It’s that time of the week when we all head to our local stores to spend money on silly circular thingies that put moving pictures on our televisions whenever we don’t want to watch the news. Here’s what I’d buy, rent and ignore. Read the full story

It’s time to finally end this sucker. With the Academy Awards this weekend after a month filled with coverage, who will come out on top? Read the full story

With the expansion to ten Best Picture nominees, many thought that “anything has a shot now!” But that is, of course, horrifically incorrect seeing as how the still-five-nominees-Best Director category essentially reveals what the “real” Best Picture nominees are. Read the full story

Every year there’s one Oscar category that boasts such an evident winner all season that it becomes almost morose to even speak about the subject. This year, comedienne Mo’Nique and her riveting turn as Mary Jones in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire joins the ranks of Heath Ledger’s Joker, Helen Mirren’s Queen Elizabeth and Charlize Theron’s Aileen Wuornos as an undeniable awards juggernaut.

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The award for Best Adapted Screenplay is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood categories at the Oscars. Nobody questions that there is skill involved in taking a novel, play, or short story and turning it into screenplay that both retains the essence of the original story and interprets it for a two-hour film. However, what makes this category difficult is the ambiguity surrounding the selection of a winning film. What do the film script and the film itself need in order to deserve the award for Best Adapted Screenplay? According to past results, the film would need the qualities of a Best Picture winner with fifty-nine of the eighty-one winning Best Picture films having been adaptations. This year four of the Best Adapted Screenplay nominees including District 9, An Education, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire and Up in the Air have also been nominated for Best Picture. (In the Loop is the only absent nominee not in this category). Whether one these films wins in both categories or not, the Academy clearly has high expectations when it comes to choosing a winner for the Best Adapted Screenplay. Read the full story

Doug Liman started strong in his directorial career with Swingers, Go and The Bourne Identity. I even somehwat enjoyed Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Unfortunately Jumper was one of the worst films of 2008, but his next film sounds much more promising. The Valerie Plame film, Fair Game stars Naomi Watts and Sean Penn is finished and is looking at a Cannes Film Festival premiere. What’s next for Liman? Jumper 2 has been talked about for awhile, but In Contention is reporting a much more interesting project. Read the full story

The nominations for the British Academy Film and Television Awards have been announced with Avatar, The Hurt Locker and An Education tied with eight nominations apiece. With these three favorites nominated in almost every category it seems likely that each film will go home with at least one award in hand. However, the competition running alongside these movies in categories such as Best Picture and Best Director, are heated with equally deserving movies such as Precious, Up in the Air, District 9 and Inglourious Basterds. Read the full story

The Director’s Guild of America have announced their nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2009. Hitfix has the revealed the list, check it out below. Read the full story

After developing a list of thirty incredible films from 2009 that I enjoyed more than the rest, I was forced to choose only fifteen of those to call my “favorite films” of 2009. Like choosing fifteen orphans to take home and love and fifteen orphans to march off a cliff, I begrudgingly chose my fifteen favorite films of 2009. Staring at the list for what seemed like hours on end I ultimately decided to stop even trying to make a “final” decision and stick with my gut. Even if my gut immediately disagrees with my brain and vice-versa. As painful as it was to decide on these films and leave out so many other great ones, whether you agree with what is on my list or the order of my list is really not too important. What is important is that you see these films. 2009 was a great year for cinema. To only see the large films that had the budget to saturate your daily dose of advertising mania, no matter how great those films may be, would be a shame. 2009 proved the art of cinema is still alive and well, and we shouldn’t take it for granted. Don’t take my word for it — go see these films. You may not love them as much as I did, but joining in on the discussion, whether for or against, is all that really matters. So without further avoidance of the inevitable, This is my fifteen favorite films of 2009. I really enjoyed them and I hope you do too. Read the full story

Precious, a film that critics rallied for and audiences followed suit, is a powerful film anchored by powerhouse performances in key heart-tugging scenes. At the forefront of this awards season in the acting categories are actresses Gabourey Sidibe in the title role of the downtrodden, pregnant teen and comedienne Mo’Nique as her abusive, savage mother. Read the full story