The Beverly Hills Hotel played host to the International Press Academy’s 16th annual Satellite Awards on Sunday night, a lively evening which saw prizes handed out recognizing the year’s best entertainment in film and television. After red carpet arrivals and some spirited cocktail conversation, the awards show proceeded at a nice clip before being capped off by a sumptuous dinner. Some of the winners’ names were familiar just kicked-off awards season — Alexander Payne’s Hawaiian-set “The Descendants” was named Best Picture, as it also was recently by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association – but perhaps the biggest winner of the night was Nicolas Winding Refn’s neon-lit, criminally overlooked “Drive,” which sadly…

A Best Picture frontrunner just isn’t what it used to be. Since 2004, the Oscar winner for Best Picture has only won a corresponding top Golden Globe prize once. That film was runaway hit “Slumdog Millionaire”, and films that universally likeable don’t come around too often (could it be this year’s “The Artist”?). Golden Globe nominations will be announced on December 15th, and if history is any indication, it’s likely that two films will be pitted against one another in the top race. Here’s a look back at the films and the factors that led to these conflicting wins over the past seven years for the Best Motion Picture –…

This morning, the Independent Spirit Award nominations and the New York Film Critics Circle winners were announced, and the Gotham Independent Film Awards were handed out on Monday evening. Among the nominees and winners were a number of interesting choices and omissions. Two of the groups honor only independent films, so they aren’t entirely accurate predictors for the Oscars, but they are helpful in meting out the contenders. Here are a few notable superlatives assembled from all three announcements. For the complete lists, visit the ISA, NYFCC, and Gotham Awards. Most Loved Winner: Jessica Chastain, who was honored with the Best Supporting Actress mention from the NYFCC for three films,…

2010 is over. No more. Done. Finito. Some are more than happy to kiss that year goodbye, while others wish it would have never ended. In the realm of movies, 2010 looked great in terms of box office receipts. However, even with the second highest grossing domestic box office of all-time ($10.5 billion) in the books, let’s just say the quality of the product put out, is far from what the numbers suggest in terms of stellar entertainment all year around. Yet 2010 did have a few exceptional moments. With all that said, here’s 20 topics, accompanied by my candid/stripped-down thoughts, on what caught my critical eyes in cinema for…

Title: Blue Valentine Director: Derek Cianfrance Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel, Faith Wladyka Lately, there’s been a paradox happening in films. For the last few years, critics and film enthusiasts complained how they were missing the days when a film would take their time with a story. Characters would be fleshed out and the focus would center around the trivial moments of the story. Just imagine if Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tried to apply this practice. It would be delightfully terrifying. So Blue Valentine comes in and actually takes a shot at painting the entire picture. A detailed back story on the two main characters is executed…

Title: True Grit (2010) Directors: Ethan and Joel Coen Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper By: Joe Belcastro The saying, “It’s not about the place, it’s about the people you are with”, refers to the level enjoyment one will have despite a dull setting. True Grit seems to champion that saying. A remake of the 1969 award winning flick – based off the novel by Charles Portis – is laced with patent Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men) execution. Personally, the methodical, dramatic action pieces the Coen boys take on always seem to lull this reviewer to sleep in random places. For instance, the…

The Spike TV Guys Choice Awards premieres Sunday, June 22nd at 10 PM, ET/PT. The nominees include Tom Brady, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, 50 Cent, Harrison Ford, LeBron James, Scarlett Johansson, Kim Kardashian, Eva Longoria, Eli Manning, Eva Mendes, Marisa Miller, Rihanna, Chris Rock, Seth Rogen, Jessica Simpson, Kanye West, Tiger Woods And Many More. Here’s the complete details from Spike TV. Spike TV has announced the second annual “Guys Choice” – a one night only event for guys where the year’s most hotly debated rivalries from the world of sports, comedy, film, internet and more go up against one another mano a mano with original categories that embody everything…