AND OSCAR GOES TO.....

After spending ours and hours in darkness of theater for a full year,everyone looks forward to biggest (you may argue its final choices but beyond doubts its  biggest if not best) award ceremony on planet. Lets have a look at nominations and favorites to clinch ultimate honors.

Best Picture

Nominations     Black Swan,The Fighter,Inception,The Kids Are All Right,Winter's Bone,127 Hours,The King's Speech,The Social Network,Toy Story 3,True Grit

My Pick            The Social Network

Critics' Favorite127 Hours/The King's Speech/The Social Network

Best Direction

Nominations      Darren Aronofsky(Black Swan),David O. Russell(The Fighter),Tom Hooper(The King's Speech),David Fincher(The Social Network),Joel Coen and Ethan Coen(True Grit)

My Pick             Darren Aronofsky(Black Swan)

Critics' FavoriteDavid Ficher(The Social Network)

Best Actor

Nominations      Javier Bardem(Biutiful),Jeff Bridges(True Grit),Jesse Eisenberg(The Social Network),Colin Firth(The King's Speech),James Franco(127 Hours)

My Pick             James Franco(127 Hours)

Critics' FavoriteColin Firth(The King's Speech)

Best Actress

Nominations      Annette Bening(The Kids Are All Right),Nicole Kidman(Rabbit Hole),Jennifer Lawrence(Winter's Bone),Natalie Portman(Black Swan),Michelle Williams(Blue Valentine)

My Pick             Jennifer Lawrence(Winter's Bone),Natalie Portman(Black Swan)-too close to call!

Critics' FavoriteNatalie Portman(Black Swan)

Best Supporting Actor

Nominations      Christian Bale(The Fighter),John Hawkes(Winter's Bone),Jeremy Renner (The Town),Mark Ruffalo(The Kids Are All Right),Geoffrey Rush(The King's Speech)

My Pick             Christian Bale(The Fighter)

Critics' FavoriteGeoffrey Rush(The King's Speech)

Best Supporting Actress

Nominations        Amy Adams(The Fighter),Helena Bonham Carter(The King's Speech),Melissa Leo(The Fighter),Hailee Steinfield(True Grit),Jacki Weaver(Animal Kingdom)

My Pick               Melissa Leo(The Fighter)

Critics' Favorite  Melissa Leo(The Fighter),Hailee Steinfield(True Grit)

Best Animated Feature Film

Nominations         Toy Story 3,How To Train Your Dragon,The Illusionist

My Pick                Toy Story 3

Critics' Favorite   The Illusionist

Best Music (Original Score)

Nominations         John Powell(How To Train Your Dragon),Hans Zimmer(Inception),Alexandre Desplat(The King's Speech),A.R.Rahman(127 Hours),Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross(The Social Network)

My Pick                Hans Zimmer(Inception)

Critics' Favorite   Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross(The Social Network)/Alexandre Desplat(The King's Speech)

Best Music (Original Song)

Nominations         'Coming Home'(Country Strong),'I See The Light'(Tangled),'If I Rise'(127 Hours),'We Belong Together'(ToyStory 3)

My Pick                'If I Rise'(127 Hours)

Critics' Favorite   'Coming Home'(Country Strong)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominations          Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy(127 Hours),Aaron Sorkin(The Social Network),Joel Coen and Ethan Coen(True Grit),Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini(Winter's Bone),Michael Arndt(Toy Story3) 

My Pick                 Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy(127 Hours)

Critics' Favorite    Aaron Sorkin(The Social Network)

Best Original Screenplay

Nominations           Mike Leigh(Another Year),Scott Silver,Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson(The Fighter),Christopher Nolan(The Inception),Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg(The Kids Are All Right),David Siedler(The King's Speech)

My Pick                  Christopher Nolan(The Inception)

Critics' Favorite     David Siedler(The King's Speech)

My Pick  for other categories...

Best Editing                                            Jon Harris (127 Hours)

Best Cinematography                            Roger Deakins(True Grit)

Best Art Direction                                  Robert Stromberg and Karen O' Hara (Alice In Wonderland)

Best Sound Mixing                                 Inception/The King's Speech

Best Sound Editing                                 Richard King(The Inception)

Best Short Film(Live Action)                 Na Wewe/God Of Love

Best Short Film(Animated)                    Let's Pollute

Best Visual Effect                                  Hereafter/Iron Man 2

Best Foreign Language Film                 Outside The Law/Biutiful

Best Make Up                                        Rick Baker and Dave Elsey (The Wolfman)

Best Costume Design                            Johny Beavan (The King's Speech)

Best Documentary Feature                   Waste Land

Best Documentary On Short Subject    The Warriors Of Qiugang

WEEKLY MOVIE GUIDE (what to watch and what to miss in Cinema)

7 KHOON MAAF

Genre                  Drama

Release Date       18th Feb

Director               Vishal Bhardwaj

Duration              135 minutes

Cast                     Priyanka Chopra,Naseerudin Shah,Vivaan Shah,Irfaan Khan,Anu Kapoor,Neil Nitin Mukesh,John Abraham

Pluses                  Terrefic story idea,Priyanka's performance,Vivaan shines,Irfaan is good,song 'Darling' haunts

Minuses               too simplistic narrative,predictable climax and at least 20 minutes too long

Verdict                3/5 (watch it if you are Vishal or Priyanka fan)

KACCHA LIMBOO

Genre                  Drama

Release Date       18th Feb

Director               Sagar Bellary

Duration              140 minutes

Cast                    Atul Kulkarni,Sarika,Taher Sutterwala,ChinmayKambli

Pluses                 great idea,natural treatment,atul and sarika are impressive

Minuses              story drags after first hour,irritating subplots,shoddy cinematography

Verdict               2/5 (watch it if you want to see the mediocre standard of children movies in india)

MASTI EXPRESS

Genre                  Comedy

Release Date       18th Feb

Director               Vikram Pradhan

Duration              120 minutes

Cast                    Divya Dutta,Johnny Lever,Rajpal Yadav

Pluses                  Moments of laughter here and there

Minuses               everything else from bad acting to boring script to uninspiring direction

Verdict                1/5 (watch it if you had not watched any 'C' grade movie in long time)

I AM NUMBER FOUR

Genre                  Sci-Fi

Release Date       18th Feb

Director               D J Caruso

Duration              100 minutes

Cast                    Alex Pettyfer,Dianna Agron,Timothy Olyphant

Pluses                  adrenalin pumping duels,interesting characters,promising climax

Minuses               at times it seems medley of 'Twilight' and 'Superman'

Verdict                3.5/5 (watch it if you love superhero or sci-fi flick)

OSCAR NOMINATED MOVIES

BLACK SWAN

Genre                  Drama/Thriller

Release Date       3rd December,2010 (USA)

Director               Darren Aronofsky

Duration              108 minutes

Cast                    Natalie Portman,Vincent Cassel,Mila Kunis,Barbara Hershey

Pluses                 stupendous direction,stellar performances by Natallie,Kurtis and Vincent,impactful story and dark climax

Minuses               too dark at times (watch out for 'nail removing' sequences)

Verdict                4/5 (watch it for impactful dark european kind of cinema at it's best)

THE TOWN

Genre                  Crime - Drama

Release Date       17th September,2010 (USA)

Director               Ben Affleck

Duration              125 minutes (also has extended cut of 153 minutes)

Cast                    Ben Affleck,Rebecca Hall,John Hamm,Jeremy Ranner

Pluses                  Interesting plot, clever direction, edgy performances by cast

Minuses               10 minutes too long,predictable climax

Verdict                3.5/5 (watch it for a compelling crime drama based on real events)

BLUE VALENTINE

Genre                  Romantic Drama

Release Date       29th December,2010 (USA)

Director               Derek Cianfrance

Duration              112 minutes

Cast                    Ryan Gosslings,Michelle Williams

Pluses                  performance by lead pair,great cinematography,intense storytelling,unexpected climax

Minuses               slow pace of narrative

Verdict                4 (watch it for different take on married couple with intense storytelling)

VALENTINE SPECIAL : WEEKLY MOVIE GUIDE (what to watch and what to miss in Cinema)

PATIALA HOUSE
Genre                  Sports - Drama
Release Date       11th Feb
Director               Nikhil Advani
Duration              146 minutes
Cast                     Akshay Kumar,Anushka Sharma,Rishi Kapoor,Dimple Kapadia
Pluses                  Music sets the mood and Anushka does well
Minuses               First half is pathetic,film moves in slow pace,writing is regressive and illogical,Akshay-Rishi-Dimple lack any subtility in performance
Verdict                 2/5 (watch it if you still not fed up of drama flicks of 80's)

ANGEL
Genre                  Romantic Drama

Release Date       11th Feb

Director               Ganesh Acharya

Duration              122 minutes

Cast                     Nilesh Sahay,Madalsa Sharma,Aruna Irani,Manoj Joshi

Pluses                  Impossible to find

Minuses               Everything

Verdict                 0.5/5 (watch it because now days you can hardly find such a bad movie)

THE MECHANIC

Genre                  Action

Release Date       11th Feb

Director               Simone West

Duration              93 minutes

Cast                     Jason Statham,Ben Foster,Tony Goldwyn

Pluses                  Jason Statham

Minuses               Storyline is fragile,action is uninspiring

Verdict                1.5/5 (watch it if you action flick addict)

VALENTINE DAY SPECIAL - OVERLOOKED TRAGIC LOVE STORIES

WOH 7 DIN

Genre                  Romantic Drama

Release Date       23rd June,1983

Director               Bapu

Cast                    Anil Kapoor,Padmini Kolhapuri,Naseerudin Shah

Pluse                   Performances of lead cast,melodious music,different storyline with heart wrenching climax

Verdict                4/5 (watch it to believe the simplicity of storytelling)

KABHI HAAN KABHI NAA

Genre                  Romantic

Release Date       25th Febuary,1994

Director               Kundan Shah

Duration              158 minutes

Cast                     Shahrukh Khan,Suchitra Krishnamurthy,Deepak Tijori

Pluses                  Performance of lifetime by SRK,good music,humorous writing and surprise ending

Verdict                4.5/5 (watch it for making of 'romantic king' and his natural raw performance)

Awards               Best Actor (Critics) Filmfare Award

TEESRI KASAM 

Genre                  Romantic

Release Date       1966

Director               Basu Bhattacharya

Duration              159 minutes

Cast                    Raj Kapoor,Waheeda Rehman

Pluses                  Memorable music,terrific performances and full of subtle romantic moments

Verdict                4.5/5 (watch it for sheer brilliance of 60's)

Awards               National Award for Best Film,Nominated for Grand Prix in Moscow International Film Festival

KHAMOSHI

Genre                  Romantic

Release Date       1969

Director               Asit Sen

Duration              127 minutes

Cast                    Waheeda Rehman,Rajesh Khanna,Dharmendra

Pluses                  Best performance of Waheeda Rehman,haunting music,hemant kumar's vocals,passionate story,stand out black and white cinematography

Verdict                4/5 (watch it for music and stunning performance of Waheeda Rehman)

Awards                Best Cinematography Filmfare Award to Kamal Bose

HUM DONO RANGEEN

Golden era of Bollywood had many memorable dreams on celluloid and one such super hit with memorable music was 'Hum Dono' (1961). Last week saw new color version release of 'Hum Dono Rangeen'. Dev Anand was very excited about it and so was the industry as every stalwart of hindi film cinema was present at the premier.

But box office results were poor and at many places shows were cancelled due to pathetic attendance.This dismal performance looks even more bleak when you know that there was no major release last weekend except few small budget off beat affairs. This flop show was surprising because in past 'Mughal-E-Azam' did fairly well when it was released in 2004 in color version and all time hits like 'Sholay' and 'DDLJ' always had good repeat runs at box office.

There are few possibilities which contributed to this debacle. Foremost was the low publicity of the release as there was no build up or promotion prior to release of the movie. Also febuary is never a favorable month at the box office unless film carries a huge star cast as board exams are round the corner and cricket fever is catching up. It should had been released in festive seasons on the lines of 'Mughal-E-Azam' which was released in 2004 diwali. And above all,'Hum Dono' is a classic but it is no where near 'Mughal-E-Azam','Mother India' or 'Sholay' in terms of larger than life scale and cult following. 'HumDono' was more an all time musical hit with immortal numbers like 'Abhi Na Jao Chod Kar' and 'Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata'.   Even general opinion after watching colored version was not very positive as people complained about poor color mixing. 

Anyways 'Hum Dono' will remain a classic of our cinematic history but its a learning for future that neither all classics have cult following nor all experiments are successful.

WEEKLY MOVIE GUIDE (what to watch and what to miss in Cinema)

YEH SAALI ZINDAGI

Genre               Thriller                   
Release Date     4/02/11    
Director            Sudhir Mishra          
Duration           122 minutes

Cast               Irffan Khan, Chitrangada Singh, Arunoday Singh, Sushant Singh, Aditi Rao, Saurabh Shukla

Pluses      Irffan & Chitrangada are very good,writing by Manurishi and Sudhir Mishra is impeccable and direction is bang on,climax is refreshing

Minuses   Music as well as performances by Prashant, Saurabh and Sushant are repetitive,treatment is too dark

Verdict     3/5 (if you love 'twisted storytelling' you will like it)

UTT PATAANG

Genre       Comedy/Thriller      
Release Date   4/02/11     

Director    Srikanth Velagaleti   
Duration  110 minutes

Cast         Vinay Pathak,Mahie Gill,Mona Singh,Saurabh Shukla,Sanjay Mishra,Govind Namdev,Murli Sharma

Pluses     Vinay Pathak in role of 'Ram',Editing & direction is tight,climax is different

Minuses   Background score by Sanjoy Chaudhary is too loud(irritating),Mahie Gill  and Saurabh Shukla overact,Mona Singh,Sanjay Mishra & Murli Sharma are repetitive

Verdict   2.5/5 (want to support new wave cinema only then watch it)

UNITED SIX

Genre       Suspense/Thriller                 

Release Date   4/02/11              

Director    Vishal Aryan Singh   

Cast         Parvathy Omanakuttam,Daisy Bopanna, Mahi, Pooja Sharma, Isha Batwe and Luna Lakhar

Pluses       I failed to find one!(except you see six girls in skimpy clothes)

Minuses    Everything 

Verdict      0.5/5 (if you want to sleep well in multiplex,go for it)

SANCTUM

Genre       Thriller                            

Release Date   4/02/11                       

Director    Alister Grierson

Cast         Rhys Wakefield, Allison Cratchley, Christopher Baker

Pluses       3D viewing,good idea

Minuses    Everything else from acting to writing to direction is diappointing

Verdict     1/5 (if you want to see how a good story idea can be turned into nightmare even in 3D,watch it)

OSCAR NOMINATED MOVIES

THE FIGHTER

Genre       Drama/Biography   
Release Date      10/12/10 (USA)    
Director    David O Russell      
Duration             115 minutes

Cast         Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo

Pluses      Brilliant direction and writing (based on true story of boxers),Christian Bale gives best performance of his lifetime and so do Melissa and Amy

Minuses    Hardly any (Editing could had been better)

Verdict      4.5/5 (don't miss it and climax will make you cry for sure)

TRUE GRIT

Genre      Drama/Adventure           
Release Date  22/12/10(USA) 

Director   John and Ethan Coen          
Duration 110 minutes

Cast        Jeff Bridges,Matt Damon,Josh Brolin,Hailee Steinfeld

Pluses      Great layered writing,smart direction,impactful performances by Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Brolin

Minuses   Unnecessary slow at places,predictable climax

Verdict    3.5/5 (if you like Coen Brothers' style,i endorse them,you will like it but nowhere near their past efforts i.e. 'No Country For Old Men','Fargo','Burn After Reading' and 'The Man Who Was Not There')

Note        Must watch for all who keep crying that Indian Film Industry is copycat and Hollywood is original as this is a 'photocopy' of our very own timeless classic 'Sholay'

(will review new colour version of 'Hum Dono' in couple of days in a separate column as it deserves a better space)