Tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. Central Standard Time comes the big announcement cinephiles have been waiting for all year: the 84th Academy Award nominations. Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence will present along with Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak. This year the predictions will be harder than ever with the lack of […]

An action triple-header comes in January this year, with a few more offerings in February. George Lucas is responsible for 1/3 of the films on this list and half of them will be presented in 3D. Highlights include a rare winter offering from an acclaimed director in Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire,” the fourth “Underworld” film and […]

George Clooney turned out to be both the biggest winner and the biggest loser at this year’s Golden Globes Sunday. Despite a win for Best Actor in a Drama for “The Descendants” — the film that also took home Best Drama — Clooney’s own film, “The Ides of March,” was shut out completely in all […]

Winter comedy and romance revolves around Valentine’s Day, so things don’t get promising for the genre until February. The types of comedies offered in the early going this year are surprisingly diverse including a couple niche market family comedies, a couple action comedies, a Nicholas Sparks-inspired romance and an Apatow-produced comedy.

The winter months are the slowest time of year for family films, which beats me. “Gnomeo & Juliet” was the first big animated/family film of 2011 and it finished 2011 with the second-highest domestic gross of any movie that came out in January or February. The offerings aren’t all that strong for 2012, but don’t […]

Winter is a well-known time of year for studio dumps, for action films that wouldn’t make anything almost any other time of year, for Liam Neeson revenge trillers and phoned-in Nicolas Cage performances. With a lack of dramatic offerings and horror films, I’ve combined them together with thrillers to give you nine films that will […]

It’s time to put a lid on the movie year of 2011 and bury it deep, deep within the recesses of the earth. As I’ve done the last couple years, it’s time to reflect on some of the emerging trends within the world of Hollywood. Below you’ll find a series of bold statements about the […]

After the succes of the “Lord of the Rings,” we knew we’d get J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” eventually. What was truly unexpected was that Peter Jackson would in fact return for this prequel, though it did take the departure of Guillermo del Toro and MGM’s financial woes to get him back in the big chair.

After the all the critics awards are doled out, we Oscar watchers look in great part to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for clarity, and while much is delivered, all the more is always blurred. Here are the film nominees for the 2012 Golden Globes and my thoughts on them. Silent film “The Artist” tops […]

Ah, it’s that time of year again. We’re just days away from some of the big pre-Oscar award nominations (the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes), but some of the smaller awards bodies, including the press awards from film criticism bodies across the country. So the 2012 Academy Awards picture should be shaping up […]

Here’s where the Holidays get interesting. Although in my Comedy Preview I mentioned some of the comedy/drama films that will vie for awards, at no other time of year do audiences get all amped up about dramas. The trouble comes with which films will be the Oscar must-sees and which will sound like Oscar must-sees […]

Action fans might be pining for the summer this Holiday Season as only three films can be considered pure action movies, yet all but one are among the season’s most anticipated. I’ve paired them up with the season’s two thrillers, which also could be two of the better films you’ll likely see between now and […]

There might be a lot of “Ho, Ho, Ho!” every Holiday Season, but in 2011 there’s not a lot of “Ha, Ha, Ha!” In by far the most ambiguous genre grouping in Movie Muse Movie Preview history. The one pure comedy is December’s “The Sitter” while some of definite Oscar contenders made it on this list […]

The holidays bring families together — and often times at the movies. Why? Because you can only talk to those people for so long, and at least this way you’re all “doing something together.” So not surprisingly, we have three animated family films competing for your Thanksgiving weekend dollars. The family genre also has more […]

Of all the “darker” young adult series to emerge in the wake of the “Twilight” novels, none has caught on like Suzanne Collins‘ “Hunger Games” trilogy. And unlike “Twilight,” these novels have actually received praise outside of the teenage girl demographic. As such, “The Hunger Games” is one of 2012’s most anticipated films, so right on schedule […]