Now that the Oscars are done with, we hit a nice lull in the award season drama. It's time to check in with the prediction results. Hopefully you did well. This year My predictions were pretty spot on with some notable exceptions. For example, "The Hurt Locker" won best original screenplay? It may have been put together well, but to say that it was better written than "Inglourious Basterds" is kind of insulting to the art of screenwriting. I mean, have you seen the dialogue in that movie? Also, I am bummed that "Up in the Air" didn't win anything. It's still one of my favorite movies from last year. That and "The Brothers Bloom." Oh well, 10 points overall isn't awful.

My predictions are in italics and actual winners are in bold.

Best Supporting Actor:

• Matt Damon in "Invictus" 
• Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger" 
• Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"
• Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones" 
• Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds" 

Best Supporting Actress:

• Penélope Cruz in "Nine"
• Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
• Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air" 
• Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Best Adapted Screenplay: 

• "District 9"
• "An Education"
• "In the Loop"
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
• "Up in the Air"

Best Original Screenplay: 

• "The Hurt Locker"
• "Inglourious Basterds"
• "The Messenger"
• "A Serious Man"
• "Up"

Best Animated Film:

• "Coraline"
• "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
• "The Princess and the Frog"
• "The Secret of Kells"
• "Up"

Best Actor:

• Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"
• George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
• Coin Firth in "A Single Man"
• Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"
• Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

Best Actress:

• Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"
• Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"
• Carey Mulligan in "An Education"
• Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
• Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

Best Director:

• James Cameron- "Avatar"
• Kathryn Bigelow- "The Hurt Locker"
• Quentin Tarantino- "Inglourious Basterds"
• Lee Daniels- "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
• Jason Reitman- "Up in the Air"

Best Picture:

• "Avatar"
• "The Blind Side"
• "District 9"
• "An Education"
• "The Hurt Locker"
• "Inglourious Basterds"
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
• "A Serious Man"
• "Up"
• "Up in the Air"  

Hollywood formula: Drinking + Stereotypical Characters + Boobs + Bodily Functions = Box Office Smash. It's true, look it up. The math doesn't fail. Also, it apparently = Golden Globe. But let's be honest, no one takes the Globes seriously. After all, Avatar won best picture (BURN!).

I've heard a lot of great things about The Hangover. I've heard that it was the funniest movie of the Summer, that it was a genuinely good movie, and that I'd have a blast watching it. Perhaps it was the anticipation, but it did not live up to any of the hype. The Hangover is not a bad movie, but it certainly isn't everything that it was made out to be.

First up, the movie takes way too long to get to the funny parts. There is too much time spent in the set-up of the actual premise of the movie that I started to get bored. I get it, three of you are best friends and one of you is an outsider. One is the suave debonair gent, one is the timid whipped boyfriend, one is the mentally challenged guy, and the other is the well intentioned groom. Awesome, just don't spend what feels like forever establishing these roles. I get it. Honestly.

There are some legitimate laugh out loud moments here. I think the funniest parts of the movie were the parts that weren't trying that hard to be funny. The parts that were trying to be funny? Those were a bit obnoxious. The best part though is watching Ed Helms sing a song about a tiger and Mike Tyson on a piano. It was awesome.

It has all the crudeness one would expect out of a comedy like this. I'm not opposed to crudeness in film, but I am opposed a little bit when it's there just for the sake of being crude. If you're going to do it, at least make it have a point or make it funny.

The one thing I will say about this movie is that the directing is fantastic. The shots are actually very stunning and well done. I didn't expect to admire the cinematography in a movie like this, but there is some serious good work being done here. So kudos to the team for that.

The Hangover is not the ridiculously funny comedy that everyone is making it out to be. Sure, it's got some funny parts, but it's not drop dead funny. Hopefully they can improve and get things right for The Hangover 2. Chances aren't likely though since people loved the first one. 3 out of 5.

It's that time of the year. Yes, Oscar season. Next week we'll do the annual guessing game, but for now, let's talk specifics. I've been making it my mission to watch as many of the best picture nominations as I can (and 8 so far makes for a pretty good start). The latest romp down best picture lane has been The Hurt Locker. This movie had one big hurdle to get over for me. It's a war movie. It's not that I don't enjoy a good war movie (like We Were Soldiers), but I find that it can be hard to walk the balance between the gruesomeness of war, actual character development beyond heroism, and just plain violence for the sake of violence. So how does The Hurt Locker do in trying to find the balance?

First, The Hurt Locker is visually stunning. From the opening sequence to the end, there are shots that will make you long to be in the desert. There are cool stylistic shots that don't detract from the overall story and everything is shown with a purpose. Never before has war looked so good.

Never before has war also looked so human. One of the biggest strengths about this film is the depth of all the characters and the relationships between them. The movie may start out as your traditional suspense/action movie, but it gets into much, much more. Watching James (Jeremy Renner) go from cocky EOD to humble and caring human being is a wonderful arc. Here's one great example. Amidst all of the bomb defusing, James develops a growing relationship with one of the local kids who sells pirated DVD's to support his family. They talk, laugh, and play soccer together. This is the type of scene you wouldn't find in your normal war movie.

It is this human element that The Hurt Locker gets so right. War movies are often guilty of having the strong and brave hero or unstoppable force, but in this film, the people are just regular people. Even though James has credentials of defusing over 800 bombs in his life, he is portrayed as someone who is just like anyone else. He's got flaws, he has struggles, but it doesn't stop him from doing his job.

While we're taking about Renner, it should stand to mention that he did a bang up job in this movie. For real, his performance of William James was great. Gritty and realistic, strong yet supportive, deep and complex, it's everything a character should be. But not only does he play it well, but he makes you believe it.

There are a lot of things this movie brings up for discussion. How human can someone actually be in war? When does it get to the point where your humanity detracts from being the best you can be at doing your job in the military? What are the lasting effects of thinking you could die every day? How attached can someone get to somebody else knowing that they could die right before your eyes? The questions could go on and on, but there is definitely enough fodder to chew on.

The Hurt Locker is a smart war movie for this generation. I highly recommend you go check it out. 5 out of 5.

Okay, two disclaimers. Disclaimer #1: This is not a how-to guide to acting. I would have no business making that how-to anyway. Disclaimer #2: This is not a guide on a new dance. I know the two-step theory sounds like the hottest new dance craze, but you're going to have to trust me, it hasn't been invented... yet.

The two-step theory is actually a theory in mass communications that describes the dissemination of knowledge and information. According to the two-step theory, information is not spread simply by broadcasting information. Instead, information is constantly spread by informing opinion leaders who in turn, then go on to inform the rest of the general public. If you ask me, it sounds a lot like a pyramid scheme or trickle-down economics, but it is just a theory after all. It's also easy to see how the internet and new media is turning what used to be a two-step method of disseminating information into a one-step process, eliminating the middle man.

I think it is easy to see how this theory could be easily applied to film criticism (i.e. who says what movies get to be "good" or "critically acclaimed"), but what I'm more interested in for this post is to see how it parallels with actors in movies. I don't think there has even been a movie star on earth who has acted in at least one terrible movie. No matter how much an actor tries to avoid it, the day will come when they will look back and say, "Why was I ever in that?" Even if these movies are garbage, there are still people that will watch them.

I'm thinking specifically of the movie The Book of Eli. I've never seen this movie for myself, but of the reviews I've read, there seems to be a similar trend. Most people don't think the movie is any good but enjoy watching Denzel Washington be a movie star. In fact, one quote is, "if it wasn't for watching Denzel do what he does best, I would have walked out on the movie." I think in this case, actors are working as a type of opinion leader.

Actors influence our opinion on the final state of a film. Even if the film is bunch of junk, we will sit through it because we trust the actor we have come to see. This is not a bad thing at all, in fact I've been known to see a movie merely because of who was in the film (let's face it, there was no good reason for me to buy I Love You, Man on DVD except for my man crush on Paul Rudd). I think this is just a fascinating phenomenon that deserves to be looked into a lot more.

For example, here are just a sampling of questions that come to mind: Why do we build such a bond to certain actors? How do actors gain more influences over audiences? How can actors utilize the clout they've built to influence others outside of films? How far can the influence that actors have on us go?

Got some thoughts on the matter? I'd love to hear 'em! Hit me in the comments below!

2009, where have you gone? It seems like not too long ago I was living in Minnesota, wondering when I was going to escape the sub-zero weather. So here I am, in Spokane, where the temperature doesn't get colder than 20. It's not much improvement, but I'll take what I can get.

2009 showed some great artistic endeavors and I thought it would be great to share with you some of my favorite things from 2009.

Movies:

• Star Trek: I'm no Trekkie, nor have I ever watched a Star Trek movie before, but this incarnation of the series is everything a summer blockbuster should be fun. It's fun, entertaining, thrilling, and compelling. While it certainly doesn't break any new ground, it reminds us that summer movies don't have to be terrible (I'm looking at you Transformers).
• Up in the Air: I know some people are hating on it, but it had such a profound impact on me. There's something so wonderful about seeing regular life being treated in the movies. When a movie forces you to keep thinking about it after you've watched it for weeks on end, then you know you've created something marvelous.
• The Brothers Bloom: This is a film that some didn't like, but I think there is something so magical about it. The visual style, the witty writing, and the wonderful performances. I don't know how one couldn't just sit down and enjoy this movie. Plus Rachel Weisz. Need I say more?

Music:

• The Resistance: Muse put out a great album this year that really showcases what their music is all about. While it is not their finest work to date, it does remind people what Muse is all about, being audacious, creative, and unconventional. Also, the three part work of "Exogenesis" at the end is worth the listen alone.
• Strict Joy: This album by the Swell Season is everything about music that I love. Beautiful harmonies, potent lyrics, and the desire to listen to it over and over again. If you liked "Once," then you need to check this out.

TV:

• Modern Family: This show is great and freaking hilarious. I don't think an episode has passed that hasn't made me laugh hysterically yet. One of the best comedies of 2009.
• Community: I really struggled with Community at first because I didn't think it was that funny. But then it settled into itself and become one of the greatest sitcoms of the year. This show handles pop culture references right (unlike the blatant in your face nature of Family Guy). Bonus points for a "Somewhere Out There" Celtic remix.
• Better Off Ted: It seems that only comedies were good this year, but Better Off Ted is such a brilliant show to me. The pace is quick, the jokes fly by at unconventional pace, and more often than not, they are freaking hilarious. Also, Better Off Ted is the master of the callback. If you're not paying attention while you watch this show, you're going to miss out on all of the funny.

These are some of my favorites from 2009. Did something miss the list? What are some of the things that you enjoyed about this last year?