Loved this collection of honest movie posters for the 2010 Best Picture race at Collegehumor.com. This one’s my personal favourite. Click HERE to see the rest.

Listed below, each of the categories, who I think deserves to win and who I think will win. Feel free to post your predictions in the comments (in the 13 hours you will have before the Oscars telecast starts).

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Personal Pick:
Haven’t seen Bridges yet, and firmly think he is in the “career achievement award” zone where they award you an Oscar for your whole resume. Out of the performances I have seen, Jeremy Renner was my favourite as the dedicated yet possibly insane bomb disposal expert.
Who Will Win:
Jeff Bridges, for the aforementioned reasons.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Personal Pick:
Christoph Waltz for embodying one of the most despicable, piteous and memorable villains of recent memory.
Who Will Win:
Waltz should take this out in a category that doesn’t have much competition.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Personal Pick:
Yikes. Haven’t seen a single nominee in this category. That’s pathetic.
Who Will Win:
Sandra Bullock, in another classic case of the Oscars rewarding a subpar performance from a onscreen darling.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Personal Pick:
Vera Farmiga. Loved her portrayal of Alex in ‘Up In The Air’, a perfect female counterpoint to Clooney.
Who Will Win:
Mo’Nique. She’s cleaned up most of the pre-Oscar awards, and she also qualifies as the underdog choice, given her minimal resume.

Best animated feature film of the year
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”

Personal Pick:
“Up”. Again, lack of knowledge of the other nominees makes my opinion pretty limited.
Who Will Win:
“Up”. Pixar FTW.

Achievement in art direction
“Avatar”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“The Young Victoria”

Personal Pick:
“Avatar”. The others are all strong competition but I think “Avatar” will clean up in as many technical categories as possible to make up for it losing out on the big award.
Who Will Win:
See above.

Achievement in cinematography
“Avatar” - Mauro Fiore
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” - Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” - Barry Ackroyd
“Inglourious Basterds” - Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” - Christian Berger

Personal Pick:
I thought Barry Ackroyd’s work in the “The Hurt Locker” was brilliant. Shooting a cinematic film like a documentary to put you in the moment was a masterfully effective choice.
Who Will Win:
I think “Avatar” takes this one for the technical achievement of pioneering the 3D camera process on a big Hollywood film.

Achievement in costume design
“Bright Star” - Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” - Catherine Leterrier
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” - Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” - Colleen Atwood
“The Young Victoria” - Sandy Powell

Personal Pick:
Another one where I’m clueless…. so I’m picking “Bright Star” because I’m sure Abbie Cornish makes any wardrobe 10x better.
Who Will Win:
“Bright Star”. Because I said so.

Achievement in directing
“Avatar” - James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” - Kathryn Bigelow
“Inglourious Basterds” - Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” - Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” - Jason Reitman

Personal Pick:
Kathryn Bigelow. “The Hurt Locker” resonated the most for me, and I think it was mostly due to Bigelow’s creative choices to put you in the moment with the character’s of the film. “Avatar” was an amazing technical achievement but felt hollow in comparison.
Who Will Win:
Bigelow. The Academy has been itching to award it to a woman who deserved it, and Bigelow is the perfect candidate.

Best documentary feature
“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”

Personal Pick:
“The Cove”. Only because it has got the most print and the slaughter of dolphins is something that deserved serious scrutiny.
Who Will Win:
“The Cove”. Because I said so.

Best documentary short subject
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit à la Berlin”

Personal Pick:
“The Last Truck” sounds like a pretty apt choice considering the economic and social climate of the U.S.A. at the moment.
Who Will Win:
“The Last Truck”. Because I said so.

Achievement in film editing
“Avatar” - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
“District 9″ - Julian Clarke
“The Hurt Locker” - Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
“Inglourious Basterds” - Sally Menke
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” - Joe Klotz

Personal Pick:
“The Hurt Locker”. The perfect pacing of the scenes and the chest-squeezing drama built from simple moments all sprang from immaculate choices in the editing room.

Who Will Win:
“The Hurt Locker”. The Academy will definitely give a few technical nods the “Locker” way.

Best foreign language film of the year
“Ajami”
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos”
“The Milk of Sorrow”
“Un Prophète”
“The White Ribbon”

Personal Pick:
Seen none of them again. What an insightful blog this is. “The White Ribbon”’s promotional photo is black and white. Sounds like a good enough reason to back it.
Who Will Win:
“The White Ribbon”. Because I said so.

Achievement in makeup
“Il Divo”
“Star Trek”
“The Young Victoria”

Personal Pick:
Weirdest group of nominees of the night…. I’m going “Star Trek” to show my Nerd Love. Spock’s ears were amazing.
Who Will Win:
“The Young Victoria”. No one is going to allow “Star Trek” to win an Oscar.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Avatar” - James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” - Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker” - Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes” - Hans Zimmer
“Up” - Michael Giacchino

Personal Pick:
I wasn’t blown away with the score for the “The Hurt Locker” (See what I did there?), and “Avatar”’s score was fairly typical of a big budget sci-fi epic. I’m going out on a limb and choosing Alexandre Desplat for the “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”.
Who Will Win:
“Avatar”. Most people are suckers for the overblown theatrical sound.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ - Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine” - Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” - Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Personal Pick:
“The Weary Kind”. I love the hard-bitten sound, and it seems like movies about musicians always do well here.
Who Will Win:
“The Weary Kind”. Because I said so. And Randy Newman doesn’t need another Oscar.

Best motion picture of the year
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9″
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Personal Pick:
“The Hurt Locker”. My favourite amongst the nominees, and also the most expertly balanced film in terms of creative and technical achievements. The emotional resonance of living a soldier’s life is something that most viewers find hard to escape.
Who Will Win:
“Avatar”. Just to frustrate me. Hey, I’m no “Avatar” hater, but to me it’s like giving “Aliens” or “Terminator 2″ a Best Picture Oscar. They are great spectacles, and effortlessly rewatchable classics, but they simply don’t have the depth of films like “Unforgiven”, “Platoon” or the “The Deer Hunter”. “The Hurt Locker” is in that class.

Best animated short film
“French Roast”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty”
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)”
“Logorama”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”

Personal Pick:
“The Lady and the Reaper”. Because it sounds Deep for an animated film.
Who Will Win:
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”. Purely for the title. And deservedly so.

Best live action short film
“The Door”
“Instead of Abracadabra”
“Kavi”
“Miracle Fish”
“The New Tenants”

Personal Pick:
“The New Tenants”. I like the creepy premise of this film. And I don’t even know if its genre.
Who Will Win:
“The Door”. Again, just to mess with me.

Achievement in sound editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up”

Personal Pick:
“The Hurt Locker”. Though I never really understand the difference between sound mixing and editing.
Who Will Win:
“Avatar”. It’s going to split these two with “Locker”, like children halving a Kit Kat bar. And I will pick it wrong, just you watch.

Achievement in sound mixing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

Personal Pick:
“Avatar”. Just to get it wrong.
Who Will Win:
“The Hurt Locker”. See above.

Achievement in visual effects
“Avatar” - Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
“District 9″ - Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
“Star Trek” - Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Personal Pick:
Is there really any doubt?
Who Will Win:
“Avatar”. And deservedly so. It’s opened a whole new realm of storytelling where provided you have the $, any world is possible.

Adapted screenplay
“District 9″ - Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
“An Education” - Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“In the Loop” - Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” - Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
“Up in the Air” - Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Personal Pick:
“Up In The Air”. Brilliant character development, laugh out loud dialogue and a heartfelt and moving message buried within a simple story. Gets better with every viewing.
Who Will Win:
“Up In The Air”. It’s a consolation prize for a film that would have won it all last year.
Original screenplay
“The Hurt Locker” - Written by Mark Boal
“Inglourious Basterds” - Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” -Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” - Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Up” - Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Personal Pick:
“The Hurt Locker”. Loved the subtle, realistic character development; the funny yet authentic dialogue, and the carefully established structure.
Who Will Win:
“The Hurt Locker”. Because I said so dammit!

Enjoy the show folks, will be back on Tuesday with a rundown.

Things I love most about this trailer:
1. They couldn’t find one take of the guys hitting a shot whilst playing basketball?
2. They are armed with coathangers. Coathangers people.
3. The awkward high five after the “1 million dollar” sale.
4. Natalie’s singlet.
5. Director James Nguyen is a VIsionary. I’m not sure how that is different to a visionary.
6. He’s also Master of the Romantic Thriller TM (Seriously, did he actually trademark that phrase??)
7. The acting, cinematography, and direction get progressively worse as the trailer plays. It’s like he blew 98% of the budget on the first three minutes of the film and had $1.97 to spend on the remaining eighty seven.
8. The awesome ‘Birdemic’ theme song.
9. The toy machine guns being used to dispatch the “terrifying” bird attacks.
10. The random insert of Rod filling the car with petrol. Huh?
11. That a Commodore 64 can be used for CGI. Who knew?

Have you ever wondered what director Wes Anderson (’Rushmore’, ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, etc.) would have done with the ‘Spiderman’ franchise? Here’s the answer.

P.S. The guy riffing on Owen Wilson from ‘Tenenbaums’ is genius.

Anyway, I’m here now, briefly, to register my predictions for tomorrow’s Superbowl XLIV, featuring the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. As usual, I will be hosting a party for one in my lounge room, complete with a couple of cold Millers and some tasty nachos.

I’ve mulled over my pick for the Superbowl for the last two weeks, and it’s been a real struggle to find a favourite. Everyone seems to be on board the Colts bandwagon, and I agree Peyton Manning has been almost superhuman this season. But I also think the Saints are a far better team than they showed in their pitiful performance against the Vikings, and that these two teams are more evenly matched than people are giving them credit for. So, in the spirit of cheering on the underdog, I’m taking the Saints. I think it would be amazing for the city of New Orleans and announce to the world that QB Drew Brees is in the same class as Brady and Manning.

For the Saints to win, they are going to need some big plays, and probably to play from in front the whole game. It will definitely be a shoot out, so I’m also taking the over on total points (+56.5). And I’m picking Brees for MVP.

Will Manning come out throwing rockets and make me regret the decision? More than likely. Either way, it’s sure to be a great contest. Enjoy the game if you have a chance to tune in (even if just for ‘The Who’ at halftime!)

A couple of other bets I like for the gamblers out there:

Austin Collie to score a TD ($2.10)
Drew Brees MVP ($4)
Pierre Garcon MVP ($21 - if you like the Colts)
First scoring play New Orleans TD ($3.25)

Hope to be back on the old Mojo soon with some new material. Stay tuned.

8:30: The night kicks off with Keith Urban’s live performance of “Generic Country Pop Song #24″… actually, that may just be my title for it.

8:35: Oh no…. Gyton Grantley and Kate Ritchie are hosting. I really like Gyton as an actor, but this show might ruin that. They deliver an awfully written introduction speech like giggly 6th graders working off illegible cue cards.

8:37: And the winner for Highest Selling Single… I had no idea on this but suspected Jessica Mauboy’s ‘Running Back To You’…. and that’s the winner. Wow. I’m happy for J-Mau (I am TMing this nickname) but I really hope she doesn’t take many creative awards. She is really just wannabe-Beyonce Junior.

8:38: J-Mau starts by thanking God. Jessica, God was in the tub, he wasn’t working on selling albums for you.

8:40: As much as people don’t like Channel 10, at least their ARIA show vibe is “had a few drinks, having a good time”. Not “desperately trying to convince people we are cool and hip dudes”.

8:44: Is current presenter Ruby Rose hot? I need a ruling on this.

8:46: Time for Best Urban Release. AKA Best Very Average Facsimile of American Hip Hop Award. Oh, what a surprise, Hilltop Hoods take out the award. They must have incriminating photos of ARIA voters in compromising positions with goats. Just kidding, I actually like what I’ve heard of that album.

8:49: J-Mau is up onstage to perform her poor woman’s Beyonce. Her supporting male dancers are wearing Hamburgler face masks. She ends with a horrible bum note.

8:54: Grantley and Ritchie seem way too insistent on us not tuning out. “Stick Around!” Gyton commands, and I don’t want to mess with him. I’ve seen what he can do to a piece of fried chicken in Underbelly. It’s not pretty.

8:59: Andrew G (I refuse to acknowledge his surname) and Jimmy Barnes award AC/DC with the Best Selling Album Award for ‘Black Ice’. A pointless roadie comes onstage and sets up a totally unnecessary mic stand. Huh? AC/DC are in South America apparently. Talk about anti-climax.

9:01: And AC/DC take the Best Rock Album Award. Shit. They cross to a pre-taped award acceptance speech. Jesus, AC/DC look like Dennis Ferguson’s love children. That’s what years of drug and alcohol abuse will do kids.

9:06: Hilltop Hoods perform ‘Chase That Feeling’, which as I mentioned before, I really like. But I’m pretty sure the circus performers gracing the stage with them can be filed under R for Redundant.

9:11: Rosso basically shits on the category he is awarding, Best Dance Release, with his sarcastic yet oddly unfunny intro. And the winner? The Presets, who also must have some incriminating shit to use against the voters. Or maybe they are Stonecutters. Didn’t we give them enough kudos last year??

9:13: Presenters Vanessa Amarosi and Daniel Merriweather. Ughhh. Double Ughhh. Talk about King and Queen of the Average. They are presenting Best Pop Release. And the ARIA goes to…. Empire of the Sun. Seems to be the consensus pick pre-show for who is going to win big.

A douchey Luke Steele collects the award. Acknowledges his partner in EotS, Nick Littlemore, but barely. Here’s the lowdown on their “break up”, which occurred six months ago.

I get the feeling it was an Alpha Dog conflict. There is mention in those articles about Nick wanting to tour and Luke flat out refusing. More evidence that his head is wedged wayyyyyyyyyyy up his rectum.

9:26: Dick Wilkins and Lee Kernaghan are introducing Best Country Album. Dick is upset he is not “nomilated” tonight. Easy on the red wine Dick.

Man I would love Shane Nicholson to win this category. But it’s not to be… the winner is Troy Cassar-Daley. Seems like a nice guy, but his music is broader than Broadway.

Troy boasts about his future project with Keith Urban, called ‘The Brown Streaks’. I’ve already been working on that project myself. In my toilet.

9:34: Ohhhhh man. It’s Robbie Williams time. Here comes Mr. Crazy Eyes!

I’m sorry, but I can’t stand Robbie Williams. I just don’t understand his appeal. Sure he has a competent voice, but he dances like a spaz and his songs are the very definition of generic.

He’s doing his awful single ‘Bodies’. He demands people get out of their seats. How about you write a song that actually makes people WANT to get out of their seats, not some goofy, stuttering, lyrically lame turd.

Wait a minute, what is Robbie Williams even doing at the ARIAS!!! Do we really need him? I would rather see any of the four best male or female artist perform, than this bloated, boring has-been.

Kate gets all wet when Robbie pecks her on the cheek post-song. Gyton tries to convince us this show is “going off!” RADICAL! BODACIOUS! FULLY SICK!

9:43: Guy Sebastian and Natalie Bassingthwaite are presenting a very poor joke about Robbie Williams. Actually, they are presenting Breakthrough Artist Single. My personal favourite here is Lisa Mitchell, but I know she’s a huuuuge underdog. But then Ladyhawke, another underdog comes through with ‘My Delirium’. Ignoring the whole “not Australian” thing, congratulations to Ladyhawke. That song is very cool.

9:48: Straight afterwards, the Breakthrough Artist Album. Ladyhawke is up again, against two of my other favourite female artists, Lisa Mitchell and Sia (as well as The Temper Trap and J-Mau). And the winner….. Ladyhawke again! Nice work. She’s very cute and seemingly a bit shy.

9:54: Missing Higgins… sorry, typo. Missy Higgins has an eloquent introduction for Lisa Mitchell, Kate Miller-Heidke, and the lovely and amazing Sarah Blasko.

They are all doing abridged versions of their songs. Lisa’s up first, with ‘Coin Laundry’. She’s gorgeous and quirky, just her usual self. Then we slide across to Kate Miller-Heidke, performing ‘The Last Day On Earth’. Heartfelt, intense and passionate. Finally, undoubtably Australia’s best female artist in this writer’s humble opinion, Sarah Blasko. Blasko is performing ‘All I Want’, and looks amazing with her characteristic theatrical style. A beautiful performance from all three.

But I wish we could have given them the 5 minutes we wasted on Robbie Williams to perform longer versions. And it’s a bit of a cheat that the three artists are “sharing the same stage”; more like sharing the same walkway to their individual stages.

10:03: Jabba rises from the dead to hand out the Best Adult Contemporary album award. Love the nominees in this category. Pykey, Bob Evans, Little Birdy, Paul Dempsey and… um… David Campbell?

The winner…. Josh Pyke! For Chimney’s Afire. Excellent!

Speaking of, check out his new Lighthouse DVD, especially the fan made vid special feature.

Pykey dedicates the award to Bob Evans, his “brother from another mother”. I have a few of those myself.

10:09: Tom Petrovski!

10:13: John Butler pays respect to the traditional elders. Class act. With Keith Urban he presents the Best Independent Release. Dappled Please! No Sneaky Sound System Please!

Bertie Blackman wins for ‘Secrets and Lies’. I’ve got no problem with that. But you have to check out ‘Zounds’ by Dappled Cities if you haven’t already, one of the best albums of the year.

Bertie is wearing a garbage bag tonight, which is an interesting choice. She also tries to make a metaphor about being an independent artist which somehow encompasses catching a dust storm of diamonds and broken glass and blowing them back. Interesting.

10:17: Empire of the Sun, performing ‘Walking On A Dream’. Anytime someone goes too crazy with theatrics and costumes I wonder what they are lacking under the surface. Luke Steele looks like a villain from Flash Gordon 2.

Channel 9 use some weird shutter speed, strobe effect slowdown which makes me question if I’ve had one too many vodka and iced coffees. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t drop acid before that one.

10:22: I can’t be bothered even typing the names of the next two presenters they are so bland. Best Male Artist goes to….. praying for Paul Dempsey…… arrrrrggggggggh!!!! Daniel Fucking Merriweather. Jesus. Dempsey is ten times the artist. Talk about bland. Cardboard is less bland than Merriweather.

10:26: Best Blues and Roots Album, presented by a trying very hard Doctor from Triple J and Marieke Hardy who is actually pretty cute. C.W. Stoneking wins! Seems cool though a little quirky guy. Like the weird dude who sat up the back in music class. Also has a little Karl Childers about him. French fry potatas!

10:31: The Temper Trap, with ‘Sweet Disposition’ live onstage. Wow these guys have grown since I saw them play support two years ago at The Metro. Very atmospheric, U2-esque rock sound.

10:32: Julian on Facebook points out that Best Newcomer Award should go to “all the winding camera pan shots on stage. Shooting it just like a footy game. Go channel nine!!!”

10:36: Time for the Best Group award, presented by the moustachioed Powderfinger boys. Empire of the Sun are this years The Presets. They take out this one. Great. More time onstage for Captain Douchebag.

10:41: Ladyhawke totally wins me over with her performance of ‘My Delirium’. Then it’s time for Mysterious Higgins to present Best Female Artist. Hoping, wishing, praying that Blasko will win… but it’s probably going to J-Mau right? I mean, the ARIAs always let me down. The winner….. BLASKO!!! Yeah baby! So well deserved. She makes a very succinct thank you speech.

10:46: Rove and Robbie Williams are presenting the final two awards of the night. Rove tries to explain to Robbie that Australian’s are actually able to speak and not just scream in his presence. I would scream if Robbie was anywhere near me too, but it would mostly be because I was running at him with a knife.

Empire of the Sun win Best Single for ‘Walking On A Dream’. Captain Douchebag says this song was like a blessing from God, a lightning strike. Any chance we could get lightning to strike you right now.

10:50: Rove makes a mouth trumpet noise and then a crack about Channel 9 not affording real fanfare. Ha! And a personality too. Now it’s time for Album of the Year….. and the winner is….

Empire of the Sun.

Wait, let me lift my jaw off the floor. What a Huuuuuuuuge Surprise.

He calls his own album a “masterwork”. No wonder Nick Littlemore bailed out on this pretentious blowhard. He tries to crack a joke with Robbie and Robbie shuts him down. Wow. When Robbie Williams thinks you are a pretentious dick….

That’s it for the show. Biggest disappointment? Dempsey missing out on Best Male Artist. Highlight of the night? Blasko getting the recognition she deserves.

James Cameron’s Avatar is only a month away and so far the online response is decidedly mixed.

You just have to look at some of the comments here to see the antipathy towards the trailer.

Personally I am willing to give the director of ‘Aliens’, ‘T2′, and ‘Titanic’ the benefit of the doubt, at least until I see the “cartoony cat people” in context. And I really can’t help barracking for Sam Worthington; in all his promo duties he has come across as a genuine, down to earth legendary dude.

The “Dances With Wolves In Outer Space” vibe of the story has me intrigued, and I definitely think it won’t be able to be judged without forking out the $ for 3D and IMAX. I’m glad that Cameron has taken his own reputation and dollars and used it to advance the storytelling technique of cinema.

By the way, can we all agree the “half face on both sides of the poster” choice is totally f’d out?? Definitely scraping the bottom of the creativity barrel.

Your thoughts on ‘Avatar’? Here’s the trailer for those who have been living in a cave:

I mean judging by the trailer, shouldn’t this movie be called “Guys Standing In A Room Talking About A Hot Tub Time Machine”.

Some online pundits have already taken to labelling this as ‘The Hangover’ of 2010. Going by this early glimpse, I would be stunned if it was even close (and I consider ‘The Hangover’ far from a classic comedy). For now I’ll just hope the marketing team butchered the trailer.

Michael Douglas, Wall Street
William Hurt, Broadcast News
Marcello Mastroianni, Dark Eyes
Jack Nicholson, Ironweed
Robin Williams, Good Morning, Vietnam

Michael Douglas took out the award with his masterful performance as Gordon Gekko, but if there was a new award category for Best Acting with Eyebrows in ‘87, the hands down winner would have to be the great Eric Freeman in the atrocious yet hilarious ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night 2′ (before you ask, yes they did need a sequel to the first SNDN. There was so much untapped in this premise).

I’d say I’ve rewatched Freeman’s ‘Garbage Day!’ execution roughly 800 times since I first saw it. And I’m still not sick of it (One more time for posterity!). But even better is a later maniacal sneer / joyful laugh that he executes after shooting an innocent car driver on the same suburban street. It’s like the director asked Freeman to alternate between angry and happy every 3.5 seconds, and he did his best to oblige.

SNDN2 also features one of the single worst scenes I have ever seen, the introduction of Annoying Cinema Guy (he comes in at 0:26):

Fortunately, Ricky sorts out the disruptive lad with an oddly conspicuous murder only five feet away from the nearest cinemagoers in the most well-lit theatre I have ever seen. This scene also features the smooth, seductive Chip, whose bleached hair is so green I suspect he lives in an aquarium.

For more great Freeman acting, click here and enjoy.