Spinning Platters Predicts the 2012 Oscar Nominations: What Should — and Will — Be Nominated

Ellie Kemper, Oscar hopeful Melissa McCarthy, and Wendi McLendon-Covey in BRIDESMAIDS

The Academy Awards are commonly referred to as the gay Super Bowl, and for good reason: they each represent the culmination of months of grueling, bone-crunching competition, tend to feature misguided musical numbers, and are ultimately about impossibly wealthy people fighting over trophies while the rest of us cheer from the breadlines. In short: it’s the best thing that happens all year. My post-Oscar depression is far more devastating than even the worst case of post-Christmas blues. Such emptiness. The nominations for this year’s 84th Academy Awards will be announced in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, January 24. After the jump, check out my picks for what should be nominated and what we’re likely to read about on Tuesday.

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Film Review: “Haywire”

Gina Carano and Michael Fassbender in HAYWIRE

starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, Michael Angarano

written by: Lem Dobbs

directed by: Steven Soderbergh

MPAA: Rated R for some violence

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Film Review: “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

Thomas Horn and Sandra Bullock in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

starring: Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright

adapted by: Eric Roth

directed by: Stephen Daldry

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language

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Film Review: “Joyful Noise”

Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah in JOYFUL NOISE

starring: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Dexter Dardin, Courtney B. Vance, Jesse L. Martin, Kris Kristofferson, Dequina Moore

written and directed by: Todd Graff

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some language including a sexual reference

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The Spinning Platters Guide to the Best Films of 2011

Welcome to our list of the best films of 2011! I’m Jason LeRoy, the film editor of this fine website, and I’ll be your guide to the most excellent cinema this year had to offer. I have to say, this is a pretty exciting moment for me. While I’ve been writing about film in one form or another since 1995, 2011 is the first year I’ve managed to see just about everything. It is with no small amount of consideration (or afternoons and evenings spent slumped over in theaters around town) that I’ve compiled this list. So look after the jump for my top 10 films of the year, some honorable mentions, and a handful of staff-pick rebuttals for Best Film of 2011. And especially since this year was uncommonly lacking in unifying critical favorites, please leave your own picks in the comments below.

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Film Reviews: “War Horse” / “The Adventures of Tintin”

Sarah Jessica Parker and Jeremy Irvine in WAR HORSE

War Horse

starring: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston, David Kross, David Thewlis

written by: Lee Hall and Richard Curtis

directed by: Steven Spielberg

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence.

The Adventures of Tintin

starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

written by: Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish

directed by: Steven Spielberg

MPAA: Rated PG for adventure action violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking.

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Film Review: “We Bought A Zoo”

Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon in WE BOUGHT A ZOO

starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, John Michael Higgins, J.B. Smoove

written by: Cameron Crowe and Aline Brosh McKenna

directed by: Cameron Crowe

MPAA: Rated PG for language and some thematic elements.

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Film Review: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson

written by: Steven Zaillian

directed by: David Fincher

MPAA: Rated R for brutal violent content including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity, and language.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Gary Oldman on “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Gary Oldman stars as "George Smiley" in Focus Features' release of Tomas Alfredson's TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. Credit: Jack English

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when it seemed like maybe we’d already seen the best of Gary Oldman. After establishing himself as a fearlessly intense and committed film actor with Alex Cox’s seminal British indie, Sid and Nancy (1986), he spent the next decade delivering unforgettable performances in roles ranging from Lee Harvey Oswald to Dracula to Beethoven, pivoting nimbly from blockbusters like Air Force One and The Fifth Element to cult favorites like The Professional and Romeo is Bleeding. But after the disastrous Lost in Space (1998), he seemed to vanish into an infrequent series of TV appearances and little-seen films.

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