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		<title><![CDATA[NowakFilms Discussion Forums]]></title>
		<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/index.php</link>
		<description><![CDATA[The most recent topics at NowakFilms Discussion Forums.]]></description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 21:00:44 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Will This Piss Off J and P3chez?]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2334&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I'm sure they've already heard, but just in case...

[url]http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57435601-94/verizon-to-kill-unlimited-data-plans-for-existing-subscribers/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 21:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2334&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Cloud Storage and Privacy Policies]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2333&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A slug line that just makes you want to click right away, eh?  I know... not the most exciting topic on the surface, but this article from the Washington Post is pretty interesting nonetheless.

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/cloud-wars-how-google-drives-privacy-policy-stack-up-against-its-rivals/2012/04/26/gIQAXaQ2iT_story.html[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:53:22 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2333&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Seriously... SERIOUSLY??]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2332&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Are kids really this ignorant today (rhetorical - just ask Jon)?  But seriously (again), are kids going to start wondering if World War II actually happened?  Or the moon landing?

[url]http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2012/04/yes_internet_the_titanic_reall.php[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:40:12 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2332&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Best... Movies... Ever!]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2331&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[According to Sight & Sound Magazine.  This is an interesting look at the poll from Roger Ebert's perspective.  A neat read, though I'm surprised a couple of Woody Allen's movies or at least one of Steven Spielberg's aren't in the Top Tens mentioned.  But I guess Woody may be too light and Spielberg too sentimental for many filmmakers and critics.  Le sigh.

[url]http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/04/post_5.html[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:29:50 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2331&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Movie Inspired Easter Eggs]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2330&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I thought about putting this in the movie discussion section, but it's also about Easter (sort of), so I opted for here to shake it up a little.  It was linked on imdb.

[url]http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/movie-easter-eggs/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:54:22 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2330&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Writing Tips from Billy Wilder]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2329&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Linked on imdb.

[url]http://www.theuncool.com/2012/03/28/billy-wilders-tips-for-writers/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:33:59 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2329&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Neat Sporcle Quiz]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2328&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I don't think I've posted a Sporcle quiz before... maybe I did?  Anyway, here's one that's kind of neat.  Cryptic clues to guess the movie titles.

[url]http://www.sporcle.com/games/Larryholmes79/wordwise-movie-titles[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:31:45 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2328&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Simon's Cat]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2327&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I'm sure I've either posted or showed almost everyone at least one of the funny, short cartoons from Simon's Cat.  Here's the website.  Kind of neat.  You can watch the shorts and find out how he draws some of the characters and stuff.

[url]http://www.simonscat.com/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:34:36 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2327&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Leadership Lessons...]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2326&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[From Captains James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard.  The first one was linked on imdb.  Kind of funny, but true and kind of inspring.

[url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/03/05/five-leadership-lessons-from-james-t-kirk/[/url]
[url]http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/03/13/five-leadership-lessons-from-jean-luc-picard/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:48:15 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2326&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[The Doom of John Carter?]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2325&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Interesting article linked from a newsfeed at imdb.  It's a little slanted, but it brings up some interesting points about the marketing of John Carter and the lack of appeal because it's source has been plundered by everyone.

[url]http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/john-carter-doomed-by-first-trailer.html?mid=rss[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:55:51 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2325&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[The Return of Superfly]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2324&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The article that the movie American Gangster is based on.  It's an interesting read.  If nothing else, Frank Lucas is a character, that's for sure.  Linked from a page linked on imdb.

[url]http://nymag.com/print/?/nymetro/news/people/features/3649/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:04:21 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2324&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[In Defense of Discs]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2323&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A rather interesting article linked on imdb.

[url]http://www.avclub.com/articles/in-defense-of-discs-and-the-desire-for-better-thin,70396/[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:54:34 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2323&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Overrated Best Picture Winners]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2322&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Linked on imdb.  I don't agree with all of them, but such is life.  What say you?

[url]http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20311937_20572218,00.html[/url]]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:57:26 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2322&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[84th Academy Award Predictions]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2321&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Well, it's been another year, and another Oscar show airs tonight.  And yet again, I've waited til the last minute to post my predictions for who's going to take home the little golden statuettes.  This year has been a particularly vanilla year for the Oscars in my mind.  Almost all the nominees are "safe" in some way.  Slightly blase.  Not that the movies are bad.  Many of them are very, very good.  But the nominations aren't quite as well rounded as they could be.  I suppose it reflects the mindset of the masses.  And darker, edgy material just isn't in vogue this year.  That's fine.  But when it comes to making predictions about who's going to win tonight, it seems like the tameness of the nominees makes the predictions all the easier, and therefore less fun.  In any event, here be my predictions.  And to be clear, these are who I think will win, followed at the end of a short explanation (in most cases) by who I would've picked.

Best Picture
The Artist - Nine nominees, and it appears to be a foregone conclusion that this throwback to the silent era will reign victorious.  I thought it was good, but I don't quite think it's Best Picture material.  To me, it's akin to the nomination of Seabiscuit for Best Picture back in 2003 - both good movies, not quite the best of the year though.  Al's vote (were I a member of the Academy): Either Hugo or Midnight in Paris.  I loved them both.  The Descendants would be a fairly close third out of the nominees.

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin for The Artist - I thought he did solid job.  He was charming and expressive, then convincingly downcast.  He seems to be the favorite this year, so I won't stray far from the popular verdict.  However, I think some of the other actors and even some not nominated performed equally well this year, if not even better.  Al's vote: Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Best Actress
Viola Davis for The Help - Rooney Mara did a good job, but she's relatively new and therefore has more chances to win in the future.  Meryl Streep was probably spot on in The Iron Lady, but she's so nominated that this one will just add to the list.  Glenn Close and Michelle Williams were likely solid, but I agree that Oscar voters will give it to Viola Davis, who's been nominated before, but has yet to win.  Al's vote: ? - I only saw one of the performances, so...

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer for Beginners - Because everyone likes him and it's a role you wouldn't necessarily expect to see him in.  Jonah Hill was good in Moneyball, but he's still just kind of Jonah Hill.  The others I didn't see.  Al's vote: ? - but I'd probably go with Christopher Plummer if pressed.

Best Supporting Actress
Either Octavia Spencer for The Help or Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids - It's a toss up.  The prevailing opinions lean toward Octavia Spencer, but just the fact that Melissa McCarthy was nominated tells me she's a close runner-up.  Officially, I think Octavia Spencer will win, but I'm not counting out Melissa McCarthy by any stretch.  Al's vote: Again, ? - I only saw The Artist, though Berenice Bejo was infectiously cute.

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist - It goes along with Best Picture.  I don't think it'd be entirely undeserved.  He did do a fantastic job of recreating the look and feel of a silent-era movie.  And it is entertaining.  Where I think The Artist failed a little was in the amount of time devoted to the main character's pride and sullenness, but that's another story.  Al's vote: Martin Scorsese for Hugo.  After years of not winning before The Departed in five years ago, I think he deserves another statuette.

Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris - Because it's the best original screenplay written last year.  Granted, the only other nominee I saw was The Artist, but the sheer fantastical delight and cleverness born from Woody Allen's imaginative script created magic on screen not often seen recently.  Al's vote: Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris, hands down.

Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash for The Descendants - Again, popular opinion is leaning toward this one.  And I have to agree.  It's a fantastic piece of writing.  It's pace and dialogue are fresh, the story is involving, and the characters are all well-defined.  Strangely, I have seen all the nominees in this category, and I like all the scripts.  My next favorites would probably be Tinker Tailor and The Ides of March, not to rain on Hugo or Moneyball.  Al's vote: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash for The Descendants.

For the rest of my predictions, I'll go into more of a speed round.

Best Animated Feature
Rango - Just a guess.  I liked it.  Haven't seen the others.  I'd like to see A Cat in Paris.

Best Cinematography
The Tree of Life - If the cinematographer societies are giving Emmanuel Lubezki awards for his work on it, I'd bet Oscar will do the same.  I think The Artist or Hugo would make suitable runners up, though.

Best Art Direction
Hugo - Best guess.  I thought it was a great looking movie, from the cinematography to the art direction to the costumes.  Maybe The Artist, though.

Best Costume Design
Anonymous - Going out on a limb, here.  It's it's only nomination, but from the trailers, the costumes looked pretty neat.  The same could be said of Jane Eyre, though.  My guess is, they may want to mix it up a bit here.

Best Documentary Feature
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory - Let's face it.  The first two were extremely effective and creepy.  If the third one's more of the same, it could deserve some Oscar love.  But I haven't seen any of the nominess, so, who knows really?

Best Documentary Short
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom - ?  I have absolutely no idea.

Best Film Editing
The Artist - This is a tough one.  They're all edited pretty well.  Personally, I liked the editing in The Descendants probably the best.  Straight forward, but expertly paced, I thought.  I'd be please if Hugo won here, though.  And The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was well done, but a bit too fast.  *shrugs*  Hard to say.

Best Foreign Film
A Separation - It's the most talked about and highly praised that I've heard of from this year's nominees.

Best Makeup
Albert Nobbs - Making women look like homely women who look like men.

Best Music, Original Score
The Artist - Keeping it with the popular opinion favorite this year.  I don't have any reason to favor the music in it over any of the others, but it seems logical.  Personally, I liked Howard Shore's score for Hugo the best, but John Williams' entries were both good, and the music in Tinker Tailor was a fitting throwback to the era.

Best Music, Original Song
Man or Muppet from The Muppets - I've only heard the one from Rio, but for some reason, I'm figuring people's nostalgia for The Muppets might net that song a statuette.

Best Animated Short
La Luna - It's by Pixar?  Honestly, I have no clue here.

Best Live Action Short
The Shore - Again no clue.  I'm going with the median and picking letter C.

Best Sound Editing
Hugo - Because it's awesome.  There are lots of little clicks and whirs and stuff associated with the automaton that should net this a win... I hope, at least.

Best Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Not sure why I think this will win.  But I do.

Best Visual Effects
Hugo - I really think Rise of the Planet of the Apes will probably win because of the motion capture effects, but Hugo's effects are impressive.

To sum up:
Yes, I'm betting War Horse will be shut out entirely.  It's a decent movie, but not fantastic, and honestly, I think it's in there more for filler than anything else.
I really wish Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was nominated for more.  It is a fantastic movie with very evocative settings, cinematography, and solid direction.  It's one of the best pictures of the year, in my opinion.  Too bad it got shorted on nominations.
I think Hugo is my favorite movie of the year.  It's nominated for a lot, but I feel like it'll be overshadowed by The Artist, which is kind of a shame.  They're both good movies, but I think Hugo is superior and definitely closer to being a great movie.]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Al)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:51:30 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2321&amp;action=new</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Amazing Spiderman Trailer]]></title>
			<link>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2320&amp;action=new</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I didn't feel like posting this one on the main page because to be honest, I think it looks kind of bad.  I hope I'm wrong, but the latest trailer makes it look goofier than a pet coon.  The CG also looks kind of dodgy and I'm just not sure about the story, or what little of it they try to get across in the trailer.  I don't know.  Thoughts?]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (jonfree25)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://nowakfilms.com/bb/viewtopic.php?id=2320&amp;action=new</guid>
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