Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

The 85th Academy Award nominations were announced today by Emma Stone and Oscar host Seth MacFarlane! Without any further ado, here are the nominees: Best Picture Amour   Argo Beasts of the Southern Wild  Django Unchained Les Miserables Life of Pi Lincoln Silver Linings Playbook Zero Dark Thirty No surprises here, though some were probably hoping the Academy would go for a blockbuster and nominate The Dark Knight Rises . As it is, it's a great category, even if I haven't picked my favorite yet. I would not want to see Les Miserables win (even though I love musical theatre) because the direction and Russel Crowe's performance were just too bad to make this the best film of the year. Argo , Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty are all interesting because they say something about America, and though two of them are set in the past, all three are relevant today. Still, Silver Linings Playbook was good and Django Unchained was too much fun to deny. Actor in a...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2013 After a few months of deliberation, the 2013 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced. Joining the ranks of Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles are Rush , Public Enemy , Heart , Randy Newman , Donna Summer and Albert King . (Summer and King will be inducted posthumously.) Lou Adler and Quincy Jones will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers. (Despite being eligible, rocker Joan Jett did not make it this year.) As noted in Rolling Stone 's announcement of the class , Public Enemy will become "only the fourth hip-hop act to be inducted...[joining] Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five...Run DMC...and the Beastie Boys." The induction ceremony will be held on April 18, 2013, and broadcast a month later on HBO. In other rock and roll news, the 12.12.12 concert to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy was held this week and Rolling Stone has a round up of some of the highlights ...

The Golden Globes, which honor both film and television, will be handed out on Sunday, January 13, 2013, and funny ladies Tine Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the ceremony. (The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, HFPA.) Herein, the nominees and my commentary (reviews, if available, are linked to in the first mention): Film Best Motion Picture, Drama : Argo Django Unchained Life of Pi Lincoln Zero Dark Thirty So no love for The Master in the big category but other than that and Silver Linings Playbook 's inclusion in the comedy category (scroll down), no surprises. Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama : Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln Richard Gere, Arbitage John Hawkes, The Sessions Joaquin Phoenix, The Master Denzel Washington, Flight Again, because Playbook is in the comedy category, it opened up a slot in this category for Gere. Still, I think we're all expecting Day-Lewis to win it. Best Performance by an Actr...

The 18th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations were announced today. Awards will be presented on January 10, 2013 (the day Oscar nominations are announced), and be broadcast on the CW. Herein, the nominees in select categories (reviews are linked to in the first mention). For the full list of nominees, visit criticschoice.com/movie-awards : 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 Expect to see this slate of films throughout the award season, with maybe The Dark Knight slipping in in the place of Life of Pi . Having not seen Django , Les Mis or Zero Dark Thirty yet (that is, of the nominated films I plan to see) I can't reasonably pick a favorite. Best Actor : Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln John Hawkes, The Sessions Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables Joaquin Phoenix, The Master Denz...