Oscar 2012 - Last thoughts and new promo

It is left less than a day till we know all the winners of the 84th Annual Academy Awards. I will watch it live as I do it for 5 years now! Yes, my first ceremony was the one, where "The Departed" won an Oscar for Best Picture and Helen Mirren was named the Best Actress. I don't think I can ever forget it.

Many people, film fans, don't like Oscar awards for many reasons, but in my opinion, these awards go to talented people and films. And I like guessing who the winner will be. Someday I'm going to watch every ceremony since the 1st one, but I have no idea where I can find those videos.

This time I hope "The Artist" takes three main statuettes - for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Sorry, Bérénice Bejo, I enjoyed your performance so much, but I doubt you will win this year. Congratulations for winning the Cesar Award for Best Actress.

I will write about where you can watch the 84th Annual Academy Awards live later, and I'm going to make a real-time coverage again. Stay tuned and follow @ElenaStrBlogger on Twitter.

Watch this funny sketch about the Oscar etiquette.

"Struck By Lightning" (2012) - First Trailer

"You can inspire others to write while writing yourself."

Before today I have never heard about Chris Colfer (I don't watch "Glee"), but it turns out he is a talented young man and his new film is going to be interesting. He wrote the script himself and he is producing it.

"Struck By Lightning" looks like an ordinary high school story, but it isn't. One guy wants to make a newspaper and to achieve this goal he needs a good team. But the problem is everyone is extremely lazy and indifferent in his school. Plus everybody hates him, because of his workaholism and exactingness.

The trailer is smart and funny, so I hope the film will be as unusual and engaging.

Directed by Brian Dannelly, who has worked on different TV series, "Pushing Daisies", "Weeds", "United States of Tara".

Top-5 movies of the week - 17.02 - 23.02

1."Rampart"
Woody Harrelson plays a cop, who hates everyone. He likes his power and beating people. And nobody can stop him, because there will be a huge corruption scandal. Also starring Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Ben Foster and Steve Buscemi.
Trailer.

2."Thin Ice"
Two men want to earn some money by selling a very valuable violin, which is no use for its present owner. But everything goes wrong, when they end up killing an innocent man. One of these accidental criminals starts blackmailing his associate, who is played by Greg Kinnear. Yes, since that night he is walking on the very thin ice, which can melt very fast under him. Crazy criminal comedy, which has to have an unexpected ending. But I doubt it will be a happy ending.
Trailer.

3."The Secret World of Arrietty"
Tiny people live in one huge house with normal family. They don't want to be discovered, so secretly borrow different things and food. It is dangerous for young girl Arrietty to join her father in such night campaigns, but she is brave. So everything is good, until a boy sees her... and they become good friends. Its creators are the people, who made "Spirited Away" and "Ponyo", it promises many adventures, plus critics love this story.
Trailer.

4."The Vow"
I like Rachel McAdams very much, but I dislike Channing Tatum even more. It was hard to figure out will she save the film, or will he make it bad, and turns out that she wasn't enough. The story is about a newlywed couple, who survives a serious car accident. He is fine, but she lost her memory. She doesn't remember not the whole past, but just him. Low critics rating can frighten the big film-addicts, but the audience says it is ok romantic comedy.
Trailer.

5."Dorothy and the Witches of Oz"
An old fairytale is back thanks to the director Leigh Scott ("Frankenstein Reborn", "King of the Lost World", "Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers"). It is the first not-so-creepy film for him, which kids can actually watch. This time Dorothy is a young writer, who moves to New York. But once she discovers that all her stories aren't a fiction, but memories, she has to go figure out how to fight the evil witch to save the both worlds. It reminds a bit Burton's "Alice In Wonderland". The special effects look good, and the cast includes Christopher Lloyd, Billy Boyd and Sean Astin, who are great actors. So it has to be a nice family film.
Trailer.

Posters - iTunes movie trailers

"Battleship" (2012) - Official Trailer

"My dad said they'd come. He said we ain't alone. He said one day w'd find them, or they'd find us."

Many of you probably saw this trailer - I personally watched it twice in the cinema - but I included this film into The Most Anticipated Films of 2012 poll, so it's time to tell you why it has many chances to become a blockbuster.

"Battleship" trailer causes some controversial thoughts. First of all, it looks similar to some "Transformers" scenes. There also were some ocean battles. Second of all, its cast is very unpredictable. There are Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård, whom I like, but it is a debut for the world famous pop-singer Rihanna, who has no experience in playing serious parts. Taylor Kitsch also appears in "Battleship", as Brooklyn Decker does. I remember him very briefly in "X-Men Origins - Wolverine", and she played very stupid part in "Just Go with It".

The director is Peter Berg, who is known for filming "Hancock", "The Kingdom", and playing in "Smokin' Aces". If he didn't change, this film will be very average.

Special effects look impressive and beautifully made on the big screen. If it's made in 3D, it might not disappoint. But "Battleship" isn't for people, who have a seasickness.

Not very promising? But if "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" became one the most successful films in the history, so why this one can't?

"Battleship" will be out this summer.

"The Avengers" (2012) - Extended Super Bowl Spot

American football fans are always exited about the annual Super Bowl, but movie fans are not less intrigued. Of course, the latter ones aren't guessing who the winner will be, but what new footage from upcoming films will be shown in the Super Bowl commercials.

"The Avengers" is going to be one of the future blockbusters, and of course it got another promo. Again there are many explosions, terror, huge lightning strike and one unforgettable team of modern superheroes.

"Mr.Stark..."
"Captain?"

The more I see videos from "The Avengers", the more I think that Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) and Captain America will have a hilarious relationship. If I'm right, we'll discover on May 4.

Directed and written by Joss Whedon.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner.

More about "The Avengers" (2012)!

If you are waiting for this film for a very long time, vote for it here: The Most Anticipated Films of 2012 (you can choose 5 films).

"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk."



Ready for action! (click to enlarge the pictures)

"The Hunger Games" (2012) - Second Trailer

New theatrical trailer for "The Hunger Games" is out, but it shows nothing new. We see that Jennifer Lawrence's character, Katniss Everdeen, will have some romance with Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson, and Gale Hawthorne, played by Liam Hemsworth. But this video doesn't show the danger, because of which Katniss decided to take part in this championship instead of her young sister. She is desperate and scared, and all we see is some glamorous party and running in the woods. Also there is no 'catch phrase', no tagline, which can intrigue the audience. Ok, maybe it's time for me to read this trilogy and figure that out by myself.

Directed by Gary Ross.

More about "The Hunger Games"!

Top-5 movies of the week - 03.02 - 09.02

It's been a while since I picked top-5 films of the week, but it's time to continue.

1."The Woman in Black"
I'm not a big fan of horrors, but for this one I waited really long. It's the first film for Daniel Radcliffe since Harry Potter series ended, which is very important, because he has to prove that he won't leave cinema for theatre, and is going to star in different kind of stories. James Watkins' "The Woman in Black" is a very dark and creepy story, so I hope to be scared a few times.
Trailer.

2."Albert Nobbs"
When I heard that Glenn Close is going to play a man I was astonished, but when I saw its first promotional pictures I understood how extraordinary this actress is. A woman dresses up like a man to succeed something in life, but when she falls in love, it threatens to destroy her whole life.
Trailer.

3."Chronicle"
We saw a few films about ordinary people, who want to become superheroes, but "Chronicle" is about people with real power, who doesn't want to save the world. It is the debut of the director, Josh Trank, but it looks like a good action/fantasy story.
Trailer.

4."The Grey"
Liam Neeson plays one of the unfortunate people, whose plain crushed somewhere in Alaska. They want to survive, come back and forget it all happened. But snow and wolves are their worst enemies, which aren't easy to conquer. Directed by Joe Carnahan, it promises to show us a horrifying life and death fight.
Trailer.

5."Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
This film must be the one, which surprised many critics, when it got a Oscar nomination for Best Film. But there are Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, who won a few Oscars in their lives. Besides, its director, Stephen Daldry, was nominated for his every film! Impressive team, isn't it?
This story is about the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and the consequences. A little boy thinks that his father left some kind of message for him, which he desperately wants to find. So his New York City tour starts and can lead to an unexpected discovery.
P.S. Its trailer almost made me cry.
Trailer.

Posters - COLLIDER

"Game Of Thrones" - Season 2 Teaser

"A very small man can cast a very large shadow."

Season 1 of this epic TV show impressed me, especially its ending did. Some interesting characters didn't survived it, but there are more, whom I like, and they will continue fighting for power and life this spring. I know that some episodes were already filmed in Croatia, where the cast and the crew enjoyed working.

The first episode of the next season has a very intriguing teaser called "Shadow", which you can watch below. I hope there will be many challenges for Daenerys (and her dragons) and brave Arya (who must turn into a warrior princess), played by Emilia Clarke and Maisie Williams.

By the way, Peter Dinklage got a Golden Globe for his outstanding performance. His character should continue being great.

Visit official website for more information.

Oscar 2012 - Trailer and Poster

The first 84th Academy Awards trailer arrived. Many talented actors are very busy now, but they found some to film a very remarkable promo video. Megan Fox and Josh Freeman, who worked together on the first two "Transformers" films, are traveling around the world in the search for perfect Oscars host. I think they wanted to make Megan and Josh a bit like Scully and Mulder from "The X-Files". But it was not a good idea. We know the Host is Billy Crystal, but he looks funny with that hair. But now he lives in Mongolia and is very lonely without his Oscar job. Poor guy, isn't he?

Mr. Crystal was the Host for many times by now, but I've never watched this event with him. I think thanks to him Oscar 2012 will be fun.

The ceremony will take place on February 26, 2012.

More about OSCAR 2012!



Films featured on this poster: "Forrest Gump" (1994), "The Godfather" (1972), "The Sound of Music" (1965), "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Giant" (1956), "Gladiator" (2000) and "Casablanca" (1943). I watched almost every film and I think everyone should see those all of them.

"John Carter" (2012) - First trailer, stills and thoughts

"You are ugly, but you are beautiful. You will fight for us."

There are some rumours that "John Carter" is going to be one of the next year's blockbusters. Let's see why (or why not).

Main character, John Carter, was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and he is almost 100 years old, because appears in different stories since 1912. John comes to Mars and discovers there a whole new civilization. Wait a minute... Don't those aliens look familiar? I bet they do for everyone, who has ever seen George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace", because they are very much like the inhabitants of Tatooine, where Anakin Skywalker (aka Darth Vader) was raised.

Pixar's guy Andrew Stanton is a director of this film. He is famous for some great feature films, like "Finding Nemo", "Toy Story" series, "Monsters, Inc." and "WALL-E". But I'm not sure that it's a great idea for him to make an action story of such a kind.

Taylor Kitsch plays the main part and he looks like Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". And isn't his costume borrowed from Jason Momoa, who starred in "Conan the Barbarian"?

Tons of special effects are used to create huge armies of funny and dangerous looking creatures. Landscapes sometimes look beautiful here, but after I saw "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" trailer, it's hard to impress me. And there will be 3D. I start liking this film less and less.

The only thing I surely like is the song from the trailer below. It's "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin.

First trailer




Future hero?

Meet the aliens

No story without a beautiful girl

Oh, Mark Strong is also here

The City and that beautiful view of Mars

Did they borrow something from "Cowboys & Aliens"?

Are you exited about "John Carter" or not interested in it?

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" - First trailer, poster and many stills

"Bilbo Baggins, I'm looking for someone to share an adventure."

I can't tell you how exited I am that the first trailer has arrived! New and old characters of the Middle-earth promise us something huge, dangerous and breathtaking. Shire looks peaceful, but we know that all adventures begin there. I can go on, but you better watch it with your own eyes.

Directed by Peter Jackson.

See the list of all characters and actors below the trailer.

Release date - December 14, 2012.

Poster (click to enlarge) - iTunes movie trailers








Trailer #1



Let me introduce all main characters (click on the picture to enlarge it):

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman)

Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen)

Fili (Dean O'Gorman)

Kili (Aidan Turner)

Oin (John Callen)

Gloin (Peter Hambleton)

Dwalin (Graham McTavish)

Balin (Ken Stott)

Bifur (William Kircher)

Bofur (James Nesbitt)

Bombur (Stephen Hunter)

Dori (Mark Hadlow)

Nori (Jed Brophy)

Ori (Adam Brown)

Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage)

Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)

Gollum (Andy Serkis) (try to find him)