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Courtesy artwork

By Sandra Kraisirideja

“Oz the Great and Powerful” has impressive visual effects but this isn’t enough to keep the movie interesting.

The movie, directed by Sam Raimi and starring James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis, tells the origin story of the Wizard of Oz (Franco) and how he came to preside over the land that shares his name. It wouldn’t be off the mark to call this a “pre-quel” to the “Wizard of Oz.”

Unlike the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch of the West”—which expanded on the “Wizard of Oz” mythology with a sympathetic tale of the Wicked Witch’s early years as a teenage outsider—”Oz the Great and Powerful” doesn’t offer an interesting take on the wizard’s background.

Oz is a circus magician and con man with an unending appetite for female companionship. He’s not a particularly nice or decent fellow. Oz is also transported to the land of Oz during a tornado and Raimi plays homage to the original 1939 movie by beginning in black-and-white and them moving to color once Oz arrives in Oz.

The use of this nifty effect is an example of the movie’s lack of originality. Even the introduction of the three witches, played by Weisz, Williams and Kunis, is not very compelling.

The 1939 “Wizard of Oz” is filled with iconic imagery, from the yellow brick road to Dorothy’s ruby red slippers. In “Oz the Great and Powerful,” we get to see more of the land of Oz and its quite breathtaking. The production design reminded me of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Edward Scissorhands.”

These scenes take place in the first hour and after that the story, thin as it is, takes over and the movie loses a lot of momentum. It’s really a shame that Raimi didn’t use this opportunity to create something more memorable.

(L-r) John Goodman as John Chambers, Alan Arkin as Lester Siegel and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in "€œARGO," which one the Oscar for Best Picture. Courtesy photo.

By Sandra Kraisirideja

For years I have been an Oscar snob when it comes to Awards shows and this year marks the first time I regret not having seen the Golden Globes as hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

It’s not that Seth Macfarland was a terrible Oscar host, but he was just so safe and unoriginal that it made the entire show fall flat. Except for a few bursts of excitement that followed a few surprise winners were announced, this year’s Oscar show did not do much to keep things moving.

Even when the ceremony itself lacks energy, it’s the responses from the winners that usually proide the show’s best and most memorable moments.

The best acceptance speeches came from director Ang Lee, who bested the odds-on favorite Steven Spielberg for directorial acheievement; actress Jennifer Lawrence, who slipped on the stairs on her way up to accept her Oscar for Best Actress and will forever win “most embarrassing moment” on television; actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who consistently has given wonderful acceptance speeches that blend humility and humor in a way that is truly endearing; and Ben Affleck who seemed truly overcome by “Argo’s” win for Best Picture and wound up rambling nervously during his acceptance speech in a way that was really adorable.

Among the surprises last night included Christoph Waltz’s win for Best Supporting Actor although with each of the nominees already in possession of an Oscar it was truly difficult to predict a frontrunner. There was also a tie in the Sound Editing category and the trophy was awarded to both “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” According to the Los Angeles Times, a tie has now occured a total of six times in Oscar history.

Below is a full list of last night’s winners:
BEST PICTURE – “Argo”
BEST DIRECTOR – Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
BEST ACTOR – Daniel Day-Lews, “Lincoln”
BEST ACTRESS – Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM – “Brave”
BEST FOREIGN FILM – “Amour”
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – “Django Unchained”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – “Argo”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN – “Anna Karenina”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – “Skyfall”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – “Life of Pi”
BEST DOCUMENTARY – “Searching for Sugar Man”
BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT) – “Inocente”
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING – “Les Miserables”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – “Lincoln”
BEST FILM EDITING – “Argo”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – “Life of Pi”
BEST SOUND EDITING – “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thiry”
BEST SOUND MIXING – “Les Miserables”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – “Life of Pi”
BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) – “Paperman”
BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) – “Curfew”

Courtesy photo

By Sandra Kraisirideja

In celebration of its recent launch, the blog and web series “Broke but Bougie” is throwing a progressive makeover party at Francesca’s in the Fashion Valley Mall on Jan. 24 from 6 to 9 p.m.

“Bougie” means dressing outside of your economic class by finding affordable clothing that looks expensive. It appears to be inspired by the word “bourgeois.”  The blog and web series are “dedicated to helping young women look and feel fresh, fine and fabulous taking on the professional world without breaking the bank,” according to the press release sent out promoting the launch party.

Those who attend will get a bougie makeover, hair, makeup and style tips, and have a chance to win raffle prizes from Francescas’ and more. All guests will also receive 10 percent off when they spend $50 or 20 percent for a $100 purchase.

For more information visit www.brokebutbougie.com

"Lincoln" received the most Oscar nominations today with a total of 12 including ones for Best Picture and Director for Steven Spielberg. Photo: David James.

By Sandra Kraisirideja

Actress Emma Stone and Seth MacFarlane, who is also hosting this year’s broadcast, announced the nominees for the 85th annual Academy Awards today at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

According to the Oscar website, a show host has not participated in the nominations announcement since 1972, and since the nominations were unveiled at 5:30 a.m. it may be another 40 years before another host does it again.

Of the movies nominated for Best Picture, “Lincoln” and “Life of Pi” both received the most nominations with 12 and 11, respectively. “Les Miserables” and “Silver Linings Playbook” tied with eight nominations each.

“Argo” received seven nominations followed with five nominations each for “Amour,” “Django Unchained,” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” “Amour” is nominated for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film. The dark horse nominee for Best Picture, “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” was also nominated for Directing, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), and Actress in a Leading Role.

The Oscar broadcast will be shown on Feb. 24 on ABC starting with red carpet arrivals at 4 p.m.

Following is a full list of the nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White And The Huntsman

DIRECTING
Amour, Michael Haneke
Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin
Life Of Pi, Ang Lee
Lincoln, Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How To Survive A Plague
The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays At Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

FILM EDITING
Argo, William Goldenberg
Life Of Pi, Tim Squyres
Lincoln, Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour, Austria
Kon-Tiki, Norway
No, Chile
A Royal Affair, Denmark
War Witch, Canada

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Life Of Pi, Mychael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams
Skyfall, Thomas Newman

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
Before My Time, Chasing Ice
Music And Lyric By J. Ralph

Everybody Needs A Best Friend, Ted
Music By Walter Murphy
Lyric By Seth Macfarlane

Pi’s Lullaby, Life Of Pi
Music By Mychael Danna
Lyric By Bombay Jayashri

Skyfall, Skyfall
Music And Lyric By Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Suddenly, Les Misérables
Music By Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyric By Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Production Design: Dan Hennah
Set Decoration: Ra Vincent And Simon Bright

Les Misérables
Production Design: Eve Stewart
Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson

Life Of Pi
Production Design: David Gropman
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Lincoln
Production Design: Rick Carter
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole, Pes
Head Over Heels, Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare,” David Silverman
Paperman, John Kahrs

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Asad, Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys, Sam French and Ariel Nasr
Curfew, Shawn Christensen
Death Of A Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw), Tom Van Avermaet And Ellen De Waele
Henry, Yan England

SOUND EDITING
Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn
Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman
Life Of Pi, Eugene Gearty And Philip Stockton
Skyfall, Per Hallberg And Karen Baker Landers
Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson

SOUND MIXING
Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
Life Of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
Life Of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
Marvel’s The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
Snow White And The Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Argo, Screenplay By Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Screenplay By Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Life Of Pi, Screenplay By David Magee
Lincoln, Screenplay By Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay By David O. Russell

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Amour, written By Michael Haneke
Django Unchained, written By Quentin Tarantino
Flight, written By John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom, written By Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty, written By Mark Boal

It is just another evening commute until the rain starts to fall, and the city comes alive to the sound of dripping rain pipes, whistling awnings and gurgling gutters. And in the midst, two umbrellas—one blue, one not—fall eternally in love. “The Blue Umbrella” will play along with “Monsters University” in theaters on June 21.

Download the app and sign up for a chance to win a trip to U.S. premiere of “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”

The new poster for “Dead Man Down” was released today. The action thriller stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace as two strangers whose mutual desire for revenge draws them together and triggers an escalating trail of mayhem.  The film, which also stars Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard and Dominic Cooper, marks the American theatrical debut of director Niels Arden Oplev (the original “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”).

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ), a membership organization of leading women film journalists and critics from across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., has announced the winners of its 7th Annual EDA Awards.

Starting with Best Film, “Zero Dark Thirty” swept the AWFJ EDA “Best of” categories with five awards, took another two in the female-centric EDA Focus Awards, and earned its eighth win in the EDA Special Mention section. The full list of 2012 winners is below.

In the EDA ‘Best of’ categories—which parallel those used by other voting organizations–Jessica Chastain and Daniel Day Lewis were honored for their leading roles, with supporting role awards going to Anne Hathaway and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Malik Benjelloul’s “Searching for Sugar Man” received the EDA for Best Documentary, and Michael Haneke’s “Amour” was embraced for “Best Non-English-Language Film.”

The AWFJ also presents two award categories that reflect the organization’s mission to celebrate women in filmmaking, as well as the perspective of women in film journalism.

The EDA Focus Award pay tribute to achievements in filmmaking by women. Among the 2012 winners are Lucy Alibar, who received the Best Woman Screenwriter Award for “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” which she co-wrote with and Benh Zeitlin; Jennifer Lawrence who grabbed the Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star for her role in “The Hunger Game”; and the “Brave” heroine Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, which drew Best Animated Female. Best Breakthrough Performance went Quvenzhané Wallis for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

This Year’s Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry, celebrates the overall achievements this year by “Women Documentary Filmmakers,” with five named for special mention.

For extra fun, the AWFJ presents the EDA Special Mentions. A sampling of these awards include Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Leading Man and The Love Interest, which went to Denzel Washington and Kelly Reilly…and Nadine Velazquez, for “Flight“; and a tie for Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent, between Katherine Heigl for “One For The Money” and Reese Witherspoon for “This Means War.” Helen Hunt and John Hawkes attracted Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction.

The EDAs are named in honor of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin’s mother, Eda Reiss Merin, a stage, film and television actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. A dedicated foot soldier in the industry, Eda was one of the founders of AFTRA and a long-standing Member of AMPAS.

AWFJ EDA ‘BEST OF’ AWARDS

Best Film: “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Screenplay, Original: Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Screenplay, Adapted: Chris Terrio – “Argo”

Best Documentary: “Searching For Sugar Man”

Best Animated Film: “ParaNorman”

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”

Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis – “Lincoln”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Phillip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”

Best Ensemble Cast: “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Editing: William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda – “Life of Pi”

Best Film Music or Score: Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Non-English-Language Film: “Amour”

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
These awards honor WOMEN only.

Best Woman Director: Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Woman Screenwriter: Lucy Alibar (and Benh Zeitlin) – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star: Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

Best Animated Female: Merida (Kelly Macdonald) – “Brave”

Best Breakthrough Performance: Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Actress Defying Age and Ageism: Judi Dench – “Skyfall”

AWFJ Award for Humanitarian Activism – Female Icon Award, presented to an actress for the portrayal of the most positive female role model, or for a role in which she takes personal and/or career risks to plumb the female psyche and therefore gives us courage to plumb our own, and/or for putting forth the image of a woman who is heroic, accomplished, persistent, demands her rights and/or the rights of others:
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”

This Year’s Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry, presented only when warranted to a female who has had a banner–making, record–breaking, industry–changing achievement during any given year:
Women Documentary Filmmakers – including Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (“Detropia”), Lauren Greenfield (“Queen of Versailles”), Alison Klayman (“Ai Weiwei Never Sorry”) and Sarah Burns (“The Central Park Five”).

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

AWFJ Hall Of Shame: “That’s My Boy”

Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent (Tie):
Katherine Heigl – “One For The Money”
Reese Witherspoon – “This Means War”

Movie You Wanted To Love But Just Couldn’t: “Anna Karenina”

Unforgettable Moment (Tie):
Anne Hathaway,as Fantine. singing “I Dreamed A Dream” – “Les Miserables”
Jessica Chastain as Maya, saying, “I’m the mother…” – “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction: Helen Hunt and John Hawkes – “The Sessions”

Sequel or Remake That Shouldn’t Have Been Made (Tie):
”Red Dawn”
“Total Recall”

Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Leading Man and The Love Interest:
Denzel Washington and Kelly Reilly…and Nadine Velazquez – “Flight“

By Sandra Kraisirideja
I made the mistake of agreeing to publish a Top 10 list before I had a chance to power through the stack of for-your-consideration screeners piling up on my desk. I agree with Alex Billington of firstshowing.net that perhaps a better time to publish a Top 10 list would be in mid- to late-January. That will have to be my reasoning when it comes time to publish a list in 2013, but for now I’ve made my proverbial bed and must lie in it.

With some help from comingsoon.net I reviewed the list of movies released in 2012 and was surprised to find that my list of “wanted to see” was much longer than the list of movies I actually saw. And that’s the rub with Top 10 lists: they are based on what a person actually saw. There are quite a few movies I haven’t seen that I feel strongly would have made it on my list if I had seen them. “Django Unchained” and “The Hobbit” are just two that come to mind.

As I was compiling this article I decided I really needed two lists, a Top 10 based on what I was able to see this year and then a list of all of the movies that I didn’t see this year as an explanation as to why my actual list is so different from writers from other outlets.

My “wanted to see” list for 2012

• Jiro Dreams of Sushi
• 21 Jump Street
• Marvel’s The Avengers
• Snow White and the Huntsmen
• Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
• The Amazing Spider-Man
• Ruby Sparks
• Celeste & Jesse Forever
• Craigslist Joe
• The Bourne Legacy
• Sparkle
• The Words
• End of Watch
• Looper
• Nobody Walks
• Chasing Mavericks
• Bones Brigade
• Wreck-It-Ralph
• Anna Karenina
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Killing Them Softly
• The Hobbit
• Stand Up Guys
• Django Unchained
• Les Miserables

My Top 10 for 2012

10. “Bully”
This was just a mediocre documentary but it had an important message and provided a tool that parents could use to talk to their kids about bullying. If you are a parent with a kid in school you should rent this movie and then watch it with them.

From left, Joe Manganiello as Big Dick Richie, Alex Pettyfer as Adam/The Kid, Matthew McConaughey as Dallas, and Channing Tatum as Mike in "Magic Mike. Photo Glen Wilson.

9. “Magic Mike”

Director Steven Soderbergh managed to add some depth to “Magic Mike” while also delivering what women really wanted: plenty of ab-tastic shots of Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum. The movie actually met audience expectations and delivered what it said it was going to. Tatum also got to show a bit more range as an actor while also digging into his exotic dancer roots. This is a great movie to add to the list of ones to watch when you need some cheering up.

8. “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope”
I’m a bit prejudiced toward this movie as a resident of San Diego who has been attending Comic-Con off and on since the ’90s. I remember back when you could just walk up to the Convention Center during Comic-Con and buy a ticket to get in. Those days are long gone and Comic-Con is only getting larger. Director Morgan Spurlock smartly decided to keep himself out of the movie and focused instead on attendees representing the wide range of folks who go to Comic-Con every year. Those who go to Comic-Con know it’s not possible to see everything and I for one was glad part of the movie focused on the Masquerade Ball. I’ve never been able to see the ball, but I got to see a little bit of what goes on thanks to this movie. It also manages to be about comic books and not just about the Hollywood promotional machine the event has become. Spurlock gets the Hollywood folks in there by interspersing direct-to-camera interviews with actors and directors who are fanboys as much as they are Hollywood heavyweights. Kevin Smith offers up some of the funnier insights about Comic-Con and what it has meant to him. The movie can be watched for free on hulu.com so there’s really no excuse for skipping it.

7. “Jeff Who Lives at Home”
I caught this on Blu-ray and confess I wasn’t expecting much. The ads made the movie seem like a dumb comedy with Jason Segel cast as a stoner-loser opposite Ed Helms straight-laced overachiever. I was more than a little surprised to find it was a sweet, heartwarming movie that had an unexpected ending.

6. “Hit and Run”
Dax Shepard wrote and co-directed this hilarious comedy and pulled all of his good friends plus fiance Kristen Bell together to make it. Sometimes a pet project doesn’t work out very well, but that’s not the case with “Hit and Run.” Everyone looks like they are having way too much fun on set. Even Bradley Cooper’s crazy dredlocks work for his character. Hit this one up on iTunes if you missed it.

5. “Seven Psychopaths”
Writer-director Martin McDonagh and Colin Farrell make wonderful movies together. “Seven Psychopaths” is their second collaboration and it’s even more darkly funny than “In Bruges.” Featuring one of the most original and cleverly written screenplays this year, “Seven Psychopaths” has a style that reminded me a lot of Quentin Tarantino. McDonagh has the same ability as Tarantino to find humor in violence. Remember the scene in “Pulp Fiction” where everyone laughs after Samuel L. Jackson accidentally shoots the kid in the face? There’s a scene in “Seven Psychopaths” that elicits the same reaction. McDonagh also mixes a lot of philosophical observations into his dialogue, which elevates the movies beyond their basic premise.

4. “This is 40″
Judd Apatow has written a movie that is painfully hilarious for anybody 40 and older. Twenty-somethings most likely will not “get” many of the jokes and relationship dynamics that make the movie so funny. If you fall into this category make a note to revisit the movie when the time is right and it will make more sense to you, I promise.

Mark Duplass as the time traveler "Kenneth" in "Safety Not Guaranteed." Courtesy photo.

3. “Safety Not Guaranteed”
If the Academy still remembers this gem from earlier in the  year there’s a good chance it will be nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar. It’s hard to find original stories these days and even though this was based on an unusual classified ad, “Safety Not Guaranteed” is able to sustain enough of a storyline for a full-length movie. As far as quirky comedies go this is one of those movies that you keep on hand to help spread the word to anybody who hasn’t seen it. It will one day have the same kind of cult status reserved for movies like “Office Space” or “Napoleon Dynamite.”

Pi (Suraj Sharma) and a Bengal tiger known as Richard Parker arrive at an uneasy détente in director Ang Lee’s "Life of Pi." Courtesy photo.

2. “Life of Pi”
I was not familiar with the book when I saw “Life of Pi,” but I immediately downloaded it on my Kindle after seeing it. I think that’s the greatest compliment you could give a movie based on a book. I overheard somebody explain that they almost prefer to see a movie based on a book first because then it gives them a visual foundation they can use while reading the story. Director Ang Lee presents a visually compelling version of “Life of PI” and it would be hard not to see the world he created while reading the story. It’s not just the stunning cinematography that makes the movie work. The quiet performances by the young actor who plays the lead as well as the older actor who plays him as a grown man are perfectly juxtaposed in the narration. I wasn’t expecting “Life of Pi” to have such a haunting story and the movie stayed with me for days afterward.

Denzel Washington in "Flight." Courtesy photo.

1. “Flight”
There are two reasons why I loved this movie: the gripping 15 minutes of footage when the airplane goes down and Denzel Washington’s superb performance. His character is an alcoholic and drug user who is in such deep denial that he continues to use even after the plane he piloted crashes. Washington manages to create sympathy around the character and I found myself rooting for him as I would a dear friend. Like other great actors Washington just looks so comfortable and natural in whatever role he’s playing. He deserves an Oscar nomination although whoever is nominted will probably lose to Daniel Day-Lewis. The movie was marketed as a mystery but it’s really a character piece. Interestingly, John Goodman has a supporting role in both “Flight” and “Argo,” and both will probably be nominated for Best Picture. While he is memorable in both movies I think his character in “Flight” is more interesting. Director Robert Zemeckis handles the material beautifully and gives the movie a chance to breathe with wonderfully quiet moments that don’t drag the movie down.