The 1st annual International Davey Awards: ANNOUNCED

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Director: Martin Scorsese
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Gary Oldman
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Rooney Mara
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer
Best Supporting Actress: TIE Melissa McCarthy & Octavia Spencer
Best Straight to DVD release: All-Star Superman
Worst Picture: Jack & Jill
Worst Actor in a Leading Role: Ashton Kutcher
Worst Actress in a Leading Role: Martin Lawrence (as Big Momma)
Worst Supporting Actress: Brooklyn Decker
Worst Supporting Actor: TIE Orlando Bloom and Patrick Dempsey
Worst Director: Bill Condon
Worst Screen Couple: Adam Sandler & Adam Sandler (Jack & Jill)

Oscar Oddities

   Oscar season has come and gone once again, tonight the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will give out the little golden man for the 84^th time.

  Over the course of the previous 83 awards shows, there have been several strange twists and turns, for example in 1944 Barry Fitzgerald was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the same role as an old-school priest, Father Fitzgibbon in “Going My Way.”

    He won as a supporting actor, and lost out to co-star Bing Crosby as a leading man.

  Thirteen actors and actresses have won an Oscar for their first film role, none of them for leading actor. The most recent one was Jennifer Hudson for “Dreamgirls” in 2006.

   Three films (“It Happened One Night,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” and “The Silence of the Lambs”) have won the “big five” awards. Those categories being for best actor, actress, director, picture and writing.

   The youngest person to ever win a competitive Oscar was Tatum O'Neal who picked up a best supporting actress nod in 1973 for “Paper Moon.”

   Shirley Temple is the youngest to ever receive an award, receiving a non-competitive Academy Juvenile Award, that has since been retired in 1934.

   In 1989 Jessica Tandy won a best actress award for “Driving Miss Daisy” at age 80. Gloria Stuart nearly topped that when she was nominated for “Titanic” in 1997 at age 87, but she didn't win.

   Speaking of “Titanic” it holds the record along with “All About Eve” for most nominations in a single year with 14.

   James Dean is the only actor to be nominated twice post humously, for 1956's “East of Eden” and for 1957's “Giant.” He didn't win either award.

   Maggie Smith is the only actress to ever win an Oscar (1978 best supporting actress in “California Suite”) for playing an Oscar-losing actress.

   Kate Blachette on the other hand, portrayed a real Oscar winning actress in “The Aviator” and became the only person to win an Oscar for doing so.

“Midnight Cowboy” was the only X-rated movie (for graphic sex scene) to ever win the Academy Award for Best Pictures.

    Kenneth Branagh has been nominated five times, in five different categories. His nominations include best director, best leading actor, best adapted screenplay, best live-action short and tonight he is up for best supporting actor.

    Beatrice Straight was only on screen for 5:40 but still picked up a trophy for “Network” in 1976.

    Luise Rainer, who won back-to-back best actress awards in 1936 and 1937 is the oldest living OSCAR winner at 102 years-old.

   Harold Russell picked up two trophies for his performance in 1946's “The Best Years of Our Lives,” one for best supporting actor, and another for being an inspiration to returning veterans.

    Kevin O'Connell, a sound mixer has been nominated 20 times, most recently in 2007, but has yet to win a trophy.

   “Limelight” picked up an award 20 years after it's initial release simply because it had never been shown in Los Angeles county, which is where the OSCARS consider home.

    Rules have since been changed to say that a film is only eligible for one year after it's initial release anywhere.

    Walt Disney picked up four Oscars in 1953, he is the only person to ever win more than three in a single show.

    Nine men have won three in one night, including brother Joel and Ethan Coen who picked up their trophies for the same movie.

    Disney's awards were for four different movies, no one else has ever won for more than two films in a single year.

    Disney has won more Oscars, and received more nominations than any other person in history. He won 22 statues and had 59 total nominations.

    Disney also received four honorary Oscars giving him 26 total. In 1939 he received a unique honorary award for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” it was one large trophy and seven miniature ones.

     Seventy four of the first 83 ceremonies have had at least one person win multiple awards.

Coming soon: The 1st annual International Davey Awards.

I've always had a love of film, so have many of my friends. I'm also somewhat attracted to award shows, so it's only fitting that now that I run a blog I share my picks and choices for film awards.

Of course, what fun are awards if I'm the only one picking them, so I've gathered a panel of my friends, all also named Dave, and we'll vote on major award categories.

The categories we vote on will be based on Academy Award/Razzie nominations this year, though that is subject to change in the future. The lone category where we made our own nominations was for Direct-to-DVD films.

The voting procedures will be as follows. Each voter will vote for their top three in every category. A first place vote is worth four points, a second place vote worth three, and a third place vote worth one.

Time to meet the voters.
First off you have me, Dave Herndon, a lifelong movie aficionado and full time nerd. My love of film extends to all genres, though my personal favorites happen to be documentaries, musicals and off course science fiction.

The second member of the panel is David Scanlan, one of my best friends, and the reason that this is an international awards presentation. David lives in the land Down under. He watches movies and any and all genres, and posts reviews on his own blog: Why Yes I Am Quite Random, Why Do You Ask?

The final voting member of the panel is my co-worker and one of the coolest cats on the planet, Dave Komer. "Mad Dog" as he has been coined at the office doesn't yet know that he has been recruited for this task, but he will soon enough. He often gives me advice on what to watch and read within the realm of pop culture.

Any ties will be broken by quasi co-worker and fellow Dave, Dave Chapman, freelance photographer for The News-Herald. (He also does not yet know this.)

Expect results to be posted here before the Academy Awards on Sunday.

The categories:

BEST PICTURE

‘The Artist’
‘The Descendants’
‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’
‘The Help’
‘Hugo’
‘Midnight in Paris’
‘Moneyball’
‘The Tree of Life’
‘War Horse'



BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, ‘Midnight in Paris’
Michel Hazanavicius, ‘The Artist’
Terrence Malick, ‘The Tree of Life’
Alexander Payne, ‘The Descendants’
Martin Scorsese, ‘Hugo’
BEST ACTOR
Demian 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
Berenice Bejo, ‘The Artist’
Jessica Chastain, ‘The Help’
Melissa McCarthy, ‘Bridesmaids’
Janet McTeer, ‘Albert Nobbs’
Octavia Spencer, ‘The Help’
BEST STRAIGHT TO DVD RELEASE
'Thor: Tales of Asgard'
'Batman: Year One'
'All-Star Superman'
'Green Lantern: Emerald Knight'



Worst Picture

• Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
  
• Atlas Shrugged: Part I
  
• Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
  
• The Hangover Part II
  
• The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
  
• Jack and Jill
  
• Just Go with It
  
• New Year’s Eve
  
• The Smurfs
  
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
  
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
  

Worst Actor

• Russell Brand - Arthur
  
• Nicolas Cage - Drive Angry, Season of the Witch and Trespass
  
• Daniel Craig - Cowboys & Aliens and Dream House
  
• Anthony Hopkins - The Rite
  
• Jeremy Irvine - War Horse
  
• Ashton Kutcher - New Year’s Eve and No Strings Attached
  

Worst Actress

• Jessica Alba - Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
  
• Jennifer Aniston - Just Go with It
  
• Megan Fox - Passion Play
  
• Nicole Kidman - Trespass
  
• Martin Lawrence (as Big Momma) - Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
  
• Sarah Palin - The Undefeated
  

Worst Supporting Actress

• Angela Bassett - Green Lantern
  
• Julie Christie - Red Riding Hood
  
• Brooklyn Decker - Just Go with It
  
• Katie Holmes - Jack and Jill and The Son of No One
  
• Brandon T. Jackson (as Charmaine) - Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
  
• Milla Jovovich - The Three Musketeers
  

Worst Supporting Actor

• Hank Azaria - The Smurfs
  
• Orlando Bloom - The Three Musketeers
  
• Patrick Dempsey - Transformers: Dark of the Moon
  
• James Franco - Your Highness
  
• Neil Patrick Harris - Beastly and The Smurfs
  
• Edward Herrmann - Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
  

Worst Director

• Stephen K. Bannon - The Undefeated
  
• Michael Bay - Transformers: Dark of the Moon
  
• Tom Brady - Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
  
• Bill Condon - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
  
• Dennis Dugan - Jack and Jill and Just Go with It
  

Worst Screen Couple

• Any Possible Pairing of Two “Actors” - New Year’s Eve
  
• Nicolas Cage & Anyone Sharing the Screen with Him in Any of His Three 2011 Movies (Drive Angry, Season of the Witch and Trespass)
  
• Any Pair of Characters Conjoined Anus-to-Mouth - The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
  
• Taylor Lautner &Whatever Her Name Was (Lily Collins) - Abduction
  
• Shia LaBeouf & The Underwear Model (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) - Transformers: Dark of the Moon
  
• Adam Sandler & EITHER Al Pacino OR Adam Sandler - Jack and Jill
  

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - It did the impossible

Nicolas Cage reprises his role as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance. In this gritty new vision for the character, directed by Neveldine/Taylor (Crank), Johnny is still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter - but he may risk everything as he teams up with the leader of a group of rebel monks (Idris Elba) to save a young boy from the devil... and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.


This film is bad on such a level that I can hardly describe it. 
I've seen hype on this thing for well over a year, and based on the previews I was willing to give it a chance. I didn't hate the first film, though most comic fans seemed to. 
Having never read many of the comics I went into the first, and this film prepared to just enjoy, not judge on the history of the character and how well it lived up to itself.
The first film in the series was decidedly average, this film makes the first look like an Academy Award winner.
Plot

Where to start? I'd say the plot, but there barely is one. The plot holes are so large you could drive a Mack truck through them sideways, and still have plenty of space on all sides. I'd not be surprised if it were to come out that the script that David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) wrote didn't get majorly rewritten before filming began. I'd be more shocked to discover that this was in some way the movie that he actually envisioned when he was writing.
Acting
The acting wasn't a total waste, there was definite talent and a bit of screen chemistry even between Nicolas Cage and Idris Elba, but it was too little too late. I didn't care about an of the characters, least of all Johnny Blaze, and I found myself wishing I had chosen to nap instead of trek out to a theater to see the film as none of the characters had any development what-so-ever.
Effects
The visual effects were the lone saving grace on the film, and even they were hit and miss. Some scenes were pulled off flawlessly and almost made Johnny Blaze seem real, even when his head was on fire as the Ghost Rider, but then other scenes seemed like something I through together on the old Mac I keep in my closet. The scenes in the trailer were the best ones in the film, but the ones not in the trailer seemed almost like they were a first pass, not a finished product.
Soundtrack/Audio

The soundtrack wasn't bad, but did nothing to add to the movie, not that I'm sure if any type of music could have fixed the issues this film was having.
The audio mixing was off. I'm not sure exactly how, but nothing sounded exactly as if should have, they definitely forgot to add in some background and ambient noise where it was needed.
Let's just hope that this isn't the type of move that Marvel Studios is going to start pumping out with their comic properties. I'd rather not have more comic movies than to have more like this one.
Lets just hope that The Avengers and the Spider-Man reboot cleanse our pallets of this and we never have to think of it again.

Rating
1.5/5 stars
On a side note, I'll let you know all about the special features on this when the disc is released. I know its bad, but as a collector I'll have to add it to my collection.
Such is life.

5 funny photos found on the internet: Super hero edition

A new weekly format for my blog. Five funny photos found on the internet.

 I know, two Spider-Man photos, but I feel that they were both deserving, as both are funny.

Now for a bonus photo.........

.

The first minute of all 22 James Bond movies

R2D2 stole the show

R2D2 was never meant to be a star

The Droid which was been featured in every film and television version of the Star Wars franchise, except for a pair of made for TV movies called "The Ewok Adventures" from the mid 1980's has become more than a star. It's become a pop culture icon.



The Astromech Droid even made an appearance in the most recent Star Trek movie, albeit very brief.

Avid Star Wars fan, and cosplayer Jerry Lica took his fandom one step further.

He and his brother Mike Lica shelled out more than $5,000 to build their own working R2D2 model.

"We saw an R2 builders club at a convention and just decided that we had to have one," Lica said.

The model he has is made mostly of aluminum, and to the exact specifications of the original movie prop.

The builders club he mentioned has a website www.astromech.net where they have plans for R2D2 as well as some other astromech units seen in the franchise.

"It's not a kit exactly that you get, but they give you the dimensions and help you in the forum with everything," said Jerry Lica.

The builders club managed to get Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects house started by Star Wars creator George Lucas to allow them to have access to the original models used in the classic trilogy to get measurements for their models.

The Lica's R2D2 unit has been a huge success at the few events if has attended so far.

"People love it, it's always one of the more popular things wherever we are," Jerry Lica said.

With "The Phantom Menace" back in theaters for a 3D release, and five more of the films on their way in the coming years, the Lica’s and their droid are likely to be in high demand for a long time.

For the story about the Phantom Menace reopening click here