"Close only counts in horse grenades"

It turns out I majorly jinxed myself yesterday. After being able to find and download all of the foreign nominated pictures, I thought I was golden for the remainder of my films. Of course, never underestimate the obscure nature of documentaries. I was unable to find Chasing Ice (nominated for Best Original Song) and The Gatekeepers (Best Documentary Feature). According to my friend Kerry though, if I listen to the nominated song for two hours straight, I am fine. Therefore, I am going to be one film short (but really two). A little bit of a let down since I am so close but I can't believe how close I actually got this year! Oh well, on with the festivities!

During the four hours of fashion, inevitable musical numbers and awards, I would suggest the always entertaining drinking games for those 21 and up. You can also see who is the most insightful Swami with their Oscar ballots or who has the best dumb luck with bingo.

Now for the food. I'll provide you with as many recipes as I actually have. Some I just come up with off the top of my head.

• For drinks, I'll be making Prosecco with a splash of pomegranate-blueberry juice and a few fresh blueberries tossed in as well. 
• Appetizers will consist of healthy spinach dip, brie and apple crescent rolls, Parmesan-tossed popcorn (self-explanatory), Lemon Sabra hummus with mini-pita rounds and prosciutto, goat cheese and honey crostinis (making this one up as I go). 
• Dessert will be my most pathetic effort: berry-topped, box-made brownies. I had all intentions of making tuxedo strawberries but according to my local grocery man, this week's batch of strawberries were no good due to the cold weather. 

I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow to let everyone know how this turned out.

In the interest of space and your attention span, you can check out my final ballot here. This is based on who I think the academy will vote for but not necessarily my favorites. For anyone interested, I will also be live tweeting again, @paigehowarth, including snarky retweets from my friend Kerry and updates on the winners.

Thanks again for reading along with my this year. Fingers crossed for better luck next year!

Final score: 50 watched, 2 unwatched

The Final Countdown

It's been a while since I've post which you most likely thought that I had given up on my lofty quest. ALAS! You are quite mistaken. I actually only have nine films left as of this morning but haven't had the time/have been watching the movies/been too lazy to post. Mea culpa. Here are some of predictions for the categories that I've finished including how I think the Academy will vote and what I personally think should win:

Best Actor:
Academy and Myself - Is this really a question any more? Daniel Day Lewis will and should trot off the stage on Sunday night with his third statue for Lincoln, a first in Oscar history. Bradley Cooper was great in Silver Linings Playbook and I deeply encourage further non-fratboy acting on his part but DDL was perfection.

Best Supporting Actor:
Academy - This is a tough category but I think that it will go to Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln. Christoph has won more recently so I think they'll hand it to Jones.
Myself - Doesn't mean I agree with that sentiment. I would choose Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained. The role was tailor-made for him and suits him very well. Plus Tommy Lee is a grumpy cat:

Best Documentary Short:
Academy - Inocente is the front-runner in this category. For those who don't feel like reading the synopsis, it deals with a young female artist who is homeless but keeps a generally optimistic outlook on life. The Academy loves their can-do attitudes!
Myself - While I did really like Inocente, I hysterically cried my way through Mondays at Racine, centered around two Long Island women who open up their beauty parlor one day a week to women going through chemotherapy.

Best Animated Short:
Academy and Myself - I would say that Pixar's Paperman has this one in the bag. If you still haven't seen this retro love story, it's still available on Hulu. The only other film that might sneak up on is Adam and Eve, a hand-drawn beauty about Adam's first pet and was made as a side projector from a Disney animator.

Best Live Action Short:
Academy and Myself - Let me start by saying that I think this is the toughest shorts category aka my guess could be completely off base. I've read several articles and I think that everyone has different feelings about the frontrunner. When I first watched the films, I thought Death of a Shadow not only had a unique story but amazing cinematography. That being said, Asad was made with all Somalian refugee cast (which reads as Oscar bait) and Curfew is both lighthearted but deals with extremely complex emotions. Definitely a rough category!

If you would like to completely immerse yourself in Oscar mania, here is Nate Silver's statistical analysis, complements of my lovely math-geek boyfriend, or a supercut of every Best Picture winner in 4 minutes.. Or you can also giggle by checking out which animals the nominees look like. Or the Between Two Ferns: Oscar Buzz Edition Part 1 and Part 2. Or my favorite activity in the whole wide world, make fun of Anne Hathaway.

Be back tomorrow with my final predictions for all the categories and hosting ideas for your party!

43 down, 9 to go!!

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It's that most wonderful time of year again! The Golden Globes are on Sunday and the Oscar nominations came out on Thursday morning. I will begin once again my feeble attempt to watch all the nominated movies. You and Albert Einstein must be thinking, fat chance but I think, despite my lack of attendance at Telluride this year, I will be victorious. Here is my statistical breakdown of the nominees and what I hope will spell success for me this year:

• When I first looked at the entire list of nominees, it seemed that this year, more than any year prior, a fewer variety of films. It turns out I was right (virtual high five!). There are only 52 different films nominated, including short films, compared to 60 in 2012 and 58 in 2011. This may not seem like much but when each film could mean on average about 2 hours of my time, 6-8 films means 12-14 hours or about five nights of film watching.
• In past years, I saw 11 in 2011 and 19 in 2012 before the nominations came out and started my challenge. This year I've seen 10 so it would seem that I am likely to fare the same as previous years. Wrong again! 
• I'm moving to the Big Apple where I will have access to limited releases and Oscar Shorts' day-long experience of all 15 nominated short films. 
• There are also two films on Netflix streaming and six on DVD already.
• The majority of the films remaining are still in theaters.
• The one caveat and what I find to be most difficult every year without fail are the full-length documentary and foreign film categories. Crossing my fingers that I can find them illegally.

To keep up your excitement for the season, read this hilarious interview with two of my idols and Globes hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I worried about having such high expectations for their hosting abilities but after this, they were eased a bit. I'll be tweeting during the show on Sunday night, inputting snarky comments, mostly retweeting those from my friend Kerry. Love to hear everyone's comments on the "booziest" award show!

I'll also be posting about snubs and surprises within the next few days, anyone you were disappointed or delighted to see?

10 down, 42 to go!

"Early Monday morning to Friday at five, Man I work, work, work..."

Being a real person is hard. For those that do not know, I now have a wonderful job in New York City and commute from my humble abode in New Jersey. I travel two hours each way. Regardless to say, when I finally get home the only thing I really think about is going to sleep. Pathetic I know but like I said, it's hard being a real person. Another confession that I have failed my challenge, even more miserably than last year. I got about half way through, watching 30 films. Based on what I have been reading, below are my guesses for tonight's victors. Bold are who I believe will win while italicized will be the one I personally believe should win.

Happy Oscar watching to all and to all a good night!

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Directing
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation

Best Animated Feature
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Best Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life War Horse

Best Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Best Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Best Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Best Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady

Best Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Best Original Song
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets
“Real in Rio,” Rio

Best Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Live-Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

"How can I be satisfied when everything's so overrated..."

As I began looking more at my challenge this year, I have begun to believe that it's going to be a little more attainable than last year. I, reluctantly, reissued my Netflix membership only because of this year's nominees ten are already on DVD and two of the documentaries are on the instant option. Last year I also was unaware until it was too late of the option to watch the nominated shorts on iTunes or whenever Shorts International were distributing the shorts to theaters shortly before the ceremonies. I am hoping this will happen again, according to the website this appears to be so.

This year I will be discussing the films by category instead of by individual film and will choose probable winners vs. those that I predict would actually take over the prize. Recently I finished watching Midnight in Paris and The Descendants (overrated, hence the Less Than Jake reference) so I've rounded out quite a few of the categories in the competition already. See below for my reviews.

Best Director

 Should win: Michael Hazanavicius, The Artist- The first time Oscar nominee wowed audiences on the festival circuit this year with his bold take on the silent film genre now nominated ten times. This love note to the films of the past made with wit and humor I was lucky enough to see at Telluride. Hazanavicius's fresh vision has given something that general audiences and cinephiles can both appreciated and that should be appreciated

Will win: Michael Scorcese, Hugo- With his win for The Departed and five other nominations, the Oscar vet seems to have a slight edge in this competition only because he is Scorcese and people within the industry love him. Mea culpas for neglecting him in the past and voters wondering how many more Marty still has in him could also be a factor in his win. Scorcese's 3D win would also vouch for artistic use of the third dimension with other directors and making ticket sales more bankable, something studio heads would love as a result of this year's decreasing sales reports.

Best Original Screenplay

Should win: Asghar Farhadi, A Separation- Another film that I was fortunate about seeing at Telluride this year was this gem of an Iranian film. A foreign film with subtitles coming in at a little over two hours sounds like a good nap time but I was quite shocked by how taken I was with the film. The writing and story plot are suspenseful and keeps you second guessing who to trust within the context of the characters. I was standing ten feet away from Werner Herzog when I heard him tell Farhadi that the film was "the best he'd seen since The Bicycle Thief" so there must be something to this film.

Will win: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris- The man has has 3 Oscar wins (2 for Annie Hall and 1 for Hannah and Her Sisters) but has been nominated 21 times. Let me repeat, TWENTY ONE. My parents hated the film but then again, you have to like Allen in order to understand and love this film. Audiences seemed to like it and the all-star cast are encouraging. Midnight being Allen's highest grossing film to date should snag him the Oscar and ratio of wins to nominations.

Best Editing

Should win and Will win: Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo- Some of the categories I am not too familiar with the criteria on how they will be judged so for the most part I will be making blind guesses. I'm assuming that Hugo will win based on the fact that it is the only 3D movie on the list. I do think the film is a tad bit too long but the only real competitor would be The Artist.

Best Art Direction

Should win: Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillian, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2- This is another instance of not knowing too much about the category but I would like to see a win for this film. Craig and McMillian have worked on all of the Harry Potters films and think they deserve something for their fantastic vision. 

Will win: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Hugo- Nominated for nine Oscars with 2 wins, I think Ferretti and Lo Schiavo will take the win on this one. It also helps that the film overall has been nominated a ton.

More to come! 21 down, 39 to go

It's beginning to feel a lot like AWARDS SEASON

During my break from my *gulp* last few weeks at American University, I am currently sitting on my lovely living room couch, finishing my third day's turkey dinner feast while watching the Indiana Jones marathon on USA (thankfully excluding the most recent and most disturbing of the Indy series). Simultaneously I begin flipping through my back issues of EW (I know you're thinking, how does she do it all? I don't because I didn't even notice that one Indy movie changed into a different one during this time. But honestly, there isn't much of a difference between the 2nd and 3rd with the exception of Sean Connery, of course. Ramble, ramble. Back to my point). As I read about their current Academy Award guesses for the ceremonies in February, it made me think about this funnily failed project of mine and decided that I am going to attempt this again and here is why:

1. I am graduating college and will actually have time to do it, or so I think.
2. I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Telluride Film Festival as part of the Student Symposium. I feel that this has given me a bit of a leg up on last year.
3. My internship at Allied Integrated Marketing has also given me access to see some of the most buzzed about films.
4. I might be going slightly crazy.
5. Most importantly, my pride is hurt.

Here is a short list of films that I have already seen that will make it to some category within the awards, in my opinion: The Artist, Pina, The Adventures of Tin Tin, Hugo, The Help, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Forgiveness of Blood, The Kid with the Bike, Le Havre, The Help, A Dangerous Method and last but certainly not least, Bridesmaids.

Seriously, can the Academy give a comedic actress the chance? Melissa  McCarthy, you are my hero.

January 24th gives way to the nominations for the February 26th ceremony. Can't wait to see this year's snubs!

Failure. I'm finally facing it.

Hello faithful followers,

I apologize for not having written earlier than this but the combination of Spring Break and school just being coo coo bananas as my dear friend Filley would say have prolonged this inevitable post.

I have failed my blog challenge. It is weird to say out loud, or should I say type out, but the people in my life that I know have already figured this out. The unfortunate inability to find some movies at all, lack of money and overall lack of time has caused my downfall. I feel truly terrible about it because I had made such a big deal about it to everyone and because I really wanted to do this.

For now, I will have to face the music and wait a whole year for the next set of nominations and awards. Since I will already have graduated, hopefully with a job, by the next annual Academy Awards, I anticipate a better effort on my part. Until then, this blog will be a weekly posting on industry updates and shockers. I won't overload this blog post and will write again tomorrow for all you interested in the lastest and greatest in entertainment.

Russians, Superheros, Princesses and Feisty Teenagers! Oh my!

I really should have checked my class work schedule before beginning this challenge seeing as I have a really big paper due two days after the ceremony but I promise that I will be trying my hardest to finish what I have started.

On another note, I realized while doing this project that I come in with lots of snobby film student-y assumptions about the films that I watch, sorry to subject you to them. It's just how I have been taught to think. Here are the most recent films that I have finished watching:

• Salt (Best Sound Mixing)

My same issue that I had with Nicole Kidman applies here. Angelina Jolie tends to play the same people over and over. The bad but totally self-righteous female lead who can also kick some serious butt. At least she plays the character well. The plot on the other hand was too convoluted and ridiculous for me. I'm not really that adept at the sound categories because though I sort of understand the difference between mixing and editing, I will more than likely not understand to the point of picking a correct answer. That being said, I don't think this really has that good of a shot since it generally goes to films in contention of the Best Picture prize. The exception of course being Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in which the film won both sound awards in 2007.

• Tangled (Best Original Song)

I genuinely thought that this was going to be another cheesy princess movie produced by Disney but honestly, I loved this. My roommate Laura was raving about it prior to me watching it and I can thoroughly see now why. It's really wholesome and amusing. Generally my issue with songs from animated films is that they really don't have anything to do with major plot points but "I See the Light" fits pretty well with the film. I also have an affinity for Mandy Moore ever since I fell in love with A Walk to Remember when I was about 9. Unfortunately though, the Academy recently has been moving away from giving the awards to animated features. Enchanted was nominated for three different songs and lost to a song from Once.

• Iron Man 2 (Best Visual Effects)

Any excuse to watch RDJ is a good one for me. Playboy superhero Tony Starks returns with a new enemy on his hands, Mickey Rourke's Whiplash. The visual effects in this film, like the first as well, are impressive but I do have to say a little overdone. I like my action movies to have some real looking content and the last half hour of the film is all CGI special effects business. Good for the kiddies and men that like to see stuff blown up but not particularly my cup of tea.

• Winter's Bone (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor- John Hawkes, Best Actress- Jennifer Lawrence, Best Adapted Screenplay)

I will never ever in my life go to the Ozarks region. I'm not sure exactly where this was shot but for once, this shows that the people that live there are not just dumb poor hicks. The societal order of the poor community is astounding and truly terrifying. A very unique film with outstanding performances by both Lawrence and Hawkes, it really is no wonder why they both were nominated. Strong yet really vulnerable at the same time, Lawrence is relentless and moving in pursuit of her father and in keeping her family's land. I was really surprised how much I liked this film whenever I guiltily went in thinking that it was going to be Sundance Oscar bait film. With such heavy competition in all the categories, the only category it really seems to have a chance with is going to be Adapted Screenplay which isn't even fair seeing as it is in the same category as The Social Network.

25 down, 33 to go. 

Have You Missed Me?

Sorry for the delay on this post. For those of you who know me, I am in a sorority. Whenever you take a "little" or someone you mentor, you decorate their room for four days before you find out who they are. This takes up a crazy amount of time with crafting and what not. There was also the little thing called the Superbowl in which my PACKERS WON!! Wahoo!! Had to throw that in their and I hope that I am not alienating any of my readers that are Steelers fans.

That being said, there are no excuses for not making my deadline. I have watch four new movies and here are my thoughts on them:

•  Rabbit Hole- Best Actress Nicole Kidman

It is interesting to see the evolution of Nicole Kidman from a box office star to a indie star with the except of this week's release of Just Go With It. Though her acting is phenomenal as a woman who has lost her children in an accident, I feel as though I may have seen her in this part in a different movie. Kidman has gotten down how to play emotionally wrecked underneath the surface and the Academy seems to love just nominated her for it. This isn't to discredit those actors who play the parts they fit well like Katherine Hepburn whose whole career was built on her "character". Very emotionally charged movie with even better acting I would say from Aaron Eckhart but not the winner so far for this category in my opinion.

•  The Illusionist- Best Animated Feature Film

Sylvain Chomet and his animation team has master the art of three dimension in two dimensional films. It's films like this that make me truly love film. Though a French product with a few French phrases, the film for the most part does not have any dialogue. I haven't really read anything about the film prior to watching it and I was pleasantly surprised how much of a story we can infer by actions and facial expressions alone. This film proves the point that national cinema and language does not actually have to be a barrier. The animation was beautiful, giving real depth to an otherwise two dimensional film, as previously stated. Though Toy Story 3 seems to be the clear cut winner with a Best Picture nod as well, the Academy could hand the award to Chomet since he lost in 2003 to another Disney picture, Finding Nemo.

•   How To Train Your Dragon- Best Animated Feature

Poor DreamWorks. Every year they come out with a really delightful film that has to lose to a Disney film. Dragon is a film about a young Viking who befriends a dragon and convinces his village that dragons on the whole are not evil. Toothless is the most adorable creature and I would love to have him as a pet. The disappointed father to whom the main character must prove his worth to is a little overplayed but Jay Baruchel's delightful comedic turn on the character of Hiccup made the film very enjoyable. A great film for kids that will more than likely not walk away with the trophy at the end of the night.

• Tron: Legacy- Best Sound Editing

While I am a huge fan of the first movie, I was surprised that this got nominated at all seeing as it is a futuristic action movie. Not exactly Academy material. The first film was also nominated in this category as well as costume design though it did not win either award. I was even more surprised that it was nominated for something like Sound Editing and not Visual Effects. I thought the visuals were great especially seeing that they made Jeff Bridges look twenty-something again. Garrett Hedlund is extremely attractive and does a decent job for an action film. The same could be said for rising star Olivia Wilde. An enjoyable action film to watch but it more than likely will not win based on the favorites that are also nominated in this category.


Feeling the pressure a little bit now seeing as there are only 15 days until the ceremony but I will pull all-nighters if it means completely this....well not actually because I've never pulled one before and I tend to fall asleep watching movies. Ask my roommates or my parents or my boyfriend or basically anyone that knows me well.

21 down, 37 to go.

Hereeeeee are the Nominations!

FINALLY! The day that you have all been waiting for: the official start to my blogging.

Also known as the day that the Academy announces who the nominees are for the 2011 Academy Awards but we all know that you are more excited to read my ramblings though...right?

So here is the official Academy Award site. It should automatically pop up on the nominations section but if not, just use one more click. I'm sure you all are smart enough to figure it out :)

A few snubs that are worth talking about here, most importantly Christopher Nolan.

It came as a shock to many that the Inception director did not garner a nomination though it is important to note that he has been snubbed in the past as well. Nolan has yet to achieve a personal nomination for direction but has been recognized for his screenwriting skills.

Other note-worthy snubs at least in my opinion include Miss Julianne Moore in The Kids Are Alright (though this was a little bit of a long shot, I still really like her and wanted her to get some recognition), the much buzzed about documentary Waiting for Superman, critically land uber-adorable Despicable Me. 

On the other hand, we get to see Mark Ruffalo's face due to a surprise Best Supporting Actor nod

and youngster Hailee Steinfeld as well.

There are 58 nominated films and I'm starting at 11 previously viewed films. The ones that I have seen not as recently, I MIGHT re-watch heavily dependent on homework and an actual social life.

This will be the craziest month of my life. I'm glad that you all are here to join me!

Red Carpet Breakdown

While some may have deemed the Golden Globes a surprise earlier on this week, I beg to differ.

First of all, there are only 90 members in the Hollywood Foreign Press Society. This would mean that in order to get a majority vote, only 46 members would have to vote for your film. Some might think that this is a great deal but in comparison to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has 6,000 members and therefore a majority would mean convincing 3,001 people. The legitimacy of the Golden Globes has greatly decreased in my option as previously stated which is another reason why Ricky Gervais' opening monologue about The Tourist being nominated. As many of you probably already know, The Social Network cleaned up many of the top awards. Annette Benning and Natalie Portman (!!) walked away with the Best Actress tophies while Colin Firth and Paul Giamatti were the Best Actors. The Fighter walked away with both supporting prizes which will probably be similiar to the Oscars as well.

TV is not the point of this blog but I'm still a little upset that Tina Fey didn't win because she is my idol.

That said, there are awesome fashion wins and disasters to talk about as I promised!

The winner in my book is Anne Hathaway.

I can't wait to watch her host the Oscars just because she is gorgeous and adorable and I have a HUGE lady crush on her. Next on my list is....

I wish this was MY So-Called Life. Very minimalist but very chic. Love it. I am not a fashion guru though so for more coverage and citing where I got my photos from visit Fashion Editor at Large

The Challenge and its Parameters

Hello blogging world! My name is Paige and I've challenged myself to see all of the nominated films before the ceremony starts on February 27th.

Though the actual nominations have not been released, I will be hopefully be catching the wave early by watching some films that have garnered some awards season buzz and wins in other ceremonies such as the Golden Globes or the Critics' Choice. I will be watching and then critically noting the films based on categories for all you lovely folks out there reading this. Last year there were 56 nominated films.

Here are my parameters for this most epic of challenges:

• I will watch every film. Short, long, animated, foreign, none will be excluded.

• Whether you like it or not, I will be watching some of these illegally. Though I will have some birthday money coming my way *wink wink to any relatives reading this*, I am an extremely busy COLLEGE STUDENT with an unpaid internship. Netflix will also be aiding me as well as YouTube and other means. If you really have an issue with this, feel free to send me $11 to help me pay to see the film.
• I will finish the whole list within two days of the ceremony so that I can pick my full list carefully. This means that I will have 31 days to complete this challenge.

I have already seen The Social Network, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are Alright, Toy Story 3, and Alice in Wonderland (hey, it might get it for score, costumes or some sort of visual category).

I'm excited for the nominations on January 25th and for the start of this challenge. Thank you all for reading my blog and be sure to check back in on my progress!