.

Best Picture favourite The Hurt Locker has raised a few eyebrows with some controversy surrounding one of its four producers, Nicolas Chartier who personally e-mailed a number of Academy voters in January urging they "not to vote for a $500 million film" (Avatar). This of course is a flagrant violation of Academy guidelines which prohibit competitors from "casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film".  Needless to say, his invitation is now "magically" lost in the mail. How's that for drama based on a Drama?  

God, I love Hollywood!

PRECIOUS SCORES AT THE NAACP AWARDS

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) Awards were held this past weekend and as expected, Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, absolutely cleaned up.  Gabourey Sidibe picked up her first major acting award this season as the film's lead actress, while supporting actress Mo'Nique, director Daniels and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher also won awards in their respective categories.  Mariah Carey, who turned in  a career-best performance here, unfortunately was not in attendance.  Mo'Nique is expected to win her first Oscar in the category of Best Supporting Actress this Sunday. And rightfully so.  

Although I fully support the NAACP  in its beliefs and initiatives, I still feel that more can be done to represent a wider spectrum of minority talent. Combing through the list of award winners, it is clear that the association's perception of "minority advancement" doesn't extend far outside the realms of white and black perhaps.

In case you missed its theatrical run, Precious will be released on DVD on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. (Photo credit: Associated Press)

THE NEW YORK TIMES PORTRAITS: THE BEST PERFORMANCES OF 2009

 

The New York Times has released their annual portraits for The Best Performances of 2009 and they are absolutely gorgeous.  The series was photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.  These are just a few of the many portraits featured on their website right now.  Seen above are Tobey Maguire & Jake Gyllenhaal (Brothers), a barely recognizable Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Sam Worthington & Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Penélope Cruz & Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine), and Colin Firth & Julianne Moore (A Single Man).  Impeccable.

REVIEW: MARIAH CAREY - ANGELS ADVOCATE TOUR (TORONTO) & EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS

It's been almost four years since Mariah Carey has toured and although her Angels Advocate Tour hasn't brought in the numbers that 2006's The Adventures of Mimi Tour had, her fans (lovingly known as Lambs), are still devout.  Case in point, her Mimi Tour sold out on two separate nights here in Toronto.  Promoters this time around struggled to fill Air Canada Centre, resulting in Carey's stage being brought in closer to the audience for a more intimate feel.  Just last week alone, 300 section tickets were being sold as part of a two for one deal.  Needless to say, those seats filled quickly.  I myself was originally to be seated in the 20th row on the floor,  but got promoted ahead three rows due to lower than anticipated ticket sales.  No complaints here.

After making her fans wait over 90 minutes, Carey finally arrived on stage shortly after 9:00 PM EST,  but not after the prolonged wait drew mixed boos and cheers.  Descending upon the audience on a swing seat, she performed an intro combo Butterfly/Fantasy Interlude. She looked every bit a goddess in a ruffled gold number which complemented her very present cleavage.   She then delivered a musical triple-axle of Shake it Off, Touch My Body and Fly Like a Bird.  Her voice was quite nasal this evening due to a cold she caught from one of her male dancers last week and she asked the audience for mercy.  Was this in response to an accusation of her stalling work ethic made by blogger Perez Hilton today?

Oddly,  Carey let her band and backing dancers do most of the work on the inspirational Make it Happen, while she changed into a form-fitting silver number, then suddenly reappearing on stage to deliver some ad libs and a final chorus.  She mimed the vocals to two tracks from her latest effort Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel - Angels Cry and The Impossible.  She revealed that the latter was written for her husband Nick Cannon before the audience - mostly gay men and girls in their twenties - feasted their eyes on a fit male dancer writhing about on stage.

One quality that defines Carey as an entertainer is the genuine love she has for her fans.  Unlike a Madonna or a Britney Spears concert, you get interaction at Carey's shows.  She recognized one male fan named Alexander who has attended all three of her Canadian dates.  Tonight she had the spotlights directed at him and shared a glass (yes, literally the same glass) of champagne with him,  also taking an opportunity to introduce a Rosé Champagne she will be introducing to the market soon.

DEAR JOHN HANDS AVATAR A GOODBYE LETTER

Exceeding all expectations, Sony Screen Gems' Dear John finally handed seven week Box Office champion its first defeat taking in $32.4 million.  The tearjerker confirms Vanity Fair's recent prediction that Amanda Seyfried is indeed a bankable star.  Although  recent effort Jennifer's Body tanked, her overall body of work including Mean Girls, Mamma Mia and now this monster, place her at the top of her pack.  Of course, I'm sure heartthrob Channing Tatum might also have had a small part in bringing the girls out to the theatre too!

I'm honestly tired of writing about Avatar, but still being able to pull in $23.6 million in its eighth week of release and landing in second is a mighty impressive feat.

The weekend's only other debut, Lionsgate's From Paris With Love came in third with just $8.1 million.  The action drama stars John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and marks a significant loss for its studio, which invested $52 million in the picture.

Fox Searchlight's Crazy Heart appears to be getting the right amount of buzz in time for the Oscars, jumping from 14th to eighth spot with $3.7 million in its first weekend in wide release.  Its star Jeff Bridges has been popping up allover the place of late, including landing a spot on the upcoming charity remake of We Are the World.  This was no doubt due to his impressive performance in this film as a washed-up country singer.

Other Oscar contenders outside the Top Ten like An Education, A Single Man, Precious and The Last Station all experienced gross spikes landing in 16th, 18th, 21st and 22nd spots respectively.  Click on each of these films' names to read reviews I posted about them.

OSCARS 2010 NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED: A BATTLE OF THE SEXES AND THE EXES

The 2010 Oscar nominations were announced this morning and not only will this year be a Battle of the Sexes, but also a Battle of the Exes.  Director James Cameron (Avatar) will be going head-to-head with his former wife Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) in major categories like Best Director and Best Picture.  Each director garnered an astounding nine nominations. 

For the time ever, the format of the Best Picture category has been ammended to include ten films this year.  This year's nominees include:  Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air, Avatar, An Education, The Hurt Locker, The Blind Side and District 9.  Although my heart leans towards The Blind Side as a personal favourite, in all probability this will be Avatar's year.

Finalists in the Best Actor category are: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).  Make no mistake about it, it's all about Bridges in this category.

Nominees for Best Actress are: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).  I think most of my readers will agree as per a recent poll here, that this will be Bullock's year.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES: A QUICK RECAP

Congratulations to the cast of Glee, The Hangover, Mad Men and Avatar, in addition to Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore, Mo'nique, Meryl Streep, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, who were among the big winners from the 2010 Golden Globe Awards tonight at The Beverly Hilton. 

There were no real surprises tonight other than I'd say, Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) and Bridges (Crazy Heart) winning for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy and Drama respectively.  Many were banking on George Clooney (Up In The Air) winning in the latter category.   Mo'nique was pretty much a shoe-in for her performance in Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire and you can expect the same result a the upcoming Oscars. And true to form, Bullock was humble and gracious in accepting her award for The Blind Side, acknowledging that she is not the most talented actress in accepting her award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.  This win definitely solidifies her chances at a possible Oscar win, although we will only know the list of nominees when they are announced February 2, 2010.

And guess what?  You, my Mavenati, guessed correctly in a recent survey posted here on who would win in Bullock's category.  Way to go!  Streep also had some of her fellow nominees like Marion Cotillard in tears during her speech in accepting her award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy for Julie & Julia.  A true class act.

View some fantastic photos from this evening's rainy red carpet.  The ladies below looked absolutely amazing, particulary Kate Hudson and Sandra Bullock in purple.  Despite appearing under-dressed, Julia Roberts looked chic in a simple black number accessorized with a showpiece necklace.  Once again, Lea Michele from Glee is proving that she belongs with the best of them, after dazzling in red recently at the People's Choice Awards.

For a full list of winners, visit The Hollywood Foreign Press Assocation's official website here.  (Photo credit: Getty Images)

MARIAH CAREY'S DRUNKEN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

So, as reported previously, Mariah Carey would be receiving an award for Best Breakthrough Performance at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" By Sapphire. Accepting the award from director Lee Daniels, she looked every bit a hot mess and to make sure you know about it the Associated Press acquired this YouTube clip for you to enjoy over and over again:

Why not? It's a celebration after all! And in a way absolutely brilliant because prior to this, not many people cared or even knew Carey had won an acting award, let alone being able to act at all.  Now we all know.  Congrats, MAR$AH!  (Thanks Chart Rigger for the headsup!).

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Up in the Air and Glee lead this year's pack of Golden Globe Awards nominees. The former garnered a total six nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in the motion picture categories, while the latter earned four in the television categories. Following closely behind Up in the Air with five nods is Rob Marshall's musical Nine, due in theatres on Christmas Day, while James Cameron's Avatar got four. Golden Globe darlings including 30 Rock, Mad Men and Big Love all earned three nominations behind Glee.

The motion picture acting categories are highly competitive this year and notably, personal favourites Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep each received two nominations. Bullock is nominated for her stellar performance in The Blind Side (Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama) and also The Proposal (Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy). Meryl Streep will be competing against herself for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy with Julie & Julia and the soon to be released It's Complicated; her 24th and 25th Golden Globe nominations and surely just two of many more to come.

The match for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama is heated one with some really evenly-matched nominees including George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Tobey Maguire (Brothers) and Jeff Bridges (A Crazy Heart). The same can be said about the very competitive Best Supporting Actress category which will be pitting Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire), Pénelope Cruz (Nine), Julianne Moore (A Single Man) and co-stars Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air).

BUZZ FOR BULLOCK

Alas, quality prevails! Warner Bros.' The Blind Side continues to roll ahead of its competition with its positive buzz, putting it at the top of the Box Office this weekend, raking in $20 million. As reviewed here previously, the film is an absolute gem and I recommend it highly. There is actually quite a bit of Oscar buzz generating for Sandra Bullock's career-best performance here and I for one would love to see her get rewarded for her work on this film. After having seen many of the other contenders in the Best Female Lead Actress race, I am confident that she is a front-runner.

Of course, that teen vampire flick is still making more many than I could ever imagine in a lifetime, after a two-week reign. Despite a 63% slip from last week, it is still doing well enough to hang on for second with $15.7 million.

Brothers from Lionsgate Films, starring an incredible cast of Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire debuts in third with a $9.7 million take. Read my review of the film here.

Hunky Matt Dillon has two films in the Top Five with Buena Vista's comedy Old Dogs in fifth at $6.9 million, bringing its total to $33 million, almost recouping its $35 million production budget. Dillon's other film, Sony Screen Gems' Armored placed sixth in its opening weekend with $6.6 million. The action-drama film also stars Laurence Fishburne.

Miramax Films' Everybody's Fine opened in tenth spot with $4 million in ticket sales. As reviewed earlier, the Robert De Niro headlined film is worth a watch. Also worthy of a mention is Paramount Pictures' Up In The Air directed/written by Jason Reitman (Juno) and starring George Clooney, which opened in only 15 theatres this weekend in 13th spot. The Oscar contender, which I reviewed back in September during TIFF, is getting lots of buzz in the Best Picture and Best Lead Actor categories.

Surprisingly running out of steam already is Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. The film drops to twlefth spot, with a take of $2.3 million in its fifth week in theatres.

MARIAH WINS BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE AWARD

A big congratulations goes to my idol Mariah Carey for winning the Best Breakthrough Performance Award at the 21st Palm Springs International Film Festival. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she will be flying there January 5, 2010 to receive her award, silencing her biggest critics and anyone who doubted she can indeed act. Although, I have posted about it many times, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire is one of the most important films to come out in quite some time. It is a story about surviving even when the odds are stacked against you completely. Small victories count just as much as big victories do.

And for the record, I will admit that I have seen Glitter a whopping 13 times ....and I loved it. Perhaps the underperformance of her latest album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (selling 315,000 over the past two months) was just meant to be so that Carey can truly enjoy this moment and further develop her still-burgeoning acting talent. Above is a photo I got of Carey giving director Lee Daniels a hug at the gala for Precious this past September at TIFF.

BUFF VAMPIRES 1, AWFUL DISASTER FLICK 0

So apparently there's some obscure, low-budget film called The Twilight Saga: New Moon out and it did just okay this weekend. Just kidding. tee-hee. The Summit Entertainment film actually did more than okay. In fact, it shattered the all-time record for biggest opening day ever for a film, earning $72.7 alone on Friday night. The previous record holder for biggest opening day film was The Dark Knight at $67.2 million. The Twilight Saga: New Moon's overall tally was a jaw-dropping $140.7 million this past weekend, proving that people really do want to see a bunch of shirtless, buff guys speaking really monotone for two hours.

Warner Bros.' sports drama The Blind Side starring Box Office sweetheart Sandra Bullock, was a distant second, earning an outstanding $34.5 million, which would place it well ahead of its competition on any other weekend. Although I'm sure many of these ticket sales were a result of movie-goers not being able to get in to see New Moon, thus resorting to an alternative. The film's reviews are actually quite positive overall, so my interest has been peaked.

The terrible 2012 which dominated last weekend, experienced a dramatic slip in dropping to third spot at a still impressive $26.5 million. The film was so awful I refuse to devote any mor....

Sony/Columbia Pictures' animated feature Planet 51 also made a noteworthy debut this weekend in fourth place, taking in $12.6 million, which would likely mean a significant loss for the studio. The film features the voices of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Mac Guy - Justin Long and Jessica Biel and the reviews are scathing generally.

Word-of-mouth continues to spread about Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire pulling in $11 million from just 627 theatres alone, landing it in sixth spot. In limited release alone, it has made $21.4 million in three weeks, which is more than many movies will make in a theatrical run. The reviews continue to get better and better and critical consensus site Rotten Tomatoes now has the film at an overwhelmingly positive 91% rating, making it one of the best rated films of 2009. It is the one to beat in the match for Best Picture at the 2010 Oscars.

THE END OF THE WORLD

I am not going to mention how that awful film topped this weekend's Box Office tally, destroying its competition with over $65 million in ticket sales. What I will comment on is how Precious: Based On the Novel "Push" By Sapphire continues to amaze at the Box Office in limited release, pulling in $6 million from just 174 theatres. Yes, the film really is that amazing - just you wait your turn when it expands to your city.

Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) continues to perform impressively, pulling in $22 million in its second week. Also, of note was Focus Features' Pirate Radio which debuted in eleventh spot with $2.9 million from 882 theatres. The '60s era film however, was made for $50 million, resulting in a severe hit for Focus Features, which had Oscar hopes surely for the all-star cast film which includes Philip Seymour Hofman, January Jones, Emma Thompson and Bill Nighy.

CHRISTMAS IN NOVEMBER

It is way too early to even think about the holidays. I mean, wasn't it Halloween just last week? It would appear though that moviegoers would disagree with me as they made Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) starring Jim Carrey, Colin Firth and Robin Wright Penn, a massive box office success this weekend taking in $31 million from 3,700 theatres. The animated remake has fared moderately among critics with feedback indicating that it relies too heavily on digital effects, taking away from some of the great performances in the film.

Last week's Box Office victor This Is It slips to second, still bringing in a decent $14 million in 3,500 theatres in its second week. What people fail to realize about the Michael Jackson documentary is that it is also available for legal download on iTunes and that this is deflating its actual box office ticket numbers.

Overture Films' The Men Who Stare At Goats which premiered at TIFF in September to mixed reviews, opened in third this weekend earning $13.3 million. The film has an all-star cast including George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges.

Universal Pictures' The Fourth Kind starring Milla Jovovich opened in fourth at $12.5 million from 2,500 theatres and after seeing its terrifying trailer I also am intrigued about this one. Apparently it's based on a series of mysterious alien abductions that have taken place in Alaska. Reviews are atrocious.

Previous Box Office champ Paranormal Activity slides down the top ten to fifth spot with $8.6 million, but still performing respectably. Overall, it is about well over $97.5 million alone in North America and let's not forget it was made for $15,000 US.

Following closely behind in sixth was Warner Bros.' horror flick The Box starring Cameron Diaz and the likable James Marsden. The film performed below expectations earning $7.9 million in its opening weekend. This showing is uncharacteristically poor for a Diaz headlined film.

Also noteworthy was Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry-produced Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire, which opened in 18 theatres only, making an unheard of $100,000 per screen this weekend. Bringing in a total of $1.8 million, it managed to come in at an impressive 13th spot this weekend. It's safe to say this film is going to do extremely well when it gets a wide release later this month. I was lucky enough to see early at this year's TIFF. Click here for my review.

I've been away from the theatre for a couple weeks now. What do you guys recommend?

TIFF DAY 4 CONTINUED - PRECIOUS REVIEW

I am totally starting to feel a bit of burnout after attending three screenings today. Before I head to bed though, I just wanted to tell you that director Lee Daniels' Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire is everything that it is hyped-up to be. I arrived at the red carpet for the gala at Roy Thompson Hall two hours prior to its 9:30 PM start time and there was already a massive crowd waiting armed with digital cameras and clipboards. This made it virtually impossible to sneak a peak at any stars, so I gave up and proceeded to go line up for my seat with my BFFs. Alas, my hopes of getting close to Mariah Carey this year were dashed!

Due to the mass arrival of celebrities at tonight's gala, additional time was required for interviews with the media, delaying the screening start time by a whopping 45 minutes. It was well worth the wait though, as the audience was treated to a spectacle of stars that included Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Tyler Perry, Mary J. Blige, Paula Patton, Robin Thicke (Patton's husband), Sherri Shepherd, Lee Daniels, Gayle King and the film's star, Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe. The audience was given a very warm welcome in a heart-felt introduction by Daniels and producers Winfrey and Perry. I didn't know who to take pictures of first. There were too many stars!

Pictures are below: