THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 7: E.T.A.

Ah, New Years Eve. I never really was much one for partying on this particular day. Maybe it’s because by the time I hit drinking age I was already working at a movie theater and typically found myself ringing in the new year by locking up concession stands and covering up reel platters for the night. Or maybe I’ve just always been boring. Who knows? As for this year, well, thanks to the drowsiness inducing meds for my son’s Aspergers and my wife’s heart condition, there’s a 50/50 chance by the time midnight rolls around I’ll be watching the ball drop with as much human company as this poor schlub…

Oh well, despite all of the technical glitches, at least Marvin finally got his cup of kindness in the end. You know, like in the lyrics to that ubiquitous theme of New Years Eve, Auld Lang Syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And so on and so forth. I’m sure you know how it goes, more or less. Actually, being first written down in old Scottish by Robert Burns in 1788, “For Auld Lang Syne” has had a number of interpretations into modern dialect. However, the one considered to be closest in sentiment to the original meaning is “for the sake of old times.” So it would seem that the song is asking us to raise our cups in honor of those who aren’t with us and remember them with kindness. Which seems a bit of a melancholy note to usher in a new year doesn’t it?

But there’s something about that “yet” which hangs at the end of some of the verses that, for me at least, changes the focus a little. With that “yet” in there, Auld Lang Syne actually takes on a tinge of hope. We may have experienced some loss over the past year, but we’ll have our cup of kindness yet. Yet! It’s as Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed a few days ago during the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, “Christ’s birth is a flowering of new life for all humanity. May every land become a good earth which receives and brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace. Happy Christmas to all of you!”

I wish each and every one of you a Happy and Blessed New Year and may you all find your cup of kindness in the months to come.

If I Had An OSCAR Ballot ...

... It would look something like this. Please keep in mind that while I loved certain movies (like THE RAID and THE GREY, which as you'll read soon, were two of my top-10 movies of 2012) it's hard to vote for them for Best Picture. These have to be somewhat REALISTIC choices, otherwise there would be no point to this exercise. Also of note: I haven't seen AMOUR and I have abstained from voting in categories which I am ill-informed about (like Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Art Direction, Original Song) or could not find five choices for due to my lack of familiarity with the possible nominees (all shorts categories). Feel free to show off your own Oscar ballot in the comments section below, and thanks in advance for reading. I hope you enjoy my choices.

Important Note: An asterisk (*) denotes my vote to WIN.

BEST PICTURE

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

The Impossible

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Moonrise Kingdom

The Sessions

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty*

BEST DIRECTOR

Ben Affleck, Argo

Juan Antonio Bayona, The Impossible
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty*

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

BEST ACTOR

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

John Hawkes, The Sessions*

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook*

Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained*

Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emily Blunt, Looper
Ann Dowd, Compliance

Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises

Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom

Helen Hunt, The Sessions*

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Django Unchained

The Master
Moonrise Kingdom

Safety Not Guaranteed

Zero Dark Thirty*

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Lincoln

Rust and Bone

Silver Linings Playbook*

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Frankenweenie*

ParaNorman

Wreck-It Ralph

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

The Imposter*

Room 237

Shut Up and Play the Hits

West of Memphis

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE

A Hijacking

Michael

The Raid

Rust and Bone*

Snabba Cash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Impossible

Life of Pi

The Master*

Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Anna Karenina

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Magic Mike

Moonrise Kingdom*

BEST EDITING

Argo

The Impossible

Life of Pi

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty*

BEST MAKEUP

Hitchcock*
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Men in Black 3

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Compliance*

The Impossible

The Raid

Zero Dark Thirty

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The Hobbit

The Impossible

Flight

Life of Pi*

Prometheus

BEST ENSEMBLE (not an actual award)

Argo

Lincoln
Django Unchained

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Silver Linings Playbook*

FINAL TALLY (out of 18):

Zero Dark Thirty - 4 (Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing)
Silver Linings Playbook - 3 (Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Ensemble)
The Sessions - 2 (Actor, Supporting Actress)
Compliance 1 - (Original Score)
Django Unchained - 1 (Supporting Actor)
Frankenweenie - 1 (Animated Feature)
Hitchcock - 1 (Makeup)
The Imposter - 1 (Documentary Feature)
Life of Pi - 1 (Visual Effects)
The Master - 1 (Cinematography)
Moonrise Kingdom - 1 (Costume Design)
Rust and Bone - 1 (Foreign Language Feature)

Hate & Fear

As ever, there are essentially two kinds of people in the world: Thinkers and Believers. This is a truth, and one that has little to nothing to do with religion, spirituality, education or lack thereof. It's a simple boiling-down of how one ultimately chooses to approach the world: Through a prism of logic, reason and rationality... or through the other thing.

Below, a YouTube piece that's been making the rounds courtesy the charmingly-named "MIke Hunt" that intercuts the "Demand A Plan" video - in which various celebrities stumped for new gun legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre - with scenes of the various celebrities appearing participating in movie/TV scenes where they use guns. This is meant to be an "ironic" (the #2 word that both The Internet and American Conservatives tend to not know the actual definition of) exposure of "hypocrisy" (that, of course, would be the #1 word) on behalf of those appearing; because apparently Mr. Hunt occupies a dimension where the laws of physics differ such that fiction and reality are equivalent in some meaningful way...



It ends, as you may expect, on another declaration about the "Culture of Violence" - the shameless buzzword of the moment propped up by The Right and The NRA to be parroted by their willing sheep in the hopes of deflecting the issue from real guns to imaginary movies, books and video-games:

I am, as I've said before, a supporter of both sensible, reasonable gun laws (more reasonable than the ones we have, to start with) but also of the right to gun ownership by sensible, reasonable people; largely on the basis of logic and pragmatism but also because a good number of my friends and relatives are gun owners (I myself am certified but do not have a license or own a gun) and so I have what I feel is proper perspective on the matter.

That having been said... THIS bullshit (here's some folks on a "mainstream" website gleefully fantasizing about "armed resistance" against, well... guess) is getting to the point where I feel like I could see myself supporting a so-called "assault weapons ban" or somesuch just on the basis of getting to watch these bastards sob impotently into their Chik-fil-A. Is it really possible that I share a basic DNA profile with these people? And that there's nothing I can do about that?

THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 6: THE MOST AWFUL FAMILY IN BRITAIN

Today on this 6th day of Christmas we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, a group of people Pope John Paul II once described as an “example for all Christian and human families… [one which] radiates genuine love and charity.” And they were pretty much perfect when you think about it, what with the family including an incarnated God, his mother made sinless by a special grace and privilege, and a stepfather who was a proper saint in his own right. But with such an overwhelming amount of perfection concentrated in one family, one can’t help but wonder about enantiodromia, that old Greek idea expounded upon by Carl Jung which The Collins English dictionary defines as the concept that an abundance of any force can cause an opposite reaction. If there’s any truth to be found in enantiodromia (always questionable with Jung), then just imagine what opposite reaction the abundance of perfection found in the Holy Family might produce. Perhaps it would look something like this…

Okay, so obviously all families aren’t as perfect as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Not to worry though, you won’t find us judging anyone around these parts (when your own family tree has a branch way down the trunk that ended in the electric chair you tend not to throw stones at others). But even those of us who struggle with trying to keep our less than perfect families on a Christian path still understand the importance of making the effort. And we understand how that effort affects not just the people in our own home, but in others as well. As the Catechism notes, “The importance of the family for the life and well-being of society entails a particular responsibility for society to support and strengthen marriage and the family. Civil authority should consider it a grave duty to acknowledge the true nature of marriage and the family, to protect and foster them, to safeguard public morality, and promote domestic prosperity.”

It’s with that understanding that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops “have called for a nationwide effort to advance a movement for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty through prayer, penance, and sacrifice. Catholics across the nation are being encouraged to pray for rebuilding a culture favorable to life and marriage and for increased protections of religious liberty… The goal of this call to prayer is twofold: (1) to increase awareness of these challenges and (2) to build spiritual stamina and fortitude among the faithful so that we can be effective and joyful witnesses of faith, hope, and charity and agents of the New Evangelization.” The Bishops are asking (not demanding, but asking) that starting today, the Sunday after Christmas, Catholics around the country consider participating in one or all of the following five activities:

Monthly Eucharistic Holy Hours in cathedrals and parishes
Daily Rosary by families and individuals
Special Prayers of the Faithful at all Masses
Fasting and abstinence from meat on Fridays
A Fortnight for Freedom in June/July 2013

Again, they’re asking, not demanding, so think about it why don’t you.

Dyson on "Django"

This past week, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson had been subbing for Ed Schultz on his MSNBC show - which, for one thing, meant that Ed Schultz otherwise unwatchable show was actually pretty watchable for a change - and offered up one of the more enthusiastic and incisive critiques of Quentin Tarantino's holiday hit (it's currently out-performing "Les Miserables," which NOBODY was expecting) "Django Unchained" and the controversy over Spike Lee's one-man "boycott" of the film, alongside colleague Dr. Eric Peterson.

For his trouble, Dr. Dyson has earned a scathing "open letter" accusing him of needing a "cultural pride transplant." Charming.

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THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 5: IT’S A BOB AND CARL CHRISTMAS

With the combination of festivities and reflection that make up Christmastime, it’s often easy to forget there are plenty of folks out there who don’t celebrate the same things we do during this time of year…

According to the latest U.K. Census figures, Jediism is now the most common "alternative" faith and the seventh most common declared faith overall in England and Wales (go ahead and laugh, but remember, nobody took Scientology seriously to begin with either). And here in the States, Jediism is now recognized by The United States Department of Defense as an official religion and cannot be discriminated against. So it’s not out of the question that sometime soon an acquaintance might just ask you to celebrate Life Day with them. But could a Catholic in good conscience participate in such an observance?

Well, to try and answer that, let’s see how things work with something that’s going on right this minute, Kwanzaa, a holiday that’s not much older than Life Day, but is a bit more widely celebrated. Kwanzaa is a week long holiday beginning on December 26 which was created in 1966 by African American activist, Dr. Maulana Karenga. While purportedly intended as an alternative to Christmas for African Americans, the official Kwanzaa web site currently states that Kwanzaa is to be considered a non-religious cultural celebration of African identity rather than an alternative to other religious holidays. In Dr. Karenga’s words, “The holiday, then will of necessity, be engaged as an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it, and the rich resource and meaning of a people's culture.”

That being the case, the apologists over at Catholic Answers suggest that “if Kwanzaa is an authentic cultural holiday and not an alternative to Christmas, it would not be wrong for African-American Catholics to celebrate it, just as it is not wrong for Chinese Catholics to celebrate the Chinese New Year. But if, after study and reflection, a Catholic were to find that Kwanzaa was intended to undermine Christmas, it would be problematic to celebrate a holiday created for that purpose.” For those Catholics who do choose to participate in Kwanzaa, Franciscan Father Jim Goode, president of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life, has asked that they do so in a way which "brings us closer to God and closer to each other… [and] which enables us to see in every human face the face of Christ."

So, would Life Day fall into the same category as Kwanzaa, which would potentially allow a Catholic to celebrate it? It sounds like a silly question, I know, since the whole thing most likely started as a joke. In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Australian Star Wars Appreciation Society president Chris Brennan admits that most of the people who claimed Jedi as a religion on the Census “did so for a laugh or to poke borax at the Government.” So if Jediism had remained in the realm of good clean fun, then there would be no problem with a Catholic donning a red Snuggie, scarfing down some Wookie Ookies and Hoth chocolate, and gathering around the television with some friends to watch a bootleg of the Star Wars Holiday Special. But the problem these days is that, for better or worse, Jediism is now recognized as an official religion. And since that’s the way things are, we have to actually approach the question with some degree (no matter how small) of seriousness.

Now, according to the Wookiepedia, “Life Day most likely was originally intended as a stand-in for the American holiday of Thanksgiving, as The Holiday Special was originally aired on November 17, the Friday before Thanksgiving that year.” Given that Thanksgiving is a secular holiday which Catholics are free to participate in, there would appear to be no problem there. As to its purpose, Life Day “was a celebration of the planet's [Kashyyyk] diverse ecosystem and the many forms of life it encompassed. It also was a time to remember family members who had died, and the young ones who continued to bring new life to a family.” That definitely makes Life Day sound like a cultural celebration along the lines of Kwanzaa rather than a purely religious one, so therefore it should be potentially safe for Catholics to participate in.

Unfortunately, as often happens, a snag has arisen over time. Wookiepedia notes that “the canonical date for the observance of Life Day has, nevertheless, been established in what sources there are as December 25, or the equivalent thereof in the Wookiee calendar. Whether this means that Life Day actually is intended to be understood as a solstice festival akin to Christmas as opposed to a harvest festival akin to Thanksgiving is unknown.” So these days, instead of a fun sci-fi alternative to Turkey day, we’ve got a formally recognized religion with a holiday that may or may not have religious overtones depending on who’s celebrating it occurring as an alternative to Christmas. And for Christians, alas, that’s a problem. So while the Church has made no official pronouncement on Life Day, the safe bet is that in its modern incarnation it’s pretty much off limits for good Catholic boys and girls. I guess, that’s just the way the Wookie Ookie crumbles.

El último Elvis (The Last Elvis)

Armando Bo's debut film tells the most unexpected story about an Elvis Presley impersonator in a kind of weird, wonderful and bittersweet film that if you know the real Elvis sound you could be fooled by this Elvis as non-actor John McInerny really sounds like the older real one.

Most interesting is to find that McInerny sang live -no studio recording-, he's an architect and also a real life Elvis impersonator; but his performance when not singing is done more with silences plus face/body expressions and he is impressively good. He won the Best New Actor award at 2012 Premio Sur and is very well-deserved.

So you might think that this is a musical, there are songs but belong within a narrative so is not a musical. So then, is a drama? Yes is a drama but there is nothing dramatic in it as story is told very, very slowly, in almost dream-fashion style of every day life, where not much is happening on the screen; there are moments that you wish movie could go faster or to give you hints of what is going on besides what you see in the screen and when finally you start to get hints of what will come whatever you guessed I assure you will not be what comes at the very end. Quite unexpected finale done in a very non-dramatic way while something quite dramatic happens; but then if you think twice that was the only way this story could end.

There are many readings about story, some say is an emotional father/daughter story while others say that's about a looser, a musician/singer that never made it, a failing husband, father and son, trapped in a boring manufacturing job by day and impersonating someone else by night. No matter if you see one or the other story interpretation (or more) there is one certain fact, main character never is himself, he is Elvis, calls his wife Priscilla and her daughter's name is Lisa Marie.

Co written by Bo and Nicolás Giacobone (co writers of Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful) and produced by González Iñárritu film has top tech specs that give film a look/feel that everything is happening in the 60s or 70s but a cellular phone tells you is not; most spectacular use of light, great attention to detail and more gives the impression that film is from a more accomplished director and not a first timer.

It is a great film but because is very slow tend to believe that is not for everyone, only those that are patient, like to admire details, and don't mind that not much happens for almost half the movie will be able to endure entire movie. Still know that those that are real Elvis fans will be fascinated by how striking alike this Elvis is to the real one in more ways than his singing and his mannerisms.

I'm no Elvis fan but after watching movie read a little about Elvis life only to discover a few key facts that made me see this film story very differently, but won't spoil the movie for you so watch it and then read about Elvis surely you will uncover a different story interpretation.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

JJ Abrams Gives His Best - Will Screen STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS For Dying Cancer Patient

I want to see more stories like this one. Out of all the sad and terrible news that the world seems to spew out everyday comes hope and inspiration for all of us. This is what the movies are all about.

JJ Abrams is one class act. He's going to show either the full movie (I hope so) or at least the 9 minute promo of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS for a dying cancer patient.

Here are the details provided by Reddit user Grady Hendrix (via Collider):

I just wanted to say that I know and work with Dan (the guy who’s dying) but I don’t know the OP. Dan’s been running the New York Asian Film Festival with me and a few other guys for years. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of all of this, I use my actual name as my Reddit name, and you can visit the NYAFF (New York Asian Film Festival) page on Facebook. If you still have doubts that are keeping you from helping, feel free to email me: grady@gradyhendrix.com

Thanks everyone, and a huge thanks to OP ideeyut for posting this. JJ Abrams just called Dan’s wife and left a message. He’s going to try to arrange a screening for Dan, either of the film or at least of the 9 minute promo reel…I’ll never say anything bad about JJ Abrams again. Seriously. He is now beyond reproach as far as I’m concerned.

What can you say about JJ Abrams? He's one heckuva human being. If he manages to show the whole movie well in advance of the release, there is a lot at risk for not only him but the studio. Kudos to Paramount too if they make this happen.
 

THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 4: THE WALKING DEAD CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Ah, Christmastime. No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, we always try to make this time of year as pleasant as humanly possible for our children don’t we? Why, I bet if the zombie apocalypse were to ever actually happen, we’d still be bending over backwards to make the season perfect for the kiddies. (Fair Warning: This short is a Walking Dead parody, so there’s a naughty word and more than a few zombie headshots.)

As a dad, I gotta say, Rick’s plight just hits home with me. The, um, parenting part that is, not the blowing out the brains of zombies bits. Real fathers just really want to do the best for their children. That’s true even when they’re not technically their real father. Just think of the inner turmoil Joseph went through trying to take care of his adopted son Jesus; struggling to find a place on that first Christmas so he wouldn’t have to be born in some alley, keeping him safe during their escape to Egypt, the day to day travails in providing for him during his childhood in Nazareth. And all the while knowing he wasn’t the biological father of the child he was raising.

In fact, Randall Smith, associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, wonders just in what sense Joseph could be considered Jesus’ ‘father’ at all? “The question is not an unimportant one theologically.” The professor writes, “In fact, because Jesus is called ‘the son of David,’ and according to both Matthew and Luke, it is through Joseph that Jesus’ lineage is traced back to David. ‘How can that be?’ My students want to know, when he wasn’t Jesus’ real father. ‘Define a real father,’ I tell them. And from there the conversation usually gets pretty interesting. The first thing to understand about Joseph’s fatherhood is that, unlike every other case where a man who has not had sex with his betrothed finds out she is pregnant, in Joseph’s situation, there is no other ‘biological’ father who stands in a separate relationship between him and his son – no human father who has another sort of connection to Jesus that he, Joseph, does not. There is no ‘other man,’ as it were, unless you count God, that is. But then again, we must always count God, mustn’t we?  Who really gives life? As St. Augustine says in the Confessions (paraphrasing 1 Cor 3:6):  we plant the seed, but God gives the growth. We do our part. But let’s be very clear: the miracle of life does not occur without God. We are merely ‘co-creators’ with Him, and not merely at the moment of conception, but at every moment thereafter as well. Joseph’s story reminds us that human fatherhood is in reality merely a ‘participation’ in the fatherhood of God. We do not create the new life. We are merely stewards – caretakers, as it were – of God’s holy gift of what is, fundamentally his son first and foremost. We are responsible before God for taking care of that precious life, but the child we are given is ultimately meant to serve God’s will, not ours.”

And that being the case, then it only makes sense that by extension our participation in God’s fatherhood expands to include how our society as a whole treats God’s gifts. Author John C. Wright, contemplating on today's Feast of the Holy Innocents, notes that “Hell hates children, and always has, and always will. You can estimate the health of a culture, its unwitting loyalty to Hell or Heaven, by seeing how that culture treats its infants. Does the culture expose unwanted babes to the elements as the pagans did? Or regard childbirth as a blessing, as the Jews did, and do? It behooves us to defy Hell by adoring and cherishing the more precious and most helpless of the lives among us.” I wonder how we’re doing with that as a society this Christmas season. Maybe it’s a little something to keep in mind as we file into mass this weekend and see that statue of the infant Jesus lying in the nativity scene.

Escape to The Movies: "Django Unchained"

If you haven't seen "Django Unchained" yet, fix that.

Intermission: "The 50 Most Boring Opinions in Geek Culture - Part II"

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : Django Unchained

THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 3: MARCIA, MARCIA, MARCIA

On the third day of Christmas we celebrate the feast day of St John The Evangelist, Saint John the Divine, one third of the Triumvirate along with Peter and James, one of the Boanerges (sons of thunder), traditionally represented in Christian art by the mighty eagle, and remembered most of all as THE BELOVED DISCIPLE… it seems like all day long I’ve been hearing how great John is at this or how wonderful John did that! John, John, John!

Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an overreaction. After all, Msgr. Charles Pope suggests that the title of “Beloved Disciple” might not actually mean that John was Jesus’ favorite out of the original twelve apostles. “John never uses his name to refer to himself anywhere in his gospel. What is clear is that John knew and experienced that he was loved by God and that was apparently all that mattered to him in terms of his identity. This would also help to explain that this title was not an attestation that the Lord had favorites. Jesus himself does not use this title for John or any of the apostles. This is merely John’s self description of the fact that he was loved by the Lord and he knew that personally.”

But whether that’s true or not, it still seems like God favors certain people from time to time. Just consider the message delivered by the angels on the night Jesus was born, for instance. You know, the one in which they proclaim to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.” Well, that’s great, but just who are these men God is so pleased with that he bestows upon them tidings of peace? In his recent book ‘Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives’ Pope Benedict XVI believes the answer to that question might lie in the account of Jesus’ baptism. “Luke tells us that as Jesus was praying, the heavens opened and a voice came from heaven, saying: ‘You are my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased [= I have good pleasure]’ The man ‘with whom he is pleased’ is Jesus. And the reason for this is that Jesus lives completely oriented toward the Father, focused upon him and in communion of will with him. So men “with whom he is pleased” are those that share the attitude of the Son – those who are conformed to Christ.”

And that’s good to know, because it means we all have a chance to be the recipients of the angels’ message, the people with whom God is pleased. We all have a shot at being a beloved disciple. And even though we probably won’t all end up with a feast day like John, John, John, as long as we focus on conforming ourselves to Christ, things will likely turn out just like the Mr. & Mrs. Brady suggested to Jan they will. As long as we keep our eyes open and on God, opportunity will present itself. That’s when we’ll find out what we do best, and do our best with it.

We Almost Got a (Horrible) "Hong Kong Phooey" Movie

Hat tip: BAD

Hey, entertainment industry? Y'know what'd be just great? If something - anything! - could happen between Christmas and New Years so I'd have some content to post between shows other than celebrity deaths and offbeat scoops linked from bigger websites. Just sayin'.

Anyway, Badass Digest has posted what is apparently authentic test footage director Alex Zamm put together as a proof-of-concept for a proposed live-action/CGI comedy based on "Hong Kong Phooey" with Eddie Murphy in the lead role. You'll be unsurprised to learn that the clip is light on the kung-fu, heavy on an extended joke about dogs drinking from toilets:




Also included: Another video pitch by Zamm for a similarly hideous-looking "Marvin the Martian" feature.

What's odd about this is, I feel like there's actually some real potential being wasted here. "Hong Kong Phooey" was an oddity even for 70s Hannah-Barberra in that it was one of their less cringingly tone-deaf attempts at coopting current cultural trends, in this case the burgeoning blaxploitation genre and the import kung-fu cinema craze that were already beginning to cross over into one another at the time: Scatman Crothers voiced Phooey, and the series was set in a version of gritty(ish) Disco-infected New York:



A modernized version of that - a Hong Kong Phooey whose attitude was perhaps more hip-hop than funk, with action riffing on the Matrix/Jackie Chan/Crouching Tiger iconography rather than Bruce Lee - might well have been a unique and even interesting cartoon hero for today's kids. But, instead, here's The Voice of Donkey eating a urinal cake. Terrific.

A Stark Message For The Holidays...

Happy holidays from Tony Stark! Coming from the official Iron Man Facebook page, Marvel has gifted us an appropriately themed wintery message and a new image.

What do Marvel and Shane Black have in store for us with IRON MAN 3? In this post Jon Favreau production - how will what we know and love about Stark continue to grow? At least we know this one will be in 3D! A great place to start.

Here is the storyline for the movie:
Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of Tales of Suspense (#39) in 1963 and had his solocomic book debut with The Invincible Iron Man (#1) in May of 1968. Iron Man 3 is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Charles Newirth, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are exec producing. 

The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 2–THE INSECT’S CHRISTMAS

Well, as fate (or good planning) would have it, Day 77 of reading through the Catechism in one year as a part of the Year of Faith recounts a familiar tale. “Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest.” So, from the very beginning, Christmas has asked us to focus our attention on the poor, the overlooked, the small. Some people, of course, carry this to the extreme…

But extreme or not, you have to appreciate how the insect family in our short feature is quick to accept “Father’s invitation.” That’s another thing besides their seeming unimportance that they have in common with the shepherds who were told of the birth of Christ. In his recent book ‘Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives’ Pope Benedict XVI notes of the shepherds that “they were among the poor, the simple souls whom Jesus would bless, because to them above all is granted access to the mystery of God (cf Lk 10:21f.) They represent the poor of Israel, the poor in general: God’s first love.” But as His Holiness goes on to point out, it’s not simply the shepherd’s poverty that allowed them to receive such a special invitation. “Another element has been particularly emphasized by the monastic tradition: the shepherds’ watchfulness. Monks set out to be watchful in this world – in the first place through their nocturnal prayer, but above all inwardly, open to receiving God’s call through the signs of his presence.”

You see, there were a lot of folks in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. In fact, if we’re to believe the gospels, the local inns were overflowing with them. But none of them even noticed what was happening out in the manger. It was only those who were “watching” beforehand who got to see the Lord. Advent may have been about waiting for His coming, but Christmastime is about looking for Him in the here and now. The invitation to see him could come at any moment, we just have to keep watch for it.

THE TWELVE CLIPS OF CHRISTMAS: DAY 1: BATMAN

Anyone familiar with the Batman of the comics knows that one of the Caped Crusader’s most repeated monikers is that of “The World’s Greatest Detective.” How did the Dark Knight earn this lofty appellation? Well, just watch his magnificent mind go to work solving one of The Riddler’s stumpers in this clip…

A stunning bit of analytical aptitude. But riddle me this. Could even the mental might of the Masked Manhunter discover the alleged secret Catholic messages buried within the lyrics of The 12 Days of Christmas? What’s that, you say? You’ve never heard the rumors that all those lords a-leaping and pipers piping were in fact an encoded message to help persecuted papists catechize their children in 18th century England? Well, that’s the theory which was put forth in the late 1970s by Hugh D. McKellar, a Canadian English teacher and part-time hymnologist, and later built upon by Fr. Hal Stockert in the 80s. For those without an official papal decoder ring, the hidden message is as follows:

Partridge in a pear tree = Jesus Christ

Two turtle doves = the Old and New Testaments

Three French hens = faith, hope and love

Four calling birds = the four gospels

Five golden rings = the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament

Six geese a-laying = the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

Eight maids a-milking = the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing = the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit

Ten lords a-leaping = the ten commandments.

Eleven pipers piping = the eleven faithful disciples.

Twelve drummers drumming = the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed

Amazing. Cunning. Crafty. And probably a complete myth. Historian Gerry Bowler, author of The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, notes that “there are a number of clues that give it away as a tall tale but most important is the fact that none of the supposedly secret meanings is distinctly Catholic. None of the twelve codes would have been considered anything but normal Christian orthodoxy by the Protestants which ruled England at the time, so it would not need to have been imparted clandestinely. If any of the meanings had been about the special status for Catholics accorded by Mary during her brief rule (1553-1558) or the theology of the Mass or papal monarchy, etc. then the story might be more believable. In fact ‘the 12 Days’ is just one of a number of similar counting songs found in almost every European language.”

So, bummer, it looks like The 12 Days of Christmas was really just meant to be a simple counting game instead of a secret teaching document. But, hey, we’re the Catholic Church, we can always change that with a bit of inculturation can’t we? Hey kids, come gather around the Yule log, it’s quiz time!

RIP: Charles Durning

Bummer. We lost a legend early this morning: Charles Durning, legendary character actor of stage and screen. You may not know his name, but you've seen him in movies and probably enjoyed him.

Durning was one of the great self-made men of modern acting. Born into poverty, he left home of his own accord to ease the financial burden on his mother, traveling and taking odd jobs as he found them. While working as an usher in a burlesque house, he found himself standing in for a no-show stage comic and got bitten by the acting bug. But, before he could fully commit to theater, World War II broke out and he enlisted.

Though he seldom ever spoke about his military service, Durning was a decorated hero: He was the only survivor of a first-wave troop that charged Omaha Beach on D-Day only to be ambushed by machine gun fire, he was taken prisoner while fighting at the Battle of The Bulge and was one of only three P.O.W.'s to escape the notorious Malmedy Massacre. All told he was seriously wounded three times, recieving three Purple Hearts and the Silver Star for Valor; and after all but the final injury returned to combat. One of those injuries included being stabbed eight times with a bayonet during hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier in Belgium. He lived through the fight by ultimately bludgeoning his attacker to death with a rock; and would later cite his own horror at the realization that his enemy was only a teenager as a reason he preferred not to discuss his time as a soldier - it was only in the final decade of his life that he became comfortable speaking of it publically, as in this 2007 appearance at the National Memorial Day Concert.

Upon returning to the U.S., he spent a long period going through the veterans health system for his physical and psychological wounds (he'd later state that he still suffered from nightmares into old age) and also training as a dancer, singer and professional boxer; he returned to the stage and established himself as a hardworking and sought-after performer of classical and modern American dramas. In the late-70s and early-60s he broke into the movies as an equally sought-after character and voice actor, lending his unique cadence and feisty energy to films as diverse as "The Sting" and "The Muppet Movie." He was nominated for two Oscars, multiple Emmys and Tonys throughout his career.

Durning passed away of natural causes, in the presence of family. Below, his signature scene from "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," a role which netted him one of those Oscar nods:

Big Picture: "Top Ten Movies of 2012"

Just because it's Christmas Day doesn't mean you don't get a new episode!

The Escapist : The Big Picture : The Best Movies of 2012

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays And A Happy New Year To All Our MarketSaw Readers!

May the new year bring you safety, warmth, health and happiness and that you continue to "love what YOU love".

It's what life is really all about.

Amour (Love)

First and foremost this is a Michael Haneke film, a 100% Haneke film very similar in almost every sense to his previous films. Yes there is love in this film but also there is illness and death. It's an extremely hard-to-watch magnificent oeuvre and know that as happens with all Haneke's films, each viewer will see what they want to see. The difference seems to be that this time many coincide in seeing love with some saying that is expressed with detachment and coldness. What all seem to agree is that is a great movie. I say no different, but then by now many of you know that I'm a HUGE admirer of master filmmaker Michael Haneke.

A very intense experience that crushed me into tears, exploded all kind of emotions in me and made me think about old age, illness and death, my own. After watching I experienced an intense sadness and took me days to overcome the feeling; but I'm grateful as was able to do an introspection into subjects that you tend to not think about, that tend to avoid. Yes, also saw love, the most realistic love I have seen in film, the one that celebrates qualities and defects, the one that exists when you are partners.

I'm so tempted to really dissect film but will stay out of it by saying that Haneke is as controversial as always with his excellent exploration on human dignity in the most difficult moments a person can live, when everyone wants to help the helpless, when outsiders have to help in the caring but for them is just work, when you see the person you have spend your whole life becoming ... a different being, but you still see that the person is still there, suffering. And all of the above applies to the ill and the caretaker.

This is a film so perfect that is impossible to talk about film as a film as you are absolutely overcome by what you saw, you felt and you are still thinking. You are overcome by images, performances, story and Haneke's mastery in filmmaking and storytelling. Still film is crafted very careful as much as a musician has to carefully interpret a masterpiece, with much work, much detail, much technique, much brain and at the same time with much feeling, much brilliance, and much emotion so those that hear the performance are moved beyond their self consciousness.

Some are talking about Haneke's rigorous, liberating unsentimental world view which I clearly understand what they are saying but absolutely disagree. I believe there is nothing unsentimental (or cold) in this and other Haneke's films as his work always make people feel something, make them think and make them to have "sentiments". Maybe he is very objective, his camera surely is, but unsentimental, no.

Subtle and moving performances by French cinema icons Jean Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are breathless perfection with face expressions that say a lot more than what words say and sometimes contradict what they are talking reflecting the truth of the situation. Impressive. I am a huge follower of Trintignant and have seen almost all his movies, he has many where his performances are exquisite but in this "comeback" his performance has become one of the few that excel. Isabelle Huppert is magnificent as always in a role that is not like the ones she usually performs as she is not often only emotional in the screen.

Story is about Anne (Riva) and Georges (Trintignant), retired music teachers in their 80s, living in a handsomely furnished, book-lined Paris apartment; they are happy, affectionate, loving, active and content. We can hardly see them when they attend a concert (a magnificent scene where the concert audience is actually the film audience of unknowns) and see them coming back home to his life. One day Anne suffers a stroke, has a 95% success surgery and becomes one of the 5% unsuccessful cases. Everything changes for them and you know the end of the story as is the opening scene.

Filmmakers live from seeing his ideas materialized in the screen, perhaps that's their ultimate reward but they also live from recognition and viewers seeing their films. I believe this is Haneke's year and even when he already was honored with his second Cannes Palm d'Or for this film plus collected many more honors, is time the American Industry recognizes his immeasurable talent. This film deserves an Oscar (is Austria submission to foreign language category) and even a nomination in the Best Film category. Still, you never know with Academy members and its powerful influencers.

Truly believe that Haneke has to be seen in a very special mood, you have to prepare yourself to be surprised by whatever he selects to explore. No matter what you have read about story I strongly urge you to NOT skip this film, you only have to find the right moment to see it and you will have one of the most intense cinematic experiences of your life.

BIG ENJOY!!! PERFECTION!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

피에타 Pieta

Hugely disappointed by film as story was unbelievably predictable -very early I could tell you how film was going to end-, production values are not on the good side and has a Kim Ki Duk playing with metaphors in perhaps his most commercial film to date. Film is very similar to many Hong Kong movies, the kind I see sometimes but mostly avoid as tell grim/dark tales in very unpleasant ways.

Vengeance is the obvious story but he presents us with metaphors to his vision of what money does to people; have to say that tragedy is not one of Kim Ki Duk fortes as also is not his filmmaking in close environments. For me he is a poet and nowadays there is not much poetry in films or at least like he masterly did in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring, Dream, Breath and The Bow. That's the Kim Ki Duk that leave me breathless in total awe. In this film the poet is gone and just hope is not gone for good.

The impressive movie poster is just a poster with a clever image that is not in film. To me that's kind of cheating viewers by offering a scene that they will not find in movie plus doesn't reflect the filmmaking and storytelling style at all.

If you are not familiar with Kim Ki Duk this is NOT the film to see, no matter if has been honored in major festivals that probably celebrate more his body of work than this film. If you are a Kim Ki Duk fan, suggest to skip film as you probably will be as much disappointed as I was.

Sigh.

Watch trailer @MOC

THE HOBBIT Pushes On At Box Office - Sees Mountain Of Gold Coming...

First Look At Bilbo In THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY is doing very well at the box office thank you very much. After a solid week earning $113,152,900, Bilbo and company settled down to a cool $10.2 million yesterday solidly smacking the competition, namely the Goblin King, Jack Reacher and This is 40 - not necessarily in that order.

Here's the domestic breakdown:
1. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY  $10.2m
2. JACK REACHER  $5.1m
3. THIS IS 40  $3.7m
4. RISE OF THE GUARDIANS  $1.6m
5. THE GUILT TRIP  $1.5m

So how is THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY doing verses THE LORD OF THE RINGS franchise domestically? Very well again! It was the top of the family for Days 1 and 2 then slipped to second for Day 3. It was bringing up the rear for Days 4 to 7 and was third on day 8. Of course it's not a great comparison due to which days of the week were holidays and which were not, but at least we know THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY is in the same ballpark as LOTR movies so that means that parity or beyond is certainly achieveable for the first outing of dwarves.

Worldwide is amazing too. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY has $123m from domestic coffers but also $138m from international tallies for a total of $261m already. Yes. $1 billion is reasonable and certainly $900m is achievable. JOURNEY also puts the follow up movies in a very good place and as the action picks up so should the business side of it's show business.

I'll have more numbers when they fall into place. Stay tuned!

Stats Source: Box Office Mojo

Clarity

As ever, there are two kinds of people in the world: Thinkers and believers.

I just watched the head of The National Rifle Association - one of the most powerful and influential corporate lobbying groups (though they play at being a citizen's rights outfit for gun owners, of course) in the United States - hold a press conference to say, effectively: Guns don't kill people, video-games and Hollywood kill people.



The depressing amusement of the head of The NRA calling anything else a "shadow industry" aside, I'm actually grateful for this kind of public insanity. One thing Mr. LaPierre and I have in common is that we're both fans of clarity - he likes to talk about "good guys with guns" vs "bad guys with guns;" and I like seeing him (a bad guy with guns) come out so strongly in favor of game/movie/etc censorship, because it helps unmuddy the waters: Weak-willed so-called "progressives" who might otherwise have been willing to give ground on "violent" media (instead of keeping the debate laser-focused on the gun lobby, where it belongs) will hopefully be less so when they see it means agreeing with the distraction-tactics of LaPierre and his ilk.

So, this is to be a (political) fight, then. Games, films, entertainers, artists and the people who value them... versus The Right-Wing Gun Lobby. Good. Let's have it, then.

Rebelle (War Witch)

A magnificent film by Kim Nguyen with a very-hard to watch story but in Nguyen's hands becomes easier to see while still clearly getting the straight terrible message. A true master storyteller.

Film will make you feel all kind of positive and non-positive emotions, maybe you will smile at some moments, marvel with the poetic magic, imagine the unspeakable that's never shown, shed a tear or two, your stomach and heart could ache, and more; but fast, really fast you will know that you are watching a great film.

Film tells the story of Komona, from the moment she is kidnapped in her little village by the rebel army up to the moment she returns to bury her parents. In between there are approximately two years, a slice of life from when she's 12 years-old up to when she's fourteen. Even if you try to imagine what happens you will never guess right as is impossible to imagine the unimaginable. But while you can read elsewhere details of the storyline, here will tell you that this is a story of survival under the most severe circumstances a person can endure, much more a child, but also is about making peace with yourself. It is a contemporary tragedy that does not belong only to African countries and unfortunately not only to war.

But as said from the very first paragraph story becomes easier to watch as storytelling style is simply fabulous as mixes raw realism in an almost documentary style with a magical realism that borders magic poetry. This time I'm not talking about visuals, I'm talking about how the director chose to tell his story. Filmed in chronological order, with actors and non-actors not knowing the complete script, some improvisation and with a voice-over that will guide the narrative, film becomes impressively good and story easier to digest while absolutely being mesmerizing, especially thanks to Rachel Mwanza.

Rachel Mwanza was discovered in the streets of Kinshasa, a non-actor that magnificently carries the entire film with a superb performance that recalls great performances from more mature European actresses. She is so good that everything that happens to her and around her becomes natural, as natural as it is in real-life when a child is not allowed to live her childhood and is violently pushed into faster maturity. Her magnificent performance gave her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2012 Berlinale and the Best Actress Narrative Feature at 2012 Tribeca fest; all honors are well-deserved and hope that she collects more in the future.

Somehow I found many similarities between this film story and Beasts of the Southern Wild but they are two very different films. Didn't liked Beasts but highly liked Rebelle, the main difference is how the similar story is told and how a more experienced filmmaker can add brilliancy to the storytelling. After watching film think about the magic poetry involved in searching for a white rooster, how she becomes a " witch" or the visual presence of the ghosts. There is nothing executed alike in Beasts.

Film premiered in competition at 2012 Berlinale where won a Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury, won the Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca and collected some more honors. But Nguyen mentioned in an interview how difficult is to get distribution for a film like this one, which is highly regrettable as film and story definitively is worth seeing. As we know is Canada submission to Oscar and let's hope that gets a well-deserved nomination as could mean that many will have a new chance to see this great film and story.

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Escape to The Movies: "Zero Dark Thirty"

Yeah, it's that good.

Intermission: "The 50 Most Boring Opinions in Geek Culture - Part I"

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : Zero Dark Thirty

85th Academy Awards Foreign Language Film Shortlist

A few minutes ago the shortlist of nine films was announced and what everyone was expecting, except me, became reality. Yes France advanced to the next round and bet you will get a nomination; still deep inside me wish to be wrong.

With that awful exception the list is almost perfect as there are three excellent directors that deserve a nomination, Haneke, Mungiu and Meier.

These are the films that will advance to the next round.

Austria: Amour (Love), Michael Haneke
Canada: Rebelle (War Witch), Kim Nguyen
Chile: No, Pablo Larraín
Denmark: En Kongelig Affære (A Royal Affair), Nikolaj Arcel
France: Intouchables (The Intouchables), Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano
Iceland: Djúpið (The Deep), Baltasar Kormákur
Norway: Kon-Tiki by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg
Romania: După dealuri (Beyond the Hills), Cristian Mungiu
Switzerland: L'enfant d'en haut (Sister), Ursula Meier

What I wish will get a nomination are Austria, Romania, Switzerland, Chile and Canada; but you know that's only what I wish. Sigh.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 4, through Sunday, January 6, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots. Can't help but to comment that three of the above movies per day will be "torture" as most are really intense; so the first they see each day has better probabilities than the rest and yes, of course, there is only one movie in list that's "entertaining" which will make it look different to the others.

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Wonderstone

Sometimes all you need is a killer premise: In "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," Steve Carrell is an oldschool Las Vegas stage magician whose status is threatened by Jim Carrey as a David Blaine-esque usurper. Yeah, that could work:



If they both ran into Morgan Freeman at one point and he seemed to know both of them, I'd laugh.

The Art of Predicting the Oscars

Today Variety published the Ultimate Awards Guide and perhaps the most interesting news are the facts and factoids about the Academy's members and its history. If you wish to read/browse the full publication go here, is free and open to everyone. How do you use the following data perhaps will help you to obtain better Oscar prediction skills to win your office pool or any of the many prediction games that Oscar generates.

The following are some curious Oscar data; it includes data from the 2012 LA Times survey.

Academy Membership Profile
94% White
2% Black
2% Latino
2% Other

77% Male
23% Female

14% are younger than 50 years old
86% are 50 or older
Median age: 62 years

Members live in
Los Angeles 89%
New York 7%
London 3%
Santa Barbara 0.8%
San Francisco 0.5%

The profile tells us that Academy members probably does NOT look like you and me; it is safe to assume that also we tend to like different things in our movies.  So when predicting their behavior we should not think about what we like but about what they most likely prefer in their movies.

AMPAS' 2012 Branch Count

Branch	Active
Actors	1,178
Art Directors	370
Cinematographers	212
Directors	371
Documentary	173
Executives	447
Film Editors	227
Makeup/Hair	124
Music	231
Producers	462
Public Relations	371
Shorts/Feature Animation	354
Sound	402
Visual Effects	302
Writers	377
Members-at-large	255
TOTAL VOTING MEMBERS	5,856
Associates (non-voting)	158

As we already know or suspected, the Actors Branch has the largest amount of active voters (1,178), followed by Producers (462), Sound (402), Writers (377), Directors (371), Art Directors (370), Visual Effects (302), Film Editors (227), and others that also have Guilds or associations that give yearly awards; but besides Actors, Guilds/Associations yearly winners tell us not that much about possible Oscar winners as each group has not a significant number of Academy members and each group has many more members that are NOT Academy members. Also there are more voting Academy members (1,600) that do not belong to any workers union but they vote to decide winners.

That is why guessing the Best Picture category can sometimes be not that easy, like for example when The King's Speech won when everyone was expecting the more popular (with younger audience profile) The Social Network to be the top winner. Definitively the first is a good movie that better fits the Academy members profile, even when some branches suggested slightly different.

More curious data.

28 Actors have been nominated for playing royalty, 7 won.
8 Actors have been nominated for playing USA President, 0 won.

The 85th edition has in the Best Actor category Daniel Day-Lewis for his performance in Lincoln as the favorite and IF he wins, will be the FIRST time an actor playing US President wins.

No more interesting data, what follows are instructions on how to vote (we thank Variety for helping the majority of Academy members that probably are not much tech savvy), contenders profiles with suggestions and people praising other people.  Indeed magazine seems more addressed to the industry than to us, but it's kind of especial to be able to browse what Industry and Academy members are exposed to.

From all articles, that look more "For Your Consideration" than anything else, perhaps this one is the best because who wrote it and the subject of her comments.

CATE BLANCHETT ON MARION COTILLARD
in ‘Rust and Bone’

A woman loses her legs in freak accident with killer whale after forming a bond with a drifter-bouncer who rescues her dignity from a nightclub brawl. A cinematic miracle has taken place in “Rust and Bone.” Not only has such a rare and high-stakes situation been rendered plausible but also electrifying.That this bizarre set of circumstances has resulted in a film of such revelatory emotional depth is surely because the soul-searching buoyancy of Marion Cotillard has collided with the unhinged Matthias Schoenaerts. To say the performances are hypnotic is an understatement. Marion has created a unique and groundbreaking combination of the erotic, the banal and incendiary. In “Rust and Bone,” she once again reminds us she is a master of unflinching psychological complexity delivered with a featherweight touch. She allows us in only long enough to reflect our deepest fears back on ourselves. This film surely crowns her as an actress with little regard for the power of her cinematic beauty, except when she can harness it to reveal the hidden depth to her character and her existential melancholy: a yearning that is simultaneously so open and generous, so closed and defended that we weep for her. She is, in a breath, simply astonishing. Yet again.

So the art of predicting the Oscars has something to do with analyzing numbers from the past and then predict future, but also has much to do about guessing true influencers, those that generate buzz that will touch Academy members and move them to do a specific action. The second work is done by many in the Industry, but we "normal" beings have access only to the critics.

Ah! and now for the first time we have Variety open to everyone. Cheers!