2012 Oscar Nominations

It is that time of the year again. The Oscars are back and will be televised this coming Sunday. It is interesting to note that the nominees with the most nominations were not on the top 10 grossing movies for 2011. Hugo which got the most nominations with 11 ranked 53rd in gross for 2011. The Artist got 10 nominations and ranked 101st in gross for 2011. A couple of years ago, the Academy decided to augment the nominees in the Best Picture category in order to allow blockbusters the opportunity to garner the golden statuette. Yet, in 2011, none of those blockbuster movies except for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (ranked 1st in gross, 3 nominations in technical awards which might not win one category) got any nominations.

See the list of 2011 gross rankings via BoxOfficeMojo.

It is incredible to believe that a black and white silent movie (The Artist) got the second most nominations at the Oscars. Yet, most people forget that Mel Brooks' comedy Silent Movie (1976) did just that. Never got nominated for an Oscar but did get nominated for four Golden Globes in the Best Motion Picture -- Comedy/Musical categories (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) for Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, and Bernadette Peters respectively. Of course, slapstick comedies never get nominated by the Academy.

I will highlight in red my predictions and when the winners are announced, I will highlight them in green.

Once again, the small independent movies beat out the blockbusters in nominations. Expanding the Best Picture category to up to 10 films in an effort to let the blockbusters the opportunity to garner a statuette has not worked. They just opened up the opportunity for more independents to get into the category. Thank you Academy for doing that.

Once again, the only films to consider in the Best Picture category are those where the Best Director are also nominated. So, those films will be highlighted in purple. I think the strongest contenders for Best Picture will be The Artist and Hugo. The former for its uniqueness and the latter because it was directed by Martin Scorsese. He never does films like these. His youngest daughter was the one who told him to make the book into a movie...and he did.


Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo


Best Picture

• "The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
• "The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
• "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
• "The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
• "Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
• "Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
• "Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
• "The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
• "War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

All good directors and good films. This is definitely a tough choice.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Directing

• "The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
• "The Descendants" Alexander Payne
• "Hugo" Martin Scorsese
• "Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
• "The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been both nominated in this category in previous years while the other three nominees have not. Of the remaining three, Gary Oldman is the most recognizable due to the Harry Potter movies. However, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy hasn't gotten that much attention in the U.S. The movie ranked 112th in gross for 2011, yet the movie garnered three nominations.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....George Clooney

Actor in a Leading Role

• Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
• George Clooney in "The Descendants"
• Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
• Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
• Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Wow, this is going to be a tough category. Everyone except for Jonah Hill has been Oscar nominated before. Branagh has been nominated four times before for Leading Actor, Director, Short Film and Writing; Nick Nolte for Leading Actor for Prince of Tides and Affliction; Christopher Plummer was just nominated for the first time two years ago in this category for The Last Station; and Max Von Sydow for Pelle the Conqueror in the Leading Actor category. Jonah Hill is the only actor who has never been nominated before and he is likely to be a long shot yet, it is not unusual for a newcomer to get an award in a category with more experienced actors. Hill is better known for his comedies but it was a dramatic part that got him into this category. I will take the long shot route.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Jonah Hill

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
• Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
• Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
• Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
• Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Everyone except for Mara has been nominated before. This is Streep's 17th nomination in the category. The most of any actor and believe it or not, she has only won it twice for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice. She won the latter in 1982. It has been 30 years since she won an Oscar. So, it might be long overdue. However, the Academy does like cross-dressers like Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria and Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, though neither of them won the statuette. Though Close has been nominated five times before this one and never won a statuette, this could be her turn. Cross-dressing is a politically correct topic these days. Hmmm, this is a tough one.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Glenn Close

Actress in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
• Viola Davis in "The Help"
• Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
• Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
• Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

All but McTeer have never been nominated. It is unlikely that McCarthy will get it because slapstick comedies never win acting categories. That leaves Chastain and Spencer for The Help and McTeer for Albert Nobbs. Both of these films are the kind of politically correct films Hollywood likes.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Janet McTeer

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
• Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
• Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
• Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
• Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

I don't recognize the first two films but do recognize the last three. I am surprised that The Adventures of Tin Tin was not included in this category. Hard to tell which of these actually deserves the statuette. Not a good year for animation. So, I am just going to guess.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Rango

Animated Feature Film

• "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
• "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
• "Rango" Gore Verbinski

Wow, the art direction in all these movies are amazing. Though Harry Potter has been nominated in this category three times before, they have never gotten an Oscar in any category. So, they are not likely to get this time either though it ranked 1st in gross in 2011. I think the two films in strong contention for this Oscar are The Artist and Hugo.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Art Direction

• "The Artist"
  Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• "Hugo"
  Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
• "Midnight in Paris"
  Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
• "War Horse"
  Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Again, a hard choice.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....The Artist

Cinematography

• "The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
• "Hugo" Robert Richardson
• "The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
• "War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Usually, historical dramas get this category but again I think the two top contenders will be The Artist and Hugo.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Costume Design

• "Anonymous" Lisy Christl
• "The Artist" Mark Bridges
• "Hugo" Sandy Powell
• "Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
• "W.E." Arianne Phillips

I have no idea. Haven't seen any of these so I won't try to guess.

Documentary (Feature)

• "Hell and Back Again"
  Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
• "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
  Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
• "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
  Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
• "Pina"
  Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
• "Undefeated"
  TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas

Again, I am unfamiliar with any of these. So, I won't try to guess.

Documentary (Short Subject)

• "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
  Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
• "God Is the Bigger Elvis"
  Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
• "Incident in New Baghdad"
  James Spione
• "Saving Face"
  Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
• "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
  Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....The Artist

Film Editing

• "The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
• "The Descendants" Kevin Tent
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• "Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
• "Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

I have no idea.

Foreign Language Film

• "Bullhead" Belgium
• "Footnote" Israel
• "In Darkness" Poland
• "Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
• "A Separation" Iran

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Albert Nobbs

Makeup

• "Albert Nobbs"
  Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
  Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
• "The Iron Lady"
  Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Wow, John Williams nominated twice in the same category. He has been an Oscar nominee for more than 44 times since 1967. You may remember his scores from Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire of the Sun, and many, many, many more. The last time he won an Oscar was in 1993 for Schindler's List. So, he might be long overdue.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....John Williams for War Horse

Music (Original Score)

• "The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
• "The Artist" Ludovic Bource
• "Hugo" Howard Shore
• "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
• "War Horse" John Williams

Wow, only two songs were worthy to be nominated from last year's movies. That's pretty bad. The Muppet Movie (1979) was nominated in this category for The Rainbow Connection which is still a fairly popular song.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Man on Muppet from The Muppets

Music (Original Song)

• "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets"
  Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
• "Real in Rio" from "Rio"
  Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett

I have no idea.

Short Film (Animated)

• "Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
• "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
• "La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
• "A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
• "Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

I have no idea.

Short Film (Live Action)

• "Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
• "Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
• "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
• "Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
• "Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Sound Editing

• "Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
• "Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
• "War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Sound Mixing

• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
  David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
• "Hugo"
  Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
• "Moneyball"
  Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
  Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
• "War Horse"
  Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Visual Effects

• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
  Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
• "Hugo"
  Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
• "Real Steel"
  Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
• "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
  Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
  Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• "The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
• "Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
• "The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
• "Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
• "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Midnight in Paris

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• "The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
• "Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
• "Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
• "Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
• "A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

2010 Oscar Nominations Predictions

The Oscar show will be this coming Sunday...so time to see who will get the golden statuette.

I've seen quite a few of the movies but not all and in some cases, I might have to make an educated guess.

I will highlight in red my predictions and when the winners are announced, I will highlight in green the winners.

So how well did I do?

--Predictions Come True: 12 which included the major categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Animated Film

--Made No Predictions: 4

--Predictions Gone Wrong: 8


Best Picture: Of the ten nominations, the only ones to take seriously are the ones where the Best Director nominations are mentioned (in purple). Up is also nominated in the Best Animated Film category. Up should win Best Animated Film and therefore will not win Best Picture. It is a hard choice to make. Seems like the two top contenders are Avatar and The Hurt Locker. I've seen Avatar, though it was interesting and a blockbuster, I don't think it deserves the Oscar for Best Picture. The Hurt Locker is about war and it is politically correct and Hollywood likes causes and correctness, but then again so does Avatar. The Hurt Locker however does have a female director at the helm (Cameron's ex-wife) and women have only been nominated in the Director's category only three times during the life the award.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....The Hurt Locker


Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air


Best Actor: Seems like the top contender for this category is Jeff Bridges. It is likely that he will get the statuette as a reward for his long career. He was nominated four times before (The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Starman, and The Contender) and has never taken the prize home.

So, the winner is...Jeff Bridges

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker


Best Actress: This could be a tricky one since Sandra Bullock seems to be the top contender. She's never won an Oscar before and so this could be a chance to do so. Of course, there is the perennial Meryl Streep who (counting this one) has been nominated for 16 Oscars and has only won it twice (Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice). Some could feel that she is long overdue for another statuette.

So, the winner is...Sandra Bullock


Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia


Best Supporting Actor: This could be up for grabs. Both Damon and Harrelson have been nominated for Oscars before for Good Will Hunting and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Damon is the only one from here that has won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting. Christopher Plummer who most will remember as Capt. Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has never been nominated for an Oscar. This is his first time. He's also had an amazing and long career in movies usually playing bad guys. Stanley Tucci has had a good year. He played Julia Child's husband, Paul Child, in Julie/Julia. Some may vote for him to reward him both movies.

So, the winner is...Stanley Tucci

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds


Best Supporting Actress: Though there are many very good performances here, the outright winner of this category will be Mo'Nique. Its not unusual for first-timers to win the golden statuette. She won both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for the role of Precious.

So, the winner is...Mo'Nique


Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Director: The likely favorite in this category is James Cameron. His movie was a big hit and surpassed Titanic's (also directed by Cameron) box office records. However, the category also includes up and coming young director Jason Reitman, African-American director Lee Daniels, quirky Quentin Tarantino, and Kathryn Bigelow (Cameron's ex-spouse). Bigelow is only the third woman to ever be nominated in this category and it is just as rare for an African-American to be nominated as best director. Tarantino, however, has never won an Oscar in this category (his only Oscar was for writing for Pulp Fiction). Tough choice indeed. Traditionally, the winner of this category wins Best Picture.

So, the winner is...Kathryn Bigelow


Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds


Best Original Screenplay: Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these movies except Up. It is nice to find an animated feature in this category.

So, the winner is...Up


Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy, Up
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds


Best Adapted Screenplay: The only film in this category that I saw was District 9 which I found very interesting and which I found quite surprising that it was nominated in the Best Picture category. However, I think Precious will take this award due to its strong contention in the Best Director and Best Picture categories.

So, the winner is...Precious


Best Adapted Screenplay
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche, In the Loop
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air


Best Animated Film: due to its showing as a Best Picture nominee, there is no doubt that Up will win this category.

So, the winner is...Up

Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up


Best Foreign Language Film: haven't seen any of these films so I won't even guess.

Best Foreign Language Film
El Secreto do Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Un Prophete (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)


Best Ar Direction: All these films look very good, there is no doubt there is very beautiful artwork. In this category, however, Avatar will win it hands down. The artwork is quite distinctive and impressive.

Best Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria


Best Cinematography: I only two of the films in this category and it is highly unlikely that Harry Potter will win it. However, Avatar is likely to get this category.

So, the winner is...Avatar


Best Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon


Best Costume Design: usually it is won by one of those sweeping historical movies.

So, the winner is...The Young Victoria


Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria


Best Documentary: I haven't seen any of these movies...when in doubt, go historical.

So, the winner is..The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers


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

Best Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious


Best Makeup: I'm a big Star Trek fan and this one of the few categories it was nominated for.

So, the winner is...Star Trek


Best Makeup
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria


Best Score: Only saw two movies from this category (Avatar and Up) and both have very good music to go with the action. Tough call.

So, the winner is...Up

Best Score
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up


Best Song: This is a category that has been dominated by Disney...so much so that it has been nominated twice.

So, the winner is... (either song...does it really matter?) The Princess and the Frog

Best Song
“Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname,” Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas
“Take It All,” Nine, Maury Weston
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett & Ryan Bingham


Best Sound Editing: I will be biased and go for the scifi flick.

So, the winner is...Star Trek

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up


Best Sound Mixing: I will be biased and go for the scifi flick.

So, the winner is...Star Trek

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen


Best Visual Effects: I will be biased and go for the scifi flick.

So, the winner is...Star Trek

Best Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek


Best Documentary Short: Haven't seen any of these movies but will go for the home team since Booth Gardner is a former governor of Washington State and I live in Olympia, WA.

So, the winner is...The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner


Best Documentary Short
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

Best Animated Short
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

Best Live-Action Short
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

Olympic Movies

Well, we've had a week's worth of Olympics and there is quite a bit of excitement going on for sure.

All the current athletes, however, were inspired by other Olympians. Those stories were made into movies that have helped inspire countless more.

Oscar Winning Movies

• Chariots of Fire (1981): Nominated for 7 Oscars and winner of four Oscars including Best Picture beating out Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond, Reds, and Atlantic City. The movie tells the real-life story of two British Olympic athletes participating in the 1924 Olympics. Devout Scottish Christian Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) and Jewish Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) are track starts of the highest caliber. Both athletes have a lot on their mind. Liddell, son of missionaries in China, wants to use his athletic talents to glorify God while Abrahams wants to overcome the lifelong anti-semitism he's had to endure his whole life.
  
• Ice Castles (1979): The movie tells the story of a young girl (Lynn-Holly Johnson) who makes it to the top of figure skating only to get a head injury that takes her sight. She grows discouraged until she meets a guy (Robby Benson) that turns her attitude around. The movie was Oscar nominated for Best Song for Through the Eyes of Life.
  
• The Other Side of the Mountain (1975): tells the real-life story of a female skier (Marilyn Hassett) who ends up a paraplegic after a tragic accident. Now, she has to find a new life for herself. On the way to that new life she meets a guy (Beau Bridges) that helps her along the way. The Oscar nominated song Richard's Window by Olivia Newton-John is memorable.
  

Romantic Olympic Movies

• The Cutting Edge (1992): Two athletes face a turning point while at the Olympics. One gets hit on the head at a hockey match and the other falls down at a pairs' figure skating performance. Both find themselves at a low ebb until a Russian figure skating coach invites the hockey player (D.B. Sweeney) to become the figure skater's (Moira Kelly) new partner. From that point on, sparks fly.
• Walk, Don't Run (1966): What happens when you arrive two days early for the Tokyo Olympics? You find a room to share with an attractive and conservative young woman (Samantha Eggar). Cary Grant arrives for a business meeting two days early and finds himself stuck without a place to sleep. He goes to the British embassy for help. He sees a note on the bulletin board for a room to share. Grant manages to charm Eggar into letting him rent the room. Later, Grant befriends a young American Olympic athlete (Jim Hutton) who also came to Tokyo two days earlier than expected and in need of a room as well. Grant invites him to stay where he is staying. Guess what happens...a lot of fun ensues. Great swang song for Grant's last appearance in a movie.
  

Olympic Action Movie

• Downhill Racer (1969): This movie details the life of an arrogant skier (Robert Redford) who shakes up the U.S. Hockey team and butts heads with the coach (Gene Hackman). The movie features one of the most amazing ski sequences in movies.

Real-Life Olympic Inspirational Movies

• The Loneliest Runner (1976) stars Lance Kerwin in this autobiographical story written and directed by Michael Landon. Details the story of a young 14 year-old boy who races home from school every afternoon in order to pull down the pee stained bed sheet his mother put up on the balcony in order to embarrass her son into quitting the habit. His racing talents gets noticed in school and begins to work hard in order to achieve his goal of the Olympics. This made for TV movie won an Emmy for cinematography and was nominated for its film editing.
  
• The Jesse Owens Story (1984) stars Dorain Harewood in the title role of an African-American who achieves Olympic gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics hosted by Adolf Hitler himself forever taking away the idea of the superiority of the Aryan race.
• Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story (1997): starring Mario Lopez in the title role of a young diver who makes it to Olympic gold. While diving at the Seoul Olympics, Louganis bumps his head. This worries the athlete as he had just been diagnosed with HIV. The movie deals with his life as a gay man and his relationship with his parents.
• The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984): actually, this is the story of the first modern Olympics. We all know that the Olympics started in ancient Greece but then the games stopped at about 396 A.D. So, this is the story of the return of the Olympics by Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin (Louis Jourdan). In 1894, de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee and in 1896 the first modern Olympics were held in Athens. The movie also tells the story of the first American Olympic team and the obstacles it had to endure in order to make it to Athens.
  

Fictional Olympic Inspirational Movies:

• Cool Runnings (1983): is the fictionalized comedic account of the Jamaican bobsled team starring John Candy as the team's coach. What a crazy idea!! A tropical country participating in a winter sport Olympics? But, that's just what happened. Jamaica participates in its first Winter Olympics in the 1988 Calgary games. This movie details the creation of the team and the obstacles they have to overcome in order to get to the games.
• International Velvet (1978): is the sequel to 1944's National Velvet, the story of a young equestrian (Elizabeth Taylor) who wishes to win the national title. The sequel stars Tatum O'Neal as the niece of that girl this time portrayed by Nanette Newman. This time O'Neal tries to go for Olympic gold.

Most Romantic Movies for Valentine's Day

Well, Valentine's Day is here. This is the time of the year that most guys scramble what to do or give to their very special someone. What to do? What to do?

Well, most go to a special dinner at some very expensive place. Others go to a movie and a not so expensive dinner. Others, who are more budget conscious (which is probably most of us especially during this recession) will make a special dinner at home and cuddle up to a nice romantic movie.



Hopefully, I can help with the movie part of it. I've selected 25 movies that are available for renting and only one that is in the theaters at this moment that deserves good consideration. The movies selected are movies that I have actually seen. I also didn't select movies that are terribly long such as Titanic, Gone with the Wind, and The Way We Were. Who wants to spend all that time watching a movie when you can spend that time better doing other things? ;)

So, I hope you find my selection fun, romantic, and interesting. Hopefully, it will provide you with some quality cuddling time.


Most Romantic Movie Currently in the Theater

• Dear John (look at my post of Feb. 6, 2010 for a review of the movie)

Most Romantic Classic Movies

• Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
• An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr (once you watch this movie, you will understand Sleepless in Seattle much better)
  
• Love Story (1970) with Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw
• Sabrina (1954) with Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn
• Roman Holiday (1953) with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn

Most Romantic Manly Movies

• The Quiet Man (1952) with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara (the only John Wayne movie that I watch)
• An Officer and A Gentleman (1982) with Richard Gere and Debra Winger
• The Princess Bride (1987) with Cary Elwes and Robin Wright
• Brokeback Mountain (2005) with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal (What's more manly than two guys in love. This movie was very popular with women)

Most Romantic Movie with Drew Barrymore

• The Wedding Singer (1998) with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler
• 50 First Dates (2004) with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler
• Never Been Kissed (1999) with Drew Barrymore and Michael Vartan

Most Romantic Movie with John Cusack

• Say Anything...(1989) with John Cusack and Ione Skye
• High Fidelity (2000) with John Cusack and company (five romantic leads)
• Serendipity (2001) with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale

Most Romantic Movie in Time

• Somewhere in Time (1980) with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
• A Walk in the Clouds (1995) with Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
• The Notebook (2004) with Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands
• On Golden Pond (1981) with Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn

Most Romantic Other Worldly Movie

• Ladyhawke (1985) with Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, and Michelle Pfeiffer
• Ghost (1990) with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore

Most Romantic Sleeping Movie

• Sleepless in Seattle (1993) with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
• While You Were Sleeping (1995) with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman

Most Romantic Comedic Movie

• Moonstruck (1987) with Cher and Nicholas Cage
• What's Up Doc? (1972) with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal