The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

Mad Men - WINNER

FlashForward

True Blood

Dexter

Lost

30 Rock - WINNER

Glee

Modern Family - WINNER

The Office

Better Off Ted

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock - WINNER

Ty Burrell, Modern Family - WINNER

Steve Carell, The Office

Hugh Laurie, House M.D.

Tina Fey, 30 Rock -WINNER

Lea Michele, Glee

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

January Jones, Mad Men

Sonya Walger, FlashForward

John Slattery, Mad Men - WINNER

Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock

Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock

Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family - WINNER

Danny DeVito, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Jane Lynch, Glee - WINNER

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men - WINNER

Catherine Moss, Mad Men

Portia de Rossi, Better Off Ted

Mad Men - WINNER

30 Rock

Modern Family

The Office

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Keep in mind, this is a very rough list and will be edited in time. Here we go:

Best Picture (There are TEN!)

Precious

Up in the Air

Avatar

An Education

The Hurt Locker

A Serious Man

Invictus

Where the Wild Things Are

A Single Man

Inglorious Basterds

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

Colin Firth, A Single Man

Michael Stuhlburg, A Serious Man

Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer

Carrie Mulligan, An Education

Gabourey Sibide, Precious

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Matt Damon, Invictus

Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Matthew Goode, A Single Man

Mo'Nique, Precious

Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Mariah Carey, Precious

Penelope Cruz, Nine

Up

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Coraline

Princess and the Frog

But it's a brand new season for Oscars and we're already starting our ROUGH lists.

Can you handle it?

We're so excited!

Matthew Says: A

One of the most anticipated movies of the year, based on one of the most widely renowned children's novels of all time, Spike Jonze has quite some pressure. The question that came up in my mind was, "How is Spike Jonze's raw, artsy style going to mix with a classic children's story?" Well I promise you, Where the Wild Things Are delivers!

Everyone knows the story of Max, who is sent to his room after a tantrum, and escapes into the world where the wild things are. This film just enhances it, making it realistic to the modern family of today, and adds a newer meaning to the story.

The filming of it is breathtaking. The technical merit of the wild things with the raw camera style truly capture what is was like to be a kid. And first time screenwriter Spike Jonzes creates subtle and surprisingly touching scenes between these two different kinds of creatures who aren't really that different.

This one of the most inventive, audacious and spectacular films of the year. It runs on human emotion, inventivness, and being wild. It's a must-see for 2009.

Sincerely,
The Citizen Review

Matthew Says: B+

The Puffy Chair is the independant debut for the writer-director duo, the Duplass brothers. It's a romantic comedy of sorts, and It's one heck of a good one. What's different about this one is the film starts with The two lovers already together. And they're not polar opposites who suddenly have everything in common.

Josh's dad's birthday is next week, and he wants to get him something special. He found an exact replica of a burandy puffy chair that his dad loved when he was little on Ebay. So he and his girlfriend Emily go on a roadtrip to get the puffy chair and take it to his dad's. Along the way they pick up Josh's brother, along with minor mishaps (including sneaking into a motel, busting into garage doors, and an overnight marriage) and major relationship rethinking.

This film was shot on a $2,000 camcorder, and uses friends and family for actors, yet has far better acting, writing and realism than any other romantic comedy I've seen. The acting is insanley real, with emotional scenes that seem like you're peaking in on some couple's fight in the next room.

Sincerely,

Matthew Says: A

One of my least favorite genres in film is the romantic comedy. The lines are never funny and the love between the two main characters never feels real or genuine. It seems as though the only reason for releasing them is to make money because studios know people love them. However, I have always kept an open mind for the first really good romantic comedy. Last year I thought it might be Last Chance Harvey, but.... no. In order for it to be good, it must have smart and witty humor, love that feels authentic, and a plot that doesn't follow the formula that some b movie set as a predecessor. (500) Days of Summer is that film.

The premise is ingenious and very real. Not every relationship works out. Even though the audience knows how the film ends, we still hope that maybe everything will end happily ever after. The writing, the acting and above all the originality and freshness makes this move superb. It has two really good performances by Joseph Gorden-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, perfectly capturing their unique characters. And the whole film has a vibratory freshness that just bursts from the screen. You feel like this movie is going to impact film and audinces long after the last credits roll.

Sincerely,

The Citizen Review

This is a movie that was just released into selected theaters. The tagline is, 'This is not a love story... it is a story about love.' It's about an unsuccesful relationship between two people: a hopeless romantic (Joseph Gorden-Levitt) and an unbeliever in true love (Zooey Deschanel).

This movie has not yet been released in our area, but will this week, so expect a review for

(500) Days of Summer soon.

Sincerely,