Last month The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 15 films had been selected for consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 84th Academy Awards. Today those 15 movies were narrowed down to 10.

Here are the movies still in the race:

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

For those wondering, the 5 movies no longer in the race are Thor, Sucker Punch, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Cowboys & Aliens, and Super 8.

On January 19th the 5 official nominations will be selected after members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee view 10-minute excerpts from each film. The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. Billy Crystal will host the actual ceremony on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Which movies do you think should get a VFX nod?

Read similar posts to VFX Oscar race narrowed down to 10 movies at Filmonic

As with every other Top Ten list you’ve read (or may read), I’ll begin with some parameters: the films included here are ones that received a theatrical release in the calendar year of 2011. There were some I didn’t see that are ending up on other people’s lists - The Descendants, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, We Bought A Zoo - and some that I did see that were very close to making this list - Like Crazy, Being Elmo, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, and Hugo to name a few. But agree or disagree, prepare to let loose in the comments.

Here are my favorite films of 2011:

10. Fast Five

I’m as surprised as you are to find that a fifth entry into a franchise made it onto this list. But director Justin Lin brought such a high energy to this movie that I can’t help but love it. The action is completely bonkers, with a train heist and a final battle that ventures into ludicrous territory. And speaking of Ludacris (see what I did there?), he and Tyrese and the rest of the gang are all back to join Paul Walker and Vin Diesel for Fast Five, giving this movie a continuity that few action franchises take care to implement.

Throw in Dwayne Johnson as an agent hot on their trail and some homoerotic confrontations, and you’ve got yourself a hell of an action movie by a director who continually ups the ante, quickly becoming a rising star in my mind. Bonus: stick around for the post-credits sequence, which left me instantly wanting to see Fast Six.

9. The Adventures of Tintin

Spielberg’s return to the action/adventure genre is leagues above his last attempt at similar fare. Thanks to a script the spans the globe at a whirlwind pace and the vision of perhaps the world’s most beloved mainstream filmmaker, Spielberg’s first foray into animation was a blast at the theater. Herge’s original artwork is brilliantly recreated by Weta Digital with a 3D flair, and the result looks phenomenal and pays respect to the mountain of source material popular all over the world. For me, the highlight was a long continuous shot of Tintin scrambling through a city chase that lasted around three minutes; it’s my favorite shot of the year.

8. X-Men: First Class

Matthew Vaughn did the unthinkable: with a fresh cast and a new time period, he revitalized a franchise which, thanks to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was on life support. And from start to finish, he did it in under a year. With such an effects-heavy film, that Herculean task alone is enough to earn my undying respect, but Vaughn also made a pretty damn good film that learns from the best of its genre predecessors: it’s funny when it needs to be, respects the characters, contains legitimately good storytelling, and is a lot of fun.

The casting was great, spot-on in choosing McAvoy as a young Xavier, and rising star Michael Fassbender proved that he’s not above blockbuster fare if the script is solid. Bonus: the filmmakers also pulled together an awesome selection of character actors for the military personnel, and Kevin Freaking Bacon is the villain.

7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

A movie I had absolutely no interest in seeing, Rise of the Planet of the Apes kicked my ass and made me rethink my cynical outlook regarding franchise reboots. The motion capture technology makes the CGI apes much more interesting to watch than the humans, but the film effortlessly succeeds in convincing us that Caesar’s transformation from an intelligent pet to the leader of a revolution is justified from a character standpoint. And that character work, not just for Caesar, but for all the CGI apes, is the highlight of the film.

There are some fantastic “blockbuster” moments – the Golden Gate Bridge sequence comes to mind – but this is really a character piece, and ultimately is a movie that I don’t love with all of my heart, but also one in which I can’t find anything that I really don’t like about it. If you skipped it because the trailers looked ridiculous, do yourself a favor and check it out.

6. Warrior

Perhaps the year’s most underrated film, Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior is about as subtle as a hand grenade. It’s a tale of brothers at odds, taking the underdog story to new heights by doubling the stakes and having the two fight for MMA glory. As someone who doesn’t care at all about mixed martial arts, I was shocked to be as pulled into the story as I was, a testament to the solid writing and immersive work by lead actors Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. Nick Nolte’s drunken father character is surprisingly effective and frankly the guy deserves more recognition than he’s getting. Warrior is not only one of my favorite films of the year, but I’d argue that it’s one of the best, too.

5. Take Shelter

It’s been almost a full year since I’ve seen Jeff Nichols’ film, but its images are still with me. Michael Shannon’s towering work as a man who may or may not be crazy is easily my favorite performance of the year, and this film also introduced me to the wonderful Jessica Chastain, an actress who is sure to have an exemplary career in years to come. A sense of dread looms over the film much like the (possibly imaginary?) storm clouds, and from the excellent cinematography to the eerie score, Take Shelter had me hooked from the start.

4. Rango

Gore Verbinski’s western is a rare gem: a kids movie almost entirely too adult for kids, with offbeat performances from a terrific cast and stunning animation in ILM’s first completely CGI feature. Hans Zimmer’s score is memorable and fits right in with the kookiness of the tone, and the production design (featuring discarded human trash as the animal city of Dirt) is inspired and original. The humor flies as quickly as the whip-smart dialogue, and the question of identity as seen through the eyes of the main character is fascinating. Rango is one for the ages, though it may be a bit too intelligent for all ages.

3. The Artist

The feeling of knowing almost nothing about a movie before going to see it and walking away awestruck is one of my favorite things in the world. Such was the case with The Artist, as I saw it before any of the Best Picture hype began and I just knew it was a silent black and white film. It’s a throwback to the silent era of classical American filmmaking and the conflicts presented with the rise of “talkies” and sound in movies. In that way, it’s essentially 2011′s Singing in the Rain, but with a dash of Sunset Boulevard thrown in since it deals a bit more with themes of obsolescence. The performances are outstanding, and though the movie is never subtle, it’s one of the most purely enjoyable films of the year.

2. Drive

Nicholas Winding Refn’s 80′s-fused tribute to all things cool is as violent as it is beautiful. Los Angeles is as much a character as any of the extraordinary cast (Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Carey Mulligan, and Ryan Gosling, who practically oozes cool). The cityscapes and valleys of the City of Angels are shot in a way that would make Michael Mann proud, and the noir story is punctuated by one of the most hypnotic scores of the year.

Some may claim there is nothing but style on display, but that’s OK with me – any film that opens with as much suspense as this one gets a pass to do whatever it wants. Refn and Gosling are planning to work together again in the future, and I can’t wait to see what else this director/actor combo has in mind for us.

1. Attack the Block

Joe Cornish’s debut is a pulsing cult classic that is exactly the kind of movie I love to watch. It has memorable characters with vibrant personalities, unique dialogue, a wet neon Amblin-on-ecstasy vibe, an awesome soundtrack, and endless rewatchability. I won’t talk it up any more since I’m seeing it on a lot of “Most Overrated Movies of 2011″ lists, but the fact that it’s my favorite film of the year should, if you’ve read this far, at least convince you to seek it out. Cornish (who co-wrote Tintin with Edgar Wright and Steven Moffat) has secured a place next to Rian Johnson on my “directors to watch” list.

Think I’m crazy? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments. Until next time…

Read similar posts to Ben’s Favorite Films of 2011 at Filmonic

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the 15 films that have been selected for consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 84th Academy Awards.

In early January members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee will narrow the list down to 10, and then on January 19th the 5 official nominations will be selected after members view 10-minute excerpts from each film.

Here’s the list of films in alphabetical order:

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Cowboys & Aliens”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
“Sucker Punch”
“Super 8″
“Thor”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. Billy Crystal will host the actual ceremony on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Which movies do you think should get a VFX nod?

Read similar posts to 15 movies in line for VFX Oscar at Filmonic

The Adventures of Tintin spent another weekend at the top of the international box office thanks to little to no competition. Besides the usual suspects, French flick Intouchables found its way into the top 5.

Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin had another good weekend with $39 million made from 45 markets. After two weeks the movie stands at a respectable $123.4 million. Like I already said, respectable but it still has a long way to go before we can call it a hit. On the bright side, there are still loads of territories where The Adventures of Tintin hasn’t opened yet.

Puss in Boots was 2nd with $16.9 million for a new total of $36.5 million internationally. What’s really impressive is Puss only opened in 4 countries so far. Worldwide the animated flick stands at $118.6 million and if the $130 million budget is to be believed, then this movie is definitely on the right track to profitability.

Strange enough, In Time was 3rd with $16.8 million, somewhat of a bump from the $15.3 million made a week before. With $37.6 million internationally and $62.8 million worldwide, In Time will very soon eclipse the $72.6 million made by the previous Andrew Niccol directed flick, Lord of War (Nicholas Cage), thus becoming his most successful feature film.

4th place belongs to the French comedy I wrote about in the introduction, Intouchables. Now if only IMDB would work properly, I’d know a lot more about Intouchables, alas, I shall improvise. Here’s a trailer in French for the francophones out there (of which, sorry to say, I ain’t). Also the movie made $15 million, most of that (98% to be more exact) from France. This is no Dany Boon flick (so I ain’t so francophone-less after all) but it did score the 4th best opening of the year in the country with one of the hottest first ladies out there.

Paranormal Activity 3 was 5th with $13.6 million for $77.1 million so far internationally, on the way to $100 million, besting the $92.8 million made by Paranormal Activity 2. When it comes to worldwide totals, Paranormal Activity 3 will not only beat the 2nd film but also the original, $200 million and more being the target.

Outside the top 5, Real Steel made another $10.7 million for a worldwide total of $206.6 million while Tower Heist debuted in 7th place with $9.3 million.

In 8th place Johnny English Reborn made $7.6 million ($147.4 million worldwide), Rise of the Planet of the Apes also $7.6 million ($468.9 million) and Contagion grossed $5 million ($120 million).

The undeniable star of last week, RA One, took a huge nosedive to about $1.96 million from India and under $1 million from the rest of the world.

Read similar posts to International Box Office: Tintin continues to lead at Filmonic

The Adventures of Tintin started to roll into theaters around the world last weekend to great success, bringing the international box office back to life after weeks of lackluster numbers. But, it wasn’t just Tintin making the rounds, Bollywood superhero flick RA One also opened to monstrous numbers.

With Steven Spielberg directing and Peter Jackson producing, expectations for The Adventures of Tintin were rather high and with $56.1 million from 19 markets, I’m pleased to announce that it certain meet them. Now there is still a long way to go for the Herge character that appeared to the world for the first time almost 83 years ago, but this is definitely a great start. Based on this opening I’d say Tintin is headed for at least $350 million internationally. I can’t stress enough that this is just a very conservative prediction. Since The Adventures of Tintin is aimed clearly at the international market, by the time it opens in North America on December 21st, we’ll probably know if Paramount thinks it’s successful enough to green light the sequel that Peter Jackson wants to direct.

Second place is kind of a surprise for me with RA One at a staggering $33.4 million. You don’t see Bollywood film open that high every day. Obviously most of that money was made in India ($28.3 million) where it now holds the opening weekend record. All I’ve seen of this is a trailer that shows a very effects driven Bollywood flick, so if there are any people that saw this, please tell us in the comments why do you think RA One is so big and if it deserves such success.

Puss in Boots was 3rd with $17.2 million, mostly from a huge $15.1 million opening in Russia. The Shrek movies have always found great success around the world with the last one, Shrek Forever After, grossing $513.8 million internationally. Puss in Boots should at least aim for $300 million and if that happens, we might just see another adventure featuring the feline hero.

Former leader Paranormal Activity 3 fell to 4th place with $16.6 million for $54.1 million internationally and a grand total of $138.8 million worldwide. This movie cost $5 million to make, just saying.

In Time opened last weekend to somewhat better results than in North America, specifically $15.4 million. A decent start and I can see this finishing close to $80 million worldwide.

Real Steel made $12.2 million for $108 million internationally and $182.7 million worldwide. Good numbers if only Real Steel wasn’t so expensive. On the other hand Johnny English Reborn was a lot cheaper and made $12.1 million last weekend for $123.8 million internationally and $130.7 million worldwide (since it only made $6.8 million in North America).

Finally Rise of the Planet of the Apes was 8th with $10.4 million thanks to a huge $9 million opening in China. Rise of the Planet of the Apes now sits at $453.2 million worldwide, a good deal higher than the 2001 Planet of the Apes ($362.2 million).

Read similar posts to International Box Office: Tintin has strong opening at Filmonic

Nobody expected Rise of the Planet of the Apes to A) Be good, or B) Make $450 million worldwide, but that’s what happened and 20th Century Fox have now taken their first steps towards making a sequel.

According to Deadline “the studio just closed what I’m told is a healthy seven-figure deal for Andy Serkis to reprise his role as lead ape Caesar”. 20th Century Fox are also intending to mount an Oscar campaign for Serkis’ performance in the film, which earned much praise from critics in August.

James Franco and Freida Pinto have yet to sign, which suggests Serkis and his performance capture abilities are top priority. Depending on the direction of the sequel James Franco and Freida Pinto may not be required, as the ending of the first film left things open.

Director Rupert Wyatt’s is already locked following the deal he made for the first film, and screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have signed to return. Earlier this year director Rupert Wyatt spoke about his ideas for a potential sequel, and said it could take place several years after the events of the first film with humans potentially living underground and apes taking over cities.

Are you interested in a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes?

Read similar posts to Andy Serkis signs for Rise of the Apes sequel at Filmonic

Paranormal Activity 3 seems to be quite on a roll and after setting a few records in North America, it now tops the international box office. Truth be told, it wasn’t all that hard to come out in the lead around the world since box office numbers have been kind of anaemic in the past weeks.

With $26.1 million Paranormal Activity 3 was #1 in its first weekend. Looking back, Paranormal Activity grossed $85.4 million internationally while the sequel made $92.7 million. That’s not much of a difference between the two but things are about to change with the 3rd entry. Based on the opening weekend I’d say Paranormal Activity 3 is headed for over $120 million internationally and something like $230 million worldwide when all will be said and done, which is mighty impressive for a $5 million movie.

Real Steel was 2nd with $18.5 million from 32 markets. The big budget robot boxing flick gathered $86.1 million for a worldwide total of $153.4 million so far. Based on the estimated $110-140 million budget (no numbers were reported directly from DreamWorks) I’d say the movie is half way into profitability but most likely won’t make it all the way to the finish. $250 million worldwide is about as high as I can see it going.

While not all that popular in North America, Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English Reborn had another great weekend with $14.3 million. Worldwide the movie is at $108.5 million and I think it will keep going up to $160 million or so. Considering the $45 million budget, I’d say Mr. Rowan Atkinson should be able to buy himself a brand new McLaren F1 after breaking the old one (we’re talking about a very exclusive $2 million car here).

In 4th place, The Three Musketeers is saving face a bit after that awful opening in North America. Internationally the swashbuckler made $13 million and so far it stands at $73.7 million worldwide. Things aren’t looking too pretty for this film and I think it won’t be profitable during its box office run unless it can make at the very least $160 million worldwide. I highly doubt it can go that high anymore.

Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is starting to move around the world with $9.8 million for 5th place and $23 million internationally so far. Worldwide the movie is at $96.1 million. The Smurfs ($3.6M), Abduction ($3.3M), The Lion King ($3.3M), Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($3.1M) and Friends with Benefits ($2.7M) round up the top 10.

Read similar posts to International Box Office: Paranormal Activity 3 scares enough for top spot at Filmonic

In North American Real Steel battled remakes, around the world the fight is against The Three Musketeers. Now the musketeers certainly know their way around a sword but Atom (the main robot) from Real Steel can take a punch or two and still stand. Ultimately he is made of steel and the musketeers, well, a bit underpowered in a direct confrontation against a machine. No surprise that Real Steel remained undefeated for another week.

Yes, I know I’m writing about box office here and Real Steel came on top because it made more money, not because the titular robot character could probably take on The Three Musketeers in a direct fight and win. What can I say, I like taking a different approach sometimes and speaking of taking things, Real Steel took $23.3 million for a new total of $56.6 million internationally and $108.3 million worldwide. If I were to guess where this could end up, and I am guessing, I’d say $230 million worldwide would be about right.

The Three Musketeers grossed another $20.9 million last weekend for 2nd place, siting at $49 million so far. Made on an estimated $75 million budget, I think this movie is well on its way to profitability since it will finish with over $120 million internationally and add another $30-40 million from North America where it opens on Friday.

Johnny English Reborn was 3rd with $17.3 million and $85.1 million so far. This also opens in North America on Friday and it should get $15-20 million from there without much trouble. The 2003 Johnny English finished with $160.5 million worldwide so I think this new one should end up with more, probably over $180 million.

4th place has The Lion King 3D with $5.2 million and you might notice a rather big gap between this and 3rd place. You see, business is not exactly booming around the world at the box office, particularly because there’s not much out there right now. Back to The Lion King, a movie that has now grossed $912.3 million worldwide and should become the 2nd biggest animated movie of all time, as soon as it passes the $919.8 million made by Shrek 2.

Friends with Benefits finished in 5th place, $4.5 million, $84.5 million internationally, $140.3 million worldwide and I’ll give one last paragraph to Rise of the Planet of the Apes with $4.4 million for 6th place. $255.4 million is how much it made internationally and $430.7 million is the worldwide total. For reference the 2001 Planet of the Apes made $363.2 worldwide.

Read similar posts to International Box Office: Real Steel remains undefeated at Filmonic

The robot boxing live-action flick Real Steel took the number one spot both in North America and around the world last weekend. While west of the Atlantic there wasn’t much of a fight, internationally Johnny English Reborn gave Real Steel a run for its money.

Real Steel generated $27.3 million in North America and $22.1 million in 19 other markets bringing the flick to a worldwide box office total of $54.6 million so far. For something released in October this would be a great number but unfortunately for Real Steel, the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie came with a hefty price tag rumored to be somewhere around $147 million. In the US the movie could end up grossing over $100 million with good word of mouth while internationally the sky is the limit as they say. But I think over $200 million would be a more down to earth guess. Ultimately, it’s not going to be easy for Real Steel to become profitable.

The Ides of March took 2nd place in North America with $10.4 million. Coming from Sony, this was the other new release of the weekend.

Internationally Johnny English Reborn was 2nd with $21.1 million for a total of $61.3 million so far. The movie comes out in North America in little over a week so I’m expecting $20 something million from there also.

Dolphin Tale was 3rd with $9.1 million domestically for $51.3 million total while Moneyball was 4th with $7.4 million and a $50.9 million total. This two have had 21 days in release so far and are still going at it stronger then ever. My money is still on Moneyball taking the edge when all will be said and done.

Finally for North America, 50/50 was 5th with $5.6 million for $18.9 million in 12 days. Before I switch back to international box office I have to mention The Lion King 3D, 7th place with an epic $87.1 million made in 26 days. This is now just 0.5 million shy of the $900 million worldwide mark. Actually, considering how much money The Lion King 3D makes on a given day, I think it’s already there so congrats to Disney for bringing back a 17 year old series and making it the most successful movie of the autumn thus far.

Back to international box office where, maybe you didn’t hear but The Smurfs isn’t number one for the first time in 9 weeks, wow. Yep, the live-action debut of the animated classic was 3rd for the first time ever with $8.5 million for a ridiculous worldwide total of $532.7 million.

4th place has Rise of the Planet of the Apes with $7.8 million for a total of $418.4 million worldwide. Execs at Fox must feel so proud of themselves right about now. In 5th place The Lion King 3D grossed another $7.3 million and as mentioned above, it’s just shy of $900 million making it the 20th movie to ever reach that mark worldwide.

Read similar posts to Real Steel takes the box office by storm at Filmonic

The UK branch of 20th Century Fox has set a December 12th release date for Rise of the Planet of the Apes on DVD and Blu-ray, with a similar release date expected in the US and elsewhere.

There were a few surprise hits this summer (Fast Five, Bridesmaids, The Help), and Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of them. Few had high hopes for the prequel, but it opened to great reviews thanks to Rupert Wyatt’s direction, and has made over $418 million worldwide (it will soon be released in China, so its final number will grow).

Here are the DVD/Blu-ray specifications listed by Amazon UK:

Blu-ray Special Features:
- Deleted scenes (x 11)
- Mythology of the Apes
- The Genius Of Andy Serkis
- A New Generation Of Apes
- Scene Breakdown: Final scene with picture-in-picture reference
- Scene Breakdown: Early animation
- Scene Breakdown: Performance capture
- Character Concept Art Gallery (12 x stills)
- Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries
- Composing the Score with Patrick Doyle
- The Great Apes: 360° rotation, facts, video on chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans
- Audio commentary by director Rupert Wyatt
- Audio commentary by writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
- Theatrical trailers

DVD Special Features:
- Deleted scenes (x 2)
- Mythology of the Apes
- The Genius of Andy Serkis

Rupert Wyatt has already shared his ideas for a sequel, so with the movie’s success it shouldn’t be too long before 20th Century move forward with the next film.

In the meantime, you can pre-order Rise of the Planet of the Apes from Amazon via the links below:

Read similar posts to Rise of the Planet of the Apes set for December DVD/Blu-ray release at Filmonic