Academy Award Nominations: Lots of Love for "Gravity" and "American Hustle"

It's like Christmas for cinephiles; the Academy Awards nominations were announced this morning. Gravity and American Hustle lead the way with 10 nominations each, "12 Years a Slave" is just behind with 9 nominations. Coming off a strong showing at the Golden Globes, "Dallas Buyers Club" has proven formidable with Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor wins. Surprisingly enough, Tom Hanks was not nominated for either major appearance in a film this year, for Best Actor in "Captain Phillips" or Best Supporting Actor in "Saving Mr. Banks." Speaking of, Emma Thompson who portrayed Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers in the Disney film was not nominated either, and had been considered a lock at a nomination. It seems the Academy told Disney to "go fly a kite." Other snubs include "Fruitvale Station" and "Lee Daniel's The Butler," a Civil Rights drama about a butler who served seven presidents. I'm happy that "The Great Gatsby" got some love in costuming.

Golden Globes 2014: My Picks and Thoughts

Award season is officially here! This is seriously my favorite time of year; the red carpet commentary, the outfits, the speeches: I absolutely love it all. The Golden Globe Awards kicks off the 2014 season in a big way with some huge movies and breakout television shows. I've marked my favorites with bold and italics. In all honesty, I loved both Gravity and 12 Years a Slave so much, it was really hard to choose between the two, so in a couple of places, they're both marked. For the categories in which I have no dogs in the fight, I didn't mark anything. 

Golden Globes winners often have a lock on Academy Awards nominations and I'm excited to see who will be lucky enough this year. Be sure to share your favorites in the comments section! Tina Fey and Amy Pohler host the Golden Globe Awards tonight at 8 PM on NBC. Red carpet coverage starts at 7 PM.

Trailer Tuesday: A Hodgepodge of Fall/Winter Releases

Coming this week will be two reviews of movies that I found to be just excellent: Red 2 and Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim was released this past weekend, and the follow-up to the 2010 Bruce Willis movie comes out on the 19th. I was very, very disappointed that Grown Ups 2 and Despicable Me 2 beat out Pacific Rim, especially because the Adam Sandler vehicle was so critically panned. It slightly infuriates me. Trailers after the break!