Thursday, January 8

• Slumdog Goes the Distance

  Echoing its own underdog plot, Slumdog Millionaire came out on top with five "Bests" at the Critics' Choice Awards tonight: Picture, Director, Writer, Young Actor/Actress, and Composer.

  The only other multiple award winner was Sean Penn (Milk), who received critical nods for Best Actor and Best Acting Ensemble. For more details, see 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards Winners.

  
  

  Posted 01/08/2009 by reelz

  Related: Sean Penn | Slumdog Millionaire | Milk

• DGA Director Nominees Announced

  The Directors Guild of America has announced its nominees for 2008. They are Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire; David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon; Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight and Gus Van Sant for Milk.

  Ron Howard is the only previous winner from the group, having taken home the award twice for A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.

  Winners will be announced January 31st at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

  Source: Variety
  

  
  

  Posted 01/08/2009 by Jeff

  Related: David Fincher | Ron Howard | Gus Van Sant | Slumdog Millionaire | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Wednesday, January 7

• A Dark Knight for Fans

  Awards season began tonight and the people have spoken. As box-office records have already shown, The Dark Knight is a huge hit with fans. It won five "favorites" at the People's Choice Awards: Movie, Action Movie, Cast, On Screen Match Up, and Superhero.

  Other multiple award winners include The Secret Life of Bees and Will Smith. For more details, see our list of Winners in the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards.

  
  

  Posted 01/07/2009 by reelz

  Related: Will Smith | The Dark Knight | The Secret Life of Bees

Monday, January 5

• PGA Nominations Announced

  The Producer's Guild of America has announced its nominees for the 2008 movie year. Producers of Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button were nominated. The 3,600 members of the PGA will vote on winners, which will be announced January 24th at the Hollywood Palladium.

  Traditionally, these PGA nominations have helped to determine the producers nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar consideration.

  The PGA also nominated Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and WALL-E in the animated feature category.

  Source: Variety

  
  

  Posted 01/05/2009 by Jeff

Friday, December 26

• The Critics' Choices for 2008

  Tune in tonight at 6:00 PM ET/PT, and then throughout the weekend, for RC Special Edition: The Critics’ Choice for 2008. This half-hour show takes a look at the best movies of the year, as chosen by individual members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

  Host Sam Rubin (a member of the BFCA) interviews five critics from around the country, who give us their top movies, actors, and actresses of the year. The featured critics are Pete Hammond of Hollywood.com and Backstage Magazine, Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood, Carrie Keagan of No Good TV, Chris Gore of G4TV's Attack of the Show and publisher of FilmThreat.com, Dorothy Lucey of Good Day LA, and David Poland of Movie City News.

  In addition, four other members debate the lists in two lively sessions, patterned after Dailies popular Reelz in the Round format. Curious what movies are earning top nods from critics? See our list of Movies with 85+ Ratings from the BFCA.

  
  

  Posted 12/26/2008 by reelz

Friday, December 19

• Casting Doubt

  John Patrick Shanley's Doubt has traveled far in the past four years -- from its off-Broadway beginnings to Broadway success to holiday-release movie. Awards buzz has followed Shanley's work throughout. The play won a Pulitzer Prize along with several Tony and Drama Desk awards. To date, the movie has racked up 10 SAG and Golden Globe nominations, with Oscar season fast approaching.

  Shanley's success isn't too surprising, given the caliber of talent he's brought to his casts. In the movie, Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman star as the embattled Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn. Recently, ReelzChannel sat down with both stars to discuss bringing this tale about the consequences of blind justice to the big screen. See our interview with Meryl Streep and interview with Philip Seymour Hoffman.

  
  
  

  Doubt - Trailer

  Now In Theaters

  Posted 12/19/2008 by reelz

  Related: Meryl Streep | John Patrick Shanley | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Doubt

Thursday, December 18

• Heath Ledger Nominated by SAG

  The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild has nominated Heath Ledger in the category of "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role" for his take on The Joker in The Dark Knight. This marks the second time Ledger's name has been put forth for a SAG award. He claimed two SAG Awards for his work on Brokeback Mountain -- one for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role" and one for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture."

  Although snubbed for "Best Picture," The Dark Knight was nominated in another category, that of "Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture."

  
  

  Posted 12/18/2008 by reelz

  Related: Heath Ledger | The Dark Knight | Brokeback Mountain

• Mamma Mia! What a Week It's Been

  The Winner Takes It All; Money, Money, Money -- there's no shortage of puns to describe Mamma Mia! The Movie's blockbuster week. The Golden Globe-nominated comedy is now the "most successful movie musical of all time worldwide."

  On the first day of sales, DVD purchases topped 2.25 million, which translates into nearly $40 million in gross revenues. Also on Tuesday, news broke that Mamma Mia! capsized the UK box-office sales record that was held for nearly a decade by Titanic.

  Our best guess for this phenomenal success? That the world is in need of some unbridled cheer right now -- not that Pierce Brosnan's singing is bringing the fans in droves.

  
  

  Posted 12/18/2008 by reelz

  Related: Pierce Brosnan | Mamma Mia!

• The Wrestler Review

  The Wrestler is an eye-opening look at the dark underbelly of professional wrestling. On the big screen, pro wrestling has traditionally been approached from a comical perspective. After all, it's fake, right? But writer Robert D. Siegel's dark script goes far deeper, an examination of the tolls such a lifestyle can take on a former hero once the big shows have stopped calling.

  By now, you've probably heard plenty about Mickey Rourke's revealing emotional performance as The Ram. The praise is no exaggeration. He digs deep, disappearing within this characterization, turning in the finest performance of his career.

  Read more in our review of The Wrestler.

  
  
  

  The Wrestler - Trailer

  Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei Star - Now in Theaters

  Posted 12/18/2008 by Jeff

  Related: Mickey Rourke | The Wrestler

Thursday, December 11

• Golden Globe Nominations Announced

  David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon lead nominations with five apiece. Heath Ledger received his expected posthumous nomination for his stellar performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight, although the nod was the only love the Globes showed the year's most successful fan favorite.

  In the "Musical or Comedy" categories, much love was shown for In Bruges and Vicky Christina Barcelona, with both being nominated for Best Picture as well as two nods apiece in the Musical or Comedy acting categories.

  Mickey Rourke continues to draw acclaim for his transformation in The Wrestler, while his costar Marisa Tomei (considered an outside chance) was nominated in the supporting category. Bruce Springsteen's theme song was also nominated.

  78-year-old Clint Eastwood shows no signs of slowing down. The Hollywood legend surfaced in two unusual categories, nominated for Changeling's score and the theme song to Gran Torino, which Eastwood sings.

  See all the movie Golden Globe Nominations.

  
  

  Posted 12/11/2008 by Jeff

  Related: Clint Eastwood | Marisa Tomei | Bruce Springsteen | Heath Ledger | Mickey Rourke | The Wrestler | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | The Dark Knight | Frost/Nixon

Friday, November 21

• The Wrestler Trailer

  Nearly two months ago Variety teased us with their review of Mickey Rourke's performance in The Wrestler, calling it a "galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances." The movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is getting Oscar buzz, too, and we've finally got the trailer.
  
  
  

  
  
  Next Showing: The Wrestler opens in limited release December 17

  Posted 11/21/2008 by reelz

  Related: Darren Aronofsky | Mickey Rourke | The Wrestler

Wednesday, November 12

• Will Slumdog Millionaire Win the Big Prize?

  In Slumdog Millionaire, a poor orphan without any schooling makes it to the final round of India's biggest quiz show, causing an entire nation to wonder how he's doing it -- and the police to arrest him on suspicion of cheating when the show breaks for the evening.

  Despite winning numerous festival and audience awards, Slumdog initially wasn't going to be released in the U.S. Director Danny Boyle says, "It's sort of a bit like the story in the film really -- the film and this guy apparently [have] no prospects and then they get turned around and suddenly fortune beckons."

  The movie was inspired by Q & A: A Novel, the first book by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup. To write the movie's original script, Simon Beaufoy "had to go to Bombay and rediscover a whole life story for this character...while keeping this very seductive core of [the novel]."

  To find more details about Slumdog Millionaire, which is being viewed as an Oscar contender, see our interview with Slumdog director and interview with the movie's writer.

  
  
  Next Showing: Slumdog Millionaire opens nationwide today

  Posted 11/12/2008 by reelz

  Related: Simon Beaufoy | Danny Boyle | Slumdog Millionaire

Wednesday, November 5

• Defiance, the Other Daniel Craig Flick

  Quantum of Solace may be the center of attention at the moment, but another Daniel Craig flick, Defiance, could be the one enjoying the spotlight come Oscar time. The Ed Zwick-directed period piece, based on the true story of three Belarusian brothers who helped liberate a Nazi death camp during World War II, has been steadily gathering buzz as a possible awards contender.

  Defiance is set to premiere at the AFI Fest on November 9; the rest of us will get a chance to see what all the buzz is about when it opens wide on January 16, 2009. In the meantime, check out the new Defiance trailer.

  
  
  

  Defiance - New Trailer

  Daniel Craig Stars - Opening wide on January 9, 2009

  Posted 11/05/2008 by Thomas

  Related: Daniel Craig | Defiance

Friday, October 31

• Wall-E Coming to DVD and Blu-ray November 18

  Disney announced today that Wall-E, the top-grossing animated feature of 2008, will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18. The home-video debut of the highly acclaimed CG flick, which the Mouse House co-produced with Pixar, comes just in time for Holiday shopping season -- and to remind Academy voters that Wall-E is a legitimate contender for the Best Picture Oscar.

  No less than three different DVD versions and two different Blu-ray versions of Wall-E will be available for consumers to choose from. Each release will contain the feature film as well as several bonus features, including the all-new animated short film BURN-E.

  
  

  Posted 10/31/2008 by Thomas

  Related: Wall-E

Wednesday, October 15

• Frost/Nixon Leaving Some Critics Cold

  When news broke that Frost/Nixon, the acclaimed stage play from British playwright Peter Morgan, was going to be adapted for the big screen with Academy favorite Ron Howard attached to direct, pundits immediately pegged it as a potential Oscar contender.

  Looks like something was lost in the translation.

  According to Los Angeles Times writer Patrick Goldstein, reviews so far have been decidedly mixed for the flick, which premiered last night at the London Film Festival. Criticism for Frost/Nixon is broad-based, with director Howard and co-stars Frank Langella and Michael Sheen all taking their lumps.

  Frost/Nixon could very well turn out to be the Mitt Romney of the Oscar race: Good-looking, highly-hyped, and destined for an early exit.

  
  
  Next Showing: Us Yanks will get the chance to form our own opinion on Frost/Nixon when it opens in select theaters on December 5th.

  Posted 10/15/2008 by Thomas

  Related: Ron Howard | Frost/Nixon

Monday, September 22

• Spike Lee on His New Joint: Miracle at St. Anna

  Spike Lee's latest -- the 2-hour-and-40-minute war epic Miracle at St. Anna -- is getting a lot of buzz for its graphic portrayal of the horrors of war. It's also being mentioned as an early Oscar contender. We recently chatted with the prolific director about the movie and a potential Inside Man sequel in our interview with Spike Lee.

  
  
  Next Showing: Miracle at St. Anna opens fairly widely Friday, September 26
  

  Miracle at St. Anna Trailer

  Laz Alonso in this Spike Lee Joint

  Posted 09/22/2008 by reelz

  Related: Spike Lee | Miracle at St. Anna