As I recall, the soundtrack to Episode One was released slightly ahead of the actual movie - or there were announcements about the soundtrack beforehand, something like that - in which it was revealed that one of the tracks was titled "Qui-Gon's Funeral" or something similar.    So, oops.

Agreed.    I'd say that's the safest bet of any category this year.

It doesn't hurt their Best Picture chances as much as it would seem... although it would help their chances a bit if the directors were nominated too.

There are often disconnects between Best Picture and Best Director, because - as with all branches - directors nominate directors.   The one category where everyone votes is Best Picture.    When the two don't sync up, it's a hint that a director made a film that many people loved... but the director themselves isn't necessarily loved by fellow directors for some reason.

Spielberg had to wait years to get his first director nom (and only when he went all serious and made The Color Purple), Streisand was snubbed multiple times... there are lots of examples. 

I have no trouble believing that there are members in the Director's Branch who have issues with Quentin the Loose Cannon, or Ben Affleck the pretty-boy who wants to play director, or That Girl Who Already Won, etc.   (Please note that these aren't MY assessments of those directors, just speculating on what other folks might be thinking.)

But whether his/her fellow directors love him or not, their movies were popular enough to get Best Picture noms from the Academy at large.    And the Academy members who loved Zero Dark Thirty and Argo enough to make them Best Picture nominees are the exact same people who are now going to vote for the winner.

Well, I'm not exactly stunned (nor upset) that Avengers made the cut - it IS solid work after all, and I probably should have given more weight to the sizable ILM voting block in the VFX branch.   

And now that Avengers is in the running, I hereby revise my prediction of the eventual winner.  Avengers' "biggest movie of the year" cred beats Hobbit's "they'll be back for the next two years anyway".

So - Avengers for the win, Life of Pi for potential upset.

EDIT:  Just noticed something else - we mentioned Chris Corbould was on the list for three potential nominated projects... none of which were actually nominated.   Ouch.   

But he's already got an Oscar (Inception) and his brother's nominated for Snow White.   He's probably fine.

Yeah, add me to the list of folks who thought it was a well-made procedural drama, with a schmeer of extra relevance since it's based on the true story of the hunt for the Hitler of our era.    A Very Special Episode of Law and Order: Bin Laden, basically.

The most interesting part for me was the actual assault, not because I was engrossed in the story itself but because it was like a really well-shot Seal Team training video.  I liked that the assault didn't feel "Hollywood"ed up to make it artificially exciting - the pace was slow and deliberate, there were minor mistakes and moments of confusion but the team dealt with them and kept going, etc. 

So - not on my list of Greatest Movies of All Time, but not bad in any way either.  Certainly worth seeing.

Just back from the VFX bakeoff, where I saw ten minutes of Hobbit in 3D and HFR...

...and  I really liked it. 

I might feel different after two and a half hours, but for those ten minutes I thought the 3D and the HFR were pretty cool.

One of my faves is the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman - sometimes I put it on when I'm writing.  Generally ominous without being too bombastic.

You'll shoot your eye out, Zarban.

/pavlovian response

/okay, that wasn't a Menken/Ashman - but the .gif was too good to pass up

After years in seclusion an aging Bruce Wayne must become Batman once more in order to combat the greatest menace Gotham City has ever known: a dude with a thing on his face. *

*Last part still needs some work

If there ever was a movie that exemplified "Cut Act One", this is it.   The "Unexpected Journey" doesn't even begin until 41 minutes into the flick.   Good lord.

After repeat viewings I will admit the movie's growing on me - but two dwarf musical numbers is still two too many, and Radagast better become important in movies 2 and/or 3 or I'm gonna hate him even more than I do now.