This is the season for movie awards for 2011.  The Golden Globes have been announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Sunday January 15^th.  Some of those awards will be foretelling of Oscars, which are the only awards that count, but never forget that the Globes are the result of voting by foreigners, and they ain’t from around here.

Often we will see double winners so we will see some Globe winners repeated on Oscar night February 26^th hosted by Billy Crystal.  But this piece is to give you a heads-up and a head start on the movies that need to be seen in the next six weeks so you will not be out of the loop when the Oscars are announced.  Get ready for the madness to begin as the nominations for Oscars are revealed in the early morning of January 24^th.

The broadcast of the Oscar nominations on NBC is thrilling for me because we finally see the favorites named by the academy and can start the speculation and whining.  Invariably, there are some nominations that tick me off for the inclusion of my pans and exclusion  of my picks.  And the nominations happen quickly; the impact of the lists revealed from a stark stage behind a simple podium on January 24th are overwhelming to me so I watched them with paper, pen, and a cup of coffee to enhance my focus and immediately start the process.  When the nominations are revealed on NBC around 7:40 am, I take a deep breath and let it flow over me, then I let the games begin.

In an effort to get you up to speed and ready for the Oscars, here are the must-see movies:  The Descendants, War Horse, Shame, Drive, Albert Nobbs, My Week with Marilyn, The Artist, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tree of Life, Bridesmaids, Margin Call, Rampart, Carnage, A Dangerous Method, Iron Lady, Beginners, Hugo, The Adventures of Tintin, Rango, Puss ‘n Boots, I Saw the Devil, 13 Assassins, Project Nim,  and Harry Potter.  Have fun.  Rock ‘n Roll.

Larry H.      January 16, 2011