Fashionistas get "Fashion Week". Foodies get "Food and Wine" Fests". Football fans get "Super Bowl. And I get Awards Season!

Each awards season means getting a bunch of "For Your Consideration" DVDs that show up on your doorstep so you can properly vote for the films in time for the awards!

I'll be giving you my 5 cents about each of the movies I watch (even the ones that seem violent and gut wrenching) - it's a tough job but someone's got to do it. :)

Life is good for Javier Bardem. Not only is his film Biutiful favorable in two Academy Award categories, but he is also set to be a presenter this Sunday at the show.


His movie Biutiful I thought was rugged and poetic, but too long in length for me. If you didn't know, it's about a man with cancer who realizes he's got no one to look after his two kids once he dies. He does everything to put situations in order before he dies, but the harsh life in Barcelona proves to be just as gritty as the cancer he battles. 

I'd rank this movie with Rabbit Hole. Harsh subject matter, strong lead actor, but not thrilling. I love Bardem, especially when he doesn't look so scruffy (did you see Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona?), but this movie left me feeling numb more than anything else. 

See this movie if you absolutely must check it off your awards-watch list, otherwise, I'd say in the eyes of this beholder Biutiful just wasn't.

When I am reminded that the Golden Globes are less than a week away, I become a little uneasy about which movie I hope will win Best Picture. True I have now seen every movie on that list, and this one is at the top of my list!

Contending against Black Swan, The King's Speech, Inception, and The Social Network, The Fighter will compete among the best of the year. If you haven't already seen it, this what you are missing out on: 

This movie is about two brothers who both box-- the older, Dicky (Bale), a local celebrity after beating Sugar Ray Leonard in a match years before. But once drug-addicted Dicky is thrown in jail, Micky (Wahlberg) humbly steps out of his brother's shadow to continue to fight. His family feels betrayed by Micky's decision to train under new management, but he continues with the full support of his girlfriend Charlene (Adams). When Dicky is released from jail, he is sober and ready to train Micky again, causing friction between family and girlfriend.If you can manage to sit through 2 hours of a shirtless Wahlberg hitting a punching bag while making smoochy-face with Amy Adams, then you'll have no problem watching this yourself to see the outcome. 
Though Wahlberg is the lead actor, playing real-life fighter Micky Ward, it's Christian Bale and Amy Adams who bob and weave the best performances. These two are also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor/Actress categories at the Golden Globe and SAG Awards. 

You should watch this. I promise, it won't hurt a bit.

There are two types of movies I HATE to watch: boring OR violent. The Killer Inside Me fit the latter. Casey Affleck stars with lead ladies Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson in a thriller based in the 1950s. After a passionate and tempestuous relationship begins between sheriff Lou Ford (Affleck) and prostitute Joyce (Alba), the protagonist Lou becomes violent and sociopathic. 

Truth be told when I wasn't disturbed by the violence I was bored. Since this was based on a book, I'm sure there's a lot missing that's supposed to make you somehow identify with the "protagonist" but there is none of that in the movie.

This movie was as painful to watch as An American Crime with Ellen Page and Catherine Keener.

When the movie was over, I was relieved, but had to follow it up with some really cheesy chick-flick type stuff to flush out the awful imagery. Even Jessica Alba herself walked out halfway through the screening!

What's interesting is how many times this film was supposed to be made. Once in the '80s with Demi Moore as the prostitute; again in the late 90s but after September 11, it was deemed too violent. Another version was to include: Casey Affleck, Reese Witherspoon (girlfriend),  Maggie Gyllenhaal (prostitute).

Anyway, if you can stomach movies like this, do watch. Casey Affleck deserves at least a nomination for his depiction of this callous murderer. Plus the film noir elements make this an almost beautiful canvas. 

Winter's Bone, a Spirit Award nom in many categories, is a bold drama about a 17 year old girl who is the sole caretaker of her two younger siblings and incapacitated mother. When her meth-cooking father doesn't show up to court, her family's home is at risk to be taken for bond. The heroine is forced to track down her father and in the process meets other hard-edged people who warn her not to say anything. 

The film is based on a book with the same name written by Daniel Woodrell. I did not read the book, but I could not imagine I would after 10 pages in. The movie is grim and slow, and altogether just depressing. I mean, can you imagine the tone on that kind of set? J-Law (my cool way of referring to Jennifer Lawrence) was a believable 17 year-old matriarch and feminist. And the story line ain't bad (now I'm talking country too): cinematography was effective, directing on point. But minus its cinematic accolades, I think its slow pace is not for everyone. 

For a full list of awards this one has been nominated for (as far as Spirit Awards are concerned), visit this page. 

If you are not living under a rock these days, you've probably heard about Michael Douglas and his recent battle with cancer. What you may not have heard about lately is his movie Solitary Man. 

Solitary Man is an Award nominee contender for Douglas's performance as a man with a terminal illness who faces personal and business waning as a result of his irresponsible recent behavior. The movie really focuses on his role as a childish parent who acts like a mid-20s man instead of a responsible grandfather. Appropriately titled, this movie follows Douglas along even though his private solitary moments alone. 

This movie wasn't very exciting, though I don't doubt Douglas's full commitment to this project (they only had 3 days to rehearse, a low budget, and also lost 6 days from shooting as a result!). He's a skilled actor, and that is evident in this movie, but I'm not convinced its award material from this performance. Of course, recent news of his own sickness could be a strong appeal for nominating this film, which lacked the commercial exposure it might have earned if he were well. 

I will say that this movie takes a different approach to facing death. I expected a warm fuzzy family embracing man to emerge, but that doesn't really come. I'm unsure whether he'll get an Oscar nod or not, but I'm glad to hear he still has his health and reports that he is getting stronger daily. That's what really counts.