I think these may be the last I receive. Our nominations balloting begins Monday, so even if they aren’t, I won’t have time to see any of them before the nominations are started.

THE FIGHTER

Genre: Boxing Drama
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O’Keefe, Jack McGee
Director: David O. Russell
Premise: A look at the early years of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.
Oscar Chances: Strong: This is one of the year’s major Oscar contenders. Keep an eye out for this one for a high nomination count and possibly even a couple of wins.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Actor – Mark Wahlberg
• Best Supporting Actor – Christian Bale, Jack McGee
• Best Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
• Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction
• Best Film Editing
• Best Costume Design
• Best Original Score
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Makeup
• Best Visual Effects

Rotten Tomatoes:
84% (56 critics; as of 12/10/10)
Metacritic:
74 out of 100 (21 critics; as of 12/10/10)

TRUE GRIT

Genre: Western
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Premise: A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer.
Oscar Chances: Strong: Another huge Oscar contender with plenty of nomination and win potential.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Actor – Jeff Bridges
• Best Supporting Actress – Hailee Steinfeld
• Best Supporting Actor – Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper
• Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction
• Best Costume Design
• Best Original Score
• Best Film Editing
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Makeup
• Best Visual Effects

Rotten Tomatoes:
100% (9 critics; as of 12/10/10)
Metacritic:
83 out of 100 (3 critics; as of 12/10/10)

WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN”

Genre: Documentary
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Premise: Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education “statistics” have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN.
Oscar Chances: Strong: This is currently one of the lead contenders for this year’s Best Documentary Feature win.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Documentary Feature
• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Film Editing
• Best Cinematography
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Song – “Shine”

Rotten Tomatoes:
88% (96 critics; as of 12/10/10)
Metacritic:
81 out of 100 (31 critics; as of 12/10/10)