A Christmas Carol Preview/Synopsis + Trailer

A Christmas Carol Nov. 6

Directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis ( Forrest Gump, Cast Away ) starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Michael J. Fox ( voice ) Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, Carey Elwes.

Not going to go into too much detail of the film, as it's Zemeckis who adpated the popular Dickens novel which anyone over the age of 10 should be very familiar with and adapted for the umpteenth time, and this time with Carrey as Scrooge and all the ghost's from Christmas past, present and future and also the Zemeckis crew is the same as the people he worked with on The Polar Express.

PG-13 for thematic elements. 96 min.

Oscar chances ? Possible for Visual Effects.

This has nothing to do with movies but is good nonetheless

Crosby, Stills and Nash live at The Puyallup Fair in Pierce County, Wa. doing a pretty good job on Southern Cross for some old guys. Excellent show actually and great set list as well.

Precious wins Best Pic. at Toronto...

Precious has won the Cadillac People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival for Best Picture.

Just like Slumdog Millionaire last year at Toronto, a low budget, non A list movie has taken the award. Let's just hope that everyone gets their bearings about them once the end of the year comes and votes honestly and doesn't bandwagon the movie.

It's only September and people are already saying it should win the Oscar ( Oprah... ) that is pretty premature. There are still 30 some odd movies that could warrant Best Picture consideration and people are already dubbing Precious the winner ?! Please. There are people that haven't seen it claiming it should win just because the supposedly erudite and snooty film critics say it should because of the taboo subject matter is SO brave to address ( cheesy dramatics ? ) I say wait till the end of the year to claim what movie should win the Oscar for Best Picture. It's only September.

Capitalism: A Love Story

Capitialism: A Love Story Oct. 2

Doc filmmaker Michael Moore is now out to really figure what happened to the economy with opinions from Wall Street experts as well as government insiders.

Rated R for some language. 120 min.

Oscar chances ? As of now I am calling it a lock in the Documentary category. Could even get a push from the studio in the Best Picture category some have said, if it really makes an impression on people and is well reviewed.

Where The Wild Things Are Preview/Synopsis + Trailer

Where The Wild Things Are Oct. 16

Directed bt Spike Jonze ( Adaptation, Being John Malkovich ) Starring Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Catherine O' Hara, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose, Tom Noonan. Written by Jonze and David Eggars ( Away From Her ) Cinamatography by Lance Acord ( Lost In Translation, Being John Malkovich ) Edited by James Haygood ( Panic Room ) and Eric Zumbrunner ( Adaptation ) Original music by Carter Burrell ( Fargo, Conspiracy Theory )

Spike Jonze and David Eggars bring the 1963 Maurice Sendek classic children's novel to the big screen, where a young boy named Max creates his own fantasy world in the forset full of creatures that end up deeming Max their ruler of " the wild things ".

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some adventure action and some language.

Oscar chances ? Strong chance in Visual Effects and maybe Adapated Screenplay. Can the film be good enough to make the top 10 ?

An Education Preview/Synopsis + Trailer

An Education Oct. 9

Directed by Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig. Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Cara Seymour. Written by Nick Hornby ( High Fidelity, About A Boy ) Cinematography by John DeMoran ( Last Chance Harvey ) Edited by Barney Pilling ( Miss Pettigrew ) Original music by Paul Englishby ( Becoming Jane, Hart's War )

Coming of age story about a suburban London teenage girl named Jenny ( Mulligan ) and how her life takes a big change when she meets a much older playboy type David ( Sarsgaard ) whre at the time of the meeting once had high aspirations of going to Oxford, but once she experiences the flashy lifestyle of the playboy and how easily she can attain it and finds it irresistable, the idea of going to Oxford goes out the window.

PG-13 for thematic material including sexual content and smoking. 95 min.

Oscar chances ? Looking very promising mostly for Mulligan in the Actress category. Virtually every Oscar prognosticator is predicting a nomination for her. Many think that it could also get nods for Picture, Supporting Actor, Screenplay and Costumes as well.

The Road Preview/Synopsis + Trailer

The Road Oct. 19

Directed by John Hillcoat ( The Proposition ) Starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Garrett Dillahunt and Robert Duvall. Written by Joe Penhall ( Enduring Love ), Cinematography by Javiar Aguirresarobe ( Goya's Ghosts, Vicky Cristina Barcelona ) Edited by Joe Gregory ( In Bruges, Pushing Tin ) Original music by Nick Cave ( The Proposition )

The Road is an adaptation from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy about a man and his son trying to survive living on the earth that has just gone through some catacalysmic disaster and trying to make their way to the ocean to which they believe will be their safest place to be. In the time being, the man will do anything for the survival of his son, with not so nice types of whoever that has also survived the event roaming the barren landscapes. To say more would be spoilers.

Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language. 119 min.

Oscar chances ? Bleak premise but strong in storytelling, but if material comes over as strong as it does in the novel, then I could see it getting nods for Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor ( McPhee ) Art Direction, Screenplay and Cinematography.