2011 MTV Movie Award Nominees Full List

The MTV Movie Awards began in 1992, and since that time, I’ve probably watched less than half of an hour combined of the various award telecasts. Anyway, the nominees for the 2011 awards were just announced.

Hosted by Jason Sudeikis, the 20th annual MTV Movie Awards will air live on Sunday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET, from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.

20th Annual MTV Movie Award nominees:

Best Movie
"Black Swan"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
"Inception"
"The Social Network"
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best Female Performance
Emma Stone, "Easy A"
Emma Watson, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Jennifer Aniston, "Just Go With It"
Kristen Stewart, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Best Male Performance
Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Robert Pattinson, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Zac Efron, "Charlie St. Cloud"

Best Breakout Star
Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network"
Chloë Grace Moretz, "Kick-Ass"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Jay Chou, "The Green Hornet"
Olivia Wilde, "TRON: Legacy"
Xavier Samuel, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best Comedic Performance
Adam Sandler, "Just Go With It"
Ashton Kutcher, "No Strings Attached"
Emma Stone, "Easy A"
Russell Brand, "Get Him to the Greek"
Zach Galifianakis, "Due Date"

Best Line From A Movie (New Category)

• Alexys Nycole Sanchez, "Grown Ups": "I want to get chocolate wasted."
• Amanda Bynes and Emma Stone, "Easy A": Amanda Bynes: "There is a higher power that will judge you for your indecency." Emma Stone: "Tom Cruise?"
• Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network": "If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you'd have invented Facebook."
• Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network": Justin Timberlake: "... A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool?" Andrew Garfield: "A billion dollars. And that shut everybody up."
• Tom Hardy, "Inception": "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger darling."

Best Villain
Christoph Waltz, "The Green Hornet"
Leighton Meester, "The Roommate"
Mickey Rourke, "Iron Man 2"
Ned Beatty, "Toy Story 3"
Tom Felton, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"

Best Fight

Amy Adams vs. The Sisters, "The Fighter"
Chloë Grace Moretz vs. Mark Strong, "Kick-Ass"
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint vs. Death Eaters, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt vs. Hallway Attacker, "Inception"
Robert Pattinson vs. Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Best Kiss

Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Inception"
Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1"
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"

Best Jaw-Dropping Moment

James Franco, "127 Hours," Cuts Off His Arm
Justin Bieber, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," Performance Spectacular
Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page, "Inception," Paris Café Scene
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan," Mutilation: Pulls the Skin off Her Finger
Steve-O, "Jackass 3D," Port-A-Potty Bungee Stunt

Best Scared-As-Sh-- Performance

Ashley Bell, "The Last Exorcism"
Ellen Page, "Inception"
Jessica Szohr, "Piranha 3D"
Minka Kelly, "The Roommate"
Ryan Reynolds, "Buried"

Biggest Badass Star

Alex Pettyfer, "I Am Number Four"
Chloë Grace Moretz, "Kick-Ass"
Jaden Smith, "The Karate Kid"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Inception"
Robert Downey Jr., "Iron Man 2"

At MovieAwards.MTV.com <http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2011/>, you can vote for your favorite flicks now.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com <http://moviesblog.mtv.com/.>

2011 Empire Award Nomination List

The Empire Awards are named for Empire, Britain's best-selling film magazine. The Empire Awards are voted for entirely by the British film-going public.

The 2011 Jameson Empire Awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, on Sunday, March 27.

Complete list of nominations for the 2011 Jameson Empire Awards:

Best Film
Inception
Kick-Ass
The Social Network
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
The King's Speech

Best British Film
127 Hours
The King's Speech
Kick-Ass
Four Lions
Monsters

Best Director
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Chris Nolan (Inception)
Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass)

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)
James Franco (127 Hours)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass)

Best Actress
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Emma Watson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1)
Olivia Williams (The Ghost)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)

Best Newcomer
Gareth Edwards (Monsters)
Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass/Let Me In)
Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland)

Best Thriller
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Shutter Island
The Town
Black Swan
127 Hours

Best Horror
Let Me In
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The Last Exorcism
Paranormal Activity 2
The Crazies

Best Comedy
Four Lions
Get Him To The Greek
The Other Guys
Easy A
Toy Story 3

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Inception
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Kick-Ass
Alice In Wonderland

2011 Black Reel Awards Nominations List

The Black Reel Awards are scheduled to be handed out tonight.  What are the Black Reel Awards?  These awards annually honor African-Americans in feature, independent and television film. The awards were launched in 2000, and this is the 11th year of the awards.

From what I understand, 60 film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet comprise the voting members of the Black Reel Awards. Voting was conducted from December 10 – 13, 2010. Winners will be announced on Friday, February 11, 2011.

2011 Nominations:

Outstanding Film
The Book of Eli
Brooklyn’s Finest
For Colored Girls
Night Catches Us
Just Wright

Outstanding Actress
Thandie Newton – For Colored Girls
Queen Latifah – Just Wright
Kerry Washington – Night Catches Us
Anika Noni Rose – For Colored Girls
Kimberly Elise – For Colored Girls

Outstanding Actor
Don Cheadle – Brooklyn’s Finest
Denzel Washington – The Book of Eli
Jaden Smith – The Karate Kid
Anthony Mackie – Night Catches Us
Denzel Washington – Unstoppable

Outstanding Supporting Actress
Phylicia Rashad – For Colored Girls
Kerry Washington – For Colored Girls
Viola Davis – Eat Pray Love
Janet Jackson – For Colored Girls
Shareeka Epps – Mother and Child

Outstanding Supporting Actor
Wesley Snipes – Brooklyn’s Finest
Sean Combs – Get Him to the Greek
Samuel L. Jackson – Mother and Child
Brandon T. Jackson – Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Laurence Fishburne – Predators

Outstanding Director
Antoine Fuqua – Brooklyn’s Finest
Sanaa Hamri – Just Wright
Tanya Hamilton – Night Catches
Allen and Albert Hughes – The Book of Eli
Tyler Perry – For Colored Girls

Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted
Tanya Hamilton – Night Catches Us
Michael C. Martin – Brooklyn’s Finest
Michael Elliott – Just Wright
Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, John Lussenhop and Avery Duff – Takers
Tyler Perry – For Colored Girls

Outstanding Original Score
The Karate Kid
Brooklyn’s Finest
Night Catches Us
The Book of Eli
For Colored Girls

Outstanding Original Song
Shine (John Legend) - Waiting for Superman
Champion (Queen Latifah) - Just Wright
Run This Town (Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kayne West) - Brooklyn’s Finest
Never Say Never (Justin Bieber featuring Jaden Smith) - The Karate Kid
I Know Who I Am (Leona Lewis) - For Colored Girls

Outstanding Ensemble
For Colored Girls
Brooklyn’s Finest
Unstoppable
Night Catches Us
Takers

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Omari Hardwick – For Colored Girls
Tessa Thompson – For Colored Girls
Amari Cheatom – Night Catches Us
Zoe Kravitz – It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Yaya DaCosta – The Kids Are All Right

Outstanding Feature Documentary
The Lottery
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Waiting on Superman
My Mic Sounds Nice

Outstanding Indie Feature Film
Preacher’s Kid
Kings of the Evening
Toe to Toe
Black Venus
Finding God in the City of Angels

Outstanding Indie Short Film
Cred
Stag and Dow
Katrina’s Son

Outstanding Indie Documentary Film
For the Best and For the Onion
One of These Mornings
Gefilte Fish

Outstanding Television Documentary
If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise
The Black List, Vol. 3
A Small Act

41 Songs Compete for "Original Song" Oscar Nominations

Press release:

41 Original Songs Queue for 2010 Oscar®

Beverly Hills, CA (December 15, 2010) – Forty-one songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 83rd Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film and song title:

"Alice" from "Alice in Wonderland"

"Forever One Love" from "Black Tulip"

"Freedom Song" from "Black Tulip"

"Bound to You" from "Burlesque"

"Welcome to Burlesque" from "Burlesque"

"You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me" from "Burlesque"

"There’s a Place for Us" from "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

"Coming Home" from "Country Strong"

"Me and Tennessee" from "Country Strong"

"Despicable Me" from "Despicable Me"

"Prettiest Girls" from "Despicable Me"

"Dear Laughing Doubters" from "Dinner for Schmucks"

"Better Days" from "Eat Pray Love"

"If You Run" from "Going the Distance"

"Darkness before the Dawn" from "Holy Rollers"

"Sticks & Stones" from "How to Train Your Dragon"

"Le Gris" from "Idiots and Angels"

"Chanson Illusionist" from "The Illusionist"

"Never Say Never" from "The Karate Kid"

"To the Sky" from "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole"

"What If" from "Letters to Juliet"

"Life during Wartime" from "Life during Wartime"

"Made in Dagenham" from "Made in Dagenham"

"Little One" from "Mother and Child"

"Be the One" from "The Next Three Days"

"If I Rise" from "127 Hours"

"When You See Forever" from "The Perfect Game"

"I Remain" from "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

"Dream Big" from "Pure Country 2: The Gift"

"How I Love You" from "Ramona and Beezus"

"Darling I Do" from "Shrek Forever After"

"Noka Oi" from "Six Days in Paradise"

"This Is a Low" from "Tamara Drewe"

"I See the Light" from "Tangled"

"Rise" from "3 Billion and Counting"

"We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"

"Eclipse: All Yours" from "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

"Nothing" from "Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too"

"A Better Life" from "Unbeaten"

"Shine" from "Waiting for ‘Superman’"

"The Reasons Why" from "Wretches & Jabberers"

On Thursday, January 6, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song, in random order, for voting members of the Music Branch in Los Angeles. Following the screenings, members will determine the nominees by an averaged point system vote. If no song receives an average score of 8.25 or more, there will be no nominees in the category. If only one song achieves that score, it and the song receiving the next highest score shall be the two nominees. If two or more songs (up to five) achieve that score, they shall be the nominees. A DVD copy of the song clips will be made available to those branch members who are unable to attend the screening and who request it for home viewing. A mail-in ballot will be provided.

Under Academy rules, a maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film. If more than two songs from a film are in contention, the two songs with the most votes will be the nominees.

To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

"The Karate Kid" is Still a Winner

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 47 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Karate Kid (2010)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language
DIRECTOR: Harald Zwart
WRITERS: Christopher Murphey; from a story by Robert Mark Kamen
PRODUCERS: James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Ken Stovitz, and Jerry Weintraub
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Pratt
EDITOR: Joel Negron
COMPOSER: James Horner

DRAMA/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wen Wen Han, Zhenwei Wang Rongguang Yu, Zhensu Wu, Zhiheng Wang, and Luke Carberry

The Karate Kid 2010 is, of course, a remake of the 1984 film of the same name. The new film stars Jaden Smith (son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) and international martial artist and actor, Jackie Chan. The new film is an absolutely lovable, well-made film that stands on its on and does the original proud. This time, however, kung fu, not karate, is the martial art of choice.

Twelve-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) moves to Beijing from Detroit with his mother, Sherry Parker (Taraji P. Henson), because of her new job. Dre experiences love-at-first-sight when he sees a young violinist named Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han), practicing in the park, and the feeling is mutual. However, Dre’s feelings for Mei Ying make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), a kung fu prodigy and rival for Mei Ying’s affections.

Dre knows a little karate, but it is not enough to help this karate kid from America safely navigate his new home. Cheng uses kung fu to beat the crap out of him. Dre finds a friend and mentor in Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the maintenance man of Dre’s apartment complex, after he rescues Dre from a beating. After a futile attempt to settle the dispute between Dre and Cheng peaceably, Mr. Han enters Dre in the “Open Kung Fu Tournament” where Dre may face off against his nemesis. Han begins to teach Dre real kung fu, but although he is being trained by a master, Dre realizes that surviving the tournament will be the fight of his life.

At its heart, The Karate Kid is a wonderful story about a teacher-student relationship that develops into a surrogate father-son bond. It is a superbly written (by screenwriter Christopher Murphey) example of a bond between two people in which each not only helps the other heal, but also soar to new heights of achievement and happiness.

The relationship between Dre and Mr. Han works so well because of the strong screen chemistry between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Their performances make the characters’ actions and emotions seem authentic and sincere. They not only ground the story’s more fantastical moments, but they also give it a touch of goofy charm, which lightens the movie’s overall dark and sometimes edgy and grim atmosphere. Jaden has inherited his father, Will Smith’s cheeky cockiness, but the young actor seems like more of a natural talent, as if he doesn’t have to try as hard as his father.

In this film, Jackie Chan gives what is by far his best performance in an American production. Perhaps, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Chan gives a complex, layered performance to create in Han, a complicated and inscrutable man. This is best exemplified in the scene in which Cheng’s Master Li (Rongguang Yu) and Mr. Han have a tense confrontation. Chan plays the scene with barely checked but mostly concealed fury. It is difficult to figure out what is going on in Mr. Han’s mind at that moment, and that’s the way Chan probably wanted it because it adds another layer of mystery to Han.

Fresh of the maligned Pink Panther 2, director Harald Swart has delivered a winner. This film, however, is as much a Chinese and American take on Rocky as it is a remake of The Karate Kid 1984, itself a teen, martial arts spin on 1976 Oscar winner for “Best Picture.” It is unsettling to see 12-year-olds beating each other up, as they do here, but The Karate Kid 2010 is excellent family entertainment. Its messages about setting goals and being open-minded and resilient make it even more of a winner.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Original "Karate Kid" Still Kicking

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Karate Kid (1984)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
DIRECTOR: John G. Avildsen
WRITER: Robert Mark Kamen
PRODUCER: Jerry Weintraub
CINEMATOGRAPHER: James Crabe (director of photography)
EDITORS: John G. Avildsen, Walt Mulconery, and Bud Smith
COMPOSER: Bill Conti
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller, William Zabka, and Larry B. Scott

It has been more than 20 years since I last saw the 1984 film, The Karate Kid (maybe even longer), so with the upcoming 2010 remake due to hit theatres shortly, I decided to see the original again. I saw The Karate Kid in a theatre, and I remember liking it a lot at the time, but back then, I’d like anything that entertained me – even bad movies.

However, I was delightfully surprised to find that The Karate Kid still had me rooting for its underdog hero, Daniel LaRusso. I cringed when he was in trouble, fretted with him over typical teen problems, and cheered when he became the victor. Some of the movie is still standard teen movie fare – even the listless romance between Daniel and Ali. It may not be perfect, but this movie is mostly a winner.

The Karate Kid is the story of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who is the new kid in the California town of Reseda. Daniel moved from Newark, New Jersey with his mother, Lucille LaRusso (Randee Heller), because of Lucille’s new job. It doesn’t take long before Daniel falls afoul of a gang of bullies from a local martial arts school, the Cobra Kai dojo. When Daniel befriends a new classmate, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), he angers her ex-boyfriend, Cobra Kai stud and karate student, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Daniel knows a little karate, but that doesn’t protect him from a few beatings at the hand of Johnny and his cronies.

Luckily, the manager of the apartment building where Daniel lives, Kesuke Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita), is a martial arts master, and he rescues Daniel from one particularly bad beating. Hoping to resolve the situation, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel visit the Cobra Kai dojo, but the sensei (teacher), an ex-Special Forces thug named John Kreese (Martin Kove), refuses to defuse the situation between Daniel and his students. Mr. Miyagi and Kreese agree to settle the conflict between Daniel and Johnny at the “All Valley Karate Tournament.” Mr. Miyagi begins Daniel’s training, but Daniel is shocked to discover just how strange the training regimen is. Can he handle it?

Pat Morita earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as Mr. Miyagi, one certainly well deserved. Morita took what could have been an odd-duck, wizened martial arts master and turned Mr. Miyagi into a complex supporting character and guardian to the hero. Morita made Mr. Miyagi a friend when Daniel needed one, and a surrogate father even when Daniel didn’t know he needed one.

Ralph Macchio was equally as good, personifying the typical American high school teenager with skill and depth. Macchio captured the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of Daniel LaRusso in a variety of shades and colors. One of the best parts of Macchio’s performance is how he depicts Daniel’s uncertainty about how and when to confront his Cobra Kai bullies. Macchio plays those moments by giving Daniel a mixture of fear and craftiness that really defies firm description, but it exemplifies the sense of verisimilitude Macchio’s performance gives Daniel.

Morita and Macchio’s performances are why The Karate Kid resonates with audiences, then and now. They make their characters recognizable, likeable, and believable, and together, they are the kind of winning father-son and best friends dynamic duo that can make audiences love a movie enough to turn it into a franchise.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1985 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita)

1985 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita)

Monday, June 07, 2010