We’ve heard about the breathtaking scene of Tom Cruise scaling the tallest building in the world in Dubai in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Director Brad Bird even took us into the making of it with IMAX cameras. Now, Paramount has released a clip where Simon Pegg, Cruise and Jeremy Renner make the fateful decision that sends Cruise 130 stories above the ground. Ghost Protocol lands in IMAX theaters December 16 and nationwide December 21.

Mission Impossible 4 Clip: Tom Cruise Goes Sky High

Four new films hit the big screen, and which one is likely to knock off Breaking Dawn from the top of the box office heap? Garry Marshall is celebrating New Year’s Eve early with his latest superstar romantic comedy after Valentine’s Day. Jonah Hill is The Sitter and gets quite silly in the process. Charlize Theron is a Young Adult author with some serious issues, to audiences’ great benefit and finally, John le Carre’s Cold War classic, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy makes it to the big screen starring an astounding Gary Oldman.

New Year’s Eve: An all-star cast, headlined by Oscar winners Hilary Swank, Robert De Niro and Halle Berry ring in the New Year in New Year’s Eve. Director Marshall scored with the million superstars in one rom-com formula with Valentine’s Day, does he do it again? Check out our New Year’s Eve review to find out!

New Year's Eve Full Trailer

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: Oldman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth and John Hurt lead a UK all-star cast of their own in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The film, based on the international bestseller by le Carre, is probably one of the smartest films you will see this year. Gripping suspense, a who-done-it tone and its power to throw back audiences to another time when war was fought by intelligence officers instead of soldiers should satisfy action, thriller, page-to-screen and intrigue fans of all kinds. Read our Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy review to learn more.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Trailer

Young Adult: Charlize Theron deserves an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of an author who heads home to her small town in Young Adult. Her character does not have a single redeeming quality and we love her for it. She is scheming and possesses the moral compass of a husband stealer. But with Theron handling the character, it is pure brilliance that is often funny and always engaging. Want to know more? Visit our Young Adult review!

Young Adult Trailer

The Sitter: Jonah Hill is tasked with watching over three young children so his mother can go on a dream date in The Sitter. When his girlfriend calls making promises that raise his eyebrows, he piles the kids in the car and heads to New York City. His and the kids’ lives will never be the same. Is it funny? Head over to our The Sitter review to find out.

The Sitter Trailer 2

Andrew Garfield is in the house! The Amazing Spider-Man has had its first poster premiere and it is visually brilliant. It features Garfield as Peter Parker, scaling a wall giving off a shadow that is all Spidey!

The Amazing Spider-Man doesn't arrive in theaters until July 3, but considering The Dark Knight Rises lands a few weeks earlier and we’ve gotten news about it practically every day, it’s finally nice to see the webbed one get his action.

The film is directed by Marc Webb and features a stellar cast including Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field and Denis Leary.

After their successful Thanksgiving weekend preview screenings of We Bought a Zoo, 20th Century Fox has added nationwide previews this upcoming Saturday, December 9. As Movie Fanatic reported, We Bought a Zoo scored huge with audiences of all ages.

The Matt Damon-starring, Cameron Crowe-directed film follows a widower who buys a rundown zoo for him and his children to fix up and bring to its former pristine and revered best.

We Bought a Zoo also stars Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning, Thomas Haden Church and a veteran of Crowe’s Almost Famous, Patrick Fugit.

Check out the trailer and inquire about the We Bought a Zoo advance screenings at your local movie house.

We Bought a Zoo Trailer

Steve Harvey wrote a bestseller telling men how to Think Like a Man. The book is getting the big screen treatment with a stellar cast and now Movie Fanatic has your first look at the movie’s inaugural trailer. The entire title of Harvey’s book is Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment and filmmakers have wisely chosen to shorten it! Think Like a Man arrives in spring of 2012 and stars Michael Ealy, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Chris Brown and Entourage’s Jerry Ferrara.

Think Like a Man Trailer

New Year’s Eve did what three weekend’s worth of movies could not: Knock off Breaking Dawn from the top spot of the box office sales chart.

A second movie even beat out the first half of the final chapter of the Twilight series as the Jonah Hill-starring The Sitter came in second with $10 million. Breaking Dawn is still chugging along as it came in third, adding another $7.9 million to bring its domestic total to $259.5 million.

The Muppets and Arthur Christmas continued to charm families and closed out the top five in that order. The Muppets banked $7 million as its total rose to $65.8 million. Arthur Christmas made $6.6 million for fifth place, although its domestic box office total is half of The Muppets at $33.49 million.

This weekend box office results showed a second week in a row with slow sales. Just a few weeks ago, Breaking Dawn opened to over $100 million. Meanwhile, this week’s top 10 totaled barely $66 million.

The slowing trend should reverse itself in the next weekend as the December blockbusters are upon us. Tom Cruise is back in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol on December 16 on IMAX screens while Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows also arrives on that same day. The big mystery is which of those franchises will finish first. Stay tuned!

Box office top 10:

1. New Year's Eve, $13,705,000, Total: $13,705,000
2. The Sitter, $10,000,000, Total: $10,000,000
3. Breaking Dawn, $7,900,000, Total: $259,500,000
4. The Muppets, $7,073,000, Total: $65,837,000
5. Arthur Christmas, $6,600,000, Total: $33,490,000
6. Hugo, $6,125,000, Total: $33,489,000
7. The Descendants, $4,835,000, Total: $23,635,000
8. Happy Feet Two, $3,750,000, Total: $56,850,000
9. Jack and Jill, $3,200,000, Total: $68,642,000
10. Immortals, $2,442,000, Total: $79,850,000

A new poster for The Dark Knight Rises has been released, and the tagline is ominous:

The Legend Ends.

With Tom Hardy's Bane standing over a cracked Batman mask, does the poster teasing Christopher Nolan's July 2012 blockbuster foreshadow bad things for the famed Caped Crusader? You tell us:

Nolan and star Christian Bale have both said they will bow out of the franchise after their third film together, one which supposedly picks up eight years after the events depicted in 2008's The Dark Knight.

It should be an epic conclusion to the trilogy. For more clues as to what the upcoming film holds, check out The Dark Knight Rises trailer. Let the discussion, and countdown to next summer, begin!

Here come the Men in Black... for the third time!

On May 25, 2012, Will Smith will reprise his role as the dark-suited secret agent J, this time traveling back in time to find his partner and eventually coming across a younger version of K, played by Josh Brolin.

The action film will also star Tommy Lee Jones, Emma Thompson, Bill Hader and Nicole Scherzinger. Check out the just-released, first official Men in Black 3 trailer now:

Men in Black 3 Trailer

A new Spanish language trailer for next year's Snow White and the Huntsman has premiered and it leaves us with the same question as the original Snow White and the Huntsman trailer:

Is Kristen Stewart allowed to talk?

Charlize Theron is the Evil Queen and as we brought up when the Julia Roberts trailer debuted for Mirror, Mirror, the studio seems to be putting all their marbles in that Evil Queen basket.

Roberts got all the speaking lines in that trailer and now two trailers into Snow White and the Huntsman and Theron is the one with all the lines... still! Maybe, just maybe, the third trailer will give us a clue as to what Stewart’s Snow White sounds like!

Watch the Spanish language trailer for Huntsman below and see what we mean:

Snow White and the Huntsman Spanish Trailer

Jonah Hill proved his movie star mettle yet again as his The Sitter opened in second place behind the superstar heavy New Year's Eve. The comedy is as surprisingly touching as it is hilarious and further proves Hill is the man when it comes to comedy with a heart. Another joy witnessing The Sitter is it is filled with memorable quotes to keep us laughing days after we've seen the flick.

Hill is Noah, a slacker given the selfless task of watching over three young kids for his Mom, Sandy. Hilarity and chaos ensue when he takes the kids into New York City.

It's time to sit back and enjoy some of our favorite The Sitter quotes.

Noah: My name's Noah Jaybird. Ca caa! What's your name?
Soul Baby: They call me Soul. Soul Baby.
Noah: Soul Baby?
Soul Baby: Yeah.
Noah: Keep it in control baby. Tears, no fears man.
Soul Baby: Is that right?
Noah: Respect it, don't neglect it. Treat it, don't beat it.
Soul Baby: You're a bada** motherf**ker. | permalink

Karl: I let my haters be my motivators! | permalink

Noah: What's up little tampon? | permalink

Noah: I'm more of a 'sit on the couch, do what I say or I'll kill you' type of babysitter. | permalink

Sandy Griffith: Have you started looking for a job yet? What about babysitting?
Noah: Babysitting sucks. Adult men don't babysit things. | permalink

Gangster: You got some big a** balls, man.
Noah: Can't find underwear. Balls don't fit. | permalink

At the Dubai premiere of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise was in a looking back and looking forward mood. The superstar talked about which action sequence in the Mission Impossible series was his favorite, and also dished the latest on that Tropic Thunder Les Grossman spin-off movie we’re all quite excited about.

Ghost Protocol is opening December 16 on IMAX screens, followed by a wide opening on December 21. While in Dubai at the film’s world premiere, Cruise was asked by MTV News what his most memorable action scene was in the series.

Given the scope of the wild thrills that Cruise has given us over four films, including the current film’s Dubai building scaling, his answer was quite nostalgic as he chose the iconic breaking into the CIA scene from the first film.

"I remember when I was doing it, my head kept hitting the floor. I was running out of energy, and we were running out of time," Cruise said.

And who knew that Mission: Impossible director Brian De Palma had such a sense of humor? Apparently, he made Cruise dangle there for quite a while before the scene was called.

"De Palma knew that we had the shot, and he just held it and held it. I was like, ‘How long can I hold off the floor?’ Brian had a fantastic laugh, and then he said, ‘All right, cut.’”

Sure, excitement is high for Ghost Protocol, but what people really want to know is where is that Tropic Thunder spin-off film featuring the hilarious Les Grossman?

"It's not where we all want it to be," Cruise said. "[Les Grossman] is so much fun to do. There are all different kinds of things we're thinking about."

George Clooney is the front-runner for a Best Actor Oscar for his work on The Descendants and we were thinking: What can we expect next from Hollywood’s king? If we told you a biopic on the ‘60s comedians the Smothers Brothers, would you be surprised? Well, don’t be as news has emerged that Clooney -- and his producing partner Grant Heslov (The Ides of March) -- have bought the option on the Brothers’ biography, Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

Heslov and Clooney will produce under their Smokehouse production banner, but we want to know if the superstar will appear in the film and which one of the funnymen should he play?

The American Film Institute (AFI) has joined the list of organizations issuing their “best of” lists for 2011 and they have chosen their 10 in no ordained order. One of Movie Fanatic’s Top 10 Comedies of 2011 is on the list, Bridesmaids, which is fantastic because more often than not, comedies usually get left off year-end lists.

AFI named 10 films and gave two films special awards that were not made in America, and therefore not allowed to be on the list: The Harry Potter series and The Artist. Movie Fanatic has seen all of the 10, and let’s just say this: Our Top 10 Movies of 2011 list will be a tad different. Stay with us for the December 20 debut of our top films of 2011.

AFI Movies of the Year:
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
J. Edgar
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
 
AFI Special Awards:
The Artist
The Harry Potter Series

A film that did not make the list because it is foreign (British) is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The thriller did also not make their Special Awards category and we think that is a crime.

However, we do give AFI props for putting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on there, as that is also another type of film -- like a Bridesmaids -- that doesn’t normally wind up on people’s best-of lists.

Robert Downey Jr. is Sherlock Holmes in so many ways. Although purists may find his portrayal of the famous sleuth more showboat than series crime solver, audiences delighted in his turn in the first Sherlock Holmes and are eager to see him and Jude Law’s Dr. Watson go at it again in director Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Downey Jr. sat down with Movie Fanatic to talk about the finer points of playing Sherlock, his thoughts on others’ portrayal of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creation and how actor Jared Harris’ portrayal of the villain Moriarty is the stuff of legend.

Movie Fanatic: Your portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is so unique in the panorama of Holmes performances. Do you check out others and how they tackled the role, or is that a distraction?

Robert Downey, Jr.: I know that there are some quintessential performances that have happened. Whenever I watch someone doing something, even if it doesn’t turn out so great, I admire their intentions. I’ve heard more about the [new TV] series than I’ve seen, but I’m intrigued by it. I think it’s important that we’re all part of the same collective, honoring this great writer and his stories.

Movie Fanatic: When developing your characterization of Sherlock Holmes, do you stick with the storyline you’re given for this particular story, or do you go to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at all to fill in some blanks?

Robert Downey Jr.: You have to take the focus off yourself and put it on the shape of the scene and the intention of what everyone else needs. Well, you just keep Doyle in mind. I just respect the guy, more and more. Oftentimes what’s required, particularly if you’re in any central position, is that you just have to let go of the things that are darling to you. You have to give people something to actually write music to, so that you’re not just running your mouth, all the time.

Movie Fanatic: Did you feel like you had to take your Sherlock Holmes to another level, because A Game of Shadows is a sequel?
 
Robert Downey Jr.: After the first one worked out pretty good, we were doing the press tour and talking about things that we would like to improve and other directions we could go. And then, there was the reality of doing it. Anybody who’s ever been involved in making the second part to a first thing that worked, there should be a whole online support team. We happened through it. There’s so much to learn and the greatest disguise was us disguising ourselves as consummate, by-the-numbers professionals, when in fact, we’re all incredibly eccentric. And, Warner Bros. has given us the opportunity to try to do something that’s complicated and needs to tick a bunch of boxes. The great thing was that, this time, we also had Noomi [Rapace] and Jared [Harris].

Movie Fanatic: Did you have any opportunity to improv as the material feels so fresh?

Robert Downey Jr.: The goal is to make a well-written scene seem like it’s improvised, and come up with things that you find in the room, that you couldn’t have known until you get into the real situation. You just try to improve things, as you go along.

Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows: Second Trailer

Movie Fanatic: Sherlock Holmes, both the first one and this, is pure mystery and action. But, one could argue that it is also a bromance between Holmes and Watson. Are you particularly close to Jude, or even Guy Ritchie, your director?
 
Robert Downey Jr.: Jude and I are pretty close, and Guy and I are practically brothers, which makes things really interesting. There have been times when I’ve wanted to lop off his head with a machete, but it’s just because I love him so much [laughs].

Movie Fanatic: Did you enjoy dressing up in drag?
 
Robert Downey Jr.: Honestly [laughs], I thought I looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s dwarf brother, or the lead singer of The Cure, Robert Smith.

Movie Fanatic: A legend in the Sherlock Holmes world is the villain Moriarty. You have your villain in Game of Shadows with a stellar performance from Jared Harris as Moriarty. What was he like and how did he contribute to the process?
 
Robert Downey Jr.: Everything Jared Harris did, in the course of making this movie, was essentially thrown at him with very little time to prepare. It was shock and awe. I think what he brought with him was something that was just so particularly him, while still being this character. It honestly is the main reason that the movie works, but it was also an exercise in trial by fire for him. He was really quite nice. Once in a while, he would say, “I really just beg of you, if I could even have a semblance of knowing what I might say, I guarantee you that I could do a better job with it because I wouldn’t be like you, for this long scene that you just wrote, wearing an earwig where someone’s telling you what to say, in the other room. I would actually know what I was going to say.” I’d be like, “Interesting. Yeah, everyone has their own process.” Guy told him that he wanted him to go home and come back singing a German aria, the next day. Nobody learns a German aria overnight, except Jared Harris.

Movie Fanatic: You, Jude and Guy have a rhythm from the first Sherlock Holmes and now in A Game of Shadows. How did Jared take to being the new kid on the block?

Robert Downey Jr.: Jared would come in and we’d have a scene that we would be shooting in two days, and he’d be like, “Is this going to pretty much stay like this?” I was like, “Not a word of it.” He’d say, “Can I have something that I can study the night before?” I’d say, “I’m going to venture a no on the possibility of yes.” It would be like that. The stakes were so high, in every scene, and there were complicated camera shots. It’s pretty terrifying. What Jared kept pushing toward wasn’t personal. It wasn’t like, “I don’t want to be embarrassed. I want to do a good job. I want to come off great. I want great dialogue.” It kept going back to this archetype that he was trying to represent.

Movie Fanatic: Your wife, Susan, is a producer on the film. Did that allow for a more democratic filmmaking process?

Robert Downey Jr.: Yeah, it was a democracy in the truest and most frustrating and most rewarding sense of the word [laughs]. I mean anybody was allowed to come in and say, “You know, I'm just not cool with that.” It would be like, “Who's that?” “Oh, I'm just cleaning the trailer, sir.” And we'd just listen. It was nuts.

As 2011 comes to a close, Movie Fanatic is looking back on the best of the best on screen. Last week, we took a look at the Top 10 Comedies of 2011 and today’s focus is on movie villains. It was a banner year for the villain on film in 2011, with superhero movies providing naturally gifted villains, but there were also a few surprises to be found, including a few comedies!

So, without further ado, we present the Movie Fanatic Top 10 movie villains of 2011.

10. Ghostface from Scream 4
Maybe not the best of the Scream movies, but in Scream 4 Ghostface reminded audiences why that character is so darn villainous. We feel that half the reason Scream 4 even got green lit was that producers and director Wes Craven knew that audiences wanted another go-around with the Ghostface killer. He is scary incarnate.

9. Chango from 30 Minutes or Less
Perhaps an unusual choice, but Michael Pena’s portrayal of Chango was both funny and fierce. Danny McBride and Nick Swardson’s characters were supposed to be the villains in 30 Minutes or Less. But it is Pena’s Chango that stole the villainy from McBride and Swardson. It was also terrific to see Pena flex his comedic muscles and give audiences a true badass.

8. Hector Hammond from Green Lantern
Perhaps Hector Hammond is the best part of a bad movie? Largely due to the astounding acting talent of Peter Sarsgaard, the villain in Green Lantern gave the film its only juice worthy of the big screen. One rule of being a movie villain that he nails perfectly is, would we want to run into him or her in a dark alley? In the hands of Sarsgaard… no, Hammond is not someone we would like to meet in a dark alley.

7. Dave Harken in Horrible Bosses
Kevin Spacey was easily the most horrible of the Horrible Bosses, and therefore deserves to be on our list of top 10 movie villains of 2011. The fear he puts into Jason Bateman in the film is palpable and he is truly the main impetus for the plot to off Bateman and his friends’ bosses.

6. Tex Richman from The Muppets
Jason Segel and co-writer Nick Stoller showed their creative brilliance by not only bringing The Muppets back in all their glory, but also by introducing a foe to their fuzziness in Tex Richman. The oilman wants to own the Muppets' theater for its oil deep beneath the surface. In the astounding acting hands of Chris Cooper, not only does he strike fear in the audience, but even the entire cast of Muppets, who normally don’t seem to possess much in terms of fear.

5. August in Water for Elephants
Christoph Waltz is becoming a go-to actor for portraying villains. We can thank his Oscar-winning turn in Inglourious Basterds. Waltz was the baddie in two films this year, first Green Hornet, but most deliciously devilish in Water for Elephants. His August owns and runs a Depression-era circus with an iron fist. Anyone who disagrees with his methods is promptly thrown off a train -- seriously. Then, there is August’s treatment of animals. That alone puts August in his own league of hell when it comes to movie villains of 2011.

4. Loki in Thor
Loki was so bad in Thor, that he was the perfect choice to serve as the central villain of 2012’s The Avengers. In the movie Thor, his little brother of Chris Hemsworth’s hero is part whiny younger sibling and all evil as he threatens the well being of the entire universe. Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal never drifted into camp, as it easily could have, and the result was a perfect foe for Thor. Movie Fanatic cannot wait to see the entire The Avengers gang take on Loki in the 2012 film. We think that speaks volumes to his badness… it takes an all-star of Marvel heroes to bring him down.

3. Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger
Speaking of Marvel bad guys, Red Skull slithered and took the fear factor into the stratosphere in Captain America: The First Avenger. Hugo Weaving, the iconic bad guy from The Matrix movies, donned the Red Skull mask and struck fear into audiences in 2011. You know you’re doing something right as a movie villain if the Nazis are afraid of you. And they were, rightfully so.

2. Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Imagine our thrill when we heard that the villain in the sequel to 2009’s Sherlock Holmes was going to be Moriarty. In the Sherlock Holmes books, that character is often referred to as Sherlock’s best bad guy. Looking at his pedigree, it is easy to see why. He is Holmes’ intelligence equal. As good as Sherlock is at dissecting a mystery and solving it, Moriarty excels at developing devilish plans that leave inspectors, such as Holmes, completely adrift in trying to figure out the source of the evil. In A Game of Shadows, as played by Jared Harris, Moriarty has no soul and no qualms about plunging the world into war, all so he can make a fortune. He won’t get it, but Harris deserves Oscar consideration for his deft portrayal.

1. Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Expecting anyone else to top our list of top 10 movie villains of 2011? We could argue that Voldemort is the best movie villain of the last decade. And kudos to producers for casting Ralph Fiennes as He Who Shall Not Be Named -- after books and films that teased the man’s penchant for evil. When he finally takes somewhat of a human form in Fiennes, it is a villain that easily produces nightmares, long after the credits roll. But during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, his villainy practically destroys all that is good in the world of magic, engulfing Hogwarts in a fiery finish and “killing” Harry Potter. Voldemort is so wicked, we could see him topping the list of best movie villains of all time.

The 17th annual Critics Choice Movie Awards will be broadcast live on VH1 on January 12, as one of the first award ceremonies of the season.

Which films/actors/actresses are nominated in which categories? Find out now...

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “Drive”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen – “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Andy Serkis – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan – “Shame”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – “Hugo”
Elle Fanning – “Super 8”
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Ezra Miller – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Saoirse Ronan – “Hanna”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
“50/50” – Will Reiser
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“Win Win” – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
“Young Adult” – Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – Eric Roth
“The Help” – Tate Taylor
“Hugo” – John Logan
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Artist” – Guillaume Schiffman
“Drive” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“Hugo” – Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” – Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION
“The Artist” – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
“War Horse” – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
“Drive” – Matthew Newman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“War Horse” – Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“The Help” – Sharen Davis
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“My Week With Marilyn” – Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now?

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

BEST SCORE
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
“Drive” – Cliff Martinez
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“War Horse” – John Williams

With Colin Firth, Gary Oldman, John Hurt and a who’s-who of British acting talent, director Tomas Alfredson could easily have gotten lost in star gazing. In fact, he crafted the most intelligent movie of 2011 onto screens. Alfredson sat down with Movie Fanatic for an exclusive video interview where we extol the virtues of Gary Oldman, the power of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy author John le Carre’s brilliance and his favorite moment filming the instant spy classic (check out our Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy review).

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Director Exclusive Interview

The holidays not only mean a wealth of cinematic offerings, but the debut of numerous movie trailers for next summer's blockbusters as well. Latest case in point: The sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.

Machinima premiered the trailer G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which hits theaters June 29. Stars Channing Tatum and Ray Park run it back for the second film along with a whole star-studded cast of newcomers.

Think Dwayne Johnson (The Rock!), Elodie Yung, D.J. Cotrona, RZA, Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins (Justified), Joe Mazzello and Bruce Willis (Bruce Willis!), people!

Take a look at the three-minute sneak peek of G.I. Joe: Retaliation and comment below!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Trailer

The Wicker Tree trailer has arrived and gives us a little insight into what the filmmaker was thinking. The Wicker Tree is meant as a companion piece to 1973’s The Wicker Man (not the Nicolas Cage remake!) by writer-director Robin Hardy. The auteur returns to the film that made him with what appears to be a chilling piece of filmmaking, regardless of its pedigree. Wicker Tree stars Christopher Lee (the original film’s star), Clive Russell and Jacqueline Leonard.

The Wicker Tree Trailer

When Rise of the Planet of the Apes arrived in August 2011, it surprised the world and became a global smash. James Franco and Freida Pinto shined as the movie’s stars, but the true standout was Andy Serkis and his stop-motion performance that is garnering Oscar buzz. Rise of the Planet of the Apes lands on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, along with a super charming sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, and the solid remake in Fright Night.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Before Charlton Heston was screaming at his dirty apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes takes us back to how it all began. The film shows how a scientist (Franco) was developing a potential cure for Alzheimer’s. His tests on certain apes proved quite fruitful, especially on one named Caesar. Central to the film is the relationship developed between Caesar and Franco’s scientist. It is heartwarming to say the least… well, until Caesar acts out and is put in an ape facility where he leads a revolution that we know results in Planet of the Apes.

Highlights of the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack extras include:

Audio commentary by director Rupert Wyatt, fascinating deleted scenes and the behind-the-scenes featurettes astound, especially Capturing Caesar -- Script to Screen and Studying the Genius of Andy Serkis.

Kung Fu Panda 2: The entire Kung Fu Panda gang is back including stars Jack Black and Angelina Jolie as the adventures of Po continue. In this chapter, Po (Black) finds out some background about his family and he and the Furious Five have to fight a nemesis stronger than Kung Fu itself.

Highlights of the Kung Fu Panda 2 extras:

An all-new Po adventure, Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters and a sneak peek episode of the upcoming Nickelodeon TV series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.

Fright Night: Many scoffed when it was brought up that 1985’s Fright Night was getting the remake treatment. But then, we saw it. Colin Farrell is astounding as Jerry, the vampire living next door. Anton Yelchin marvels as the teen who musters up the strength to get combative with the cold-blooded killer Jerry. Great fun, shuddering thrills and it all adds up to a truly satisfying movie experience.

The Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack extras are highlighted by:

Gag reel (unrated), Kid Cudi music video for No One Believes Me, Extended & Uncut Peter Vincent: Swim Inside My Mind and five deleted scenes with intros by director Craig Gillepsie.