Lynne Ramsay is one of the prime examples of how directorial talent doesn’t ensure an easy cinematic career. She started her career explosively, captivating Cannes in the mid-90s with her student shorts, before releasing her critically lauded and Criterion-captured freshman feature Ratcatcher in 1999, and the daring Morvern Callar in 2002. But then Ramsay disappeared from the cinematic landscape, plagued with behind-the-scenes creative and financial woes. She spent four years adapting The Lovely Bones, before it was handed over to Peter Jackson for a less than stellar adaptation. She was courted for Jane Eyre, but refused the offer when she wasn’t allowed to adapt the material herself.

Her luck began to turn when Lynne Ramsay settled on Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin. The road was hard, as the filmmaker battled financial woes and rigid timeframes, but Ramsay persevered to create one of the most captivating films of 2011. Our review of the DVD/Blu-ray combo follows after the jump.

A staple of any awards season is the obligatory “If These Movie Posters Told the Truth” mock-up. However, just because the gimmick is trite doesn’t mean it’s not amusing. This year’s line-up of Academy Award nominees isn’t lacking in Oscar-bait material, with everything from The Iron Lady to The Artist. The fact that films like these so blatantly seem to fit into the category of “Oscar nominee” makes them ripe for this kind of ribbing. We’ve amassed a number of “honest posters” for films like The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Descendants, as well as a few “almost Oscar nominated” films like Shame and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Hit the jump to check them out.

As I’ve been covering awards season pretty extensively here on the site over the past few months, I figured it would be appropriate to (foolishly) try to predict the upcoming Oscar nominations. It’s been a fairly tame year, as a few frontrunners were singled out early in the race and have held their ground throughout the grueling awards season. We haven’t been without a few surprises, as Steven Spielberg’s War Horse took a massive tumble following snubs from most of the major guilds, and David Fincher has surged back into the race bringing his adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with him.

Though there are plenty of safe bets when it comes to the 2012 Oscar nominations, there are still a few wildcards and tricky categories. I’ve put on my prognosticating cap (those interested can purchase one of these nifty hats at your local Target) and compiled a list of who and what I think will make the cut. Hit the jump to see how I think the nods will stack up when they’re announced on January 24th.

Another awards ceremony, another The Artist triumph. Michel Hazanavicius’ silent film continues its near sweep of awards season as it took home the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor prize from the London Film Critics Circle Awards. Surprisingly, the other film to tie The Artist with three awards was the Iranian drama A Separation. The foreign film has been riding a wave of immense positive word of mouth, and the London Film Critics awarded the pic with Foreign Language Film of the Year, Best Screenwriter, and Best Actress.

Nearly shut out of the awards was Britain’s own Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The espionage drama failed to pick up any major prizes and was sent home with a win for Best Production Design. Elsewhere, We Need to Talk About Kevin was named Best British Film, Anna Paquin shared the Best Actress prize with Meryl Streep for her work in Margaret (quickly becoming the little engine that could), and Michael Fassbender won British Actor of the Year for his stellar work in Shame and A Dangerous Method. Full list of winners after the jump, which includes the critics’ top 10 films of 2011.

We’ve got a few new posters to debut today. First up is a fantastic new poster for the drama We Need to Talk About Kevin. The film stars Tilda Swinton as a mother dealing with her son’s unforgivable and violent act. This poster is gloriously chilling, as it evokes the horror films of the 60s and 70s (especially Rosemary’s Baby) to perfectly encapsulate the pure evil that is Kevin. The film is extraordinary and I highly suggest you check it out when it opens on January 27th.

We’ve also got posters for Jennifer Westfeldt’s dramedy Friends with Kids and the new Bobcat Goldthwait pic God Bless America. Friends with Kids features an all-star cast that includes Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Megan Fox, and opens on March 9th. Goldthwait’s dark comedy God Bless America opens May 11th and will be available VOD on April 6th. Hit the jump to see the posters.

We Need To Talk About Kevin has been gathering acclaim since its debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.  Lynne Ramsay‘s first film since her 2002 critical hit Morvern Callar, paints a claustrophobic nightmare for the mother of an evil son whose committed unspeakable acts.

The film begins a gradual, national rollout this weekend in New York as its star, Tilda Swinton is a Best Actress nominee (Motion Picture-Drama), across the country, at Sunday’s Golden Globes in Beverly Hills.  Ramsay’s also seen her share of glory for Kevin, including a Best Director win at the British Independent Film Awards (England’s equivalent of the Indie Spirits).  The writer/director made time for Collider during a hectic press tour.  Hit the jump for the transcription and audio of her interview about Kevin, including lots of exclusive details on why she probably won’t give Patti Smith‘s autobiography a big screen treatment, other biopics of rock icons she’s turned down and what she really thought of Peter Jackson‘s King Kong. Warning: Spoilers ahead.

The Online Film Critics Society has chosen The Tree of Life as the Best Picture of 2011.  OFCS also awarded the film Best Director (Terrence Malick), Best Supporting Actress (Jessica Chastain), Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.  At this point, it’s looking like The Tree of Life has enough steam to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Picture since the Academy has the option of nominating up to ten films for the top prize.

OFCS did agree with my choices for Best Actor (Michael Fassbender for Shame) and Best Actress (Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk about Kevin).  In addition to being a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, I’m also a member of OFCS.  I only voted Tree of Life for Best Cinematography, but I don’t mind it winning other awards because I understand why other critics have dug the flick.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

As we cruise through awards season, eventually all of the Oscar categories will firm up.  Four nominees will be certain and there will be a little debate concerning who gets the fifth slot.  Some of those choices will be correct and others will be boring and predictable.  After the jump, I’ve put forward my picks for best actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, cinematography, animated film and documentary.  I’ve also thrown in my choices for non-Oscar categories for Breakthrough Performance, “A Very Good Year”, Best Villain, “Who’s a Good Boy?”, Best Quote, Best Kill, Best Surprise, and Biggest Disappointment.  I hope that one day the Academy will recognize the validity and necessity of a “Best Kill” Oscar.

Hit the jump to check out my miscellaneous “Best of 2011″ picks.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

In the U.S. awards race,  The Artist, The Descendants, and Hugo seem to have a steady hold on the lead, but across the pond it looks like they may have other (and better) ideas.  Today, the London Critics Circle Film Award nominations were announced and Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy lead the pack with six nominations each.  A Separation and We Need to Talk about Kevin each landed five nominations a piece, and The Artist and Shame netted four nods each.  Attack the Block also got some love with nominations for Breakthrough British Filmmaker (Joe Cornish) and Young British Performer of the Year (John Boyega).

Hit the jump for the full list of nominees.  Winners will be announced on January 19th.

The 14th Annual British Independent Film Awards were held tonight and the brutal drama Tyrannosaur took home trophies for Best Film, Best Debut Director (Paddy Considine), and Best Actress (Olivia Colman).  Other BIFA winners included Senna for Best Documentary, Lynne Ramsay for Best Director (We Need to Talk about Kevin), Michael Fassbender for Best Actor (Shame), and Richard Ayoade for Best Screenplay (Submarine).

I thought Tyrannosaur failed to derive honest drama from its ugliness and violence, but I can understand why the movie struck a chord with most viewers.  As for the other winners, I think Ramsay is still an outsider in the Oscar race, but Fassbender, Ayoade, and Colman may have boosted their chances, although Colman will probably compete in the Best Supporting Actress category since that’s where she has a better chance for a nomination.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

The National Board of Review has announced their honors for 2011.  As always, the wide selection allows the NBR to technically have a say in directing awards season, and their picks remain solid.  While I didn’t go nuts over Hugo, a lot of people did and so it’s not surprising NBR gave it Best Picture and named Martin Scorsese as Best Director.  For the most part, I like all of NBR’s choices.  I’m glad any time Drive gets attention, the acting picks are all worthy, and I’m happy Crime After Crime and 13 Assassins got some love.  Notable snubs include Young Adult, Moneyball, and Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Of course, anything Clint Eastwood does has to make NBR’s Top 10 so that’s why a spot is wasted on J. Edgar.

Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

Yesterday we unveiled our picks for the top contenders in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories for the upcoming 84th Academy Awards. Today, we’re taking on Best Actor and Best Actress. Though it’s still relatively early in the race, we’ve got some surefire contenders and a couple of clear frontrunners for the top acting categories. In addition to Academy darlings like George Clooney and Meryl Streep, we’ve seen some extraordinary performances from relative newcomers likes Elizabeth Olsen and Michael Fassbender. As I stressed yesterday, it’s still pretty early so things can definitely change between now and February, but there are certainly some clear frontrunners in these two races already. Hit the jump to see find out how everyone stacks up.

The US trailer for Lynne Ramsay’s searing drama We Need to Talk about Kevin has gone online.  The film, which picked up six BIFA nominations today, centers on Eve (Tilda Swinton), a mother who is forced to grapple with her son’s unforgivable and violent act.  Ramsay cuts between Eve’s life pre- and post-atrocity and how she wonders if her son was always capable of committing such a horrifying deed.  I’ll have my review up when the movie opens in December, but when I saw it at TIFF it left me with my jaw on the floor and a hole in my gut.  The trailer does a good job of conveying the tone of the film and selling the magnificence of Swinton’s performance.  I’ve seen other great work from actresses this year like Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia and Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene, but Swinton blows them away.  In my mind, she’s the frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller.  We Need to Talk about Kevin opens in New York and LA on December 9th and will begin a platform release in February 2012.

Nominations have been announced for the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.  Steven McQueen‘s Shame, Paddy Considine‘s directorial debut Tyrannosaur, and Tomas Alfredson‘s adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy lead the pack with seven nominations each, and Ben Wheatley‘s Kill List and Lynne Ramsay‘s We Need to Talk about Kevin followed close behind with six nominations a piece.  Other noteworthy nominations include the two for Attack the Block (Best Debut Director for Joe Cornish and Most Promising Newcomer for John Boyega), and Drive picking up a nod for Best Foreign Independent Film.

Hit the jump for the full list of nominees.  Winners will be announced on December 4th.