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Posted on Thu, Mar 4, 2010 : 5:51 a.m.

Oscar predictions, Oscar-nominated movies, and the week's new releases

By Russ Collins

Win free movie tickets
Editor's note: Comment on today's "Cinema Chat" for a chance to win free movie tickets to the Michigan Theater. Some time between now and 6 a.m. Wednesday, leave a comment on this column, written by the Michigan Theater's Russ Collins. Offer your opinion on a recent movie you've seen, or on anything Russ mentions. We'll randomly select a winner and notify that person via the email address they signed up with. They will get two passes to a movie of their choice.

The red-carpet elegance of the Oscar ceremony will come to a climax at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater on Sunday, March 7, when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host the Academy Awards telecast. However, you should also know that the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation will bestow the Razzies, for the worst in this year’s motion pictures, at its 30th Annual Gala held at a less elegant Hollywood location, the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, on Saturday, March 6. For the fun of it, find out more about the Razzies and vote for the worst in this year’s cinema by going to the Razzies web site.

Who is the best? Who will win this year’s Oscars? Who knows, but here are my fearless projections of who will win:

• Best Picture - “Avatar” • Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” • Actor in a Leading Role - Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” Actress in a Leading Role - Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” • Actor in A Supporting Role - Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” • Actress in a Supporting Role - Mo'nique in “Precious” • Best Foreign Language Film - “Un Prophète” from France, although it could be “The White Ribbon” from Germany • Best Animated Film - “Up.” • To guess which film will win the Best Documentary Feature is a fool’s errand because the selection process for that category is always odd. In fact, some of the best documentaries don’t even get nominated; for example, “Capitalism: A Love Story.”

Comment on this story and let the world know who you believe are best and who will walk away with Oscars. See Oscar-nominated stuff while you still can

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“The Hurt Locker,” nominated for 9 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, will play the Michigan Theater for 1 screening only Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. Director Kathryn Bigelow will almost surely win the Academy Award for Best Director (she has already won this year’s Directors Guild of America award.) Kathryn Bigelow’s ex-husband is also up for Best Director. James Cameron’s “Avatar” is nominated for 11 Oscars. It may win Best Picture and will certainly walk away with a basket full of technical and art direction awards. You can still see “Avatar” in 2-D or 3-D at Quality 16, Showcase, Brighton and other area theaters.

“The Last Station,” playing at the Michigan Theater, has 2 Academy Award-nominated best performances: Helen Mirren for Best Actress and Christopher Plummer for Best Supporting Actor. It is about author Leo Tolstoy (Plummer) and his wife (Mirren) and how success and jealousy created rather strained relationships toward the end of their lives. It is a terrific, not-to-be-missed film. The Academy Award-nominated Best Short Films, which includes animated and live action, will continue playing at the Michigan Theater throughout next week. “A Single Man,” with a Best Actor nomination for Colin Firth, continues at the State Theater. Opening this week

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“Alice in Wonderland” is director Tim Burton's 3-D interpretation of this classic children’s story. Mia Wasikowska is Alice, Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway is the White Queen, Crispin Glover is the Knave of Hearts, Stephen Fry is the Cheshire Cat, Michael Sheen is the White Rabbit, and Alan Rickman is the Blue Caterpillar, to name a few. In this live-action/computer-animated hybrid telling of this fantastic tale, Alice is a 19-year-old runaway bride who escapes to the magical world of her childhood. In the rabbit hole she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny — to end the Red Queen's reign of terror. Many folks feel Tim Burton's artistic vision is directly in line with Lewis Carroll's trippy tale. “Brooklyn's Finest” reunites director Antoine Fuqua with his “Training Day” star Ethan Hawke. Hawke, Richard Gere and Don Cheadle are 3 veteran Brooklyn, New York cops who are struggling with their own personal and professional dilemmas. Unfortunately, despite a great cast that also includes Wesley Snipes, the preliminary reviews are typified by this one from The Hollywood Reporter: “Hugely implausible and relentlessly downbeat cop thriller lacks any sense of authenticity.” Special screenings

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“An American Tail” is free for kids 12 & under when it plays at the Michigan Theater on Sunday, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. The early Hitchcock classic “The 39 Steps” plays as part of the World Cinema Film Series on Monday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Richard Hannay is a Canadian visitor to 1930s London. After a disturbance at a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith, who is on the run from foreign agents. He takes her back to his apartment, but they are followed and later that night Annabella is murdered. Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring and thus prove his innocence. Enjoy the Oscars (and the Razzies!). See you at the movies!

Russ Collins is executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Tune in to the audio version of “Cinema Chat” on WEMU radio (89.1-FM) each Thursday at 7:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.

Comments

HPD

Thu, Mar 4, 2010 : 12:55 p.m.

I'm so consistently pleased with Pedro Almodovar's films. Although I'm a slow reader, and I wish I could follow the dialog in Spanish, I love the depth of the characters. I find myself thinking about particular scenes and situations for days. Broken Embraces drew me in and held me from the start. I just noticed "Volver" was aired on the Independent Movie Channel, recoded it, and look forward to seeing it again soon. I wish I could find similar depth and experience much more often.