Inception follows the wacky adventures of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his merry band of dream thieves as they attempt to plant an idea in the mind of a multibillion dollar oil company heir played real good like by the under-rated Cillian Murphy. In order to do so they must penetrate (giggle) several layers of their target’s dreams.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, and Ken Watanabe co-star as Cobb’s dreamy-time specialists.

 I won’t say that Leonardo DiCaprio will probably get an Oscar nomination for his acting skills in this movie, but he’ll probably get an Oscar nomination for his acting skills in this movie. I would not be suprised to see a Best Picture nomination too. You never know, Ellen Page has a shot for her supporting role. Hell, everyone was really great in this movie. I was especially impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Not because he had a particularly amazing dramatic performance, but because I finally forgot he was that goofy kid from 3rd Rock. He was good in 500 Days of Summer, but with this movie I think he has become a legitimate movie star.

So I recommend Inception. It’s one of those movies you’ll probably want to see again just for the clues. It reminds me of The Six Sense, but completely different and much better. Wow. I think I’m going to have to read that last sentence again. I have no clue what that meant.

Allen - “Ok, first off, a lion? Swimming in the ocean? Lions don’t like water! If you placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that makes sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, 20 foot waves (I’m assuming it’s off the coast of South Africa). Going up against a full grown 800-pound tuna with his 20 or 30 friends? You lose that battle. You lose that battle 9 times out of 10. Well guess what? You’ve wandered into a school of tuna and we now have a taste of lion! We’ve talked to ourselves. We’ve communicated. And I said, ‘You know what?! Lion tastes good! Lets go get some more lion!’ We’ve developed a system: to establish a beachhead and to aggressively hunt you and your family. And we will corner you and your, your pride, your children.”

Terry – “How you gonna do that?”

Allen – “We will construct a series of breathing apparatus with kelp! We will be able to track certain amounts of oxygen. It’s not gonna be days at a time. An hour? Hour 45? No problem! That’ll give us enough time to figure out where you live, go back to the sea, get more oxygen, and then stalk you. You just lost in your own game. You’re outdone and outmanned……….Did that go the way you thought it was gonna go? …..NOPE.”

Two things you should know about The Other Guys…

1) If you like action movies and Will Ferrell humor you’ll probably not at all hate The Other Guys.
2) I am too lazy to write a proper review so please refer to number one.

Bonus thing – Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson make a brief, but memorable appearance as badass super cops.  Samuel L. Jackson should really make more movies.

Very special bonus thing – Michael Keaton is funny as police Captain Gene Mauch. Where the hell’s he been?

Super secret very special extra bonus thing – Mark Wahlberg should do more comedy.

In hindsight bonus – I should have just written a fucking review.

Some might call me an Elvis fan. I would agree with those some. In a time when most kids were raised on television and TV dinners I was raised on Elvis music, television, and TV dinners. As far back as I can remember the music and image of Elvis Presley filled my house. It makes sense.    My Momma grew up in Memphis and often dropped by Elvis’ swinging bachelor pad to hang out at his front gate and listen to him play guitar for his adoring fans. Of course this was early in Elvis’ career before he had to stop hanging out at the gate for fear of said adoring fans reaching through to grab a piece of his clothing or a chunk of his hair.

I remember putting on an Elvis concert for my family when I was around five. As I recall I put on a jean jacket, popped the collar up, hopped on a foot stool with my trusty microphone [a.k.a. jump rope] and cool plastic country AND western guitar, and then introduced myself.  “Hello I’m Johnny Cash”, I announced before breaking into an Alvin and the Chipmunks classic. I may not have been singing one of his songs or introducing myself by his name, but in my mind I was The King of Rock n’ Roll performing for the masses.

Speaking of performing for the masses. Let’s talk about Elvis on Tour  shall I? My good pal Brian and I were excited to learn that  Elvis on Tour, the last of Elvis Presley’s 33 movies, was going to be released in movie theaters as a part of E’s 75th Anniversary Celebration.  Since Brian and I had successfully viewed 31 of his 33 movies as part of our project to write a book about the King’s films (due out in 2027), we could not resist  this one night only big screen presentation of number 33.

The evening began with a 10-15 minute documentary about the making of the movie.  Priscilla Presley narrated a portion of this documentary about the documentary and provided some insight into Elvis the man as opposed to Elvis the image.  At the time of the tour their marriage had just ended and Elvis was having a difficult time with it. Priscilla said that he didn’t like to let people see his private side, but noted a time of two during the movie where he let his guard down. You can hear it in his voice when he performs ”Bridge Over Troubled Water”; a song that Priscilla says he used to sing to her when she was feeling down. You could see it in his eyes when he would sit in quiet thought on a limo ride from one of the 4 concerts documented in the movie. 

 So what’s it all about, Joe. First, my name isn’t Joe. And B, about 2 hours and 5 minutes. But that’s not important right now. Elvis on Tour is a behind the scenes on the road look at a 15 show / 15 city Elvis tour in 1972. It provides you, the dear sweet viewer, a fly-on-the-wall perspective of Elvis at work and Elvis at not work. I’ve seen this movie before, but watching it in on the big screen was like watching it for the first time. Actually even better because I picked up on a lot of little things I never noticed before. Little looks between Elvis and J.D. Sumner when J.D. sang the low notes, the camera crew messing with an excited (not really) older gentleman who was explaining the route Elvis would take on the way to the stage, Elvis’ interaction with his crazy female fans, his crazy female fans, etc. Something I really enjoyed was hearing the movie theater audience applaud after every song; even one that featured only The Stamps Quartet. I laughed it off at first, but after the second or third song I was clapping right along side them. I never had the good fortune of seeing Elvis in concert, but by the time the movie ended I felt a little like I had been on tour with him. 

Little Nugget Alert!

A little nugget: there’s a photo montage during the movie built around Elvis Presley’s performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The supervisor for this section of the movie was a young Martin Scorsese. So that’s cool.

Anyway, Elvis on Tour was directed by the very capable Robert Abel and the kind of French-sounding Pierre Adidge. The movie earned them something that no other Elvis movie had ever received: an award.  It won the 1972 Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary. Elvis on Tour is now available on Blue-ray in remastered form with all the bells and whistles. I recommend giving it a look. Even if you’re not an Elvis fan (and I forgive you for that) you’ll gain a new appreciation for him. Take my word for it. I’m on the internets.

Dear Hollywood,

Have you not learned your lessons about remakes? There is a reason these movies became classics. They got it right the first time.  Silly Hollywood.

The original “Nightmare on Elm Street” scared the living crap out of me. Very few movies have scared said crap out of me. This movie just made me sleepy.

I like Jackie Earle Haley. I even thought maybe he could bring a new level of creepiness to the role of Freddie “Boom Boom” Krueger, but alas he could not. I don’t think anyone could have. Robert Englund got it right the first time. There was no need to regurgitate….er…remake this particular horror movie icon.  The real nightmare for me was waking up after a short nap to find that the movie had not ended yet.

First a letter:

Dear 3D,

I don’t like you and you don’t like me. That’s understood. However, you recently made an appearance in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and I actually enjoyed you. Why do you have to draw me off sides like that? We had an agreement that I would no longer bother you and you would no longer bother me. What the face, man? So here’s the deal. To show you that I am a bigger person (both literally and figuratively) and since you made Alice in Wonderland so enjoyable for me I am going to give you one more chance. But I’m warning you, I can not allow you to make a fool of me again. I do that well enough without your help.

 In conclusion I kind of don’t dislike you a little, 3D. Sometimes.

Now a review:

I was kind of on the fence about whether or not I really wanted to see Alice in Wonderland since I only like about half of Tim Burton’s movies due to their overall dark weirdness. However given his history with Johnny Depp and the greatness of said Mr. Depp, I decided I should see the movie. I’m glad I did.  

Alice in Wonderland was the perfect blend of family-friendly Disney fantasy and Burton oddness. The story follows grown up Alice (Mia Wasikowska) who falls down the rabbit hole once again and travels to the merry old land of wonder to hang with the old gang. Although the old gang is not so sure she is Alice. Neither is Alice. Thus the journey of self-discovery and destiny begins. The story is great, the movie is great, and the visual effects are awesome. Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter) is his usual show-stealing self, but not so much that the rest of the cast doesn’t get the chance to shine.  Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen) and Anne Hathaway (White Queen) are especially enjoyable and silly as the Red and White Queens.

All said I liked this movie and I would see it again. If you can see it in 3D I recommend it. Otherwise it’s still worth checking out in the miracle of 2D.

Yes, Virginia, that’s exactly what it is. What’s so great about that I may inquire? Well thank me for asking. Many times when people tell me a movie is really scary or really funny I end up disappointed. So I won’t tell you that Hot Tub Time Machine was freaking hilarious. I also won’t tell you that it was one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. And I certainly won’t mention that the last movie to make me laugh this hard was Step Brothers. But for the sake of argument, let’s say this movie made me laugh so hard I almost passed out. Why would it do that to me? Could it be that I sometimes enjoy raunchy, vulgar, and immature humor?

To that I say, I know you are but what am I.

HTTM (as all the cool kids will be calling it according to me) is like Back to the Future with a whole lot of f%#king curse words. Even Crispin “George McFly” Glover shows up playing the younger and older versions of a bellhop.  Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), and Lou (Rob Corddry) are old friends whose lives didn’t quite turn out the way they planned. When one of them is in need they come together and, along with Adam’s nephew Jacob (Clark Duke), take a nostalgic trip to a favorite ski lodge. Hilarity ensues when they hop into a hot tub, get drunk, and go back in time to the wondrous 1980’s.  The goofiness of 80’s movies is proudly displayed throughout HTTM (it’s catching on already. I can feel it.). There is even a reference or two to classic flicks of the period. Listen for a line from John Cusack’s own Better off Dead early on in the movie. My only minor complaint about this movie is that I would have liked Chevy Chase (who had a cameo as a hot tub repair man) to be more Chevy Chase funny instead of Chevy Chase-ish funny. I think the writers had a missed opportunity there. That’s ok though, I can always watch National Lampoon’s Vacation or Fletch to get my Chevy Chase fix.

And now a word about Rob Corddry: damn that guy is funny! As they who know all things about stuff say, I think this is going to be his breakout role. Craig Robinson (“The Office”) shows off his comedic genius too. I would not be surprised to see both of these guys taking center stage in the future.

Ok…let’s bring this review home shall we? HTTM is not for everyone. If you are offended by bathroom humor, you will find no humor in the bathroom scene. But if poop and penis jokes are your bag, you’re going to laugh until you throw up a little. I sure did.

I really want to not like Leonardo Dicaprio but he makes it difficult when he is awesome in just about every one of his damn movies. Why does he have to be such good with the acting? I might ask YOU the same question. Shutter Island was the best movie I’ve seen so far in 2010. Granted it’s the only movie I’ve seen so far in 2010, but that’s not important right now. What is important is my next sentence. Shutter Island is a must see. Yep…I said it. No taking it back now. So there you go. Martin Scorsese once again shows us why he is the best Martin Scorsese ever. Leo (Teddy Daniels) is supported by a fine supporting cast of supporting actors who support him very well with their acting and things. Sir Ben Kingsley, Jackie Earle Haley (one of my favorite actors these days), Max von Sydow, Mark Ruffalo, and Michele Williams as Teddy’s not so alive wife are the fine supporters of which I speak.

The action takes place in the early 50’s at a mental institution for the criminally insane. The institution is located on a remote Island only reachable by fairy ferry. Teddy Daniels is a US Marshall with a score to settle. He’s a cop on the edge. This time it’s personal. [I love movie trailer clichés.] Teddy and his new partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are on the Island to search for a missing patient who murdered her three children. Along the way Daniel discovers that things may not be what they seem. I’m telling you, I was sucked in from the opening scene. This was a great movie. It was long, but it didn’t seem too long to me. My lovely wife what’s-her-name made a great observation which I will happily pass on to you. She said that the movie reminded her of an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but with the style of Martin Scorsese. I totally agree with her and not just because I have to.  I wish I could tell you more, but I don’t want to ruin the movie for you. I hate it when reviews do that. So if you see this movie, and I think you should, leave a comment or send me an email and let me know what you thought.  No spoilers please if you leave a comment. I think movies are most enjoyable when you don’t know what to expect.

Today is the big day for those lucky nominees who have be chosen as the Oscar goes to’s. Since I have not seen all the nominated films, I feel I that I am more the qualified to provide to you my picks. I’m only touching on the major catagories and I’m leaving out Best Documentary out of protest since “It Might Get Loud” didn’t even get nominated. WTF? So….please sit back and enjoy as you are amazed with my powers of premature prestidigitation.

Best supporting Actor nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

Christoph Waltz. It doesn’t even matter that I have not seen the rest of the nominee’s performances. No one could possible have been better than Christoph Waltz was in  “Inglourious Basterds”.  AMAZING.

Best Actor nominees

And the Oscar goes to: 

Jeff Bridges. I enjoyed George Clooney in “Up in the Air” and I’m sure I would have enjoyed Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, and Jeremy Renner in their films had I seen them, but I can’t imagine anyone better than Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake.

Best supporting Actress nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

Mo’Nique. I haven’t even seen this movie, but I believe the buzz. I’ve never even really cared for the comedian-turned-actresss, but from the scenes I’ve seen she will win this one hands down. I loved Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” and I thought Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were both great in “Up in the Air”, but I’m pretty sure they don’t stand a chance.

Best Actress nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

Sandra Bullock. Some may say that I predict her to win because she is on my list.  But she really proved herself as an actress in this movie. While I’ve heard great things about Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious” and  Meryl Streep  should probably really be the winner in this catergory, Sandra Bullock will get this one because she is everybody’s favorite Sandra Bullock.

Best animated feature film nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

“Up”.  Of the other nominess, I have only seen “Coraline”, but I don’t see any other movie being competition for “Up”.  It’s up (pun intended) for best picture for Pete’s sake. I’ve heard great things about “Fantastic Mr Fox”, but I really thing “Up” has this one. On a personal note, “Coraline” was creepy and what the hell is “The Secret of Kells” ? Never heard of it.

Best music written for motion pitcures (Original score) nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

James Horner. It’s Avatar for the love of Pete! It’s going to win everything.

Best music written for motion pitcures (Original song) nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett. Great song. Great movie. Great songwiters. Also, it Randy Newman wins another award I will puke.

Best Adapted Screenplay nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

Geoffrey Fletcher for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”. My gut tells me this one will win. Man I really need to see this movie. If my gut is wrong then it will be Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for “Up in the Air”.  And not just because it was the only movie I saw in this catagory. Ok…it is just because it was the only movie I saw in this catagory.

Best Original Screenplay nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds”.  Hell yes, bitches!

Best Director nominees

And the Oscar goes to:

James Cameron for “Avator”. I know a lot of people are predicting Kathryn Bigelow will take this one. But since I haven’t seen “The Hurt Locker” , I’m going with my uninformed opinion. On a side note I personally want Quentin Tarantino to win the catagory. He’s the best Quentin Tarantino ever.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

And the Oscar goes to: “Avatar”. It’s the number one movie in the entire universe so of course it’s going to win Best Picture.  My personal vote would be for “Inglourious Basterds” because it was so freakin’ awesome. Maybe it could win if it had really tall blue cat monkeys in it.

That’s all I’ve got. Grab some pizza, your beverage of choice and enjoy the show. I’m looking forward to the comedic stylings our hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Make me laugh monkeys.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he’s a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me.

Well, we’re doin’ mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin’ cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought ‘a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin’ for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen’ that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen’ that we all were on their side.

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin’ everywhere you go,
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything’s OK,
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
‘Till things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black.

God Bless John R. Cash.

According to very reliable sources, here are the 82nd Academy Award Nominees. Don’t forget to watch the show on Sunday, March  7, 2010.  Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are hosting. They are funny and we here at Jay Likes Movies dotcom love funny. So take THAT not funny.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company)
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Matt Damon in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (The Weinstein Company)
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Best animated feature film of the year

• “Coraline” (Focus Features) Henry Selick
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox)    Wes Anderson
• “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
• “The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Pete Docter

 Achievement in art direction

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
• “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• “The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

 Achievement in cinematography

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore
• “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
• “The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

Achievement in costume design

• “Bright Star” (Apparition) Janet Patterson
• “Coco before Chanel” (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
• “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
• “The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell

Achievement in directing

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Cameron
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels
• “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman 

 Best documentary feature

• “Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) A Magic Hour Films Production Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
• “The Cove” (Roadside Attractions) An Oceanic Preservation Society Production Nominees to be determined
• “Food, Inc.” (Magnolia Pictures) A Robert Kenner Films Production Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” A Kovno Communications Production Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
• “Which Way Home” A Mr. Mudd Production Rebecca Cammisa

Best documentary short subject

• “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
• “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” A Community Media Production Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• “Music by Prudence”  An iThemba Production  Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
• “Rabbit à la Berlin” (Deckert Distribution) An MS Films Production  Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Achievement in film editing

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year

• “Ajami”(Kino International)
• An Inosan Production Israel
• “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haddock Films Production Argentina
• “The Milk of Sorrow” A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production Peru
• “Un Prophète” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production France
• “The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production Germany

Achievement in makeup

• “Il Divo” (MPI Media Group through Music Box) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• “The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

 Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Horner
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
• “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

 Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ (Sony Pictures Classics) Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best motion picture of the year

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
• “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.) An Alcon Entertainment Production Nominees to be determined
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
• “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) A Voltage Pictures Production Nominees to be determined
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
• “A Serious Man” (Focus Features) A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
• “Up” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer
• “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Best animated short film

• “French Roast” A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production Fabrice O. Joubert
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Brown Bag Films) A Brown Bag Films Production Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production Javier Recio Gracia
• “Logorama” (Autour de Minuit) An Autour de Minuit Production Nicolas Schmerkin
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death” (Aardman Animations) An Aardman Animations Production Nick Park

Best live action short film

• “The Door” (Network Ireland Television) An Octagon Films Production Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
• “Instead of Abracadabra” (The Swedish Film Institute) A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
• “Kavi” A Gregg Helvey Production Gregg Helvey
• “Miracle Fish” (Premium Films) A Druid Films Production Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
• “The New Tenants” A Park Pictures and M & M Production Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

 Achievement in sound editing

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Achievement in sound mixing

• “Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

 Achievement in visual effects

•  ”Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• “Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Adapted screenplay

• “District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• “In the Loop” (IFC Films) Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Original screenplay

• “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Written by Mark Boal
• “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Quentin Tarantino
• “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• “A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Up” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete DocterStory by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

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