Movies like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close are difficult to review.  On the one hand, part of me wants to rip Stephen Daldry’s film to shreds and call it a manipulative, corny, over-the-top, Oscar-seeking mess.  But the other part of me wants to drop the cynicism and enjoy the heartfelt emotional journey for what it aspires to be: a film that attempts to cope with the aftershocks of 9/11, and mourn those we lost in the fire.

Watching Extremely Loud on Blu-ray over the weekend, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  While not exactly the masterpiece it thinks it is, Daldry’s film at least sidesteps the problems I had with the director’s previous efforts, especially the overtly saccharine The Reader and the morbid, depressing The Hours – both of which tried to do too much and therefore lacked focus.  Hit the jump for my review.

The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards have finally been unveiled. Many of the categories have fallen in line just as most have predicted (I fared alright with my predictions, but not great), with Hugo scoring 11 nods, followed closely by The Artist with 10. The biggest surprises are War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting in for Best Picture, the exclusion of The Adventures of Tintin from Best Animated Feature, and The Tree of Life nabbing Best Picture and Best Director nods (hooray!). On the snub side of things, despite landing the most precursor critics awards of any other actor in the race thus far, Albert Brooks was denied a Best Supporting Actor nod for his stellar work in Drive (boo). Additionally, Tilda Swinton was overlooked for giving the best performance of the year in We Need to Talk About Kevin, and AMPAS has no love for Michael Fassbender‘s haunting work in Shame.

There’s still plenty to be happy about, as Gary Oldman has his first ever Oscar Nomination (yes, that’s right) and Melissa McCarthy is a Best Supporting Actress nominee. Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees. The 84th Academy Awards will be presented by Billy Crystal on February 26th.

Warner Bros. has released five clips from Stephen Daldry‘s adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  I found the film surprisingly moving and well-made, but I recognize that it’s one of the most divisive flicks this year.  The people who hate the movie really hate it and I can understand where they’re coming from.  The characters’ odd affectations will either push you out of the story to where you’re no longer willing to come back or they’ll intrigue you until the film has your full attention till the final frame.  Watching individual clips isn’t the best way to sell the flick since the scenes work better in context, which is why the trailers are so terrible.  But if you’re itching to see more footage from the flick, we’ve got your covered.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film stars Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Max Von Sydow.  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is currently playing in limited release.  It opens in wide release on January 20, 2012.

September 11^th, like any tragedy, can be easily exploited.  It can be exploited for profit, for political gain, and for an easy strike at your emotional soft spots.  But it can also be handled in a mature, thoughtful manner like Paul Greengrass‘ United 93.  It’s been over ten years since 9/11 and we must start accepting that the event can be used in a story that’s not directly about 9/11.  That’s an incredibly tricky proposition because of the easy route to exploiting our national tragedy, and that’s where Stephen Daldry‘s adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close seems to be going at its outset.  Daldry has to scale a mountain of negative expectations as we struggle to see how 9/11 could be absolutely essential to the story.  We must also contend with a painfully affected character played by a child actor gives a off-putting, robotic performance.  But Daldry’s brilliant direction ultimately brings the 9/11 plot point and the bizarre lead performance together to create an emotional finale.

A large batch of new images from the upcoming drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has been released. The film is based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer and tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who sets out to find the lock that fits a key left to him by his father, who perished in the 9/11 attacks. I’m a big fan of the book so I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while. The cast is great and director Stephen Daldry has a pretty nifty track record, so I’m hoping everything comes together well. The pic has already started screening, but it’s under a strict embargo after the whole Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fiasco (plus Scott Rudin is also the producer of Extremely Loud).

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film stars Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and John Goodman. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opens in limited release on December 25th, then expands nationwide on January 20th.

A new trailer for director Stephen Daldry’s (The Reader) adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has been released. Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film follows nine-year-old Oskar Schell (newcomer Thomas Horn) who sets out to find the lock that fits a key left to him by his father who perished in the 9/11 attacks. This trailer gets into the plot a bit more, but it plays little too heavy-handed. Having read the book, I can say that the film undeniably rests on Horn’s performance. He seems to have the peculiarities of the odd Schell down, so I’m hopeful he’s got the goods. Von Sydow also looks promising in a very crucial (and sweet) role. This is an adaptation that could end up being fantastically original and moving, or terribly sappy and maudlin. Daldry has a pretty great track record, so I’m really hoping it’s the former.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and John Goodman. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opens in limited release on December 25th, then expands nationwide on January 20th.

Ah, November. Leaves are falling, colder weather is here (depending on where you live), and the 2011 movie season is coming to a close. While angry shoppers and red Starbucks cups generally mean it’s time to start preparing for the many awkward/tense family encounters that are sure to come, it’s also time to start thinking Oscar. We’ve seen a few contenders throughout the year, but a plethora of heavyhitters will be opening over the next 5 weeks.

To aid in your Oscar polls (or to quench your curiosity) we’ve compiled a state of the race preview as of this lovely Thanksgiving week. Granted, a lot can change from now until February, but a good portion of the major players have already been screened and we’re starting to get a sense of how it could all play out. We’ll be examining all the major categories over the next four days, kicking things off with the infamously unpredictable Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Hit the jump to see where things stand.

When Ridley Scott made Kingdom of Heaven, he ended it with King Richard the Lionhearted asking directions to Jerusalem, and on the commentary track for the director’s cut Scott suggested he had an idea for the sequel. It would be a Robin Hood story, but with his main character from KoH. That film wasn’t a hit, so when Ridley did get to the legend of Robin of Locksley, he had Russell Crowe as his lead. Russell Crowe is no spring chicken, and the decision to cast the 40+ actor as the sprightly archer seems off, but if you’re going to make a $200 Million dollar movie, that’s the sort of compromise that going to happen. Scott and Crowe are basically cashing in their Gladiator chips, by – after having a huge success – making the expensive “sorta same, sorta sequel” film.  My review of the Director’s Cut Blu-ray of Robin Hood follows after the jump.

Here are three pieces of casting news for you in one handy article.  First up, Robert De Niro is in final negotiations to co-star in the Italian romance film Manual of Love 3.  According to Variety, De Niro will play a “divorced American professor living in Rome in one of the four ‘chapters’,” of the movie.”  His role will partially be spoken in Italian.  Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time that De Niro was required to speak Italian for a film.  Manaul of Love 3 will also be his first foreign-language production since the Bernardo Bertolucci 1976 film, 1900.

De Niro will next be seen in Robert Rodriguez’ Machete, re-uniting with Edward Norton in Stone, and in the awful-looking Little Fockers.  He recently wrapped shooting on The Dark Fields with Bradley Cooper and The Killer Elite with Jason Statham.  Hit the jump for casting news regarding Max Von Sydow in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and model Brooklyn Decker in Battleship.

Universal Pictures has released a third trailer for director Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood that’s sole purpose is to sell you on the action.  Using fast cuts and minimal dialogue, this short minute something trailer doesn’t waste any of its time trying to sell you on the story.  Instead, it’s only focus is to let you know the people behind Gladiator have made another movie. And it works.

I caught a screening last week and liked the movie a lot more than some of my peers.  But…I will say there is a scene towards the end that plays like a studio note or the manager of one of the main cast said, “wouldn’t it be great if…” and they put it in the movie.  The scene makes no sense and it’s really bad.  Not bad enough for me to say don’t see Robin Hood.  It’s just a shame the scene made the final cut as the rest of the movie worked.  It’s not as good as Gladiator, but it’s worth seeing.

Hit the jump to watch the latest trailer.

There’s talk of a remake of Dune. That would be the third go at the material, after David Lynch’s fascinating 1984 version, and Syfy’s mini-series. Maybe this goes forward, maybe it doesn’t, but I find it hard to believe any version could top Lynch’s flawed opus. The premise of this space opera is this: Kyle MacLachlan stars as Paul Atreides, a young prince prophesized to change the galaxy. His family is involved in a political struggle with everyone trying to control “the spice” on the desert planet Arrakis. Just from that you can tell there are lots of worlds and ideas that make this one a bit of a head scratch, but once you get past all that, it’s a lush visual fantasy. My review of the Blu-ray of Dune after the jump.

Yesterday we posted 9 clips from director Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, and today we’ve got a ton of new high resolution images from the movie.  While most studios typically release between 20 to 35 images from a film, Universal has sent over 54!  So if you’d like to see Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins and Max von Sydow, hit the jump:

Universal has released 9 clips from director Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood.  Starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins and Max von Sydow, the movie was written by Brian Helgeland and based on a story by Brian Helgeland and Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and read the official synopsis.  Robin Hood gets released May 14.

Universal has released another clip from director Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood and it showcases the action.  Entitled “Make it Count”, the clip features Robin Hood (Russell Crowe) leading his archers in as they storm a French castle.   If you were wondering what kind of action we might get from the team that previously made Gladiator, you can get a first look after the jump.

Also, Universal is junketing Robin Hood this weekend, so expect a lot more clips, images and info on the film very soon.

Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe, is set to open the Cannes Film Festival and will be screening out of competition on May 12.  Robin Hood also stars Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, Mark Strong, and William Hurt, and depicts the early beginnings of the Robin Hood story.  LA Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland wrote the script, and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer produced with Ridley Scott and his company Scott Free.  Ridley Scott’s previous films screened at Cannes were 1977′s The Duellists and Thelma and Louise in 1991.  Robin Hood will be released worldwide on May 14, which can’t come soon enough since it looks awesome.  Anytime we get to see Russell Crowe kick serious ass is great and should happen more often, and the film looks like it’ll be a graphic and unique take on the story.

Hit the jump to read the official synopsis.  Robin Hood hits theaters nationwide on May 14th. [THR]