District 9

Let's get this out of the way right at the start, folks: 2009 was not a memorable year for comic book movies.
Where 2008 gave us two of the best comic book movies of all time in "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" (as well as the darn good "Wanted" and "Hellboy II"), the 2009 theater slate gave us one of the most polarizing comic book adaptations to ever hit theaters ("Watchmen") and an uber-hyped but critically panned blockbuster ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"). A few more forgettable adaptations slipped in the back door, too — namely, films based on Top Shelf's science-fiction thriller "The Surrogates" and the Oni Press murder mystery "Whiteout."
So it's no surprise that comic book movies were noticeably absent from this year's list of Academy Award nominees. However, since public outrage over last year's "Dark Knight" snub paved the way for an expanded nomination pool this year, it's worth giving this »
- Rick Marshall

Read the full article on splashpage.mtv.com

By reaping Academy Award nominations for best picture, "Avatar" and "District 9" have shattered a strong bias among academy voters. In the past, only two sci-fi films have been nominated for the top Oscars: "Star Wars" (1977) and "E.T." (1982). Ok, three if we count "A Clockwork Orange" (1971), but should we?
Prior to "Up" soaring into the Oscars' best-picture category, only one animated film had ever been nominated in that top race: "Beauty and the Beast" (1991).
No woman has yet won the Academy Award for best director. Prior to Kathryn Bigelow's bid for "The Hurt Locker," only three female helmers were nominated: Lina Wertmüller for "Seven Beauties" (1976), Jane Campion for "The Piano" (1993) and Sofia Coppola for "Lost in Translation" (2003).
Lee Daniels ("Precious") is the second African American nominated for best director. The first was John Singleton for "Boyz in the Hood" (1991).
That "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" lead with the most »
- tomoneil

Read the full article on goldderby.latimes.com

Yesterday, “A-Team” week kicked off with our revealing look at the new B.A. Baracus. Now, with the movie crashing into theaters June 11th like B.A.’s van flying through the wall of a badguy’s warehouse headquarters, we take a look at the veteran mercenaries’ off-his-rocker copter captain: Sharlto Copley as “Howling Mad” Murdock.

“Sharlto's such a ridiculously-talented guy in so many ways,” sai Joe Carnahan, director of the new film, told us about the fast-rising actor who rose to notoriety last year with “District 9,” now an Oscar-nominated Best Picture contender. “Sharlto's a producer, he directed his own film, and he was a huge part of 'District 9' in a way that a lot of his stuff was improvisational.”
Much like the casting of “Rampage” Jackson, Carnahan went out on a limb a bit with Copley – who will be appearing in the blockbuster flick as only his second film. »
- Larry Carroll

Read the full article on moviesblog.mtv.com