Natalie Portman in Black Swan.By Hap ErsteinGoing into today’s release of Academy Awards nominations, it looked like a two-horse race between The Social Network and The King’s Speech -- both superior pictures -- and nothing about the announcements from Hollywood changes that.Both movies, of course, made it into the field of 10 for Best Picture and they … [Read more...]
Film feature: State, regional critics agree: ‘Social Network’ was year’s best film
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network. By Hap ErsteinThere is no dominant front-runner for this year’s Best Picture Oscar, but you would never know that from the polls of the Florida Film Critics Circle and the Southeastern Film Critics Association (the two groups I belong to as a voting member).Both tapped The Social Network, David Fincher’s account of the founding … [Read more...]
Film feature: Look for ‘Hurt Locker,’ Bullock, Bridges to take Oscars
A scene from The Hurt Locker.By Hap ErsteinAnd then there were 10.No, not by a process of elimination, but by inflation. I’m talking about the new, probably not improved, look for the Academy Awards, with its revised voting dynamic for best picture. Not only are there 10 nominees for the top Oscar, but members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be ranking … [Read more...]