This look’s like an tense, violent and all around awesome action flick! Hopefully they make up for the Alien Vs Predator movies, which were pretty much fecal matter in cinematic form. I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen from Predators, fingers crossed it doesn’t dissapoint, this trailer further cements my faith (even though it’s a bit spoilerific). Predators is in cinemas July 8th.

A bold new chapter in the Predator universe, Predators was shot on location under Rodriguez’s creative auspices at the filmmaker’s Austin-based Troublemaker Studios, and is directed by Nimród Antal. The film stars Adrien Brody as Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they’ve been brought together on an alien planet… as prey. With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers – mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members – human “predators” that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predators. In addition to Adrien Brody, the film stars Topher Grace, Alice Braga, and Laurence Fishburne. Co-starring are Walton Goggins, Danny Trejo, Oleg Taktarov and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. Predators was written by Alex Litvak & Mike Finch based upon characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas. The producers are Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellàn.

As much as my former seven year old self would hate me for saying it, the original Karate Kid was a bit of a cheesefest, an enjoyable cheesefest, but nothing worthy of the crazed animosity this remake is receiving from some people, I’m not too mad on the remake myself but meh, it’s a kids film, the trailer looked half decent as well, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could’ve been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying—and the feeling is mutual—but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully, and kung fu prodigy, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.The Karate Kid stars Jaden Smith as Dre, Jackie Chan as Mr Han and is directed by Harald Zwart.

As the May 14^th release date of Robin Hood is slowly creeping nearer and nearer, a brand new featurette has been released with Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong and director Ridley Scott talking about what drives the character of Robin Hood. I’ve started to come of the fence with this one, which after considering how much I loved Gladiator is pretty dumb. From the clips I’ve seen Russell Crowe’s accent sounds a bit dodgy, to be fair though I’ll have have to hear it in context than just one liners here and there.

Out of all the trailers and clips for Robin Hood this one raised the bar and increased my interest in this massively. I was always gonna check it out, I’m highly susceptible to epic, sword and sandal’s films as it is, without even considering the fact that the Director (Ridley Scott) and Lead Actor (Russell Crowe) brought the world Gladiator, one of my favourite films. Check out the trailer below it won’t disappoint!

In Robin Hood, the Earl of Huntington (Crowe) has returned to his North English village after fighting in the Third Crusade. Upon arrival, the nobleman and his servants discover the oppression caused by Nottingham’s new Sheriff (Matthew Macfadyen). Robin along with his band of Merry Men use their intelligence and military skills to free his home village from tyranny and corruption by taking back what is rightfully his. Robin must also win the affection of the recently widowed Maid Marian (Blanchett), while attempting to lead a successful revolt.

I’m not suprised by much of these nominations, they definitely took the easy route, the obvious snubs for me were Moon for Best Picture (The Blind Side?!?!), Sam Rockwell for Best Actor, Samson & Delilah  and (500) Days Of Summer. Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the pack with 9 nominations each. I’ve bolded and italiced (if they are actual words) who I think should win.

Actress in a supporting role
Mo’Nique in Precious
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Diane Kruger in Inglourious Basterds
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

Actor in a supporting role
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Matt Damon in Invictus
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messengers

Actor in a leading role
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Actress in a leading role
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia in It’s Complicated
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education

Animated feature film
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
The Princess and the Frog (Ron Clements and John Musker)
Coraline (Henry Selick)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson)
Secret of Kells

Foreign language film
Ajami (Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, Israel)
A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, France)
The Secret of Her Eyes (Juan Jose Campanella, Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Germany)
The Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa, Peru)

Directing
Avatar (James Cameron)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Lee Daniels (Precious)

Writing (adapted screenplay)
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)
An Education (Nick Hornby)
Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)
In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin and Tony Roche)

Writing (original screenplay)
The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Petersen)
The Messenger (Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman)

Best picture
Avatar (James Cameron – director; Brooke Breton , Laeta Kalogridis, Jon Landau, Josh McLaglen, Janace Tashjian, Peter M Tobyansen, Colin Wilson – producers)
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp – director, Bill Block, Philippa Boyens, Carolynne Cunningham, Elliot Ferwerda, Paul Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ken Kamins, Michael S Murphey – producers)
An Education (Lone Scherfig)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
Precious (Lee Daniels)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)
The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock)
Up

The nominations are pretty good to be honest, I wasn’t a massive fan of An Education, I did think Carey Mulligan’s performance was great though. All in all it’s a pretty good list, it’s good to see Christian McKay get a nomination for Me & Orson Welles, hopefully (even though it’s probably a long shot) he will get some Oscar love as well. An Education, Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the pack with 8 nominations each, District 9 has 7 nominations while Inglorious Basterds and Up In The Air both have 6. The awards takes place at London’s Royal Opera House on 21 February.

BEST FILM

AVATAR James Cameron, Jon Landau
AN EDUCATION Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer
THE HURT LOCKER Nominees TBC
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
UP IN THE AIR Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Daniel Dubiecki

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

AN EDUCATION Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer, Lone Scherfig, Nick Hornby
FISH TANK Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold
IN THE LOOP Kevin Loader, Adam Tandy, Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche
MOON Stuart Fenegan, Trudie Styler, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker
NOWHERE BOY Kevin Loader, Douglas Rae, Robert Bernstein, Sam Taylor-Wood, Matt Greenhalgh

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

LUCY BAILEY, ANDREW THOMPSON, ELIZABETH MORGAN HEMLOCK, DAVID PEARSON Directors, Producers –
Mugabe and the White African
ERAN CREEVY Writer/Director – Shifty
STUART HAZELDINE Writer/Director – Exam
DUNCAN JONES Director – Moon
SAM TAYLOR-WOOD Director – Nowhere Boy

DIRECTOR

AVATAR James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 Neill Blomkamp
AN EDUCATION Lone Scherfig
THE HURT LOCKER Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Quentin Tarantino

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE HANGOVER Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
THE HURT LOCKER Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Quentin Tarantino
A SERIOUS MAN Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
UP Bob Peterson, Pete Docter

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

DISTRICT 9 Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
AN EDUCATION Nick Hornby
IN THE LOOP Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE Geoffrey Fletcher
UP IN THE AIR Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

BROKEN EMBRACES Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
COCO BEFORE CHANEL Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson
A PROPHET Pascale Caucheteux, Marco Chergui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard
THE WHITE RIBBON Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke

ANIMATED FILM

CORALINE Henry Selick
FANTASTIC MR FOX Wes Anderson
UP Pete Docter

LEADING ACTOR

JEFF BRIDGES Crazy Heart
GEORGE CLOONEY Up in the Air
COLIN FIRTH A Single Man
JEREMY RENNER The Hurt Locker
ANDY SERKIS Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

LEADING ACTRESS

CAREY MULLIGAN An Education
SAOIRSE RONAN The Lovely Bones
GABOUREY SIDIBE Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
MERYL STREEP Julie & Julia
AUDREY TAUTOU Coco Before Chanel

SUPPORTING ACTOR

ALEC BALDWIN It’s Complicated
CHRISTIAN McKAY Me and Orson Welles
ALFRED MOLINA An Education
STANLEY TUCCI The Lovely Bones
CHRISTOPH WALTZ Inglourious Basterds

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

ANNE-MARIE DUFF Nowhere Boy
VERA FARMIGA Up in the Air
ANNA KENDRICK Up in the Air
MO’NIQUE Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS Nowhere Boy

I’ve never been a fan of the A-Team television series to be honest, I was born in the mid eighties so it was a bit before my time. From the trailer and the cast though this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

The film stars Bradley Cooper as Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck, an almost unrecognisable Liam Neeson as Col John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, Sharlto Copley as Capt. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock, and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson as Sgt Bosco ‘B.A.’ Baracus aka Mr T. The film is currently in production and set to be in cinemas June 11th 2010. Joe Carnahan is set to direct and Ridley and Tony Scott are set to produce. The plot will involves a shift from Vietnam to the Middle East, and both Jules Daly and series creator Stephen J. Cannell are involved in the project.

This looks really bad, really really bad! A nice little cash in for the studio (Sony). Not to be picky either but isn’t that Kung Fu in the trailer? The original was one of my favorite films from my childhood, looking back now, yes it was a bit cheesey to say the least but nostalgia is a great feeling, trust Hollywood to break that into little pieces the b**terds! The only positive thing I can say is that Jackie Chan looks quite good in this.

The Karate Kid, directed by Harald Zwart (The Pink Panther 2), stars Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, and Taraji P. Henson. Smith plays Dre, a skateboarding video game buff who moves to China after his single mother is forced to go there for work. Unable to speak Chinese, Dre finds it hard to settle in, and gets beat up by the local bully. Chan plays Mr. Han, a maintenance man who spots his black-eye and offers to teach him both martial arts and Chinese, so he can defend against all the kung-fu students.

BEST PICTURE: DRAMA
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

BEST PICTURE: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

BEST ACTOR: DRAMA
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers

BEST ACTRESS: DRAMA
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

BEST ACTRESS: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep Julie & Julia

BEST ACTOR: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anne Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Prophet
Baaria
Broken Embraces
The Maid
The White Ribbon

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

BEST SCREENPLAY
Distrit 9
The Hurt Locker
It’s Complicated
Up in the Air
Inglourious Basterds

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Michael Giacchino, Up
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant
James Horner, Avatar
Abel Krozeniowski, A Single Man
Karen O. and Carter Burwell, Where the Wild Things Are

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Cinema Italiano,” Nine
“I Want To Come Home,” Everybody’s Fine
“I See You,” Avatar
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart
“Winter,” Brothers

Up In The Air leads the pack with 6 nominations, Nine (which has been getting poor reviews) has 5, while both Inglorious Basterds and Avatar have 4 each. I’m happy to see that Inglorious Basters sustained its popularity and gets a few nods! Couple WTF with the nominations though, the main one for me was that Jeremy Renner wasn’t nominated for best actor for his performance in Hurt Locker.

The 67th Golden Globes ceremony, hosted by Ricky Gervais, will be broadcast live on Sunday, January 17, 2010 from The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.