Initial salute to CIFF's new 'Kings'

Click on the link below for a first look at Sundance Film Festival darling, THE KINGS OF SUMMER,  a unique coming-of-age comedy about three teenage friends – Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio (Moises Arias) - who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land.

First look at "Kings"

The movie, which co-stars Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and Allison Brie, opens the Cleveland International Film Festival on April 3 and then goes into wide release on May 31.

Beware big Harv, but 'Argo' will win

OK, the biggest question heading into Sunday night's 85th annual Academy Awards (8 p.m. on ABC-TV) isn't whether Steven Spielberg's heavily nominated "Lincoln" might stop the Best Picture momentum of "Argo."  No, it's more likely a matter of whether "Argo," Ben Affleck's Critics Choice, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG (ensemble)-winning thriller, can hold off  Harvey Weinstein.

Can Ben Affleck's "Argo" continue its hot streak?

Yep, the same former Miramax Pictures heavyweight who orchestrated the startling 1998 Best Picture upset of his "Shakespeare in Love" over Spielberg's classic "Saving Private Ryan" is at it again with a brilliant marketing campaign for another comedy, the often moving "Silver Linings Playbook."

Of course, Weinstein also has a second major awards player this year with Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," meaning that The Weinstein Company easily could become the evening's real Oscar king. (A third Weinstein film, "The Master," adds three more acting nominations.)

We'll see, but here's a preview of what should go down, starting with another very competitive category:  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin, "Argo"; Christopher Waltz, "Django Unchained"; Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"; Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"; Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Will Win: Christoph Waltz

Should Win: Waltz, who simply dominated "Django" and really could have been a contender in the Best Actor contest.

Could win: All five nominees are former Oscar winners, but last month's SAG victory for grumpy ol' man Jones makes him the favorite going in. 

Should have been nominated: Another former winner, Javier Bardem, "Skyfall"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"; Sally Field, "Lincoln"; Amy Adams, "The Master"; Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"; Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"

 Hathaway looks to be a sure winner. 

Will Win: Anne Hathaway

Should Win: Sally Field, who dumped any and all ego to play the insufferable Mary Todd Lincoln.

Could win: Nobody except Hathaway, a legitimate actor on and off the screen. For some reason, Oscar voters apparently really like her this year.

Should have been nominated: Samantha Barks, "Les Miserables," easily the most charismatic player in the film. 

BEST ACTRESS

Emannuelle Riva, "Amour"; Quvenzhane Wallis "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"

Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence (very narrowly over Jessica Chastain).

Should Win: The versatile young Lawrence (very narrowly over Chastain).

Could win:  Riva is coming on strong and, as fate might have it, she'll be celebrating her 86th birthday on Oscar night.

Should have been nominated: Marion Cotillard, "Rust and Bone"

BEST ACTOR 
Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"; Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln";  Denzel Washington, "Flight";  Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"; Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Should win: Brit Day-Lewis's great performance does justice to our greatest president.
Could win: Nobody else.
Should have been nominated: John Hawkes, "The Sessions"

BEST DIRECTOR
Michael Heneke, "Amour"; Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"; Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
Will Win: Steven Spielberg
Should Win: In this group, Spielberg probably deserves it.
Could win: With awards show darling Ben Affleck and critical favorite Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thiry") not even under consideration, everyone but Zeitlin is a possibility. If favorite Spielberg does lose, look for Russell to pick up the gold.
Should have been nominated: Affleck and Bigelow, of course.

BEST PICTURE

Michael Heneke, "Amour"; Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"; Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"

Will Win: "Argo"

Should Win: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Could win: "Silver Linings Playbook," with Svengali-like Weinstein orchestrating some superb promotion, makes anything possible. Hey, already his movie is the first since "Reds" to garner nominations in all four major acting categories, and that was more than 30 years ago.
Should have been nominated: The Impossible

OTHER LIKELY "BESTS"

Foreign Language Film, "Amour"; Documentary Feature, "Searching for Sugar Man"; Score, Cinematography, and Visual Effects, "Life of Pi"; Song, Adele, "Skyfall"; Editing and Adapted Screenplay, "Argo"; Makeup, "The Hobbit"; Costume Design, "Anna Karenina"; Original Screenplay, "Django Unchained" and, from a second straight mediocre field for Animated Feature, "Wreck-It Ralph."

Click here to see all of John M. Urbancich's Critics Choice RATINGS ON NEW RELEASES). 

'Argo' surprises with top CCMA honor

The winners were announced live at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Thursday, Janary 10, 2013 from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., and was broadcast live on The CW Network.

Complete list of winners and nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Winner: Argo

Nominees:
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

Nominees:
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Nominees:
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master

Nominees:
Alan Arkin – Argo
Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

Nominees:
Amy Adams – The Master
Judi Dench – Skyfall
Ann Dowd – Compliance
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Winner: Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Nominees:
Elle Fanning – Ginger & Rosa
Kara Hayward – Moonrise Kingdom
Tom Holland – The Impossible
Logan Lerman – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Suraj Sharma – Life of Pi
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Winner: Silver Linings Playbook

Nominees:
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Ben Affleck – Argo

Nominees:
Ben Affleck – Argo
Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper – Les Miserables
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

Nominees:
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
John Gatins – Flight
Rian Johnson – Looper
Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Tony Kushner – Lincoln

Nominees:
Chris Terrio – Argo
Tony Kushner – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
David Magee – Life of Pi
Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda

Nominees:
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
Lincoln – Janusz Kaminski
Les Miserables – Danny Cohen
The Master – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Skyfall – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
Winner: Anna Karenina – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer, Katie Spencer/Set Decorator

Nominees:
The Hobbit – Dan Hennah/Production Designer, Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
Les Miserables – Eve Stewart/Production Designer, Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
Life of Pi – David Gropman/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Lincoln – Rick Carter/Production Designer, Jim Erickson/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
Winner: Zero Dark Thirty – William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

Nominees:
Argo – William Goldenberg
Les Miserables – Melanie Ann Oliver, Chris Dickens
Life of Pi – Tim Squyres
Lincoln – Michael Kahn
Zero Dark Thirty – William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran

Nominees:
Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran
Cloud Atlas – Kym Barrett, Pierre-Yves Gayraud
The Hobbit – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor
Les Miserables – Paco Delgado
Lincoln – Joanna Johnston

BEST MAKEUP
Winner: Cloud Atlas

Nominees:
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit
Les Miserables
Lincoln

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: Life of Pi

Nominees:
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit
Life of Pi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: Wreck-It Ralph

Nominees:
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Skyfall

Nominees:
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Skyfall

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Daniel Craig – Skyfall

Nominees:
Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Rises
Daniel Craig – Skyfall
Robert Downey Jr. – The Avengers
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Looper
Jake Gyllenhaal – End of Watch

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games

Nominees:
Emily Blunt – Looper
Gina Carano – Haywire
Judi Dench – Skyfall
Anne Hathaway – The Dark Knight Rises
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games

BEST COMEDY
Winner: Silver Linings Playbook

Nominees:
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Winner: Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Nominees:
Jack Black – Bernie
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Paul Rudd – This Is 40
Channing Tatum – 21 Jump Street
Mark Wahlberg – Ted

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Nominees:
Mila Kunis – Ted
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Shirley MacLaine – Bernie
Leslie Mann – This Is 40
Rebel Wilson – Pitch Perfect

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Winner: Looper

Nominees:
Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: Amour

Nominees:
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner: Searching for Sugar Man

Nominees:
Bully
The Imposter
Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
The Central Park Five
West of Memphis

BEST SONG
Winner: “Skyfall” – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth – Skyfall

Nominees:
“For You” – performed by Keith Urban/written by Monty Powell & Keith Urban – Actor of Valor
“Skyfall” – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth – Skyfall
“Still Alive” – performed by Paul Williams/written by Paul Williams – Paul Williams Still Alive
“Suddenly” – Performed by Hugh Jackman / Music by Claude Michel Schonberg, Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
“Learn Me Right” – performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons/written by Mumford & Sons – Brave

BEST SCORE
Winner: Lincoln – John Williams

Nominees:
Argo – Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi – Mychael Danna
Lincoln – John Williams
The Master – Jonny Greenwood
Moonrise Kingdom – Alexandre Desplat

Hey, warm bodies, view 'Warm Bodies'

Be among the first to preview the upcoming zombie comedy, starring John Malkovich, Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and Dave Franco, right here and now:

SYNOPSIS:
After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

"Warm Bodies"  "First 4 Minutes" Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49VKrteeJAs

Critics Choice Awards look wide open

NOMINATIONS 18th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners to be announced live on the CW Television Network from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10. Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis each collected acting nods among the record-breaking 13 Critics Choice nominations for Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln." BEST PICTURE Argo Beasts of the Southern Wild Django Unchained Les Miserables Life of Pi Lincoln The Master Moonrise Kingdom Silver Linings Playbook Zero Dark Thirty BEST ACTOR Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln John Hawkes – The Sessions Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables Joaquin Phoenix – The Master Denzel Washington – Flight BEST ACTRESS Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook Emmanuelle Riva – Amour Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild Naomi Watts – The Impossible BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Alan Arkin – Argo Javier Bardem – Skyfall Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike Anne Hathaway gave "Les Miserables" one of its 11 Critics Choice noms. She's also among action category nominees for "The Dark Knight Rises." BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Amy Adams – The Master Judi Dench – Skyfall Ann Dowd – Compliance Sally Field – Lincoln Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables Helen Hunt – The Sessions BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS Elle Fanning – Ginger & Rosa Kara Hayward – Moonrise Kingdom Tom Holland – The Impossible Logan Lerman – The Perks of Being a Wallflower Suraj Sharma – Life of Pi Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE Argo The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Les Miserables Lincoln Moonrise Kingdom Silver Linings Playbook BEST DIRECTOR Ben Affleck – Argo Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty Tom Hooper – Les Miserables Ang Lee – Life of Pi David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook Steven Spielberg – Lincoln BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained John Gatins – Flight Rian Johnson – Looper Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Chris Terrio – Argo Tony Kushner – Lincoln David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook David Magee – Life of Pi Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda Lincoln – Janusz Kaminski Les Miserables – Danny Cohen The Master – Mihai Malaimare Jr. Skyfall – Roger Deakins BEST ART DIRECTION Anna Karenina – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer, Katie Spencer/Set Decorator The Hobbit – Dan Hennah/Production Designer, Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators Les Miserables – Eve Stewart/Production Designer, Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator Life of Pi – David Gropman/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator Lincoln – Rick Carter/Production Designer, Jim Erickson/Set Decorator BEST EDITING Argo – William Goldenberg Les Miserables – Melanie Ann Oliver, Chris Dickens Life of Pi – Tim Squyres Lincoln – Michael Kahn Zero Dark Thirty – William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor BEST COSTUME DESIGN Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran Cloud Atlas – Kym Barrett, Pierre-Yves Gayraud The Hobbit – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor Les Miserables – Paco Delgado Lincoln – Joanna Johnston BEST MAKEUP Cloud Atlas The Hobbit Les Miserables Lincoln BEST VISUAL EFFECTS The Avengers Cloud Atlas The Dark Knight Rises The Hobbit Life of Pi BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Brave Frankenweenie Madagascar 3 ParaNorman Rise of the Guardians Wreck-It Ralph BEST ACTION MOVIE The Avengers The Dark Knight Rises Looper Skyfall BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Rises Daniel Craig – Skyfall Robert Downey Jr. – The Avengers Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Looper Jake Gyllenhaal – End of Watch BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE Emily Blunt – Looper Gina Carano – Haywire Judi Dench – Skyfall Anne Hathaway – The Dark Knight Rises Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence carry the 10-nomination load for "Silver  Linings Playbook." BEST COMEDY Bernie Silver Linings Playbook Ted This Is 40 21 Jump Street BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY Jack Black – Bernie Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook Paul Rudd – This Is 40 Channing Tatum – 21 Jump Street Mark Wahlberg – Ted BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY Mila Kunis – Ted Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook Shirley MacLaine – Bernie Leslie Mann – This Is 40 Rebel Wilson – Pitch Perfect BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE Cabin in the Woods Looper Prometheus BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Amour The Intouchables A Royal Affair Rust and Bone BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Bully The Imposter Queen of Versailles Searching for Sugar Man The Central Park Five West of Memphis BEST SONG “For You” – performed by Keith Urban/written by Monty Powell & Keith Urban – Act of Valor “Skyfall” – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth - Skyfall “Still Alive” – performed by Paul Williams/written by Paul Williams – Paul Williams: Still Alive “Suddenly” – performed by Hugh Jackman/written by Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer – Les Miserables “Learn Me Right” – performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons/written by Mumford & Sons – Brave BEST SCORE Argo – Alexandre Desplat Life of Pi – Mychael Danna Lincoln – John Williams The Master – Jonny Greenwood Moonrise Kingdom – Alexandre Desplat

Twilight talk: 'Dawn' breaks for last time

The folks from the "Twilight" saga all were hanging around LA's Four Seasons Hotel the other day, and a couple even offered up some potentially memorable quotes.

Here are only a few of  the best before "Breaking Dawn: Part 2" debuts to the world on Nov. 16:

Michael Sheen (Aro, left) about his character: "He's just a sentimental old fool who loves to see the young people having fun. Then, he kills them. I really creep myself out in this movie."

Kellan Lutz (Emmett, at right with Kristen Stewart) on going from a playing a vampire in one huge film franchise to re-introducing Tarzan in another: "When I got into acting, I just fell in love with everything about it and, to me, growing up in the Midwest, just stepping back and thinking about what might be a dream role, I just loved "The Monkey Man." He's much like my character in "Twilight." Emmet is the monkey man and so, to make that transition, it was all quite fun for me. I fell in love with the brilliant script, which is so much more contemporary and modern. It's all motion capture, which is one of the hardest things I've ever done -- quadrupedding, running, learning how to walk like Tarzan -- which is pretty much a ballerina-esque walk. It took me a couple weeks just to break my -- doom, doom, doom -- Emmet walk."

Stephenie Meyer (author, right) on possibly penning more "Twilight" stories: "(Unlike vampires) I'm not into permanence so I wouldn't say never. I just know I'm not going to do it today. I don't know how I'm going to feel in five years. Maybe someday I'll just write it all down for myself and we'll see."

Bill Condon ("Breaking Dawn" director) on some of the humor in "Part 2": "Yes, it is an epic action movie with vampires. Some of them have to be funny just because vampires are really crazy."

Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen, left) on how her character has influenced her: "I really appreciate Esme's sweetness and kindness and generosity of spirit and her ability to wear heels and dresses 24 hours a day. My preference, you know, would to be in sweatpants. So, I do think that being Esme for so many years really has influenced my ability to throw on a pair of heels and a pencil skirt. Besides, that, I would like to think that she's made me a better person, but that's just wishful thinking."

Look for more on "Twilight: Breaking Dawn: Part 2," including a review and more star comments from Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, next week at Sun News.