The Help

CHICAGO – Another year, another Oscar season. Blah. As much as I love the Oscars, there’s something about this one that feels just a little different — a little more jaded, a little more apathetic, a little nonplussed. I think it has to do with two major factors:

CHICAGO - The British Academy Film Award Nominations were released today, and the silent film “The Artist” led the way with 12 nominations. Keeping its impressive award season going, “The Artist” picked up nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

CHICAGO – Welcome to the HollywoodChicago.com coverage of the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards. These awards honor the best in film and TV for 2011 while also allowing host Ricky Gervais to poke fun at all your favorite Hollywood stars.

CHICAGO – The 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards played out last night, and the big winning films of the night were “The Artist” and “The Help.” Winning Best Picture and Best Director, “The Artist” placed itself into the category of serious contender for this year’s Academy Awards, while “The Help” won Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), and Best Ensemble Cast.

CHICAGO – The Producers Guild of America announced their final nominees this morning for the Producers Guild Awards, celebrating the year of producing in film and television. While documentary film categories and multiple television categories had already been announced, the nominees for motion pictures, animated motion pictures, and long-form television were official this morning.

CHICAGO – The Hollywood Foreign Press Association may have done nothing as soul crushing as the nominations for “Burlesque” and “The Tourist” last year but it’s not for lack of trying. Here are their ten biggest offenses, followed by the full list of nominees for this year’s Golden Globes.

CHICAGO – The announcements keep coming for award season winners and nominees. Today, we have the list of nominees for this year’s Screen Actors’ Guild awards. The awards celebrate the best male and female performances in film and television, leaving out awards like Best Picture or Best Director. “The Help” leads this year’s films with four different nominations.

CHICAGO – “The Help” has been one of the most divisive movies of 2011. I know some critics who absolutely loathe it, finding the easy-to-digest version of something as important as civil rights to be offensive. I get that. I know some critics who love it, finding the performances strong enough to carry the movie over any sentimental rough patches. I get that too. The movie is too much of a phenomenon for any self-respecting cinema buff to miss it entirely. So, as much as I’d love to offer a solid thumbs up or down, I’m falling pretty squarely in the middle, edging just barely to a recommendation, but you need to see it for yourself just to see on which side of the controversial fence you fall.

CHICAGO – Nominations have just been released this morning for this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards, and some common trends in award ceremonies we have already seen continue in this set of nominees. With ten different Best Picture nominees and thirty different actors and actresses nominated, it is no surprise that there are some similarities.

CHICAGO – “The Lion King 3D” held its dominance in the box office this past weekend when it edged out “Moneyball” for the top prize. The re-release of the film, presented in three dimensions, has now gone back to back weeks at number one 17 years apart.